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Symbol of the World by Max

Alien Autopsy 8 6 10 10
Blue43 6 6 8 9
CC 6 3 8 7
Danja 6 4 7 7
DJ Full 6 5 7 8
Drakan 8 7 9 9
eRIC 8 4 8 9
eTux 7 7 9 9
Gerty 8 6 9 9
Gill 7 7 8 8
janachorider 7 7 7 6
Jay 6 5 8 10
Jerry 5 3 8 8
Jose 8 6 5 6
Josi 8 6 8 8
Kristina 5 5 7 7
Lizard Queen 9 9 10 10
Magnus 6 3 6 7
manarch2 7 4 7 8
MichaelP 7 5 8 9
Minox 7 6 6 7
Mman 6 5 9 8
Mulf 6 5 7 8
Orbit Dream 8 7 10 10
Phil 7 7 8 8
QRS 8 6 9 9
Relic Hunter 7 5 7 7
Ryan 7 6 8 8
Sakusha 7 4 8 8
Samu 6 8 8 9
Sash 6 3 8 7
SeniorBlitz 7 8 9 8
Sethian 5 4 6 8
Treeble 8 9 9 9
 
release date: 28-May-2006
# of downloads: 95

average rating: 7.14
review count: 34
 
review this level

file size: 16.80 MB
file type: TR4
class: nc
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
tombraider.maax@gmail.com

Reviewer's comments
"This is set in a cathedral, although mostly in lost ruins below it. There's a great sense of scale with various big areas that somewhat overlap, textures are also used in a nice way, with things becoming more decrepit as you go deeper into the ruin, at least until you reach a somewhat surreal chamber of blocky platforms that's also impressive for how large it is. Lighting is also decent and makes the place feel gloomy while still having variety. Object use is pretty limited, although the couple of custom objects used are nice, unfortunately a lot of the older objects (like TR4 quest items and receptacles) don't feel especially fitting, and a few replacements could have really brought it together. There is one incorrectly applied texture that is supposed to be invisible but isn't, which is unfortunate.
The gameplay here is almost entirely exploration and platforming, with no combat and puzzles not really present beyond a couple of timed runs. The nice visuals and scale make it mostly interesting to explore, but there's an unfortunate lack of camera hints; the level isn't big enough to make it too obscure, but it makes it feel a bit aimless at times, one or two more shortcuts would also be nice as there's some heavy backtracking depending on where you go. Timed switches are also floor levers, which is pretty awkward, and could be pretty confusing if you don't realise they are timed. The texture error mentioned earlier also creates an invisible ledge that makes a major part of the map easy to skip too. The highlight of the gameplay is the giant block room; it being solely platforming can get a little repetitive and the lack of camera hints make the "find multiple switches" goal more obtuse than it should be, but it's a nice 3D navigation space that requires some thought to reach the points of interest. If you don't get too stuck it's very short and I finished in around 25 minutes. A basic map in a lot of ways, but the atmosphere and setting transcends that in a way that makes it oddly intriguing, and you can see the potential of one of the future best TRLE mappers developing in this debut." - Mman (28-Jul-2023)
"This level has a certain quality to it that it's hardly a surprise the author went on to build some remarkable entries within the TRLE (of which I'm ashamed to admit I haven't played any... yet). When faced with a church of this scale we'd generally ramble on about huge and boxy rooms, but in this case it just hits different. Maybe the use of textures and the simple yet effective lighting? I'm not sure. Gameplay relies mostly on platforming around these massive chambers, and there are one or two areas filled with ledges which will have you going up and down until you eventually lay your hands on the prized gems. I spotted a few squashed textures and the button animations was wrong, but otherwise this was nothing short of amazing. 30 minutes. 01/22" - Treeble (16-Jan-2022)
"Although built with nothing but Editor blocks, the initial area is instantly recognisable as a church, albeit a thoroughly generic one: stripped down to the architectural essentials, to the extent that it lacks even an altar. Correspondingly, there is absolutely nothing to do in it, as Orbit Dream has observed. No matter—unlikely though it may be, there’s another one beneath it. Neither looks anything like the Florentine Renaissance church of Santa Maria Novella though, so it’s difficult to gauge why the builder was being so very specific with his in-game title. He used mostly TR5 Rome textures throughout (specifically “Colosseum”; some customised), which makes this another level that is basically green. Texturing and lighting are very well done though (very few distorted textures; lighting consistent throughout), and so is room geometry—as it has to be, for the entire level is essentially one protracted platforming exercise. However, there is one serious (though non-fatal) flaw in construction, namely a piece of solid floor (a triangle to which No Collision should have been applied, and which should of course be invisible) which the builder neglected to remove from the edge of a pit that’s supposed to be flooded, thus allowing players to skip a timed run and acquire one of the two Gems that they’re looking for with uncanny ease (as was done by MichaelP, not a player known to readily skip a timed run) and creating a serious imbalance in gameplay.
