Reviewer's comments |
"The cleopal textures have been used effectively here and the initial outside areas are really rather magical, especially the dragon constellation that Lara can't help but look at. It's a fast paced and mainly linear level with some scorpions and jackals to deal with and a nice flame/push piece puzzle. It does run out of steam a little in the latter half, but remains an enjoyable raid and well worth a look; despite being a two-partner you should manage to get it in at well under an hour." - Jay (09-Feb-2018) |
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"I have mixed feelings towards this level set. On the first hand, I absolutely loved the first half of it, especially the first secret which is pretty much a given but still, following the trail and then having Lara glimpse a 'dragon constellation' on the night sky was quite unique. There were fun sidequests to do as you moved along until late into the second half, where it feels as though there was some padding added to extend the level duration. You zoom past big areas to find new big areas, the one area where you pickup the Hand of Sirius felt seriously underused and then so did the next one, with the triple rope swing over what seemed a no escape crocodile pool. This area also was complemented by auxiliary rooms blocked by grates, but as you swing to the other side you simply slide towards the end of the level. I wouldn't say the second half was rushed, but perhaps gameplay didn't received as much attention as atmosphere and design overall. It was a fun raid, all things considered, so that's still a win in my book. 40 minutes, 3 secrets. 12/2017" - Treeble (04-Dec-2017) |
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"It's a shame about the somewhat unfinished
nature of this level, because there is a decent
level struggling to get out. Construction-wise,
it has been particularly well done, with
attractive lighting and texturing, save for the
flare bug and a missing texture near the end.
That said, you don't get that much done, as I
spent less than half an hour in the Temple and
the Gardens. There seemed to be expansive areas
with very little to do also. Oh, well. If you
can forgive the unfinished nature of the level,
you should have fun, but I can't help feeling
it could have been better." - Ryan (11-Sep-2016) |
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"A level based in the architecture, the care with the lighting and texturization and the ornaments so all the rooms have a very good look. About the gameplay I found nothing from another world; simple tasks, I think the repeated use of reach-in switches with fires and the many jumps with ropes could be avoided. Found many traps but not a hint to the last spiked trap in the final room with the hand. Enemies are only animals and the secret areas are very big. Anyway a level nice to play to have a good time." - Jose (27-Jun-2016) |
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"I'm sure lots of people enjoy easy levels, and if you do,
this short, easy game is for you. There were some good
puzzles and interesting flybys. Some places were a bit dark.
Other places were nice and beautiful. My only complaint would
have to be the darkness. This is a good level to play if you
are bored or if you ran out of good levels to play, so try
this one." - MegaGamer (08-Apr-2014) |
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"This is a rather easy, yet to an extent enjoyable and rather atmospheric two-parter which was a bit quick on the time at about 25 minutes. The tasks you'll find here are nothing groundbreaking and mostly as straightforward as it can get, save for a small puzzle area with pushables and fires in the second level. Towards the end, there are way too many rooms that you can take a quick look at and move on to the next without a single thing to do here, which makes this level feel a bit rushed in that regard, and throughout there are too many usages of ropes and too many jackals to fight, so it might not be the most balanced level out there. But for such an early release, the looks are undeniably great; the textures as well as the lighting are extremely carefully applied and create a very strong atmosphere, which remains a tad on the simple side, but overall this still is a quite beautiful level. The secrets aren't really hard to find but rather rewarding, with the most beautiful areas hidden in those secret paths - especially exploring the starting area is a feast for the eyes. If you're searching for a stress-free and eye-pleasing game this just might be the right pick." - manarch2 (02-Apr-2014) |
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"This is a very nice looking two-parter that I somehow missed in compiling my list of older levers to play. Both parts together take only about 45 minutes to play, about the right length for a single level. Nothing earth shattering, but a fun and fairly easy raid that's easy on the eyes. The secret areas are absolutely huge, which is a refreshing change from the usual crawl space or alcove, but there's relatively little to do or find in them. Recommended for a pleasant diversion." - Phil (28-Mar-2014) |
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"Pleasant level. Very easy and very beautiful. The secret rooms are very large. I could not shoot the lion heads with the crossbow, I had recover the sixshooter with dowy.
