Level reviews

"Another tut1esque level, this time using Maria Doria textures. The ship doesn't seem to be sunken, however, although there is a bit of underwater action halfway through. Ligthing seems to be non-existant and gameplay is mostly about running back and forth looking for the next lever all the while mopping up more goodies than you'll ever need off the floor. In my headcanon, that's why Lara's rich — she keeps finding all these spare weaponry and ammo and sell them for profit, while sticking to her enchanted dual pistols with unlimited ammo. The real treasures and artifacts she keeps for herself, naturally. 25 minutes, 5 secrets. 10/25" - Treeble

"This is a bit of a step down from the author's debut, I'm afraid. I normally enjoy ship levels, but there are far better examples out there. The gameplay is tedious and mediocre, the backtracking is unnecessarily dragged out and I found the overall setting not very cohesive. You have Egyptian doors and ninjas which just seem really out of place in this environment. The textures and lighting are also bland and repetitive. To be fair, the enemies and secrets are actually well placed, but overall I was left feeling disappointed with this one after 33 minutes." - Ryan

"Not much for me to add here in terms of the other reviews. Given the proximity of the release to the author's previous level there's not really perhaps been enough time to refine skills. Objects are out of place and spaces are cavernous and empty. That said I didn't mind the gameplay at all and camera clues all seemed to work properly this time. Hopefully future releases will have a little more refinement. Stiggy" - TheStig

"While this is not the most boring level I've ever played, as an exercise in tedium it effortlessly achieves an intensity quite without parallel in recent history. Unredeemed by any oddities such as the 'invisible wall ninjas' which spiced up the builder's first offering, this level contents itself with backtracking through unspectacular, all-samey rooms as its main gameplay element, and if it weren't for the increasingly predictable non-invisible non-wall ninja attacks, backtracking between doors and levers would be, indeed, the only gameplay element. I can see how an ocean liner unexpectedly stranded in the Egyptian desert looks like an enticing option for a builder, but this time it sadly didn't work out." - Mulf

"I made an experiment and played this right after Tomb Raider and RMS Titanic. I now see both levels are built in fairly similar way, only this one differs by lower amount of a certain resource used: time. One either has it or not, either spends it or not, and everyone knows what chain of effects taking the latter road brings, so there's actually not much more to write. I could almost copy/paste a review I recently made on An Old Mansion, apparently constructed by the same builder, but this ship level additionally has repetative texturing and unchanged ambient lighting all game long, so can anybody tell me what are all those flares needed for? Due to unnecessarily extended diving time, my next experiment will possibly aim at finding out why some creators love to put loads of items underwater. SUMMARY: An optional, standard ship filled with ninjas to kill, some Egyptian doors to open that don't belong at all, and some switches to press (well, switches fit everywhere). Too long as for such a simple and default gameplay." - DJ Full

"This time we run back and fro in a huge ship. Not that I minded it so much but it became a bit boring after a while. Ninja's were a bit out of place in here as well as the doors. The ship was rather empty and that was a pity. One could have done much more with it." - Gerty

"Somewhat inspired by the Maria Doria levels of TR2, this 35 minute outing takes us to the bowels of a sunken ship, where sadly very few challenges await us. The only tasks here are pushing some levers - I've never seen so many floor levers in my 16 years of tomb raiding, plenty of swimming, and shooting some baddies, who seem out of place in this setting. The doors too could have been retextured rather than coming straight from Egypt. The camera shots have been used where doors open which is always helpful but not when doors are next to you, perhaps searching for ways to open the doors would have added to the gameplay. It looks like someone's been here before and taken everything as the rooms lack virtually any objects such as chairs or plant pots etc. Sound was ok, all texture sounds were correct and soundtrack was from TR2. The staircase leading to the water pool was a nice feature, although further on in this area, one of the water rooms seems to occupy the same 'space' as the first water room (I know the tunnels between them slope down but not far enough), and I also notice in that latter water room, there appear to be drops of water appearing in the air? There's a medipack reducing showdown before you collect cartouche pieces, this is as exciting as it gets. There's an area in the sea which has an array of different cracks you can swim through but are easily missed. The other half of the ba cartouche is collected after negotiating some spikes and baddies, then placed in the respectable, then we venture outside, to encounter the 'end of the world', then the end of the game! Nice looking deck. I think overall, this shooter style level is nothing to shout about in terms of gameplay to be honest but the architecture and texturing were it's redeeming features, albeit rather crude. Beginner levels vary in their direction, e.g. some are plain weird, some just incompetent, but this is a new genre entitled 'uninspired'." - sonnyd83

"This feels a bit like more of the same in comparison to the authors first level. Only this time using the ship textures against the tutorial WAD onjects and (rather out of place) ninja enemies. Again there is some good thinking here as the builder sends you back and forth and up and down this ship, but it gets a bit too tedious and repetitive quickly with lever after lever in fairly bare and empty rooms to open door after door. The 8 ninja battle could have been a nice challenge for one of the key objects, yet you have been given so much weaponry by then that one or two blasts with the grenade gun send them into oblivion quickly. As with his first offering there are 5 secrets added, which are worth going for, so that is clearly a plus. All in all, again a solid and decent effort, but a bit uninspired and not too entertaining during the 30 minutes it lasts." - MichaelP

