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Into the Centre of the Earth by tombraiderluka

eRIC 6 6 6 6
Gerty 6 7 7 8
herothing 8 7 9 10
Jack& 5 7 5 7
Jay 8 7 8 9
Jose 5 6 6 7
MichaelP 7 7 8 8
Orbit Dream 8 7 9 9
Phil 9 8 8 8
Ryan 7 7 8 8
Scottie 7 8 8 9
Selene 8 7 7 8
Spike 5 4 4 5
 
release date: 15-Sep-2009
# of downloads: 70

average rating: 7.15
review count: 13
 
review this level

file size: 24.58 MB
file type: TR4
class: nc
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
tombraiderluka@yahoo.com

Reviewer's comments
"This is definitely Luka's most accomplished level to date and a great choice if you want to test your raiding skills a bit more. The surroundings are well crafted and attractive and the gameplay for the most part is well balanced. There were a couple of gameplay aspects that I thought were a little too irritating and difficult, though: the invisible ledges room (despite the subtle clue) and the rope swing timed run which was too precise for my liking (not helped by an annoying fixed camera). I also found the illegal slopes a bit unnecessary, in my opinion and I encountered a couple of reloading crashes, but they were generally solved by started a new gaming and then trying out the problem save. A quite engaging level." - Ryan (27-Aug-2018)
"Wow I see that is has been 4 years ago that I played this level for the walkthrough and although I couldn't remember every bit, luckily enough to get me through it without big stuck moments. Still an overuse of levers to open one door, but I liked the traps in here. Still no big fan of invisible ledges even if the clue is nearby. The timed runs were luckily not so hard that I couldn't make them, and with a bit of reloading I did get them all in the end. Not a level for the faint hearted I have to admit." - Gerty (25-Aug-2013)
"A level with some good ideas, but not enough to make a good level. It seems that the author didn't read the manual carefully, 'cause there is no good to throw necessary items anywhere and let the player continue until get stucked and have to backtrack a lot exploring huge areas: (What's the matter if the player miss the Skull Key at the beginning?). There were two timed runs I didn't need to do; the one in the room with invisible tiles and the other in the room with many pillars (the crawlspace is for exit and for enter too). But the worst was not to use cameras. A lot of times you press a button or use a key and you don't know where to go; if the object triggered is near, it's not important, but if the object is in another room this makes the gameplay tedious and bored. I don't know why the spiders don't attack so the only enemies I really found was the serpent in the pool and the tigers. There are some missed sounds and the final door was bad placed, but the level was not too bad at all. The best were lights and textures." - Jose (07-Nov-2009)
"This is an interesting 45 minute adventure starting in caves and moving on to temple like structures all set in grey. It starts relatively easy on you and then gets harder as you go along which is a good thing, but gameplay also has a few annoyances as you can easily miss vital items that are lying around in a darkl corner and that you will then need much later - causing you to backtrack quite a bit. I liked the room where you need to get a crate to the top, but not so much the invisible ledges room (despite the clue) and the swimming in a large body of water looking for several small items on the ground. The timed run with the rope is a nice challenge - not too hard, not too easy. Same is true for the boulder area with the buttons where you need to pass by the moving boulder a few times. I had some issues with crashes when reloading, so ended up playing the first half of the level twice because of that, but I did not mind at all. Solid work." - MichaelP (07-Nov-2009)
"After some rough days of raiding in between work and other tasks of everyday life I have completed the remaining four levels by Luka that I had not gone through earlier. I went through them all in order to see if there had been some progress and it's safe to say that I saved the best for last. This is quite a little gem of a level and in overall I really enjoyed it, but unfortunately I did feel a little bored at times(especially about halfway through). The timed run with the rope swing is a really good idea and once you know where to go it's actually not all that difficult. However, something really needs to be done with the camerawork. Having to endure a fixed camera angle during a timed run is a nightmare and I counted at least two separate challenges where this occurred. Speaking of which, I'm still missing some clear, camera-related hints. You could pull a switch or press a button and have no clue whatsoever of what it did. It does get a bit tiresome to run around looking for an open door or a change in scenery. This is especially frustrating during timed runs as there is nothing indicating that it actually IS a timed challenge, making it a level of random trial and error. Some of the items could have been a little less hidden(such as hiding an essential key in the darkest corner of one of the very first rooms, setting you up for one heck of a backtracking if you miss it the first time around). Enough complaints. I particularly enjoyed the last part of the level. There are quite a few nifty challenges here and the boulder run was my favorite among them. The remodeled zombies were great and it was really neat to see the giant spiders attacking them instead of Lara. The textures are well applied, very good selection of music and a decent use of lights for most parts. All in all it took me a bit over an hour to play and I'm looking forward to seeing what Luka will come up with next. Highly recommended, especially for those who enjoy a good challenge." - Selene (25-Oct-2009)
