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The Calling by Greywolf

DJ Full 9 9 9 8
eRIC 7 7 7 8
eTux 5 6 6 6
Gerty 7 7 7 7
Jay 8 8 9 8
JesseG 5 7 7 7
Jose 6 7 7 7
Juno Jim 9 8 8 8
Kristina 7 8 7 7
MichaelP 7 8 8 8
Orbit Dream 6 7 8 9
Phil 9 8 8 8
Ryan 7 7 7 8
Shandroid 7 6 7 6
Treeble 7 7 7 7
 
release date: 20-Sep-2007
# of downloads: 114

average rating: 7.33
review count: 15
 
review this level

file size: 85.20 MB
file type: TR4
class: nc
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
greywolfdgl@libero.it

Reviewer's comments
"If I could, then I would, I'll go wherever you will go... Ah, sorry, wrong The Calling (not sure anyone even remembers them at this point, to be honest). This right here is a series of levels which seem to be inspired by Legend, in a sense that there's great variety of locations and a bit of a "one and done" approach as each of them is rather quick. The very first level has you clambering and shimmying around a mountainous terrain as well. It's not a prize winner by any means, but still good and simple fun — would possibly benefit from being slightly shorter and also being available in English: it's all in Italian so the language barrier does prevent you from fully enjoying it as there are a couple of narrated cutscenes. 75 minutes, 17 secrets. 10/23" - Treeble (08-Oct-2023)
"One possible softlock but this is still much better than what Grey makes nowadays, what happened...." - DJ Full (05-Aug-2019)
"Undoubtedly, this builder got better skills building more levels; better architecture and texturization, better use of cameras and lighting, and even some fresh ideas and variety of tasks to entertain the players. Again excessive pickups, many secrets are too easy, and some situations in several levels you'll be stucked and have to reload. The four water holes puzzle is original, but very obscure too 'cause once you've pulled all four switches, the door remains closed, and even when you jump into the water and surface again, you need to do it through an specific ceiling hole. The enemies are well placed, and the flybys help to consolidate an history I never understood very well 'cause the Italian dialogues except Lara can avoid the construction of the pipeline in the jungle. Indeed an adventure with a lot of work behind and still enjoyable." - Jose (26-Jul-2017)
"The Australia level begins with a clifftop climbing sequence reminding on Legend, but soon Lara is transported to Siberia, following a rather nauseating flyby. Most of the flybys are rather odd, with some cheesy and off-the- beaten-track sound files. There are some good parts to this short game, like the sometimes impressive environments, enemy encounters and nice gymnastics and puzzles. I noticed but didn't personally encounter a few possible "stuck in a rut" situations, like an impassable slope with a necessary artifact in the Siberia level. However, if you want something easygoing, but fairly entertaining, there are far worse levels." - Ryan (23-Apr-2017)
"This is a pleasantly diverse collection of five levels that together provide about two hours of gaming enjoyment. I missed it the first time around, and the builder has gone on to establish himself as firmly on the first tier. Harry Laudie has given us a typically competent walkthrough that documents a hefty 17 secrets, many more than I could ever have found on my own. Everything is in Italian, including the voiceovers, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the lush surroundings and ample lighting. It holds up well after nearly eight years. Recommended." - Phil (06-Mar-2015)
"You will find that there is an amazingly small amount of actual gameplay in these 90-100 minutes of net gaming time, but it still is a fun raid to be had for two reasons: the quickly changing settings as you go through four different parts of the world during this time and the hunt for the 17 secrets, some easier than others, but an interesting side quest to go for those.
Australia (15 min, 3 secrets): The country song seemed odd and suitable at the same time as you traverse the rocks with a long shimmy section, battle a few snakes in darkish caves and collect lots of pickups. Very wild flyby at the end and as my Italian is very rusty, the google screen flyby did not really make any sense to me.
Siberia (15 min, 6 secrets): Even less actual work to do here, despite always moving forward, battling two bears and two oddly out of place demigods, managing a longer swim section and a few jumps. At the end a tiger 'transforms' into a guide - sort of.
Iceland (30 min, 3 secrets): This level actually starts with the very first puzzle of the game - pushing a few blocks out of the way. It then has a variety of (rather tame) traps for our Lara and two nice moments where you unexpectedly drop deep. The strong points were a wraith that freezes a pond and a really original little puzzles with four 'overlapping' rooms. At the end of it you have a looong climb to do (twice) and escape some fire wraiths.
Brazil (40 min, 5 secrets): This last part starts out as a jungle setting with a gunfight with guards and soon after a few crocodiles. There is a really long and breathtaking swim here as a challenge and some boulder, darts and burner traps. The author also makes up for the very few levers in the early parts and throws in many in this one. Look out for a very sneakily hidden torch. Towards the end you get a nice area with some climbing and jumping and rope swinging to do, before you finally reach the end.
All in all, an enjoyable set of levels which will not stress you out much, but should also not be boring if you are interested in going for the secrets." - MichaelP (08-Feb-2009)
