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The Crystal of Life by Roli

Akcy 4 5 6 6
Blue43 6 5 5 4
Ceamonks890 5 5 4 4
DJ Full 5 3 6 5
Duncan 5 6 5 4
Gerty 5 5 6 5
Jay 6 5 5 5
Jose 6 6 4 4
Kristina 4 4 4 4
MichaelP 6 4 6 5
mugs 5 4 4 4
Obig 6 5 6 6
Orbit Dream 6 6 5 4
QRS 7 6 6 6
Ryan 5 5 6 5
Sash 5 5 6 5
Treeble 5 5 5 5
trplayer 6 5 7 6
 
release date: 04-Jul-2005
# of downloads: 68

average rating: 5.13
review count: 18
 
review this level

file size: 20.80 MB
file type: TR4
class: Coastal
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
roli@tombraider.hu

Reviewer's comments
"An enthusiastic little first effort from this builder. It does betray its debut status in that the environments are bland, bare and repetitively textured and the gameplay is simple, but there's no denying that some effort has been put in to this level. The enemy attacks provide a bit of a challenge and the gameplay nonetheless has a fast pace throughout with a few gymnastics to perform and boulder and spike traps to avoid. I could definitely have done without those long climbs and the long monkeyswing, though." - Ryan (24-Aug-2018)
"A very standard debut release in terms of skill level(with stretched/repetitive texture placement, unappealingly bloated level design, tediously long-winded gameplay segments and generally flat lighting & atmosphere), as you do some key hunting in-between thoughtlessly-handled enemy & trap encounters(with some enemies even missing a few of their meshes). Thankfully(like several other builders), Roli would only continue to improve as time went on. So only worth a look, if you want to see how he started out." - Ceamonks890 (04-Apr-2018)
"Is this really the same Roli and how the heck did he go from this to this? I'm gonna play his games in order and analyze the process just like you should, but I already see an analogy between him and Sponge who went from scratch to perfection in objects instead. This is a kind of map a master builder like them could be now ashamed of, but not necessarily - with primeval geometry, stretched textures, slow ladder/monkey passages and cruel combat resonating with Cain, this all forms a beautiful comparison for a textbook example of how far you can evolve, while even this first attempt has fine atmosphere and the impression of going somewhere, though I never accept the inability to grab the final pickup." - DJ Full (25-Jun-2016)
"After exchanging a few PMs with Roli on a different subject altogether (such a nice fellow), I decided it was time to finally go through his levels in preparation for the most promising Revelations release. This, as his first level, is filled with everything you expect from a first try: wafer thin walls and floors, stretched textures, unmarked climbing walls, long climbs, long monkey swings - there was even room for a temptative maze, but thankfully it was rather small and not as mazeish as you'd expect. I couldn't make sense out Lara's spontaneous combustion in the room with the monkey swing and was also slightly annoyed when I missed the key the enemy in the 'maze' dropped, but that might have just been unattentive of me. All in all, very simple and definitely just a trial from the author. Ah, yes, there was one enemy made of random meshes (quite bizarre, too), something must have gone wrong with the WAD at some point. 25 minutes. 03/14" - Treeble (19-Mar-2014)
"A short level with fun and fairly easy game play, unfortunately lots of stretched textures and paper-thin walls. The lighting also had some problems as Lara looked very 2 dimensional in several areas. There is lots of climbing up ladders and also several rope swings. Enemies are hordes of heavily armed gunmen, which are hard to kill and appear in groups. I think there were at least 5 or 6 of them at once in a dark room, followed by a couple of tigers. I just jumped around in the dark using up the revolver and shotgun ammo and kept reloading health packs. Other than that you have to find a couple keys to progress and avoid a few easy boulder traps. Looks like this is made by a very talented builder and despite the small flaws it was an enjoyable rid. Finished in a little under 50 minutes. No secrets." - Blue43 (21-May-2010)
"Lot of potential here, good layout, impressive rooms. Lot of climbing, some rope swingings, traps, even a short bike ride. We need to find keys and a gem to progress. Too much supply in the same places, although they came in handy, as the enemies are numerous and caused more damage than ususal. Sure there were some beginner errors, thin walls, too high rooms so textures became streched, and sometimes they mismatchly applied, and the big areas were underutilized. Still an enjoyable little raid, not bad for a first effort." - Akcy (14-Nov-2007)
"Well, ever the 'overlook the obvious' kinda girl that I am I totally missed the key to the armoury at the start of the level, the key that was sitting in front of the armoury just as proud as can be! Now this usually isn't such a big deal as I really only use the pistols when I play levels, unless of course for target shooting or whatever, but what a mistake this was. There are two places in this level, set in and around a castle somewhere in the jungles of the Congo, where you are beset by gunmen aplenty as well as some tigers thrown into the second battle that just sucked my health dry, in fact I just ran through the dark cave where the second battle occurred and never bothered to shoot, I just ran like the wind hoping none of the gunmen held some key I needed. Besides that this level plays pretty straightforward, even a little too simply maybe and the setting although interesting sometimes was still on the boxy side with thin walls and the like. I finished in 30 minutes just before I could grab the Crystal of Life with no secrets as there are none included." - Sash (09-Nov-2005)
"This level is some kind of a mixture of the India and Scottland levels. The enemies are tigers, gunmen, and crocodiles. Well, the revolver ammo has to be spared for the final battle. Traps, spikes, rolling balls make our way difficult. There has to be climbed and swing on the rope. The textures are various, maybe a little bit more objects, trees, bushes, etc. could have been placed. The added sounds are also good. This is the first level of the 15 year old author, so I can only congratulate him for this adventure. Walkthrough: http://www.freeweb.hu/treditor/english/the_crystal_of_life_eng.htm" - Obig (29-Sep-2005)
