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Level: Castle Ness back home search
Author(s): StormChaser
total rating:7.14 Gameplay &
Puzzles		 Enemies,
Objects &
Secrets		 Atmosphere,
Sound &
Cameras		 Lighting &
Textures
Andzia9 7 7 7 7
CC 6 8 9 9
Daffy 7 8 8 9
Dimpfelmoser 5 5 9 9
Engelchen Lara 7 7 7 7
eTux 6 6 7 7
G.Croft 4 4 8 7
Gerty 4 4 9 8
Gill 6 7 8 8
Kristina 6 6 8 8
Litepulsar 5 5 8 10
MichaelP 6 8 8 8
Miguel 6 6 8 8
Momster 5 4 9 9
Moonpooka 8 9 9 8
Navi 6 5 7 6
Orbit Dream 5 6 7 9
Phil 8 8 8 8
RaiderGirl 6 6 9 9
Sash 6 7 8 8
Sherry 7 7 9 9
category averages
(21 reviews)		 6.00 6.33 8.10 8.14

Reviewer's comments

"Nothing much to do here, only few traps, not many enemies, but custom is rather good. Nice atmosphere, beautiful views." - Andzia9 (18-Nov-2010)

"It is a superb stay in a castle in ruins which wait for Lara in this level. Certainly, she will not have a lot of action to be led there but the discovery of places is already worth walk. Obviously the author to work the aesthetics thoroughly and he perfectly succeeded. It is nice! For the gameplay, without being complicated, he asks nevertheless for a good observation, as level is big something is easily missed. The end of level is quieter, it is rather about a course to join the exit but there is however a small surprise everything at the end. Congratulations to the author, it is of very great work." - Daffy (25-Aug-2009)

"I played this level for the purpose of writing the walkthrough. Since I knew that Val was playing it at the same time, I knew I had the luxury of simply scooting through it and leaving it to her keen eyes to find the things I would inevitably miss. Even at that I felt I was wandering around for hours, going from one massive but empty area to the next. My instincts must be better than I thought, however, because I generally took the right path when several choices (the others leading to dead ends or worse) were presented. I concur with other reviewers in objecting to the high number of significant areas where there was simply nothing to pick up, kill or do. Why, I thought to myself, would the builder spend so much time adding an area only to leave it completely unpopulated. Maybe it was to throw the gamer off the scent of the secrets, several of which were placed off the beaten track. But I'm dwelling too much on the negative. This is a fine level with visually pleasant surroundings, and I enjoyed myself immensely once I got into the swing of what the builder was trying to do. If you like castle levels, this one is a must. Recommended for everyone else, too." - Phil (16-Aug-2005)

"Wow! What a huge level and confusing at times too as it’s so large but lacking surprises in these massive areas. Set in a castle, with Lara wearing a little kilt (which I thought was a really cute outfit)you will have bats, wild boar, skellies and knights to fight, and a dragon at the end. I found four secrets and I’m sure I left one in one of the many back rooms that this level seems to have in abundance. There are some nice jumps around the castle walls, a small maze, and lots of swimming to do. This was a nice atmospheric level, and if you like castle levels like I do you won’t mind too much about the massive empty places to explore. Some boulder and spike traps litter the way, but most important keep your compass handy as getting lost is one thing I became quite good at. A fascinating and enjoyable level!" - Moonpooka (15-Aug-2005)

“This is another huge castle environment level by Peter also being a fairly straight forward and easy level to complete there was nothing too difficult to accomplish here as most of time you are just going from one big room to another. The only important things you need to collect is the vraeus one guardian key and some secrets which you need to do a lot of exploring to find them in these large areas. The secrets are not necessary to complete this level with but I did have a lot of fun trying to find them in the end I only found 4 in total and this took me nearly 2 hours to get to the end of this large level anyway so where the other secrets were I will just have to re-play this level again to see which ones I had missed. There's not too many enemies to deal with here either just a few water-hogs bats knights and the very best the dragon at the end. The only thing that had me stumped for a while in this level was finding the jump-switch in the 2nd area everything blended in so nicely I just could not see it but after checking up on an old help thread this put me back on my way again. But thinking about it now I was too scared to go anywhere near that skeleton as I thought it would wake up and I had nothing to kill him with so I was keeping well clear of him. On the whole I did enjoy this level but I do think it could have had some more added traps and some more puzzle solving in but still just seeing Lara in her tartan mini skirt made up for it. So for any first time raiders I would recommend you d/load this level and enjoy this lovely castle adventure I am sure you will have as much fun as I did in exploring this lovely castle environment. Thanks Peter.” – Gill (02-Jan-2005)

