Level reviews

"Quite a quirky raid this one. While visually it doesn't look particularly attractive (it somewhat feels like a throwback to earliest releases featuring custom levels, some of which shoved by yours truly) it certainly makes up for it with humor. From the main plotline to the way things play out, I caught myself smiling on more than one occasion here. I'm not sure what's the message behind the final door which doesn't use any of the objects you'd actually expect it to, but definitely worth a glimpse. 15 minutes, 3 secrets. 11/22" - Treeble

"Sorry but I found this level nonsensical and quite frankly an afront to the whole franchise but sometimes one gets bored with the same old stuff so we get things like this. Some of the tasks are quite weird like sewing on a leg to an injured soldier and picking up ideas and assumptions as objects and honestly, without a walk through I would still be in front of the keyboard scartching my head wondering what to do. Where I saw red was the use of syringes as weapons. Yes indeed, they can be and not in a good way. Sorry but this left me kinda "blah"." - Torry

"Let's start with a "I love this guy's levels!", 'cause I do. So here everything begun ... in the hospital of broken gameplay and wrong texturing - what a great joke, uh? The gameplay is quite simple yet it gives some good laughs especially in the blood song, objects are interesting used to create newer experiences (CrowBar)! Creating a level which shows great imagination and weirdest texturing. A must play. Wolfy Regards." - Wolf7

"And so begins the building career of DJ Full whose style which borders on the utterly nonsensical at times, somehow manages to retain a unique charm all its own with chuckle-worthy gags throughout(despite very crude texturing & non-existent lighting in this particular release). Most of the voiced dialogue is also done by the builder himself(including Lara). And I have to say that Maciej is not half-bad at it either, expressing the right amount of distress when required as the legless, bed-ridden guard(whose insanity Lara finds herself wrapped in, for this brief escapade). But in conclusion though, there isn't really a whole lot of substance to this level otherwise. So just play through it for the gags and quickly move onto something else." - Ceamonks890

"This is such a bewildering tidbit of a level. I had no idea what was going on in this hospital, apart from that it used a great an unorthodox range of custom objects and that the inhabitants had lost the plot. A deranged soldier wants Lara to find his leg (from what I deduced from the song anyway) and so Lara is sent on a crazy little adventure full of intriguing (and possibly unclear) twists and turns). Lara obtains a code to use in a keypad, returns the wounded soldier's leg, as well as some blood, is attacked by flare bugs and gets to combine a chocolate bar and crow to form a crowbar. Not a very atmospheric level and the lighting was rather bland, and it is a matter of taste, but it's unique all the same." - Ryan

"Completely different concept from what i'm used to see in trle. This was really FUN! and super innovating. I'm not really sure how's the author style, as this was the first level that i tried from DJ Full. I don't know if the messy textures and decoration are unique to it's style or if he used it only for this level. So although i enjoyed a lot the funny puzzles i didn't find very appealing the "crazy" texturing. Loved every single detail from the "crowbar" to the ending (that ending though...really spot on)." - Zhyttya

"And a 8/10 for fun! This was a fun level to play, if only the battle with the illusion was shorter. It has so much little details and loved the pun with the crowbar. Every corner of this game a little surprise! The gameplay is simple and it is a short game but everything used is well used! The textures could be better used and if it had a bit more background music the atmosphere would be great but... it's missing that. Still, if you are for a great game full of fun puzzles and you have a short time then this is one of the best levels for that! I really really loved this level! Not the best but one of my favourites!" - Leeth

