Level reviews

"There's such a striking feeling to this levelset that it kept me glued to the computer from start to finish. Ie. I made the best out of a sunny Sunday morning by actually playing this in a single sitting. No regrets (and obviously that was only possible thanks to manarch's walkthrough). I'll chalk this engagement up to the high quality textures and the excellent choice of audio, combining tunes from the original and Legend series, and not only that but also the initial "overworld" level with the small town under rain was such a refreshing place to be. Lighting was a bit dim from start to finish and there might have been a bit too much of shimmying around corners, but this really was quite a joy to play. 2h40min, 15 secrets. 03/26" - Treeble

"I had played this levelset several years ago and I could only remember the starting location which still remains the best and most memorable part of this adventure. The gameplay offers an easy progression, a variety of easy but not boring tasks/traps/puzzles that at some point feel repetitive. The secrets are easy to find (I found 13/15 without even looking for them). The atmosphere is spot-on in the Scottish village and remains good throughout the whole game. The environment is very well constructed, with perfect texturing and lighting, but it also becomes a bit repetitive, especially those corridors. The music is overly epic and loud. All in all, a relaxed and player-friendly adventure in a beautiful and well crafted environment. Recommended." - billie2001

"I had not played a level for a long time but I could not miss this adventure. It's simple, I love Lakota style. We can not say that the gameplay is difficult, it is even relatively easy and will suit everyone. There are even passages where he adds help to pass when it is useless. Certainly some imperfections, for example in the first level where we can go to see the end of the world. But the texturing and the lighting are superb, beautiful objects like fire-breathing dragons but simple to avoid. What a beautiful room! I also liked the musical passages, always well mastered. This adventure pleased me." - Drakan

"Monsters with HP value, loved the idea. All tomb raiders should have done that, since the first :D Really cool medieval theme, and all the textures, lightning and sound effects makes you feel all that atmosphere. I also liked the custom save/load game screen and all the custom icons, everything towards to let the player be in connection with the medieval theme of the level. Recommended for sure!" - Leraf

"Yikes, the game's barely started and already Lara is beset by a large army of guards. Not a very relaxing beginning. Luckily the entire levelset isn't swarming with guards, although knights and Crusaders definitely make their presence known! Globally, I enjoyed this game, but not quite enough to rate it all tens or one ten in any category. Firstly, although the gameplay was entertaining, some areas did start to feel slightly repetitive after a while (particularly the shimmies and lever sequences) and there could have been more puzzles. Also, the dramatic music was overdone and often played simultaneously along with the standard sound effects. There could have been more flares, although I personally didn't end up running out. Admittedly, the chess puzzle was nice and the final flyby engendered a feeling of accomplishment. Not among my favourites, but a solid effort nonetheless." - Ryan

"Gameplay&Puzzles: Lot of repetitive puzzels and locations, additional the puzzels were too easy. In the underground level you think the location repeats all the time. I missed some variety in gameplay. The extremly square design also attracted my attention. You can build in more polygon locations. Enemies, Objects&Secrets: The Knights in Catacombs/underground temple were not so challenging and it appears sometimes like enemy spaming, just to put action in it. I like the self created objects, but i missed objects like overthrown pillars, broken walls, cobweb ect...more design. The underground levels are too clean. Athmosphere, Sound &Camera: Yeah, the Sound :D too much, too long, mistimed. Epic music in commen situations, it brokes the atmosphere. Lighting&Texture: Textures and Lighting are coherent, fitting to the locations and situations, but as previously said, the levels are to clean. Conclusion: It was fun to play, during the play you notice the effort for the details. It has lot of potential." - Sander

"This was one really good experience, from start to finish, most of the times. A lot of lovely game play details that really spice up the level, like the "stairs in S showing up" on the second level, the HP bar (fantastic add-up), the dragons room (although a bit too easy), the bowl requiring a explosive ammo to light and last the chess game was amazing!!! Unfortunately (yeah, the bad part of the review now, i'm sorry) it had too many flaws, mainly, as you already notice by the score, the music. So, every time i started the game, the music would reset it's volume (going to max). The soundtracks played on the game were from the legend and anniversary, but most of the time it seemed a bit to epic for the current situation, not to mention the HUGE spike of volume on it's trigger (scaring me every time); it was too loud and too long. The beginning of the game had too many possible (not intended) shortcuts; i managed to get inside the church literally through the window (not sure if intended, didn't seem like it) and the railings were always "claimable", so i got pass the first level way to fast. To finish off my critics, i guess repeating the same puzzle twice (talking of the Libra puzzle) was repetitive, but non the less, it was pretty fun. To conclude the whole game was entertaining and beautiful, it sure has it's flaws but you can easily ignore them and enjoy the level." - Zhyttya

