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Lara's Ballad by Nlabricole

alan 7 7 7 7
Andi Croft 9 9 9 9
David 6 6 7 8
Dimpfelmoser 7 6 7 8
eRIC 7 6 7 7
Gerty 9 8 9 8
Gonxii 7 7 7 7
Jay 7 7 8 8
JohnC 8 8 7 7
Jose 6 7 7 8
Kristina 7 7 7 8
Mehrbod 7 5 6 5
MichaelP 8 7 7 8
Momster 8 8 7 8
Orbit Dream 6 7 7 8
Phil 8 8 8 8
RaiderGirl 8 8 7 8
Ruediger 6 6 7 8
Ryan 7 7 7 8
Sash 8 9 7 8
Scottie 9 8 9 9
Sheevah 9 7 8 8
Treeble 7 7 8 8
 
release date: 22-Feb-2001
# of downloads: 79

average rating: 7.45
review count: 23
 
review this level

file size: 16.07 MB
file type: TR4
class: Egypt
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
nlabricole@aol.com

Reviewer's comments
"An ordinary Temple of Karnak experience as a whole, which had its ups and downs. In the first place, I'd like to mention the improper usage of red baddies inside the temple, making the raiding experience a bit tedious and overwhelming. I seemingly failed to understand the whole point of scattering so many ammunition around the map, when you don't have the appropriate gun to use them and eliminate enemy forces as expected. Some badly rotated textures and wall cracks were spotted. Overall, the gameplay was fluid and successfully kept me at my computer till the very end of this adventure. Thanks for reading!" - Mehrbod (26-Mar-2022)
"Here is a solid, lengthy Karnak level from the early days of the level editor. The surroundings and textures are pleasing to look at, and lighting and dark spots are well used. There are plenty of goodies hidden throughout the level, especially in vases, so be sure to shoot everything in sight. Gameplay is straightforward but enjoyable with a couple of jumping sequences, some swimming pool and a slightly irritating maze, although I personally didn't have much trouble with navigating it. What I did have trouble with was exploring the flooded building looking for the next opened door. Nonetheless, a level worth playing." - Ryan (02-Dec-2017)
"I enjoyed this 1 hour adventure in a Karnak setting. The end of the level is just in the beginning room, high on a structure, but you must do some things in order to get there. Texturization is good, and lighting too. There are red ninjas, crocodiles and black scorpions to kill, and a lot of pickups along the way. I think there should be more cameras after pushing some switches. I found 2 secrets." - alan (07-Nov-2017)
"At an hour and a quarter, this is definitely one of the longer levels from 2001 and it's one of the better made ones too. The Karnak style environment is solidly built and looks good. Progress is fairly linear and gameplay reasonably diverse and quite fluid. There are no puzzles or timed elements so really this should be accessible to all players. Enemies are crocodiles, scorpions and ninjas and pickups are lavish. Undemanding and pleasant." - Jay (07-Jun-2015)
"Good debut. Convincent architecture and well worked lights and textures, but not well applied in small and large surfaces in several places. The level is long and easy to play; if you explore carefully the dark corners you'll find all the secrets too. There are not puzzles, I was all the entire game pressing buttons, placing artifacts, shooting a lot of enemies and picking up hundreds of items. Once you've explored the labyrinth you'll in your backpack; I wasted a lot of time shooting many vases, picking up excessive items (I finished the level with 11 small and 11 large medipacks) and shooting excessive black scorpions in every corner. Sometimes there's a certaing backtracking too. Cameras and musics are ok even when sometimes the cameras show you places you've not visited yet. Well playable but nothing special." - Jose (06-May-2015)
"It's unclear to me how this level derives its name, but I found it to be a pleasant and relatively complex Egyptian adventure that took me nearly an hour and a half to complete. I tried it on my own for a while without a walkthrough, but I soon felt compelled to resort to Gerty's compact guide. It's not too difficult if you know where to go and what to do, but on many occasions the correct route is not at all obvious. There are many scorpions to kill, along with assorted ninjas and crocodiles, but if you enjoy playing Egyptian levels you'll have a good time with this one. Recommended." - Phil (22-Jan-2014)
"This was a very good level which I first completed in less than 5 minutes, but I read the reviews and noticed that that back-flip was not supposed to happen. Anyway, I played the level again and it's very good, really nice gameplay but with no hard puzzles, enemies were Ok. I loved the lighting and textures as well as some well designed rooms" - Gonxii (06-Oct-2013)
"Although a perfectly fine debut,this is one of those levels whose net and gross playing times are pretty much identical - in other words,you will rarely become stuck,there are no puzzles,and the whole thing moves along with few challenging nor head-scratching moments.There are enemies galore,but as you're provided with so much heavy weaponry they pose little threat.There are many key pick-ups;but you're never at a loss as to where to place them.You can even end the level early if you get a little too bored,by performing a simple backward jump.Nonetheless,the textures are generally applied very well;lighting is reasonably atmospherical;and the straightforward 'round-the-houses' progression,while never particularly exciting,is at least easy to follow and reasonably entertaining.It will keep you occupied(but not especially thrilled) for around 75 minutes." - Orbit Dream (16-Jul-2010)