"This is one of those levels that pushed my modest playing skills to their limits, and I had that weighty sense of accomplishment upon completing the hour-long adventure without succumbing to the temptation to cheat. Dutchy's workmanlike walkthrough made things easier for me, to be sure, especially in that room with the invisible ledges, but there are some tasks for which a walkthrough can be nothing more than a guide. Three sequences stand out in my mind: a lengthy timed run requiring the precise use of a rope at the end, a shorter timed run requiring swerving running jumps along two pillars, and an extended exercise playing chicken with a boulder in a cramped corridor. All took a number of tries before I could complete them successfully, yet all were quite fair to the player and offered unique touches I'd never before encountered in a custom level. This to me is what raiding is all about and it justifies the high scores I've awarded this level. If there were any secrets to be found, I missed them all. High recommendations." - Phil (09-Oct-2009)
"An adventure that is a bit on the challenging side, with various trials , mostly with some timed tasks and others, spoiled by things that decrease the pleasure such as levers hard to see , or an object easy to miss and you can go far into the level without it. There is a few missing sounds and the looks although decent would have been better with a more careful texturing and rock shaping ( 'light cracks', bevelled blocks not segmented). Despite these little grips, give it a try nevertheless, if you are up for a reasonable challenge." - eRIC (04-Oct-2009)
"This is a nicely balanced level in so many ways. It's not too long or short in duration, there's a good mix of puzzles, enemies, agility tests and timed runs and the difficulty level is well judged - challenging, but not frustratingly so. I particularly liked the slightly tricky and most inventive boulder run near the end of the level. Quite a lot of objects are very well hidden and you will really need to keep your eyes open and explore every nook and cranny. My only slight quibble is the use at one point of completely invisible ledges - not the slightest hint even when lighting a flare, so you just have to keep jumping around in mid air like a demented mountain goat until you find something solid to land on. That's my only negative comment though - apart from that, I enjoyed it very much." - Jay (20-Sep-2009)
"Well, I don't know about the 'Centre of the Earth' title here - this title does not fit. Ok, let's talk a bit about the game itself. This game involves a lot of hidden items at very unexpected hidden places and this right after the start, has some tough timed runs and is tough mostly because particularly at one you need to run and jump over ledges, push a button, run again across another set of ledges and to make it worse the camera changes to a fixed one right before you need to jump at a rope - so you need to make it a nlind jump for the rope and swing further at a high ledge where the grated door is open! And this timed run is very tight! Another very frustrating part is at the last stage: You need to slide down a ramp, avoid a boulder and after that slide further down and avoid it again because that boulder rolls back and forth blocking your way down for the second button and third and so on, until you finally open the door at a room where there are spiders and a crate which you need to move at a designated place to just get a flyby - the only one - and the game ends. Personally, I find this game again artificially built to be harder than it should be and camera help is zero, so after you push a button or use a key you do not know what to do. Personally, it was not my piece of cake this one, but it has some tough parts on it. You can try it, but I cannot recommend it." - Jack& (19-Sep-2009)
"Tombraiderluka is almost already the perfect example of how a level builder can progress if he remains at the balls and is ready to learn there. The first level of Tombraiderluka is from May 2006 and was, one must say it simply in such a way, a complete disaster. I do not know, highly the level builder has read the Reviews, but if, then there was probably the following reaction: "Do I stop, or continue I and does point to the people what I am able to do really?" Now, he has continued to our all luck. Though it was getting better in his next levels only very slowly, but it was getting better. And with this level he has adduced finally the evidence which he is able to do really. Indeed, he should not repeat with his next level a few things. But of which more later.
Level construction, textures, sound: Here one can see the biggest progress. The level is built very well. This is valid for the mountain landscape, as well as for the caves and buildings. There is a lot of level builders who can build though a few reasonable rooms, but fail pitifully with the outskirt areas. This is not here the case. But also the best level construction uses nothing if the textures were applied not properly. But the textures are another example of the positive progress. I have found no stretched textures. Everything is a good fit very much. The nicest place for me was the big inner courtyard with the pool in the middle. The sound also felt well and was diverse.
