Level reviews

"It really felt like, and I wanted to believe, it is better than the previous one. Well visually it is but the gameplay is even more obscure. I wasted a ton of time stuck with the skull puzzle which pretends to be a secret yet is required for the main path, and also, if you miss it - and you will - punishes you with a double run through an unavoidable health-draining trap. When I was back at the skull slot, the game just ended and I found no artifact at all. In the meantime, I got another secret of 21 pickups (wha-???) including a shotgun, and I was lucky I did cause otherwise I would have to battle through the upcoming horde of snakes with pistols. No, really - what even is this level?" - DJ Full

"The level is supplied with a savegame you don't need but also with faulty scripts, so I took the liberty of adding LoadCam coordinates to it to fix that and by the time you're reading this, the fix should be already included in the download. Anyway, I thought it was rather funny how this level uses the exact same outfit I praised just two reviews ago (#2148), so I'll echo that sentiment here: the light colored shorts actually look good. The animations are a bit of a mess though, I'm not a fan of changing them just for the sake of doing so. As for the level itself, it's quite short actually but still has a few issues such as walkthrough walls (ceilings, in this case) and a lot of unnecessary darkness. A few pushblock puzzles along the way and a sequence of fiery pillars at the end, plus the stuff of nightmares in the form of a pool with many, many snakes, which somehow warp up to your vantage point to bite your hindquarters. 20 minutes, 2 secrets. 07/22" - Treeble

"The architecture and design of this short level is quite nicely done, and being able to shoot snakes like fish in a barrel (or in this case snakes in a swimming pool) was amusing, but aside from those there's very little entertainment to speak of. Having pull-through ceilings in gameplay is bad enough, but having them literally on top of each other (and in a dark room, no less) is just plain nasty. The game also crashes when you reload, which doesn't really become an issue until you reach the snake pool, but that has a very tricky jump which just becomes more frustrating than it needs to be because of this. Hard to find much to recommend it, really." - Ryan

"Even with that bug forcing the players to re-launch the game each time Lara dies or you want to reload a savegame, the architecture and design are not bad, but there were some things I didn't like about the gameplay. The phantom ceilings can be good for a secret, but not to hide a lever; there is also a secret behind a phantom ceiling and if you miss it you'll never finish the level; the black rooms and no flare pickups turn very slow the gameplay 'cause you need to use the pistols to light the rooms or use one of the few flares to explore and then reload a savegame (the game crashes). The enemies are not well balanced, only a bunch of snakes near the beginning and another bunch (more numerous) of snakes near the end, in the same rooms. The tricky jump to the corner of the ledge with the fire in the final pool room was not very nice too. A good betatesting should be avoid all that bad issues (if the author doesn't ignore the advices, of course)." - Jose

"This is a classic case in point of where a level needs to go through adequate beta testing before it gets released. One area that Ale8730 has improved on since their last release however is lighting. This is a much better example of how a level should be lit. The structure of the rooms is ok, without any wafer thin walls. Textures are of a good quality, but occasionally carelessly applied. I found (as with the author's previous release) the areas of darkness a little frustrating, particularly at one point where you'd very easily miss blind pull-ups into the next room (which in itself is bad level design). It feels like a step back from what we've seen before from Ale8730, which is a shame as they are clearly talented and there's allot of potential here. In many crucial areas there's been improvements (lighting especially), but the author needs to put more time & care into beta testing future releases. Took me approximately 30 minutes to complete. Unfortunately the incomplete feel & the crashes to desktop leave me unable to recommend. Stiggy." - TheStig

"This level had some interesting gameplay aspects. The spikes and the burning columns (even though I tried to have Lara land on the edge of the ledge, Lara still got burnt eventually) were inevitable, but fortunately, the author supplied the player enough medipacks to survive. There were a lot of snakes, but It was odd to require using secret items in order to end the level though, and more flares could've been placed so that Lara could get crucial items in dark places. I used Lara's pistols in order to avoid staying in the dark at the beginning, but flares would've made things easier. The crashes to the desktop made playing this level less enjoyable too. This level could've been better if there were a loading screen, a functioning finishing trigger and brighter rooms (or at least more flares) at the beginning of the level." - Sakusha

"This is one of those levels which is far harder to play than it strictly deserves to be.The texturing and lighting isn't at all bad,and the placement of the snakes is liberal; but the gameplay is awfully cheaty (way too many pull-through ceilings)and the Finish Trigger can only be attained if you should happen to chance upon the first secret - which is hardly likely,as it's hidden behind no less than three of the aforementioned pull-through ceilings! One challenging jump to a burning pillar aside,the gameplay is straightforward and reasonably undemanding;which is a blessing,as the game crashes to the desktop upon every reload - simply unacceptable in this day and age.I assume that this is a demo,as the titular Diamond remained lost by the level's end; but it can hardly be recommended anyway,except to completists." - Orbit Dream

"A simple raid with some of the modern features , lacking of interesting things to perform. On the opposite , some things are well hidden , and as it is rather dark ...Atmosphere and looks are decently made. Crashes when reloading ...Short level with not much substance to write about." - eRIC

