Reviewer's comments |
"Just after I thought this series would be quite an enerving
raid, this level luckily taught me a lesson. Right after
Lara was dropped in the scenery with the helicopter this
level was quite a refreshing raid with very old-school
gameplay, but a lot of block puzzles and also platforming.
There is nothing really innovative in here, the atmosphere
being nicely implemented with a mix of lava, cave and
library textures wasn’t very spectacular but fine enough – I
also have to note the beautiful mirror hub room of the stone
quest near the end –, the gameplay varied from quite a lot
of exploration; at the end there was a nice search for four
stones – the side quests had a lot of nice gameplay (vase
shooting, torch usage, boulder traps) but this level also
managed to flow nicely and never be confusing a bit. What I
didn’t like so much were the usage of wraiths that caused
quite a bit of unnecessary backtracking at times, several
long shimmy/climb sessions (luckily not overly long though)
and the placement of the four stones – I think it would have
been better to hide each stone in one of the four side areas
rather than two relatively near to each other without any
bigger task to get them. There are three nicely hidden
secrets hidden in this level, the last one even can be seen
as a homage to certain life attitudes. Clearly the best
Revenge of Osiris level up till now. 36 minutes." - manarch2 (26-Feb-2012) |
"After my negative experience with the first level, I was rather wary about this level by the same builder, but fortunately, my fears were unjustified. Though I had resigned myself to encountering hordes of human enemies in every level of RoO, their number was relatively few in this level (though the machine-gun toting baddies in an ancient temple felt thoroughly out of place).
I like the looks of this level: though the dark red rocks don’t quite go together with the Lost Library textures, overall the effect still manages to work. The architecture is on a grand scale and very impressive. I especially like the main huge flooded hall. Even though I am not fond of the large number of fixed cameras in this room, I must admit that they help convey the large size of the room effectively, especially when Lara drops down from the ceiling.
The gameplay is fun, easily making this the most enjoyable level of RoO so far. The beginning of the level throws you into some rather dauntingly large areas with few clues on how to proceed. But once you start making progress, things do start to come together satisfactorily. The second half of the level, involving hunts for the four precious stones, is particularly enjoyable. My favourite task is the one involving jumps over lava. The third secret is great fun: getting as many pickups as you can from a treasure room before the water turns deadly.
A couple of minor quibbles: Why did the route to the room where you place the stones have to involve a tiny crack that Lara can barely swim through? It’s really annoying having to squeeze through it in the several times you have to go back and forth. Also, the jumpswitch for opening the door in the flooded room is placed very inconveniently, so that you are unlikely to see it before dropping down, and then wind up having to backtrack considerably to get to it.
Overall: An enjoyable level, despite a few minor flaws." - Mytly (23-Feb-2012) |
"This level takes place in a Lost-Library themed temple built
into a massive red (almost hellish) cave. I found the theme
very evocative due to the scale, and the setting is
established well by making you explore a lot of the exterior
before you actually get inside the temple. One issue I had
was that the red rock clashes quite a bit with the whitish
Library textures; something like tinting the Library
textures red would have probably made the colours much more
harmonious. The lighting is also a bit drab at times,
although the scale makes it more forgivable than in some of
the earlier levels. The use of Human enemies felt spurious
to me, but maybe it'll make sense later.
