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The Golden Sphere by Brikas94

Blue43 7 8 8 9
Daffy 9 8 8 9
dmdibl 8 7 9 8
Drakan 8 8 8 7
eRIC 8 7 9 7
Gerty 8 7 8 8
Jay 8 7 9 9
Jose 7 7 6 8
manarch2 7 6 8 8
Matie 8 8 9 9
MichaelP 8 7 8 8
Orbit Dream 8 7 9 9
Phil 9 8 9 9
Ryan 8 8 8 9
Scottie 9 8 8 9
Treeble 7 8 8 8
 
release date: 21-Dec-2009
# of downloads: 67

average rating: 8.00
review count: 16
 
review this level

file size: 38.53 MB
file type: TR4
class: Egypt
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
brikas_breno@hotmail.com

Reviewer's comments
"The sole offering from this author is not a half bad one, truth be told. It takes a lot of inspiration from the Egypt levels in TRA but builds up to something new. Some of the trap sequences, like the angled jump through two blades at the beginning or the room filled with spiked pillars at the end, seemed to rely more on luck than anything else, but otherwise this was a rather enjoyable and standard raid. The author made all flyby keep the camera depth changing back and forth so they feel a bit nauseous at times, but that's a minor concern. 35 minutes. 10/22" - Treeble (23-Oct-2022)
"This builder almost seems to apologise in advance for his 'boring' level. No chance of getting bored here, though! This is an engaging and at times very challenging level that will surely test Lara's agility to the limits. It's all about being wary of tricky trap combinations and trying to determine the best method to get past them. It's a little too over the top at times (I had particular trouble getting past a few of the blade traps and spiked pillars and quite enclosed spaces), but everything is doable after a few attempts. The enemies are relatively scarce and I could not locate any secrets, but the overall looks are most pleasing and the flybys sweeping and at times disorienting. Overall though, a very solid first effort, and one to try if you want to test yourself a bit more." - Ryan (03-Aug-2018)
"Apart from the thorny blocks there are not many difficulties in this level, many levers to find in aquatic mazes. The textures to climb are not always obvious. At the end of the level, there is a golden sphere in the inventory, perhaps to a next level." - Drakan (13-Jul-2016)
"A very solid debut and quite intense for the 30 minutes it lasts, it could be even better if not for some choices. The gameplay is very fluent, with quite linear progression at the start and some nice tasks. It feels a bit too fast at times, but in the end everything turns around - there are some situations where you can decide between two paths although there's an intended route, which isn't marked as such - so unnecessary backtracking comes as a result. Also the whole underwater area close to the end is just confusing and also buggy, because the block after the (thankfully rather small) maze didn't lower the first time around, I had to play through this section again. The backtracks here are also pointless. Anyway, there is good use of traps, especially those moving blocks, maybe there's an overuse of those underwater plinth blades (I lost a lot of health there); maybe one of them would have been enough. The enemies are placed as an afterthought and don't really play a role in this level and there are no secrets to be found, so this category stands a bit behind the others because the atmosphere, even if mostly small scale, is fairly authentic and textures and lighting are very decently used (if a bit eclectic). The schizophrenic cameras seem to be a bit too long, but they are mostly well done. Overall a solid, if not everywhere totally pleasing level that still had a good standard and didn't outstay its welcome." - manarch2 (12-Oct-2014)
"Well here we a have a good-looking Egypt level with fairly straightforward but not easy game play. I really loved the looks of it and got all excited when playing through the first few rooms, but already after a couple of minutes there is a burner/vertical blade/smashing block combination that can be downright frustrating. After much luck passing these death traps there is some nice gaming for a while and everything flows really well and there is a nice push block puzzle and several good pole jumps until there comes another game stopping moment where Lara has to grab a swing pole and land on top of a pillar which should actually have been easy, but took 30 or 40 attempts to accomplish. Then, toward the end there is the grand finale of more spike smashing blocks where one can just die and reload until with a lots of luck (I failed to see a technique here) Lara reaches the other side. I really like challenging jumps, runs and traps, but these"try and die" sequences were not so much to my liking and it's a shame because the rest of game play was actually very fluent, except for an unfairly hidden underwater lever inside a plant. There were snakes and panthers as enemies and a funny looking zombie camouflaged as a floor lever. The level had good"tomb" atmosphere with excellent choice of background loops. There could have been a few more camera hints, but most everything was still easily found. Some fixed camera angles were used and did not make a couple of jumps easier. The lighting and texturing left a nice impression and made the level look very solid and professional. Considering this is a debut level, the look and feel of it becomes even more impressive. If you like challenges and don't mind the occasional frustration this is a perfect Egypt level with about 1 hour game play." - Blue43 (02-Jan-2011)
""The Golden Sphere" is a quality level either the author did not remain frozen on a type of decors or a type of gameplay. For decors we cross very different place some of others but always the constructed a lot very tastefully. For the gameplay we are dealing with acrobatic parts (sometimes not easy, even for a medium player) but also of good blow to solve with quite a lot of research. In short, a good level interesting to play or nerves are sometimes put in severe test, notably to cross columns in movement and ruffled of peak. Congratulation to the author on his great work." - Daffy (06-Oct-2010)
