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LB Advent Calendar 2015 - The Gingerbread Man by mugs

alan 8 9 8 9
Bene 10 10 9 10
DJ Full 7 7 8 8
High Priestess 10 9 8 10
Jay 8 8 9 10
JoeTheCrazyGamer 9 10 10 10
John 7 7 8 7
Jose 7 8 7 9
Josey 10 10 10 9
Loupar 7 7 8 8
manarch2 5 6 6 6
MichaelP 8 8 8 9
misho98 9 8 9 8
Nephilim 8 9 9 10
Orbit Dream 7 6 8 9
Phil 8 8 9 9
Rambo 6 6 6 7
Ryan 8 9 9 8
vandit 4 8 5 7
young Lara Croft 8 9 10 10
 
release date: 14-Dec-2015
# of downloads: 110

average rating: 8.16
review count: 20
 
review this level

file size: 82.20 MB
file type: TR4
class: Xmas
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
pchancey@tampabay.rr.com

Reviewer's comments
"It's a nice idea to send Lara to a village of gingerbread buildings, but unfortunately the gameplay is lacking. The atmosphere, textures and objects are very unique and appealing, but the texturing lacks transitions. The village itself is beautifully designed, but at the beginning it is very difficult to find the way to what you should do first. Camera hints would have been very welcome, but they are too rare. In the basement with the chocolate river, the path is a bit more obvious. At least the time runs are moderate. The setting I like to remember again, the gameplay was a nice try for me but especially in the beginning you are looking a bit desperately for the way/first task etc. (and at some point you look in a walkthrough how to continue), too bad! Fans of Christmas levels should risk a look because the gingerbread setting is quite rare." - vandit (26-Jul-2022)
"Its a great concept and idea to have lara shrunk down to a village all made of gingerbread but if you think the gameplay is going to simple and easy you are wrong! i must admit to strongly disliking the first few mins wandering around the lovely snowy village not knowing how to progress so had to use a walkthrough and its a good job i did because i never would of figured it out how to get on all those roofs with those challenging and angled jumps flips etc. when you get into the basement of a house things get much better gameplay wise i mean its still challenging but at least most of time its clear where you need to go as long as you can avoid drowning in the river of chocolate and the puzzle with the movable dessert with the raising and lowering blocks was very good. theres some nice festive tunes to listen to and i was enjoying my time in there until i needed to exit which provided a bit of a challenge so i had to use a walkthrough again to discover you need to use the walk button first then jump to make it onto a floating platform. when i got back to the village i couldnt find where to put my gingerbread man key only to discover you have to make it back on the roofs again with more challenging platforming. overall i enjoyed the level but without a walkthrough immediately i think people could get lost and frustrated easily as i did at many points" - John (23-Aug-2021)
"Oh how did I not review this little treasure? And boy how we all miss Mugs (Pat). I just replayed this as I never made the finish on my last two attempts over the past few years due to a few tricky jumps and some unfortunately timed saves! I am so glad I gave it another go. It's a real joy to see how Pat used all the various candies and chocolate in the structure of this level. I highly recommend this no matter what time of year and there is a video walkthrough on YouTube should you need some help :)" - High Priestess (13-Mar-2018)
"It's nice to play this level for the season because it is christmassy with the snowy village, magnificent and large houses, and the few people there; but the end of the map looks a bit surreal. I started by exploring the whole village, and after a few minutes, I realized I was only running around, 'cause I couldn't find the spot where to start the gameplay. But a great walkthrough is always handy. I liked the architecture and objects used, as well as the 4 well-hidden secres, in form of sugar plums. The deadly chocolate basement is a nice idea, with the challenging jumps, but I especially liked the puzzle with the ice cream, very nice. I died a lot of times trying to jump to the triangular ledge, and from there back to the square one; well you don't die immediately by falling in the chocolate, but waiting for Lara's death... There's a bug where you fall to the chocolate and you try to pull up onto a ledge but then Lara falls back to it. Beautiful game, recommended." - alan (25-Dec-2016)
"Gameplay & Puzzles: The gameplay was not what I expected, it's very simple and unexciting but it doesn't mean it's not interesting. I found it okay but nothing special, the puzzle is simple too but the timed runs in it are nice. Enemies, Objects & Secrets: No enemies but rather good object design. The secrets are very easy mostly. Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras: The first area has no proper surroundings, just black walls and a strange horizon. But it's still nice looking overall, sometimes the design is simple. Cameras and sounds are standard, nothing special. Lighting & Textures: The texturing is quite diverse, cleanly placed (mostly) and nice looking, the lighting is a bit flat but still okay. Total: 6,25/10, a nice little level." - Rambo (13-Apr-2016)