Nor is this the only way to skip the timed run. There’s another one, which, however, postpones rather than circumvents it and which causes more backtracking (of which a fair amount is already built-in). Before I played this level, I had skimmed the reviews and committed the relevant bits to memory: a problematic timed door; expect no camera clues; savegame bug with water flipmap; once you’ve reached the top of a tall room, you need to climb all the way down again; and best of all: ignore the underwater maze—just swim upward where you can. Now you know, too. However, even so the timed door will probably elude you as it eluded me. The result was that I ended up at the exit prematurely, having picked up only one of two Gems.
Three unfortunate circumstances colluded to bring about this outcome: lack of camera clues; missing sounds; and an unintuitive layout of paths. As for the latter, the point where you can go left or right from the top of a broken column should have been the starting point of the paths that lead to the two Gems; instead only one leads to a Gem, while the other leads straight to the exit, although there’s no way of telling beforehand. Rather, it’s the elusive timed door that leads to Gem #2. Unfortunately, that door is not only almost invisible from the floor where you operate the lever which opens it—it is also entirely inaudible (as, indeed, are most of the doors in this level). A camera clue would have been of vital importance here. While I did notice the door in question at some point, it had closed by then; absent any camera clue, and in view of a different opening being accessible from the same room, I assumed that’s where the exit was. I had to resort to the walkthrough for finding out what that floor lever actually does.
Otherwise, I could figure out things by myself; though I was mindful throughout of the caveats I had gathered from the reviews. Thus, after I eventually reached the top of the very cleverly constructed ‘Escher room’ (Sethian), having operated a number of switches along the way with no idea what any of them did, I duly climbed all the way down again as advised, and found a door at the bottom had opened: another case in which a camera clue would have been strongly recommended.
The level scores low on Objects not because apart from pickups, doors and switches, there are only a few strategically placed vases—minimalism in itself is fine, and it works here just fine—, but because some of those that are used are flawed (especially the missing sound on doors; also, generic pickups with default names, and a wrong animation for the push button); a secret or two would have been welcome, while the absence of enemies only contributed to the atmosphere. The level scores high enough on Atmosphere to almost, but not quite, counterbalance the lack of camera clues; and audio is generally well-considered—apart from one instance of low-quality bell-ringing, which I guess is authentic, but it takes you back out into the street where it was presumably recorded, while visually you’re still underground, far beneath the church and its bells. The piece should have been edited accordingly, if used at all. For once, though, I didn’t find the large size of the rooms annoying: the somewhat minimalist design ensures that those parts that are relevant for gameplay can readily be identified. This and the platforming-centred character of the gameplay make this level the big brother of Pascal Scherer’s Reach the Top. Unlike that level, though, this one has clearly too much backtracking, whether or not you play the game as intended; and the ending is deflating by comparison: you acquire two Gems in order to gain access to another random pickup (the Scroll); then follows the obligatory slide to black. For all that, it’s an impressive debut; and if you don’t mind the unvarying nature of its gameplay and heed the warnings about its pitfalls, it’s quite enjoyable." - Mulf (26-Mar-2021)
"It starts off good enough, in a nice re-creation of the Santa Maria Novella church, paired with some good beautiful atmospheric music that hits the mark. But then it all quickly lessens in enjoyability. The rather huge areas are a bit overwhelming at first and are the usual thing found in debut levels. It all sort of works when you realize this author wants to create large, vast areas for platforming. However, half the time it’s very unclear as to what one really has to do.