"There are not many Temple of Karnak-Level. And good ones are even more rare. This level is a really good one. So many rooms and areas, which one must discover. And these are no easy 08/15 rooms with always the same textures. No, here change is capitalised. There is a maze at which one can have a look from above by a clear floor. Thus notorious maze hater (like me) can also find the way. And two aquariums with transparent walls. Though there are swim a few crocodiles in it, but Lara has the suitable weapons in the luggage. And there is a big water basin in which rises a good looking building. And one must find various Items like the Vräus, Canopic Jar or the pyramid plug. And sometimes one sees these Items, however, it cannot reach on direct way. And well hidden ways one must also find. Opponents are crocodiles, Baddies and scorpions. For this level one should already include at least 1-hour net playing time. I have used 75 minutes. However, the problem is, that there is a possibility to finish this level in 20 minutes. At a place one can shimmy at a slant to the right and jump from there on a grid which leads to a key and to the level end. However, it would be a great pity ones if the player made this because he would miss most of the level. And the Level builder has it a little bit too well-intentioned with all the Munition and Medipacks. A few camera tips more for the many wall counters would have quite felt well. But apart from this has he build a really good level. The rooms and textures are very diverse. Sound and lighting feel well. Result: A level which one must absolutely play" - Scottie (11-May-2009)
"A classic Karnak level with a solid setting , which is a dream for the explorer and even more the searcher of pickups , items , secrets , and buttons which can be easily overlooked. There is not a lot of camera work so some backtracking may be required especially in the first part of the level. The author is gifted to fool us in a clever way. There is not a lot of action , the enemies are well placed. For my taste there was too many of them , and too many pickups and too many vases to shoot, you stop every now and then to pick up some thing. There is a visual bug when you look up at the building in the midst of the lake area (as in fact the building is higher when you're inside it than what you can see of it from the outside :] Despite this, the level looks good , and there is some good ideas for the decor." - eRIC (24-Nov-2008)
""Lara's Ballad" is a good looking, traditional Karnak temple level. While I worked my way through the sunny surroundings, I was missing suspense, though - a climax in the story or a thrilling fight. The enemies can be easily disposed of, for example you can shoot crocodiles in the water from safe dry land. The whole thing could be a bit more exciting, even though the atmosphere was there. A good variety of rooms when you search for the next switch to open the next door makes it still recommendable for its nostalgic value." - Ruediger (15-Jan-2008)
"One of the standard karnak levels with well hidden buttons and a couple of items to find. It's a nice setting with ninjas scorpions and crocodiles in every corner plus a couple of fire traps but that's it. There is no big obstacle really anywhere in the level once you push the first buttons outside and find the first canopic jar the rest is straight forward. A vraeus and the second jar further lead the player to the area crawlspaces and more doors for Lara. The guardian keys come close to the end and finally you have access to the key you see all along from below. You don't get to pick it up though as the level ends before that. I had the same problem with Michael and got the key from the start so I was wondering why the level crashed once I read the reviews I got my answer. A nice level but don't expect too much from it." - Kristina (17-Aug-2003)
"This is a well designed level both in terms of gameplay and looks and quite enjoyable for the hour it took me to get through. It started out a bit slow for me because there's a few buttons to search for and they're well hidden but once I found that first canopic jar I was on my way and the rest of the level was fairly linear but still full of action. Like everyone else I have to mention the cool glass walls and floors the glass cages for the crocs and I'd like to mention that it was nice to have some big outdoor areas to play in instead of another dark tomb. I found two secrets and at least three crossbows the uzis the revolver and laser sight and the grenade launcher. Nothing difficult but I had a nice time." - RaiderGirl (29-Nov-2002)
"I really enjoyed this level. The puzzles enemies and layout of the level was just right for those times when you want to have fun but not burn out your cerebral cortex. I enjoyed the liberal but well-thought out use of Egyptian objects which are curiously missing from many Egyptian-style levels. Having read Michael's review I lacked the coordination to have Lara carry that maneuver off in that location and I'm glad I did because the rest of the level was just plain fun." - JohnC (19-Aug-2002)
"With a lot of back and forth progression quite a few enemies and a ton of pick ups including 3 secrets this 75 minutes level played for me very interestingly. Although texturally it wasn't stunning it nonetheless had a really nice look especially with the use of glass that went into making a couple of crocodile tanks and as a floor come ceiling. There was just one thing that isn't unique to only this level and that is there just wasn't any fly bys or cut scenes to triggered doors so again it was just a matter of running around to locate them." - Sash (21-Jun-2002)
