Level reviews

"A snowy remake of the first TR2 level. Not too many structural differences other than the last area. The visuals are good except for a fair amount of wallpapering in the textures. Plenty of traps just like the original, including boulders, spike walls and sawblades. You've also got the expected tigers and spiders to shoot, and an interesting twist of an enemy awaits at the bottom of the last cavern. That's pretty much it, it's not a bad remake just a short one, and if you've played the original game then you pretty much know what to expect. 11 minutes." - JesseG

"I liked the change of the original textures to snowy ones. Gameplay is the same as in the original, so if you've played it, you will know what to do. Some areas are darker and some enemies don't make an appearance (like the crows or the T-rex, which is replaced by an odd flying creature). The only change is making some jumping to get to the other side of the deep chasm. There's a final cut scene at the end, and that was nice. So if you like TR2, give a try to this remake." - alan

"Faithful rendition of the original level except this time it is set in Winter. One secret has been placed differently and the end sequence has no zip line across the T Rex cavern (who is now bones) and you must negotiate this by a side cavern. Other than that a pleasant raid but one we have seen before." - Torry

"Not at all a bad remake of the official level, although my fond memories of the original were still fairly fresh in my mind. There's not a whole lot that's been altered in all honesty, aside from the zip line across the gorge being replaced by a simple jumping sequence instead, and if you know your way, this could end up being a very brief level. Having said that, the construction is actually well made, aside from a tad too much darkness and it is a pleasant diversion while it lasts." - Ryan

"Okay level, not much to say, it is a remake of the original great wall level with an "snowy"\"Tibetan" theme to it, which is not a bad idea, if it wasn't for the fact that there are enough great wall remakes out there already." - SeniorBlitz

"This level is a sort of remake of the Great wall, with a few new things thrown in. There are hardly any enemies in here and there is a nice movie at the end. Textures could use attention and I would have like a bit more flares, I know it is underground but still." - Gerty

"A winter remake of the Great Wall, with some changes that only made it worse. For example a zipline was replaced with a broken bridge and a bypass route designed the way showcased before numerous times. Added a circular saw which seems not to work but I'm glad it didn't. Not any flares given until the moment they're not necessary anymore and while these run short, the trap pickups are too many - no need to repeat a setup which could only work once. The gold secret is supposed to be more challenging but if You miss that switch (this time I did NOT, mwahaha), You backtrack up that evil ladder, if ladders can be evil, and it seems they can. Still it's very hard to kill a level which was originally THAT good, especially if the author left most of geometry intact and placed the objects in almost exact or very exact places of origin. Oh and there's a very neat cutscene in the end which I didn't understand a word from, but wait the guy is Chinese and the other is Italian, so I shouldn't. You can kill both characters before the animation triggers but due to a leveljump the cut plays normally in such case. SUMMARY: You know that level so it's primarily suitable for a quick memory lane. And if You're not into that, You can switch the data filenames to watch the final cutscene only :)" - DJ Full

"Easy to see the improvement from previous entries from the author and, although this is classed as a remake, you'll be glad to hear it's not a 1:1 remake. The most notably change is that it's set during a winter night now, so you have snow everywhere and while I felt that particular change a low blow right on the nostalgia, it did work for the level as a whole. I also liked that the remains of the T-Rex are protected by a griffin, quite unexpected. Gameplay is mostly unaltered from the original although it seems this was remade from scratch as there are a few design changes (reaching the end of the world in the beginning is much easier, for instance). Still, a good and enjoyable throwback homage to a level we've all played plenty of times. 15 minutes, 3 secrets. 09/14" - Treeble

"I liked the change in the settings, the snow and the better lighting and textures. I also liked what you see in the pit near the end [I won't spoil] but the gameplay instead of being upgraded is actually cut down. Not a bad level, not an amazing one even. I suggest you to check it out - to see a level you know with different settings. It took me about 10 minutes as I know this level by heart." - misho98

