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Star Raider by TimJ

CC 8 7 7 7
Duncan 7 7 8 8
eRIC 8 7 8 7
Gerty 8 8 7 7
Jay 8 7 8 8
Jorge22 8 8 8 8
Jose 8 7 8 7
Kristina 8 7 8 7
MichaelP 7 8 7 7
Phil 8 9 8 8
Ryan 8 7 8 8
Sash 7 7 7 7
Spike 7 7 7 7
Treeble 8 7 8 7
 
release date: 01-Apr-2005
# of downloads: 93

average rating: 7.52
review count: 14
 
review this level

file size: 83.10 MB
file type: TR4
class: Alien/Space
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
timj@jeanmonod.ch

Reviewer's comments
"The first half of this levelset felt very... tutorialesque... in nature, if that makes sense. It seems as though as the author picked up the original assets and started building a series using each of them for a different level. We still get some remarkable areas though, such as the one room with water tracks across the ceiling and the one immediately above that, with a colorful temple area underneath a starry sky. The latter half of the levelset is very different in comparison and I wasn't too keen on it, in all honesty, felt as though as things had outstayed their welcome (I played through this, following the walkthrough, over the span of three days), especially during the long mazes requiring you to crawl around in blinding snowy claustrophobic tunnels. It's not a big maze in itself, but it's annoying to navigate and easy to overlook the narrow paths you're meant to go through. All in all there definitely were some nice moments and setups in these levels but I'm afraid they weren't quite my cup of tea. 2h25min, 15 secrets. 12/22" - Treeble (18-Dec-2022)
"Great level set when you think it was released 17 years ago. It's basically an Egyptian level with the Star Raider touch, well designed, and quite entertaining, until you get to Snow and Lava Under the Sand, which can become ridiculously tough with all its wraiths (crosses usually far and away), all its crawling, and all its underwater, hard to pass before you die of lack of oxygen, fringes, all of this sometimes coupled with traps that make escaping the wraiths - in rather confusing maze-like settings - even harder. I admit: I got to a certain point when I had to use the GUNS cheat, or I'd never have made it away from all the wraiths, skeletons and harpies, using the medipacks that were actually made available. To me, that level, the longest (I think; at least, it felt that way), was hugely overdone. The rest of the adventure flows nicely, without any major hic-ups, so I believe this is one you should try if you haven't." - Jorge22 (03-Jun-2022)
"There's quite a lot to occupy you in this five-level game and it will definitely entertain you for a couple of hours. There's nothing too otherworldly here, although a few familiar scenarios have had a few twists on them to try and fit with the space theme (although somewhat loosely). The flybys are unusual, there's a few unique textures and structures scattered around, and even a few of the tasks have you performing quite unorthodox moves. The environments are quite colourful in places and the textures are well applied for the most part. The enemies are the usual crowd of demigods, mummies, scorpions, harpies and ninjas and are maybe slightly overdone in places and could get quite annoying. The gameplay will keep you interested though and it isn't easy in places. There's plenty of tricky jumps, swims, climbs and puzzles to spice up the gameplay nicely, plus a few walkthrough walls and long crawling segments that I could have done without. But overall, I had a good time for the three hours net time I spent here." - Ryan (17-Jul-2018)
"I don't know how I missed this multi-level release when it first came out, because it's a good one. Despite its name, however, it doesn't really have a futuristic theme, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the gameplay. Near the end I encountered a few phantom walls, phantom floors and even a phantom crawlspace, all of which would have irritated me mightily had not Dutchy warned me of these hazards in his walkthrough. At the same time (near the end) I had to endure a great deal of crawling and swimming in cramped quarters where it proved quite easy to find Lara stuck in a corner, tempting me to bin the rest of it right then and there. There's a lot of trap evading and enemy battles here, and all told I spent a bit more than five hours from start to finish. Quite a bit of gameplay for a level series that has managed to fly under the radar. In fact, the previous review dates back to 2007, so maybe this review will prompt more players to download it and give it a try. Recommended." - Phil (27-Jun-2014)
