Level reviews

"What an epic name for a level, although in the end Lara doesn't find any artefacts. Aside from that, it's a good level with a lot of guards to kill, but you'll find enough weapons and ammo to dispatch them. It's quite complex but entertaining nonetheless. The bike was a nice addition. The ending could have been a little better, though, as Lara only leaves after going through a door into an enclosed space, so it was kind of abrupt. I also noticed there was a second part after choosing the "New game" option, but it crashed when I tried to play it. Probably this level was divided into 2 parts, but then after the update, both parts were now merged into a single level." - alan

"Undoubtedly an impressive single adventure and a most engaging one too. I played the second installment of this series a while ago but never got round to this one until now. The atmosphere, while very gloomy throughout and requiring a lot of flares (which luckily there are copious amounts of) is incredibly convincing and the austere texturing and construction is top notch. Even by today's standards, it undeniably holds up well against all the newer stuff. Progression is rather complex and all of the areas take a lot of exploration and task solving, so I was grateful for the walkthrough in navigating through it all, but everything comes together quite nicely, and the bike ride was a highlight. Definitely recommended." - Ryan

"We begin in narrow corridors but none of them has a boring shape. As simple scenery slowly expands into something bigger, interesting structures come out of the dark. Some of them I tried to recognize but I really don't know what they are. Instead, the mosque stands out and gives access both from inside and outside, not that frequent but very desired experience. Enemies lurking everywhere aren't varied but form a well-organized threat with differently arranged groups, watch guards, ambushes and sentries, so a stronger weapon is a blessing and the revolver is a must. I found every bit of this firepower but still got stuck in the main thread: 1) at the underwater door puzzle, which requires a precise moment to turn around, so even trying many times in different spots I still missed the required one; 2) at the flamethrower, in fact clever but I refused to try it for long - quite odd considering I made a very similar puzzle myself; 3) at the tower door which plays the crowbar "no", so I followed this false clue while the nearby solution didn't give a hint, in this case crucial. Meanwhile, it becomes clear the game is impossible without medikits, and it would be much better if that information was in the readme, so I wouldn't lose time trying but focus on progress and enjoy it along wiht the spot-on music, flyby usage and the entire level being one grand organism allowing a lot of fore- and postshadowing. In the end a very satisfying bike splatter feast makes the final item really important so I wonder if this is the title artifact or if the whole thing is a prologue to the actual goal. SUMMARY: A good game disguised as bad, a closer look reveals that something. Sometimes hard but I can't tell if I needed the walkthru or just some mad faith." - DJ Full

"This is quite long and certainly complex. I remember playing it many years ago and I have to say I was glad to have a bit of assistance from the walkthrough this time around. It's an amazingly assured level for a debut and, although now very old, it still impresses with its grand architecture and brooding atmosphere (yes, you will need quite a lot of flares). Enemies are plentiful so you'll also be glad of the weaponry provided and there is the chance to commit a bit of murder by motorcycle later on in the proceedings. Not always an easy level in terms of figuring out what to do/where to go next, but well worth playing with the walkthrough not too far away." - Jay

"What a beautiful level, I truly enjoyed it. Right in the beginning with the new soundtrack I thought something different was waiting for me. And different it was. I had and still have no idea what the title means or what the objective in the level is and I have not yet played the sequel so I have no idea if it ever makes sense. But from the dark, gloomy and atmospheric caves to the impressive and very realistic architecture of the buildings outside, the level design is masterfully done. For example you can see the mosaic-like windows from the inside of the main building and when you get outside to the roofs you can understand that you are standing on top of that same building seeing the same windows, I love it when a level has details like this. Gameplay is well done too. It can be confusing at points because the level is very big but it all makes sense once you accomplish the necessary tasks. I got surpised with the weird music once I got to outside with the bike, for some reason it really fit the level.. although I can't say that for the showdown track. And the level has another issue with the materializing soldiers. Overall a successful effort, it is a shame the builder has made only 2 levels." - Nomad

