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Aspidetr Easter Time 2017 - Scaramucce by Talos

AlexCroft 9 10 10 10
BlackWolfTR 6 9 9 9
DJ Full 7 8 8 8
eRIC 5 7 8 6
Gerty 7 8 8 7
Glouglouton 8 8 9 9
Gorty 7 7 7 6
High Priestess 10 8 10 9
Jay 8 8 9 8
John 6 8 9 9
Jorge22 7 7 8 7
Jose 7 7 7 8
manarch2 4 7 7 7
MichaelP 6 7 8 7
mugs 8 7 8 7
Orbit Dream 6 7 8 8
Phil 8 8 9 9
Revenge 7 8 8 7
Ryan 7 7 8 8
sonnyd83 7 8 7 9
 
release date: 10-Apr-2017
# of downloads: 95

average rating: 7.71
review count: 20
 
review this level

file size: 62.40 MB
file type: TR4
class: Venice
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
Erichan2@live.it

Reviewer's comments
"A nice, short Venetian level. The gameplay is enjoyable but not innovative. There is a lot of backtracking and going back and forth, and the game mainly focuses on collecting items to progress. There are no puzzles or gameplay twists. It's fairly easy. The boat ride was a nice addition. The visuals are better than the gameplay. Venice looks lively (except for the people) and is nicely decorated. The warm lighting creates a pleasant atmosphere. The textures are well placed despite a few errors. Overall, it's a good level if you want something easy and short - nice for an easter raid. Recommended." - BlackWolfTR (10-Apr-2023)
"I was doing so well! For the first time while playing a Talos level,I had resisted the Walkthrough; and was quietly confident that I would be able to reach the Finish Trigger under my own steam...but,no. The game came to a complete impasse around 2/3 of the way through,due to the placing (and,indeed,the previously unforeseen existence) of a small wooden axe, lying in the murk at the bottom of one of the canals. It's not that it was unfairly obscure,but that the placing of it was completely random - and therefore extremely difficult for the player to know where to look (and what to look for). It's a pity,because (with the exception of the lack of use of the crack mode) the level has been typically well built,and filled with quirky details. The motorboat is a handy method of getting from one end of the (admittedly small) map to the other (and I liked the way it kept puttering on after Lara had disembarked); the atmosphere of a small corner of Venice was entertainingly captured,with a good choice of music; an excellent placement of textures; some brisk Mafia confrontations; and a benign population seemingly comprised entirely of twins and triplets. The tightrope walking was a little repetitive, I suppose - but Lara walked delicately through the pretty branches of a tree; which I found rather delightful (as were the grateful cats; and the touching dedication at the end). The level means well; and is probably the most accessible of all the works from this builder." - Orbit Dream (08-Apr-2022)
"oooo lots of nostalgia and nods to the past in this one, i loved the environment and setting, location and atmosphere. the textures,lighting and music perfectly fits into it all, it was gorgeous. the gameplay is about about exploring the buildings, canals and balconys looking for items and keys to progress and luckily most of the time you cant get stuck due to camera hints and other subtle clues: for example the cute cats. but as for the axe underwater i mean how was anyone supposed to know that was there lol. theres some boat riding and good platforming and jumping flipping around and i appreciate the spikes below the chandalier task, but it could of done with more traps,puzzles or timed runs to break up the search and find quests maybe. there is not many enemies only a handful of bad guys and a dog but what i did find a surprise was a tightrope task which was initially refreshing until i had to do it like 3 times and then it became irritating. i certainly had a fun time exploring around here and i think its given me the bug to try out some more venice levels" - John (23-Aug-2021)
"This a short and quite pleasant Venice adventure, even though the gameplay feels a bit padded out (despite being short at 30 minutes), as you get sent back and forth a few times between places. But where you need to get to is never very far away, so I did not mind. What I did mind is the fact that you had to navigate that tightrope 3 times, when once would have been quite enough. There is good camera work and some nice audio added and I also liked how the statuc people and the stray cats really added to the overall atmosphere of the place. Riding the boat is always fun, but actually quite limited here. There are two easy secrets and a few bad guys to shoot and while not a huge masterpiece, I really enjoyed my time in Venice." - MichaelP (06-Aug-2021)
"In spite of my high ratings, I found this a very tricky affair. Even the YouTube walkthrough uploader had to reload in the spear room several times. As aesthetically pleasing as this level is, it is fraught with hidden levers and traps later on. It was delightful to see the little stray cats, however. I do enjoy Talos' levels though and the ambience and score was spot on." - High Priestess (16-Nov-2018)