"I really enjoyed this level! This is a remake/revision of the original TR2 level "The Great Wall" Not much has changed besides the weather, but I still found this an interesting twist on a level we are all very familiar with. The gameplay was relatively left untouched from the original Great Wall, save for a couple of changes in traps (some were even missing from areas as well). I did not like the change in animations that were included, particularly the running animation and the backflip animation. Lara's run looks somewhat childish and girly while the backflip is both unbelievable and slow. I had issues doing a proper running jump because of the delayed start of the run sequence. The enemies were mostly the same as we experienced before, albeit they are now white tigers instead of the Bengal variety. I thought the amount of combat was sufficient, not much different from before. The large enemy down in the pit was interesting, and could use better sound effects. I actually only found one secret, the Stone Dragon. I did not find the other two secrets in their expected spots. Either they were placed elsewhere or I did not try hard enough to get them. The atmosphere was great in this game! I was really drawn to trying out this level because of the moody, snowy climate. The lighting was never too dark or too light for me - although the golden glow around one of the doors in the tower was a little too much. I did experience one camera issue. When Lara falls down the trapdoor into the pool of water and must pull the switch to open the door out, the camera was stuck and I had to save/reload the game. I don't know what causes this issue, but I had a similar problem in a game I made several years ago. Overall I was pleased with this game and I'm glad I played it. There are some little issues here and there that irked me (mostly the animations - also, Lara's head and "shooting head" are different, that should be fixed) but I think there is real potential in this revision. The textures were flowing and consistent, and the atmosphere was believable for certain. I do not often replay TR2 or remake style games, but this one I would definitely try when completed. I hope the creator continues to recreate the areas in this game with different times of day, different climate, etc. I thought the snowy Great Wall was pretty cool. (I also found climbing around the level pretty cool. Players probably shouldn't be allowed to get into "off limits" areas but they are definitely easily accessible and fun to navigate around)" - phms2010

"It's another remake, of course, but I think if it was a custom level from scratch sure that it should be better assessed. There are some small defects in the textures, and the bad placed door in the deep pit, but the level has not bugs, well playable and with a good appearance, worked lights and sounds. Pehaps I expected some more changes and new rooms, but the level is good. Another thing is that players are tired playing remakes." - Jose

"This is actually not such a bad interpretation of the goold old Great Wall level we all know. The author tried to create a certain atmosphere and in many places I thought did that quite successfully, even though it was rather too dark in many places with only a small amount of flares provided. You get all the usual traps, some leopards and spiders to kill and three secrets to find. No real suprises and a quick raid of about 20 minutes if you take your time." - MichaelP

"It's been years since I've played TR2, so there was little about this 40-minute adventure that triggered dormant memories of the first level of that release. I certainly couldn't have played it blindfolded, as suggested by one reviewer. In fact, I had to fly around that huge pit at the end to determine to legal way in which to proceed to the somewhat surprising conclusion. Other than that everything unfolded in linear fashion, and I found myself suitably entertained from beginning to end. The walkthrough takes up only slightly more than three pages of text, so most players would probably finish in less time than it took me. I found three secrets along the way, and I'm hopeful that there were no others I missed. A fun little diversion." - Phil

"I suppose I shall always have a fondness for the Great Wall, simply because it was my first introduction to Lara Croft. This is not an exact copy, but more a 'tweak' insofar as the layout and actions remains broadly the same, but the textures etc., have been altered and the tigers have morphed into snow leopards. I have no idea where the hippogriff came from, but it was magnificent so who cares. A short and not unpleasant level." - Jay

"Here we get a TR4 engine remake of the first level of TR2. The map is essentially the same as the original with the addition of a couple of new rooms. It's a different take on the original, as it's now a snow bound setting. The addition of these better quality textures, some good lighting and Lara in a remade TR2 pilot's outfit makes quite a good combination. I have probably replayed the original Great Wall level more than any other the TR originals so I guess what I'm looking for in a remake is to better the original. In terms of textures and atmosphere, the author has done quite a good job. Lara has a couple of cool different animations. What I didn't like was the things that were missing from the original. The T-Rexes, the darts, the zipline, the rolling wheels. And then the leopards that didn't even hurt Lara, the spike walls that should have come to a stop instead of passing through each other. All of these things are achievable in TR4 with a a bit more work invested by the builder. A more faithful reproduction gameplay wise would have made a better impression, but it is always fun to run through this well-trodden path once more." - EssGee

"Definately an improvement over the builder's last level, but what the builder essentially did here is copying the architecture of the original level into the LE, retexturing all of them, changing some rooms and adding a room or two here and there and creating a (rather buggy) end cutscene. Two of the secrets are different to find: While the first is the same, the location of the second has been changed and to get the third secret one has to find a hidden switch. Some enemies are replaced too. All in all I'd say rather play the original than this one for a nostalgia factor, since this level is kind of superflous. 10 minutes." - manarch2

