Level reviews

"Two very quirky levels indeed. Lara spends the first part practising to be a cowgirl, which is quite fun, and the second part is a weird mash up of alien, lab and lord knows what else. It's definitely more of a conversation piece than a thing of joy, but undeniably different." - Jay

"This release has nothing to do with Christmas. The title may make you expect something festive but alas it's not to be. The best features of this game are undoubtedly Lara's outfits and the enemy encounters (although some are just useless target practice as they don't attack). That aside, I was rather underwhelmed with this. The scenery throughout isn't very attractive, gameplay is mundane and tedious (aside from a couple of fun slope sequences) and the mismatched sounds for different objects throughout suggest that this was just rushed out to the public without much effort. As mentioned, the objects were nice, but it's a bit of a non-event." - Ryan

"A couple of levels easy to play but with some errors in the design: in the first level, after shooting the first enemy you can jump over the exit closed doors, never can go back to get the computer parts and you'll be stucked forever; in second level, if you don't use the zip line to the very end,you'll never get the crowbar and stucked forever again. There are a lot of paper walls in both levels, missing sounds and another times no proper sounds for some events (the doberman, opening doors, enemies...). At the very end of the first level, I got a gun I could never use, and the ammo for the revolver in second level was insufficient. The lighting in first level is too bright, and in the second one is too dark; also I missed some cameras and musics here and there. Playable but not very entertaining." - Jose

"This easy to play two-level pack has, as others mentioned, nothing to do with Christmas except for the release date. The first level"Western Adventure" looked a bit like the Nevada levels from TR3 but there are some nice old western buildings used for decoration. Lara sports a nice cowboy outfit with matching hat and her goal is to proceed through the level by pushing buttons, turn a few valves and find a couple of computer parts. There is lots of running around through the outside areas and here and there a baddie or dog shows up and must be eliminated. Sounds were only partly working and many of them were placed in the wrong spots. There were a couple of paper-thin walls and the larger areas had a bit of a repetitive, wallpapered look to them. The end came sudden and unexpected. (16 minutes)"Russian Rooftops": The game play in this second part is a bit more interesting, since there are a few jumping sequences and the level does have a more fluent feel to it. The level is darker and a little better textured than the first one and I was glad that the builder provided enough flares. Sounds were better here but still partially incorrect. The enemies are a little tougher and although Lara picked up lots of Uzi clips, the matching gun was never found. As with the first one, the finish trigger comes surprisingly fast and gives the player the feeling that there should have been a little more to it. (17 minutes). All in all, this set of level was quite fun to play and even if the looks and textures might look a little outdated buy today's standards, I thought it was worth the download and playing through." - Blue43

"Another level set which has nothing to do with Christmas besides the title. Two indepentendly played levels, but so short, they seemed like demos. Original settings, especially in the first level, cool Lara's outfits. The levels seemed a bit rushly put together, texturing a bit rough and there was someting wrong with the sounds, some were out of place and some were missing. Not much gameplay, but the enemies were nicely done and the originality of the Western idea is very welcomed. As gameplay goes the second level is better, as it has at least some challenge with some jumps. Some objects in the mirror floor room were poorly placed. I wish the author had developed the levels more." - Akcy

"Two separate adventures for the price of one - that's not a bad deal.It would be an even better deal if either of them were particularly substantial,but sadly that's not the case. 'Western Adventure' is set in the American west of Arizona (or thereabouts) and not the 'wild west' of the movies.Despite the novel setting,this is no threat to Hendrik's 'The quick and the dead',as you need more than just a fetching outfit and a few cowboy baddies to make an enjoyable adventure.In this case the gameplay consists of running around a large empty area pushing buttons and fighting slightly buggy enemies (baddies that charge at you but don't actually cause any harm;dogs that make exploding noises while running around)until you activate a switch and unexpectedly complete the level. 'Russian rooftops' is the more immersive of the two and is occasionally well made and convincing. A tricky-ish opening jump;a zip-line;some re-modelled baddies and a climactic shootout all come to the aid of this short adventure,but incorrectly placed doors annoy (the builder should be long past this problem)and the brevity of the level means that it's over just as it was warming up. In both adventures the use of original objects is wll handled (particularly the wind-farm in the western township and the rooftop radio transmitters in Russia)but both adventures needed much more time and care. A rather undemanding 40 minutes in total,but what the heck..you could do much worse." - Orbit Dream

"Not a bad pair of levels. One is set in the desert the other in Russia. Gameplay consists mainly of pushing switches using keys/items and shooting enemies. The enemies were quite good with some bandits in the 1st level and Russian guards in the second. The sounds were quite mixed up but were rather amusing to listen to. The 1st level looked quite Nevada style and Wild West and the 2nd was fairly original kinda did look like Russia! I liked the 2nd level more than the 1st both levels were fairly enjoyable but way too short which was a shame. If Christian remade these sorted out the sounds made the textures more impressive and made both levels a lot longer then he'd be onto a winner!" - Aims