"This level has gone up in my consideration the more i played it. What started as a "over-rated" level, ended like a really good experience. Even with the sound being WAY over the limit (even at the minimum, it was higher than most of the levels at max), and the trigger for sound always being on full blast the experience couldn't be spoiled. Another note is the fact that the game reseted my sound settings every time, and that didn't help either. Still, the objects and decoration were spot on and it had a beautiful atmosphere. Now about the game play, some puzzles had really silly shortcuts (like the 3 ropes one, you can just push a block and jump up), and you can progress without getting the revolver that if you don't catch it, you can't go back to get it. The only puzzle I can give a small applause to the author is the chess one, really well made and it makes the end way more pleasant. Details like the ice ghost freezing the water, or the use of the explosive arrow from the crossbow were lovely! But the repetition on the reset from the pouring water and weighing puzzle was a bit unnecessary. Besides that, lovely game that it was a breeze to play! I will highly recommend this level to anyone who doesn't have heart problems, because the sound effects could cause a bit of trouble." - Leeth

"It's very easy to notice a level built according to the skribblerz school: obeying the grid in perfect squares and texturing in almost crackless manner, with a very subtle yet elegant tribute to NG paid in magical effects like mist balls surrounding rotating pickups. The game is built in realistic style, with rain falling from foggy sky onto some stone houses and brickstone warehouses, a chapel inbetween and huge catacomb section underneath. As a standard for this builder, he introduces many custom-made themed objects which make puzzles more rewarding. This also applies to the secret shields, balancing between trophies and generic items in unusual way: one gets rewarded with useful stuff for collecting all hidden artifacts per level. This system has one downside though: let's say one skips a secret per level - in such case he won't be rewarded a single time, even if he finds 2/3 of all secrets. But let's assume just the secrets of level 1 and 4 have been found - and in such case one will get both the uzis and the revolver just for finding 1/3. This is why I would rather stick to the method of hiding casual goodies together with an artifact corresponding to graduated difficulty (or the order of supposed finding), and add some extra reward for completion per level and of the whole adventure. Of things I didn't like, they were primarily enemies attacking from behind when Lara was performing some action leaving her defenseless, and the game being constructed with a quite predictable pattern - even though separate rooms vary in riddles and challenges, the superstructure is usually a repeating scheme of Left Piece + Right Piece = Middle Slot, plus a net of joint corridors, all similar to each other. In case of the Celt Symbol puzzle in The World of the Deads segment, the difference is in having two Lefts, two Rights and one Middle, plus a lot of tasking around the room what makes the pattern the least noticeable of all instances. I guess this could be done even better if the author decided to literally break some rules. I mean it would be good to allow two or three texture compressions per room for sake of more organic scenery - and while all the corridors are technically flawless, I was missing some sand infiltrating them, some sun- or moonbeams enlighting the place through crevices, or roots breaching the perfect brick layout - in general, very often beauty comes from imperfection. Also, when some planned imperfection makes sense, the places where it wasn't intended don't hurt the eye that much. SUMMARY: Technically perfect, what might be its greatest downside. I took a risk and saved during the hydra fight - nothing bad happened, maybe because I didn't totally quit the game." - DJ Full

"I like These Scottish themes and Castles with a spooky atmosphere, too.Lakto has created a movie, a coherent adventure I had the luck to be allowed to move the Protagonist through. Nearly everything fits togehter perfectly. The atmosphere in every place of this game, I took about 6 hours to play, is stunning; I can't remember to have played something comparable before. Straight Forward gamplay sometimes leads to places causing a Dejà-vu-effect as some areas are quite similarily created, but this is hall of fame stuff anyway." - Christian