"Venice and TR2, I always love that combination. There are many things to do and many items to find and keep your eyes wide opens so not to overlook hidden levers. I didn’t mind the back and fro that much but doing a tightrope 3 times was in my book overdoing it. But OK, for the rest, textures could use some fine-tuning and the cracks underwater were numerous. It is a nice little romp where I spend way too much time to finally spot the Old Axe, LOL. Also I was sorry to read about the passing of your father, my condolences, but what a great way to commemorate your father Erika." - Gerty (17-Jul-2018)
"I completed this level a lot of months ago, the last year, and it's really enjoying, setting the whole adventure in a pretty and cool Venice, plenty of cutie creatures of the nature (cats, sweet and wonderful cats) and enemies spotted in some places. The word "Scaramucce" means skirmishes: little struggles, as like as between furry or cutie animals such as cats or dogs, for what I remember about this level I liked it very much and it was quite relaxing. A really very good work, recommended!" - AlexCroft (18-Feb-2018)
"A very pleasant Easter level set in Venice. All is not calm and peaceful, though as Venetian mafiosi and accompanying Dobermans are roaming the streets and courtyards. I liked the nice little touches including the cats, the boat ride and the posters scattered around." - Ryan (17-Aug-2017)
"Another seasonal level, this time we head over to Venice, and the ultimate goal here is to locate a games console, of all things! You have to feed a cat to get a key, and that always goes down well with me - I did initially think you had to feed all of Lara's feline friends but sadly not. There's a lot of climbing up onto balconies, driving around in a motor boat and finding extemely hard to locate switches. There are a few baddies too, which always come in pairs and are challenging. The texturing is of very high quality and the level has a nice 3D feel to it. It took me 1 hour 40 to complete this but I did spend a lot of time swimming so it can be done in much less. The motorboat sound is quite loud and still plays when out of the boat, I think sound in general could be improved, but the audio at the end was very nice. There's also a special dedication at the end." - sonnyd83 (10-Aug-2017)
"Another enjoyable level from Talos. Even with all those defects in the texturization, the appearance is good and the tasks are not hard. There are few enemies, but even so, I missed a lot an extra gun to fight with the gansters. About the gameplay, it was not difficult to figure out where to use the cat food, but force the players to cross three or four times the same tight rope was not very pleasant. Also it's very difficult to know the tall closed door to open with the crowbar without a camera hint. Anyway an entertaining level nice to play." - Jose (11-May-2017)
"I just love this builder's levels. They are unfailingly bright, colorful and cheerful, and they are a sheer joy to play. This one seemed a bit short to me, but it's hard to tell since I was writing a walkthrough at the same time I was playing. Progression through the shops and canals of Venice unfolds quite logically, and there are many interesting things to do along the way. I needed help finding one of the two secrets, and whoever posted the video walk didn't realize you could use the ladders and chandeliers to avoid the spikes in the room with the Mansion Key. Enemies are relatively few, some rats and baddies, but what made this level really click for me is the wonderful ambiance from start to finish. High recommendations." - Phil (02-May-2017)
"A fun Easter level set in Venice in the TR2 style. Dedicated to Talos' father and I hope he enjoyed it as much as I'm sure we all did from wherever he may be watching now. Rather enjoyable." - Jorge22 (19-Apr-2017)
"My first review ! :D Well that was a really nice and relax level ! The gameplay was enjoyable and not really difficult, although I had to look once on a walthrough for a 'puzzle' that was a bit obscure to me :p I really liked the Italian stuff everywhere and the music was particularly nice. The scenery was pretty in general but maybe the objects could have had a better lighting. Some sounds were a bit off as well (Lara's surfacing sound was quite hilarious and the boat sounds were somehow psychedelic) but other than that the level was really great ! :D" - Revenge (16-Apr-2017)
"I just love our special holiday games and the name "Scaramucce" has always been a favorite of mine - it just rolls off the tongue. This is a lovely quick romp (and speed boat drive) through the canals of Venice. The venue has been nicely crafted, although a little more care could have been given to the underwater texturing. I admit I was thrown off by such a large door turning out to require a crowbar and I never thought to use it there - lesson learned: don't ever get complacent! The enemies are your usual Venice types, one thug always being very hard to dispatch, unlike his brother. And then there's always the enemy tightrope, but the kittens will help distract you! Nevermind. LOL. You will enjoy this one and as always a "thank you" to the author!" - mugs (15-Apr-2017)
