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Level: Crash in the Highlands back home search
Author(s): Snap125
total rating:7.26 Gameplay &
Puzzles		 Enemies,
Objects &
Secrets		 Atmosphere,
Sound &
Cameras		 Lighting &
Textures
bERT 5 6 7 7
Blue43 6 6 6 7
CC 7 7 8 9
David 6 5 6 7
Dimpfelmoser 7 7 9 8
Engelchen Lara 7 8 9 7
eTux 5 5 7 6
Freeman Porter 8 7 8 8
Gerty 7 7 9 9
Kristina 7 7 8 9
Magnus 7 7 8 7
MichaelP 6 6 10 9
Miguel 7 6 8 8
Mrs rjb 7 7 9 9
Nutman 7 6 9 8
Orbit Dream 7 5 8 9
RaiderGirl 8 7 7 9
Ruediger 8 7 7 8
Sash 7 7 8 9
Scottie 6 5 7 7
Torry 9 8 8 8
Treeble 6 5 7 7
category averages
(22 reviews)		 6.82 6.41 7.86 7.95

Reviewer's comments

"Although this is listed in the jungle category it has mainly textures from the Peru levels of TR1. The first couple of rooms might make one think that this is going to be another bland cave remake, but it actually turns out to be a decent but unfortunately very short level. Game play is easy and the goal is to open up a lava flow to melt a frozen river to find the exit. Lara encounters a couple of bats and there is a showdown where she has to battle 6 dogs in a fairly small room – nice. There are also some single and double rope swings and a bit of ladder climbing and a room with ceiling spikes and rising sand floor. There were lots of pickups and a lot of it was shotgun ammo, but I never found the shotgun to use it in. Texturing and lighting was nicely done. A short and nice level and since it’s very easy, it should definitely recommended for the inexperienced beginner." - Blue43 (21-Nov-2010)

"This crash must be passed in Peru, at least the textures point to it. I had not liked the first caves at the beginning at all, they were built too unimaginatively and I already had the fear that a very dull level could become. But luckily it was not in such a way, because then it became quite substantially better. Particularly successfully I found the long stair upwards, the room with the hot red water and the Flybys. With about 20-minute playing time the level was too short. More riddles, more duties and maybe also more opponents than only a few dogs and bats would have been good for the level. Textures and lighting were good, there is nothing wrong with it. Who searches something for Occasionally or a beginner's level, is in good hands here." - Scottie (15-Jun-2009)

"It seems harsh to apply today's standards to the golden oldies, but what can one do if one's been spoiled by all the good stuff we get these days? And bar the out of place Egyptian objects, this is actually a fairly decent raid in the familiar Peru settings of the 'Caves' and has a number of cool events like the rope swings over the pit, the dog room and lava melting the icy river, which ultimately takes you into the unknown. Both secrets I found were fairly odd for a number of aspects - I never managed to move on from finding the grenade secret, but apparently it's possible via a tricky curved jump, and in the second secret it's actually more obvious to get the bounty rather than hit the trigger that plays the familiar chimes, and I only stumbled upon it by randomly running around the area in question. That said - it's actually a very enjoyable 10 to 15 minute adventure, and if you want something simple in familiar surroundings, it's worth to boot this one up." - eTux (12-Jul-2008)

"While looking for the next level, I came across reviewers saying this level took them directly to TR1, so I couldn't miss out on this one. The atmosphere is convincly created, though some of the objects (the sand, namely) are way out of context, but back then, builders had to improvise with whatever they had. Anyway, Lara comes to a frozen river and through her quest she comes across a pulley that brings lava all around, melting the ice cover so Lara could take a dip. And that's where it ends. Had fun with the few ropes scattered in the level, though. 20 minutes. 01/07" - Treeble (29-Jan-2007)

“I enjoyed this level very much. From the first moment there is action and movement. The scenery and action are excellent ... I particularly liked the ice river that was melted by the lava. The changing of the 'grey' channel to a 'red hot lava' one was also very interesting and added to the atmosphere of the game. The rope swings were for a beginner such as me just about right in difficulty but I suspect a more expert player may find them a little too easy. The end of the level I found a little difficult to appreciate as after flowing down the newly melted river directed by the current the next level loaded without a loading screen and I was unsure what had happened. Having said that I would recommend this level as really fun to play and leaves you wanting more.” – Mrs rjb (14-Dec-2004)

