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BtB2011 - A Rift in Sedona by Chronicles5

afzalmiah 9 10 10 10
Akcy 9 9 8 10
Bigfoot 10 10 10 10
Blue43 8 8 9 9
cho7 9 10 10 10
Diz 9 10 9 9
DJ Full 9 10 10 9
dmdibl 8 8 9 9
Eelkemama 7 8 8 9
EssGee 8 9 8 8
eTux 10 9 10 9
Glouglouton 10 10 10 10
Jay 8 8 9 9
Jerrod 7 8 9 9
JesseG 9 8 10 8
Jorge22 10 9 10 10
Jose 8 9 9 10
Josey 8 10 10 10
Magnus 8 7 7 8
manarch2 10 9 10 9
MichaelP 8 9 9 9
Mman 8 9 9 9
Mytly 8 8 9 9
Nina Croft 8 10 10 9
Phil 8 9 8 9
Raymond 10 9 9 10
requiemsoul 9 8 9 9
Ruben 9 9 9 9
Ryan 10 10 9 9
Scottie 10 9 10 9
Sethian 7 8 9 9
Shandroid 8 9 9 9
TheStig 9 9 9 10
 
release date: 24-Aug-2011
# of downloads: 100

average rating: 9.00
review count: 33
 
review this level

file size: 70.95 MB
file type: TR4
class: Steampunk
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
chronicles5@gmail.com

Reviewer's comments
"What a level! I reckon that this is an incredibly challenging level, but it is amazing. The weird flyby already hints at what the whole level is like and it does not disappoint. The ninjas are always ahead of Lara which makes a change. Do try and find the secrets, they're really generous. A top contender of the contest for me." - Ryan (22-Mar-2016)
"I noticed two serious shortcuts in this game. The first one is ability to jump on the wall of the fireplace yard and bypass the crow patio. The other one is about taking the burning torch to the transport key door, which open in such case. But I highlight gameplay would be perfect without these two. For the first time since a very long time I had a feeling everything belongs to its rightful place. Perfect object filling, enemy AI usage, conveyor belt agility, well- marked timed runs and precious secrets having their own little zones polished with the same devotion as the main plot areas. Very strong, immersing opening and a satisfying closure. Slight yet challenging trap usage and their merging into the static machine structure so everything seems logical. Cameras warning about upcoming danger. The progress is really linear, the lighting is sometimes unexplainable and there are plant pickups I always dislike, but the general atmosphere and flow factors compete well for slight errors and keep overall fun on a very enjoyable level. To add: of all competing levels, this is possibly the one achieving greatest beauty with least amount of lagging. SUMMARY: A rare case when I don't see anything new but I want nothing more. If I found it hard to say something bad about it, it must be a gem. Very highly recommended to everyone." - DJ Full (15-Nov-2013)
"I really do feel like A Rift in Sedona is perhaps the unsung hero of the 2011 btb competition. While it's certainly not the largest or most expansive of the levels available in the competition there's some original touches which really make this for me stand out. I'll kick off with the environments which are beautifully crafted. The author masters lighting (and lighting with colour) fantastically. Each space has a nice organic feel to it and it's filled with memorable architecture (especially the later section with the mansion gardens). Gameplay wise things are reasonably linear, and you shouldn't find yourself hopelessly lost at any point (no walk-through glances needed for me). The moving belt sequence is probably the trickiest part of all of it. Compared to the author's previous BTB release (Palace Dionysus), the timed runs here are much more forgiving so you shouldn't have to find yourself practicing pixel perfection to get through! For me though the part that stands out in my mind is what I'll dub as the 'explosion' sequence cut-scene. The ninja you're following through the level blows a hole in the floor and suddenly you find yourself on a descent into some lava-filled caverns. It's allot of fun! ;) All in all I netted just under 1 hour 30 mins from A Rift in Sedona. A very pleasurable experience and highly recommended. Stiggy :)" - TheStig (06-Oct-2012)
"This is a very good level, the explosion is very original with a very technical descent. I loved the treadmills. The return to retrieve the secret was a bit difficult. The final is very well. The lights are very good. to recommend." - cho7 (15-Dec-2011)
"For me, one of the most original level of the competition. Lara is in a alternativ and very strange world. I really like the first flyby when she arrived in this world. The gameplay is not really hard but very interesting ... fall sequences, gliss sequences, lava rooms, mines, ... The sky is wonderful and the structures too. I specially love the end before Lara is teleporting and the end throught the long gliss when the earthquake start. Not really long (1h), not really hard, it's a good level for the beginners and an exellent level for this btb competition. Thanks a lot for this level. BigFoot" - BigFoot (26-Nov-2011)
"Objects: Some of the blade traps are useless (in the boxes room) and easy to avoid. Some enemies have nowhere to go, for instance near the end at the top of the tall chamber, a ninja is trapped in a corner by the terrain and gaps in the grated floor. Other than the mishappen item placements the decor was good.
