Level reviews

"A kind of level which should go quickly but feels too slow because of backtracking, including through parts with slow mechanics. Audiovisually correct but quite unbalanced - the beginning is open, with accessible places you weren't meant to visit, while the rest feels like a long corridor with many filler rooms and overly perfect symmetry, while only several parts are well defined and have a spirit. Still, you won't get stuck here so you can try it, especially if you crave the LAU style. One softlock is possible so watch out in the fire room." - DJ Full

"It's rather unfortunate that this level seems to have been rushed out the door. For the most part it looks great, texturing is done carefully and there seems to be an effort to make an expansive area, but sadly it all looks far too samey all around (perhaps intentionally) and the worst offender is the outside area of the temple which is just... weird. The end of the world is just within reach, you can pull up from some stairs close to your starting position to a wall surrounding the area and drop into places you wouldn't even normally see. The LAU tracks are great but it seems the author picked up the wrong versions (the one that plays from start seems to be one of the mixed versions combining several different tracks in a row, for instance), and then it's all just silence until the next track plays. Gameplay is not too taxing but follows the same patterns first requiring you to take opposing paths for switches and then shortly after again for a couple of gems (named Hand of Orion, which suggest lack of scripting as well). Some of the "new" effects were nice, such as the fire moving in sync with the statues. Overall, it's an okay level, but it had the potential to be a great one if a little more polish was put into it. 40 minutes, 5 secrets. 01/24" - Treeble

"Here's a solid South American raid that should be accessible to all groups of raiders. Fair enough, there are a few hints of lacking beta testing: the shortcuts over the walls near the start, a couple of dead ends in the room with the Dragons and an odd texture that presumably resembles water but isn't in reality, but if you're careful they won't interfere too much. The looks are attractive and the texturing is solid, although the areas do look a bit similar after a while, which might get a bit wearying. I thought that the guard attacks were well placed, the secrets nicely hidden (minus the unmarked climbable wall) and the music well cued (if a bit excessive). Recommended!" - Ryan

"Very easy to play, even the hardest parts of the game (monkeyswing through burners or the room with fire-spitting dragons) are very easy to go through, and it is almost impossible to die in this level (well, I did fell into the spikes pit once, because I accidentaly shut my eyes and run into it blindly). The only down-side of the gameplay is the pit with dragons where you can get stuck if you drop into it too early (load your previous save if that happens and don't drop all the way down into the pit before you open the gate on the other side). The level is perfect for beginners and those willing to make a break after / before playing a harder game. Definitely not a well-built level in terms of geometry. The outside starting area shows all the beginner's mistakes, so the player can easily bump into the end of the world or see the nothingness beyond it. But we all know that this level is a debut level by a builder who would later significantly improve his geometry and building. In terms of puzzles, they are very easy, you cannot get lost, you always know what you are looking for and where to find it. There are some occasional traps very easy to deal with, and the most difficult and medipack-consuming parts of the game are those shooting soldiers. But the builder also generously provided tons of ammo and health supplies, and if you find five easy-to-find secrets, you will have some nice weapons as well. Audio tracks are sometimes over-dramatic (I remember I once expected to face a demi-god or something, but the dramatic music only introduced some darts). Lighting is the same in all the rooms, outside, inside, underwater, underground, and I got the impression that the builder used only ambiance lighting, no bulbs, shadows, lightspots etc. Sounds and camera hints are well made. There are some nicely placed fixed cameras. There are also mistakes such as: plants growing up on a stone floor, some shallow pools with something that only looks like water but it is not water (two rooms where you find blue gems) and poorly selected names of puzzles and pick-up items. I fail to understand the connection between South American level where Lara finds something which is named The Hand of Orion or a pick-up artifact which is a small statue of an Egyptian god. Textures are nicely applied, although there are cracks, and the rooms are not over-decorated, which is always a good thing. Already in this debut it was obvious that Lakota would become a good builder. He showed some nice ideas, good taste and sense of ballance, which would in later levels be brought to perfection. This level is highly recommendable for all beginners. No timed runs, no hard traps or boss fights, no hard jump sequences, a nice, relaxing level which can be beaten in a half of an hour." - Nina Croft