"To be a level builded by a 15 years old builder isn't bad at all. Geometry is not very good, elongated textures, some ilegal slopes, wafer thin walls, great motorbike but without motor sound, some puzzles are very innocent, and poor sounds and cameras. Some new enemies are very hard, and near the end there are too much enemies together. I haven't found any switch! this is a good feature, many builders abuse too much of the switches, they must learn from this boy. At the end the game crashes. Like I said, a level not bad at all." - Jose (12-Sep-2005)
"Well, we're not in Africa and trust me on that. Maybe Lara got lost on her way to Africa, I don't know but I do know that this level needed much work before its release. There are many stretched textures, paper thin walls and the overall design isn't very good either. It consists of long climbs using ladders, keys to find and a few baddies that surely have a damn good guns supplier and Lara should took a reference or two. We have a crocodile, boulders and spikes that weren't well placed. I hope next time the builder will pay more attention to design." - Kristina (25-Aug-2005)
"This is an easy, not unattractive level, which would be ideal for an inexperienced raider. The main object of the gameplay is to find keys and the final crystal artefact, whereupon the game ends rather abruptly. This is obviously a first time level, but showing quite a bit of promise - the boss battle with all the thugs and tigers was exhilarating and I liked the spike run with boulders at the end. Not bad at all." - Jay (15-Aug-2005)
"This one starts with a load of hardware so in a way you can sort of tell something is amiss. Almost at the end there is a lot of ammo so, it is confrontation time and yes... It was. With all the weapons Lara had it was not that hard although I wonder what kind of weapons the enemy had as Lara lost health pretty quickly while shooting, so keep an eye on your health. There are apart from the obvious paperthin walls and overly bright rooms, long, long climbs. There are some great traps, but in general it was bit too easy. Keep your eye out for Keys as some of them you can miss. 12-07-2005" - Gerty (03-Aug-2005)
"It is meant to be Africa, but somehow it does not quite feel like it with a mix of Jungle and Scottish Castle setting. The nice little story in the readme sets you up for a 30 minute linear raid during which you will have to pick up many keys and a gem, fight tigers, crocodiles and various baddies and master several rope swings, long climbs and a simple hedge maze. The clilmax is the big battle in the caves near the end and a few boulder and spike traps. There are way too many paper thin walls throughout, so the author should watch out for this and avoid them in his next level." - Michael (24-Jul-2005)
A spirited and athletic attempt at a first level. Lara had better be in shape for this one, as it requires a great deal of climbing and robe swinging. The rooms tend to be large and randomly textured, and the poor texturing defeats the level having its own sense of space. Still, it's a fast play and has some good ideas. Here's hoping the author gives us another one, and takes a bit more time. - Duncan (12-Jul-2005)
Beside all the thin walls and stretched textures lies a really easy (except the showdown near the end!) but cool and enjoyable jungle level! I really liked the way the author has placed the sound triggers. Adds very nice to the atmosphere! I expect a lot more from this author, harder puzzles, secrets and better placed textures. The ideas and architecture is already there! Keep up the building, Roli! 2006-07-08 - QRS (09-Jul-2005)
Congratulations Roli on your first level - we welcome you and look forward to many more endeavors. This was a great first effort. Lara's raid in the Congo begins with gaining access to a stash of arms (something I always love to have) and judging from the amount and assortment, you know Lara is in for some battles. The nifty motorcycle that Lara steals early in the game is not put to much use..pity that ! It's off she goes in pursuit of a number of different keys and gem that will ultimately lead to the precious crystal. The areas of exploration are vast in design, but lacking in detail and, therefore, interest. I know that Roli will improve on these elements in time. What I did like was Roli's use of a floor pad to trigger the dropping of a rope. Very nice touch! Can't wait to see your next level! - Mugs (09-Jul-2005)
I thought this was an okay level; especially for a first attempt. The gameplay was enjoyable; lots of parts had me scratching my head, and I was glad when I could figure them out. The enemies were numerous, but that was okay. I think I seen one that had a Lara leg for one of its arms... that didn't look too good. The atmosphere was nice, and the textures worked well together, despite the fact that many of them were a little over stretched. All in all, however, I thought this level was more than enough to keep me interested... perhaps there will be a Crystal of Life 2? - trplayer (07-Jul-2005)
Another 'first level' with all the usual errors: wafer-thin walls, stretched textures, oh heck you all know the sort of thing! But don't despair, the Gameplay is actually a lot of fun and the location is one I haven't encountered before. Lara is in deepest Africa and needs to perform all sorts of Tarzan-like acrobatics in order to find the keys which will unlock her route to the Crystal. It's a surprisingly good laugh and an undoubtedly action-packed little adventure of 35 minutes or so, but the stretched (and often quite incongruous) textures really hurt the eye after a while and do so much regrettable damage to what could have been a fun African experience. A large quantity of hackneyed devices (mazes, squadrons of rolling balls) show up toward the end, together with a frustratingly tough showdown (I never discovered the Shotgun) but there's a spark to all of this nonetheless, and I hope Roli continues to entertain us. Rough-around-the-edges fun. - Orbit Dream (05-Jul-2005)