Textures: Many of the triangular textures in the natural areas are not applied correctly. The lighting is nice, especially where pools of water are concerned. A foliage is solid on one side but not the other, more on that below...
Gameplay: This was a pretty fun level. The one annoyance I encountered was in the box room with the foliage texture that you can crawl through one way, but you can't crawl through the other. I almost had myself trapped, since the other exit is blocked by pushable blocks (and a pit of spikes). The room with conveyor belts was a blast, and you had to work with them (or against them) to get around the area and also complete a timed run. The other timed runs were great as well, along with the sliding sequence with the falling rocks.
Atmosphere/Cameras: There was a great use of camera effects in this level. The zoom effect is used well in the intro. At the end, a flyby with no control lock is used to add suspence to the sliding cave with falling rocks, making it more engaging. This was the best part of the level.
Overall: A fun level that was of perfect length. Not too long, not too short. Finished in 47:36." - SSJ6Wolf (15-Nov-2011)
"One of my favourites from this contest. It contains the steampunk inspiration to take you through a fantastic underground world. The area with the conveyor belts perhaps was very hard, and there are excessive timed runs, but doable after all. At least there is not much backtracking, and if you explore carefully you'll always find a way to proceed. In general cameras and musics create a good atmosphere, but there are some annoying fixed cameras in some places though. One of the candidates to the first places." - Jose (16-Oct-2011)
"When I thought of the Nevada desert it brought TR3 to mind and that couldn't be further from the truth. Basically, this is an interior level with a few very nice-looking outdoor sceneries on the go. I rather liked the way the level unfolded and how you didn't have to stay stuck for ages as in other levels, as well as all the technicalities that add up to deliver something simultaneously imaginative and enticing. My favourites may have been the very start, the area where everything crumbles in fire around Lara as she starts a steep slide, the super-tough part with all the sliders, the "mansion" area and the final, but these are just details in the big picture. I'm not sure this one did capture what steampunk could have been intended to mean but, oh well... And I did leave a few doors closed and a few keys unfound(as well as a key I never got to use)... In the end, though, it was all great fun (and no four-headed dragons to fight against! :) )." - Jorge22 (16-Oct-2011)
"I haven't checked the list of this year's Back to Basics participants, so I don't know if there are any Americans on it, but if there are - one of the must have built this level. Because really, who sets a level in Sedona, Arizona? Unless it's a kind-of-clever way to explain the red rock textures, as Sedona is apparently known for its "stunning array of red sandstone formations" (thanks, Wikipedia!). Either way, I learned something new today. Though for all the thought that went into having the level take place in a real location, it doesn't really fit the steampunk theme very well. It plays and feels like a standard base level, just with a slightly different color scheme. Fortunately, it's a good base level with a slightly different color scheme. You'll make your way through a base that's built inside some sort of cave system, and it's very nicely built and looks very good. Then you end up in and around some sort of house/mansion, so that's kind of weird. It still looks good, though, and hey - steampunk/other dimension/whatever! Explains everything. There are some neat attempts at a story early on as the steampunk ninjas try to keep Lara from making it further into the base, but it peters out quickly and after that you're just making your way through the base/cave/mansion until you find a way to escape back to the real world. I realize that there's only so much you can do with a set wad like this, but I still feel like the level didn't quite live up to the promise of the storyline. Fortunately, the gameplay makes up for it. The conveyor belts are pretty fun, the use of enemies is overall pretty good, the final gauntlet is just challenging enough... overall, it's a well-designed level. It's very linear - the author claims that he/she closed off already-visited areas to make the level run better, but I'm not sure that actually helps, as most of the other Back to Basics levels run just fine - linear or not - with just a few exceptions. But even though it's linear, the level is still fun, so it's not a big issue. The only time I was stuck for a while was on a puzzle that involved hidden triggers and a door that opened and closed seemingly at random (there's a method to the madness, but it's not a very well-designed puzzle). Except for that one part, I got through this level fairly easily in forty minutes and enjoyed the time I spent in Sedona, Arizona." - Magnus (15-Oct-2011)
