Level reviews

"There used to be a time, back when I was a teenager, that TR5 was among my favorite games in the series. While it fell from grace to nearly the bottom of the deep pit, this level reminded me of those days when life was simpler and almost had me fooled into believing it could be actually good. The setting is pitch perfect, it takes the opening act of TR5 and builds on top of it while adding a few touches of its own. The general open-ended nature of the level could make navigation a bit harder than it should, so it's in your best interest to take Mulf's walkthrough along for the ride to ensure you get the best experience out of it. Good fun otherwise. I smiled when I saw nods to Lady_Wise and TheWorldlyGamer in game, who were beta testers for this level at the time but both eventually moved on to build levels of their own afterwards. 45 minutes, 4 secrets. 07/26" - Treeble

"This pretty little gem gives you about an hour of gameplay in the beautiful city of Rome. The puzzles here are not that hard. The real challenge is to find out where to climb and navigate some tricky jumps. Lara needs to find three coins to open the gate to a memorial and she will meet Pierre and Larson in during her trip through the city. Apart from them there are mostly watchdogs guarding the area. The adventure would not be complete without some statues coming to life, however. I only found 3 out of 4 secret roses. The Atmosphere seems very familiar with all the assets from the TRC Rome levels, altough some materials were customised to add something unique to this game. Lighting and textures were very well done and I must say I had a great time in Rome. Recommended." - Sponge

"In terms of story, location, characters and visuals this very much feels like TRC streets of Rome reimagining but with all brand new areas to explore and make your way through. Textures, atmosphere,music and lighting are like I said very reminiscent from that level from the 5th TR game and actually include the cutscenes animations as well actually so anyway I'll talk about the gameplay which starts off with platforming and switch finding until we can gain access to open hub area which is where 3 collected artefacts need to be placed. Finding these 3 items is the main purpose of the level and tasks are very heavy on platforming, climbing and tricky jumps across ledges, balcony's and rooftops etc. Gameplay elements I appreciated was the timed runs which there was at least 2 of I can remember, the challenging boss battle where you need to shoot his eyes, and the turning off of a fan to shimmy to a new area. Other tasks included pushable item manoeuvring and pole/ rope swinging and climbing with any type of traps being a rare component indeed, I think there was only fire shoots on a pole and some spikes to invert with a lever, bit disappointing! When it comes to enemies there's a couple of boss battles with Larson, Pierre and a Roman statue man as well as some bats and annoying dogs, I say annoying because it takes too long to kill them if using pistols. Overall I feel this a solid and polished level with great exploration especially for secrets, it has variety in its tasks with some fun elements, my only gripes would be some obscure or hidden manoeuvres, the potential annoying backtracking you'd have to do (like I did) if you missed a key or a lever for example and the lack of much danger involving trap sequences etc but otherwise a enjoyable level especially if your a fan of the TRC Rome adventure I think." - John

"This level is easy on the eyes and easy in its overall flow and hence a very enjoyable raid of a little under an hour with 4 secret roses to collect along the way. There is a bit of fun platforming to manage, a few boxes to push around, one not too tight timed run and several dobermans to shoot. What makes it unique is the reasonably successful attempt to include a few cutscenes, which while not fully technically working around all the edges, do work quite well and are actually very funny with Pierre and Larson doing their thing. The floating head makes and appearance too. There are maybe rather too many fixed cameras but they are not too annoying and you can almost always use the look key to get out of them. The boss fight is maybe a bit too simple, but then again it kind of fits the overall vibe of this game. Good fun for everyone here." - MichaelP

"Third of the Create a Classic 2019 competition that I actually played, this level helped me finally start the journey through the competition.
This level tries to be some kind of reimagination of the Rome section from Tomb Raider Chronicles, and I am glad to say the author really managed to do that in a fantastic way.
Gameplay-wise, the level has a lot to do, mainly around platforming. It was nice to discover every single corner of the level. Moreover, this is enhanced by the great atmosphere this level has.
In fact, in this level the city doesn't seem an abandoned place(just like TR2 Venice), but the level subtly hints at how this whole place could be full of people: you can get inside some buildings that are all full furnished and they feel so fitting where they are placed. That was one of the greatest touches from this level. Another great thing here are cutscenes: even if some had some glitches, they were fun and entertaining, and honestly my favourite one is the one where the statue opens the wheel-gate. That was so iconic.
This level also have some boss fights at the end, that help complete the whole adventure.
Graphically-wise, it is ok and belivable, but nothing too out of the ordinary. It managed to build the atmosphere quite nicely.
If I really need to find a flaw though, is that finding the way to proceed is very difficult: I have been stuck for some time trying to look for the correct way. It seems that the way to progress is often very well hidden or a bit counter-intuitive.