"Surrounded with multiple texture sets provided at resource depots, it's easy to get granted with high quality landscape nowadays but also very rare to see a level made of entirely different materials like this one. Sugar powder for snow, candy inclusions for ladders and chocolate for sewer mud - what a sweet death it was :) That underground part was too long and underlit compared to gameplay inside and over the houses, which should contain much more while some of them cannot be entered at all. I also missed some transition from sugar and chocolate overlay to materials covered by them. SUMMARY: It could be a very unusual 20x20x20 - the concept is very good, but definitely not exhausted. It would be awesome to experience this world in the same size but in full scale." - DJ Full (19-Jan-2016)
"A very enjoyable Christmas level by Pat. Nice idea to shrink lara down to explore the Gingerbread houses. Nice cone puzzle and jumping sequences. Thanks!" - Ryan (09-Jan-2016)
"Really a wonderfully creative idea to place our Lara in mini candy land where she has to look around with her eyes very wide open indeed to spot the right path to eventually free the Gingerbread Man after about 30 minutes - ironically by placing his "twin" as a key to unlock the prison door. I could not help but having a smile on my face while playing as the setting is just so cute and there are even a few gameplay challenges to deal with - including mildly timed sequences, a push puzzle and a few moderately challenging jumps. The trips around the roofs are fun and I am glad I saves this one as my last Christmassy level for this season. Always great to end on a high note..." - MichaelP (04-Jan-2016)
"Excellent level, full of exploration and puzzles in a really Christmas atmosphere. When you find the first jumpswitch is difficult to get stuck, the gameplay is very nice and simple. I've love it." - Loupar (26-Dec-2015)
"One of the sweetest levels of the season The Gingerbread Man is bound to give anyone with a sweet tooth an agony! The textures are pure eye-candy, the props and decorations looks goegeous. A fun and festive level, so glad I played this, definitelly recommend it to anyone!" - young Lara Croft (26-Dec-2015)
"This is a typically delightful Advent offering from a totally reliable builder. It was all perfectly charming throughout, although I felt that my foray in the fecal fudge area somewhat outstayed its welcome, and I was anxiously looking forward to getting back into that quaint little village. That eventually happened, but the game then ended after about 40 minutes of seasonal fun. There's nothing here that the average player can't manage, but knowing where to go and what to do can be a challenge at times. That's why I was glad to have Dutchy's walkthrough close by to guide me past the rough spots. Four nicely hidden gumdrop secrets add extra spice to the adventure. Don't miss this one." - Phil (21-Dec-2015)
"So this is only the second really Christmassy level this year, all with a really cute storyline, colourful texturing and object design and nicely used sound tracks. But still I have to be honest - this is really not quite as refined as I thought reading the reviews. The village atmosphere feels a bit too sterile with its eclectic texturing (which is not always clean, but not badly applied, by the way) and mediocre lighting (especially in the otherwise charming chocolate sewers), objects are often placed in walls or each other and some are floating in the air. While the views from the roofs are quite rewarding, I felt that the architecture could've been a bit more refined (even for a miniature candy land); there are some places with no background audio too. The gameplay starts a bit slow with a very tricky to find ledge where you have to climb up, but once that is done it's rather fluent and enjoyable, yet never quite as intense as in many of Mugs's previous games - apart of a rather easy pushable puzzle (save for an unmarked timed trigger) and a few not so complicated jump sequences there is very little in terms of gameplay variation and it's often coming down to find the next item or lever in order to progress. So all in all an always appreciated Christmas level that really doesn't have any glaring mistakes, yet I have to confess that despite of some nice ingredients it's not quite a favourite of mine. Found three quite easy secrets and a harder one in 15 minutes." - manarch2 (19-Dec-2015)
"Without any pretension to originality, I'll say that this game is literally a candy in every sense, including a candy for the eyes. It made me quite hungry for sweets, specially because I do love those sweets that you call "sugar plums", and I call "jujubas". After an initial difficulty about how to begin playing (it's a Mugs' game, after all ;)), and a lot of orientation difficulties among those lovely edible houses (but I am the kind of person for whom the GPS was developped...), I started the gameplay, and enjoyed very much the tasks. I loved in special the music, the views of the city, and that creative pushblock puzzle where Lara literally puts a plum on the cake. But I certainly would have liked to see a little more white chocolate inside that sweet, but so dark, cavernous part... and that's all. Many thanks for this lovely game, Mugs, and a very happy Christmas for you." - Josey (18-Dec-2015)