"A good solid level. Architecture and geometry is mostly very good. The level is generally well lit, creating a good atmosphere. The conveyor belt sequences are fun and challenging. The sections of the conveyor with blades is quite tough. The idea behind the courtyard with remote view puzzle was a tad obscure, but easy once you knew what to do. Enemies are fair in placement and number, and I had enough weapons to deal with them. The level contains some good challenges in the form of timed runs, and I liked the concept of Lara chasing the Ninja girl through the various areas." - EssGee (14-Oct-2011)
"I'd almost say this is the best BtB level this year, and truly deserves to win. Even though it opens great however, the level sort of trails down to a bit of a boring halt halfway through. To begin with the great stuff: The author's use of camera effects to tell the story is wonderful - we get a real sense early on of following the Ninja who keeps locking doors on us. Cameras are also used very creatively, and even though I don't normally like the wonky-stretching-flyby camera effect, in this case it is used very well since we are obviously being teleported to another dimension. Objects are placed clearly and well, and we get the Crowbar early on, and it's not really possible to miss thankfully. The explosion that happens as we slide down the long slope is also truly epic, and dare I say it is a legendary explosion for all custom levels in general - I really haven't seen anything better out there. The major gameplay problem in the game in my opinion was the timed run across the conveyor belts. This room is a great idea, and travelling along the belts is very clever and unique in my opinion. However, there is one timed run that is simply too tight and too much. Also, at the top of the room there are some tricky jumps over the fast moving belts, which are very hard to get right since one is being pulled along by the floor. After this aggravating experience, we end up in a rather dull garden-like environment. The waterfall that the author crafted looks absolutely beautiful, but otherwise running through here is rather uneventful compared to how great the level was building up upon itself previously. The ending itself however once again picks up with a great camera sequence and a fun slide down a slope to the end. All in all this was a very good level, and with the exception of some let downs and annoyances here and there it was almost near perfect." - Sethian (11-Oct-2011)
"What a magnificent level! I loved it! The texturing and atmosphere was absolutly brilliant! The only place that dissapointed me was the large area with the conveyor belts and the pit of lava. That was really hard. It took me a lot of tries to finish it. Other than that the level was spotless. Enemies were ninjas and flying bugs. Finding the secrets were not too hard but I didn't find all of them. The gameplay and for finding the secrets was mostly finding keys to open doors and portals. It was basically finding items to open doors or portals. This level was very different than the previous levels. The outdoor levels were so breathtaking! After the annoying conveyor belt room this marvelous (did I spell that right?) outdoor area with a small roof and a waterfall that looked magnificent. I really enjoyed this level and hope it gets a lot of recognition. Recommended." - afzalmiah (11-Oct-2011)
"The initial, sort of stretched out flyby resides between odd and intriguing and in a way that holds true for the remainder of the adventure as well. Personally I liked it a lot because of its original ideas, like the red thread of the ninja women trying to make life harder for Lara, the generally nice placement of enemies, the absolutely wonderful huge explosion scene with subsequent lava slide and the superbly beautiful waterfall area. This level may just have the best lighting of all this years BtB levels IMHO. What I did not quite like as much was the conveyor belt part (yes, the ideas for this area are great, but I simply needed a few too many tries to make it through to call it enjoyable) and then some of the areas were a little bland gameplay wise with block pushing and key searching, so the overall gameplay balance did not quite work for me to allow for a 9 or 10 score, despite a nice dose of timed runs, torch action and a fun ending. At the end of the day, a clear winner in the upper half of the competition for me and not to be missed. [1:12, 1/3 secrets]" - MichaelP (09-Oct-2011)