"gameplay&puzzle: even if a bit messy(you can go in some rooms before to see things appearing in these rooms after some action, like the room with the blood. It was quite strange, I think the gameplay is quite fun. Enemies,objects&secrets: this is a good level for this precise point, the player did make a lot of work in objects; you have a lot of moving objects, and I was suprised to see (what seems to be) my own "food dispencer" retextured and maybe edited. Enemies where almost basics ones, but I really enjoyed the quite crazy secrets, nice use of the objects for this kind of level. Atmosphere sound&Cameras: atmosphere was a bit crazy and that was the point of the level, even if quite empty with very few musics, I enjoyed the "blood music". Cameras were as few as sounds were. Lighting&textures, that was ugly enough I suppose the builder did take enough time to choose his textures, and to put some good lights. A crazy level, just like the walkthrough was too, even with the walktrough I could not finish the level, the "assumption" did not worked in the wall. Maybe there is another one, but I did not find it. I wanted to play a level from this reviewer and builder, as I did with Rambo, just to see how they did work and how the work now." - Lara_Fox_Croft

"We see that this is a first level, the author has improved since and luckily .... I never understood the purpose of this level. Many bugs, such as a horseless rider ... There is no atmosphere, everything is flat and uniform. Texturing is messy. The author has had to this level for his own pleasure and test his skills for the future. Next ..." - Drakan

"This level had me scratching my head out of sheer befuddlement. I never really understood the events transpiring around me, or why there was a mountain outside of a hospital. I killed a guy so I could get money for a chocolate bar, and then stuff a random crow in it to be used as a tool. And the medic from Team Fortress 2 would be very pleased to see the Syringe Uzis obtained at the end. About twenty minutes of confusing bewilderment is present here, albeit remarkably humorous. The music does well to set the atmosphere, though it kind of creeped me out. For only being one room, this was definitely an...interesting morsel. Worth checking out, if only to see how bizarre some TR levels can be." - Xela

"If it wasn't for the concept of this level, I wouldn't have had a clue what it meant to represent. The music is really good as it gives it an almost 'film noire' feel to it, but the lighting really is too bright and ruins the atmosphere. It takes place in a hospital but only looks a little like one, it's more of a mix of all sorts of things, a land of confusion. The tasks are quite interesting, finding the height of a mountain and entering number on a keypad, release a guide from being hypnotised, kill a baddy and a crow. Other oddities include a swarm of flares and needle spikes. The actual aim of the game is to collect a leg, but this is actually the easiest part. The chocolate bar is combined with a dead crow to make a crowbar - just got the joke! The most impressive feature here is the guy on the bed, he is animated and he speaks and he even moves rooms! This just might send you over the edge, beware! Net gameplay 35 minutes." - sonnyd83

"This is certainly an original piece of work, but it just didn't work or flow for me. Visually its very strange in places and there's little or no time invested in lighting making the whole appearance of everything very flat. The storyline is certainly humrous and should have you giggling however. If you like levels that break the mold you'll probably revel in the strangeness of this release. Stiggy." - TheStig

"This level is very hard to rate because it's so deficient in some areas and so great in others, and not really because of something the author could help. There is lots of humour and interesting item use and puzzles (including the best crowbar ever!), and a fully implemented story and cutscenes. On the other hand it has literally no lighting (due the object limit that was fully used on other things) and the texturing feels somewhat random, although that almost feels fitting here. This is one of the most memorable levels of the contest but it's hard to place it." - Mman

"Very original and fun level. Everything is fun - the mummy nurse, the Winston bar, the gondola use in the end. Amazing ideas and well done. I thing textures and lighting could be better, but since gameplay is good, it's not a big deal. You should check this level - it's fun and relaxing." - misho98

"Since all the usual words to describe this kind of level have already been thrown into the arena, I refrain from reaching for the synonym dictionary to expand that list and content myself with adding a reminiscence or point of reference that hasn't been mentioned yet, namely that gloriously grotesque six-part TV serial of 1986, The Singing Detective—clearly a template for that delightfully barmy Blood Song scene. Much though I like the loopiness of the idea, going bonkers with a crackpot scene like this could have been ever so much more marvellously effective, if the animations were of a less offensively rough-and-ready kind. The same goes for everything else in this admirably potty level, from textures to objects, everything is basically one beer short of a sixpack, but in the end merely gesturing towards some particular bananas idea rather than effectively executed. I am aware of the constraints that follow from the wonky nature of the 'challenge' for which this barmy level was devised, but these were self-imposed, and thus the author has to live with the consequences. That said, this was the first level in ages that I actually played through to the end and that I don't regret having downloaded in the first place. I hope though that in the full version, which we are being promised metaleptically during the game, the author, liberated from said constraints, will also take the looks of the game into consideration and have it properly beta-tested, because if an all-of-a-doo-dah idea is worth being realized, it's worth being realized well." - Mulf