"When I discovered those unmarked climbable walls at the beginning of the game, I wondered if I finally found my fourth contender in the race for the most unfair level, and in the end it overtakes the current holder of the bronze medal (which is now an honorable mention). As mentioned in other reviews, there are places where you become the victim of miscommunication on the part of the author, such as two puzzle items which get you stuck burning from fire wraiths if you pick up the first one you see. Another place I got stuck was at the end, when I realized the sun talisman was missing from my backpack. I made the connection that it must have been the item I overstepped by accident before, being unwillingly sent into the next area after a flyby I triggered (I went and added another item to finish the game). The placement of the torch was a bit devious, and it is possible to drop it and not be able to return it to the higher path. No camera cues are given for the many switches you find, either, and many "red herring" trails are provided for your confusion. That covers the negatives. On the bright side, the environments are pretty eye-catching, though the texturing seems a little too "sprinkled" at times and is inconsistent with climbable textures (a texture should either always or never be climbable). The raiding is generally fun and has some interesting puzzles, especially the room (or rooms?) with the four water holes, and tricky trap sequences. The demigods were harmless but the other enemies made the game more engaging, just a bit too densely packed in the last level. Give it a try as it is certainly unique, but have the walkthrough close by." - SSJ6Wolf (30-Dec-2008)
"This is the kind of level where the builder would've benefited from some thorough beta-testing and I as a player would've benefited from reading some of the reviews beforehand. There are no less than at least a handful of moments where you can either get stuck for good in the level series or seriously screw up your chances of finishing it legitimately. The first level being the first for this phenomenon where you can easily deduct to go in the opposite direction of the "Legend" inspired cliff sequence - but it being half as bad here since the level is short and painless enough and it's not so bad to restart even if you do screw up. The Siberia level has a moment like this just before the end too - where you can basically enter a dead end passage, which triggers an earthquake never to let you out of there again and have you trapped for good if you were stupid enough to save after making the decision. But the real pain comes in the Iceland level which had the most of this error this game had to offer - not even mentioning the hard to find torch - or the random camera-hint-less order in which all the inner doors open - there's the possibility of getting a boulder rest on a trapdoor - which seals your fate as you finally open it, and the final room where you pretty much are screwed if you pick up the 2 items in the wrong order - and let me assure you - the right order is not what you'd call obvious or rational at first glance. And even if you miraculously manage to survive the monkey swing without the fire ghosts setting Lara on fire - there's still a tortuously long climbable wall where they're bound to get you. That said - it might not be the ordeal I make it out to be above, as the game has a couple of shining points as well in form of interesting looks, some clever sequences despite the faulty set up for others and the relatively fast pace adding up to about an hour of gameplay despite the 4 playable levels offered here. Maybe it was my lack of Italian, but the story didn't make much sense to me and frankly seemed too fragmented and flashy to extrapolate anything the author might have wanted to convey, but that will hardly be your biggest point of interest when starting this game up. And should you? Well, it's anything but perfect with its share of ridiculous game-halting moments present, but if you can somehow manage to avoid or overlook those - it will still offer you an enjoyable raid while it lasts." - eTux (01-Apr-2008)
"This adventure manages to impress and exasperate in equal measure. On the plus side,we are presented with four separate levels which all have distinct visual appeal;the final two,particularly,occasionally look absolutely gorgeous and their atmosphere is most immersive.In particular,the Jungle/Ruined Temple of the final level is a hugely impressive location and is used well within the scenario.Enemies are often inventive and are imaginatively placed,and there are a couple of funny red-herrings,which took me completely by surprise. Unfortunately,the adventure's weaknesses get in the way and do their best to spoil the experience.The third level builds to a massively unfair end-sequence,whereby doing the two tasks in the wrong order prevents you from completing the level (without burning up in the process);while level Four can't be completed at all without first picking up a crucial object right at the start which is nigh-on impossible to grab hold of as a Fly-by interrupts your attempt and doesn't allow you to go back. Coupled with this a Torch which is almost impossible to locate without the aid of the Walkthrough (and even then I had difficulty)and a thoroughly unnecessary audio track consisting of dodgy covers of The Eagles and Pink Floyd,and you have an adventure which,despite looking beautiful,should best be approached with considerable caution! By all means go ahead,but don't come crying to me if it makes you upset." - Orbit Dream (30-Mar-2008)
"On the whole, this is a game I enjoyed playing. It is not very long , you visit different countries and settings, the game is not confusing despite a couple of red herrings , and it is not difficult either. Many objects and enemies fit rather well the different sceneries , with maybe the exception of the falcon demigods. Of course no game is perfect and there are some flaws in these levels. I will overlook the"end of the world" that you can each in different levels , as on the opposite there are also some harmonious areas , like the brown/blue temple in Iceland. There are also some missing sounds for the crocs , wraiths and spiked balls. And some stuck situations can happen if you are very unlucky (the spiked ball/spikes trap in Iceland , the torch in Amazonia ). Also the fact that the rocks that surround the pool in Australia are death squares is not realistic for an outdoor scenery. I really enjoyed the exploration in the atmospheric caves in Australia , and the mystic puzzle with levers and flipmaps in Iceland is well made. If some secrets are very easy to find , for some others it was fun to get them like the first secrets in Siberia where you have to make jumps. All in all , the best adventure from the author so far , and despite a few mistakes , I can recommend this game which has a good variety of outdoor/indoor areas." - eRIC (09-Feb-2008)