"A good example that a straightforward level can be just as great as those nonlinear ones. Just minimal backtracking, usually for secrets. The follow the ninja girl at the beginning was a nice idea, refreshing. Inventive use of the conveyor belts, some really nice jump sequences there, and since this was a new thing for me it took some figuring out how exactly work my way through, I had a great time there. Another nice thing to figure out was how to get the secret key and still got the ninja girl carrying the medipack show up. I guess it was intentional because the builder mentioned three inaccessible large medis in the readme, and those were elsewhere. By the way that three was actually two, the one behind the crates is accessible via bug usage if you really want to. Mixed camerawork, some things like the big slide after the explosion and all the flybys were great, on the other hand there were too many annoying fixed cameras that hindered gameplay, in the garden or at the very end when even looking around with the binoculars didn't work. One of the round doors was half missing allowing to miss a big part of the level. Nice texturing, wonderful lighting, a visual joy. I would have liked to spend a little more time in the town area, which was the nicest. At the end there are two could have been excellent timed runs, unfortunately they got ruined by given ridiculously too much time for them, basically you can go about them as if they weren't timed at all, for the second one there's even an obvious shortcut, too bad. Although going through those fires and thumpers is challenging enough I guess without time being a factor. With a few more Is dotted and Ts crossed this could have truly remarkable level, but very good as it is so I can wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who likes a little challenge." - Akcy (07-Oct-2011)
"I was rather surprised after finishing this level and noting that my game clock showed a bit more than two hours. I would have guessed about half that, so obviously time flew while I was having fun. Indeed, this is an engaging raid, although once more we see player-unfriendly use of the conveyor belts. The gameplay is fairly straightforward, you get some exhilerating timed runs, and there's an especially neat effect at the end when you insert the final artifact to activate a transporter. The lighting was fine, and I could see everything around me at all times. This one should finish comfortably in the top half of the competition. Recommended." - Phil (03-Oct-2011)
"Geometry of this level is simply stunning and full of surprises. You begin a chase after a ninja girl in a lava cave with conveyor belts (probably an old mine or something), to end up in a garden and an urban area of abandoned city, followed by another cave leading to the exit. The gameplay here involves everything that was available to the builder: a lot of action (and more than enough ammo and health), climbing, jumping, torch puzzles, zillion of traps, and of course, inevitable timed runs. But I must also say that the gameplay is seriously damaged by hartless timed runs through traps and across conveyor belts. It stopped to be a fun once I got the pain in my fingers during the very first timed run (and there are three more after that one). Too bad, since the gameplay would otherwise be very fluent. The puzzles are brilliantly imagined and integrated in the story, and the otherwise very fluent gameplay is ruined by impossibly hard traps and timed runs. The secrets are cleverly hidden, objects are placed perfectly, as well as enemies, sound, lighting and textures are almost perfect, cameras and flybys are breathtaking, but the gameplay... The level is obviously built by an experienced builder, and he used almost all he had been given in his wad, but nothing is overdone, and apart from the merciless traps and timed run, the game is well balanced and probably has the best storyline in the whole BtB contest. So far, this level has most developed AI of the ninjas, and a beautiful vista. If you like a good old raiding, if you are an experienced raider who likes to get pain in his hands while playing, then this level is an absolutely must-play for you." - Nina Croft (27-Sep-2011)