The size of the area you first enter makes the level look
pretty formidable at first, but once you get going it flows
well. The start can involve some backtracking if you do it
the "wrong" way around, and there's couple of really long
ladders and shimmy spaces, but the way the camera stays back
actually creates quite a cool effect of showing how small
Lara is compared to the immense size of the temple. After
the more navigation based challenges outside the inside
involves some puzzle rooms and traps, including twists like
a secret where you have to choose what items to take and get
out before the oil water catches alight. There's also a
subtle moment of self-awareness I liked, with a cheeky music
cue playing as you walked towards an incredibly obvious
boulder trap. It's not that hard but still provides a
variety of gameplay. Maybe it's partially because I've found
the gameplay of the earlier maps in this pack a bit flawed,
but I loved most of this map." - Mman (16-Feb-2011) |
"Now this is more like it. A large temple area both on the outside and the inside. Nice reflection effect indoors, that must take a lot of work. Some clever secrets as well, especially the pool that turns out to be a timed death trap, testing the limits of your greediness. Lots of boulders, blades, and other traps to watch out for - even underwater. The only drawback I can see was that it felt like it ended too soon. Though I suppose that's common with all good levels." - SSJ6Wolf (07-May-2009) |
"The first Egyptian level in the adventure, and one of the most enjoyable ones. The difficulty is not very high , even if there are some more subtle things to do at times. The setting is largely a mix between Tomb of Seth caves and temple from the Lost Library. The most I advanced in the level the most the setting was impressive and pretty. The gameplay is quite enjoyable, I appreciated the fact that one of the two pyramidal keys can be reached from two different paths, the room with the shooting vases and sloped block , a torch puzzle that is also used to get an extra room with plenty of goodies (could not pick up them all given the challenge here). Not a lot of enemies which suited me fine." - eRIC (28-Jan-2009) |
"Unfortunately so far I don't think the "Revenge of Osiris" series has been a shining jewel of exemplary player-friendly gameplay, and this level didn't change my opinion a whole lot. It is however, despite the haphazard approach, a lot more fluent than I expected it to be. Fairly open areas with a plethora of things to do always present a challenge for the player, and it's no different as far as this level goes, but it also eventually resolves if you just approach it one task at a time. Besides the setup there are however a number of other elements that supply whatever confusion you thought would be gone after the course eventually becomes more linear. For example I thought the area with the 4 double doors will be a somewhat straightforward romp for the jewels, but for some obscure reason you have to return to the receptacles after you've found one of them so you could even pursue the search of the other items required to end this level. Moments like those hindered me from enjoying the level to its fullest extent, and though there are a number of interesting moments (like a timed-shallow-goody-filled pool where you have to get all you can carry and get out of it before the pool of oil bursts in flames) the haphazard approach of the author made it a confusing experience. The looks are Library wad inspired, and generally nice with a few nicely set up areas, but overall the level feels somewhat transitional and filler-ish within the series and amounts to no other obvious goal than getting you from point A to B. It's still not a bad level as the scores already indicate, but a lot could be improved as far as I'm concerned." - eTux (24-May-2008) |
"This is about as classic as raiding can get. Initially a bit Settomb style, later on more library based this has you explore a huge underground temple. I found the texturing oddly mixed and you need to dare a few safety drops to move on but all in all the gameplay is very fluent and has you collect many keys, guardian keys and Stone artifacts as you open door after door. Some of the huge rooms felt almost a bit underutilized. Enemies are a dozen guards and a few fire wraith which are easy to get rid off. Nice shiny mirror floor. 40 min., 3 secrets." - MichaelP (12-May-2008) |
"I have to admit that I didn't really like this level. I don't know why but I don't feel good when playing it. These claret rock textures are really cold and this temple appears to be a gigantic structure which raises from nothing. The atmosphere was quite frightening for me. When we enter the temple itself we discover three doors. These won't open at the same time but one after the other. It's a pity because the level could have been less linear (and I love non-linear levels). Thierry managed to set interesting trials in the differents areas of the temple. The hardest one is the one with the slopes and lava. At the end, when we need to open three doors to collect the three remaining items, I think it would have been better to add some other trials because apart some gunmen there isn't anything here. The level is better at the beginning in my opinion. The three secrets are easy to find." - TimJ (20-Jul-2007) |
"I laughed when I saw the opening scene. It was almost as if the pilot had
discovered Lara's stolen pass, and unceremoniously dropped her into a hole
in the ground, lol. Well, at least she's still on the right track. That is,
she's in Egypt, and she's about to go deep underground to explore a
monumental structure. Looking over the edge we can just about see waaaay
down there, and that is where we have to go, and back up again. So there's a
lot of climbing to be done, and a terrific fall into water. The bottom of
one area is flooded, and making our way around here is interesting, with no
help from the fixed cameras. We come to a room with four double doors to
open. Each door leads to a different area, and we have to find four
different crosses (or more correct 'stones'), on beautifully coloured
pedestals. There is a library wad feel in this section with those blue