Every switch in this level has no camera paired with it to show you what you just did – and in areas consisting of multiple stacked rooms, with doors on opposite ends of your current location, which may even be timed doors, this all adds up to immense frustration. There was one massive room of insane platforms one had to traverse that at first looked like something cool and alien even - but as I made my way up and down what felt like an M.C. Escher painting, pulling switches here and there, I to this moment still have no idea what any of the switches did. I’m guessing some of the blocks I could climb were Raising Blocks coming out of the wall? No idea… but eventually I got to a switch at the top of the room that opened the door at the bottom of the room (I checked by saving and letting Lara drop to her death), and then I had to climb all the way back down. It just wasn’t fun.

As other’s have mentioned there are also two bugs in this level: one I encountered right at the start when I entered a room I realized I wasn’t meant to enter yet… so I hopped back over that unflooded water pool, and decided to play the level how the author most likely intended, finding the way to flood that pool. Eventually though, after a save and reload further down the line, I noticed the pool I had flooded was no longer flooded. So, first I feared maybe this was a timed puzzle setup? No, in the end, just a bug due to dying and reloading. Regardless, I had to backtrack and re-do a lot of annoying platforming to once again flood the water room. Perhaps I should’ve just cheated and gone with the first buggy route.

Towards the end, after lots of annoying and confusing platforming and jumping, you’re also greeted with what appears to be an underwater maze… the last thing I needed. But then it turns out this is a bit of a useless red- herring (unless it was hiding a secret I missed since I found none) and the way out is actually pretty easy and you can bypass the entire maze.

It’s also a shame that all the pickup items in the level are stuck with the standard TR4 names – ‘Horseman’s Gem’ and ‘Music Scroll’ – which so far don’t seem to be connected to this author’s ‘Symbol of the World’ story. There are also barely any objects, and no enemies for that matter. It’s not terrible for a debut level, but the entire experience still wasn’t too much fun to play after about 30 minutes in and realizing there would be no guidance as to how and where one needed to go across these massive rooms with constant jumps and deaths, adding up to about 1.5 hours of annoyance. I was happy when it was over, but I still want to see where the author takes us next." - Sethian (05-Sep-2020)
"On my continuing quest to explore levels built 10-15 years ago, I stumbled across the name Max and thought to check his level page out. When I read that his first level contained no enemies, I thought THIS is the one I’m playing next because that’s what I like …no enemies or as few as possible please! What I liked about this level: 1) Finally I found another wonderful level made way back when that I thoroughly enjoyed playing. Such large, vast spaces and rooms with blocks to climb, jump, grab and ascend. 2) I LOVE being way up high because you just don’t get to do that in real life, so that’s what I love doing in video games. 3) I love that it had no enemies. I wish more levels were made without them because who needs the added stress when just trying to make jumps and figuring out where to go is stress enough! Didn’t like: 1) Oops! Found an illegal slope and had to reload. And it’s not like I was just purposely looking for it you know, like in some obscure part of the area.. No, it was right in the middle of the intended path to the next area, so hmm… gotta think should have been caught by the builder, no? In any case, I thoroughly enjoyed playing this level so much that I didn’t want it to end. And guess what? I get to play the next installment!! Thank you Max for continuing to build and Michael P for keeping them alive." - Lizard Queen (14-Dec-2019)
"Nice level without enemies, no secrets and very few objects. There is a nice atmosphere with texturing (for a 1st level) almost perfect. A pleasant moment and as can be guessed, I found this to be well worth the try" - Drakan (20-Jun-2019)
"A very nice Church level, the atmosphere is almost spot and the texturing complements the ambient. Most of you time you'll be exploring this place and doing platform challenges. Overall it is nice level to go through, I recommend if you're looking for a level with a nice atmosphere with tons of platforming." - SeniorBlitz (29-Jan-2018)
"This level is quite architecturally pleasing, especially for a debut level, and his talent would later be shown in more accomplished efforts. There are no enemies, secrets and not many decorative objects, but the textures and overall setting are very attractive and the explorative gameplay is generally very placid, minus a couple of widespread jumping exercises and an enjoyable timed run. It did get a bit tedious having to retrace my route down the huge room almost the same way I got there, but that aside, it is a very nice and playable effort." - Ryan (21-Dec-2017)