"Can't believe it's been a whole year since I've last played and reviewed a custom level. On a rainy sunday, I decided to take a stroll through the inventory of older levels I haven't played yet and came across this one. I remember having started it once (perhaps an earlier release) and not making a whole lot of progress, and while there is something to be said about the general darkness of the level, it's not as aggravating as I expected it to be - in fact, I think I may have lit only two or three flares throughout the whole level, not bad considering I found quite a few of them to collect across the level. Despite the damp atmosphere, I quite enjoyed this level, it's got a very strong visual identity (especially the initial areas) and some of the areas are very claustrophobic. When it opens up you may find yourself roaming aimlessly for a while but all in all it's not too taxing provided you're "in the mood". Some great audio tracks - except maybe for the bike theme, but that's down to personal taste - round up the package of this well established classic custom level. 70 minutes, 2 secrets. 09/15" - Treeble

"In the style of Mulf; this level is basically dark. In my review for Mulf's Lost Mountains of Heroic Madness, I stated that I would need to play this level just to find something to fault. It appears that I (unfortunately) succeeded. While this is by no means a bad level (I don't think I can stress this enough), it has aged rather badly. Texturing is competent but rather basic, while the whole level was simply too dark. Fortunately, Mulf appeared to have the good sense to put in enough flares for you to comfortably complete the level. The atmosphere created was good, although I felt something was lacking. Sounds were fine, but the flyby cameras moved too fast for my liking, often showing you the route to a door so quickly that if you blink, you miss it. Secrets were well hidden, with an occasional nice challenge to obtain it, while very few objects were used; the only objects of note were sentry guns and a motorbike. However, here Mulf has committed the heinous crime of triggering enemies to appear out of nowhere. This horrific monstrosity (well, that's probably a slight exaggeration) occurs during the motorbike section (so he may have done it deliberately to make the ride more enjoyable). Also, the SAS soldiers used here hunt in packs, rather than going after Lara alone, which is occasionally infuriating and, if you're unlucky enough to get guards who actually fire bullets, can cost a few medipacks. The gameplay used in the level is enjoyable, but nothing special. It mainly consists of finding a lever, doing some jumping task to get to the newly-opened door and then pulling another lever. There are some more enjoyable elements of gameplay, like the motorbike ride and shooting the sentry guns, but nothing particularly original. The other problem that I had with the gameplay was that it seems you can miss sections of the level by taking different paths to the finish trigger. While this idea doesn't sound too bad, it means that I may miss some of the best puzzles in the level because I took a different route. Again, bear in mind that this is not a bad level, and was certainly very good when it was released. Remember also that this was the builder's first attempt at a level. It's not that I did not enjoy the level, but it simply cannot compare to the levels being released today in terms of gameplay, objects and textures because of the new features available. While Lost Mountains will surely remain timeless, Lost Artifact has most certainly aged. For those of you who don't quite understand what I am trying to say, here is a food-based analogy: Lost Mountains is like honey; enjoyable and never goes out-of-date. Lost Artifact is more like homemade bread; great and fresh when it was originally created, but over time it has turned stale when compared to the newer loaves of bread. All things considered, I would still recommend this level, because it is enjoyable and even now would be considered a great first level for any builder." - Cory

"This early trle level does have some interesting game play and was overall well designed but I had some trouble with the sometimes complicated and confusing back and forth between areas. There are lots of crawlspaces, underwater areas and hallways connecting similar looking rooms. After getting stuck for some time I resorted to finish the rest of the level with the walkthrough at hand. While there weren't any really complicated jumps and the one double timed run was more than generously timed, I still thought this level was challenging and very health pack intense thanks to the nasty placement of turret guns and what seemed to be an endless supply of gunmen dropping in on Lara from every corner. The atmosphere was quite nice and there were also some good flybys and camera work. The level had very well applied texturing and room design but I wasn't too excited about the lighting as it was rather dark and dull in many areas. Overall it was a good level, but with a bit confusing and tedious game play. Recommended. (1h 25min, 5 secrets found)" - Blue43

"Very long and complicated level, with many interconnected rooms, many dark areas and a lot of switches to pull and enemies to kill. Not difficult tasks but it's easy get disoriented 'cause sometimes you have to revisit the same places and there are huge areas to explore. Although there are enough flares, I didn't like exploring all the time with a flare in hand. I liked the architecture and enemies, but there were too many switches/levers to pull." - Jose