double doors and balustrades, ladders, library maze, fountains and
waterways. One route leads to a lava room with bridge, and good jumps and
twists down below. Another sees us trying to dodge boulders and wade through
a waterlogged treasure room before a fire sets the water alight. And another
to a room with gorgeous shiny floor. There are gunmen and wraiths to deal
with along the way, and a swim to place our stones. Which opens the way even
further into the bowels of the earth..." - CC (07-Jul-2007) |
"Funny enough the eclectic choice of textures in this level worked for me. Here you can practise your jumping skills and learn to look, and look again to see which path to take next. Not so fond of the fixed camera angles though. There is more gameplay that you might expect in this level to finally get your hand on the items you need." - Gerty (11-Jun-2007) |
"Thierry offers another masterful level with solid environments, challenging gameplay and a bizzare atmosphere which is much to my liking. First you have to explore the areas (including a pool with very nasty cameras) around the huge temple so as to find two keys that open the main gate; in the second part your task is to locate four precious stones by opening doors and passing through trials. Everything is working perfectly well here, the settings are amazing and the gameplay is very requiring. That narrow gap in the small pool in the second part annoyed me every time though, as Lara would get stuck, refusing to swim on. I don't know why builders like such things, as they are a torture for the players, lol. A beautiful level nonetheless that doesn't let you feel bored for a single second." - Ravenwen (12-Apr-2007) |
"Despite what I consider an excessive number of fixed camera angles, this is a nice level to play. The enemies consists of thugs and perhaps a dog or two. The main objective is opening doors to find keys and artifacts so you can open more doors and trapdoors, but the gameplay never becomes repetitious or boring. There's a boulder gaultlet along the way that seems intimidating but can be conquered with a simple looping run. You'll also wade into a secret area that forces you to choose among the available goodies so you don't get caught with your pants down (so to speak) when the liquid ignites. The lighting is well done throughout. I'm still keeping up my more-than-an-hour-per-level pace in this series. Recommended." - Phil (07-Apr-2007) |
"Another good level from Thierry. There's a very tricky task in the lava room with the slopes, it cost me a lot get back to the ladder 'cause I can't jump with roll in midair, only backflip with roll, so I had to adjust my jump very well to the very edge of the slope to can backflip with twist and a hard right curve in the air, but finaly I got it. In the rest of the level I had no problems. The level is a nice TR4 lost library looked, with pretty transparent floors and good environment; secrets are easy to find and there are some surprises too. Many ammo but no more extra weapons yet, perhaps in the next level..." - José (30-Mar-2007) |
"The camera angles, especially in the room with the crates and water, are what sticks to the memory in this level. Other than that you get to jump a lot, climb a lot and there’s a timed secret which I don’t remember seeing anywhere else. You have to complete different tasks in various areas to get the four items you need. The jump switches are so well implemented that are hard to notice even if there are right in front of you. I found three secrets here and it’s a good, long level." - Kristina (19-Mar-2007) |
"Now we get to go back to our beloved ancient tombs and temples, and this level was a nice transition to the roots of Tomb Raiding. There's quite a bit of jumping and exploring to do in the first part of the level, and then the level continues with some more shooting, jumping, and even some boulder action. This was a nice Egyptian level that made good use of lighting, textures, flybys, and cameras. Good fun, awaiting more in the next level." - Relic Hunter (06-Mar-2007) |
"I enjoyed this return to TR roots. Good, solid and sometimes surprising puzzle solutions and good environment. Nicely rendered underwater passageway and beautiful transparent flooring - one of my favorite things. Improved, I think, by less stationary cameras but still, an all-around fun Raid." - Bene (28-Feb-2007) |
"This level was once again an enjoyable adventure from Thierry Stoorne. I
think that this level has nothing very especiall you can't experience in any
other level but it is built well in every ways. There are many well designed
big areas in this level and you also have to complete many nice tasks.
There are also some nice camera angles that make tasks more
interesting. I couldn't find any actual minus sides because everything is
designed pretty well. Only thing which author could have done better is to
make the level more unique and different than other levels but it is of
course a bit hard because there are so many custom levels in Internet." - Samu (25-Feb-2007) |
"Blimey, that’s one hell of a long helicopter ride – France to Egypt. OK, let me just get my one whinge out of the way first – too many irritating fixed camera angles, which I HATE. All right, I’m calm again. That aside, I enjoyed this section of the Osiris saga. It’s an attractive Egypt setting with good solid gameplay involving some interesting climbing, swimming and jumping (and, yes, the inevitable gunmen). Good stuff." - Jay (20-Feb-2007) |
"This is a real classic level in a classic environment. At the first glance I found it a bit dull but after just a few minutes I changed my mind! The large areas, the puzzles and the fine lighting transformed this level into a real gem! I just loved the huge area where you had to decent to reach the pyramid keys. Most of all, this level contains a huge quality of gameplay! After all that is the most important category IMO. The secrets where not so hard to find but they provided some nice ammo etc which I think I will need for later levels hehe. More of these kinds of levels please! This is classic raiding at its best! Sliding down to the lava pits…" - QRS (13-Feb-2007) |
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