Level reviews

"This one pays a decent homage to the TR5 Rome chapter. Quite a few of the areas seem to be built after the original levels, but it plays out in a very different way and ultimately it's much bigger in scale. Perhaps too big, even. The first level has a mazelike feel to the overworld town areas, and I think there might have been a bit too much of running back and forth as you hunt down a number of buttons and key items to proceed, with the odd enemy encounter here or there, but G&D's walkthrough will help streamline your experience. 80 minutes, 8 secrets. 06/26" - Treeble

"(5) Gameplay & Puzzles: This easy difficulty duo-level adventure took me almost 2 hours. I am sorry to say that I found the gameplay repetitive and full of bloated tasks; there's so much pressing buttons, using switches and running back and forth. There is a neat little "mini" puzzle in level 1 involving a pushblock and a monkeyswing, but unfortunately puzzles are lacking overall. The gameplay drags on and on after a while, and I feel that level 2 could have been cut without any detriment to the overall gameplay flow. Aside from the feelings of boredom, the gameplay comes across very unpolished at times: Near the end of level 1 there are some staircases that you will be going up and down frequently, however in order to go down the staircases you have to swan dive or sideflip each time, or else Lara won't fit. Also, there's some annoying backtracking in level 2 if you reach the 2nd floor of a building and you don't have 2 golden stars (there's no way for the player to know this when they first access the 2nd floor). (5) Enemies, Objects & Secrets: The execution of the dog surprises and hydra fights are done well, however, there's no need to have the big head bossfight in both level 1 and 2. Static decor is attractive in most rooms, although some larger rooms look empty and need more objects. I noticed several object glitches; there's a statue static decor object and there's a weird animation on the back of its head, the wall switch animation is wrong, there's a 2 click high railing that Lara can't jump over which is silly, and there are a number of objects that have no collision, and should have. Furthermore the same pickup objects are repeated over and over, and the fact that sometimes they have dull names ("a key", "a gem") is a detractor to immersion. Trap usage is inadequate -- there's only 1 trap, a battering ram, for the entirety of the adventure. (7) Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras: I really wanted to rate the next 2 categories higher, as it is clear that the builder is skilled with architectural design and visuals. I think that the builder did a great job with room connectivity and establishing a sense of place within a city setting. The builder also did great with music cues when an important event is triggered, however I didn't like that there are a number of timed runs and none of them have sound cues. Flybys and camera hints are decent, although unfortunately there are missing/wonky sounds for various objects. Also, there is this annoying crickets chirping background ambience loop for the entirety of level 1, and I don't think this is a fitting ambience for underground exploration. A nice touch that added to the immersion was a camera shot of Pierre being sneaky in level 1, although as mentioned in the objects category, a number of "little things" detract from the overall atmosphere. (6) Lighting & Textures: It's a well-lit level and the builder regularly utilizes lovely, subtle pops of colored lighting. There are a few inconsistencies with sun bulbs (Lara looks 2D/flat in smaller connector areas) but it's not a big deal and lighting for the most part is done very well. It's a shame that the texturing is so unpolished; there are many misshapen and mismatched textures, as well as non-moving water surface textures. On a few occasions the water surface texture is completely missing. I also noticed a number of ugly geometry cracks, both underwater and on land. Overall, "unpolished" is the keyword representing my impression for both the gameplay and aesthetics. I see that the builder has a recent release, and it'll be interesting to see his talents when not under the time constraints of a competition. 5/5/7/6." - nerdfury

"This is another adventure that has its moments but then simply drags it out for two long (almost 2 hours for me) to remain interesting or enjoyable. There are countless dogs to shoot, keys and objects to find and use, manholes to open and drop into, levers and buttons to push and box shelves to push - to the point that it really wears you out and you just want it to finally end. As you get all the good weapons early and plenty of pickups, enemies are a bit of a non-issue, but on the plus side you get to deal with the rarely seen head that you need to shoot the eyes from and a bunch of hydras. There are also 8 secrets to collect and while the 4 in the first level are fairly obvious, the 4 in the second need a bit more attention and one tricky timed run to master. And did I mention I hate tightropes - a few of those are here as well. The second level felt by and large unnecessary, as it was really just more of the same as the first, which already should maybe have been a bit shorter. Another example where less could have been more and a bit more variety in the task would have made it so much more enjoyable." - MichaelP