There are many parts to cross that are very nice but nothing to do it. Good level." - Minox (27-Mar-2014) |
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"This has a general classic Seth tomb atmosphere, with a few
other elements fitted in (namely for secrets) and it's
nicely done. A few areas are basic, but most of them are
quite detailed and there's a scale which gives it a nice
sense of grandeur. The lighting is also mostly strong,
especially for such an early set of levels.
This is a pretty short set of levels and they go past pretty
smoothly, the secrets are also well done as they are Lost
Artifact style prolonged ones that lead to entirely new
areas. Unfortunately there's a block puzzle towards the end
that dragged it down a lot for me; not the pushing itself,
but there's a complete lack of camera hints for when the
puzzle is solvable, I also encountered a bug that required
me to replay the second level as a flame at the puzzle
didn't turn off the first time, yet I replayed (you can at
least do it in less than ten minutes once you know the way)
and did the same things and it worked. It also feels like
the author ran out of ideas or was rushed at the end, as the
final parts involve running through corridors with a couple
of simple tasks and several doors that never open. Enjoyable
outside the block puzzle issues and lacking end." - Mman (07-Feb-2014) |
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"For about 2/3 of this double level's duration I was
convinced that I'd unearthed a lost gem,as the gameplay was
pretty much spot-on.Rope swings,spike traps,fire
puzzles,jackals aplenty and a decent quest for two cartouche
pieces ensured that this old-school adventure fairly zipped
along at a great pace;but one or two gameplay flaws started
to creep in:a hard to spot Torch;a lasersight(required for a
secret)never materialised;and a hammer sequence (well
devised)had a somewhat deceptive clue.It was also a little
tricky at times to understand what the consequence of
certain actions were. Toward the end of the
adventure,impressively empty rooms succeeded one
another;giving the distinct (and undoubtedly true)
impression that the builder had run out of gameplay ideas.
Whatever the case,the texturing and lighting were always
slick and often accomplished;and the atmosphere was
continually suspenseful and tense.With the walkthrough to
hand,this makes a fine little vintage adventure;and one I
would recommend to all who perhaps missed it the first time." - Orbit Dream (16-Feb-2013) |
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"Here is another oldie with classic Egypt design and two short levels. Lara had to explore the area without too much back tracking, found three hidden secrets and had to shoot plenty of attacking jackals. Beautiful flybys and a several camera hints showed the way and there were plenty of spikes, blades and timed burners to avoid. Some simple but logical push puzzles along with some triple rope swings made for an entertaining but never challenging raid, which also had a good atmosphere throughout. The layout and architecture were very classic and somewhat similar to the original TR4 game. I noticed a lot of areas where there was nothing to do but they were still decorated and even the secret areas consisted of multiple rooms by themselves. Although these days we are treated with all the high-resolution textures in modern levels, I have to say that this little gem offered plenty of eye candy. Texturing and lighting were nearly perfect. I like almost everything about this one, although I thought it could have been a little more challenging and a bit longer. I am glad I found this random feature level and if you like something"old school" once in a while, this would be a very good choice. (41 min, 3 secrets)" - Blue43 (04-Mar-2011) |
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"Another classic Egypt adventure for Lara....
We begin our quest just out side of a temple and tring to find a way in.
Our only enemies are some jackals that you will easily take down if you keep your distance whilst shooting at them.
The game doesn't bring anything new but the Cartouche combination puzzle is quite challenging, at least for me it was.....
The atmosphere was nicely created by the the jackals- very creapy indeed.