“Peter ‘Mr. Castle’ Tedstone has built for us here quite a nice little well actually not little at all castle to explore what he forgot to do was give us something to do in this castle. Sure there are some movable blocks to push and levers to pull but this grand expansive Scottish castle was used mainly to move through be it swimming in the large moat climbing or running and in the end that was alright in my books as it was such a nice route through. What though would be a level named Castle Ness if you weren’t to come across the big beast himself or is that herself and although there was no Loch Ness monsters to be found available to import into a level Peter did his best by giving us the giant serpent at the end well let’s just use our imagination folks near enough is good enough. I found all 6 secrets hidden a shotgun and the armour pieces in this 70 minute level and really enjoyed the great environment but if you want more of a puzzler in the same kind of setting I’d say go have a look at Peter’s later levels.” – Sash (17-Sep-2003)

“Well if nothing else this level proves that short skirts are for socialising in not hauling yourself around a ruined castle. The skirt and top were very pretty Lara has red hair but as my mother would say her underwear ‘wasn't enough to cover her dignity’. This is a beautifully made level. The rooms are huge and unfortunately suffer the old wallpaper effect because of that although it's obvious Peter did his best to vary them as much as he could. It's hard to see switches on these stone walls so keep a sharp lookout. There are skeletons bats warthogs and dead knights about. The tallest climbing pole I've ever seen some swimming block pushing and what was the idea of the wraiths? Was it just to make you go look for water? The boulders that keep rolling from side to side were good to look at and easy to pass though. The area on the battlements with the single boulder was lovely. Each time I thought I was finished there were more and more areas to cover it certainly is a big sprawling level. And we meet a firebreathing dragon at the end that is after the dead knights in the caves which were brilliantly done. I like the way thing move away from the castle through the rocks and out to the loch. I only got three pieces of armour but the level is so big it wouldn't surprise me that I took one turn and didn't go back to take the other. The enemies were very well placed the dragon area is superb I liked the way the bats fly into the cave towards you. It could easily have been two or three levels running into one another with hint hint more puzzles. Very enjoyable all the same.” – CC (19-Aug-2003)

“Scottish Castle time again. You know I'm starting to feel the same way about this texture set as I do the Library or Cleopal textures; there's only so much you can do with them before familiarity sets in. Here we have the expected visual scenario but it's all built with style and is extremely expansive (as you will soon see!). I enjoyed the perpetual rolling boulders the well-hidden pieces of gold armour and the overall craftsmanship evident throughout. Now I don't usually provide walkthroughs with my reviews but in this instance I will indulge myself. You start by running into a big courtyard-type room. Then you run into a long narrow room. Proceed thence by running (or occasionally swimming for a spot of variation) into a big courtyard-type room. Then a long narrow room. Big room. Long narrow room. Big room. Narrow room. Big room. Narrow room. Big room. Narrow room. Big room. Narrow room. Big room. Narrow room. Big room. Narrow room. Big room. Narrow room. Big room. Narrow room. DRAGON! Pull lever. Narrow room. End. And there you have the problem with this adventure. There's not much gameplay to be had really. It's all very well built (usually with great style) but it's about as thrilling as a Party Political Broadcast on behalf of the Conservative Party. Oh well at least her dress is exciting. I suppose that's what matters most.” – Orbit Dream (03-May-2003)

“A fine long map with fine locations. I found it interesting to get to the end without all 5 artifacts and without having found and placed the second guardian key. Enemies are skeletons and bats and of course ‘Nessie’! But until the Showdown it’s upon Lara to get through this huge area and find some goodies and artifacts. Teeth spikes rolling balls and fire will make it a bit difficult to get on in less time. Diving Jumping shimmying and some monkey - you will need this here too. Only a few weapons in the game - and goodies are medipaks. But that cannot change that good game - about 1 hour and 20 min. Good atmosphere and an interesting Lara in Scottish-Look!” – Miguel (02-Apr-2003)

