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Hell's Nightmare - Return To Hell by LaraCroftBaby

Andzia9 5 5 5 6
DJ Full 3 4 5 4
dmdibl 6 7 6 7
eRIC 4 5 5 5
Gerty 4 7 6 7
Jay 6 8 7 8
Jose 6 6 6 7
manarch2 3 4 5 5
MichaelP 5 7 7 7
Orbit Dream 3 7 7 8
Ryan 3 6 6 7
Scottie 3 6 6 8
 
release date: 31-Oct-2009
# of downloads: 78

average rating: 5.69
review count: 12
 
review this level

file size: 112.83 MB
file type: TR4
class: Mystery/Horror
 


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

Reviewer's comments
"More ambitious than the builder's first project, as this levelset has more varied gameplay elements. The mansion level is nothing to write about except for the stupid behaviour of some of the enemies (gunmen , blue horned dogs) and the many missing sounds, i like the background atmosphere with the rain though. The second level is the best with a strangely fun ride with a sport car over many different enemies and some rooms with decent platforming and traps. I thought the third one would be even better but there is so many wrong sounds here and the gameplay with backtracking and bugs that can leave you stuck for good without knowing what was in the builder's mind. In the end it was time to call it a day for me and so i did not played the last level but according to the previews reviews it seems i did not miss interesting things. Some new musics , the background loops are fitting , texturing could be better with compressed textures." - eRIC (06-Jul-2021)
"Literal hell, absolutely the worst thing I have played this year, and especially because the further it goes the worse it gets and you have no chance to expect it - the title flyby is 10/10, the main game starts like manor 6/10, second level is like 5, third is like 3 and the finale is like plain, flat-seabed zero. I think the perfect, flawless introduction made with cinematic precision and musical synchronization was made by somebody else (as for the manor level, it's obvious it was), then the entire gameplay is either crude, or simple, or uninspired, or repetitive, or buggy, or everything of that together. In the final multiple copies of the same maze, all included after a level was split only in order to make this inclusion possible (what the actual...), each labyrinth section more complicated than the previous one, I couldn't believe how much effort has been invested to make this level as abominable and dreadful as possible. I also couldn't believe when I witnessed AI usage and heard Greenkey's voice in the very ending, what just made me wonder what was the point to do so. Think I'm joking? Think I rate this unfair? Watch my stream vod and suffer to find out... After those mere four levels I was as exhausted as after playing twenty or thirty good ones. Not recommended. At all. Stay away. I know you won't but you have been warned." - DJ Full (27-Oct-2018)
"Visually, this is as attractive as this builder's debut level and there are a couple of standout points like the lava rooms and the cemetery level. Unfortunately the gameplay hasn't really improved since previously. Actually, I think it's gotten worse in some aspects as you have four levels following the exact same gameplay format: find different keys and artefacts scattered throughout different parts of the level and backtrack excruciatingly vast distances to find the respective keyhole or receptacle. Although this isn't as prevalent in the first and second levels, the remaining two are little more than torturous, tedious drudges through copy/pasted rooms, shooting tiresome enemy combinations, interspersed with the occasional bike ride (the funnest part of the whole game!), only hoping that it'll come to an end soon, which eventually it does. Add to this a few sound issues and annoyingly buggy sections and you have a well constructed level that didn't grab me. The ending with the guide was admittedly rather neat, but that couldn't really redeem the earlier shortcomings. Can't really recommend this one." - Ryan (19-Mar-2018)
"Another level with incredibly tedious and repetitive gameplay, especially in the last two levels. While starting tame with the well-known house level as introduction and only several enemies and objects as a spice up, I actually liked the atmosphere of the cemetery level, which is simplistic yet effective, and this is the only level which has some halfway interesting gameplay to offer, with a few mildly challenging trap rooms, and I very much liked the transition to the next level. But what follows from then on fits the hell theme in a very unappealing way - it's nothing but an everlasting torture for us players to get through. While there are some slight hints of gameplay in part 1, part 2 offers nothing but an incredibly boring rush through hundreds of copied rooms and just as many enemies to kill, with only the small bike interludes being the occasional "highlight". I must say that the looks wouldn't be half as bad if the various rooms wouldn't be always repeated, textures and lighting is a bit worked on. I also liked the cage area towards the end, and the few dialogues as well as the guide scene is a small step in the right direction, just before the level ends leaving me fairly unimpressed overall. Spent two hours in this game and didn't find a single secret. Not recommendable for the extremely tiresome last half." - manarch2 (08-Apr-2014)