"Tenth of the Create a Classic 2019 competition that I actually played, and second Rome-themed level, this level finds me a bit mixed.
This level tries to be some kind of reimagination of the Rome section from Tomb Raider Chronicles, but many things prevent the level from really shining, simply because it seems unfinished.
Talking about the atmosphere and graphical information, this level has somewhat basic texturing(that is not totally wrong!), but that is coupled with very flat lighting, that really makes the environment to be way less interesting than it could be.
Moreover, many graphical glitches, wrong animations and sounds at times break the immersion.
If I really have to find the best room graphically, I would say the big "cathedral" with the banisters on the top floor. That looked good, even though lights could have really helped.
The gameplay is filled with confusing bits, difficult jumps and the not very intuitive gameplay throughout the level. Probably some little hints could have helped better?

In short, this level was a very tiring experience, at least for me, and as I said before, it feels unfinished. With a little more attention(especially on the lighting side and on all the immersion-breaking glitches), it could have been a greater level!

Recommended? No, but could be recommended if you are a fan of TR5 Rome-styled levels.

Difficulty? Medium.

Duration? Approx. 1h30m-2h30m." - TombExplorer

"We are back in TRC's Rome. Here we face off against a bunch of the statues that made an appearance in the original game, in between some timed runs, tightropes, and parallel bars. There is too much back-and-forth switch pulling for my tastes (go to point A, pull a switch that exposes a switch in point B, go there and pull it to open a door back in point A). Unfortunately other aspects of the game need more attention as well. The sound effects are very messed up (water sounds when climbing a ladder, Lara gasps like a chipmunk when doors open, a hog squeals when you pry something off of a wall), many objects are missing collision, and there are also stretched textures and underwater cracks. My main critique, however, is that the second level feels redundant after playing the first one; it doesn't feel like anything new is introduced, but instead comes across as the same content with a different layout. Overall the levelset is a bit unpolished, but I did have fun with the combat, as well as spotting Pierre's cameo appearance - there is some potential here for sure. 1 hour 44 minutes." - JesseG

"Despite the wrong sounds and the wrong animations, this level is not so bad an well playable, but I found nothing really interesting here except the exploration. Not very agree with several hard enemies in several places (hydras and heads) even when there are enough (perhaps too many) pickups scattered all around the level. Some cameras are well placed, as well as the musics, but the texturing is not well maintained in all rooms. All in all a TR5-like levels with an old taste for this contest you can try." - Jose

"After finishing the level, I came to conclusion I have no idea what the mystery was as it's in the name of this custom set... While nearing the end of first level, I was hoping that's all as I didn't expect another one. The second level wasn't needed in my opinion, it didn't offer anything new and exciting and it felt like recycled version of the first. Gameplay was quite inconsistent in my opinion with lots of stuff thrown in without any proper flow or plan/connection in this universe to immerse yourself into. Almost every object was broken (sounds) and there were some wrong animations playing for the switch. Most of the secrets weren't "secrets" at all, as they were lying around randomly to pick them up. Visually the level was decent, a bit repetitive at some parts and I noticed some texturing errors. In global this felt like a test level to me, not properly tested (as stated in the file written by the author) and maybe it would've been better idea to keep working on this as releasing a properly tested and polished (gameplay included) level is always a better choice in any scenario!" - Raider99

"This level seemed a bit unfinished, since there were a lot of wrong or missing sounds and some empty looking areas. The gameplay itself was simple and not very difficult, which is not a bad thing in general. It just felt kind of repetitive, also because there were some puzzle items, which appeared more than once. There was a lot of potential in some of the ideas though and I'm convinced the author could do much better, if he takes more time to polish some of the issues. It took me one hour and a half to finish it and I found 3 of 8 secrets." - MarlenaCrystal

"This is unfortunately a bit more rushed than the builder states in the readme. Sounds are completely messy, some of the animations as well, rooms overlap each other, walls are paperthin, the end of the world is visible, texturing needs more care and several other things usual for debut levels but not for levels of experienced builders. The gameplay is occasionally very strange with many tasks being repeated so I almost thought I am replaying parts of the level instead of facing something new - there are also many dull parts where you are just aiming for the next lever. Place an item to open a door after which you can find the same item again... really? Also, there is ammo for a whole army here (but no army of course), not the first and not the last time in this competition... To the positive things, there are a few decent things in any category as well. A few of the streets are nicely designed, lighting is okay, despite of the things I mentioned I thought the charm of TR 5 is present from time to time and a few areas, while no remakes, pleasantly remind on the original levels. The timed tasks were nice as well as the door puzzle slightly reminicent of TR 3. It's not among the better levels of the competition because of obvious time problems (a later but more polished standalone release had been the better choice IMO), but playable and not entirely without its moments. Spent about an hour here with all eight decently hidden secrets found." - manarch2