"You have to admire Maciej for his novel concept (read crazy). He is what we would call in Holland"prettig gestoord" which translates loosely in"pleasurable disturbed" which is a compliment by the way. So high marks for his ideas. Very eclectic use of textures and also weird combination of objects, but it all fits in with the story. Keep at it Maciej, I love this"craziness"." - Gerty

"This level reminded me a lot of Harry Laudie's first and only release, rather crude in its surroundings but fun to play. Much of what you encounter here reflects DJ's quirky sense of humor as revealed in his walkthroughs and forum posts. I especially liked the concept of combining a dead crow with a candy bar to get...a crowbar. I did encounter one apparent bug, however. When you get the candy bar from the machine, don't immediately go for the second secret by pulling out the nearby block. I did so, and when I went to the blood storage room, I found it empty. Reloading from a save, I reserved action on the secret and went directly to the blood storage room, where I found the nurse mummy and the blood bag as I was supposed to. Another interesting side effect occurred when I saved during the horse fight and reloaded to find that the horse had magically disappeared. The knight was still riding around in midair, however, so I stayed on task and dispatched him after much effort. Not a bad level at all. Give it a try for a truly unique raiding experience." - Phil

"How to rate this level? It defies every general standard of custom levels. It takes weirdness to new heights (8612 metres, to be precise ;)), with its zany items and crazy situations. In how many levels do you get to fight 'hallucinations' by squirting them with valium from dual syringes? There are many in-jokes to level building concepts and to level playing experiences. The customized objects, built by the builder himself, are adorable - I can't stop laughing when I think of the crowbar or the flare bugs. The ending is somewhat buggy, and I reached the finish trigger pretty much by accident.
The psychedelic textures - while far from the norm - are rather interesting. But the complete lack of lighting leads to the low score in that category (I understand the builder couldn't place light bulbs due to the object limits - but why not at least adjust the ambient lighting?)
Overall: A must play for fans of craziness, or for anyone interested in seeing a whole new side of custom levels. Can't wait for the (DJ) Full version!" - Mytly

"A fun, quirky level although I struggled with the keypad combination to open the door as it wouldn't register unless typed out using the actual numberpad on the keyboard. The horseman took what seemed forever to exterminate and when his horse finally came to a standstill, the guard still ran around solo for a good few minutes. That said, one has to hit the blue gem on his chest to actually register a hit so much (albeit unlimited),ammo is wasted (and time), by keeping the triggers compressed from a safe spot since only a few fired rounds will meet the target. Still a very enjoyable level although the end can be triggered early on by moving the pushable block near the exit door after deactivating the spears eith the mechanical gondola." - High Priestess

"I readily embrace the weird in the TR world and admire the imagination that must stand behind a level like this, even more so here because this DJ Full character is an unknown figure to me, so the quirkiness came as a bigger surprise when I was exposed to the level. The overall feel does remind me of an early Richard Lawther meets Grim Fandango meets TR Crazy, and as such is a bit of hit and miss for me. The days when I found eclectic texturing a novelty to be treasured are long gone, and the level did not convince me visually, the lack of lighting robbed the visuals of a sense of depth, and the mix of objects did feel somewhat self-indulgent and not necessarily mixing together too well. On the other hand - the play on words, the secret "bugs", the morbid blood song, and the signs did give me laugh, the syringe uzis, fetch-quest for the leg, the use of the boat were clever touches and again I am positively impressed of what one can potentially squeeze out of a single room. I would love the visuals to be stronger and maybe have more method and meaning to the madness, but the first impressions of the author's work are good as far as I'm concerned, and I'll surely look out for more to come." - eTux