"This was the first of the Steampunk set that I played from start to finish and I was already pleasantly surprised, thinking that I might have been fortunate enough to stumble upon my personal favourite right with the first attempt (I largely picked out the playing order of the BtB 2011 levels at random). A bold statement to make, but this seemingly had all the ingredients - great looks, fluent, ingenious gameplay, brilliant use of cameras and fly-bys to tell the story and more memorable moments than you can shake a stick at. What's not to like, right? Or so one would think - but with hitting the finish triggers of each of the next 13 Steampunk levels out there and checking up on the comments they received, I felt a rant of Dimpfelmoserian kind building up within me. It truly is a head scratcher how this level is not in the Top 3 of this year's competition entries at least, let alone competing for eternal glory as the best hour of raiding produced in the 2011 competition! I suppose it might be a compliment to the object/texture set and this specific cast of builders competing, that levels satisfying such a variety of tastes have been represented, but, in another Dimpfelmoserian move, I suppose the least I can do is up my original ratings for A Rift in Sedona from an overall 9.25 to 9.5 in order to show my appreciation. The level might have ended up being too linear for the breed of players for whom high task complexity is the yardstick for good gameplay, but creativity has been that yardstick for me for a very long time now - and being able to finish the level without seriously stumbling - actually a sign of how intuitive the gameplay feels and an added bonus rather than a failure of the builder. With a set of intense timed runs, a trap-a-thlon that appears to be harder than it actually is because it uses this competition's novelty - the coveyor belts - as an added variable, nice, cinematic use of cameras to show how the ninjas are one step ahead of Lara, varied, beautifully lit and textured settings that you can sometimes see before actually getting there - there truly was a lot to love about the game. That's not to say I loved everything about my experience here. As nice as the stealth room was, it was also a bit capricious in that it's not always clear what the rules are for escaping or catching a guard's attention. If you want to get that secret, you end up traversing the room twice, which did make it quite frustrating, but I would say ultimately worth the trouble. As nice as the environments were - maybe the game took place a tad too long in the industrial looking (though, as mentioned, nicely textured and lit) warehouses - where, if you pay more attention to your surroundings, encounter some physics-defying oddities as floating boxes, boxes that are oddly stuck between the level-separating gratings, and trap-blades that are attached to the said boxes. But they're all oddities I'm willing to buy into, if they come in package with a clever, beautiful level to boot. Found all 3 secrets." - eTux (25-Sep-2011)
"Whew! I am exhausted now, after finishing this level and Lara is now in a coma from surviving this alternate universe! Ok, perhaps that is a bit harsh, but there are some very crazy hard sequences in this level that without the help of the walkie, I would have not figured out an easier way through. First things first, I actually thought this level was going to be kind of slow going from the initial box pushing, then things really picked up. I really enjoyed the androids trying to thwart Lara at every turn. That was so much better than the constant onslaught of randomly appearing ninjas, even though that happens too. I thought the unfortunately placed explosion (for Lara) was simply awesome, although it may have been cooler if there was a ninja placing a bomb or fiddling with the power thingy right before the explosion. I had loads of fun sliding down and jumping my way to safety. This however, was the end of fun. Next came those awful conveyor belts! All I can say is thank you, Mytly for coming up with the shortcut and aptly titled "cowards method" because there is no way I would have been able to finish this level without them. I am hoping that the author meant for the player to figure out these coward's methods as the real way of doing things, especially the belt/fire/blade ridiculousness, because no mere human could accomplish the task in the hero's method. Anyway, I am grading this level with that hope in mind. The rest of the level was not as nuts, and was much more beautiful, athough the builder just could not help but sully the lovely environment with even more ugly crates! Blech, but I survived. I wasn't sure how I wasn't able to get the one secret that the ninjas protected, as they weren't allowed to touch the button, and I was never able to kill them without alerting more, so a potentially awesome secret was never really figured out by me. The part where Lara just runs around an area with nothing to do and fences she can't jump over really irked me. Could there not have been more to do in this garden area? It felt like such a waste. The level was certainly enjoyable, and don't forget to look up at the final room before returning through the rabbit hole, so to speak, as it is quite lovely, but sadly built so that the player wouldn't normally look up to see it. Very good level, but one might not want to attempt it if you aren't a particularly skilled raider." - Shandroid (22-Sep-2011)
