Level reviews

"Okay, this is one of the only 2 unofficial levels that were released in the previous millennium (the other being "The Wall"), yet compared to "The Wall", this one is just.. too empty.
If I have to wonder what's really tested here, I think viewing this level in Rview gives a clue:
The whole level is just using 1 room.
So what's the big deal? I guess it had to do with the nature of Turbo Pascal and The Vagrant's TREditor3d (precursor to DXTRE3D).
From what I see in some of the TRE-era levels, this level and others can use vertically-high rooms and blocks without stretched textures, something DXTRE3D can't do with its 5-blocks-max-high rooms.
Surely it's an achievement, but I think in the end, even for a test level of the previous millennium, it's just too barebone to be appreciated significantly." - Charles Kane

"One of the first custom levels created on the site. There isn't much to do except jump around and climb walls in a bland open room with repeating textures. It will keep your entertained for about 2-3 minutes before you inevitably reach the end and quit. Skip this unless you're a true completionist." - LuxQSD

"What the creator could test here? Just curious. Won't Lara forget about how to jump on an unofficial map?.. Of course, I understand that it is literally the first (ok, second) level of all ever made by fans. And is was rather like WOW: that is possible! These are blocks, here you are. Lara is standing, nothing crashes, cool! But that's all. The level contains the same blocks in vacuum and they are flickering very much because of monotonous texture (and I could make out something not right away). You can jump on them to the bottom or the top. The end." - Keeper12Worlds

"Climb and Jump. Nothing else to say." - JoeTheCrazyGamer

"Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. Like a huge deadly jump practice room. Just about impossible to rate, honestly!" - Chel

"Nothing at all to this one, really. It's interesting to see the beginning of custom levels and how much more advanced we are now. Jump up lots of stairs, then down and (if you like) back up." - Ryan

"I really can't understand the level's main purpose . I mean that's somehow hard to believe that how a level never comes to an end . The atmosphere is a little bit frustrating and the lack of use of the variety of textures makes it more difficult to realize your surroundings . The only thing I can assign the score to is the atmosphere ... Nothing else ." - Mehrbod

"Honestly do not know what Turbo and the Vagrant were testing here. How many times Lara can go up and down the huge cavern without pissing off the player? LOL." - Torry

"There isn't much to say. It's a test level with no finish trigger. A giant room with pillars and the same texture all over the place. Everybody keep in mind: this is where it all began. I personally got that nostalgic feeling, while "playing" this. I don't know how, but it brought back so much memories." - Nuri

"I expected some more from Turbo Pascal. Only a giant box with pillars and stairs, and the same texture for all surfaces where Lara can go down and up is not worth to play." - Jose

"A mostly empty level, this will hold no interest for most people other than completists and people who like to vent their frustrations with their every day lives by making Lara's neck break from as many different angles as possible." - Ejecta

"The second level of the site and also the first TR1 type level. It's just a deep room with blocks to climb, and there is only one texture placed all over the room. Not recommended nor enjoyable." - alan

"A test level showing the power of reverse engineering from a dedicated Tomb Raider fan. Although this level has no real gameplay as such, it is interesting to see a custom level before the release of any official or unofficial tools. However, nostalgia alone does not make for a great raid. Consisting of only one texture, you have only a slight drop and one block high stairs to follow in order to reach the bottom of the room, to which you are rewarded with a wall and no finish trigger. The two points I gave to this level go to the technical ability required to even create a custom level at the time of release and to the fact there was any textures at all. Overall, a nice nostalgia trip with no gameplay or finish trigger. It will honestly take you less time to play through this than it will to download it." - Useless-_-Assassin

"Nothing to it, jump all the way down and climb/jump up. One of the first custom levels I think." - Gerty

"This is a neat little tech demo showcasing a custom level in TR1. It's a good basic test level validating a basic creation and a neat little thing to view if interested in the history of trle" - droogie

"This is a testlevel and, as such, what you get here is essentially that. Still, as I finally managed to get TR1 custom levels running on my W7 machine, I'm happy. Time to go through all of them quickly before technology makes it even harder. 5 minutes. 12/15" - Treeble

"There's very little to say about this one.Jump down lots of steps in order to get to the bottom of a very tall room.Then consult the Walkthrough in order to ascertain that that really is all there is to it." - Orbit Dream