“Not much to do here for my Lara pretty much a ‘walk in the park’. Simple puzzles and mainly water mazes to pass through and avoid the occasional boulder. If you look carefully you will find the five armor pieces which are secrets. Enemies are a few skeletons warthogs and bats. Textures are standard and not always cleanly applied. The atmosphere was nice and the only thing I really liked. Over time this level got a little boring. At the end Lara needs to pass a dragon but it is not a big threat.” – Engelchen Lara (12-Mar-2003)

“The atmosphere and gameplay of this castle level is pretty much the same as in Peter's other castle levels but it pales a bit from what I've seen in Malvernia and Snowbound as there's not really much to do cause you just run from point A to B activate a lever or a switch and go on like that till you reach the end. The perpetually rolling boulders were a nice challenge and for a bit more challenge you can go to search for the secrets (I found 5 - shotgun + 4 armor pieces). The scenery is nice but I think the rooms were a bit too blocky sometimes (the water rooms more specifically). I liked the caves before the grande final too but the level actually looks more promising than it is...” – eTux (22-Dec-2002)

“I LOVE castle levels so I had a great time exploring this one searching for a Golden Vreaus a Guardian's key (you only need the one!) and the five very well hidden pieces of armour. With its huge outdoor areas underground passages flooded rooms the grass hedge maze and the moat there is a huge area to explore and often you'll come across a situation where you can either go left or right and if you choose the wrong path first there's no going back so if you want to explore all the areas make sure to save often and in different slots. It looks like Peter had great fun building and texturing this - it's probably the best castle I've seen so far and the great rooms and the sparkling green water of the moat are not to be missed. It took me over an hour to get to the dragon at the end and with the skeletons bats elementals undead knights well hidden pushable blocks boulder traps spike pits and fire tiles there was some fun moments but I must confess I was glad the end came when I finally ran through that last door. By then I was tired of just running around and would have been glad to see a switch just to feel like I was doing something. If you like exploring a great looking level then definitely check this out!” – RaiderGirl (23-Nov-2002)

“It’s all been said: a really cute outfit and a huge area to cover in a rather linear fashion with very little to do. Lara hardly ever stopped running (or swimming as you have to do quite a bit of that too). There is a vraeus and a guardian key rather early and other than that a few levers and not too hard to spot movable blocks. The revolving boulders were kind of nice the ‘low invisible ceiling’ in the hedge maze rather strange and a surprising number of enemies in hindsight (warthogs bats skeletons knights wraiths and of course the dragon) but as you cover so much ground they hardly register. I found six secrets (shotgun and the five pieces of armor) and felt a bit let down by the many many nooks and crannies which you could explore but to no avail as nothing was there. Personally I thought the texturing and architecture of the caves and rock areas were brilliant. The texturing in the castle suffered a bit from the wallpaper effect.” – Michael (18-Nov-2002)

“This is a huge beautiful castle and Lara looks really pretty in her Scottish outfit (I didn’t need to see her panties though LOL) but there isn’t much to do. Pretty much linear gameplay with big empty rooms and hardly any pickups or enemies. The author explained this is because of size limitations in the editor. It’s a pity though - with more gameplay and puzzling this would be a great level. (And I didn’t spot Nessie!) ;-)” – G.Croft (18-Oct-2002)

“This level plays in Scotland. Lara’s task is it to find the five armor parts. For which she then however has no use. Lara had to run much which became very boring. It seemed everything very empty. Opponents were bats skeletons and the templar knights. Thankfully not many thus also a level for people who do not like many opponents. One can look peacefully at the areas. Generally it was well designed only the textures were not always cleanly applied. It was a calm atmosphere. With pickups the designer was also very scarce. One did not need them actually except the flares. Sound was ok but the camera guidance was rare. But if one operated a lever one heard in the proximity which door came up. In the end Lara meets her friend the dragon. One for beginners.” – Navi (08-Oct-2002)