"I must confess I played this one earlier than I intended and by accident - while I'm currently going through the LONGEST and HUGEST releases in order to make everything easy in the future, I noticed one of Forgotten Adventures is a blatant, barefaced, vicious, outrageous, enraging, infuriating, unacceptable, abominable, insolent, hedious, blasphemous, obvious ripoff and I was like "WAT? How DARE you?!" But I was also wiser than usually, so I switched off the copy, checked the original first and it was instantly better when I heard the original introduction instead of the attack theme substitute. Looking around I could see the early Max had something like Mman has today and what Thierry always had, I mean tendency to utilize fully geometric architecture with only few focal objects applied - the initial church has two vases and in the lower catacomb our eyes first get attracted to a normally ignored piece of pillar debris - not often these are prominent. I also noticed another extraordinary design: this builder managed to apply fine shading while allowing me to actually SEE everything. The scenery seems quite monotonous because all the colors are similar to each other. But they are well toned to each other and a variety of materials is used which go together pretty fine. All together creates impression of isolating emptiness and results may vary: a classic player will say "wow", an NG-spoiled one will cry "meh, more pipes!" and I will always need a bit more contrast. With scraps of all these reactions, I leant towards negative - dun, dun, dun [here insert dramatic chimpunk tune] - when I saw the door with horseman receptacles and a couple of original switches one after another. But the stained glass door was custom instead, so the impression returned to neutral. "Patience, child" - I quoted to myself and moved on but it didn't help: after the extensive platforming zone which could have been a bit shorter and have a pool at the bottom for fast return, or maybe a quicksand pit to avoid repetition with the main chamber, I got stuck for half and hour because one of the doors appeared timed yet assigned to one of those switches I mentioned earlier - and it was also missing sound. On one hand, who designs like this, on the other one who gets stuck with a single switch and a door in plain sight... well maybe that's the point - the sight wasn't quite plain, the support beams made the target difficult to spot. On the third hand, havent I thought about the timer but just disbelieved Max would create such thing? In any case an additional camera would clarify it all. I also noticed wallpaper effect in the catacomb, and I think that's all you could complain about here - I found no more problems and the key for the ordinary receptacle appeared something new either. Unfortunately right after that the game ended and you could call it a demo, as it appeared I was stuck for longer than I wasn't. Here's when the blatant, barefaced, vicious, outrageous, enraging, infuriating, unacceptable, abominable, insolent, hedious, blasphemous, obvious ripoff from Forgotten Adventures appeared useful at last, as I could replay the copy for proper experience. SUMMARY: Be smart with the lever and you should have a bit of fun albeit very, very short so the achievement will be missing. I think this should wait for release together with Part 2, to grant us sense of completion. Nonetheless a promising thing and I should now move straight to Part 2 before I forget where I ended. Yep, I think I'll do just that." - DJ Full (30-May-2016)
"This is a good-looking level with plenty of light, and I enjoyed myself a great deal during the first 75% of the raid, which included a challenging timed run and an extended platforming exercise in a very tall room. After making my way up and performing the needed tasks along the way, however, things grew tedious in having to get back down the same I got up, and then by all the confusing backtracking necessary to complete the level. By that time I was ready for it all to end, and I didn't finish with the same enthusiasm I had when I started. There are no enemies that I can recall, so there's nothing to distract the player from the tasks at hand. Harry Laudie has contributed his typically competent walkthrough." - Phil (08-Oct-2015)
"Its a good level.the architecture of the church was amazing although the gameplay was a little boring can't wait to play the sequel." - janachorider (28-Sep-2015)
"Recently I downloaded around 15 random custom levels with good rating. And I completed none of them. All of them bored me or I found them ugly. They were pretty, but not atmospheric. I started to think that my Tomb Raider soul is burning out. Maybe the problem is with me? But I was desperate for adventure and gave it one more chance. And this time I chose the level myself - without looking at the ratings. I just noticed I like the architecture on screens. I was pleasantly surprised with this one. From the beginning I felt like each room was carefully textured and well thought. During 1 hour of gameplay I was relieved to find that I still can enjoy custom levels like I used to. This one... I found very atmospheric. Just exacly the type of atmosphere I love in Tomb Raider. Archeological, old. Ancient. A bit dirty. With a delicate touch of holy church&stained glass. Max has very cool style. His choice of textures and lighting was perfect. I wouldn't change a thing here. It reminded me of mix of levels from original Angel of Darkness (the ones I found good) and Tomb Raider 1. Some parts of the level surprised me. They were really creative. Quite bit of tricky jumps. This is not an easy level. It has no enemies to kill, but it doesn't mean it's easy. It required me to load old saves and plan for a bit. Some people might find this way of creating level a flaw. And you know what? I don't. I am tired of all these linear levels where there's only one way to go and it's not possible to make mistakes. But no level is perfect. This one still had some small bad sides. As a Tomb Raider fan I love collecting medipacks, cannot imagine a level without them. Yet I didn't like the fact that my inventory was overflowing with medipacks which had no use. I used only one small medikit and only because I was too lazy to jump properly and ended up hurting Lara a bit. Would I recommend this level? Very much. I missed levels like this one. Thank you for amazing level, Max. I am really happy that playable&fun levels can still exist for me. Thanks to you I shall continue playing them. I am already downloading next ones you made. Świetna robota : )" - Alien Autopsy (07-Sep-2015)