"The title sounded awesome, I love a little Scottish adventure, it's so reminiscent to TR Lost Artifact Highland level. I was looking forward to playing it, the opening section The Old Chapel was building my anticipation, a good introduction with a beautiful atmosphere. At the end of it, I inserted the cross in the stone and a secret passage opened under the altar, that formula had me hooked and I continued playing. The next levels share the same type of formula and are similar in terms of puzzles and gameplay and here is where repetition set in. I was bothered by the waterskin puzzle. I wish builders would not implement it, it's boring enough. All in all I loved playing and solving the other puzzles, I had no difficulty and I enjoyed them just as much as shooting the enemies. The explosive arrow that kindled the fire was a 'touch of genius', good job on that. Sadly, I ran out of flares before the long dark and narrow corridor in the last level I wish there was a pickup near. Textures were a little bland in some places, but the lighting was good enough. My last mention would be on the ending cutscene, having finished the game and seeing Lara walking out of the chapel with the sword in hand was rewarding. Recommend this level to anyone interested!" - young Lara Croft

"This is a great game, although a little too long for what it is. There are no challenges that keep you busy apart from the hydras room (what is good because you have that adrenaline dose you need without having to step in to too many hard parts). The open spaces at the beginning were my favourite ones as well as the factory. They were beutiful to discover. However, once you go underground everything starts to look too similar (this is the part I think is too long). Some of the rooms are a little bit different, but in the overall you get the same feeling. Maybe my opinion is influenced by the fact that I was annoyed with the the knights and the guards who were everywhere. I didn't mind it at the beginning, I thought once you were the depths of the Chapel they would stop. But the use of enemies in the game became even more abusive. You stept into a room and there were one or two waiting for you, you kill them, you continue with the tasks and another soon appears. It was very repetitive, it would be much better without that nuisance. Leaving that aside, the riddles were good, not specially difficult, but interesting. I loved the chess. I have never been into it so I had to search for the moves and remember them. I think it was really enjoyable. The atmophere and the textures were beutiful and the music perfectly fit the context. So, concluding this review, I recommend this game to all riders who have patience with persistent foes." - Minaru

"Firstly, I love the idea of Braveheart's sword. I love levels that try to include historical elements. I adored how everything looked and the music was perfect. Toward the end, although the rooms were different, it did start to feel a little repetitive for some reason. The level is straightforward and not particularly difficult. Now, one of my biggest two beefs with the level is this FLED. I use Avast virus protection and I had to completely turn it off, or it would remove and quarantine the tomb.exe. Why it sees it as bad, and not the others, I do not know. That was less of a pain than this though: Please for the love of all that is good and holy, stop using the "fancy" save and load screen!! There is absolutely no need for it. For those players who use the keyboard for playing, this is of no consequence, but for those of us who use a gamepad, it sucks! It will not respond to the gamepad. You can select the load or save from the menu, but you have to use the arrows and enter keys to save and load. Yes, I know, I know. What are you, a big lazy person? Well, honestly, yes I am. I am a chronic saver and having to go to the keyboard, even if it is a few inches away, is a serious pain in my butt. So, the "fancy" screen is useless and horrible. Please Lakota, I love your levels, don't use it again!! This is definitely a level to play and enjoy, despite the dumb save/load screen. Can't wait to see what Lakota has for us in the future." - Shandroid

"I'm sorry to say it, but for me this game have quite a lot of boring instances, and I almost gave up at the very first level, when I found room full of boxes after room full of boxes - a sin only partly redeemed by the clever way of entering the church. Afterwards, in the subsequent levels, the gameplay is much better - and would be better still if Lara had not found so many tinmen to fight; after a little time, they were mightily predictable... as so many actions in this game. I also found some unfathomable things: how should I know that Lara had to use an explosive arrow to obtain fire for a torch? how should one divine the right place for a tower in that chess game, when the king was already checkmated?? Well, that's it. But I'll not deny that the game has its strong points, already commented, and a lot of admirers - it was most warmly recommended to me by one of my friends!" - Josey

"Excellent Adventure of Lakota. Not very difficult and very enjoyable to play. Texturing and lighting are perfect. I loved it! yet !!!" - cho7