"Another one I started and abandoned and now playing it again. I see that I binned it almost at the end of the level. I didn't mind playing it for the second time though, although I thought that the camera work could show a bit more what the levers did one had to pull. There are some nice traps and the moving pillar gauntlet I just made it by sheer luck. There are more traps in here, some with knives, boulders and swinging poles but all in all that do spice things up a bit, as long as you know what to do. There are some pixel perfect jumps, not my forte though and I encountered a bug when Lara had to pick u a Golden Ball. Had funny enough no problems with the pole-jumping, although she grabbed some of the poles a meter too high. There was something funny with the sounds in my game." - Gerty (23-Jun-2010)
"I don't really like Egypt levels, but this one was great! I liked the atmosphere and lighting. The traps were also good, they weren't too hard to avoid, yet there were some tricky ones. There are only a few enemies in the level (mummy, snake). I liked the texturing, and the geometry at some bigger rooms was great! I liked the idea of the raising- and pushblock puzzle, and it took me a while to figure out the underwater puzzle with a well (maybe too well) hidden underwater lever. It is an awesome debut level, I'm looking forward to the builder's future levels." - Matie (27-Mar-2010)
"I've had a wonderful time with my two most recent walkthrough projects, Temple of Neptun and now The Golden Sphere. These are both great levels, and I can't account for the relatively few reviews to date. The Golden Sphere is the more challenging of the two, but I didn't experience many of the issues discussed in the reviews. I found a reliable way to duplicate the four-swingpole move, for example, which I've documented in the walkthrough. Navigating the several moving spiked pillars is a different matter, though, and I'm afraid I got through simply by blind luck. After you've drained an area and gone back down to throw a couple of switches, you're faced with a very difficult jump from a swingpole to a pillar that's probably the most difficult sequence in the entire level. But overall, this is a most engaging raid that I enjoyed a great deal, and I can therefore recommend it highly." - Phil (26-Mar-2010)
"After peruse of the Readme I already had the worst fears. A debut level! A, if one takes the number behind his Nick as the year of birth, young level builder! And he writes which this level is probably short and dull! Nevertheless, this sounds exactly after the kind of level which one does not touch of all at all, immediately ignores it and is only interesting for people who play everything. But way of the mark! This level belongs on the must play list of every player.
The first thing what strikes, are the very unconventional Flybys. The camera goes as drunk through the area, constantly change the perspectives and the level builder apparently loves to zoom in and out. Very unconventionally, but at the same time very good. The black panthers were able to do several languages. Sometime they sounded like a lion, then like a dog and then like a panther. One could mean, that Brikas has mixed various sounds. A little bit annoyingly is the fixed camera in one of the water rooms. By this fixed camera one cannot estimate so good the three jumps. Some levers have no camera hints. The level was not very heavy. Indeed, there were a few tricky places, but it never became unfair and with the right timing one came good through tis places. Beside both guns one could find merely the revolver. Indeed, one did not need him, because there were only a few panthers and a few snakes as opponents. One could find enough Flares, thus one could illuminate the dark corners without problems. Up to a few slips of the pen the textures were applied very nicely.
Result: All together a very nice level. Hopefully we hear even more of Brikas" - Scottie (06-Jan-2010)
"In several moments I thought about abandone the game, but finally I've got it. Good debut, but very hard tasks for most players. Many times I missed a camera when pulling a switch, and I don't know if the builder forgot to mark the climbable wall in the room with the golden sphere; the small room with the four moving-spiked columns near the end was very nasty too. I couldn't find secrets, and only the revolver with 12 bullets was poor; very few medipacks too for a level where Lara will suffer a lot of damage. This builder knows how to manage the editor, but it seems his work is directed only for expert players who likes hard challenges." - Jose (23-Dec-2009)
"A good debut that offers challenging, and at times frustrating, game play, as well as a number of searches to discover ways to raise or lower blocks so Lara can progress. This is often creative and ingenious, and I think most players would be raving about how good this is if it had not been overdone. There is an early jump where Lara has to land between two scything blades (not hard at all, since there is one point where she can stand without taking damage) and then run between side-by-side crushing pillars. Logical jumps don't work because the crushing pillars are moving too quickly, so this is a case of blindly rushing forward. Then reload, change the timing slightly, and try again until Lara makes it. This is fine, as we are alerted that this will be a challenging level. But then toward the end of the game Lara has to make a run through similar crushing pillars, plus crosswise moving pillars. At first this seems insane. I have no idea how Lara made it through, and that is the problem. This test isn't a matter of skill; if Lara had to do this whole thing over again she would probably be no better at it. These types of challenges aren't very satisfying. And before those crushing pillars there was another trial where Lara slid down a slope and leaped to a horizontal bar, to fly right through two crushing pillars, plus two blocks that fall from the ceiling. Lara made that on the first attempt. Again, I felt no satisfaction, as this was sheer luck. The timing must have been just right for Lara to