Overall, it was a great experience, that managed to make me like this level despite my heavy dislike for TR5's Rome. Great Job!

Recommended? Yes, definitely, especially if you are a fan of TR5's Rome section, you won't regret it.

Difficulty? Easy-Medium.

Duration? Approx. 50-80 minutes." - TombExplorer

"(9) Gameplay & Puzzles: This is a chill, goofy level focused on city exploration/light platforming, with not much in the way of traps or puzzles. Despite the lack of traps and puzzles (my favorite gameplay elements), I still had a delightful adventure, and I never got bored. The builder did an excellent job of creating engaging flow, where I always wanted to find out what was in the next room, or the next rooftop, etc. I think my only critique of the gameplay is that Lara has to pull a chain 3 times and it's not clear at all that she needs to do this. (8) Enemies, Objects & Secrets: I enjoyed the enemy selection, although I think it's really silly that you bring a statue to life, he teleports to a gate, opens it, and then flops over dead straight after. I would have liked it more if he had teleported away to a mystical realm after opening the gate. Decor was applied beautifully and realistically, both in the city streets and interiors. The sneaky secrets were done well; I found 3/4. (8) Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras: While the cutscenes enhanced the atmosphere (and made me chuckle... "I'll buy you a milkshake"), there were also a few things that were detrimental to the atmosphere: the wonky horizon, and geometry glitching in and out of visibility in the distance. Sound tracks were perfect and camera hints ensured a smooth progression where I never felt lost/confused. However, the builder did include many extra cameras that I did not think were necessary (particularly the fixed cameras). (9) Lighting & Textures: This adventure is well-lit and looks great, and gives off a "cheerful and chill" aesthetic. Overall, although the level is not very challenging or thrilling, it's still a lot of fun to play and brought a smile to my face from start to finish. 9/8/8/9." - nerdfury

"Another good level from this contest. Undoubtely there's certain backtracking if you don't go first to the places the author thought, but never too nasty. Not hard tasks but not clever puzzles to solve too; good architecture and texturization, nice roman environments, some traps and a lot of exploration to find the three plaques you need to open the big circular door. I liked the cutscenes with the old Lara's enemies, and the cameras and musics are well worked too. The only "but" was to be forced to pull the chain three times (why?). Anyway, a solid level worth to play and recommended for most players. Good work!" - Jose

"I quite enjoyed this 40 minute romp through Tomb Raider 5 territory even if one or two areas resembled the original far too much. This bordered on being "too busy" with all the alleyways and back tracking involved but they were generally short. The cut scenes with Pierre and Larson worked in the main. The first had them fading in and out of screen but the last made me laugh out load as they high tailed it away from the ever vengeful Lara. Secrets were well hidden and whilst I did not find them all there was no reward in going the extra length as they were those insipid roses in any event. Textures and lighting were grand." - Torry

"This hour and fifteen minute level is more visually appealing than Rome Streets Mystery and more fun to play. The gratuitous fixed cameras become annoying after a while, but at least the player is allowed to break out of most of them by hitting the look key. The timed run baffled me for a while until I realized you could jump directly back into the wall opening from the lever ledge without first having to jump back to the bridge. Mulf's insightful walkthroughs are always entertaining to read and to follow, not to mention his tidbits of practical advice (such as climbing onto a block to evade the Roman soldier's lightning bolts). No reasonable complaint of complexity could be assigned to this level, which is fairly straightforward from start to finish. Everything is well lighted so that use of a flare is never needed. Another winner in a healthy assortment of 2019 CaC submissions." - Phil

"Amazing TR5 like Level, So good to see a great level from LOTRKingluis, and as always with Luis the secrets are well hidden, The only small detail which I didn't like is the Small Variety of Enemies. But Other than that Totally Recommended." - JoeTheCrazyGamer