"I've been nursing three megasets simultaneously over the past several weeks (Episode Zero and League of Dragons are the other two), and I just happened to finish Braveheart's Sword first. As far as looks go, it's probably one of the most visually appealing releases I've ever played. But I would have enjoyed the gaming experience far more if adequate lighting had been provided so I could see and enjoy everything around me. Others have commented on this as well, so I don't feel like a lone crusader in expressing my displeasure over the pervasive darkness that was particularly noticeable in the last three levels. Builders will do as they like, regardless of what I say, but they need to know that they're doing themselves and their playing audience no favors by shrouding all their hard work in eye-squinting obscurity. That gripe aside, I enjoyed myself immensely for the five and a half hours of net gaming time that I spent here. The gameplay is varied, challenging, but always accessible to the player of limited skills. Manarch2 has provided a clear and thorough walkthrough that helped me through the occasional rough spots. A sure Hall of Fame entry." - Phil

"One of the best adventures I've played lately. The gameplay is easy and the secrets too (I love the style from this builder). The environment is great and nice, with a lot of work behind to show the players a very good use of the textures and objects. I've suffered a bug when playing but finally no problem. It's one of the games that you are sure that the author had worked a lot to release a very good game for the players.Very highly recommended! Thank you vey much, Lakota!" - Jose

"I don't know what using the FLED (is that how it's called?) adds to the gaming experience that other TR tools wouldn't but that can only mean I missed something, unless it's some tool that makes it easy on the builder's part; anyway, never mind, it's not too important for the game. So... Braveheart's Sword is impecably looking but not astonishing. It's solid, has some dramatic background music to add to different moments, isn't too dark nor too bright, just enough for what is needed, and uses quite a few tomb raiding ideas rather well even if it doesn't feature anything especially new. I hear Lakota himself doesn't play, so I'd be willing to grant the game a ten because the game is basically flawless and seems to come from someone who understands Tomb Raider - but that's not the way to rate a level. Apart from the beginning, with quite a few open air settings, it's mainly a catacomb/castle level, with loads of knights in different armours to fight, plus giant Ahmets (I did like those) and a room with four easy to beat dragons (it only takes three shotgun blows to tear each apart). It also has a couple of scales puzzles (and the Ahmets don't dare come out of their cells, fortunately), a couple of fire puzzles, original shield secrets and quite a nice number of related objects. It's never really on the hard side, which means it's player friendly and recommended at that. It won't remain in my mind as unforgettable but certainly as rather well built despite a few end of the world sceneries I heard about but haven't had the pleasure of meeting because I never went thus far. It's, mmm, homogeneous... And, yes, it's actually one of those games that are above the average. Not really a must but highly recommended nonetheless." - Jorge22

"This is some adventure! I've always avoided playing the longer level-sets in the past, but what a mistake that has been, as they tend to be the best ones, as this proves. The action begins in what appears to be a village, the rain is pouring and the villagers are not at all happy to see you! I love any level with a very grey /wet atmosphere like this. The game play here is mainly a shooter theme through some warehouses and sewers. The ultimate goal is to acquire a cross to place in the church. I did run low on medipacks at one point. From then on the mood changes and so do the baddies, they tend to be knights, and I noticed how many game elements are repeated, such as the textures, dragon armour on walls, collecting the same number of artefacts in a level, and secrets being usually hidden underwater. I had to give 9 for game play and texturing purely for that reason, perhaps more variety next time? Also, one or two of the triggers should be one shot, and the scales puzzle should be more clear on what quantity of water to use. Perhaps more flares, and inventory objects not disappearing at end of levels? There are some new and impressive features such as enemy life bars, the smooth appearance of the inventory (I have it on the highest graphics and this usually gives it a grainy appearance), the shimmering effect on artefacts which disappears once it's picked up. The game play that I can recall (there's so much to do) includes fighting hydras (these are really well designed since your weapons only affect them if they're firing at you), a run through some fire breathing dragons, finding ways to remove traps from a lever or artefact (an example of this is an object being located on a square but this is booby trapped), using a wind tunnel to move up a level (not as easy as it sounds!), several timed runs, one of which has blocks moving side to side pushing Lara into toxic water, and a great deal of platforming elements such as pole vaulting (I like the little bar showing how much energy she has built up). There's much more to offer here, but a little exploration to, not much though, it's quite linear. The main aim of each level is to collect several crosses, triskels or whatever is to be found, and this opens up doors to another area, ultimately leading to Wallace's sword. Not sure who Wallace, perhaps a knight? Not sure. We are treated to a nice video of Lara walking away with the sword, and then we're done. Almost 6 hours." - sonnyd83

