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Some Ruins by Kosmos

Blue43 6 8 7 8
dmdibl 6 7 9 9
eRIC 6 5 7 7
Gerty 6 7 7 8
Glouglouton 8 5 7 8
herothing 8 7 7 7
Jay 7 6 8 8
Jose 3 5 7 9
manarch2 7 6 7 7
MichaelP 8 7 7 8
Phil 8 8 7 8
Ryan 6 7 7 8
Samu 7 7 8 8
Scottie 7 8 9 9
 
release date: 30-Jul-2009
# of downloads: 89

average rating: 7.18
review count: 14
 
review this level

file size: 40.60 MB
file type: TR4
class: South America
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
jaufre.hervieu@laposte.net

Reviewer's comments
"Well, well... this builder mixes absolutely masterful gameplay (the flooding/draining of several connected areas to progress) and challenging timed runs with one of the worst (read: longest) pushable puzzles ever, making it quite tough to score this one appropriately. I must say that all of the timed runs are fairly doable with a bit of planning and strategic saving, but including four banana jumps (two in row each) might be a little too much. Anyway, I had eleven seconds left at the end ;). The pushable puzzle is also well planned (as well as the whole preparation for the major timed run) but it is just plainly tedious unless you put something heavy (in my case a pen holder) on the keyboard and read a book in between. It still takes more than 15 minutes to finish which is almost half of the length of the level. Anyway, there are lots of other things to like in this level, like the nice architecture and decent texturing and lighting. Enemies could've been placed a little more carefully as most seem to run into objects and do not pose a threat at all. Some cameras go through solid walls several times, the background audio is a bit overwhealming and there were even some invisible blocks in front of one door set, but those things are forgivable in debut efforts like this, especially because it is fairly polished otherwise. A level that will train your agilities quite a bit, but unfortunately also strech your patience to a high extent. 40 minutes." - manarch2 (30-Mar-2019)
"I would loved to have scored the gameplay of this level higher, as there are quite a few nice ideas put into practice here (being able to flood and drain a pool while opening up new pathways further along, some enjoyable agility tests, we'll hidden secrets and nicely spaced trap sequences). However, the rest of the gameplay was either too frustrating or too time consuming (mainly the incredibly difficult and possibly bordering on unfair timed runs, the banana jumps, long backtracks and the infamous loooong block puzzle that was very much at the height of tedium). The surroundings were beautifully put together, although cameras were scarce at times but you should have a rough idea of where to go if you take notice of your surroundings. In summary then, a pleasure to look at, but too frustrating to be fully enjoyable. Pity really." - Ryan (01-Apr-2018)
"It's a pain to see how a good architect (not a good builder, of course) ruins a very good design with nasty timed runs. Is this funny for somebody? There's a very good work here with the architecture and texturization, recreating natural environments with excellent touches; even a good work with the flybys, musics and cameras, a good idea to dry and flood the huge areas several times too. Personally I missed more enemies here and there and also an extra weapon, even when it was not necessary. After many tries, I finally was able to do the first tight timed run to the small room with the switch to dry/flood the outside areas; later, I was able too (with even more tries) to do that insane timed swim/run with two underwater levers, the pillar with fire and the double doors; but simply, I never tried to do the very long timed run with all that banana jumps so I finally used the flycheat to reach the high ledge. For me it's just very difficult to do a banana jump, and evenmore if I need do do several banana jumps in a timed run I simply send directly the game to the recycle bin if I can't cheat. A level only for super-expert players with many patience." - Jose (26-Aug-2017)
"All I know is that I played this level many moons ago and got not very far. Played it again at a later date, go a bit further but still no finishing trigger. Did keep some savedgames as I got fed up with the banana jumps as well as the long tracks back and fro for the pool sequence. Then there is that push puzzle, I might be one of the few but I do like a push puzzle. This one how ever (sorry for the pun) was pushing it way over the limits of what I call fun. I timed it and it took me 15 minutes of pushing and that is because I knew exactly where to push to. The level itself is quite interesting but it falls short, and that is a pity." - Gerty (21-Jan-2012)
"This is one of those levels that could have got much higher rating since it is really nicely designed and has a good look and feel to it, but unfortunately was a ruined by a couple of very hard and frustrating timed run sequences. I was unable to complete the long timed run with the four banana jumps in time. Even after hours of trying and saving during that run I was about half a second off and the far trap door dropped down just a Lara pulled up. I don't know if the builder desired that, but the very long screen shot of the trap doors rising and the unbreakable camera view seemed to be the main problem. Very frustrating. Thank to Scottie for the save game posted in the forum. Without it I would have binned that game. The other timed sequences are also very tight, but manageable after enough trying and practice runs. The second big annoyance in this level is a simple but excessively long cage pushing sequence. I wish there was a script that let Lara do all the push