Levels listed...
TR5 - 31
TR4 - 3141
TR3 - 177
TR2 - 133
TR1 - 61
72342 reviews (20.4/level)
3532 (99.7%) walkthroughs
445 Hall of Fame levels
1221 levels rated >= 8
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release date: |
01-Nov-2013 |
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# of downloads: |
137 |
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average rating: |
8.46 |
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review count: |
13 |
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review this level |
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file size: |
201.00 MB |
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file type: |
TR4 |
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class: |
Castle |
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Reviewer's comments |
"Whether or not you would enjoy this level(set) largely comes down to your attitude to using
the walkthrough as a constant guide. Without said walkthrough this is unplayable many times
over, with the player having no clue of the larger goals or level layouts. An adding
confounding issue is that you need all the secrets to reach the finish trigger: and they
are ultra-well hidden - I found zero. Maybe, with hindsight, I could have located the first
- but the other four?- no chance. Clues to puzzles are also well-hidden and sometimes
located in a very distant place, in a shadow - oh yeah, and you have no flares. Play this
with the walkthrough close at hand and it is fairly easy, because the set pieces are
certainly doable for the average player; it would be worth it to see the great visuals that
truly do justice to the Harry Potter theme. The universes of Potter and Croft are not that
dissimilar it seems." - Dick (03-Nov-2023) |
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"First of all , I had a trial and error session a few years ago trying to play this level
with no outcome. Many years later, picked this one up purely for the HP nostalgia that I
get stricken with like fever sometimes. This time, I can honestly say, I managed to
finish the adventure... but with the help of the walkthrough. I'm not proud of that but
it lessen my burden and made me enjoy playing. The Harry Potter universe is hard to
transpire into the trle medium and this level shows that, with some limitations but it
was made possible by the builder. I still think this could have been a great project for
a team of dedicated fans, especially for a tory driven plot with a cast of voice actors.
Although I wanted to progress through the gameplay I was fighting with many setbacks,
wanting to quit because of the faulty save/load system, the many trigger traps and a
tone load of glitches. Some parts of the level were nicely made and I had fun solving
the puzzles but other parts were hard to traverse because of the lack of flares... the
last level was fun but the ending wasn't rewarding at all! Conclusion, with the right
object assets the build could have been improved and made more richer and immersive. It
didn't bring that nostalgia factor to me though." - young Lara Croft (28-May-2021) |
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"This is indeed an immersive level and it's
evident that a lot of time and effort has been
put into it. However, I would recommend you to
keep the walkthrough nearby because it is
extremely nonlinear and there are a couple of,
not necessarily bugs but more... design
mistakes. Admittedly, the issue surrounding the
Fat Lady key is fairly crippling, but provided
you can ignore that, you'll doubtless enjoy
yourself very much and if you're a fan of the
books or the movies, you will love it." - Ryan (23-Jan-2017) |
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"This builder for sure deserves an A for effort. Very bold for trying to translate a well-known story like Harry Potter into a level. I have to admit there were a few wow moments and overall the objects and textures did fit the story. The story on itself is nice, however it doesn't translate into game play much in my opinion. Lacking of camera work is one big issue; it is nice to know where to go instead of running back and fro over long distances like a headless chicken. Then there are too many glitches that could have been ironed out, sloppy. Reloading from the start is so different then reloading from in-game (as a for instance). I wished that builders would use some sort of uniform animation, like the pole swinging. This was different and nasty and one had to do this trip a couple of times. Also there is no readme to explain which moves are used for which animation. I also could do with some flares, as there were none in this game. There is more I could write about but other reviewers already mentioned them. I would like to see more made by this builder, but I can only stress to take your time and iron out the glitches because without them I am sure it would score much higher in my book anyway." - Gerty (23-Dec-2013) |
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"I must say I rather liked this level. Inventive, varied game play, nice interconnected map & clever use of TR features/objects to meld with the Harry Potter universe and make it all pleasantly familiar.