"This level captures the atmosphere of Rome so nicely it felt like it really was part of TRC. While overall it wasn't really complicated level to finish, it was a decent package which has lots to offer, some platforming, interesting puzzles, exploration, traps, and cutscenes. Visually level was nice to look at excluding some minor issues like underwater cracks and wrong WorldFarView value causing the game to glitch in the distance. Speaking of glitches, while i liked the addition of cutscenes, they had some issues like Pierre and Larson disappearing and aside from that, they weren't set properly having sound issues. Lara's model also glitched during cutscenes, some textures were rotated wrongly on her pelvis mesh and she had shotgun with missing faces. While these are all minor issues, I like to look into the detail and all of that breaks immersion for me. All in all, it's a well-rounded package with few minor visual issues suitable for everyone who wants to take small break from busy life and enjoy some tomb raidering!" - Raider99

"This is another pseudo-remake of Chronicle's first level, although it's pretty different outside of some repurposed cutscenes and similar base idea (hunting for a few items to place in something). This is easily the best looking of the Roman streets levels so far in this contest, with consistently good looking areas and open streets that feels semi-realistic. There's also some nice object with unique set-pieces in the last section and a nicely done boss to finish it. The general gameplay is relatively simple, with nothing too intensive difficulty wise. There's a decent amount of non-linearity, as you can tackle the items to hunt for in any order, which also provides some room to explore elsewhere if you get stuck on a task. There was a ladder that led to some weird issues with the action button while under it (I guess something to do with trickery starting it part way up the wall), but it goes away when you move away from it so it's not any major issue. A good map, although a relatively simple one compared to the bigger entries, but very much quality over quantity." - Mman

"A solid little adventure, which took me about an hour to finish with 3 of 4 secrets. The gameplay consists mostly of finding keys and puzzle items to reach further and sometimes a bit exploration is necessary, cause the areas are big. Unfortunately, they only "seem" to be big most of the times. The gameplay's not linear in general, but to access all of the places of the main areas there has to be a specific order to do the things after all. There were also some well reused cutscene animations from TRC and cutscenes are almost always a highlight in Custom Levels. Sadly there were some texture issues on Lara, especially in the cutscenes, which could have been avoided I guess. Most of the objects and textures were from TRC and the atmosphere was very close to the original Rome section, mainly because of the sounds and the edited health bar, which looked like the one from TRC. The lighting was sometimes a bit too bright and intense, maybe a more smoother lighting would have been easier on the eye. Even if I had to complain about a few things, TRC levels are too rare in my opinion and there should be more like this." - MarlenaCrystal

"One of my competition favourites: intriguing, clever, humorous, rewarding exploration, implying hidden city life and somehow (rare thing) keeping me focused even though it mixes linear puzzles with non-linear, so I think the brains were heavily underrated here - not only I wasn't bored for a single second but I also stayed motivated to look for a missing secret for an hour. The only unfulfilled wish was the rooftops, always teasing but never opening." - DJ Full

"I rather liked this TR5-ish Rome level for what it is: not some sort of vague remake but a totally new adventure with lots to do while keeping up to the original spirit. Some things aren't immediately obvious but they aren't for geniuses either and the tasks are varied and generally interesting. The settings looked pretty well crafted to me. The two things I liked a little less were the several fixed cameras moments (even though they looked good, but they tend to always be a nuisance) and the multiple times I ended up jumping up to a certain ledge with a lever to my right. Nice atmosphere too. Quite enjoyable." - Jorge22

"This level is so far the one that best evokes memories from the original (in this case TR 5) level without being a remake. Of course, it still uses a lot of elements from Chronicles, but it is still done in a refreshing way. There is a great storyline added and it all wraps up very nicely at the end too, which is also a plus for me. The gameplay is enjoyable, maybe not too intense in its tasks (there is really not much you haven't seen before in this or that way) but more relaxing and the exploration of the city is very charming. Perhaps there are a few too many minor texturing issues and I think the whole "upper" part of the game with its rooftops and the like is not perfectly handled, but the builder has a grasp on using sounds and cameras very well in various situations. All in all I finished with 35 minutes on the clock, having found four nice secrets. A level most remembered for its nostalgic feelings but also for its good story." - manarch2

"This level is nice to browse with beautiful texturing and lighting and some beautiful video footage. I loved found the Roman soldier with his 2 flaming eyes. It is best to get the most ammo to kill the final boss faster. Recommended" - Drakan