"I felt that this game was made by a very experienced and skilled author, judging by the perfect textures and the appearances of reality. This person also loves warehouses, because I had never seen so many crates in my life. Additionally, he/she knows how to alternate this warehouse places with perfectly lovely rooms, complete with waterfalls and flowers; and certainly knows how to use the game's chosen music. Last but not least, I used to think that I was an experienced Raider... until now. I wouldn't have finished this game without Dutchy's saves, and that is a fact. Thanks, Dutchy! The conveyor belt sequences were a real outrage. So, this is the perfect game for those who love tough challenges... and also for those who don't, but like beauty and have the right saves!" - Josey (19-Sep-2011)
"That was a nice level but I have to admit I developed a bit of a love/hate relationship with this one during. The bad stuff first: There were some extremely difficult challenges especially the conveyor belt room and one or two other timed sequences. Some of those areas were very frustrating and had I not seen the posted Youtube videos, I would probably given up and not even tried anymore. The bright side is, the all other area are actually quite easy to play and the game play was flowing quite nicely with neatly made cut scenes of ninjas setting up boulder trap when Lara approached an area or the amazing camera sequence with the explosion and Lara sliding down into the lave pit. Unfortunately there was also a bug which left one of those round doors half open so Lara could take the shortcut and cut off a whole area with nice game play. When I realized that I reloaded and replayed the way it was intended. The whole atmosphere, texturing, lighting and general look and feel of this level was really good and I had lots of enjoyment playing through this one with the exception of the conveyor belt area. Nevertheless I would highly recommend it, just not for beginners. (1h 12min, 1 secret found)" - Blue43 (18-Sep-2011)
"This was the last BtB level for me, and when you think that after 14 levels the fun was over this excellent level appears and lets you have a very cinematic and challenging hour of gameplay. Right after the starting cutscene you will be surprised by a ninja beaming Lara into another universe and escaping. Yes, the start with the block room was rather slow, but after finding the crowbar and following the tracks of the android you rather will be impressed by the way the builder lets the ninja making life hard for poor Lara and Lara always being a step behind her. The gameplay is quite linear but really a treat, the slope jump sequence after the explosion was a both visually and gameplaywise highlight. After entering the conveyor belt hall, you have to do many fun tasks with the belts, solve a timed run that really wasn't that tight and absolve some tricky trap gauntlets or jump sequences while on the belts. Furthermore, some stealth has to be done to prevent some ninjas from pushing a button - recalls Area 51, anyone? But in the second half of the level, the degree of challenge calms down a bit and more careful exploration has to be done in some atmospheric town courtyards, including a clever puzzle with a closing door (but also with a a little enerving fixed camera), and some more beaming (this time some androids) and thus some fights that were quite easy if you found the sneakily hidden three secrets - all available weapons can be found in this level. The finale also was very good, with the teleport back to Earth, and, when I thought the level was over, a long slope sequence with many jumps to do and a fine camera work concluded one of my personal favourites in this contest." - manarch2 (17-Sep-2011)
"Another day another dollar and one more BtB 2011 level done. As many other builders did not include any conveyor belt sequences , this builder makes use of them in an excellent fashion. It takes some practice to jump or even leave the belt at the right moment and the player will probably tear his hair out now and then especially if there`s scissors in the way but it can be done with a little patience and experience. A very interesting and entertaining game . Good work !" - Ruben (16-Sep-2011)
"This level is mostly set in a mine/factory, with a sort of house towards the end. It looks good, and I like the way colour is used in the lighting, but it lacks a bit of wow factor overall. While well-executed the theme doesn't especially stick out visually outside of a couple of the terrain areas and the "boss" room.