"Another example of a short (20 min) level where all the next gen objects, textures and overall looks cannot hide that there is really not much to be done to entertain the player. This is a fairly linear raid, with a few snakes to kill (or just ignore), a few blocks to push around to obvious places and two unfairly hidden secrets, one of which you must find to open the final door of the level." - MichaelP

"OK, I'll be frank; I was very annoyed with the crash to desktop when reloading. And as the level is quite dark and there were NO flare pick-ups in the beginning, I was sorely tempted to bin this one. Felt again tempted to bin this when trying to find an opening in the ceiling in pitch darkness (as I had no flares left) just to find a key lock. Later I found a secret and talking about overdoing it, this for sure was. Then almost near the end I missed a pick-up and the hiding place (as well as that key lock) made no sense whatsoever. I almost got a deja vu here with all the snakes, it reminded me of Cain." - Gerty

"My school reports, all those decades ago, always read 'Nigel had such great potential but doesn't apply himself' (there is no heavier burden than a great potential). This level is just like that, it could have been really good but wasn't, it was like one of those great looking pasties that are just air and crumbs. The end result, unfortunately, was that this game really irritated me. It seemed full of instances where you placed one of four blocks in the correct position and a door opened. Of course, you then feel obliged to manoeuvre the other three, just in case it did anything more. But no, nothing, then on to the next room where similar happens, pointless! Those lacy leaved holes in the wall that you can step through are all part of the fun of raiding as are mirrors that can be transversed but, completely opaque ceilings that lead into a completely dark room don't give the raider much chance, and then it happens again, and again! It all seems such a shame because this had the potential, it looked good, the lighting generally was good but the game-play seemed to have been thrown at it without much thought. Shame really." - Diz

"This level could have been so much better. For one thing, it crashes every time you try to reload, which is a far from endearing trait in a level. It's quite short however so you may feel inclined to persevere - just try not to die too much. Actually, the only point at which that is likely to happen is when you have to negotiate some fire tiles; otherwise all you'll need to avoid is an inordinate amount of snakes. It's quite nicely built, albeit a bit dark in places, and the gameplay is, depending on your viewpoint, either really effective as regards hidden switches etc., or a bit of a cheat. It entirely depends on how you feel about largely unmarked climb through walls. I'd summarise it as worth playing in a slightly frustrating sort of way, but if you're having a bad day I'd leave this one until tomorrow." - Jay

"This was the second level from this builder I have played and I was expecting a lot and was hoping for some improvement from the debut level. The level has a lot of potential. I found sound and atmosphere very good and also the enemies well placed, although it got a little tedious as those snakes kept coming and coming. The texturing had it's flaws and there were lots of gaps in the texturing. Thew lighting was very dark and some areas are completely black. The game play was a disappointmnent as there are key item in almost impoossible to find places and on top of it the game is bug ridden as it will crash when tying to load from a save game. I guess a bit more testing woiuld habe been nice. Definitely a very talented builder here, but I had the feeling, that the level was thrown together a bit quickly." - Blue43

"This level consists of straightforward gameplay, which is hard because some things are too much hidden so I couldn't find them at once. The snakes in the first part were interesting, would like to see more of that. Textures were good, at some parts it was too dark. Looking forward to see more of him." - manarch2

"The author's first level used a lot of trickster game play, hiding invisible objects in foliage. This new level goes beyond that, taking unfair game play to such an absurd length that it becomes almost an art form. There are only 30 small rooms, and the whole thing can be done in 10 minutes. Except that the game crashes on a reload of a save game. Everything, including jumps to fire pillars, must be done without ever reloading. Crucial areas are totally dark. Forget about using one of Lara's three flares to look around, and then reloading to restore the flare. From force of habit, Lara used a flare, and then it was permanently gone. Not only is Lara in the dark, but there are disguised climb-through textures. If Lara discovers that this continues, she gets the second secret, a skull. But after the aforementioned fire pillar jumps, Lara must place this skull to open the final exit door. How is the skull a secret if it is a necessary puzzle item? The author must have seen "Snakes On a Plane" once too often given the amount of time Lara spends shooting snakes. To be fair, a secret near the end (climb-through texture) has medipacks and flares, so it is possible for Lara to retrace steps to the dark area. And the fire pillars are surrounded by water, so if Lara catches fire she can dive down. The level ends by crashing. Mostly for die-hard players." - dmdibl

"Well, actually, I would have to curse now like a tinker. There one has a level in the hand which looks quite good, actually, and has a few nice riddles. But then one looks in this actually relatively short level several times for important things as for example a key hole, or a Skull Head. And even if one walks around with Flares, one cannot find these things. And why? Because there are holes in the ceilings which are camouflaged with textures and there are no hints which could be there something. I hate such a thing. And equally irritatingly are much too good hidden levers and missing climbing textures. Now so, actually, I would have to curse like a tinker and write a suitable Review. But I'll do that not, because it is only the second level of this level builder and I have big hope which he avoids in his next level such unnecessary things. Since, in principle, look the level good. However, he should also avoid placing too many opponents at one place. Though about 8 snakes in a water basin are no problem because one can shoot them of the pelvic edge, but here would have been less more. Then we wait sometimes tensely for the next level of Ale8730." - Scottie