"A lot of amusing and creative ideas. The soldier sings an odd song for Lara after he received his leg, Lara is chased by binocs, flares and torches, a guide has to be shot out of trance, a gondola has to be used to deactivate some injection needles. Lara in the sky with diamonds? What pushes down my ratings for gameplay is the fact, that you can end the level by a bug without having been everywhere. Obviously a lot of players finished the game not on the regular way. The level is spiced up by a nice fight against a horseman and a spooky psychiatric-clinical atmosphere. A nice little joke-level!" - Christian

"I admire and applaud imagination and humour in a custom level,and this has both in spades;however,it's a bit of an aquired taste in this instance,and somewhat overdone. The bright primary colours and lack of lighting detracted from the overall experience,and something has gone very amiss when a large chunk of the already short level can be easily and unknowingly by-passed (as happened in my case).Quirky and highly individual,then(and much praise for it);but not something that I found as entertaining as the builder probably intended." - Orbit Dream

"Yes, this is the strange one in the group of submissions for the One Room Challenge. Strange but fun since the builder used lots of odd objects throughout and even the pickups were strange, like flares that keep multiplying and running around following Lara. The game play was a bit confusing at first and I read the forum thread after I had finished the level. I had not encountered a horseman and neither had I recovered the patient's leg. So I went ahead and replayed the whole level from start to finish and I realized that I had missed an area in the ductwork. Now the level was suddenly a lot more fun with syringe machine pistol battle and even a brief appearance by Seth himself. Game play was probably the most intuitive and fun one of the series, and that made up for the rather bright and flat lighting and the somewhat not so pretty texturing (13 minutes, 3 secrets found)" - Blue43

"This level is extremely hilarious due to all of the jokes and randomness that the builder included, like the "crowbar" and the blood song. The objects are extremely impressive and appear to be custom-made specifically for the purposes of this level. I also absolutely loved the secrets. There are a few bugs with the end-level trigger so it's possible for the player to accidentally bypass a lot of the level, but the level is so enjoyable that I think it's worth replaying if that happens." - Ward Dragon

"It's rare to see a level this bizarre out there, so props to the author for trying something new. Lara travels to The Hospital of Broken Dreams and Wrong Assumptions, henceforth I shall call it the Bizarro Hospital, where she helps a dying patient find his leg. The tongue-in-cheek menu options at the title screen, the statistics screen, and the load/save options are just the prelude to the zany and wacky ordeal awaiting in Bizarro Hospital. Most of the jokes were likely lost on me, but the randomness and unpredictability of the story kept me eager to see what other surprises lie in Bizarro Hospital. In search of the leg Lara goes through a mountain range (yes, you read right), the psychiatric ward, the orthopedic ward, a channel-in-construction, and makes a visit to the blood bank. A lot of these rooms are boxy and simply built, so in the way of gameplay there's mostly running from one point to another, inserting the odd puzzle item and shooting delusions here and there. More of the humor comes in the objects placed in the level, from the very literal Crowbar to the Syringe Uzis, the three secret bugs (they literally are bugs, haha), and including ninja doctors, a hypnotized guide, and even a zombie. The horseman and Seth also make appearances. The texturing isn't too pleasing to the eye, but technically its placed well, no squashed textures that I could see. There's also no lighting anywhere, though the builder is aware of these faults in the readme. Very odd yet fun, it sure is quite the party happening here in Bizarro Hospital. Will you be their next patient?" - Relic Hunter

"It's always hard to judge strange levels. This one you just have to enjoy. When one gets the joke, the demented hospital with the mummy nurse feels clever, and makes us feel clever. But sometimes it takes a while to figure out what is in the author's mind. Other reviewers have mentioned the crow/bar. Syringes are Uzis, and Valium is Uzi ammo--fair enough. There is the guy with a missing and restored leg who sings a ditty about blood, something about "give them a cup and it's never enough." Lara can combine thoughts to make Assumptions, but these prove to be terrible False Assumptions (the door opens a different way). We have Torch Bugs flapping about on wings, and Flare Bugs scurrying around the ground. This sounds refreshing, but more medipacks and more attention to texturing would help. In the end, good wacky fun." - dmdibl