The gameplay is enjoyable throughout but feels a bit lacking in balance; a lot of the tougher parts are towards the start, and the later areas are mostly relatively sedate. There's a lot of use of conveyor belts which feels quite fresh, and provides something different to the levels so far (and the most difficult parts tend to be centred around them). There's also a nice integration of the story, with you pursuing an enemy who lays traps and closes off routes. A nice level, although not quite top-tier in the contest." - Mman (10-Sep-2011)
"A few helpful hints to the inclined player: If you would liked to play this level, you should already have a few years of experience. You should be fast-reacting and you should have no fear of time runs. Moreover, it would be helpful if you like difficult jumps and have no problem to try so long jumps or time runs, until you have done it. Moreover, you should be a fan from partial into the surreal slide Flybys. If you find yourself here, you are suitable perfectly for this level. Otherwise you should collect maybe only some experience, before you play this level.
If one got the level by post, a note would be include with the above instructions. This level has with a play duration of 1 to 2 hours more time runs than a lot of other levels for which one must arrange substantially more time. And he has to offer some difficult jump combinations. A very good example is the hall with the conveyor belts. A time run is ordinarily difficult enough, but if then still quickly running conveyor belts to be added, it becomes a risky game. If you jump too early or too late from one conveyor belt down on the other conveyor belt, Lara falls quite deeply down and finishes her discoverer existence as an ugly grease spot Not every player will like such things, but who has a bit of time, experience, patience and perseverance will get one's money's worth here." - Scottie (08-Sep-2011)
"I don't know if it's intentional but this game has a unbalanced difficulty, there are 2 tasks really insane (the 1st timed run and the last jumps on the treadmills) and for all others tasks the level of difficulty is normal. Except for the final sequence (a bit messy), I liked the work with the camera & scripts (explosion followed by a jump-room, staging with ninjas...). For the graphics, if it's hard to recognize the steampunk theme in this level, the colors & light give a nice touch to the visited places and that's the essential. /// Bug Encounter: After the torch/puzzle, square/garden, 4 ninjas, you find a gold key, but the "circle-door" for this key is not closed and accessible before the torch puzzle. That not prevent the progression but the player can miss a large part of this level." - Jerrod (07-Sep-2011)
"I like the 'enemy one step ahead' aspect of this level. The gameplay contains some pretty challenging timed and agility tests, in particular the conveyor belt sequence, which was extremely well devised and utterly fiendish. By comparison, the ensuing attack of three ninjas was a well deserved rest cure. Having seen perhaps one too many rooms full of boxes, it made a most pleasant contrast to reach some beautiful pool filled outdoor areas. This is good, but definitely not for the faint hearted." - Jay (06-Sep-2011)
"Remarkable level. Very replayable for its great rithm. Spectacular use of the camera in some escape sequences. Very suitable for beginners." - requiemsoul (05-Sep-2011)
"This level has been built by a very good level builder. But this level is only for very experienced player The level I have now played through to the end. But only because I wanted to prove myself. The fun factor is still far behind the stress factor. If you must save the game allways, while the action is vera hard, then it is not really fun. It can be overdone. The normal player has given up at least two run-time. The better player given up when he must go over the conveyor belts whith the knifes attacke and after that you have to do the bananas jump. An other timerun is going thrue a lot of dangers. That is very hard too. The atmosphere, sound, textures and lighting are good. But sometimes I don't like the cameras. The cameras hint me what the sound me say. Which door has been opened. That is not the right way for me. The enemies was not so hard. I find a secret key, but the game was so hard and I don't look for him." - Eelkemama (04-Sep-2011)
"It looks like the Ninja Androids, which are Laras enemies in a paralell universe in the underground below the Arizona desert, are box fetishists. The main area of this level is a huge storage area with conveyor belts running through it. And on this conveyer belts you have to make some nice runs, which will need some trials and also some good thinking, to get through. The area is in spite of all the boxes still not at all boring, but I would have liked to see some of the nice rotating BtB-objects around here to give the place a more mysteries feeling. Another thing I'll remember about this level are the nice staging of the encounters with the ninjas, the teleportations and the breaking down into the main area. I also leved very much the colour- and tasteful, sophisticated lighting in this level, which really creates a intresting atmosphere. So alltogether this is a rather action packed level of a higher than average difficulty (very much to my liking), which is built on a very professional skill level. Another excellent entry into the contest!" - Raymond (03-Sep-2011)