"I don't know why it is always the same official levels which are the objects of Remakes , and not the most interesting ones. The great wall is by far one of the less inspired official levels made. Well this remake , despite some differences , is not more interesting than the original. Lasting less than 20 minutes. The snow leopards are rather stupid and harmless , and some of the audios seem out of place. Despite some new textures, it does not look so great. The lighting is quite good in some inside rooms though , but is lacking in other areas. Sorry but this is an entirely superfluous level." - eRIC

"Well, what can I say about this level? It's a remake of the famous Great Wall of China level from TR2, the overall layout being practically identical to the original release, with many of the changes being purely cosmetic(such as Lara wearing her bomber jacket from TR2's Tibet levels or snow being all over the outside sections of the level). So if you've replayed TR2 recently or have completely memorised the original Great Wall level layout, then this adventure should be a walk in the park for veterans. Now, while it is interesting to see an alternate take on an iconic level from the classics, I found this remake to be quite underwhelming, with seemingly nothing new gameplay wise being brought to the table. Traps have either been toned down in difficulty or removed entirely, some items are missing and memorable moments(such as the two T-Rexs or the zipline ride) have been replaced with something much less grand in its place. Unlike the original release, completing the level ends with a cutscene showing Lara saving a monk from a random goon(who sounds like a TR4 mummy), and seemingly asks the monk how she can open the temple door and gain access to the dagger. Whether or not this is original TR2 dialogue spoken during this cutscene however is uncertain in my case, due to it not being spoken in English. After the cutscene, the level ends after only 18 minutes of play. Gameplay is simple, with puzzles and traps being more or less the same as the original level, while secrets are incredibly easy to find. Enemies on offer include snow leopards(which replace the tigers), a giant griffin(which replaces the T-Rexs) and small TR2-style spiders, which make their return from the original level. Lighting is decent for the most part but due to jarring use of both high-res and low-res textures in some areas, it makes it difficult for the game to gain a cohesive atmosphere as a result. The music used in this remake is mostly not tracks from TR2, but instead from other entries in the franchise. While they are used appropriately, it robs the remake of its own identity for the most part and ultimately just feels empty. In conclusion, a decent effort by the builder but not worth anyone's time if you're expecting something drastically different from the usual remake." - Ceamonks890

"Gameplay&Puzzles: It was simply TR2 "great wall", the builder creativity was in the cutscene at the end of the level. The rest was almost a perfect copy of TR2 level. The end of the level is a bit different compare to the original, no rope to reach the end, no t-rex. I found an illegal slope It was easy, and the builder need to improve a bit more, he improved compare to his previous levels, but not yet enough. Enemies, Objects & Secrets: secrets were almost the same to tr2, but one of those wasn't. Object: some rocks and a bridge all I remember except the pushable block I made for TRsearch.org Enemies? Snow Lynx, a griffon and little spiders. Lighting & Textures: I saw a lot of "unexturated" squares. and lighting was rather flat. I was suprised by snow textures It was an easy level, with some error, but not so bad. I don't want to underate him, but I can't give him a better note, my first level was also a remake of the great wall, but I changed a lot of things and I was disspointed to see that the builder don't create something by his own hands." - Lara_Fox_Croft

"I wasn't expecting such an impressive level from this builder but this blew me away (well compared to the previous releases). This differs from the original in at least 2 ways, firstly, it's snowing, secondly, the passage where the zipline was now has no zipline, instead you have to think of a different way across. Gameplay is the same as before, collect a couple of keys, avoid nasty spike traps, boulders and take out leopards and spiders. The setting is very well built with vast caves, open castle areas and new side passages, HQ rock textures and rock shaped objects. The textures aren't always applied well, there are very many misaligned ones and the odd badly rotated one. The best feature is the camera use, the best ones are the view of the boulders, and the cut scene at the end, which the builder has changed, not just used the original as it was. A brief adventure at 20 minutes but well worth playing." - sonnyd83

"Physically,this was a laudable attempt to update the graphical quality of the original Core adventure with lovely hi-res textures.The atmosphere has been well caught (in fact,it's actually more convincingly chilly than the original);but it clearly hasn't been as diligently recreated as the former,as the end of the world is achievable on a number of occasions,and the dart trap over water was missing.Enemies were somewhat more plentiful than the original,and I loved the fate of the dinosaurs - but what was with the locked gate in front of the third secret? And the simple jump sequence to get across the gorge was not a patch on the zip-line adrenaline rush of the original.Ultimately,although pleasing in construction,not enough has been tweaked with the gameplay to garner much critical reward.Good looking,but TR veterans will be able to get through most of this blindfolded." - Orbit Dream