trle.net ::: Level Reviews

Level:	Lara Croft Regresa 1-4: India
Author(s):	Raider Croft

total rating:	4.97	Gameplay & Puzzles	Enemies, Objects & Secrets	Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras	Lighting & Textures
	afzalmiah	4	6	5	7
	dmdibl	4	6	5	5
	eRIC	3	6	5	3
	eTux	3	5	5	3
	Jerry	4	6	6	5
	manarch2	5	5	6	5
	MichaelP	5	6	6	5
	Obig	4	6	6	5
	Orbit Dream	3	6	5	5
	category averages (9 reviews)	3.89	5.78	5.44	4.78

Reviewer's comments

"Back in the days when non-TR4 levels were available only on other sites - the "Regresa" series seemed to have amassed a sizable pack of admirers, so it had always piqued my interest. Having finally taken the first steps in the general direction of seeing what all the fuss was about, I can't say I'm taken over in a storm, but let's break it down:
Return to India (3, 4, 5, 3) 28 min, 5 secrets - It's off to not a very promising start. Almost everything about it has 'beginner' written all over it - from the rather uninspired texturing, shameless and deliberately designed backtracking, passages camouflaged by walk-through and fall-through textures that don't give you a clue as to their existence and prominence as gameplay device, door bugs, illegal slopes, the existence of a maze, and unmarked climbable tiles. We all have to start somewhere, I suppose, but that doesn't give one a 'get out of jail free card' just because. There is also a rather peculiar crash in one of the level's final rooms, but it may not be the author's fault, so I cut him some slack there.
Searching the Temple (3, 4, 4, 3) 24 min, 3 secrets - Not much better off here than with the first level, only the huge spacious rooms seem even more non- nondescript, if that's even possible, and the unmarked climbable and monkey-swingable tiles are even more irksome, because they figure in the main gameplay so prominently. The presence of other, perfectly distinguishable climbable surfaces makes it all the more perplexing, leading me to believe the former was deliberately designed so. Placement of some traps and opponents adds some excitement, but overall they don't feel like they organically fit in the already less than believable surroundings.
"Gran Stupa de Sanchi" (3, 5, 4, 3) 10 min, 0 secrets - Relatively brief compared to the preceding two levels, but an improvement in some aspects. While I was afraid that I'd have to tackle a crawl-maze for a second there, the game is fairly fast paced and straightforward with a couple spiked ceiling, collapsible tile, spike and boulder traps, settings somewhat starting to resemble temple areas (though the underwater-jello room was a bit freaky). Still no real idea what Lara is doing in India apart from exterminating the rare wildlife and, I gather, even rarer supernatural entities.
Escape from the Temple (4, 6, 5, 4) 16 min, 0 secrets - The uncontested top level of the four, though that may not be saying much. The texture work is the cleanest of the levels so far, though not by a great margin, and the lighting remains universally untouched here as well as throughout the other 3 levels. There does seem to be more in the way of gameplay - both in content and structure - and I even found one boulder trap a bit tricky to evade on the first few tries, but there's still no implicit or explicit explanation as to what Lara was actually doing here, and why we should care. But the evolutionary baby-steps towards a more enjoyable and playable game even throughout the first four levels are easily noticeable, and I did like how it all ended in the same room it began.
Overall - the game is a mix of some big no-no's in gameplay, a couple better constructed traps, and as you play on, a slow, gradual improvement can be felt - but at this point it feels a bit aimless. It's all good if you enjoy playing for the sake of playing, but to me it felt like going through the motions without proper motivation. The story panel in the download sort of implied that she might have been looking for an artifact, but was deprived by whoever the monkey shooting guy at the end holds allegiance to. Not much to go on, I suppose, but I'll take it." - eTux (08-Mar-2013)

"This was probably the first TRLE game I ever played. You are in an indian jungle and you keep going deeper into the jungle to find ruins and stuff. Sometimes it can get challenging and it is sometimes hard to know where to go. The textures were pretty good but some were stretched. Also there are no textures on the water which made it look weird. But not too bad and is a pretty good game. Try it out." - afzalmiah (05-Mar-2011)

"The first level was, sorry to say that, boring, repetitive and annoying. The to and fros weren't nice to play through and textures were rather not on their place. At some points, the level crashes. The second level was a bit better at all these points, having some good puzzles and boulder challenges, but an unmarked ladder, which is a minus point in my opinion. The circle rush through this level was well planned, as you got back to the beginning of the level. You could see that in the third level, which was rather short, that enemies and textures were much better placed and planned. The fourth and last level of this part was the highlight for sure, as texturing was really good and the author did even include some TR2 pillars in the water. Here you had the best temple feeling, and the idea of getting back to the beginning of level 1 was good, however stepping to the quad as the finish was somehow abruptly. In all levels I found the camera hint were helping quite much, so that gameplay wasn't searching around for hours (you can get easily stuck, even it's relatively linear). Found 6 secrets in all levels." - manarch2 (06-Jan-2011)

"These initial four parts of the long series start out pretty basic in TR3 Jungle/India settings with a bit of Angkor thrown in in levels 3 and 4. They are quite short by themselves but add up to about 80 minutes of net gaming in total, most of which you spend running forward in a linear fashion for the next switch, battling tigers, snakes, monkeys and a few shivas along the way. I liked how sometimes you circle back to an area previously visited and the 10 secrets are fun to go for (even though one is not reachable without crashing the level). Several unmarked climbs spoil the fun, but the occasional boulder, spike and blade traps keep you on your toes." - MichaelP (21-Oct-2010)