"I downloaded this level expecting a joke due to the title. What I got was a very good level which captures the essence of how to correctly use backtracking. There is enough backtracking to make me familiar with the different places in the level and to give me something to look forward to in terms of returning to an area later in order to get to a currently out-of-reach place. However, there is not so much backtracking that the level would become boring. That's a very delicate balance and the level builder handled it extremely well. The level had a dark and gritty atmosphere due to the textures and lighting used. The music was very good and really added to the excitement where it was used. The camera work was also very well done because the camera movements managed to give enough clues without being overly obvious or annoying." - Ward Dragon

"I already knew before I downloaded this level that it was a concept not meant to be taken too seriously, and to be seen as a sort of satire of the entire Tomb Raider Level world - the overly dramatic title gives it away immediatly. And this humorous nature that is found throughout the level is something that adds greatly to it's enjoyment. However, it is very clear that this is the talented author's first level, yet unlike most newbie levels out there it is quite close to flawless. And on top of that, this level is from the days where such priveleges such as wadmerger or trwest didn't exist - which adds to the creative use the author has made of many of the limitations. It is nice to play a good level again that isn't entirely littered with every object found at trsearch. Yet, I personally happen to have a strong dislike for the city.wad, so this was the only aspect the sort of took away from the gameplay feeling for me. Also, for the first half hour or so I didnt really have a clue what the main goal of the level was, and i also didnt notice a basic storyline that i was following - although i think part of this is intentional on the author's part to enhance the irony and satire. The placement of all objects is absolutley flawless and perfect in my opinion, which is why this level readily deserves 10 points for it. The enemies were placed in a number of superb ways, giving way to great action packed scenes. The secrets were also placed very cleverly, and it took me two attemps at the whole level to find them all. Pickups were also placed in a very well thought out and methodical way. Medipacks were defenetly not overused, and the abundant amount of flares was great. There's nothing that makes me feel like more of a Tomb Raider like when I can light a flare whenver I want and don't have to worry about conserving them. The overal atmostphere of the level simply felt too much like one of the TR4 Cairo levels, and so lost its unique appeal to me. The use of audio tracks was good, and the custom tracks defenetly once again added to the dark and comedic mood the author is trying to create. I felt that some of the flyby sequences weren't executed very smoothly, and that they often went far to fast and spastic when one needed to follow them for the hints they gave. However, I guess this was meant to be a challenge set forth by the creator. There were also a number of frustrating moments when I would pull a switch and have no clue whatsoever that just did. When it comes to lighting and textures in this level, it is interesting to see how the builder himself seems to improve with all this as the level itself progresses. The texturing and lighting is quite poor i think at the onset of the level, but completly flawless and stunning towards the end - especially the massive outside area one accesses with the bike. Here the author also makes more use of custom textures which add a lot to the beauty of the outside architecture. This level managed to rectify itself in every way for me during the final battle, and when the cheezy "Gladiator" theme starts playing it is finally at this point that the player fully understands what this non-existent artifact of heroic manliness really is :p Lara has found absolutley nothing but a rusty key... and that is the end of the story lol, which is quite funny indeed. Unlike most custom levels, this is one of the few which has "stuck" with me even a few days after playing it. A truly fantastic experience!" - Sethian

"This level is one of the best levels I ever played - I remember that. I played when it was a demo and only now I play the full level. What can I say about this level that hasn't already been said so I only recommend to you to play this one." - Yoav

"I wanted to write a review to witness how this level that came out a long time ago is a great one! Especially the course is very clever. All the ingredients that make a memorable level are here and you always wonder what you will discover in the next part of this level where caves sewers a big fortress and rooftops are visited. Well placed enemies enjoyable but not tricky moves a non straightforward course and subtle moments here and there. Lighting texturing and camera are excellent. Everything is worthy of a professional game builder. Really a great fun." - eRIC