"Level with very large rooms that are fairly empty of objects. I think I took an unintended way because I arrived 2 times in the same place by different paths. Few cameras and you have to guess the climbing walls. Pleasant level." - Minox (20-May-2015)
"Having already played this level as a remake in Byte Buster's level, I replayed it for reviewing. So here is the review - I think this is a very fun level, with many acrobatic jumps to do and towers to get up. Texturing was very well for a church, but I think Magnus is right that there are no real things that could be rated in Enemies, Objects & Secrets. I had this once in a better level, gave 1 point there, but here it absolutely is not needed to rate that low, just because the pillars looked that damn real that that could be real objects. The windows were quite well designed and fitted perfectly into the little church. All in all a nice little level, great to see there's a sequel to this one." - manarch2 (25-Feb-2011)
"In this beautifully designed debut level Lara starts in a church and from there explores the larger underground area with the crypt. The high rooms are well done and there is a really nice atmosphere because of good choice of sounds. The texturing is excellent and I found the lighting to be good to. At times this is jump and run at it's finest, as there is a tall room with ledges where Lara has to make it to the top to a lever. That was my favorite part. Unfortunately the level has very limited game play otherwise and there are no enemies. I still enjoyed it a lot since I liked the textures, atmosphere and the general feel of this level a lot. If you are looking for a shorter level with less demanding game play, but good atmosphere and great visuals, you should not miss this one." - Blue43 (08-Nov-2010)
"What a great level this could be if there was some more gameplay. Architecture and texturing of that old and ruinous cathedral are well done, everything seems realistic, although a bit bare with next to no decorating objects, and lighting is all the same throughout. It is a pity that apart from looking for 2 gems gameplay is reduced to running and jumping around huge rooms pulling a couple of levers and switches. Also some enemies like e.g. ghosts would have fit in well here. I could have done better without that maze-like underwater area or at least with a few air holes to prevent Lara from drowning while looking where to go and what to do. It is not such a big area, but in the end it was rather needless as there are only some flares to be found. Missing camera hints made it even harder to find my way. My resume: A good looking level, but some more varied gameplay like e.g. some puzzles would have made it more interesting." - Jerry (29-Jul-2009)
"This level can't be rated much higher as there is no enemies and not a lot of objects either, I just remember some flares pickup underwater. But I absolutely loved this level with excellent texturing and architecture. The lighting is also of good quality , it is very dark but even with boosting the gamma of my screen it did not altered the quality of the looks. And I really enjoyed the gameplay although a couple of cameras would have been welcomed. There is no real puzzle but I enjoyed a lot the timed door and all the jumps you have to make , none of which is tricky , the highlight is of course the high room with many blocks where I wondered a little while where to go now ? Simple but efficient raiding which was great fun for me." - eRIC (10-Aug-2007)
"I must say that visually this level is created very well and it's very hard to improve the surroundings. Especially lighting and textures look very good and realistic. You complete almost all the time different kind of jumping and climbing tasks but there are no puzzles in this level. That doesn't matter if jumping tasks are challenging enough but in this level even they aren't very challenging. If jumping tasks were better or there were more puzzles in this level I would give better grades but I liked this level still pretty much." - Samu (26-Jul-2006)
"Rating this level in the second category was difficult. On the one hand, there are absolutely no enemies, no secrets and next to no objects, making it a zero in my book. On the other hand, this was obviously a deliberate choice and the level is quite enjoyable while it lasts, making me reluctant to give it a zero in one of the categories and thus lowering the rating. Solution: compromise. While the lack of objects can be argued to add to the atmosphere, I personally thought it made the surroundings rather dull and empty, despite the nice architecture and texturing. It also makes the gameplay a bit repetitive, since there are no puzzles or traps. You do get to perform some really nice jumps, though. The level ends after less than twenty minutes, so it never has the time to actually get boring, but I really hope the gameplay in the sequel is more varied than this, while still upholding the quality of the architecture." - Magnus (24-Jul-2006)