"The only part of this that could relate to star-raiding, or star-anything, are the huge stargates that transport the player from one very familiar setting to another. The overall impresion left after playing this is of contrasts, not only from level to level, but within each level, and even within the same room. From hot to cold, lava to ice, high to low, walk to swim, and so on. The first level is a very good young Lara level. There are many traps and some enemies. she has no weapons or flares, so a little thinking, speed and stealth is required. From then on Lara is grown up and in a variety of Egyptian levels, very recognisable as Cleopal, Tut and Karnak, with a bit of Tinnos and icy environments thrown in to cause confusion. More confusion is caused throughout the levels by numerous run-through and swim-through walls, gates and grids, even though they look impassable; in fact, some of them are impossible to know about unless the player reads where they are. In these very recognisable environments there are some elements that give the impression of 'alien' interference, like the unusual flybys, objects and tasks like raising invisible blocks. The levels start off fairly easy and become progressively harder. We venture outside to vast areas where we find pyramids and temples, indoors in sumptuous surroundings, and deep underground to huge rooms, with lots of things to do, constantly on the move, and never boring. There are some problems though: places where Lara can get stuck, illegal slopes, medpack draining situations like being chased by wraiths and seems like nowhere to dowse them, paperthin walls, odd textures, unmarked climbing and monkeyswing areas, and a general lack of cameras to show the way. Lots of surprises, some of the nasty kind, like being attacked by beetles in a crawlspace, numerous spike gauntlets and traps, fire hazards, boulders, running along a perfectly solid looking floor and then disappearing into a spike pit (good one that). But there are also some brilliant jumping, climbing, swinging and swimming sessions, especially in a tall room where we must get to the top from column to column, and in the huge four elements setup where we must find a beetle in each one. An example is the mad dash across floating grids to stop a harpy attacking a Lara clone. And another is the icy cave with mirror where we must jump to safe squares in the ice, then just through a transparent wall we must time our jumps across ledges over lava with wraiths on our back - this was a particulary sadistic run in my opinion; but as always it was doable. Later still we must run and crawl through narrow crevices, totally disorientated and needing to use the compass at every turn. In the end, Lara manages a hair-raising escape to the waiting jeep. But to where? Having been through all those stargates it's anyone guess. Despite it's problems, this level series is highly recommended and is guaranteed to keep the player at their computer until they too finally escape to reality." - CC (12-Nov-2007)
"This was rather a mixed bag for me, as I disliked some of the levels, yet quite enjoyed others. The earlier levels seem to rely on a lot of unmarked traps and pitfalls, the texturing is sometimes wallpaper-like, and the lighting occasionally psychadelic. However, once you reach the level 'Star Raider', it all becomes a lot more entertaining. The texturing is more varied, the gameplay more enjoyable, and in general the last few levels make up for the less exciting first few. The 'element' rooms in one level were well thought out, and the tall room involving lots of sliding and climbing was also great fun. I felt that the difficulty was quite high, however, and I reached the end of the last level with no medipacks and only an inch of health left. This is quite a tough adventure that lasted me just over 2 hours in total, and is easily recommended for more experienced players." - Spike (26-Jul-2007)
"The game begins with a good title sequence with an appropriate audio track that shows some of the places you are about to discover.
Discovery (7 6 7 7 - 23 minutes) This young Lara has a rather dark lighting at times and in some places is illuminated like a disco which serves some purpose for the puzzles and traps. There are many traps, not too challenging but they can take you off guard and you just have the time to escape. I quite like the camera that shows the opening of the big circular portal with the appearance of the wild boars. I also like the displaced railing that let you know where to climb. The end is a bit disappointing though as I thought we should place the 3 golden skulls on the pedestals. Nevertheless quite an entertaining and original level.
Quest for the stargate (13 minutes) This is the stand al one level already reviewed separately.
Another planet ( 8 8 8 7 33 minutes ) In Cleopal style, with the more frightening TR2 atmosphere and enemies. The demigods can be outrunned, but the harpies are a real threat at the end with Lara's double. Good challenge here ! I also really liked the fluent progression , the jumps and monkey swings on the platforms. A good level with the occasional atmospheric touch and teasing puzzles.
Star raider ( 8 8 7 7 43 minutes ) More a Karnak environment , and less straightforward this one is also quite fluent. I like the high room you have to climb and the flyby that show the 4 areas of the 4 elements where you will find the 4 beetles. I enjoyed the jumps in the fire and air quests, appreciate how you can get rid of the scarabs in the Earth quest and has a smile at the end , when thinking that I was on my way to find a gem in order to finish the level , but then thought I was 'victim' of a red herring when in fact that was the intended way. I thi nk the lighting is too dark underground.