sail through the crushing pillars on the swing bar. As for the blocks that fall from the ceiling, I didn't even known they were there until looking back and spotting them in the lava. Often ideas are repeated; if Lara finds scything blades in a vertical water passage, then they will appear in another vertical water passage. There were a number of puzzles to hunt out a switch that were well done, often requiring perception: that Lara can stand atop pillars, or that the climbing surface of a ladder must extend because that is what makes sense. There is one water sequence where every time Lara threw an underwater lever, she had to explore passageways to see if a block had lowered. Will any player think it a neat idea to hide an underwater lever behind vegetation? Players are suspicious enough to find the lever, but I, for one, would have been happier if it had been left out in plain sight. The use of horizontal swing bars was good throughout the level, though sometimes Lara seemed to grab the air above the bar, and swing about that. I felt this level came close to being so much better, that it just needed more of a partnership with the player. There is talented construction in this solid level, and I encourage players to experience it." - dmdibl (23-Dec-2009)
"I really do have a terrible tendency to see a debut Egypt level and expect something dreadful. Not for the first time, I was completely wrong; this is a most accomplished and quite challenging offering. Ignore the builder's apologies in his readme for his 'boring' level. By the time you reach the end, having run the gamut of some extremely brutal traps, you'll probably be looking forward quite fondly to a bit of boring in your life." - Jay (22-Dec-2009)
"Indeed a very solid and interesting debut level that we have here and one with quite a few moments on the challenging side due to tougher combination of traps (burners, blades and squish blocks) and a few jumps that need a certain level of precision. The setting is well done with the high res textures and while some of the longer flybys are a bit obscure and maybe even too long, they still convery an overall pleasant artistic feel. Progression is not overly complex and actually fairly linear with an occasional backtrack. Many levers (often hard to see) and jump switches to find, some push and raising blocks and another fun gauntlet to master near the end. Enemies are snakes and funny panthers which growl and bark like a dog at the same time and I did not find any secrets. Overall, a very solid level and we can hope to see more from this talented author." - MichaelP (22-Dec-2009)
"The builder of this debut level apologises in his Read-Me and hopes that players won't find it too quick and boring.He really shouldn't worry;there's little chance of that! It took me 75 minutes to complete and I was engrossed from the very beginning.In fact,this whole level is essentially a veritable assault course of nasty traps,tough pole swings,lever hunting and tricky jumps.Some of the gauntlets are a little too tricky to be fun - the first,involving a run/jump over a timed flame and swinging blades followed immediately by a sprint through numerous squishing columns was basically a 'try-die-and-try-again' excercise which (coming as it did so soon in the game) might possibly put many potential players off.Indeed,the level becomes only marginally easier after that;but moves onward in an easy-to-follow linear fashion,and offers a good opportunity for players to excercise their manual dexterity. Scenically it's most impressive,with atmospheric lighting,well-applied textures,good (although not copious) enemy placement and somewhat distorting fly-by's. Those who enjoy this sort of swear-inducing gameplay will lap it up;others may find it just a little too frustrating. Whatever the case,it's a fine debut and promises a potentially great future for this builder." - Orbit Dream (21-Dec-2009)
"A straightforward raid in Egypt , and a rather challenging one. Despite the high resolution textures and the good lighting , the beginning was not too appealing to me given the disjointed textures and the fact that there is paintings everywhere , I doubt that the Egyptians made paintings on the ground but I could be wrong. Anyway after that the level looks good without being perfect or impressive, I just had to increase the luminosity a lot to have a comfortable time playing. We are soon confronted with the most challenging riddle of the adventure in the form of a gauntlet with a fire trap , a couple of plinth blades and moving spiked pillars , the trick is to make it in three goes. There are farther other traps , mainly blades underwater which can cost some health , I like the couple of moving spiked pillars ranges which are fun to beat , you just have to run normally without dashing through them, this one I used in 'Journey in Togarma' :] The puzzles were simple so far , there is some horizontal poles swinging , and a few enemies to kill , mainly snakes and some panthers. Farther on, two puzzles areas which are pretty good , the first where you have to find how to raise a bridge of raising blocks , the second one in a high room where UW levers have to be found so to drain it. I did not liked much the unmarked climbable wall in the blue room , although other players may spot immediately that this wall has to be climbed. The end of the level is great with a series of traps gauntlets not too hard but where a bit of luck is required , and a good last puzzle room where 4 levers have to be spotted. The author has very good ideas for some original placement of some traps. Speaking of objects some could have been placed better , like the swinging poles at the right height [Lara seems to turn around nothing] and the higher columns static objects can disappear from sight as they are higher than the rooms where they are placed. Some beautiful flybys , the author has set them to the best effect for some views of the rooms. Overall a recommended level , solidly made, offering some challenges, without being a brain teaser as generally the objectives at hand are quite clear.[8 7 9 7 ]" - eRIC (21-Dec-2009)