"What can I say? What a fine debut by Max! From the very start I was intrigued by this builder's skill of architecture, lighting and texturing. The atmosphere is simply breathtaking. I just love the cathedral and the pit down to the crypt etc. There are a few things that I did not like so much though. The constant backtracking. Even if the environment is super, there was too much of that. There are also a few shortcuts that make some tasks obsolete. I could not really rate the enemies, objects, secrets category much higher, as there are no enemies, no secrets and almost no objects. Those objects which exist though are fine and deserve a good rating! A few more enemies and some secrets and I would have rated it at least 8 in that category. What about the game play then? No real puzzles, no enemies but great platform game play! A few more cameras for some of the switches would have been nice but as the level was rather easy, it is not really needed. One thing, that I hope the author doesn't do again though, is to add a timed run for a door on a lever switch. I really got confused there for a while haha. Overall this level is very promising and if the author continues to build like this, we are in for a new master builder IMHO. Great job, Max!!" - QRS (23-Jul-2006)
"Here you have a level to explore and think. I couldn't find enemies or secrets. Architecture is quite good. Sounds and melodies are very poor, but level is well textured. The room with the raised blocks is complex and a bit tedious. Only a few comments: There are some places where you can go (dropping) but you can go back. In the room with the beams there's not a camera to show you the timed door opening. The level is quite dark but where are the flares? An atypical level." - Jose (10-Jul-2006)
"Now I wouldn't say churches and religions are my thing, but, since Tomb Raider feeds on human mythology, it works well in-game, and this level is probably one of the best examples why. Already from the first rooms it leaks atmosphere out of every corner, which partly is enhanced by the additional music tracks, the great, detailed architecture, texturing and lighting, and strangely enough by the absence of any other life-form in this crypt. Usually at least some enemies here or there would be in order to keep the action going and the player interested, but it seems their lack, no matter whether it was the author's deliberate attempt to make something out of the ordinary or some other reason, enhance the sensation of discovery - the feeling that you've entered some place that no one else has been in for centuries, and additionally allows you to focus on the exploration part, like no other level out there (well, not that I've played them all to make that assumption, but I can't be far off). That sometimes isn't my favourite part while playing levels either, especially non-linear levels are downright confusing, but here, despite the lacking camera-work that could be accounted for making the level unnecessarily more complicated, the exploration feels very natural and makes up the essence of this level. Just as there aren't many enemies and cameras, neither are there really many objects - the occasional pickup here or there, a few columns, bones and piles of rocks - all from the original catacombs wad and that's it. At first this seems bothersome too, but as the level grows on you, this isn't that much of a deal, though I could definitely see how this level could've benefited from a few more objects. But I appreciate that Max seems to be one of the few new builders that don't try to run before they know how to walk, so maybe focusing on one wad was his key to success here. As far as the gameplay goes - it mainly consists of using your surroundings for progress, no matter whether it means climbing up broken columns or jumping your way through the hallways and ledges, but there are also some levers along the way - one of them timed (another place which would've benefited with a camera). The only bug I encountered was with the pit you have to fill with water - where after reloading the water is gone. The pit can be refilled by reactivating the lever that initially did the job, but you have to be careful to get there in one piece to get one of the 2 gems you have to gather in the level to get the scroll, and thus out of here. I'm somewhat concerned about rating the level as high with all of its shortcomings, but that does bring up the question about what our standards really are. Isn't a fitting lack of certain elements also bonus, or do we need a fixed amount of them to make it count? If the overall feel is so great, does that have to affect our opinion? Not saying that there's no room for improvement here, but I believe what's done here is great, even if it's been very short-spoken in its expression so to say. As can be guessed, I found this to be well worth the try." - eTux (15-Jun-2006)
"The beginning of this level is really beautiful. In fact the entire level looks superb and I enjoyed clambering around some truly impressive architecture. The gameplay is a little rudimentary and you basically just need to find two gems, which shouldn't cause you any difficulty, but I really urge you to take a look at this one just to admire the scenery. This may be a first time build, but it's obvious that Max has really mastered the level editor. Now if we can just get a bit more oomph in the gameplay department we could be looking at something special. More please." - Jay (13-Jun-2006)