"As the first level to be released under the Unofficial Editor for TR1, this one served it's purpose back in 1999 in demonstrating that making your own levels within the TR1 engine was no longer a fantasy and could finally be done with the available tools(and yet, it would still be another full year before the main TRLE program we use today, would be released to the community as a bonus with PC copies of TR5.) So the fact that this was even possible back then, is a remarkable achievement in itself. Looking back at this level however in 2014, it certainly hasn't aged well. There's one texture from the Peru levels used repeatedly throughout this brief level, gameplay amounts to climbing down from a high platform and climbing back up again(which isn't really enticing in itself), menu graphics glitch up when opening it(if you can be bothered to that is, considering how easy this game is) and there's no other form of life in the level(besides Lara) nor a finish trigger in sight. So, in all honesty, only really worth a quick playthrough, if you were ever curious to know how the Unofficial Editor community for TR1 custom levels began and nothing more. Everyone else on the other hand, are better off looking elsewhere to satisfy their raiding needs." - Ceamonks890

"An old test level with only one room and one texture. Lots of climbing and no finish trigger." - Athukraz

"Jumping. Jumping. More jumping. Nothing to do here beside that. Old test level with only one texture and no ending." - Casual Raider

"I think it's kinda funny to find test levels released like that. It seems to me it leaked from The Vagrant or Turbo Pascal personal sites and was released in a very earlier era of TREditor. However, in the end players want playable levels, and this one doesn't have any of it. I strongly suggest if you don't know The Vagrant or Turbo Pascal work, donwload another of their levels firt, so you'll be able to see their full potential." - Fabio

"After few minutes, I quit the game and asked me how to rate it. Textures? Stretched and all the same. No point. Lighting? No. It goes on and on, and the only point I nearly want to give was for gameplay since the few jumps you had to master. But the lack of a finish trigger and a bit harder jump, as one can see in "Little Confuse World", to which this level is quite similar, made this rating is a "nice 0" or something like that. I don't think it should have been released; when looking at the other levels by this builder, this is a real shock." - manarch2

"It is undeniably interesting to see where customs levels began and, wow, haven't we come a long, long way in the intervening years! Basically, this is Lara interacting with some steep stairs." - Jay

"It takes more time to mount the virtual drive in DOSBox and launch the game than to play it. However, it doesn't deserve its inglorious 2nd place in the worst levels ranking. There isn't much things to rate, but I've seen many levels with, for example, much worse textures - stretched, misplaced, missing... What I see here creates quite convincing feeling of exploring some ruins. And gameplay... exists, not like in some levels which have no gameplay at all, but for some reason they were rated higher than this one. So I give three points in total. SUMMARY: In this level You can practise some jumping, shimmying, grabbing a ledge and doing a swan dive with landing on the ancient concrete. But all these things can be done in some truly better level as well, so it can't be recommended. However, I don't change my opinion it's also an underrated project." - DJ Full

"It's a test level. We have to run into a deep room, and pull up ourself on the other side. There are not final trigger." - Obig

"Pillar jumps in a deep room. Skip down blocks, then climb up blocks. Repeat, if you really want to." - dmdibl

"Unfortunately, the most mention-worthy thing of this level is its age. It's amazing to think that this little level is how the entire unofficial custom level scene began on the computer of a single very talented Tomb Raider fan. And as such, it probably never was intended to withstand the scrutiny of today's reviewing system, so it seems kind of unfair to measure the experience in numbers and words, but if you look at it pragmatically - then basically you get single room textured with one texture, and one Lara to handle it all, as little as there is. Not a very exciting gaming experience, but you get more appreciation of it if you try to see the level for what it is." - eTux

"I went as far as I can, than back, and I thought: "Can you do anything in this level? Let's see the walkthrough." Ok, nothing. So I jumped down and I died. Btw, the whole level is textured with the same texture...one minute of gameplay until you realise that there's no finish trigger in this one." - rtrger

"Lara can get rid of a few calories here but jumping up and down a series of blocks in a high, boxy room. One a single texture tile used and no lighting - as a test level that is now more than 10 years old, I guess it counts as a historical gem, but even nostalgia does not help this one much..." - MichaelP