"I can't help but think that the builder intended these as two stand-alone levels, and for some reason he bundled them for this CaC competition. In each segment you find the revolver, the laser sight and the crowbar. Each segment took me about an hour to play, another fact supporting my suspicion. However, in this case the whole is not greater than the sum of the parts. While engaging enough in terms of gameplay, both levels suffer from a certain sameness, quite unlike the lush colorful surroundings encountered in Sleeping With the Fishes. After finishing the first level and finding more of the same in the second, I soon had this nagging feeling of wanting it all to end. While writing this review I decided to bump up the gameplay and puzzles section one point, as you do get to tackle some engaging timed runs here. Dutchy has documented a generous eight secrets in his walkthrough, which I found indispensable in navigating the monotonous passages and tunnels. Definitely not a contender for the CaC championship, but well worth the download nonetheless." - Phil

"As the builder mentioned in the readme, this level does possess a slightly unfinished air, in that a few of the sound effects are misplaced, there are a couple of texture and object issues and a few of the animations are wrong. But provided you can overlook these problems, the raid itself is actually pretty decent. The Roman atmosphere (minus the resident dogs and warriors) is quaint, the lighting and textures are effectively done and pleasant to the eye and even the gameplay has its moments in the form of brisk timed runs, block puzzles and challenging underwater sections. I agree towards the end that it got a little mundane and repetitive with all the rooms, tasks and enemies being similar, but I would also say that it was a worthwhile raid that deserves a playthrough." - Ryan

"This is vaguely a remake of the Rome section in TR5; there's various areas obviously evoking the style of certain parts of that segment, and some are straight up homages. The general design is nice enough, if generally just a worse looking version of TR5 Rome, although there are a few areas it goes beyond that and actually looks quite impressive, and there's creative use of camera views occasionally. There are unfortunately some sound issues too, with things like manholes having Monkey sounds for some reason.

This is actually comprised of two levels, that are both relatively large in themselves (vaguely approximating the Rome Streets and Trajan's Markets). The gameplay is somewhat repetitive for the length though; it's mostly just looking for switches and keys and moving the occasional block, with just enough ladder climbs, monkey swings and tightropes to get irritating. There is some variety that spices things up, but something about the way it comes together feels like there was a certain collection of interesting ideas and the rest kind of feels like it was just there to fill out the playtime. The off-pacing also results in somewhat of a lack of escalation, and it just sort of ends after following the same note for most of it's duration without feeling like it builds up to something. It doesn't have much glaringly wrong, and it looks fine, but also feels strangely lacking in original ideas (for the general competence of the design) and the gameplay kind of gives the feeling of just... Existing." - Mman

"As unfinished as you can go without making it non-enjoyable. And even if it was finished, it's too generic with switches. But some bits still felt good while music, lighting and quick return paths are noteworthy habits, what gives hopes for the future, especially if the author isn't as time-constrained as here." - DJ Full

"As other reviewers have written, this set of two levels recalls TRC's Rome, in some places copying the layout of the streets almost exactly while in others offering a fresh take on a similar environment. The sounds are often wrong (doors open with gasps from Lara or the sound of TR3's Indian monkey chitters, among others) and the animations for pressing switches or opening doors are incorrect, and I agree that this detracted from an otherwise enjoyable atmosphere. Despite this, and the fact that some objects were incorrectly lit, rotated, or placed in ways that revealed absent polygons or textures, I had a great time with the easy exploration and occasional puzzles. Lighting was subtle but nicely fit the mood of dawn and later, daytime, and there were some helpful color tints at the end of the first level to make the large chamber with many double doors easier to navigate. This section was probably my favorite, since it gradually opened up a gigantic indoor space through a number of intersecting lever and pickup tasks. I'm afraid Lara must have killed the entire Roman population of Dobermans, since these were common enemies. I also found the repetition of the bosses odd: I would have enjoyed if the snakes had appeared in Level 1, and the head in Level 2, but not both in both. When I started playing I was not aware there was a second level, so expended all of my revolver ammo, but fortunately there is some near the second head boss fight just in case you've used it up. While there is some back-tracking, it is minimal and enjoyable because of the nice environments. I found all 8 secrets, most of which appeared in the course of normal gameplay, and spotted Pierre once lurking behind a window. 1 hour and 45 minutes to complete both levels." - Cbl