"A peaceful Venetian level (except for some baddy , dog or rat) where you pass half of your time in canals , swimming or driving a welcome boat. You need to find some key pick ups , occasionnally do a jump , or walk on a tight rope , which is like all tight ropes walk : rather boring but here you walk amidst some tree foliage which is a nice change. There are also some other nice touches in the level which is well presented , the author did make efforts to present some real place , it must be an Italian speciality i remember the levels by Francesco Zecchinelli back in the early days, this aspect of levelbuilding is always welcome. Aside from the gameplay which is not that enthralling relying on the search for objects , the level is well made and has a certain atmopshere, but i'd wish the textures to not be disjointed though." - eRIC (15-Apr-2017)
"A nice TR2 style game by Talos. I will try to keep my review short. The loading screen picture looked a bit odd in quality. Overall design of the rooms/environments was basic. The author didn’t try to get into some complex level building. Combined with textures and objects many rooms had a chaotic vibe. Some more work with the light would be nice, since the NGLE/TRLE is capable of much more. It is supposed to be a TR2 level style, but that ˝rule˝ was broken by the author with the use of non-TR2 objects ( like the Lara model, plants … ), so that reviewing should actually be compared with other NGLE levels. Some big untextured surfaces and texture errors are very very easily noticeable ( ˝pain in the eye˝), meaning that the level was not beta tested and rushed for release, or it was beta tested, but by the wrong/unexperienced players/level builders. The ˝end of the world˝ is very obvious at many places. More work is needed to hide that and create the feeling of a real town and not a LE room. In the underwater parts of the game were enormous many careless texturing errors, some really obvious ones. It’s hard to think of a good reason why this was not fixed. Many object through the level had totally wrong lighting applied, but only a few ones had the standard RGB colour sheme changed, meaning that the author didn’t really care about that. The underwater floor surface looked very unrealistic. Some sound errors were noticeable ( electronic sound after feeding the cats, Lara’s breathing sound too high, weird motor sound when leaving water … ). The gameplay was basic, easy and straightforward, which I like more than some complex hard gameplay. I run out of flares very fast so that exploring of some darker parts ( mostly underwater ) was more difficult. The gameplay maybe relies too much on hidden switches and backtracking ! Overall, a nice little average venice level without proper care of texturing, light and complex level building. Doesn’t live up to some other venice levels I have played on TRLE net." - Gorty (15-Apr-2017)
"A nice and always appreciated addition to the Easter Calendar that has a nice Venetian atmosphere and a few good usages of objects, especially at the cat scene. The architecture is a bit simple, the texturing in the water not very clean (but quite decent elsewhere); the gameplay honestly doesn't offer much more than exploring the canals up and down, but the boat ride is always fun, there's a hint of a puzzle in the mansion and overall there's no feeling of tedium in the 25 minutes I spent here, maybe except of the need of having to cross the tight rope at least one time too often. The two secrets are nicely hidden and the final scene is a nice hommage to the builder's dad which thus ended emotionally. Recommended as a sweet little break." - manarch2 (14-Apr-2017)
"This one has both a Titanic reference and TR2 sounds so I'm particularly touched, my only missing trigger is Mike Oldfield. Some puzzles are very abstract, one especially hard because of many BtB2010 objects it alters one the way not seen in 20 levels using this set. The dragon puzzle is totally bonkers but at least with an inventory hint, and the cat hole is hard to interact but very logical. Items we get from those puzzles are yet another story... But this is the second level of Talos I managed to pass without a walkthrough, since the map is rather small. Regardless from size it could have scenery more diverse than just narrow canals, also with less underwater cracks, and you all know what I think about a triple rope walk, especially that kind which cannot be jumped off... I also lost the ambience on the first playthrough but not on the second so it probably depends on the order of things done and you may not notice it at all - still, it could be fixed. There are some intro/outro cameras, all discreet yet meaningful as well as the ending, though the latter is a bit unexpected. SUMMARY: A simple but good Easter launcher, a colorful Venice chillout with extra Italian customization. Why not?" - DJ Full (13-Apr-2017)
"I always appreciate a trip to Venice and this one turned out to be jolly good fun. Apart from the occasional baddie with his henchman and dog, it's a quiet affair with plenty of exploration and time to admire the attractive scenery. There are some unusual objects to find and use, which makes the gameplay interesting but it all flows along well and I didn't find myself stuck at any point. Perhaps there is a touch of backtracking at times, but the speedboat certainly comes in handy in that regard and is, in any case, always enjoyable to navigate round the canals. Definitely recommended." - Jay (13-Apr-2017)
"Nice little level. Not very hard (only the old axe is quite hard to find). Sailing with boat is always a pleasure. Recommended" - Glouglouton (11-Apr-2017)