“This has the makings of a great level but somehow it just misses. The design is terrific and atmosphere is great however it does not have strong game play. This author has the possibility of joining the ranks of the best if he could improve his gameplay. I had fun though and recommend it on this basis.” – Sherry (08-Oct-2002)

“What a lot of work must have been put into this level and it doesn’t pan out. I wonder why he built such an enormous level and didn’t put anything into it. Did find the odd shotgun ammo and the shotgun here and there a small medpack and that was it. Apart from the secrets that is they are the 5 pieces of armor and to find those yes - explore. There are so many nooks and crannies that I felt let down finding nothing apart from the secrets and they were hidden very well. Not that you need much as I encountered some very pesky bats 4 boars and a couple of skeletons. Still wondering why only one guardian key. I did put the key in the other slot but that only gave me one more skeleton to deal with. Some boulder traps very easy to deal with some spikes and a lot of swimming in the moat. There are some crates to push and you need the Vraeus and one guardian key. The encounter with the dragon was great and there the level ends. 06-10-2002” – Gerty (07-Oct-2002)

“A classic castle level with Lara dressed in a mini Scottish skirt. Of course when she is climbing or crawling well you get a view of her ‘behind’ but I am sure I saw her sorts under. Anyway it was fun but not many puzzles in it. There is a golden vraeus the guardian key and the pieces of the armor. A lot of swimming is involved and climbing with skeletons on your tail chasing you and a few wild boars. The knights are also present later on but they are no threat to Lara. A few movable blocks and jump switches the dragon is waiting near the end but for some reason it doesn't ‘spit’ much fire so it's easy to pass him and finish. A nice try.” – Kristina (06-Oct-2002)

“A huge sprawling level with a decidedly Scottish atmosphere. The lighting and textures were really good and I really enjoyed the trip through this level. The only downside was the lack of enemies and good traps/puzzles as well as a few sounds being a little out of place (like the Egyptian flavoured music). Also it's easy to get lost and confused within the level you're not sure what to do next! The design in my opinion was excellent but due to some problems with the level it had to be ‘pruned’ and I think this resulted in the gameplay not matching the excellence of the great atmosphere and design of it overall. Hence the low scores for those aspects. Apart from that I think the author has great potential once he's ironed out the few creases in his designs he'll have a masterpiece.” - Litepulsar (06-Oct-2002)

“Those level builders are an odd bunch aren't they?! Take Peter Tedstone for example. He invests time and effort to create a beautiful castle with many chambers an intricate moat a cleaver course impressive courtyards awesome towers and then he can't be bothered to add a bit of gameplay. You just run from start to finish pausing only a few times along the way to push the blocks to the side. There are some skeletons to shoot off a ledge four levers a couple of listlessly placed boulder traps and the occasional jump but that's as far as it goes. Yet the area is so huge that most of the time you simply run and swim through the linear course wondering why nothing is trying to hinder your progress. I guess your objective is to find all five pieces of the armour and when I ran past the dragon I had only three. I have an inkling where the rest might be as there were two areas that I never been to cause I decided to go right instead of left and before I knew it it was too late to turn back. I liked the ‘Plaste und Elaste’ top Lara is wearing and the tartan miniskirt looks damn kinky but even that can't disguise the fact that the level lacked puzzles a challenging gameplay and an overall plot. A real pity as I'm a big fan of the Scottish Castle setting and here the atmosphere is dead good. I specially liked the way the water was textured.” – Dimpfelmoser (05-Oct-2002)

“I have to say that I’m extremely disappointed in this 3rd level by Storm Chaser. Here we have a superbly built level oozing castle atmosphere and the outside areas as well. But there’s barely nothing to do in this level. Aside from pulling a few switches and getting by some boulders zippo zilch nada. We have this great castle and grounds area with room after room after room of emptiness. If the author is going to such lengths to create a great looking level why wouldn’t he put some stuff in it? And some enemies? I never thought I’d wish for enemies but the biggest rush I got was blowing the 3 skeletons off the high ledges in the beginning. Besides all this I was able to get to the end of the level still only having placed 1 guardian key not finding the second one and not having all the armor pieces? What’s up with that?” – Momster (05-Oct-2002)
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