Level reviews

"Tut1 like it's 2000. All of the expected debut level issues are here (flare bug, opaque run through surfaces, wafer thin walls, etc), but this has an additional aggravator in the form of backtracking. Feels like pure padding when you have to cover long distances (swimming, monkey swinging, running...) for a lever and then back for the open door. In that regard, this is a relatively short level but still outstayed its welcome. 30 minutes, 2 secrets. 12/25" - Treeble

"Many long corridors, long squatting passages, or hanging from the ceiling. Texturing is medium with stretched textures, water textures are not animated. Just find the many levers to move forward." - Drakan

"Short, basic but not very varied and overwhelming and very much in the traditional Egyptian style. It's a classic tutorial inspired level that doesn't really have a whole lot to offer in terms of gameplay, short of pulling countless levers and shooting countless ninjas. There's a couple of easy slope jump sequences, but that's pretty much the extent of the challenge here. There's a few unfair devices used here including a long crawlspace, a long monkeyswing, a long ladder, extensive backtracking and a couple of walkthrough walls, all of which I really didn't like. The camera bug also appears, but that isn't such a problem due to the level's simplicity, as is the flare bug. The textures are fine from what I could see (although lighting has a few too many dark spots), but overall I'd say there are more exciting levels out there." - Ryan

"I never liked the phantom walls, and this game has some. Also I didn't like endless crawlspaces and monkeyswings only to pull a lever and go a long way back wasting a lot of time. This is the philosophy of this level: long backtrackings and pull floor levers to open doors; no more. Some enemies here and there (only scorpions and white ninjas), the flare bug (excessive flames), cameras showing the opening doors for a milisecond (not all the cameras, but the final ones); unmarked climbable walls (please, never do it again if you continue building)... I think there's an effort from the author to build an enjoyable level, but the builders (I'm a builder) always have to think about avoid monotonous or tedious tasks and implement some entertaining puzzles. I expect better creations from this author. I hope so." - Jose

"I'm afraid that even decent lighting (lighting, by the way, that some would undoubtedly call "flat" or "uneven," whatever those terms mean) cannot overcome the multitude of sins presented in this level. It's your standard Egyptian fare, but even by the relaxed standards evidenced by reviews of the very earliest levels, this one would not have made much of a splash had it been released back in 2000. Here's a list of the cardinal sins that come readily to mind: excessively long crawl space, excessively long monkey swing, excessive backtracking, walkthrough walls, unmarked ladders, flare bug, flickering cut scenes (for the last half of the level, anyway). Nina Croft, trouper that she is, has held her nose to give us a walkthrough that is of benefit mainly for providing guidance that the flickering cut scenes cannot, and with her help I made it through in a creditable 45 minutes. At least there's a reasonable dosage of gameplay here, but I can't think of many reasons to recommend downloading and playing this rather routine adventure." - Phil

"About as classic as it gets, this is a 40 minutes Egypt level that takes you back to the early days of custom Level building. It starts badly with a walkthrough wall you Need to find in the first room, but further on even the unmarked climbs are so obvious that it does not matter much. I lost Count whether there are more ninjas to kill or more levers to pull, but there is really not much else to do in the entire level. Except for a very looong crawl (and back), a very looong swim (and back) and a very looong monkey swing (and back). The split second camera bug Features here, as does the flare bug, but due to the simplicity of the progress that does also not get in the way much. A quick one for in between if you look for something truly old school." - MichaelP

"It first seemed short and relaxing due to its random texturing, then ambitious and complex as tons of good sound usage drew me in, but eventually, after the most atmospheric moment in flooded burial chambers, switch-to-switch gameplay and enormous amount of long backtracking dispersed all the magic, and I totally lost my patience at the burner swing when I had to take 1 hour of break. Apart from that, cameras/flares got broken halfway through and I don't get it since the author clearly KNEW at least the reason for the latter, so any serious builder would fix the thing in such case. After that, I was plainly sure the final artifact will read Load instead of Pandora's Box - and it came true as well. Not even the rather decent enemy usage could compete for all the flaws, though the outdoor area and the temple corridor are worth pointing out and it's really a pity I left the game unsatisfied, for I truly wouldn't if the bugs were absent. SUMMARY: Atmosphere is what makes this game, but everything else destroys it. A lot of wasted effort that could bring better fruits. A pity, but I can't recommend this unless to a completionist. But I also strongly suggest the author to keep on building, only with proper testing included." - DJ Full