"Starts as a home level. Lara picks up shotgun and ammo, grenade gun, plus crossbow and laser sight. Now that Lara is heavily armed, she can visit the grave of a dear friend at the cemetery. (??) Lara drives a sports car over everything on and off the road: bad guys, strange beasts, spiders, and demons. In Lara's headlights a giant speckled spider is in combat with a winged demon, the spider winning, straddling its prey. Lara runs over both of them, swerving from side to side to clear the road. (I hate to admit that I liked this part.) After a few tasks, Lara enters the cemetery, and by an unknown process falls into hell. (Maybe she drove over the wrong demon.) "Devil's Lair, part 1," has its merits, though some of the back-and-forth and up-and-down is trying. Lara gets to ride and jump a motorcycle in reasonable timed runs. Lara repeatedly shoots a devil and demon women in nearly identical rooms. In "Devil's Lair, part 2," Lara is trapped in a cave system, and even the least observant player suspects that the level editor has a "copy room" function, because basic structures are recycled again and again. Periodically, Lara comes out into a room with ramp, devil, and four demon women, the scene always identical. Lara goes through similar trap corridors with spikes, flames, teeth doors, and spike bags. At one point I wondered if this was deliberate, the author using endless repetition for a vision of a truly personal Hell. But why subject players to this? This is dreary, with oppressive atmosphere, and one only wants it to end. Eventually Lara reaches a jail, convinces Black Angel to head for freedom, while guiding Lara along the way. They take an escape route from Hell, Lara having picked up the key in the cemetery. Lara is free, and players are numb. The trouble is art is hard work (despite the malarkey of the mass media). Trying to craft things the easy way with copy-and-paste doesn't produce satisfying results." - dmdibl (10-May-2010)
"The two first levels are rather good. But the others are weak. The same rooms, the same situations. The ideas of author have finished? It was not time? Of course the rooms were nice, but this not enough." - Andzia9 (13-Mar-2010)
"Croft Manor (5/7/6/6, 20 min): No surprises here as we have all visited oh so many times by now. A few more mixed baddies to kill this time around and the rain outside helps the atmosphere. Essentially this is a warm up tour for many pickups. The Quad bike ride was fun as always though.
Cemetery (6/7/7/6, 15 min): Driving in a cool car across plenty of enemies - if this is for you, then play this part. There is also a few easy traps towards the end and the sound issues are slowly raising their head.
Devil's Lair I (6/7/7/7, 50 min): The nice - albeit a bit too lengthy - opening flyby tells that now things really get started. And while gameplay is rather slow, it is still enjoyable in this part, as you explore the areas, kill various sorts of enemies and ride the very cool bike. Unfortunately, the problems this level set has become more apparent as well. The sound problems are really significant and should have been fixed (there are several builders in the community who could have helped out here). Lighting is increasingly monotonous, many textures are wrongly rotated, stretched or squashed. And then there are the timed jump switches that cannot be reset - thus causing a possible stuck situation. Still, it is essentially a switch hunt, with a few traps and push blocks thrown in for good measure and you have the doubtful pleasure to kill the devil three times.
Devil's Lair II (4/7/7/7, 65 min): And this is the part where it goes all wrong. I do not even understand how this could have been fun to build or play-test. It is a huge map, but essentially just connects the very same copied room many, many times with ever so slight variations and in this way creates a huge, boring and very tedious maze to run through. You also get to kill the devil yet another 4 times. You have no resettable timed jump switches again and only at the very end there is a spark of light, when you finally reach the jail section for some different looks and a nice little cutscene with the Dark Angel conversation and a well designed 'escape route' and credits flyby.
Overall, less would definitely have been so much more here. If you only have so many ideas for the gameplay of your levels then do not drag them out by repeating those same ideas over and over again - rather build a shorter level and invest the time that you save this way into fine tuning other things that have been neglected here." - MichaelP (10-Feb-2010)
"One already notices in the first level which will be the air full of lead over the course of time. Since already in this house level Lara must fight against winged amazones, killers and hellhounds. But she finds here also weapons, richly ammunition and many Medipacks. Now and again the sound is absent and sometimes one hears water bubble if the killers shoot at Lara. The second part Cemetery is much easier to play. Lara drives with the car simply all opponents over the heap. In the third level it properly goes hefty. However, opponents everywhere and many levers can limit the play fun a little. Moreover, there is a big bug. In a very big room one must jump over three floating Tiles, so that a case grid opens. If one does not make this, simply jumps down and overwrites his Saves, one does not come again upwards and can restart the level completely. In Devils Lair part 2 the play fun sinks once and for all into the deep cellar. Lara has to go through a cave labyrinth with many opponents. And through one more cave labyrinth with many opponents. And one more cave labyrinth with many opponents. And, exactly, through still much more cave labyrinths with many many opponents. This is the hell. In addition comes a sound which feels sometimes good and sometimes indescribably bad. Sometime Lara finds a prison and can release Black Angel.
The first one and the second level quite felt well to play, but level 3 and 4 were a complete disaster. The only property were the textures, but it was this then already. Because of the miserable sound I had to put out several times the boxes. And in level 3 and 4 I was on occasion close to send the level in the data nirvana." - Scottie (09-Feb-2010)