Snow and lava under the sand (8 6 8 8 - 1 hour) Two interconnected levels in icy caves, lakes of lava and dark temples with Tinnos texturing, even less straightforward and a bit confusing at times. And it was not so easy to get rid of the wraiths as you have a long way to find the statues. Rope swings, a good puzzles with flipmaps and pushing blocks , well designed caves that look natural near a mirrored room which was also quite a challenge especially to come back. Back in star raider , the game ends with a challenge with a demigod and harpies then a battle with ninjas. All in all, a game packed with many puzzles and challenges." - eRIC (22-Jul-2007)
"Although this 5 level game has been given the distinction of being classed as an 'Alien' level I found nothing that even remotely hinted to it being such apart from stargates that transported you from one level to the next. In fact the first level is an Angkor Wat temple one with young Lara, 3 are in fairly bland Egyptian tomb settings and thankfully to snap you out of this tomb overload a snowy cave/lava pool is thrown into the mix. Some of the levels are really quite fun, I especially liked the young Lara one surprisingly, but once I got to the snowy level, the one I thought I would enjoy the most, I just about quit the game and it all had to do with the author's sadistic need to send pairs of wraiths at you seemingly all the time and it was always a distance to hike just to find one of the bird crosses to destroy them, sometimes there wasn't a bird cross anywhere near and I had to use the pistols to try and scare them off but this exercise on the whole was fruitless as only one pair of wraiths let me be that way. Also this level needed way more cameras as some actions were the kind where you go 'okay what just opened' and then it is the hunt to find it. These things were simply annoying and frustrating and absolutely no fun. Up until this point I was having a fairly good time but after this I felt like I was just going through the motions to finish as I had had enough. It is a shame though because there were some really nice puzzles and moves. 3 hours, 15 secrets." - Sash (20-Mar-2006)
"This is actually quite a big series (I counted almost 800 rooms when converting the individual levels) and quite varied in its progression too. It has a few weaker parts which make me score it a bit lower in total, but it is definitely worth a play in its entirety. Begin by making sure that you watch the nice title flyby before you start with... The Discovery (8/8/8/8, 20 min., 3 secrets): A young Lara level set in Cambodia and we all know how difficult it is to build and interesting Young Lara level, but TimJ does it well here. Spikes, boulders and burners keep it interesting, crocodiles, warthogs, bats and mummies serve as enemies you need to avoid as best as you can and there are four skulls to find. There is one tedious climb, but other than that a nice and easy level to get going. The Quest of Stargate (5/5/6/4, 15+5 min., 2 secrets): This part is also listed as a single level and you can see my review there. Another Planet (6/8/6/6, 30 min., 5 secrets): More inspired by the Cleopal level but with a few interesting effects (floating things, water on the ceiling). Skeletons, harpies and demigods serve as enemies, there are two knots and a gem to find and a Lara Clone to deal with. This part has a few of my pet hates: earthquakes, annoying fixed cameras, walkthrough walls and fences and unmarked monkey swings and is therefore my least favourite of this set. Star Raider (8/9/8/8, 40+10 min., 3 secrets): A big improvement versus the previous parts. Based on Karnak with an outside desert and a lot of inside action, your quest is to find a portal guardian and the four beetles for the pyramid. This is nicely designed via a four elements puzzle area and followed by a fun jump room and more hopping around ledges after that. Good fun and sometimes enemies are tough to deal with (again harpies, skeletons and demigods). Snow and Lava under the Sand (8/8/8/9, 50 min., 2 secrets): Total change of setting here as you are now in ice caves, nicely mixed with lava rooms and lava falls and with Tinnos textures. The Ice Cave area has the touch of a maze and is a bit tedious because you need to crawl in places, but it's not too bad and the mirror room is very inspired. There is one swim for the scroll which is tricky and could have used a camera hint to find it in the first place. And the pushable object puzzle near the end was clever. Enemies are a few skeletons, mummies and predominantly wraiths and those can be really tough as not always is the way to the cross easy or even possible, so I used up plenty of my previously acquired medipacks here. At the end you return through the Star Raider and Quest for Stargate levels and in both of these are treated to quite some battle, once around a room with a demigod and harpies where you need to perform a bit of tricky jumping while being fired at and once with a multitude of ninjas for a cartouche and a hand, which allow you to reach the end which is then a bit sudden. All in all, this ia a very solid piece of gaming and assuming the better parts of this series were built last, I am looking forward to seeing more from TimJ." - MichaelP (30-Oct-2005)