"911 states in the readme that he ran out of time to finish this for the competition and it shows. It's a solid enough raid that takes place in a 2-part levelset that recreates much of the atmosphere of the TR5 Rome levels, in particular Streets of Rome and Trajan's Markets. Some of its flaws include incorrect sounds played for multiple actions, incorrect animations for levers and buttons, paper thin and flickering textures, missing objects in the environments such as underwater fans and an unfortunate redundancy/sameness in the latter part of the final level. It's very nostalgic and not unpleasant by any means but it would have been more enjoyable with its flaws corrected and some of the fat trimmed. The first level was definitely the better of the two, and the tasks therein were more enjoyable. Difficulty is not too steep; this level falls more on the easier side though it can't be considered 'pedestrian.' There are pickups a'plenty and more than enough shells and rounds for Lara to blast her way through the opposition. Pierre makes a few cameo appearances where he appears to be spying on Lara, but we never get to confront him for a heart to heart about that snooping habit of his. If you enjoyed the Rome levelset from the Chronicles game this two-parter is worth a look. Hour and a half of net game time; found all 8 gold roses." - Chel

"As a big fan of the Rome streets section in Chronicles, I found this level to be quite enjoyable as it gives you just enough freedom to walk around different areas without losing track of the main tasks. The gameplay and puzzles were quite enjoyable, I didn't even mind the occasional backtracking and rope walking sequences that I'm usually not a big fan of - I have to admit they were nicely integrated in this level. My favorite part was probably the beginning section and the item hunt. Personally, I prefered the first part of the level over the second one. Additionally, the random Piere encounters were entertaining, and the multiple gun choices were very welcome considering the mini-boss fightS with the hydras and other enemies. Visual wise, the level looked solid nothing mindblowing but still pleasant for the eyes, quite reminiscent of Chronicles. I spotted some messed up sounds when Lara was initiating different actions such as opening doors, trapdoors, climbing ledders etc - nothing too problematic as they didn't affect the overall experience. Kudos for the secret placement, I like how most of them can be seen but requite a bit of thinking and additional exploration in order to be reached. In concluson, recommneded if you're up for a classic raid." - misho98

"This is a real nostalgia trip and if you've played the official Rome levels, you'll be very familiar with most of the locations. However, it's not a slavish copy and there are enough differences to keep this interesting. It should prove accessible to most players as the difficulty level is not excessive, although our old friends the laser shooting heads can take a while to defeat. Although this is a two-parter, the enemies and tasks in part two are pretty much the same as in part one so it does perhaps get a bit - samey' towards the end. Good atmosphere though." - Jay

"Another release that attempts to re-imagine aspects from TR5's Rome levels. But unlike LOTRKingluis's take however (which was still quite a fun experience in spite of a couple flaws), 911's interpretation comes off feeling very undercooked and rushed throughout, being a tedious chore to get through which only became all the more pronounced with the second level that felt too identical to Trajan's Markets from TR5 in spots and really started to test my patience, after an hour spent in the first map alone. Level design is boxy and unconvincing (with some especially poorly thought-out design within the temple near the end of the first map that makes it impossible to go back downstairs without taking fall damage due to the height of the staircases not being properly optimized for return trips), gameplay feels padded out at points and incredibly repetitious, enemy encounters with the more bigger threats become a mind-numbing nuisance that serve to detract from the overall experience and the atmosphere is impacted greatly by incorrect sound effects/animations, tons of texture cracks/errors & questionable object collision detection and room placement. So in conclusion, not an unplayable raid. But this is one levelset I'm likely not going to play again. The two cameo appearances of Pierre I managed to notice within sections of the first level were quite a neat easter egg though." - Ceamonks890

"Heavily based, as expected, on the Rome levels one can find on Chronicles, this two-set level takes us in a number of quests that make the difference in spite of the apparent similarities. I guess it's an ok level set regarding gameplay, sounds and lighting, never too demanding but a tad mazy at times. One gets to fight the same sort of enemies more than once, namely serpents and the bolt- throwing-eyed robot, which could be deemed somewhat repetitive and there are are a few animation mistakes, especially when using levers. A thank you for not making the tightrope sequences too unbalanced for Lara as most builders choose to. Not actually thrilling but nice." - Jorge22