"Difficult to start this level, but when you find the access to the first jumpswitch and previously explored the whole area, it's not easy get stucked. There are some tricky jumps in triangular tiles, but not too hard. The underground chocolate area is original, and the three secrets I found were easy to find. Perhaps I missed some more cameras when finding vital items; also it seems there's a problem with the background musics (disappeared when triggering another tracks). Nice environments and good texturization except in triangular small surfaces, it's a level nice to play (well, except for de deadly chocolate, lol!) for a Christmas time." - Jose (18-Dec-2015)
"I had no idea where to start the gameplay, but once I did I started having lots of fun. I love the village and the chocolate cave, you can tell the builder has some imagination. Climbing over the roofs of the houses was enjoyable too. It all ended way too fast though. Loved the textures and lighting, although I think they could've been applied a bit better at some places, but overall great work! Loved the music used in this and the whole chill vibe that the game gives, perfect for the holidays in my opinion." - misho98 (17-Dec-2015)
"What a sweet treat for Christmas and what a great idea to have Lara exploring a gingerbread village. Luckily, I have no sweet tooth, but if you have I can pretty much guarantee you'll be feeling peckish in short order when you get a look at all the scrumptious textures. Also, this level gives 'death by chocolate' a whole new meaning. It was approximately one hour's gaming time for me, but there's plenty packed in, including an entirely novel push puzzle which really made me smile. Now I really feel Christmas has arrived, especially since I actually found all four sugar plum secrets!" - Jay (16-Dec-2015)
"One sweet peaceful Christmas preparation by Mugs. I think I've had enough sweets for today even though I haven't actually eaten any. The textures and objects are cheerful and literally sweet. The underground chocolate mud room is pretty awesome, the platforms, gaps, and swithces are placed creatively around the room. And I gotta mention those hagelslag floors, when we step onto those, it will sound like we are actually stepping on actual floors full of hagelslags. The Christmas music leading the timed platforms are brilliant and at the same time, it makes an atmosphere. The architectures are nice and anti-monotonous - if that's even a word but you get what I mean though, right? - and that surely is such a beautiful village. But there's one thing missing here, in order to give a hint of which one the Gingerbread man's house here, the house itself needs to be the center. Maybe by making it more unique compared to the other buildings with different textures or objects, or maybe a little flyby of the village with the house being the higlight in the beginning of the level would do. But overall, it is such a nice Christmas level, I've always liked the Gingerbread Man story. And lastly, the soft Christmas theme at near the end of the level was really good I couldn't finish the level without hearing it to the end." - Nephilim (16-Dec-2015)
"Once you work out how to get the gameplay moving,this is a fun and entertaining level;with a novel visual theme.It all moves easily and logically from one sequence to the next as you follow a trail around,above and below a charming gingerbread village.A few interesting jumps are put in to keep you on your toes,and there's a straightforward object-pulling task;but it's all straightforward and mostly about keeping your eyes open for the relevant clues to progression.The basement with the deadly chocolate,although entertaining,seemed a little hostile for an Advent level;but,on the other hand,fairy tales (upon which this level is clearly inspired) weren't always sweetness and light,and this particular adventure simply reflects that.Although lacking in enemies,the level itself throws up enough life-threatening opportunities for them not to be missed;while the placement of objects and textures is creative and entertaining.An interesting and quirky 45 minutes." - Orbit Dream (15-Dec-2015)
"There IS a Candyland and I've walked through its Lanes, shimmied the roofs of its Gingerbread houses, explored its spooky underground, rose to its heights to top off a giant mound of ice cream and danced with the Gingerbread Man. Although it was a short trip there is much to see and do. From the sneaky beginning to the finding of the GBM there's a lot of fun to be had. The atmosphere with the decorated Gingerbread houses is intricately creative - the only drawback to that category being the shortness of the camera hints. The "darkness" of the caves nicely balances the "sweetness" of the rest of the level. Recommended for all, of course. Well done, Pat." - Bene (15-Dec-2015)
"An excellent Level by Mugs, You never fail to impress this one had excellent Christmas Music an excellent Quicksand Puzzle Room. And excellent Gingerbread textures. Took About 45 Minutes to complete" - JoeTheCrazyGamer (14-Dec-2015)