"Before I started Lost Artifact of Heroic Manliness I had read a review which said that this level was not for novices. This filled me with some trepidation. I needn't have worried though 'cos although I did find it a challenge I didn't need the walkthrough once. I have a liking for 'city wad' based levels. I like the soldiers the eeriness and general textures. I had also read that the level was very dark. Whilst this was true in some cases overall I found it well balanced. I would like to give Mulf my congratulations on the optional audio files. Well worth the extra download. The atmosphere created whilst squashing soldiers was like something I had not experienced in a custom level before. The gameplay although linear had just the right balance of difficulty with enemies well placed. I had no problem with running out of medipacks but at one point in particular I was blasting soldiers and thinking 'when will they stop coming? All in all in my opinion a great level. I do recommend the additional 15MB audio files. I am now off to do Mulf's next level 'Lost Mountains of Heroic Madness'." - Jez

"I've waited a while to play this level but I'm glad I finally got around to it. It's challenging but quite 'do-able' once you know what to do next (with the help of Dutchy's excellent walkthrough). The consistently dark environment was a little reminiscent of Cleopatra's Handmaiden but there was usually enough light to get your way through. And whatever the Artifact of Heroic Manliness is it's still lost because you go all the way through the level without finding any pickups other than weapons ammo medi-packs and the standard accessories. Very highly recommended." - Phil

"I must say I'm not the greatest fan of gloomy levels (excluding Castle Doomsday I guess) and catacombs and TR4 wasn't necessarily my favorite. Still I had fun whilst playing this well designed level full of doors and gates half of which (or was that just a feeling?) you never get to open. It is varied. It will satisfy the shoot'em'uppers. It will satisfy the jumping lovers. And it will kind of satisfy the puzzle lovers. It's got some very appropriate music (the opening the motorcycle continuous run-over-them-baddies the last shoot'em'up sequence). I know I missed something when I didn't go up a corridor that was full of flames expecting to put them out somewhere else and to come back afterwards. I'm also not sure I went through any timed door but I might just have been lucky. Apart from that I believe I must have done everything (even though the level gets confusing quite a couple of times) and I globally enjoyed it even though it's not my favorite kind of level. It's well done and keeps you active it has some interesting sceneries at times in spite of the catacomb limitations and you even get to ride that bike and run over all of those darn men in black. It was confusing but not too difficult once I started understanding the author's way of building (fortunately since there's only a short draft of a part of a walkthrough in Mulf's homepage!). All in all let's face it it was good. Now what I didn't like that much was the very ending - she opens a door with the crowbar pockets empty of any artifact enters and the game crashes to the desktop! Yeah I know there's a Lost Artifact.....2 when you open New Game but it just doesn't work. So let's hopefully wait for the next development of the series and hope Mulf meanwhile decides what an artifact of heroic manliness might be... ;)" - Jorge22

"I've played this level after Lost Mountains of Heroic Madness. I thought that it was the next of the series but soon I knew that I was mistaken. So I've played it thinking that it was better than the 'Lost Mountains...' because of the general rate. I've enjoyed this level but less than the other. It is very dark and for me is less attractive to play. Only the first scene with that music strange and some outdoor scenes are worth to play. And the Lost Artifact keeps missing; what was it? and where? The end of the level is sudden and senseless; perhaps the author keeps in mind to go on with the series." - Loupar

"What an exhausting level ;-) Lots of things to do for my Lara - the water maze alone was tough but Lara loves a challenge ;-) Puzzles were well thought out and sometimes a bit confusing but later on the flow is quite easy. You need to think about what you are doing and keep your eyes open. Mulf has put a lot of effort into this the sound alone was worth it especially at the start when Lara is in a cave and the music fits the atmosphere very well. Many enemies around and well placed too. The ending is also thrilling. All in all a very good level - I liked it a lot. Difficulty is rather high as there are a few tough jump sequences." - Engelchen Lara