Yes, I benefited from those who found the problem with the Fat Lady door, and was only temporarily irked by Hagrid's motor-bike obstructing dog, so I docked a point for these. Otherwise a great and thoroughly enjoyable game, which, for me has been underscored - perhaps the author could post an updated game that corrects these two main issues and enjoy better reviews all round." - Adrian (03-Dec-2013) |
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"I waited for Nina Croft's masterful walkthrough to become available before downloading this level and setting off on a quest for all those dreaded bugs, the dire warnings of which could not be avoided by anyone who spends much time in the forums. I played a little bit here, and a little bit there, and so on with great delight and enthusiasm until I finally finished the bonus level with 4:19 registering on my game clock. Not surprisingly, I encountered nary a single bug along the way, because I played as the walkthrough directed, and as the builder apparently intended. I realize that the use of walkthroughs is a matter of personal taste. Some view them as a crutch for the weak that takes full enjoyment away from playing a level. Others see them as a time-saving aid that keeps them moving forward in the level. To me, a walkthrough is Instant Stuck Thread. With one, instead of posting a plea and having to sit around waiting for someone to come to my aid when I reach a game-stopping barrier - a delay that may be prolonged, and may result in a response that's less than helpful - all I have to do is consult the relevant place in the walkthrough. I suggest that for those of us whose tolerance for frustration is low (and I consider myself to be in that category), it's more efficient to wait for the walkthrough than to litter the landscape with uninformed and inaccurate accusations of bugs that simply don't exist. In this regard, it's also important that we take care in defining our terms. I've always understood the term "bug" as something that fails to perform in-game as intended. Many features referred to as bugs really describe the builder's choices in game design. If things aren't done in the prescribed order, the results are not what the player would otherwise expect. You may or may not approve of those decisions, but don't call them bugs. In this case, Nina Croft took the time and effort to learn the proper route, documented it carefully and clearly in her walkthrough, and she thereby enabled me to play the game from start to finish without a hitch. And it's an excellent game, by the way. The Hogwarts theme is unique, and I'm surprised that no one else has hit upon it before now. The lighting is flawless, and I had no trouble seeing everything around me. And that's a good thing, because the environs here are quite pleasing to the eye. The builder has opted for the traditional Tomb Raider music, which I found quite refreshing in light of the ambitious and frequently ineffective sound effects we've been subjected to lately. There are several TR4 files in the download, but everything flows together quite seamlessly to give the player the feeling of playing a single extended adventure. I'm not sure, on the other hand, how players feeling their way on their own would know to end the game by jumping into a roaring fire (there was no mention of this in the diary entries, perhaps it's a detail that someone who'd read the books recently would be aware of). The bonus level consists of a fairly short but fun romp in the train to Hogwarts. In short, this is a fine debut release that everyone can find enjoyable if not scared off by the unfortunate barrage of bug alerts." - Phil (26-Nov-2013) |
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"I have to admit this is a great idea and a great and very
varied game in all senses, not necessarily only for Harry
Potter's fans; hence, it is not without regret that I see
myself forced to rate it with only 5 in the gameplay &
puzzles area but I can explain... The game looks like it
wasn't betatested which is dreadful in a game with a
complexity such as this one... It has mean bugs that won't
let you proceed unless you go back, maybe quite a while, to
an earlier save so you won't give up. The bugs I found: bug
a) - in the room where one has to place four pushables in
their correct positions a door should open to the right. It
didn't. bug b) - in another room with a pushable I went
there, then went away before using it and did quite a few
things and when I came back there was no pushable anywhere
to be seen. bug c) - in the hut with a dog inside and the
motorbike I shot the dog outside the hut. When I went to get
the bike the dog was lying inside the hut, on the way,
together with a lot of furniture in a small space, making it
almost impossible to get the bike out. These are the bugs I
found, there may be more... or not. But they're bad enough.