"Lakota is off to a great start here. Gameplay flows nicely, environments are mostly solid and the standard of texturing and lighting is pretty high for a first effort too. It's not without it's issues though. The outside environment you start off in in far less convincing than the temple complex towards the end, and at one point it's possible to drop into a pit with no route out. I also got to the edge of the map a few times which is avoidable. This level really comes into it's own once you enter the temple complex itself. With every-room you sense the skill of the builder improving. Nothing too challenging on the puzzle front, but it's worth exploring every-corner as you do get rewarded with secrets for pushing that little bit further :) Music selections are good, but I'd encourage the author to look into including an ambience track in addition to the music. All in all In netted an hour from the Temple of Quatalpac. I think Lakota is off to a fantastic start with this and I look forward to playing more levels from this builder in the future. Recommended! Stiggy :)" - TheStig

"The aim of this game is to collect an artifact which seems out of place in this setting - a phaoroah on a throne. The temple is well built with nice fountains and TR underworld texturing, feels very much like Underworld. The sound clips were quite epic but the background sound seems to disappear after a while. To get the artifact many pitfalls await you. There's stone snakes breathing fire, pole vaulting over spikes, rollijng balls albeit easy to bypass, darts, a ram swinging from side to side, flames, 2 switches to open various doors. All this to locate 2 gemstones to open a door. The room with the fire snakes has a flaw apparantly which would have been a game stopper if it wasn't for dozy. Also, it is easy to get lost as every area seems to have another 2 leading off it - everything in this level is done in 2's it seems. Also, in the outdoor area, was the intended route over the closed door? I just climbed over the side. Gameplay time was 45 minutes." - sonnyd83

"Very well executed level. Exploration is high on the list and Lara must first get her hands on the crossbow before she can proceed further. Nice use of that weapon by the way. A pity that at the start there are too many ways to get to the"end of the world" and even jumping down from one of the walls, there is no way back. A bit too much of doing the same thing, meaning going there and coming back, but luckily that posed no real problem. Found a couple of shortcuts, which is a bit of a shame though. This one stays on my HD for a while because now I want to find all the secrets." - Gerty

"I always enjoy a decent Peru themed level and this one was no exception. It shows early hints of great talent in this builder that were shortly after confirmed with his second release. A nice introductory flyby, solid atmosphere, nice audio - maybe a little on the simple side in terms of architecture and textures. There are a few beginner mistakes in that you can shortcut part of the level, reach the end of the world, drop into a pit with no return, but all of them are easily avoided. Progression is fluent and easy, a few soldiers to kill along the way and the occasional rolling ball or dart trap to evade. Highlight for me were the fire dragons, the clever variation of the tightrope and the nice little side quest for the 5 secrets." - MichaelP

"I thought this was a rather decent level for a debut. It's fairly predictable and fairly linear, although there's a bit of annoying backtracking that's required at the hand to place your two artifacts. Gameplay is well paced, and I enjoyed this hour-long adventure. Not very colorful, but for the most part I had adequate lighting to see what was going on around me. I was stumped at end until I was told that the two round poles spanning the deep pit could be used as tightropes. Recommended." - Phil

"I really like a beautiful level, and this level is no exception. The level started out a bit rough. I had to shoot the friendly soldiers to steal their weapons and ammo. When I got the crossbow and lasersight, naturally I assumed I was to shoot the bell up top, but nope. There were a few errors like end of the world and some scary errors that I didn't encounter, like entrapment. What this level is lacking is some serious challenges. There are no guardians that appear to protect the artifacts, only easily killed SAS soldiers in the halls. Rarely will you be tripped up. If Lakota can devise some more interesting gameplay and challenges along with the fantastic visuals and music, his future levels will be seriously amazing. Keep building, Lakota!!" - Shandroid

"I really enjoyed this level. It was very fun and there were not many flaws. The only thing that kind of ruined it was the outdoor areas. The texturing was very good and the lighting was pretty nice but there were some areas where you can... it's hard to explain but you can see the horizon and you think you can walk to it but you can't. (Does it make sense?) I never went to the sewers so you don't need to visit the sewers to finish the game. Inside the temple was absolutely fantastic. I was very surprised and excited because it was really nice. The texturing was amazing and the lighting was perfect. The gameplay was pretty easy but I really enjoyed it. The area with the 4 dragon heads (they're not real, they just breath fire at one place.) was pretty hard and a tiny bit confusing but after a while you know what to do. There were some things inside the temple that was a bit boring like the long tightrope walk and the long monkeyswing. Well actually the long monkeyswing was pretty good. An absolutely brilliant level for a debut and recommended." - afzalmiah