"This is a level that never lets up. Just when you've done one timed run, up pops another one, or collapsing rooms with exploding slides, or half a dozen ninjas to deal with. Oh, and if that wasn't enough, there's the mother of all runs the wrong way along conveyor belts with added blades. It's wonderful! Only one hour twenty minutes of gameplay and it seemed to be over in ten minutes. Great scenic areas and some slightly tricky agility complete the fun. If I was going to be picky, and as this is a review then I guess I'd better be, there was too much reliance on fixed camera angles (not my favourite thing) and this builder is obviously far too talented to have to rely on those so, why bother? I also thought that the finish, good though it was, could have been so much better, it seemed to be tagged on to the end of a very good level. Those two niggles aside, this is an excellent level that should be on everyone's 'Must Play' list but don't expect an easy ride." - Diz (02-Sep-2011)
"There are very few levels I would enjoy playing thrice in one month (once for beta-testing and twice for writing a walkthrough), but this is one of them. The lighting is great, especially in the outdoor areas - the builder has managed to create a seemingly 'dark' level without actual darkness (a rare talent indeed!) There are some stunningly lovely spots, like the waterfall area, or the courtyard with the jumping puzzle. However, a lot of the indoor rooms are plain rectangles filled with crates (ah, the ubiquitous crates ... how I hate them!) Fortunately, they still manage to look nice because of the colourful lighting.
Though I am an insanely-difficult-jumps-and-timed-runs junkie, even my enthusiasm for these dulled considerably after the middle section of this level, which involves two tight timed runs, and some very tricky jumps over various conveyor belts. There are two timed runs at the end as well, though these are more forgiving. Apart from these, there's one somewhat difficult puzzle involving jumping on specific tiles to keep a door from closing, but the difficulty is more due to the fixed camera angle than anything else. There are several cool moments, for example when the floor collapses in an explosion and Lara is left sliding down a long slope in the middle of lava. The flybys showing Lara moving to and from a parallel universe are nicely done. Enemies are not too hard to tackle - if you manage to find at least one of the secrets, you should have more than enough firepower to tackle all the enemies.
Overall: A very good level on the whole, but the gameplay could have benefited from a bit more balance, and the looks from a few less crates and more creative architecture. Recommended." - Mytly (02-Sep-2011)
"The Level With the Conveyer Belts. Okay, there is lots more to it. This is done by someone adept with the level editor, so it has good effects like exploding rooms that drop Lara into a wild slide down lava chutes. There are quick camera shots of a ninja enemy kicking a boulder so that it rolls downward to crush Lara, while the ninja escapes through a door which she seals behind her. There are three good timed runs to temporary raised platforms to quicken the heart beat: one a dash down conveyer belts, one through a thumper corridor, and one a circle about a room through flame emitters to reach the platform. A lot of action takes place in a mine or cavern environment, and the entire level has little to do with a steampunk theme. What is here has a professional feel to the presentation, with some lovely graphics such as in the waterfall area. But players are likely to remember two places, first, a nasty jump Lara has to make on the way to reach a jump switch. This is a pixel perfect jump where Lara has to inch forward without falling off her box during takeoff, and seems an unnecessary chore that drags out gameplay time. But the second place that will truly stay in players' memories is a multistory warehouse with boxes, lots and lots of boxes, and conveyer belts running every which way. Players may love and hate the conveyer belts. If you ever wanted to run up a down escalator when you were a kid, this may get the impulse forever out of your system. Lara has to battle against a fast moving belt with plinth blades and fire tiles thrown in for good measure--maybe the hate part of the love/hate relationship. Professionally done, and unique in its way, taking about an hour and a half." - dmdibl (26-Aug-2011)
"Usually, i give the highest mark only for the multi level game (considering also the quantity of work). But this one is really perfect (gameplay not too hard not too easy, very good ideas (rolling carpet with blade for example). Lightings are very good and all the quality of BTB 2011 package is used." - Glouglouton (26-Aug-2011)