"This wanted to be a great project, but the author isn't a good architect. Square and rectangle rooms sometimes very simply, same old textures sometimes bad applied, same old objects and enemies not well situated, sometimes too much and another times nobody. Very few flares for so much dark areas. Sometimes you can go through any areas and return to the initial point and think that you've do nothing. Don't waste medipacks, you'll need it in the final levels. I've collect the lasersight but I've not get use for it. Gameplay is not bad, and neither sounds and cameras. A level which can be played but you don't wait for original features." - Jose (18-Jun-2005)
"Another large and complex level from this author. As with the author's other levels, it has quite the mean spirit to it. This author is definitely trying to kill Lara as many times as possible. Although well done, unless you enjoy challenges with a cruel edge to them, I can not recommend this piece." - Duncan (22-May-2005)
"Have to say that in this mini game you won't get bored. It is all about Star Gates, yes plural as you travel through more than one. Every level so far is an improvement on the last by this builder. There are however some things he better have a good look at and try to improve that for the next level. The title could use some fine tuning as some of the flybys. There were paperthin walls and a lot of illegal slopes. Some parts are too dark for it to be called gloomy. Playing the second level triggered a deja-vu, well it is part of one of his earlier level. Had to add quite a few medipacks as some wraith would go into the crosses and at a certain part there weren't even crosses. That is a big NO, NO in my book. Lots of secrets were very well hidden and throughout this game I had a great time. 28-04-2005" - Gerty (16-May-2005)
"The Discovery: This is a young Lara level so be prepared for lots of traps rather than enemies. Despite the fact that young Lara levels are far from my favourite and this was occasionally too dark without flares I actually rather enjoyed it. The Quest of Stargate: Moving into a tut1 style segment, I must say I was glad to get guns and flares again. I've played this part before so I assume it was an earlier level from this builder which has now been worked into a larger game. Another Planet: It may be another planet, but it's full of harpies, skeletons, demigods and really irritating, nausea-inducing earthquakes, so just like home really. There's a rather exhilarating dash round high platforms in one room, to get to the pair of harpies attacking a Lara clone. If you don't get to them quickly you could really start to run low on medipacks. Star Raider: There are four beetles to find here, in four rather interesting element rooms and what with the harpies knocking me off high platforms and those horrible voracious beetles, it soon got to be medi shortage time again. I was glad to pass through to the next section and get a health top up. Snow and Lava under the Sand: That's quite a title isn't it? There are some very impressive ice caverns and lava rooms, but I could have done with far fewer wraiths. I had a nightmare of a time trying to get away from them and inevitably lost quite a lot of life doing so. It's a big area and it takes quite some time to accomplish all the tasks, but it's well thought out and good fun. Star Raider (2): A brief but hectic return to this section involves pulling jump switches whilst being beset by a demigod and a horde of harpies. Quite hair-raising. The Quest of Stargate (2): Back in this section you find yourself in a very dark room positively bristling with ninjas and scorpions. Have a good old shoot out, find a couple of artefacts and it's back outside to your trusty jeep to end the game. " - Jay (20-Apr-2005)
"I think the author has improved his levels very much lately. I liked this game with the icy setting, the lava rooms and I especially liked the room with the invisible blocks and spikes. Unfortunately there are many thin walls throughout the game and many illegal slopes. I didn't like the spirits because the player has to go a long way most of the time in order to find a bird statue and extinguish them. The levels in this adventure are short except from 'Snow and lava under the sand' which is the best in my opinion. There are walkthrough walls in some levels that might hide items you need to proceed, but personally I never liked them. I found only six of the fifteen secrets and I wonder if they are that well hidden or I wasn't paying attention. I would have liked to see more cameras though, especially when you use a switch and have many ways to follow. This is a good adventure worth playing and took me about two hours and forty five minutes to finish it." - Kristina (10-Apr-2005)