"At first sight this level looks very good. Above all the Flyby at the level beginning is a real eye candy. If one goes, however, immediately to the left, one can jump on the wall. Then one is on the one hand on the edge of the Map and, on the other hand, one comes to areas which one may not enter at all and which one cannot leave at all. This is a basic problem in the outside area. There are a lot of places where one comes to the end of the Map, or where one comes to areas in which textures are absent. Moreover, one can climb from Outside through the windows in the buildings. And one can go at a place through the wooden fence in the entrance. The inside areas look good and are nice textured. The tasks are relatively easy. However, there is a Dead-End. If one has not pulled both levers at the fire snakes, one does not come back any more because then an important door is closed. I had several times a crash. The picture froze and I could not do anything more. Sound and lighting were good.
Result: Of course everything cannot function right away in a debut level, but apart from the addressed problems this was a good level. However, the level builder should allow to test his next level absolutely, because only testers give to the level builder the feedback which he needs for a successful level. And only the testers find fast the problems which the level builder overlooks as a rule." - Scottie

"First impressions, outside, I was not expecting much, with the border the way it was, you could see the underground flames in the fog in one area. I did like the opening flyby. And things started to improve when she got to the temple. Wow!!!!!! I loved your design of the temple and use of plants and textures there. The music alone is getting you a 9 in ASC with its use in beautiful areas. A couple of things that I notice were in both gem rooms, that there was not actually water in the pits. Maybe some mist in the waterfall areas as well. All the challenges were tough enough, I did not like doing them again on the way back, but oh well. This starts weak, I think and ends strong. Very good Game with lots of atmosphere. Maybe a bit more light would have helped me. It took me 1 hour and 1 minute to finish, and I believe I found 3 secrets. Play it for the music use and Temple ending alone!!!" - rufierto

"If there is one absolute unpardonable gameplay aspect in a custom level,it is surely the 'do something different to that envisaged by the Builder and therefore come to a total impasse' error. In this case,you can get 5/6 of the way through and then become irreversibly stuck if you haven't pulled the two tucked away levers. You're then faced with a choice of either reverting to an earlier savegame;abandoning the level;or 'doing a Lambeth' and activating the fly-cheat - which is what I did (so shoot me).This is a deplorable situation on the part of the builder and just goes to show the importance of a proper beta-test. Other evidences of this are the gate at the start,which can easily be bypassed without performing the relevant tasks;the unshootable barriers which can be run through instead;and the non- waterised pools. All of which sounds pretty damning,but actually this is an otherwise well made debut level.Textures and lighting are solid and the whole adventure is otherwise crafted with care.Music (although a little overdone) is nonetheless evocative;there are enough enemies to keep you entertained;a good use of four fire breathing dragons;and a very nifty display of a side scrolling camera during a monkey-swing. Atmosphere is quite absorbing,and progress is linear and straightforward but generally enjoyable. Plenty for this builder to get to grips with,but still a fine debut." - Orbit Dream

"Very good debut! There are some errors from a novice like the end of the world in first outside areas or the dead end at the bottom of the room with the fire dragons. Even so, the level is quite good, with a lot of traps, well placed enemies, good cameras and well textured. Looking forward for a new level from this new author; I hope that defects are fixed in the future. Well done! Encouragement!" - Jose

"Another level where I ran into problems trying to find the author's intended play. First, this is an attractive level, with nice secrets that everyone should find (except that somehow I missed one). There is a vast open area under drizzling rain, where Lara goes underground into a well-textured temple. For a debut level, the looks are quite good. Although, after a while, the walls and decorations begin to merge in memory, with a certain sameness, and the uniform dim lighting gives a flat appearance to rooms. Play is curious. At the start, guards act friendly, so Lara refrained from shooting them. There was no way into buildings until Lara chanced to climb through a solid, closed window. Odd, but this was the only way. After doing all the underground passages, Lara ends up trapped inside. The correct way was for her to shoot guards in the courtyard, to get necessary pickups. Lara can climb over the courtyard wall, and she can even climb back inside without effort, so the gate is meaningless. But initial play is about searching for a switch to open that gate. A highlight of this level is the area with four fire-breathing dragons. As I understand it, Lara was supposed to jump between them, throw two wall levers concealed in alcoves, and open a high door at the opposite end of the room. Instead, I had Lara drop down to the floor. This meant that she did all the tasks--a fire monkeyswing to get a gem, a hunt for a secret, snatching a medipack from dragons--then climbed a pole and came to that closed upper door. The switches to open it are on the other side. Unless I missed something, Lara was trapped; there is no other way to climb up except for the pole. Unless one divines the author's intent, this whole area has to be replayed from an earlier savegame. (This is easily solved if the author had put the closing door at the entrance/exit to the big room. Just move the door to the opposite end of the room, then the switches are always accessible to open it. Or something.) I liked the slippery logs that Lara balances on to cross a pit, the skeleton rotted in the act of pushing a cage, and the idol statuette at the very end. I hope to see more from this author." - dmdibl