The bad part is that it ended too soon. It gave the idea that the author had something more to offer." - dya1403 (30-Mar-2006) |
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"A very large and often beautifully done level. There are some clever puzzles and bits to deal with. It does seem quite unfinished and the ending was not very satisfying. It appears to be the only work by a person of talent." - Duncan (20-Jun-2004) |
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"One thing is for sure - these two level look great (textures) and gave a good atmosphere. The first level Inside Temple of Apis is short and easy only to find half a cartouche, shoot dogs and continue to Gardens of Apis. Again looks wonderful here. Lara finds the second half; also she needs to raise blocks, move objects to hammer, shoots more dogs and takes the Hand of Sirius and slides to the end." - Yoav (23-May-2004) |
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"This level starts off looking so promising - great atmosphere texturing and lighting so when it ends after a short 45 minutes you can be left feeling a bit cheated. In between there are three rather large secret areas to find but the secrets (other than some flares) aren't much of a prize. And the early appearance of the flare bug makes even these less useful. Three brief puzzles are about the only meat on the gameplay bones here. Too bad things spoil a bit in the next-to-last room with a trial-and-error spike routine and a couple of bulls that serve no purpose at all other than to bother you if you're clumsy enough to wake them." - Tombaholic (19-Jan-2004) |
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"A new title and two beautiful levels that last only 45 minutes. Textures of the Semerkhet levels title.tga and settomb.tga with many torches on the walls create a good atmosphere. Some traps and puzzles along the way the longest one is the puzzle with movable objects and fire switches. You have to find a couple of cartouches to progress and a hand of Sirius as a reward. The three secrets are not to be missed: in the first outside area with the starry sky and the dragon constellation where you can find the crossbow in the red caves hidden behind some greenery (in the room with the two ropes) where you can find the lasersight and in Cleopal rooms with fountains when you shoot the gems in the mouth of the lions. Pity there is a door that remains closed and a missing texture in this third secret area. The enemies a lot of dogs beetles and a couple of bulls do not play a major role and the crocodiles are still waiting for something to eat." - eRIC (08-Oct-2003) |
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"There are some interesting puzzles in each of these two short levels. Nothing cutting edge but it was worth almost 50 minutes of classic raiding with some pushable puzzle pieces timed fire switches quite a few rope swings and a couple of puzzle pieces to collect. I saw a place for the Golden Vraeus near the beginning but never found the actual object. There was a strange mixture of enemies that included dogs scorpions bulls and some crocs near the end. I found two secret areas and though one had the crossbow inside I felt like I was missing something by not finding very much to do in them." - RaiderGirl (28-Nov-2002) |
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"I so wanted to like this level as the beginning with the nice flyby atmosphere and look just touched a part of my raiding soul that got my interest peaked but and you knew there was gonna be a but most of this double levelled game apart from a few good puzzles involving fire movable objects and sometimes a combination of both just seemed to be a case of simply running swimming or swinging through the rooms. That however wasn't all there were also a few unanswered questions for me such as when I finished there were still a handful of doors still unopened some rooms seemed to be of no use not even for progression and to access them you had to either shoot objects or pull switches which gave the impression there was some need for them there are two bulls you come across not long before the end but you can do what needs to be done in the room without ever rousing them and finally I came across two torches one that registered as a secret that also seemingly had no actual use and as the level is never too dark they don't seem to have been left to help with seeing things. Saying all that I still found myself enjoying this 55 minute level mainly because of the look of the temple and the quite nice atmosphere it's just a shame that it gave me a sense of incompletion at the end." - Sash (21-Jun-2002) |
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"I sure hope there is going to be a re-release of this level as this is clearly out there too early. You get the impression that the author lost interest in building and left a number of areas which beg to be explored just sitting there for us raiders to wonder why. As it is I spent only about 10 minutes in level one (Inside Temple of Apis) and another 30 in level 2 (Gardens of Apis). The mainly settomb style environment is nicely crafted with big impressive rooms and a few really nice flybys. Many scorpions and dogs to shoot and some spikes and ropes to maneuver. Finding half a cartouche in part 1 opens the door to part 2 but while I did find a crossbow and a torch here I never had to use them. Part two has some very nice touches like the slicer dicers the Semerkhet puzzle the fiery grab-in holes and a torch puzzle of which I am not sure that it did anything. The flare bug is annoying. The bulls you can avoid altogether by not going near them. It looks kind of cool to see them walking on water though. I did use dozy to shoot them gems and open another door but behind you only find the room from the flyby in cleopal style another lever and door but nothing to do here. So it all ends with many question marks after a few ropes but it was fun nonetheless." - Michael (21-Jun-2002) |