"I have mixed feelings about this level, not that I had fun but more that the levels were so different. As my Italian was pretty rusty I couldn't grasp everything what Lara was all about but in general I got the story. A pity that in the first level I found a short cut, so you can skip quite a few passages. Not much to do apart from finding your way through the gorge. Fly by's are dizzy and could use some fine-tuning. The next level, the bears had the sound of warthogs and yes... I jumped in my chair when the second bear appeared. The last level had a nice block puzzle and in here I was stuck a couple of times. Ok, I know I should play with my eyes open. But I got there in the end with a crash to my desktop. Texture wise, this can be improved upon as many are stretched and at some places I could jump to the"end of the world". I think I got my hands on 6 secrets but I can't have a look as it will not start up again after the crash." - Gerty (08-Nov-2007)
"Very interesting game - too short !!! Greywolf, you should have made it twice as long !!! Challenging, and beautiful environments. Interesting puzzles. I kind of liked the departure from the "normal" TR music, but Greywolf needs to enlist a few willing linguists, to allow play in several languages... The end was suprizing !!!" - Juno Jim (02-Nov-2007)
"Although I really liked this game with the many levels in various countries, I can't rate it higher because of the mistakes I noticed. Lara will visit, Iceland, Australia, Siberia and a couple of other places in order to complete the tasks she will find. I liked very much each and every area and the secrets were a treat even though I found fifteen and missed a couple. There are water type areas, a lava room which is the only one I hated because of the fire wraiths that is no way to get rid of soon enough, outside areas with bears and inside ones with crocodiles. The cave type level is lovely and spooky enough to create a nice atmosphere. The levels are short but enjoyable. The problem is that you see a few stretched textures and the 'end of the world' bug is present everywhere in the outside levels. On top of that the last level is a mistake altogether because you hear the music which indicates danger and it seems that it is the very early design of the first level. The builder must have done something wrong with the final finishing trigger in the game or has uploaded a wrong file. I will be happy to amend my review if and when the builder fixes that problem. Give this one a try for the entertainment it will give you for two hours." - Kristina (24-Oct-2007)
"When I first started this level I was tempted to chuck it due to the cheesy music, less than stellar textures and a mean red herring. But since I am a nice gal and relatively fair, I stuck with it. Honestly, there were some good aspects to the levels, but more than a few annoyances. I was really confused with the quick area changes and no clue at all about the story (tip to non-English speaking builders: realistically, Lara should be speaking English in an English accent unless she is speaking to Italian, Spanish, German character and even then, honestly, her accent should be English). I realize a builder would have to solicit someone from the forums to do voiceovers, but as I recall from the past, there are a number of talented gals willing to help out. I am not being a snob here, but there is nothing more annoying for me than a non-English Lara. Ok, rant over, moving on. The level transitions were not well done, and sadly, I got very far into Amazonia without the necessary artifacts, and since I didn't want to redo the entire set of levels, I cannot say that I finished the levels. I am assuming what happened was due to inexperience, but it's too bad none of the testers discovered that one can unknowingly get almost all the way through to the end of Amazonia without the needed artifacts. I was more than a little perturbed that I couldn't go on. However, I would like to say that there was plenty of very nice aspects to these levels, with the giant room with the sun disk and goddess artifacts being one of the best (warning to parents: there is a naked girl in a painting!). I am usually not one to complain about too many pickups in a game, but, this one had too many pickups. One loses the challenge when that happens. Also, some raiders may be ok with little things like an Egyptian god when the story doesn't call for one, or a completely different looking Lara (Lara had more slanting eyes in the first couple levels, but in Amazonia, she was a Legend Lara), but I don't like it. I need a seamless storyline, consistent Lara, and even gameplay. Greywolf is definitely a talented builder, but he needs a bit more organization and perhaps more time spent making sure the experience is fulfilling for the player. If he can get all his ducks in row, so to speak, on the next level, it should be quite a fun raid." - Shandroid (16-Oct-2007)
"Finding the right route initially in Australia takes a bit of doing as there's more than one false trail along the way, but just as you start to get a feel for the place, an extremely weird flyby whisks you away to Siberia This is a strange level, with Lara journeying around the world at a dizzying pace - there may indeed be several countries to visit, but for most of them it's a lightening tour so the whole game takes far less time to play than you might first assume. The enemies are placed with a nice feel for realism (demigods and giant dragons excepting) and the gameplay has some really good moments (and some not so good ones). So, I'm slightly ambivalent about this one. I can't deny it irritated me quite a lot at times, but then some really good raiding would turn up and I forgave it. I don't however feel able to forgive the inclusion of some of the worst cover songs I've ever heard - whoever was mangling 'Stairway to Heaven' should be muzzled for life. Even dear old Rolf Harris did it more justice." - Jay (08-Oct-2007)