"A re-imagining of the first story from Tomb Raider Chronicles. Everything you saw there you will see here: the various statues shooting lasers at you, dogs, and a couple of traps, along with Pierre and Larson, with whom you actually get to fight this time. Many of the cutscenes from the official game are remixed in this one as well, adding to the immersion. Texturing and lighting are good, I would have liked to see a bit more lighting variety. While not the most original submission, the creativity put toward the rearrangement of the various aspects of the level still makes for a nice raid. 57 minutes." - JesseG

"A solid, enjoyable and well executed raid through a pleasingly evocative (well, TR5- style, anyway) Roman setting. The entire map has a nice, spread out feel to it, while never becoming too confusing or unfair. At least once you get the lay of the land and realise what the main objective is (to obtain three Roman coin artefacts to pave the way to the final boss area), it shouldn't prove too difficult to make your way through. A couple of minor things could have done with a bit of fine-tuning, however. Firstly, there was a slight glitch with one of the cutscenes where Pierre and Larson blinked in out of existence while it was playing, which looked a bit odd. Also, the fixed cameras were nothing more than an irritation. It might look artistic to the builder but for me it didn't add much to my enjoyment of the level. Finally, the Dobermans seemed even more resilient than usual (in my case it took about four Revolver shots to take one down). Whether this last point was intentional, I don't know, but I didn't much care for it. Still, a nicely put together raid." - Ryan

"This is exactly the kind of gameplay I love: a gigantic set of outdoor Roman streets chock full of gates to unlock, rooftops to run across, and distinctive areas to explore. I appreciated how, even using the classic TRC texture set, the different areas of the level (start, main square, and three quests) each had their own atmosphere with slightly different colors or texture choices. I also liked the TRC-style health bar, Lara sound effects, and save icons, although I wish the icons had been adjusted to the correct size and that the pistols and shotgun had used the TRC sound and the breath/sprint bars had matched, making it truly feel like TRC. In many ways, I think just a few more details would catapult this level up from great to fantastic: first, there are multiple instances of cracks in walls or textures that are close but not quite aligned right. Second, the draw distance is too short for the ambitiously large rooms, meaning that the horizon, which does not match the sky color, shows through quite often. These did not interfere with the excellent gameplay, but did mar the experience of immersion. There was only one instance where I was truly stuck, and that had to do with a climbable surface that I really did not expect to be climbable but is necessary to continue the game. Some further indication of its presence, maybe a 3D ladder rather than the horizontal texture, would have been useful here, since lower down on the same block is not climbable. The reimagining of the Larson and Pierre interactions was quite good (although they disappeared during some of the cutscenes while sound continued), and I liked the gameplay and the final fight with them better than in TRC. One other thing I would have liked changed was the durability of the Dobermans . . . they took a lot of bullets to kill, and attacked Lara fairly aggressively, meaning I was quite low on health packs when it was time for the triple showdown with Frenchie and the cowboy, and then the centurion, at the end. I loved the secrets, especially the blue rose! I laughed out loud when it appeared. About an hour to complete, and definitely recommend playing it. I agree with one of the other reviewers: I'd love to see a revised version with the corrected cracks and textures, blended horizon colors, fixed disappearing Larson/Pierre in cutscenes, and increased draw distance!" - Cbl

"How lovely to have another trip to Rome and to meet up with some old - friends', whose cut scenes added some welcome humour to the proceedings. Good, varied gameplay kept me entertained throughout and I enjoyed exploring the basements, rooftops and water passages of Rome very much. The laser firing head took me a while to deal with, as usual, but otherwise everything was very achievable. The fixed camera angles irritated me a bit, but they didn't hamper the gameplay in any way. Well worth playing." - Jay

"A solid raid through the streets of Rome. Very reminiscent of the Chronicles levels. There are the usual tasks of finding keys to progress, timed runs, switches and artifacts. The turbine fan and circuit board was a nice touch. The progression was pretty wide open for the most part, with many areas accessible from the start. Enemies are what you would expect from a TR V Rome level. I don't think I'll ever get tired of shooting the eyes out of the floating Legionnaire's head! Nice touch with the location of the revolver; for a moment at the beginning of the encounter I thought Lara and I were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thank the old Gods that there was no three-headed dragon in this one. That crowbar door near the end was really dirty, though! My Larson and Pierre got stuck in an endless loop on the roof during their cutscene, which was unintentionally hilarious. Each time I had to run through the square I'd look up and sure enough, there they were, probably arguing over who was going to buy that milkshake. I had a good cackle at it. There was also something odd going on with the dogs: some had double the health they should have, randomly. I tested the last two in the long alleyway. One time it took 8 rounds from the revolver to put one of those puppies in time out. A quick reload and re-do later and it was 3. Just an oddity that I figured I'd bring to attention. Found 4 secrets (one of which I thought was a wraith coming to kill me) and spent a little bit over an hour with this one. I enjoyed it; thanks Luis!" - Chel