and pull work automatically, so that you could walk away for coffee break instead of holding keys down for 10 minutes. What is left of the one hour game play is actually very nice: A little bit of shooting wolves and bats, a couple blade and spike traps, draining and re-flooding the temple area and three nicely hidden and difficult to get to secrets. The atmosphere was good although the music seemed a bit intense at times. My favorite part was the texturing and room design. Everything looked beautiful with BTB-Peru wad textures well applied. The lighting was a bit flat here and there but overall very well done also. In conclusion I would say this is a beautiful looking level with really bothersome game play, which spoiled the enjoyment for me quickly and they are probably the reason this level doesn't have many reviews yet. (1h 7min. 3 secrets found)" - Blue43 (23-Oct-2011)
"I think just about anyone who starts this level will soon wonder why the scores aren't significantly higher. It has well done naturalistic landscapes, leading to believable ancient ruins. It uses the Peru package from the Back-to-Basics contest to good effect. Everything has a solid feel, the texturing is good, the caves are dark, the outside areas are light, beckoning Lara to explore in high altitude. I even liked the idea of a switch to flood or empty water from the ruins, making it possible for Lara to access the main doors or a higher alcove at various times. But ultimately this is all about Lara either moving a push block, or doing extremely tight timed runs. There isn't even a push block puzzle, but Lara is forced to push and push a block until it becomes pointless. And anyone familiar with the level editor can create arbitrarily tight timed runs. So there is a long timed run to that water switch. Then Lara does a series of banana jumps, which I don't mind. Lara repeats all this in an all out timed run, which I expected to do with time to spare, but when Lara ran toward the timed trapdoors they had already fallen. Then there is a timed run for a secret, and a timed run to exit to the final area. In his walkthrough, Harry Laudie points out that the fly cheat has been left enabled, so if a run is too taxing players have an out, though using this can be discouraging. I suppose if you have lots of spare time on your hands, and want to perfect Lara's speed dash skills, then this may be the sort of level you are looking for. It certainly looks great." - dmdibl (05-Dec-2009)
"This level would seem to be deserving of higher scores than it has received to date. It's a solid effort with well-crafted surroundings and many varied tasks. However, upon reflection I would feel constrained to mark it down because of the complicated exercises that had little in the way of accompanying camera clues. (Since I used Harry's walkthrough, that wasn't an issue for me, but I noticed it nonetheless.) And there was an unforgivably tedious pushblock puzzle near the end for which there was no visual help that I could detect. Other than that, what you have here is an attractive Peru level that took me well over an hour to complete despite the fact that I took Harry's lead and flew along the more burdensome timed runs. I wouldn't call it expert class, but it's definitely not for beginning raiders. Recommended for those in search of a scenic challenge." - Phil (07-Oct-2009)
"A very nice debut level utilizing many objects and textures from BtB2008 wad and tga files which didn't feel boring even though they are very common in many newer custom levels. Setting looks rather pleasant and texturing is careful involving hardly any mistakes. Atmosphere is moreover spiced up with some well used audio tracks and there's not much to complain about cameras either despite some fly bys went through the walls which is however just a minor complaint. I found gameplay to be also well created containing many fun and challenging timed runs and also a cleverly made flip map area which you have to drain and fill with water few times. Only thing which totally spoilt the fun for me in middle of the game is a block pushing session which lasts about 20 minutes as far as I can remember. Anyway it's mostly a very enjoyable debut level which is suitable for everybody excluding those who don't like completing hard timed runs or those who have gotten bored on Peru levels in BtB2008-style. Hopefully author keeps building because this level is a very good start for a level building career." - Samu (29-Aug-2009)
"Two possible reasons why this level has so few reviews to date: Either people have eventually gotten tired of playing yet another BtB08 Peru type level - or people have given up along the way with some of the tight timed runs, especially in the later half of the level. I, for one, thought it was an enjoyable and well crafted raid, about an hour long with many good ideas put into practice, like the repeated use of flooding and draining the water area. It does unfortunately overdo some of the gameplay elements, such as the 100+ square pushing of a block (veeery tedious) and a series of banana jumps embedded into a long timed run. It is also a bit short on camera hints, so it is very hard to figure out that the first timed run is indeed just that - a timed run. Without these smaller issues that are less of a concern now that the walkthrough is out, this makes for an entertaining hour of fun - challenging moments included. Found the three very sneaky secrets." - MichaelP (23-Aug-2009)