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"Most confusing level I ever seen. I had to convert 3 TOM files but only played two levels. The Temple and the Garden both owned by Apis. And it was too dark for my liking it gave me headache and to make matters worse the flare bug kicked in. Enemies I encountered are some scorpions dogs (always more than one at the time) and a pack of beetles. That one was easy just run outside and instead of going to the rope just jump to a pillar on the side. Bulls so long you stay away from them they won't bother you and crocs. Found two torches one gave a secret chime and found also the name Pantera written in the sand with a big paw print. The areas I traveled through were rather nice (when I could see anything that is) but mostly empty. Still some door are closed I hate that. When do the authors learn that dark is definitely NOT beautiful? The flybys are no help at all but there are some interesting puzzles. Still don't know what did what though. I hope the author will take notice as what is written in these reviews as this could be a great level. If so I for sure will have a go at it again. 22-06-2002" - Gerty (21-Jun-2002) |
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"The most noticeable thing about this level is the textures which are very good. There were some good puzzles to be solved but I was not sure what did what. I did find several doors that I couldn't open. By the time I came to the end I felt that I had missed loads of rooms and I found some objects that didn't seem to have any purpose maybe there will be a second part to this that will enable me to use the objects. At the end I had a feeling of being shortchanged. This level is worth a play even if it is just to see the texturing." - Jason (21-Jun-2002) |
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"I was stunned by the flyby and the very well built and textured rooms. The dark atmosphere is just perfect. The dogs alone took half of my life not mentioning of course the spikes. The puzzles are pushable objects with fire and some items to pick-up. The weird thing though apart from the so beautiful environment is that I didn't have the chance to open a door or two or place one puzzle item and I never found another one for the first level. One part reminded me of Semerkhet from TR4. It's a waste; if the author worked a little more with the puzzles this level could have been one of the best. Unfortunately there is a big problem the flare bug that follows you until the end I tried to use the binoculars and I got an error. At some part when you reach the pool there are two bulls that will not leave you to grab the rope and get across. The same bulls that annoyed you in the previous room with the hand. The dogs and crocodiles are other enemies you will encounter and let me tell you that the first are many. I hope that the author will reconsider and finish this level properly." - Kristina (21-Jun-2002) |
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"As I was wandering through those foreign hallways and heard the dogs wail I thought that this is the most gripping atmosphere I have experienced in a long while. The design of the rooms is just superb only when you reach the cleopal wad section things get ordinary. I also loved the gameplay and the overall concept and therefore it was really irritating that I had the feeling I did something wrong here when this double level ended after only 50 minutes cause I thought I had just gone through the warm up. Apparently other people had the same problem so for once it isn't entirely my fault. Obviously there is something more to be done as I came across places where you're supposed to put items I never found. I liked the way a whole bunch of goodies was placed near the skeleton thus justifying just for once all those handy medipacks along the way. The dark purple caverns where you find it is another great area and shortly after that you have to ropeswing over a pool of crocodiles and probably that's my favourite room of all. Enemies are mainly dogs but that's ok it went with the vibe and I'm sure there was something more evil waiting in places I missed. What I found confusing was that sometimes you had to do quite a few tasks at once and I was never sure what effect they had. Oh well as long as there is an open door at the end of the corridor you shouldn't complain I guess. I would really advise the author to work this over so that you get a better idea of the route you have to take then this could become a really magical adventure as it is I had the distinctive feeling of work in progress. Mind you atmosphere and textures are still fantastic." - Dimpfelmoser (21-Jun-2002) |
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