"The map may not be so big after all , but it is well designed with plenty and varied activities in it, I appreciated the builder's very good ideas in the gameplay puzzles and objects categories. Design is well done (the few textures not well applied do not really count) , atmosphere is not very varied as you get the same background loop although it makes sense , the fixed cameras are a bit too many but it is not annoying , i like the funny storyline with the two idiots ; an interesting and well done level with interesting situations and varied secrets." - eRIC

"So far the best experience I've had so far in this competition! It brought back great memories of Chronicles, which I think has been underrated for so long. The only problem with this level is its obscurity. Things from like the jumps and lack of hints. I needed help because I really liked this level so I had to video search a walkthrough. I would LOVE to play a revised version or a continuation to give better scores. =) 1hr 8mins." - StudBuddha

"This was a very engaging re-imagining of the events from TR5's Rome levels to play through (despite some noticeable issues such as dogs being far too unrealistically durable to your weaponry, one of the cutscenes being a tad glitchy with displaying the models for Larson & Pierre, some particularly evil, obtuse trap placement in routes before boss fights and dynamic camera angles that despite being well intentioned, only serve to annoy as you find yourself constantly pressing the look key in order to get a better view of your surroundings, every time one goes back and forth within a given room). But in spite of the above problems, level design is still quite well-crafted (with clever placement of secrets, some delightful reinterpretations of established TR5 cutscenes and a couple charming easter eggs through job ad signs that reference the builder's beta testing team or ones they know personally in an appealing fashion), objects, textures and lighting are used to convincing effect and the atmosphere feels incredibly authentic to the original Rome maps from TR5 overall. Would recommend this to anyone curious if you're willing to put up with some snags and fairly rushed design in spots for the sake of having fun." - Ceamonks890

"Another brilliant level by Luis. I was instantly greeted by nostalgia from the Tomb Raider Chronicles opening cutscene. There's so many great things that I can say about this level. The hilarious cutscenes with Pierre and Larson, the beautiful lighting effects and the fun boss fights made this game incredibly fun to play. Some of the cutscenes were a tiny bit glitchy and there was an extremely long pause in one of the cutscenes that took a while before I could regain control of Lara. The secrets were challenging to find and they were all hidden in very clever places. The builder made the guns in this game slightly less powerful so the enemies were harder to kill and it really adds an extra challenge to this level which is great. Also the explosive trap at the end was just pure genius. If anyone is looking for a Rome level to play I highly recommend this level." - TheWorldlyGamer

"A very nostalgic level that reminds Streets of Rome and Trajan Markets. The atmosphere is spot on. The level shows a lot of cinematic scenes and cameras (a bit overused), puzzles/progression are really simple to face, but the size of the explorable area makes the adventure pretty enjoyable, and with some chances you can stay stuck for a while. The gameplay is nice enough to motivate the player to keep playing until the end and to find out solutions without getting frustrated, also because of the nice and relaxing atmosphere. Some choices can be surely improved and polished, such as the last piece to find, which isn't placed in a "special place" but just in a random wall of a random balcony. Some other areas give the idea that they have a purpose, but they haven't any (cameras often don't help with this), such as the pool on the roof with a suspicious underwater passage (fake) and the fake door just after it on the balcony, which is where the third piece could have been placed instead. Secrets are not too difficult (except one) and they're pleasant to find, while enemies/combats are the weak point of this adventure, since there are only some dogs and they're absurdly overpowered of health (or weapons are too weak) and their behaviour is also not really reactive, that makes the combat just long and boring, with no dangers or things to pay attention about. At the end, there is a 3-bosses battle, which goes pretty much in contrast with the rest of the level. Other two contrasting parts are two infamous traps that don't fit at all, such as the spikes (while the level is extremely pacific and calm), and the explosive trap at the end, which is purely non-sense. Actually, it gives the impression that the last part of the level has been built fastly to meet the deadline, resulting a bit drafty. The adventure is mainly suitable for who doesn't like combat or to feel risks/adrenaline, but that prefers to explore areas calmly and to feel the atmosphere. Nice cinematics for the ending." - dinne