"I expected something better in this second release, but again the same errors; too big and empty rooms decorated the same way, excessive pickups, etc. (see my previous review for this author), but at least this time all cameras worked well. I found the gameplay worst than the previous, only pulling levers and run long distances to pull more levers was very bored and tedious. We'll see in next levels." - Jose

"I'm normally a big fan of ship levels, but I'm rather struggling to find much delight in this one, in fact I enjoyed this builder's debut level rather more. The problem (apart from the enormous, unfurnished rooms) is the gameplay, or rather lack of it, consisting as it does almost entirely of throwing floor levers to open enormous Egyptian! doors and shooting ninjas! A strange juxtaposition of textures and enemies indeed. The only part that really amounted to anything vaguely enjoyable was Lara's trip underwater to pick up a load of goodies and two halves of a cartouche. The fact that as per the ending the ship appears to be in the middle of a desert may go some way towards explaining the aforementioned strange aspects of the ship interior, but unless it was intended to be something of an 'alien' concept it left me feeling bemused." - Jay

"A second level, with Lara on a ship with textures from TR2. This is a genuine attempt to construct thirty to forty minutes of play, which is too much for what is here. The author is still using Egyptian double doors and floor levers which are totally out of place on a ship--as are the recurring ninjas. Play consists of throwing a floor lever, running through opened double doors (gunning down a ninja on the way), then throwing a floor lever to repeat everything. One notices that a lot of this looks like the author is using the level editor's copy room function, which avoids having to retexture walls. Sections of the ship repeat, with a little quick editing to add short pillars or something to distinguish a hull. This extends to the crew living quarters where sections are mirrored. Swimming pools repeat. Lara swims in an area with crates on the bottom, then there is a similar area to explore without the water. If an author isn't willing to spend time constructing new areas, with new ideas, then it is likely that players will react with a certain resentment. Nonetheless I thought this was an improvement over the author's first level, and beginning to show promise." - dmdibl

"While the debut level by the builder at least held up for some nice ideas, this one is undoubtedly much worse. The tutorial WAD elements absolutely did not fit in this ship environment creating a strange scenario, but that is not the worst thing in this level. If you ever want to try a level that has no other, and I really mean no other gameplay than pushing myriads of levers, this might the one for you. Enter a room, use the lever, run back to another room (occasionally on the other edge of the map) and use a lever. That's it. The textures still are the strongest part of the builder as some rooms were slightly on the decent side, but instead of using lighting to an advantage as proposed he didn't use any lighting at all. The positive point in this level is that the builder has learned how to use cameras, but is it really necessary to place a camera after each lever? Even the doors that opened far away weren't easier to find with camera hints as all areas looked pretty much the same. At the end there were several untextured walls which should hide the builder has no idea on how to create water around a ship. I doubt that I was right when I said in the previous review that the builder has talent, but I yet don't give up hope. Found five too easy secrets (one was absolutely unmissable) in 25 minutes." - manarch2

"It seems that we have stumbled across another beginner builder who likes to release every one of their projects, no matter how bad they are. The only minor positive point of this level is the texturing. It isn't good, but it appears that the builder has learnt how to correctly partition walls. I'm struggling to find any other positive points with this level. The builder insists on using tut1, so I had a laugh at the beginning seeing ludicrously out-of-place objects being used in a ship level. Enemies were placed often, and secrets were quite easy to find. Sound was used quite effectively, and the heartbeat sound in the background was pretty creepy. Lighting was non-existent. I could not find an area where the builder had actually used lighting. I normally find myself saying to first-time builders that they should use cameras to show doors opening. Here I find myself saying exactly the opposite. I think I shall write it in capital letters, just to emphasise it. WE DO NOT NEED A CAMERA AFTER EVERY LEVER SHOWING THE DOOR WE OPENED. I, like other players, enjoy the exploration aspect of Tomb Raider. The builder manages to completely remove this, even using cameras when the door is right next to the lever. This leads me onto the weakest part of the level. The gameplay. The overall task is to find the pieces of the Ba Cartouche and place it to end the level. Here is a summary of the gameplay: Pull lever, see door open, run through door, shoot baddies. Repeat. There is no other gameplay aspect. Occasionally, you can swap the word 'run' for 'swim'. It will take you about 30 minutes to reach the finish trigger. If you manage to find an ounce of enjoyment in playing this level, please consult a psychiatrist immediately, as I fear that you may be completely insane. Not recommended. In any way. At all." - Cory

"There are ways of building a convincing Ship level,and they all involve a lot of time and effort on the part of the builder.It isn't enough simply to bung together a collection of very large 'TR2 Ship' textured corridors using the Tut1 wad as a foundation.For a start,you end up with Egyptian Temple doors everywhere;but you also have a gameplay environment which,lacking in plausible settings such as cabins and engine rooms,is unavoidably repetitive and uninteresting (not aided by a complete lack of lighting).The enemy placement,although predictable,is the levels strongest feature;as the frequent attacks keep the proceedings slightly spiced.The ending also amuses,as a ship in the middle of a desert could have been an imaginative concept if taken further;but is used instead merely as a convenient point in which to place a Finish Trigger. All in all,30 minutes of rather disappointing raiding." - Orbit Dream