"Quite a well done debut level here. This one takes place in the crypt of an abandoned cathedral that has a good atmosphere to it, mainly set by the opening flyby. There is a lot of jumping and exploring to do in this level once you get down into the crypt in the search of two horseman's gems. The huge crypt itself looks impressive and well carved, accompanied by some good textures. On the other hand, the level suffers from emptiness - There aren't many objects placed to improve the scenery, and there are also no enemies which in itself can be a plus or a minus if you think about it: a plus considering that you can run around without fear of being ambushed, and a minus that there is less action involved. It is still quite a well made level, and I await the next part of this adventure since the end says "To be continued."" - Relic Hunter (08-Jun-2006)
"Nice level and a little different from the norm. This provides you with a rather stunning setting inside a Cathedral, well chosen audio and a lot of jumping/platforming, which is great fun in places. On the other hand it seems a bit bare, you really only pull a few levers and push a few buttons to get your hands on the two gems and eventually the scroll. It has no helping cameras, so you might end up wandering around for a while. Apparently the big pit can be filled with water, but as you can also jump across I never did that." - MichaelP (07-Jun-2006)
"This is a level that the author has spent some time creating - structure-wise - lovely dark cathedral with a humungous pit in the floor! There are no enemies or puzzles, and the lack of objects in this deserted place is appropriate even if the result looks very plain and empty. However, we do get to use our brains to work out a route climbing up to the ceiling, to find a lever, and make our way down again. One tremendous fall into a shallow pool (another pit in waiting, lol), a timed run, find two gems and a scroll, and a slide into what we hope is the next level when it's released. There is a second very high room we must make our way up by climbing and jumping, but unlike the first exercise this was at odds with the whole idea of being in a cathedral. Nonetheless a very enjoyable bit of innocent and relatively uncomplicated raiding in a good looking environment. I loved the camera that looks at Lara's effort to climb that column, and the Dove windows. By right this should have 'demo' attached to the title, and there are some little glitches, like Lara's animation is wrong at wall tiles. On the other hand, perhaps we visit here later on to find things a lot different. Who knows? If future levels are anything like this then we have great things to look forward to. Well done Max." - CC (06-Jun-2006)
"This was a fairly short little level, but most enjoyable just the same. You arrive at this wonderful church type setting to start your little adventure and with some intriguing music to go with it, which puts you in the right frame of mind for you to take action and deal with those tasks which lay ahead of you. As you progress a little bit further you begin to realise that your aim here, is in search of the two missing gems, which are scattered and hidden somewhere in this old abandoned church, which you are about to search and explore. This game is mainly a sequence of jumps from block to block and jumping to columns, activating floor switches which will raise some more blocks, which will enable you to reach the highest part of the room, to retrieve one of your little lost gems. Your next action is to find and locate the other missing little gem, after conquering a timed run and flooding an area, your second little gem is available and retrievable. With your little gems tucked safely in your back-pack and after doing all that hard work, its time for a bit of swimming to cool off and get back to start of this level, to place those missing little gems into there appropriate receptacles. After retrieving the scroll as your final prize, this little mission is over and your job is done. In general, I thought this was a nice little level; it was nicely designed with the appropriate texturing. Objects and lighting was well chosen, to achieve that required environment and atmosphere, for this type of church setting, as you were tackling and dealing with all your tasks. This level was a bit too short for my liking, but the author did mention that there will be a continuation of this adventure, which I will look forward to playing in the future." - Gill (05-Jun-2006)
"Apart from a jump one can make way to early in the game and a bug that drains the pit you filled with water after a reload, I thought this was a great game to play. You have to put your thinking cap on as where to jump to. That pillar baffled me a bit but if you look good you can see that it has a different texture so.... jump away I would suggest. I loved the room where you had to find your way to the top, not as straightforward as you might think, in order for using some levers. At places it is pretty dark so I had to play it at night but that adds to the atmosphere. The added music was a bonus. Although it wasn't a"hard" level this one is on my replay list as I had so much fun. I hope this builder will continue his efforts as he has great potential" - Gerty (03-Jun-2006)