"I am immediately astonished as soon as I see the screenshots in the TRLE webpage. I really never liked long adventures like this but this was really an exception. First, Lara starts out in a Scottish town with a church being in the center of the town. Also, the town is guarded by mercenaries which the player can dispose of. Nothing had got too boring yet and I was satisfied the entire beginning. The puzzles weren't hard or too easy. This kept me interested which is key to a good custom. Any game that can catch your attention for the first 5-15 minutes is a relatively good game. This game was very atmospheric and I felt enthralled to be playing it. I stopped a few times just to soak in the old, creepy, and abandoned places that Lara visits. Everything was well done and the custom animations for Lara really made her come to life in a realistic way, so much; that I felt like I was left hanging at the end when Lara exits the old church. I highly recommend this game but for high class PC users (Windows 7 or above) should play in window mode because the game does feature a custom save/load screen which has been known to cause problems in the past. 3 Hours in total (if you take your time to look for secrets) - 10 secrets found!" - Larabiker301

"The Old Chapel: How kind of the builder to include a shotgun in the opening inventory. This is choc a bloc full of atmosphere, not to mention mercenary soldiers, and vast amounts of boxes, all of which I felt obliged to check in case they were moveable, but I only found one that actually was. Definitely a bit of a shooter. St Andrew's Cross: Ah, this part was much more to my taste, involving more in the way of puzzles and interesting manoeuvres. Enemies are retextured tinmen, thus much easier to kill off without Lara losing health. The Fire Dragons: After a brief return to the chapel to place the titular cross from level two, the action moves to a level broadly similar to St Andrew's Cross, but with added ahmets and some really beautiful textures and lighting. Despite the rather ominous title, the fire dragons aren't much of a threat, although they do look imposing. World of the Deads: The highlight of this section (if highlight is the right word) is a fight with four hydras where one is advised not to save in the middle. I had really tired fingers after all that leaping about. The Lost Sword: There are some good puzzles in this section, especially the chess one, and it was nice to see the scales/waterskin puzzles again. Throughout, this level maintains high building standards and the action is satisfyingly well rounded and readily achievable by the majority of players. Definitely recommended." - Jay