"I wish there was a category for 'Smile Factor', this would be a stone cold 10! I don't think I stopped smiling throughout the level. I tell a lie, when I came across the crowbar and finally figured it out (I was having a 'thick' day) my smile changed to a grin. This level is fairly simple in its gameplay, the textures are repetitive, there's a lack of agility, timed runs or many enemies but it doesn't matter. It's all made up for by the sheer imagination and quirky humour of the builder, from the zombie medical staff to the testy, impatient patient to the wonderfully retextured object - it's all great fun. It's a shame we can't use emoticons in these reviews, so just imagine a line of smiley faces." - Diz

"Note: I will not be reviewing this level with leniency due to the fact it only contained 1 or 2 rooms, as it deserves to be treated the same as any other level. Now I come to my favourite level of the competition. It is great fun to play, and some moments are hilarious. Any level that manages to incorporate a song by My Chemical Romance gets a thumbs up from me. This level was built entirely tongue in cheek, with some custom objects used very well, the crowbar being the best bit in the level. Retextured enemies were fun to fight, and the syringes made great weapons. For texturing I only gave a 5, this was not because of the bad texturing overall, it was just because the builder spelled 'have' wrong in 'hav a nice day'. I was very disappointed. The humour used in this level makes it one of the funniest I have played, and I really hope there is a much longer version being built, and if there is, I will be the first to play it. Highly recommended if you want to laugh non-stop for about 20 minutes." - Cory

"Hmm - I must say that a lot of the actual humour in this quirky adventure got lost on me, which I guess is a bit a matter of taste. Arguably this is 'TR Crazy' with an attempt at an actual story - albeit a slightly bizarre one. The repeated play on words is rather clever, like the crowbar and the three secret 'bugs', and I thought the gondola was really a neat touch. I am less convinced by the remainder of the flow, in which I did not get the K2 hint (my fault) and rather wondered than smiled about the song the soldier sings for Lara, even though I do admire the technical achievement of setting it in scene. Chances are that you miss the 'leg business' entirely though, as it is quite possible to finish the level without ever finding or 'using' it. But that is a bit of a minor issue, given the level only lasts about 15 minutes, so you could just replay it one more time. And maybe you should - if only to see the things that can happen when a creative and original mind tries his hands on the editor. I cannot say I particularly enjoyed it, but hats off for a successful effort at creating something completely different..." - MichaelP

"This level was by a very well known reviewer and I think he makes good levels as well. This level was really nice with good objects and rooms. I liked the part where you can pick up some flares and then a lot of flares start appearing right in front of you. The flares are bugs! They don't harm you though. Another thing I liked was a little thing where you kill what looks like a ninja shopkeeper and he leaves a coin. You have to use the coin in the machine and you can get some snickers. I like snickers! The textues were really original and I liked the part where there was a sign which says that you are entering the parody zone and there were mountains and sfuff. The lighting could be better though. Other than that it was reallt fun." - afzalmiah

"I absolutely loved the quirky humour in this highly original level and the novel use of everyday TR items shows a degree of lateral thinking that would make Edward de Bono jealous. I shall never look at a crowbar the same way again. It's actually rather hard to describe such a one off with any degree of success - you really need to experience it for yourself. Personally, I'd like to see more." - Jay

"This level seems pretty complicated at first, but when you get the hang of it, it's all right! I loved how creative it was in terms of gameplay and I also liked the unusual events and funny elements (flare bug, crowbar, blood song, wrong assumption, just to name a few). The animated textures were nice additions and the custom objects were good as well. It's a shame there was no space left for lighting because of the object limit. It is a very unique level, I enjoyed it very much! I'm looking forward to the full version." - Matie