"So what is this lost artifact of heroic manliness? After spending two hours making my way through some dark caves dark underwater mazes dark passages and dark crawlspaces to find a key - I left the level with no artifact in my hands. What artifact symbolizes manliness anyway? And did I mention that the level was dark? The great flybys were a lot of help but in the majority of the level if I didn't have a flare lit then I was standing in complete darkness which made it much more difficult. Still the hours I spent here were both enjoyable and exciting and featured many moments worth mentioning - the underwater door puzzle the floating body of the dead soldier the great jumps needed to get around some areas the well placed crossbow and timed fires the motorcycle and the great music played at the last battle. Often I found myself passing up closed doors only to open them and return to them much later and the area was large and confusing at times but every path seemed to lead me to where I was supposed to be. I only found four secrets and saw a door that may have led to the uzis (was that timed?) but I found plenty of pickups and at least two of most of the weapons - I got the shotgun as a secret but then found it again later and missed the uzi secret but found them again very close by. I guess now it's off to the Lost Mountains of Heroic Madness where hopefully I'll find that artifact." - RaiderGirl

"Lara begins the level in caves accompanied by a beautiful new melody. It was for me a marvelous atmosphere. Lara needs to do a lot of running a swimming maze is there to master and different puzzles to solve. Lara has to do with many SAS and bats. Afterwards Lara arrives in the open for which she needs the motorcycle. It was accompanied also here by a tendencyful music. The entire architecture was affectionately rack and cleanly finished. Also the sound and the cameras came always suitably. My Lara found four Secrets which were also well hidden. One was even timed. Also very useful things added. Lara found the laser also with which she switched the sentry guns off. Not till the end did come a whole horde of SAS which was however well placed so that it almost became unfair for Lara. Also that was accompanied by a good melody. Lara finds as the last crowbar and can thus terminate the level. Really a level succeeded very well. Which is for action fans. Very recommendable." - Navi

"This is an absolutely stunning environment with excellent organic looking texturing and a very intricate path to follow through that often brings you back to places you have been to before. Gameplay revolves mainly around finding your way through the sewers and caves around the cathedral and then the outside area including some really fun jump sequences a very short bike ride and the battling against numerous SAS (maybe a little overdone) and very smartly placed bats. I only found two secrets and I am sure there must be more as I felt I had not explored everything when the level ended after 1:20 hours. The standard sounds are well used but the custom sounds did not work so well for me even though the battle music was kind of neat. Cameras were excellently placed and used guiding you through if you remembered what they show you - I only thought sometimes the flybys were a little hectic and too fast. Overall grand architecture and it really calls for a sequel as the one Rusty Key you find can hardly be the infamous artifact Lara was after." - Michael

"It took me many starts and a long time to finally hunker down and play this level. Determined I set out to find the 'Heroic Manliness'. Having gotten further this try than ever before I was encouraged and pressed on. This is a very well-written level a little dark for my taste but plenty of flares are provided. Mulf also provides good flybys so you pretty much know what's happening even though you may have serious difficulties doing what you want to do. There are some very tricky jumps and lots of bats and SAS guards not to mention the automatic machine gun turrets but ammo is amply provided. I had particular trouble trying to blow up that one gun so I could obtain the key thanks to eTux for pointing the way to the jump switch I had missed. A definite must play and am looking forward to the sequel." - Momster

"I delayed playing this level because of the rather funny name but now I see that I shouldn't have done that because this level is fantastic one of the best I've ever played. For me the level was not that hard but I think that this is nothing for the novice player since some jumps are rather challenging. There were too many SAS guards for my liking and some parts were a bit too dark but I actually didn't mind and that somehow made the adventure great for me. Definitely is a must-play." - eTux

"A little story for you: Mulf and I played through TR:Chronicles as soon as it was released; we eMailed each other many times throughout the weekend that it took us to complete the game expressing our annoyances and aggravations with the gameplay (in particular the fact that it hadn't appeared to have been beta-tested thoroughly). On completion we both reckoned that (given time) we could assemble equally good if not better levels than Core themselves. With this in mind we both went off to study the Editor. Three months or so past and after having dutifully worked my through the Tutorial (constructing a level which I named 'Frozen'). I decided I had learnt enough to build my own original adventure. After several weeks 'The Adventure of the Hollow Mountain' was complete. I sent it to Mulf feeling quite proud and he in return sent me his first version of Heroic Manliness. He had apparently skipped the tutorial process and jumped right in to building. I loaded it up expecting a shortish slightly ragged but fun gameplay experience. What I got was an epic breathtaking dark sinister immensely atmospheric ingenious devious exciting extremely well designed and quite intelligent adventure which had me labouring over it for the best part of three days. If there can be such a thing as Level Editing Penis Envy this level was it. My only complaint was that it was too dark but this he has apparently rectified somewhat in his later version. I almost gave up on LE'ing completely after this but eventually persevered on the principle that not everyone's attracted to a really large one. ;)" - Orbit Dream