"Like Sash and David I enjoyed this level with its amazingly high number of pick-ups and scorpions and ninjas and crocodiles and vases to shoot. The highlights are definitely the glass floor and the crocodile tanks and it took me a little above an hour to finish - well in fact you can finish it in only five minutes as the author overlooked that one of Lara's smarter moves (shimmy pull up back-flip with twist and turn left in mid-air) allows you to reach the final key right at the start but of course that would spoil all the fun this level has to offer so I took the long way home instead J" - Michael (21-Jun-2002)
"In short - Lara's quest: the Amulet of Horus; Where? Egypt of course! Although this level may be overlooked because of that it shouldn't be. I enjoyed it the texturization and lighting made this a nice experience. There are some mazes but they are quite simple so there should not be problems in being stuck. Actually this level is pretty straight forward so it's hard to be stuck. But anyway a nice level that lasted for one hour." - Treeble (21-Jun-2002)
"This is not too complex but not too easy. Nicely designed with some great use of textures and rooms. I loved the split floor room with the glass ceiling and also the final large room with the big water tanks in. Good use of shadows to hide entrances etc. I found some secrets - not too hard to locate but a nice sense of worth when found. Lots and lots of pickups which is nice. I did expect maybe a better ending (it just stops) and a bigger enemy at the conclusion. The enemies are the red ninjas black scorpions and crocodiles and all are nicely used. Overall a very enjoyable level linear and not too tricky. Some of the puzzles are a little too easy and could have been made harder." - David (21-Jun-2002)
"What a very nice level well worth the download. Took me for ages (it seemed like it) to play. Main goal is to get the key way up a pillar. The way to it is a lot of back and forward tracking. As there are a minimum of flybys you just have to endure running around a lot. Main enemies are scorpions the little ones some ninjas and crocs. The vast amount of shooting power is on it self not necessary but it is fun to look all over the place and suddenly find something or a crawl space or even a secret. At times I called the author every name in the book but after a brief pause found the next opening I simply overlooked the first time and even the fifth time around. The glass floor and the big tanks what a novelty. All in all I had a great time. 23-05-2002" - Gerty (21-Jun-2002)
"What a nice level! Although I don't like Egyptian levels that much it was fun to play this one. Referring enemies and puzzles the difficulty level is rather low to medium but that's okay. And no mean traps - thanks for that! :o) The texturing was nice and the lighting even nicer and well selected. Maybe the objects could have been spread a little more rarely - as far as I remember I found the crossbow two or three times. ;o) Playtime was about 1'20''." - Sheevah (21-Jun-2002)
"This is a good adventure. The textures are nice and the atmosphere is great. The enemies are ninjas and scorpions and crocodiles. I had fun to play this game and the lighting is perfect. I was playing 1 hour and 38 minutes and this level is not so hard. I like this. A good work. You must play this level." - Andi Croft (21-Jun-2002)
"File under Easy Listening. Although this took me only 78 minutes of net gaming time I think it's still too long as there isn't much variation in neither the tasks nor the enemies. I found 9 big medipacks and didn't use a single one as ninjas only pose a threat when they attack in groups (happens only twice I think) and scorpions should be placed in crawlspaces to give you a bit of a thrill. The gameplay revolves around finding and placing items pushing buttons then searching for the doors and shooting vessels. In fact the latter and the pick ups seem to be the most time consuming element in this quest for the Amulet of Horus as there are tons of weapons and ammo that you never need. The textures and the general settings are reasonably well done if a little bland at times but you get some great areas as well. I really liked the hall with the icy wall and floor and the two tanks with the crocodiles and vital items. The course has it's appeal especially how it always takes you back to where you've started from and the way it alternates between indoors and outdoors. I only wish some more thought had gone into puzzles as they are virtually non-existent." - Dimpfelmoser (21-Jun-2002)
"This is the first of Nlabricoles's levels I played and frankly led me to his others. I loved this level! If you are looking for a pleasurable download with plenty to do but not a high difficulty rate this is it. This is an especially nice-looking level very easy on the eyes. Rather linear but with plenty of places to poke around in. Pickups mainly unnecessary but still fun to get. Scorpions ninjas some crocs. Mostly button pushing and wandering and some crawlspaces but for its simplicity strangely complex. Not a lot of camera help and no real brainwork involved but still a good beginner's download which is what is was for me." - Momster (21-Jun-2002)