"How do you compare this level to anything else? This is really a class of level on its own, that makes you think "Why wasn't this done before??". DJFull has completely swept me off my feet with this work. While lighting and texturing could've used a little more work (maybe in full version?), the charm of the level made me laugh and (not really but wouldn't have bothered me) cry. It incorporated a number of inside jokes between level editing fans all across the spectrum, from the flare bug, now scuttering in the gully, or the binocular bug, now flying after me, or the similar torch bug (too bad it can't shoot flames...) Custom objects made me laugh, like the awesome psych ward statue that was hypnotizing the guard. It took me a second playthrough to realize that I actually had to get the crow, or that I had to get the blood to the patient, but for one room, those are acceptable things. Assumptions, on the final note, are always bad. I managed to push the binocular bug block all the way over to the red squares to activate the door. Then tried flares. Loved the custom spikes. I honestly can't wait for the full verion of this or more levels from DJFull. Great job, great job!" - TjwCroft

"Does mean "One Room Challenge" really that the level builder must limit himself on one room? And if so, can there generally something originate reasonable from it? Anyhow I have my doubts, because I always have "Lara in the box" in my mind. Well, we will see what the level builders have made with this regulation.
Um, yes, I believe, I am in the wrong movie! A patient who absolutely wants to have his sawed off leg back, but holds still his shooter in his hand. Stings which look like syringes and the player should leave the Secret in a confidential space first, because he must flee before the flying binoculars. I am apparently real in the wrong movie. Or the level builder finds this very amusing. I like it anyway. However, there is no reasonable lighting. What happens if one combines a dead raven with a Snickers? I see there two possibilities. Either then the raven tastes better, or I have, so incredibly it may also sound, a crowbar. In this case I really have a crowbar. And thus it goes on and on. As if already everything was not bad enough, the Dude still starts to sing. And then I must still fight against his nightmare. This level is not necessarily one the best level which I have played till present. But it is definitively one of the most amusing ones. Pity is only the absent reasonable lighting. However, I hope that DJ Full will further build, because such level builders are always a profit for us players." - Scottie

"Make a game in one room should not be easy and DJ full managed to find a fun and original gameplay. I admit I looked a little, some things are not obvious. Given the limited number of objects without a single room, I can understand the lack of lighting but some texture defects could be corrected. Good start anyway the author, the ideas are there." - Daffy

"Not very usual this kind of levels. There are a lot of new objects sometimes difficult to figure out what to do with them. There are some joke situations and environment is very colourful. I liked the cutscenes. Be careful with Lara's life bar 'cause I coudn't find medipacks, and some enemies can cause damage. In my game there was a bug with the horseman; once he falls from the horse, inmediately he mounts again and the horse turns invisible. To be a debut is a good work. Perhaps for future levels the author must think a bit about a better architecture and taking more time with the textures." - Jose

"DJ Full is crazy, I knew that before. But this level busts it off. This can't be compared to other levels. It is best described with a comparison to the first level of "The Experiment" (there are more common things in texturing of both levels) because both had such strange features in it. Unusuality in its best. Players get absolutely confused in this level, and that's intended. It all begins really exiting, when Lara finds the soldier from TR 3's Crash Site and he asks for his leg. Well, the player begins to explore this hospital afterwards, mounts a "high" mountain, combines a dead bird that first had to be shot with chocolate to get a crowbar, gets to epic fights with torches, binoculars and flares and collects blood and after quite a while the leg to "repair" the soldier. He is quite thankful, he even kills Laras actually immortal archenemy. Until then it all was really good, but in the end I didn't like an object was placed somewhere in the whole place, I had to search a long time after it. This was the only heavy critisism point to a else really fun level, that was spicked with true originality. I really wanted to shoot a mummy using the uzis. Now I could. I will not lower my rating for the two bugs that happen because this version was not the intended one. All in all way better than Venice Hotel, with a very clever final hint, but of course, due to absent lighting (even if I know why, I have to rate it) and some texturing and visual issues, this is not a top level, but one of the most creative ones. Quite high gameplay rating because of the pure creativity." - manarch2