"Granted, the start of the level quite caught me. Lara exploring a very atmospheric village just feels about right, and the cutscene that shows the soldiers appearing in the church is magnificent. The builder is doing a great job in explaining a story and in building surroundings for the main part of the level (which is, in my opinion, inside the caves), by the subquest to find the missing cross to enter the area under the chapel. Really nice! The gameplay in this first level is solid though a bit undemanding, but I thought things pick up later. To a certain extent, they did, but regarding the charming appearance of the first level, it felt like a vast disappointment. The rest of the game generally has a good quality in most regards, with non-confusing, task-based gameplay, good efforts put into texturing and lighting, nice custom enemies and objects and a fun, rewarding and interesting secret hunt, with the TR 2 reminiscent reward after finding all secrets. But after a certain point all levels all feel largely the same, which is already my largest gripe I had with this game. The same textures used in every level (there might be differences, but for me as a player there aren't any subjective changes). The architecture of the levels not very diverse and often repetitive. Mainly same kind of tasks used in every level (read on later at the *). The same enemies used, and with exceptions there is one main enemy kind in each of the last levels, namely the knights. The atmosphere in the levels is mostly rather nicely done (apart from the repetitiveness), but I had another large gripe with the sound. While in general rather fitting, the audio tracks used for the fights are certainly overpowered and even if the enemies are long dead, one has to hear those irritating sound tracks until their very end, the good old saving and reloading doesn't help here. The levels are also too dark for my taste, even if I'm normally a bit forgiving towards dark levels, the fact that only two(!) packages of flares are provided in-game (since another reviewer stated there were enough flares, I checked with Fexinspect and I was right) makes this a pretty annoying feature, especially in those long and pitch black crawlspaces towards the end of the game where I ran out of flares for a long time. In the second level there also was a flare bug in the fire room, but this wasn't that bad as one could see enough here. The mostly greyish and colourless texturing did not quite help in that regard. So while in general I think this usa level certainly built by a competent builder, who has the technical abilities to create good levels, this being no exception, but it certainly lacks diversity and also a bit more creativity in the gameplay tasks: //*This may sound a bit overdrawn, but I'm just repeating myself - when a builder plans a longer levelset, he must keep in mind that the setups don't repeat so much and the tasks should be interesting and quirky enough to keep players delighted. For example, the puzzle where you have to push a block under a hole in the ceiling is overused, as well as the "use a switch to deactivate traps that protect another switch" task. In general, the tasks are also rather standard ones, with only a few puzzles sticking out of the mass, like the chess puzzle, lighting a certain bowl with explosives or the two chain puzzles, but those are few and far between, so overall uniqueness is another problem of the game, and certainly even more so regarding this is lasting multiple hours.// So to sum it up, this is a good game, but not particularly a masterpiece; I even think the builder's latest game was slightly better. You might think that after complaining so much about the level, my ratings could have been even lower, but all of this moaning is only to explain the builder how he can do better in his next releases, and - as I said - this is not a bad game at all, and if you are just wanting something lasting hours to play for the sake of plainly playing, this might be a very good choice for you. Honestly, I was really baffled by the near-perfect ratings this game has received so far though. People out there - do you believe that this game belongs to the best levels out there? Do you think this level is on par with epics like the UUB levels, the Experiment series or the Jerusalem Project, or many others I've forgotten or don't name because the list would get too long? ... Finished in 3 hours." - manarch2

"ok ..i need to admit that 10 in the line is a bit exagerated mark ... but also i need to admit that this game is a very good game and this builder will have big succes iff continue this way ... ok i start with the positive things .... first off all this game is very intuitive ... hardly be stuck in it ..is not excesive hard ... very well builded . with variated areas and some nice custom items ...albeit its seams a bit too short iff u judge it bye his size .. over 400 MB !! ......the ending was a bit dissapointing with Lara walking out from the church with the sword .. would be nice a epic boss fight for the end but like i said i was like this game alot ...only negative part i find on it -is the lightning ... a bit too dark rooms/places time to time but plenty ammo/ flares and guns .. more cameras would be nice to have sometimes u only can quess what u activated bye a lever or button...and yes a very hard chess puzzle at the end ...... Bravo Lakota at first shot this was very impressive game ... highly recomanded" - Jack&

"We are very lucky this mounth with this incredible adventure, it was a bit like if my holidays begins ^^. Like the story say, Lara is in Scotland to found the sword of Willian Wallace but (as always ^^) she is not alone to search this artifact. The adventure begins in a very beautiful little town to visit houses, church, sewers, wharehouses and the goal is to enter in a secret passage in the church to explore catacombs and found the sword. Everything is perfect! The gameplay is not very hard even if sometimes some switchs are very well hidden but nothing impossible. Various enemies and gorgeous news objects (very nice job Lakota). I also really like whe can have ammos, weapons or medipacks when we get the 3 secrets in each levels (it remember tr2). The news textures are very nice and sometimes because of them (and the objects)it remember a bit some aeras of Harry potter Saga in Poudlard. So to conclude a perfect game to keep in your computer and play and re play. Thanks a lot lakota, for me it was impossible to stop the game, I always wanted to know what went happened after. recommanded for everybody. A masterpiece of the editor and direct in my personnal top 5." - BigFoot

"Brilliant levels and game, very entertaining and recommended .. A fluid game with a great atmosphere, work on the lighting is perfect for every room and the gameplay is very good, the author has done a great job overall and deserves my respect .. thanks Lakota for this great game!" - McRaider

"What a pleasure to find a manufacturer that tries to entertain the players without complicating their task more than enough, this level is within the reach of most players. It does not get bored for a second, there are still some things to do and often ingenious. The decor is tastefully done, very good lighting and a great atmosphere of the game I say more? If you must play! Congratulations to the author!" - Daffy