Gameplay, riddle, time runs: Here I must immediately come to the negative points. Some levers were nearly untraceable which they had the same colour like the wall. The Skull-Key something lay to hidden and was easy to overlook. Such a thing is irritating because these Key was to be found shortly after level beginning and was used not until later. A round stone was hidden something too well in the bushes. In a big hall one had to jump over two invisible blocks to the other side. The problem was which one could see these blocks not at all. There helped no Flare and also no binoculars with rest light amplifier. And also in other respects there was no hint which there was there invisible blocks. So one had to jump hit or miss in any direction. Such a thing is very irritating. Tombraiderluka should not make these things with his next level once again. But, nevertheless, apart from these negative points it has given a lot of pleasure. Particularly has liked to me the very tricky time run. A narrow way with a few niches was very nice. By a rolling ball these niches were not so easy to reach. There one need a good timing. The new textured mummies looked good and withe the shotgun the few big spiders were not a big problem.
Result: Successful level with a few beauty mistakes" - Scottie (18-Sep-2009)
"My last experience with this author wasn't too pleasant, and while it's a good sign that we haven't been "treated" to anything along the lines of Return to Temple of Darkness Remake: Revised Edition 2.0, the level that we have actually received still isn't of particularly high quality. Much of the gameplay contains what a good TR level should - challenging jumps, traps and a good bit of exploration to top things off. However, a lot of it is instantly ruined by a number of stupid gameplay decisions, from far too well-hidden items, to utterly obscure ways of safely traversing a room. I also imagine that Lara wasn't too pleased with getting sliced through the stomach by a pair of wall-mounted blades, upon using a switch necessary for progression. Couple this with a bunch of back-and-forth sections to extend gameplay, and an almost complete lack of cameras, and what could have been decent gameplay was let down severely. Other aspects of the level were equally poorly thought out, with pretty noticeable location issues (the story, textures, objects and audio all screaming completely different styles at times) prominent throughout. On the subject of objects and audio, the former were at times badly placed or lighted (and sometimes either missing sounds or sporting incorrect ones), while the majority of the level was particularly silent due to the lack of an ambient track. The quality of the texturing varied from decent to messy, while lighting was generally uninspired for the most part. A number of cracks (mostly near to the start of the level) also let things down somewhat. The level as a whole shows that something good could have came from it, but the amount of bad decisions both in regards to the gameplay and visuals spoiled much of it. A case of 8th time lucky for the builder, perhaps?" - Spike (18-Sep-2009)
"This is extremely good progress from the first level of Tombraiderluka. This is an extremely hard level which is well put together and shows the performance of a very talented builder, i won't give any details about the timed runs although i would say that you should prepare for a very hard time. I must say that i hated the spiders, i've had enough of seeing spiders and i'd like to see a new enemy. Some levers very very badly placed, they tended to blend in with the wall, the last bad thing is that some of the slopes i couldnt climb on and i needed to to pass the level. This is a good attempt and you must try if you have the guts ;). Grade = B+" - herothing (18-Sep-2009)
"Phew,I'm glad that's finished! This is one of those levels where you need to be on your toes from first moment to last;whether it be in terms of observation;enemy awareness;puzzle solutions;or ultra-tricky timed runs.Drink plenty of caffeine,shoo the kids out of the door (your language might get a little ripe)and get stuck in.The scenery is full of detail and occasionally breathtaking;the gameplay is varied and full-on;the enemies are diverse and well placed (although not all the giant spiders actually attack). Unfortunately,a few elements are simply too much for the average player; in particular,a timed run involving a 'sprinting-jump-cum-backflip to a huge ropeswing',which could potentially reduce many a player to jelly.A few invisible platforms and sticky slopes also marred the overall enjoyment. Nonetheless,there are numerous gems along the way;in particular a splendid rolling-boulder gauntlet and some great uses of camera and music to enhance the already potent atmosphere. It's all good stuff,and is Luka's best level so far by a very long way - but it occasionally crosses the Gameplay line between 'challenging' and 'horrible',which will do little except tempt many players to DOZY. Definately recommendable for the more experienced (and even-tempered) raiders out there." - Orbit Dream (17-Sep-2009)