"This is definitely one of the better levels out there but having a gloomy dark atmosphere all the way through this may not be for everyone. I have to say though that I loved the adventurous feel of making my way through this wonderfully mapped out level and how trapdoors in new areas would open up to long passed through tunnels or rooms. Taking me around 90 minutes to finish with 3 of the 6 secrets found this is the type of level that doesn't rely on puzzles to keep the player interested but instead the fun of just making your way through its intricate environment while trying not to let the SAS kill you before you kill them though you will have to let a sentry gun get very friendly with you..ooh that burns!" - Sash

"The level is very beautiful long and difficult. It is divided into three parts in the first Lara has to find the solution to open the gate of entry of a cathedral among caverns and passages under water a lot of darkness activating levers and killing guards. In the second part in the great cathedral she has to find a key to open a gate among secret passages supervised rooms from turrets and guards and using a motorcycle in an external area to the cathedral. The third part is that ending where Lara slaughters guards and then she escapes. The level is accompanied by good music (some only in version 1.1). I have ended the level in 2 hours I have found 3 secrets and no bug. Very notable the fact that in such a vast a level towards the end open some trap doors that allow to move immediately into every part of the level. This shows the great ability of the author to put perfectly all the rooms compliments!" - Boris

"This is too good a level to go un-reviewed so here goes. Mulf has really created a dark and sinister world here proving it is not the textures but what you do with them that counts. After the first rather squarish one rooms are varied and organic. The large central cathedral is almost a relief after the claustrophobia of dark corridors and water passages. In terms of gameplay you've got a bit of everything from cerebral to action to skill. Some of the puzzles will have you racking your brains for a good spell. The ending is a bit anti-climactic after all that precedes it but since the level is supposed to be the first of several it can be overlooked. So Mulf how about the sequel?" - Tombaholic

"I was very impressed by this level. It starts out very dark and sinister but as you go on the lighting will improve. There are 6 secrets to find and a very tricky timed run to one of the secrets I couldn't make. It is a game you need your wits about. I'm really looking forward to a sequel." - Gerty

"This was really not my kind of level - it was too confusing. And of course it was very dark too. There are also a lot of enemies placed in places where they are hard to spot or kill. That was rather well done by the author though but there were too many enemies for my liking. The level ended very suddenly after about 50 minutes when I thought I had a long way to go before I would reach the end. Okay I guess I should write something about the level right? Okay: As I said before a very confusing level at times which is not a great favourite of mine. The level is also quite dark but at least the flare-bug doesn't appear in this level. The texturing is good and the layout of the level is good too. There is also a motorcycle but you should be careful where you park it so that you will be able to get to it later. The hardest thing in this level is to find your way through the caves in the beginning but the level isn't too hard overall. All in all not my favourite level but I did like it (kind of) and have therefore given it a rather high rating. If the level-design had been worse the rating would have been lower." - Magnus

"A very good variety of different scenarios. From caves to sewer swimming to a large cave area and then through to roof tops and back tracking through each level again. The puzzles tended to be of the 'find your way' type but beware of 'false' trap doors which open from the other side despite having handles. The enemies consisted of SAS type guys and bats of the movable type and those dratted radar fired machine guns. Hint: make sure you go back and splat them when you get the revolver. If you can't stand jumping then try something else as there are some very interesting jumps to do. A few sections of dark levels but plenty of flares provided. All in all well worth playing and expect to have to really think your way through some parts of the level while others are really logical." - Whistle