"1: Return To India - We are in India, we have to find keys for the continue. Enemies are tigers, and friendly monkeys (don't shoot them). There are 6 secrets, but I couldn't pick up the 6th one, the game exit to the desk. It is a little bug. By the way it was an easy adventure, with TR3 Jungle feeling. I think you should try it. 2: In Search Of The Temple - This level is totally TR3 India based. We are in India with monkeys, Shivas and snakes. Here you have to find switches and keys for the getting on. Verily some swithches are almost invisible because of plants. There are an water room with piranhas, but we can pick up the Shotgun there. Very good textures for the levels, I can suggest this level for everyone. Good adventure. 3: The 'Gran Stupa De Sanchi' Temple - It's not a bad level, but maybe too short. India based level this one too. We will meet with snakes, monkeys and Shivas. And of couse the rolling balls. Don't forget, not everyone burn what has flame. :) This is the way how can you reach the last room. There aren't any secrets, textures fits fine for the level. 4: Escape From The Temple - Same as the previous level, we are in India. We have to find one key, before we finish this level by the quadbike. While we playing, we will meet with tigers, snakes, monkeys and rats too. Of couse there are rolling balls too, like on the previous level(s). We have to find buttons, and underwater swithes in the water. Textures are nice, no secrets on the level." - Obig (25-May-2010)

"4 India levels, with all the enemies that can be expected , tigers, monkeys , cobra , shivas and even piranhas in one place. The gameplay is sometimes marred by a lot of backtracking and redoing, the first level is the worst in that aspect , also by a couple of unmarked climbable walls. Not too exciting then, especially that you play in rooms that look square , and with no lighting. There is sometimes more interesting actions like the spike rooms with pillars in the 1st level, the boulders challenges on high platforms in the 2nd , or the run on collapsible tile and backward flip in the 3rd. The sounds and atmosphere are correct." - eRIC (20-Dec-2009)

"These are early India levels, not up to the author's later work. The first level uses frustrating walk-through textures, or fall-through textures, to hide things. Lara yo-yos back and forth between two sections, flipping levers and opening doors in both parts, getting keys. Though the tasks are simple, they still consume much time. After a trying maze, the level crashed in an end room, but Lara could skirt the room on the left edge to continue. The second level was much more interesting, though not intentionally: Lara unwittingly took a shortcut through a vine roof, and it took time to sort out how play was supposed to proceed. There was a four-door gate that Lara bypassed, and that part kept my interest, while trying to get back on track. The third level is an interlude. By the fourth level there is improvement in play and in physical setting. There are things to enjoy here. The enemies are tigers, animated Shiva statues, and in one spot piranha. The dull initial level, and early lackluster design work, will likely discourage players from exploring this set." - dmdibl (18-Dec-2009)

"I found the first part of this four-parter not so entertaining, since there is not so much to do except for some keys to find and switches to pull attended with much backtracking. From part 2 onwards it becomes a little more interesting, although gameplay is more or less all the same in the end. I would favour all parts being put together to one level to shorten the whole thing instead of prolonging it by making it a four-parter. In the end the level implies that the builder had just discovered level building, making the game as long as possible while lacking ideas. And I would like it much better if there were not all these annoying things like non-obvious walkthrough-walls and ceilings, missing climbable textures, those mazes and all that backtracking. Although the mazes were not difficult to manage, they were not enjoyable either. The look of the level too becomes a little tiresome after a while, as rooms are all boxy and there is the same texture set used for all 4 parts. This aside there is a buggy room in part 1. When I entered that room for the last key and I did some steps forward to either direction the game crashed, so I had to start the 2nd part from the main menu meaning I lost all the items I found so far." - Jerry (15-Oct-2009)

"Reviewers can sometimes be condemned (at least in some quarters) for criticising other builders works.I can happily state that I don't give a damn.However,one of the things that these condemning observers fail to understand is that we reviewers often toil away for hours (for no fee) in order to complete the sort of level which most other players would probably (wisely) throw away in disgust after the first few aggravating minutes - and all for the purpose of submitting a review! Although by no means terrible,this set of four levels perfectly illustrates the toil and frustration we player/reviewers often experience.With the exception of the third (which is relatively succinct and fast-paced) these four levels consist entirely of backtacking over vast distances in order to pull an assortment of levers and switches.There are no puzzles and no tricky jumps;it's just "pull lever,travel vast distances to where a door opened,reavealing another lever which activates a door back where the previous lever was",over and over and over again;for several hours. Enemies pep things up a little,but their attacks get predictable and,in the case of the Shivas,somewhat tedious. Textures (although rarely stretched) are wallpaper'd;and all four levels lack imaginative lighting (and often no lighting at all) and consist of generally boxy areas,thereby making them all look identical and none too interesting.There's little atmosphere to speak of as a result,and the gameplay certainly makes no effort to keep you interested over the 2 hours of gameplay.Having completed these 4 levels,I don't think I'll bother with the remaining 12 (unless a Knighthood is in the offing). It's not that they are poor,by any means (from a technical nor creative standpoint);it's just that they are relentlessly dull." - Orbit Dream (30-Sep-2009)