"I was stunned by the architecture and the textures from the beginning of this level. The introductory fly-by and the music evoked a church-like atmosphere that fit perfectly with the level, but there is more to this church. In fact, there is an underground area that Lara needs to explore. Concerning gameplay, there is a certain amount of backtracking, and I had to use my wits in order to figure out where I was going. There was also a pretty challenging timed run. However, enemies and traps are nonexistent. But then again, I guess the author wanted to give a sacred touch to his sanctuary. I wish that there were more cameras because I didn't know what the levers triggered. Even though this level is almost completely devoid of objects, I found the retextured gemstones beautiful. After Lara obtains the scroll, she slides down, and the level ends abruptly. According to the "To be continued" sign, there is more to come." - Sakusha (02-Jun-2006)
"This could have been a demo because there is only one main task which is to find two red gems. In order to do that you have to climb pillars and do some swimming around a huge area, below a cathedral. The areas are nicely textured but very poorly designed when it comes to objects because they are almost none which makes it a little boring to run through. There are no enemies or secrets I could find so that is a downside as well. If this level could be updated with puzzles, enemies and a better setting it could be a great one." - Kristina (02-Jun-2006)
"Well, I've played this level and the beginning is very nice. But when you drop down into the opening in the floor, the boring part starts... There are no objects (only a few stones), not a single secret and no enemies, but this is good, because I hate church levels with any enemies. I think it may not be like that. The puzzles were very tricky, I couldn't solve all of them, but never mind. There were not a lot of different sounds and the atmosphere looked the whole time the same. Textures were boring as well, but not every church as the very colorful walls." - Danja (01-Jun-2006)
"Imagine what this place must have looked like in it's glory days. Breathtaking if you ask me, and it still does in a way, even though it's in ruins now. And Lara has to walk, climb and jump through these ruins to find two beautiful gems so she can open a door, find a scroll and..........to be continued. Oh no (sad), I was so curious to see what was behind that door and now it's finally open the level ended. So I'll just wait (impatiently) for the next part. I had a wonderful time with this level that is beautifully build, has no enemies (who needs 'm anyway) and no vicious traps. The music was also beautiful (reminded me of Uru's clue-room), I'd like to hear more of it while I'm playing. So, a lovely level and I really hope it will not be long before it continues...... 01-06-2006" - Josi (01-Jun-2006)
"It's been pointed out in many levels how lack of objects have decreased enjoyability as the environments looked plain and boring, well in this level, based around a church and it's cavernous underground bowels, the dearth of objects actually added to making this wonderfully authentic and also somehow sad and beautifully melancholic. There is a lot though to be said negatively about it as well, there are no enemies, no secrets, camera work is all but missing, and apart from one fabulous platform jumping puzzle and a nicely executed timed run the scarcity of anything to do is almost palpable. But you know what, somehow the atmosphere of this 35 minute level just wiped out all of those things for me and I was absolutely and wholly enraptured." - Sash (31-May-2006)
"Oh wow! For a first level this is absolutely stunning.The cathedral at the start is supremely well-built and,together with the beautifully chosen music and the opening fly-by,is actually emotionally moving.Unfortunately there's not a huge amount to do in this place of worship (to be precise,absolutely nothing)but once you drop down into the Crypt the fun really begins. You're on the hunt for two gems and the course is devious and imaginative but always negotiable. The Gameplay is essentially of the 'how do I get out of this room?'variety and is always fun and satisfying.The textures are original and superbly applied;the lighting first-rate;and the atmosphere quite supreme.Only two things let this down:the first is the absence of cut-aways to indicate what a particular lever did,although there are usually only a limited amount of possibilities.The second (and more serious) is an unfortunate 'no collision' transparency error which enables Lara to jump over a deep pit far too soon (leaving the player with the belief that they were doing the right thing)and thus reach one of the gems with complete ease,instead of following the correct and ingeniously designed path leading to a lever which fills the pit with water. This is such a shame,as it rather deflates the players estimation of the level as a whole and negates a lot of hard work on the part of the builder. In all other respects this is a little masterpiece. I cannot believe that the level builder has not tried has hand at this sort of thing before. This must surely be the first level which he feels comfortable enough to release. If that is the case I would implore him to release his earlier efforts as,if they were only half as good as this,they would still be very fine indeed. What I can definately look forward to,though,is a sequel;as the caption at the end happily informs me!" - Orbit Dream (30-May-2006)