“Remember the very first moment of TRI when Lara enters the caves with wolves and sees footprints in the snow. Now you have an idea of this level. Very well designed rooms caves open areas. I loved the climbing running around picking up the key using the ropes - especially over the tall waterfalls running to get out of the sand room before being spiked. The iced over river is very well done. The idea is to let lava flow into the river to melt it so you can escape. Nice idea. The level was way too short but I congratulate René on having the sense not to extend playing time by creating gigantic rooms he has placed everything perfectly leaving people wanting more rather than saying thank heavens that’s finished. I've just read the other reviews and some mentioned the problem of Lara not swimming properly. I wonder was this level available 'before' the new Eidos wads were out. I know I had a problem with Lara not rope swinging properly and the solution was the new wads. Just a thought!” – CC (19-Nov-2003)

“It is a short level but in terms of atmosphere and gameplay it is ok. Textures could have been a little better ;-) and the enemies were plenty mainly jackals/dogs. Lara has to solve a few puzzles but they are not difficult. A few jumps and climbing and a guardian key to find. Graphically it is well designed and reminds of TombRaider 1 especially the small caves.” – Engelchen Lara (11-Jan-2003)

“Not realy challenging but enjoyable little adventure that literally starts with a bang so there's your title (pity there's no debris to see of what she crashed in). The start immediately reminds us all of our first acquaintance with ‘the woman’ way back in 1996 as soon as those big mountain doors closed her in those snowy caves in that very first level. May have done something wrong when installing because as soon as the Croft woman hits the water she freezes and does not really swim but just flows in the water (strange). But off to the good points: here's a simple but nice deep waterfall with the inevitable rope swinging. Flybys are not so bad but as we see so often here and there too sudden movements. And there's doggies lots of them and bats in a quite acceptable realistic environment. Good.” – bERT (27-Oct-2002)

“A very well made level but sadly too short in the end the player thinks there must be a sequel. The gameplay is linear and fast not too hard and never boring. Enemies are some dogs (in one room 6 or 7 of them) and some bats. The graphics reminds you of Tomb Raider 1 and looks very good. The traps are well made I liked best the room where the ceiling with spikes come down; I haven’t seen that for a long time in a level. I have found 2 secrets but couldn’t take one of them with me because of dying on the way back I couldn’t reach the save tile by back flipping over the spiky floor. At the end you dry up the ice and dive out from the level. Playing time about half an hour. A must play this is real raiding.” – Freeman Porter (13-Oct-2002)

“A mini-level if you talk about time - only 23 minutes...But the Designer had a lot of work to make this ambience that reminds us of TR1 - using rolling balls ropes fire/water/ice...Some dogs and bats as enemies good texturing in the rooms good use of floor sounds - could be longer but offered a good game to play.” – Miguel (11-Sep-2002)

“From the first sign of paw prints in the snow I was transported back to the start of TR1 where the feeling of wonderful things to come flooded my mind this level held a bit of everything rope jumps rope pulls ladders enemies puzzles but apart from that it was just visually delicious the frozen waterways snowy landscapes greenery and a fantastic use of a lava pool all fit together to make it a pleasure to play the only drawback was that I found swimming impossible (a bug perhaps) but there was no real need for it anyhow and that the level seemed to end too soon.” - Sash (21-Jun-2002)

“The way René manages to craft the icy highlands atmosphere in this level is simply fantastic. While the gameplay will almost never make you stop to think the surroundings almost all the time will in this 25 minutes level. I particularly loved that frozen river – it looked so real and the way it is used towards the end with the lava is just a unique idea. As said the level unfortunately did not have many puzzles to solve only a few annoying dogs and bats and I found only one secret but while it may not be a ‘must-play’ level it is definitely a ‘must-see’ level.” - Michael (21-Jun-2002)

“I loved this level. Took me back to those wonderful Tomb Raider 1 days. Only one glitch that annoyed me. You'll find it. If not for that I would have rated it a 10.” - Torry (21-Jun-2002)

“A nicely designed level with some good puzzles and quite a bit of running around and exploring. Nice use of textures throughout. Nothing particularly stands out though.” – David (21-Jun-2002)