"As I usually say I like only original levels. And even if this one it is not that much this is one of the best custom levels I played. The gameplay it is completely wonderful even if in the beginning it is not all such clear and if at the end you don't like to come back again several times throughout a level you already played. Very often I found myself exclaiming surprised: 'look what I have done!' or 'look where I am again!' and really appreciating this. The motorbike moment is really beautiful and some enigmas are not so immediate (the sentrygun part of the level for example) so it is definitely a very good level to download. Flyby cameras are really beautiful as all the cameras positions even if one of them didn't help me too much. I really liked most of the secrets I found one of them was really well positioned (the one in a hall where from above you see a cam sequence with a SAS running). Beautiful (not original) textures but well positioned. Good locations which (even if in the beginning they seem similar) fit the story very well because at the end you meet already visited places with different eyes." - Tammta

"This one is a fantastic level very dark sometimes a bit too much for my taste but all impressing atmosphere! Great sounds! The puzzles oh they sometimes were a bit too puzzling for me but that might tell my limited ability with these things:-). There is something special with it that is hard to describe so you should download it and find it out. It's one of the best I've ever played! Please Mulf go on with your work:-)" - Needle

"One of the best levels out there. Quite dark for my taste but there wasn't one moment I got frustrated in it the flares given are sufficient although I could use one or two more. Texturing and lighting seemed to be very attentive with shadows and a nice pass from the gloomy sandy areas to the caves and finally the main area. An interesting underwater puzzle with doors opening as you pass there is a nice trick there to exit. The many enemies are what characterizes this level but with the right amount of ammo and all the guns given it shouldn't be a problem. I particularly liked the way the crossbow can be accessed while you can pick up a secret along the way the timed fires are the obstacles here but I have to admit that in order to get the secret I only had to pass the first set of them. After getting the big medipack I was able to lead Lara back the same way and not by jumping and run through the above set running the same way back and jumping in the spots that she couldn't pass standing it was quite easy. I tried to do it like the first time when I got the crossbow but I was short by a second and every time Lara's pants were on fire so out of curiosity I experimented and succeeded in the way I described above. As much as the impression given by the whole level and the nice room connections they are rather empty of course we are talking about caves in most of it but I am convinced that the scenery could be more 'attractive' by adding some objects. The rocky area with the jumps I found challenging and one mud pit was something that's not used very often. Although it has a few very good elements it is mostly constituted by levers jump switches and opening doors but the author's success is that he could hide it by keeping you occupied with some clever move. Indeed it deserves it's place in the Top50." - Kristina

"At first I was put off by the title but that soon gave way to mindless admiration as this is only slightly short of a masterpiece. I think what I liked best was the juxtaposition of all the different elements that make TR the game of our choice and I admit I'm a sucker for sinister levels. It's not that easy (do I really need this large medi-pack?!) but you never get stuck for long and yes finally a level where the motorbike makes sense and a truly awesome moment when you drive into the open. I reckon my favourite part was lurking behind the pillar inching your way forward in order to find out what the best way to pass the sentry gun is; not knowing what awaits you on the other side but hoping for something to cool you down. This was one of the first custom levels I played and I found it deeply satisfying though I could have done with a little less shooting. Mind you it's still in my personal Top Ten." - Dimpfelmoser

"This was one of the very first custom levels I played and it definitely set a standard that few others have been able to match. It is an enormous sprawling level that's visually extremely attractive very challenging and (oh did I forget to mention?) fun to play. There is a variety of puzzles including the infamous sentry gun gauntlet run and a particularly tricky timed run for a secret and the crossbow that took me dozens of attempts to master. Thankfully no mazes but otherwise just about every other kind of puzzle. A few jagged textures early in the level were not to my liking but otherwise I find it hard to find fault. I didn't like some of the special music chosen which didn't seem to fit with the Tomb Raider 'feel' for me and there is of course the name... It took me quite a while to find the crowbar which is needed to finish the level but fortunately the hint in the author's readme was just enough to point me in the right direction. This level was so good that I played it three times in succession - the first to complete the level the second to collect the three secrets I'd missed on my play through and a third just to enjoy the level knowing where everything was. If you haven't played this level download it now! It is one of the best you will ever play." - Tune Razor