"Western Adventure (7 minutes 3/4/3/3): The level ended quite suddenly and I never had a chance to start enjoying it. There's not much to do - just kill some enemies and press some buttons. Most of the enemies unfortunately don't work properly. The texturing isn't very good and the cliffs don't look convincing. The lighting also needs quite a lot of work. It's an honest try though. Russian Rooftops (9 minutes 3/4/3/4): The gameplay is pretty much the same as in the other level but the texturing is slightly better. Though it's a little odd in places. And there's absolutely no logic to the gameplay. The elevator was quite fun though just because of the way it worked. Really not my kind of level." - Magnus

"The only thing Christmas-like about these levels is the release date. Otherwise you have two very short levels in totally disparate settings: Nevada and a Russian City. I somehow always enjoy Christian's levels more than my rating might indicate because they're usually quite original. The stars of the show are the cowgirl outfit the wind farm the crowbar doors (a la TR2/3) and the other original objects enemies and so forth. Gameplay is easy but entertaining enough. What I can't understand is why this author after so many levels is still so lazy with thin walls and haphazard texturing in places. I guess he just doesn't want to be bothered with that aspect of level building. Also very annoying are the sounds associated with some enemies and objects. Still another interesting work and worth a look." - Tombaholic

"I had to look at the other reviews because I thought something was wrong. Lara in a cowboy outfit in a western town - at Christmas! No by the looks of it all is well. Two different levels in the one download released just before Christmas last year. The first the western adventure has Lara starting in a room where I hear some nasty sounding goings on outside that door. It's a very noisy goon but he's easy to dispose of with pistols as he didn't come all the way up to the door. I liked the idea of the town but this is not ye olde west it's modern times searching for fuses and battery. Things I really liked: the cowboys the cactus the wind wheels. Don't know what that guy was doing in the tunnel looks like he's trying to shoot the zombie. Giant rats in the sewer. An easy level with searching being the main occupation and shootin'. Now we choose the Russian level. Gameplay here is a bit more interesting and we get to use a zipline some jumping on pillars. I particularly liked the lighting in this level and the textures were better. Peculiar sounds when Lara bumps into something. I ran around for ages wondering what to do with the key then I went back to a place where I did something else before. I don't remember having done anything like this before two tasks at the one place. Anyway two fairly straight forward levels." - CC

"With two disconnected levels in this set these definitely were released around Christmas but I hate to say they aren't that special. Sure there are some great new enemies cowboy inspired in the first and supposedly Russian in the second and Lara's Annie Oakley inspired outfit in the first was very fitting but both these levels which lasted about 10 to 15 minutes each just had very basic gaming that made these levels feel very unfinished. I even found a bug that crashed the level in 'Russian Rooftops' when I pushed the button where you use the key before I opened the second crowbar door and this made it impossible to cross that crowbarred doorway without going back to desktop so make sure you open the door first and go in search of the key before you push the button. I really expect more than this when I download something of this size and in the end they were quite disappointing." - Sash

"Two quite enjoyable levels for people who enjoy Silent Viper's levels - and I am one of them. As always lots of baddies around to shoot and while this was Silent's Xmas present to the TRLE community it didn't bring peace to Lara. Quite the opposite! In two completely different locations (one in the Western and the second in Russia) Lara with cool different outfits will have to survive. No artifacts to conquer as far as I remember however 'Western Adventure' deserves its credit for being set in such an uncommon place and the second 'Russian Rooftops' well it was more like a city style which we already have seen a lot of times. Both lasted for about 20 minutes each and I believe that with a little more effort it could be a great adventure. In the first level Lara's dressed as a cowboy but what happened to her hair? And in Russia she features the AOD jeans outfit. I found no secrets and the levels are quite linear but as I said if you're used to Silent Viper's levels you will have some fun here." - Treeble

"This is actually 2 separate levels on the same billing as a Christmas Special which to start with makes absolutely no sense at all. In the first one 'Western Adventure' Lara is sporting a dandy 'Annie Oakley' outfit very nicely done but that's the best part of the level oh the cacti too are a nice touch. Lara must find her way through a Nevada town battling some goons a giant rat and making a few pick ups. The second part 'Russian Rooftops' is totally unrelated to part one and needs to be started as a separate game. Try as I might I could not get that jump from the rooftops to the ledge and given the rest of the adventure wasn't worth the effort and I ended up dozying. The big alien in Lara's bed was so out of place it was laughable but the re-textured tin man as a dark-coated Russian mobster or maybe KGB was a nice touch. Also the crowbar you needed to pick it up again after using it although it was impossible to miss that you had to do that but still another nice stroke. Stretched textures and thin walls clearly not this author's best effort." - Momster