"Just under an hour of a very pleasant level. Nothing too exacting, nothing too complex or difficult, just good, honest, straight-forward gameplay with which most players, even inexperienced ones, should have little problem. The areas are well made and have that 'solid' feel that give the player confidence that the builder knows what they're doing. My one criticism would be that the areas, although visually pleasing, do not contain much to do in them. I'm afraid it's a touch of 'big area, find one button' again which is a shame because the whole level has a touch of class about it, the lighting is great, gloomy in places without being indistinct, the choice of music is inspired (if there had been a score for the music alone, pun not intended, it would have been a straight '10') and the use of textures and 'furniture' very well done. Baddies are limited to a few soldiers and bats which should be no problem with the amount of firepower that's accumulated. A good level that's recommended for all." - Diz

"This is another Indian ones type level. Get into a temple and steal an artifact. Fortunately for us this level was made withe the next generation level editor. The textures and the feel of the level are fantastic. Unfortunately the author forget to place some textures in the first part of the level but it doesn't do the level any harm. SAS soldiers and some bats are the only enemies and are easily dispatched. There seem to be some areas in the first part of the game that probably shouldn't be reached the the player. Lara can jump over walls and cut short whole areas or just get stuck. Two definite highlights were the fire-spitting dragons and the balancing act over the logs. Annoying was the fact that each of these puzzles had to be completed twice. Overall a very enjoying level with a playing time of about 45 minutes." - Mister-B

"This is a pretty decent offering for a debut level. It certainly is well made, albeit some of the areas are very similar looking, which can be a touch confusing. The gameplay moves along at a fast pace, mainly in fairly linear fashion, with a small but quite interesting variety of tasks to achieve, none of which should be too challenging even for inexperienced raiders. Enemies are guards and bats and fire power is more than generously supplied. The accompanying music is well chosen and all in all this is a pleasant enough way to spend less than an hour. Give it a go." - Jay

"Not expecting very much as it is a debut level, I was positively surprised seeing the nice layout of the map after a well-made opening flyby. The game play is very fluent and straightforward but there are a couple unintended areas where Lara can either see the end of the world or cut off a large section by jumping over the wall instead of playing the regular intended route which requires a jump switch to be found in order to open the main gate that leads to the second area. Another bad part is the fall through floor to a secret, which when accessed before the builder intended it, becomes a trap with no way out. Those and some other minor bugs aside, I found this level very nice to play, although I wish there would have been a few more challenges and agility tests other than the pole swings, the timed monkey swing and the really well designed ropewalk. There are five secrets in the level and I found three. One eluded me and one must have been behind one of the"explosive doors" in the larger outside area, but my game crashed every time I tried to shoot it, so I quit trying. On the enemy side Lara encounters several soldiers, who are well placed and sometimes take her by surprise when they show up. Other than that there are a few pesky bats. The whole look and feel of this level was a pleasant experience. Nicely decorated, without ever being overloaded. I liked the realistic looking texturing, the camera work and there was not too much to complain about the lighting, except for some areas where it was a bit flat. Some rooms were really beautiful like the room with fire throwing dragonheads. In general this is a very nice level to play through, just don't expect much game play. I hope to see a lot more coming from this talented builder. Well done! (50min, 3 secrets found)" - Blue43

"This level starts with a intriguing cutscene, and the starting area was quite realistic. The usage of the crossbow is really great, and the object usage too. However, one can simply climb over the blocks and reach the other side of the big gate without opening it, and seeing the "end of the world". And this not only here, but also when climbing the rocks in the following passage. Gameplay, if following the regular paths, is quite easy with many levers to pull. This changes when reaching the actual temple: Now gameplay is mostly trap based, with many unique objects like the skeleton that tries to push a block and gives a hint for Lara, the tightrope trees and the fire dragons. Progression is fast-paced, and quite fun, but I found lighting a bit flat in contrary to the mostly decent way of texturing. Sound was used quite well, but some part didn't have any sound so that was not so good. There weren't any puzzles in this level, but it was a still enjoyable TR Legend: Bolivia reminiscent raid the 40 minutes it lasted. Found four of five easy secrets." - manarch2