“Although many of the puzzles are from The Last Revelation it's almost hard to believe that this is the same wad that is used in The Tomb of Seth. As far as looks go it reminds me of a mix of both TombRaider I and II. Considering we've seen most of the puzzles already I wouldn't say any of it was hard though some blades a boulder trap and some dogs had me reloading a few times. There was a bug where you are unable to swim underwater but the effect of the lava melting the layer of ice over the river more than made up for that. I found two secrets (and saw one area up high that I couldn't reach) in this enjoyable thirty minutes level and only wish it had been longer. If you like the cave levels in TR I you'll love this one.” – RaiderGirl (21-Jun-2002)

“The level started with a big bang. That woke me up LOL. Only complaint I would have that it was way too short. Oh sweet memories taking me back to the first Tomb Raider game I played. Although this game has no puzzles in what I would call a puzzle but I enjoyed playing it. I was a bit apprehensive to put Lara’s hand in some of the holes in the wall remembering all those nasty beetles. Luckily there were none. Swimming is not possible due to a bug I gather Lara just floats and stands on water so that revolver ammo I couldn’t get. Didn’t need it at all. Found 2 secrets.” – Gerty (21-Jun-2002)

“A fun level with a lot of dogs and bats. The lighting isn't very good. The texturing is pretty good though (the sky doesn't look so good however). There's a couple of traps in this level too and also some rope jumps and ladders to climb. Other than that this level doesn't hold anything different except the end maybe...” – Magnus (21-Jun-2002)

“Like the other reviewers I was immediately reminded of the first level in TR1 (which I have just been playing again) - icy caves. The frozen river was nice and was a nice touch to melt it with lava rather than just a flick of a switch, but the level didn't go much further after that. Not a must play level as Michael mentioned but a nice short level with good atmosphere, textures and setting.“ – Nutman (21-Jun-2002)

“Like the other reviewers I was immediately reminded of the first level in TR1 (which I have just been playing again) - icy caves. The frozen river was nice and was a nice touch to melt it with lava rather than just a flick of a switch but the level didn't go much further after that. Not a must play level as Michael mentioned but a nice short level with good atmosphere textures and setting.“ – Nutman “With the exception of an unsatisfying outdoor area this is a very well crafted cave level. The challenges are extremely well thought out and entertaining and the gameplay is fast moving and constantly enjoyable. The Shotgun Ammo Secret seemed impossible to obtain but I probably just lacked the patience needed. The dogs as always were effective; and the whole had a certain panache that is very often missing from a custom level.” – Orbit Dream (21-Jun-2002)

“I have to admit that looking to the TOM file that said settomb I thought ok it has to be the usual tomb like level not so. The whole scenery and textures are nothing like it or even close they are taken from previous levels before TR4 and they are very well placed. Although the level looks very good the lack of objects enemies and puzzles I am afraid doesn't do it justice. It's a pity to waste all this without real action except for the guardian key and dogs the ones with red eyes in the room with the puzzle item I must have counted eight of them more or less. Starting from what supposed to be outside but I am afraid the sky looks square and without a cloud or anything like that it gives a sense of unbelief of what is to come fortunately it gets better. Ladders and a lava room as well as chains and holes on the wall which open doors or give goodies. The final task is to liquidate the water by bringing up lava which would make a great effect if we could actually see it happening. The cameras were present at the time they were needed but what is it with music these days - nobody uses that feature. Definitely a level that is worth looking at.” – Kristina (21-Jun-2002)

“Life is cruel life is never kind and there simply is no justice. No matter how objective you try to be whether you like or dislike a level always to some degree depends on the games you played recently. I enjoyed this a great deal cause it's been such a long since I frolicked in the snow and I'm so sick of this itchy sand that -no matter how careful you romp around those pyramids- always finds a way into your boots. The spiked room that rapidly fills with sand was great the fight with the six dogs quite a thrill and I never found a way to return safely with the secret grenades. But since I never got the grenade launcher I won't shed too many tears. The icy atmosphere is very convincing the gameplay rather fluent and the fly-bys extremely helpful. I only wish this had lasted a little bit longer. On second thoughts I wish this had lasted a lot longer.” – Dimpfelmoser (21-Jun-2002)

“Playing this level was so much fun I started it again for replay immediately; which rarely happens to me. The beginning of the level reminds us of TR1 and brings back cherished memories. The room with the 6 dogs all triggered simultaneously gave me a rush of adrenalin. The solution of the level is very creative: you have to find out how to melt a frozen lake before you swim out of the level exit. I liked the monkey swings too. Experienced players may think the level is a little too easy. I found all of the secrets which I usually fail to achieve ;-) so at least for me it was a gratifying game.” – Rüdiger (21-Jun-2002)
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