And then, there's the Fat Lady key issue. As open as the
game may be, things still have to be done in a certain order
or the Fat Lady key, needed to get the sword/crowbar as well
as to play the bonus level, in a sense to continue, won't
work. The result was numerous going backs till I finally
managed to use it properly. And on the way there are bars
above a burning floor that seem to work very poorly, letting
Lara fall quite a number of times. Having said that,
finishing the game takes a dose of patience that wouldn't be
necessary in a betatested, much more pleasant game. Hadn't
it been for the above, I could have rated the creative
gameplay 10 (even with the dreaded Basilisk room), but I
think these are all pretty bad and could have been avoided
with just a little bit more time put into the game. And I
thought people who haven't played it yet, should be warned
though, if they have to use a walkthrough in order not to
fall into the traps I did, playing with a walkthrough in
hand is always far more boring. In itself, it is extremely
interesting and rather varied in its multitude of achievable
yet challenging tasks. I liked it a lot despite all the
unnecessary efforts. In the end, if you find all of four
shields and cross a certain fireplace, you get to play a
small, nice bonus game aboard the Hogwart Train. My advice
for a possible next level: betatest it, please. Then, I'm
sure we may count on something close to a masterpiece." - Jorge22 (18-Nov-2013) |
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"This is a really charming attempt to transfer JKR's work
into a virtual adventure. I didn't expect so many references
to the original story. We can even explore the Moaning
Myrtle's bathroom and the Chamber of Secrets, and if You
know the book, those will bring respectively laughter and
awareness even before running through them (players who
don't know the book won't totally experience it, so I
recommend to first see the movies and then play the level).
Metasequoia wasn't extensively used, so locations which are
shaped round in the movie have been made blocky here, but
nonetheless the object looks and alignment makes each place
- maybe except the astronomy and herbology class -
recognizable even without those extremely nice explanation
lines that tend to show themself at the bottom of the screen
everytime we enter a location that was important in HP book
or movies. One thing that also touched me in the filling
matter was even though many original Core Design objects are
used, they anyway work as good as they could to fit in the
climate - we have a TR3 snake gem adapted to Slytherin's
domain from HP2, a TR4 horseman acting as a chess figure
from HP1 a TR3 kayak for the first year's introduction
transport (HP1) and TR4 Semerkhet pushables standing for
house colors (HP 1-7). I only missed a Periapt Shard (TR6)
for a basilisk's fang to poke into the diary (both from
HP2). All of these would make a perfect adventure, enjoying
and surprising behind every next corner... yes, it WOULD.
Because there are events that we can unlock earlier than the
author intended and when this happens, we end up
stupefied... I mean confused. Some of these situations seem
to be bugs, but only one of them is a literal bug, which I
personally didn't stumble upon. The remaining problems
either come from mentioned inconsequence or the faulty game
engine, so I'm only lowering gameplay rating for the first
reason, not for the latter. And for the extraordinary amount
of sudden traps resulting in many inevitable deaths. The
last problematic thing is insufficient amount of hint
cameras that should point to keyholes we forgot about a long
time ago, while some existing hint cameras are
uninterruptible and therefore disturbing - however those
last mentioned are few only and we can see everything
clearly through the majority of playtime. SUMMARY: Despite
of frequent dying, confusion and few plot anachronisms, the
spirit of Hogwarts is presented in really convincing way, so
a true HP fan should feel like inside the book and
definitely shouldn't miss this game. You can first read all
the problem warnings and then easily have a go on it." - DJ Full (16-Nov-2013) |
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"It is very hard for me to review this level, as I have some
mixed feelings about it. On one side, this level is really
epic and immensely interesting and extremely well built, but
on the other hand, it is also too complex and some things
are overdone. I immediately understood the intention of the
builder to build a level that would be everything but not
straightforward. And he achieved that goal. Once you enter
the Grand Staircase, your gameplay and routes diverge into
many smaller or longer side missions you have to accomplish
in any way you want. You can visit the Clock Tower now or
later, you can visit the Library or Herbology or practically