"It's a short, easy, very traditional Egyptian outing, full of floor levers, crawl spaces, ninjas, mummies and scorpions. It doesn't bring anything new to the genre, but it's not unpleasant and quite well built and would certainly be most suitable for a new player. Regrettably, I feel more experienced players would probably be a bit bored, but at well under an hour it doesn't outstay its welcome too much. I would love to know just what the glowing brick Lara recovered at the end was supposed to be though - it looked fascinating, but unfortunately was just entitled 'load'." - Jay

"Aha... this is old school and (wait for it) ...... the longest monkey climb ever. There is even a flare bug, so next time anti-trigger the fires in that room when Lara is gone, that will cure that flare bug for good. Ok I have to admit that I lost count of the levers and at times it had me stumped as the clue I was looking for were sort of hidden in dark corners. But a NO is walkthrough walls and not as such indicated climbable surfaces. I also saw the enemies appearing out of thin air, just two mind you. Also at the end the camera shots were just a split second so you couldn't see which door but most of the time it wasn't too hard to find. All in all this is a nice stroll through a TUT level and I still like it." - Gerty

"While the texturing and atmosphere were...good, the gameplay is what this game lacked. Pulling switches isn't fun and it never was. Lighting is too bright in some areas but the author did throw some shadows in a few places. Enemies were a nice touch to get you away from the monotonous actions but overall, this game didn't do much other than run for switches. Time - 15-20mins, secrets - ?, difficulty - easy." - Larabiker301

"There are some rather good things in this level, like the architecture, room connection, rather clean texturing... but one thing the builder has never learned is that pulling levers on for over half an hour does not equal good gameplay! Even the two or three fairly easy jump sequences don't hide this fact and I therefore had no good time in this level, hurrying from one lever to the next. And please leave the walkthrough walls and invisible ladders away! Playing other custom levels to improve on that is the only advice I can give to the builder as there is no interest to play this kind of levels in their current state, sorry." - manarch2

"It doesn't take long before you begin to get the feeling that you're playing a custom level from circa January 2001 - the rather stretched textures;the huge empty rooms;the walkthrough walls;the unmarked climbable textures;the exquisitely long monkey-swing sequence;the flare bug;the overall style of gameplay progression,where one room contains a lever which opens the door to another room quite a long way away,which contains another lever...on and on for forty minutes. Enemies are the traditional Tut1 crowd,and they're reasonably entertaining;while little has been done with lighting,beyond shadow bulbs.The map itself is not uninteresting,though;providing,as it does,several instances of arriving back at a place you've been to before,but from an unexpected direction.Nonetheless,aside from a couple of fun slide/jump sequences,this is all rather elementary and basic.Probably best reserved as a shortish interlude between rather more sophisticated offerings." - Orbit Dream

"This 45 minute adventure is certainly a step up for this builder but much more work is required, particularly with the lighting, which is very poor in comparison to the texturing which is quite good in my opinion He should have a sun in each room, and make the rooms less bright. The main goal of this game is to pick up some sort of bar, possibly gold, the slot name says 'load'. The gameplay is fairly simplistic, and I have never seen quite as many levers as here. In fact, other than shooting and swimming, pulling levers is just about the only interaction you have here. You open one room which contains some spikes or a long line of flames, then another levers opens another room and so on. A major annoyance other than the cameras flickering off, was walls Lara could walk through, and walls she climbs not having ladders. This should be avoided in future games as it isn't logical. This was worth downloading but it could be better." - sonnyd83