"Peru really is the new Egypt, isn't it? Well, at least it's an attractive place to visit and this debut level appears to have done it justice for the main part. Unless you are very new to raiding, you will certainly know what to expect from this genre of level in the way of objects and enemies. As for the gameplay, apart from having the dubious distinction of the longest block push I can recall, it's reasonably well rounded and enjoyable, but do be prepared for timed runs. We really do seem to be blessed with a promising 'new generation' of level builders coming along lately. At this rate, your grandchildren could be raiding one day." - Jay (03-Aug-2009)
"France has, what concerns custom level, some very good level builders. There would be, for example, eRIC and TC14 which occur to me instantly. And it seems, as if Kosmos has the makings of adapting itself in this row, because with his first work he has woken up immediately my interest to him. Indeed, there is of course also something what he should absolutely avoid with his next works. But one by one. Textures and level construction: Kosmos has used here the Back to Basic Peru-level construction set. As a beginner one can make not really much wrong there, because these textures and objects look great in every level. Quite obviously Kosmos allowed to test his first work in detail, because one does not see here the typical beginner's mistakes. There are no stretched textures and no gigantic rooms. The scenery feels well and formed rich in change. The same one is also valid for the buildings. Lighting, Flybys and opponents: There are not many opponents. A few wolves, a few raptors, a few locals and some bats. I have not found additional weapons. However, they are also not used, because one can shoot the opponents mostly from a sure place. And there are not so many opponents, because the level builder has laid his main attention rather on the riddles. There are several long Flybys which shows every time the just topical area, thus one gets a good impression of what one must do. Kosmos must work on these Flybys, however, still a little, because just with the first Flyby the camera went several times through the rocks what does not look so nice then. The lighting is anyway a plus. There are hardly dark places and if it becomes a little darker really sometimes, one has enough Flares in the luggage. Gameplay: Here is the biggest weak point. One has to push for several minutes grid cages from on place to another. These distances are too long. It gives absolutely no pleasure if one must push such a grid cage miserably long. And push. And push. Such a thing should avoid Kosmos with his next level absolutely. However, otherwise it has given pleasure. Above all I have liked the three very scanty and long time runs. But maybe Kosmos should defuse such time runs with his next level something, because not every player manages several banana jumps one after the other. Summary: Strong debut with weaknesses with the Gameplay and with the Flybys" - Scottie (02-Aug-2009)
"A well made first level by this new author , where the plot takes place in Peru. It has been very well tested in my opinion , has a good duration (more than one hour of net gaming time for me) , and if there is some incorrect texturing in the first stages of the adventure, it becomes better in the last stages with some well crafted architecture, and has a good atmosphere. Flybys should need some fine-tuning as they can go through rocks, but it's a minor thing. Enemies of the BTB2008 seem to be thrown in without much thought as many of them you can shoot easily from a safe distance. The gameplay is what makes this level memorable ; the main idea is pretty good , as you have to drain , flood and drain again 3 adjacent places to progress and reach the end, but the flood operating lever is too much far away and thus there is at least 2 long backtracks. Also in one area there is a long sequence of boxes pushing, so long that I think one can listen one side of his favourite LP in its entirety (a best of Blues music including titles like 'Heavy load' or 'Going that extra mile' would fit well) while enduring this pushing sequence. The main challenge is 3 very long timed runs , one of them in particular involving lots of different actions including banana jumps (!) ; patience and saving in different slots in appropriate places when you think you have made a portion of the timed run right are required here. There is a few other easy tasks as well. Without being fully enjoyable given that some of the main tasks are a bit 'over the top' it is certainly a memorable raid." - eRIC (31-Jul-2009)
"This level takes place in Peru (yet another), the game is very good in most aspects, i think it lasts a good amount of time. The gameplay was good in general, a bit too easy for my liking though. I'm not too sure that i enjoyed watching the fly-by's since they were going through stones and rocks for some reason. There are 3 long-timed runs which are the most challenging parts in the game, they arent too difficult. Lighting is good, it needs some fine tuning though as do the textures which can be stretched, squished etc. For the next level, the builder must improve their textures and make the levels a little more challenging. Grade B+" - herothing (31-Jul-2009)
"About this good level, i notice before all the good use of BTB peru WAD. These fact gives the feedback of a quality games but an idea of deja vu. I've liked the switch to play with the water and also the 3 timed run is quite enjoyable despite the number (3) seems have to be a maxi for this type of level. About the negative points the push pull the box during 20 minutes is very too long (about 1/3 of the time of the level)and the flyby shows sometimes some mistakes. To finish a good debut level but the autor must now increase his creativity about texture and atmosphere and to be less dependent of BTB peru WAD" - Glouglouton (30-Jul-2009)