any other area of the level in any order you want. I
appreciate this effort of the builder to let us choose the
route and sequence ourselves, but at times it has (in this
case) some downsides. There is still a certain order in
which things have to be done so that you can finish the
level. If you use the Fat Lady Key too soon (before dropping
the highest staircase from the Clock Tower), you'll realize
that you cannot finish the game any more. You'll have to
replay the entire game once again in order to avoid using
this key too soon. So, a simple note in the Readme, a
warning for the players not to use this key before they drop
that staircase, would have been much, much helpful. I don't
think there is a single player out there who hasn't replayed
a huge part of this game because of using the Fat Lady Key
too soon (thus rendering it useless for later). Should this
small nice note have been made in the Readme file, the
Gameplay&Puzzle review would have been higher. Apart from
that, the gameplay really IS interesting and dynamic,
comprising of some interesting puzzles to solve, traps to
survive, items to collect, and sometimes even requires
logical thinking by the player. However, due to the fact
that everything is inter-connected and that there are
possible routes through the level, a player has to backtrack
a lot. That could have been prevented by simply preventing
the players to enter a new area before finding the
keys/items required for that area (not in all cases, but at
least in three cases it would have been great). Enemies are
suitable for a Harry Potter level. The level is extremely
well built when it comes to architecture and decoration with
objects. You'll find many different areas, starting from
toxic pools, quicksand, castles, caves, outdoor area under
snow, freezing lakes, rooms with toxic fumes, libraries,
bathrooms, courtyards etc... I liked the way the builder
allowed us to use the torch in almost all cases when we do
have to use it. Secrets are cleverly hidden and I recommend
collecting them all, along with some crucial items that will
enable you to visit the bonus level. Atmosphere is also well
built, with nicely applied sounds, music tracks and camera
flybys. Lighting is great, the textures are well chosen, but
the builder should use the Crack Mode next time and apply
the textures correctly and without cracks. OVERALL
IMPRESSION: Wow! Wow! Wow! More than two hours of (net)
playing, even if you know exactly what to do and where to
go, even with the least backtracking possible. Considering
the fact that this is a debut level, I must say that this
level is amazing. Maybe not a candidate for the HoF, but
this builder will definitely be its regular member in the
future. Just like the books about Harry Potter, this level
is MAGICAL! Highly recommendable, provided that you don't
use the Fat Lady Key before it's intended to (will be soon
explained in the walkthrough). Great work, Lynus! Please
keep building!" - Nina Croft (14-Nov-2013) |
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"Again (one more time?) I disagree with many reviewers. I'm
usually not very exigent with the levels I play, but in this
case I wasted a lot of time running around the entire level
very long distances and returning often to the same places
and doing again the same tasks (except avoiding the traps,
of course). The worst problem I found was that the author
lets you advance through the level even if you didn't get
the necessary items you were looking for; that way, you can
return to the main room with your empty backpack and you are
forced to replay again. Example: in the area with the giant
serpent I missed the wall button and continue to the main
area without the ocular part; also in the room with spikes
in the floor you can get the key and not use it so you can
go back without the other ocular part. In that sense I loved
the last MagPlus level 'cause the doors often closed at your
back, and only open if you pick up the item you were looking
for. Despite several bugs I found with moveables and keys,
and all the problems to ride the bike out of the small house
(the dead dog was on my way), the game has a good design,
and the author has a great potential and good ideas. I think
if the author fix all that problems with the gameplay, the
levels could be rated higher." - Jose (12-Nov-2013) |