"Such a shame as a lot of work went into this level set and it doesn't pan out at all. The house level is just that, a house level, been there and done that. A bit more fierce opposition than usual but you find enough stuff to defend yourself. A big NO in my book is a lever behind a fire; it is the same for me as burning floor tiles with no indication whatsoever. Then the next level is the Cemetery. Nice car (not a vehicle person myself) park the car and do some jumping, get back to the car and you are in the cemetery where you find a key and you get to the next level. Devil's Lair, the game play is prolonged unnecessary big time, by going back and fro over long stretches. Climbing long ladder and jumping back and fro all the time is not funny after a while. Then into the next and it is getting tiresome, as it is more of the same old, same old. Nothing is as boring as to shoot again a demigod, crouching down and shooting with your pistols. And then there is that maze area. In the beginning it was quite good, but also boring after a while as it kept on going on and on and on, repetitive is another word. The readme states that the sounds are mixed up and that is an understatement. Shooting some enemy and hearing a door opening is strange, the bike in the last level made such a racket I had to lower the volume and had to crank it way up to understand a word what the guide girl had to say in the end. There is indeed some stuff still to learn, like how to reset a timed lever, doors that close on you when you reload. The motorbike drive was fun and do try to drive it through on of the corridors with the traps, because that makes it a bit more exciting. Couldn't even get the ending as the guide wouldn't open the door and had to use a saved game that was in the Stuck Forum." - Gerty (12-Dec-2009)
"This level is better than the previous from this author but it has a big defect: the last level. The house level is like another house levels, you explore the mansion picking up all kind of guns and ammo to be well equipped for the adventure. Graveyard level is good, with no problems and an acceptable gameplay. Third level is good too, but I don't know why there are so many no-resettable timed jumpswitches to get players stucked. Last level is the worst, a series of very huge labyrinths made with the same rooms (it seems the author build this level only copying and pasting the same rooms hundreds of times) only to pull hundreds of switches, kill thousands of enemies and no more; the guide at the end was the best of this tedious and bored level. I missed a lot of cameras when pulling switches, some more musics and, at least, some more puzzles to think a bit. Textures are not well worked too. Not a bad adventure, but as I said, the last level be left over." - Jose (11-Nov-2009)
"This starts off in the mansion, where it's pretty much business as usual, apart from the enemies - they certainly aren't the normal ones. I was also amused to find Winston already shut in the deep freeze, looking distinctly icy. A quick explore of the house and grounds and a fun quad bike ride and you're ready to set off on your travels in a super posh car, with lots of enemies to run over on the way to the cemetery. A bit of bouncing around in caves, avoiding spikes and fire emitters, gets you a star to open up the cemetery and find your way to the first level of hell. Oh goodie. Be warned, in this section there are timed runs with switches that don't reset, which is a bit naughty. You do get a really good looking motorbike to ride though. There are quite a few traps along the way too, but nothing really challenging. Further on into hell, there are some good guys hanging around to help with bumping off enemies, which makes a pleasant change. Apart from that, this section consists almost entirely of interminable maze-like areas, which quickly become excruciatingly repetitive. At the end, your guide assists you into the final section, but be sure to shoot all the other inmates of her jail cell very quickly or she will start beating them up with her torch and ignore poor Lara completely. This game started off quite promisingly. In fact, when I reached the very attractive cemetery area, I really thought I was in for a treat. Regrettably, the subsequent sections became progressively duller, both in looks and gameplay. Certainly, there are some good ideas and fun moments, but not sufficient to sustain the length of the game." - Jay (09-Nov-2009)
"Although this is a major step up in terms of technical achievement from LaraCroftBaby's previous level, I'm afraid the quality of the Gameplay remains stuck in the same rut as it did in the earlier adventure.In each of the levels of this set, you are required to go on long back-and-forth tasks in order to find a key object;and while this was perfectly bearable within the tried-and-trusted Mansion scenario and the rather fun 'drive-over-everyone' second level,it began to wane dramatically in the third;especially with the lack of camera hints and several timed levers which were non-resettable (a big faux-pas). However, it was with the fourth and final level that the tedium became quite unbearable with a never-ending succession of identical and complicated labyrinths which sapped all remaining vestiges of enjoyment from me. This is such a shame, as much of this is really good indeed! The motorbike is used well; almost every possible enemy is incorporated; there is some good voice acting;and the textures are all placed with care,while lighting is sympathetic to the atmosphere.The ending (should you ever manage to get to it) is great fun and really well constructed (assuming the all-important re-textured Guide manages to follow you!),while the closing credits are the undoubted creative highlight.It say's a lot,though,when the final five minutes of a two-and-a-half hour level-set are the most creative and entertaining part!" - Orbit Dream (03-Nov-2009)