"A Western Adventure Lara is dressed as a cowgirl from head till her toes completed with hat and spurs. There are some nasty looking goons and a dog is guarding the key to open the gate. Finding some computer parts and card will give her access to the other parts of this Western town. The rats are enormous and I wonder at the food they must be eating as I also bumped into a re-textured mummy (?) it is a weird and spooky town. This is a big area and the horizon is disappearing the whole place is fairly empty. Nice touch is the cactus. The second level although you have to start the new game for it is Russian Rooftops. Lara starts in her hotel room and remind me to never book a room in that hotel. Off she goes in finding doors to open. There is a great jump to make and finding a key and some batteries and a crowbar that a baddy just dropped before her and you better pick up that crowbar after you used it as you need it further down the road as well. There is at the end some buttons to push and from Michael's review I understand that that was an elevator. You have a confrontation with more baddies and after shooting the barrel the game is over. All in all a lot of thin textures and a bit haphazardly done in my opinion. There was no sound while shooting even playing it on the PC. 28-12-2002" - Gerty

"I don't know if I should feel bad when rating the levels like this because they count as Christmas specials or be satisfied that I gave my true opinion about this cause I didn't find anything more related to Christmas than just the title. Western adventure - The first western level we have so far I think. The new enemies were nice but I didn't like the sounds some of them made (especially the dog) and the texturing was quite bad too it didn't look like the author had put too much effort in texturing the place. The outfit was good though. The MP5 near the end was quite useless since Lara couldn't take it to the next level and there were no enemies after that. Russian Rooftops - Aliens in bed bathrooms with rusty metal floors and killers in a hotel room - things that can only happen in Russia (in a custom level) I presume. The start had a tricky jump that reminds me of those I've seen in Justin's levels and there are 2 jump sequences but boy was I disappointed when this level ended after some lousy 11 minutes! And it even could've been less if I'd seen the battery on the chair earlier and wouldn't bother to fight the guys in the end of the level before entering the courtyard. The outfit in this level was nice too but I missed any helpful firearms to fight the tough enemies." - eTux

"This set of two levels has nothing to do with Christmas other than the release date. Western Adventure (6/8/5/4 20 min): Here we have a cowgirl Lara in game which looks great from hat to boots. Also some of the baddies that appear as enemies fit very well and the big rat gave me the creeps. Unfortunately that's all that is worth mentioning about this part. The setting is very carelessly done with many thin walls the computer parts puzzle pieces did not fit in at all same for Codo's wind wheels and there is very little gameplay or other action involved. Near the end you get an MP5 but by then I did not have anybody left to use it on. Russian Rooftops (6/7/6/6 20 min): Independent of the other level I found this adventure a little more involving. It is appropriately darker Lara wears yet another great outfit and there are at least a few jumps to manage a zip line a 'knight tinman' more big rats and baddies around. The elevator did not work well in my opinion. Bottomline I was rather disappointed with this offering as they fall clearly short of the Caribbean Disaster adventures and seemed like a rushed job." - Michael

"I played this set of levels on Christmas day because I assumed they had something to do with Christmas but just in case you're wondering they do not. It's actually two separate levels that you start individually and seem to have nothing in common. The first is set in what looks like a Nevada ghost town and Lara has short hair and has on what looks like a gunslingers outfit. There are some baddies dressed appropriately in western garb (you'll also find Larson which is kinda fun) and a small town to search for a chip and a battery. Just when you think it will load the second level it drops back to the menu and lets you select the next level yourself. It is set in a Lara's hotel room in Russia and the first thing you notice is that there's a large alien lying in Lara's bed. There is another battery to find and use plus a key as you search the rooftops by way of zip line and then finally get back down to the streets where there's a gas can to blow up. There aren't any hard puzzles to solve or tough baddies (the rats are really cool though) but this was fun to play for all the new things being used like windmills; the re-textured baddies and objects that aren't seen very often; plus the scenery and environment are very imaginative and fun to look at. Merry Christmas!" - RaiderGirl

"I liked Lara's outfits and especially the one in the first level. There are new enemies therefore the high mark at the second category. Unfortunately the areas are a little empty and the puzzles few not to mention thin walls everywhere. The first level 'Western Adventure' lasted twenty minutes and had a relief a key a card I believe and a jump switch. There was one annoying guy that was pushing Lara around but wasn't shooting at her. Now that I got my Christmas presents I can admit I've been a bad girl today because I shot that guy he was getting on my nerves. The sounds are interesting every time Lara bumps onto a close door or walls also the guns sounds. The setting is a deserted area outside mostly and of course it would be judging from the level's title. The second level 'Russian Rooftops' didn't look much of rooftops to me there was a jump at the beginning and getting down from rooftops near the end but nothing else to support the title. The puzzles are not many here too batteries a key and the crowbar. About the crowbar it was under a blue chair in front of an office and I was lucky to spot it first time around pure accident I believe but you have to use the crawl key and get close for Lara to pick it up. Opening doors with the crowbar a little jumping-climbing and you get four enemies at once that shoot at you like maniacs and you're dead before you even draw your guns. Fortunately having the desert eagle was a big help. The level ended by blowing up a canister and entering what looked like a house courtyard. This one lasted twenty minutes also. Given the title I was expecting to see Lara with her red cape or something relevant with the Christmas spirit but there was none better luck next year." - Kristina