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"I really fail to place this level. It ranks somewhere between really epic and immersive (reminding a lot on the great King Arthur Project at several parts) and ... a very amateurish work of an inexperienced builder - meaning some parts of this level are really good, some failed to impress me at all. To start with - the builder strength is definately the gameplay which is quite imaginative and fun, there are lots of good puzzles in here and there's no real dull part where you just search for the next lever, or anything like this. What I really liked was the creative usage of traps in this level, but at times they felt a bit overused and somewhat random (especially the invisible knife traps and the falling debris). Also, it was often hard to get orientated in this really huge(!) game split in two interconnected levels, and the game lacked a certain guidance by the builder on what to do next; despite of that, I never felt overly lost in here and if you don't know how to solve a certain task right now, you can do several other things first, and often this will get you on the right track. The only major problem concerning the gameplay are the bugs in this level, some doors opened only after a save/reload, but surprisingly none of them was actually of the game-stopping category. The storyline is quite neat and the allusions to the Harry Potter books are great (the ghosts, Hagrid's bike, the fat lady), although the concept would have panned out much better with more creativeness in terms of objects (such as e.g. potions to collect/combine). Some objects are a bit oddly placed, such as the ladder in front of a window, or the fountain in the snowy courtyard, and the enemy choices didn't always work quite well (like the boars), but the excellent secrets are making up for these things. They are really well hidden and getting into the bonus level with finding all four main items (no secrets) was a nice add-on, although the train level is perhaps not as intense as the rest. In general, the atmosphere in this level is quite appealing, but many room connections are simply too eclectic and unfitting, and the famous "end of the world" can be visited way, way too often and easily in this game. There are also things like paperthin walls and rooms that don't look realistic at all, not even for Hogwarts (e.g. the greenhouse and the corridor leading to Hagrid's hut). The sound choice and mainly placement felt a bit strange too, as well as the cameras (also what about some more flybys?). I actually found the lighting to be quite well done, creating a kind of atmosphere that fits nearly perfectly to most rooms, but the texturing is what brings this category down again. The problem is not the choice of textures, but the often (sorry to say) poor quality of their placements. I don't care so much when there are some texture mistakes (some often can't be prevented totally) but there are so many squashed, streched and even missing textures (the latter in the outside areas) that I can't really rate this category higher. To the builders out there - please, please, take your time and build the environments of your level(s) with more care, even if they do look nice already, it's so much better with a minimum amount of mistakes. So the last thing I can say about this level is that it's created by an incredibly talented builder who has a lot of imagination (which one can see throughout the whole level), but definately needs to take his time and polish up his works carefully to raise the visual quality and reduce the possible bugs, then I'm almost sure the next level will rank very, very highly. This is nonetheless a very interesting and fun raid and definately something different. Spent 2:30 hours in this levelset with all secrets found." - manarch2 (09-Nov-2013) |
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"Magic abounds. What a great idea to have a Harry Potter style level and how very well done it is too. All the references are there so fans of the books will have a marvellous time exploring iconic places and even getting a short ride on Hagrid's motorbike (though sadly not through the air). It's beautifully evoked and the gameplay equals the design, being comprised of a good mix of enemies, traps, agility tests and some truly excellent puzzles. The only down side would appear to be a possible bug with the Fat Lady key, which I had to keep trying to use at various stages and eventually it worked, plus the apparent lack of a finishing trigger if you don't find the five secrets, but if you do, you get to ride the Hogwarts Express. Yay. Even if you have never read the books or seen the films (and there may just be one or two people to whom that applies) this still represents a cracking good raid and is not to be missed. It's the work of a really creative mind and would be a level a seasoned builder could be rightly proud of - for a debut level it's just amazing. I really didn't want it to end." - Jay (08-Nov-2013) |
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"A mixture of Tomb Raider and Harry Potter that I recommend to all fans of the two great sagas. An adventure that requires reflection on some puzzles, combat against the strange creatures of Harry Potter, etc. I hope you enjoy every visit the ruins of Hogwarts along with Lara !" - SlyRaider (08-Nov-2013) |
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