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Level: TombRaider Resurrection 2: The Palace of Menes back home search
Author(s): WebKnight
total rating:8.19 Gameplay &
Puzzles		 Enemies,
Objects &
Secrets		 Atmosphere,
Sound &
Cameras		 Lighting &
Textures
Dimpfelmoser 8 9 8 8
eRIC 8 9 9 7
eTux 8 8 8 8
G.Croft 8 8 8 8
Gerty 8 9 8 8
J.J.S. 9 8 9 9
Jbc21 8 6 9 7
Jose 6 6 7 9
Kristina 9 8 8 9
Loupar 8 8 8 7
Magnus 8 8 9 9
MichaelP 8 8 8 8
Miguel 8 7 8 8
Momster 9 9 9 8
Monika 8 8 8 8
Orbit Dream 9 8 8 9
Phil 9 8 8 7
RaiderGirl 9 9 8 10
Sash 8 9 8 8
Torry 9 8 9 10
Treeble 8 7 9 8
category averages
(21 reviews)		 8.24 8.00 8.29 8.24

Reviewer's comments

"The Gameplay rating just misses out on a 10 due to the lack of any logic (e.g. push/pull) puzzles - otherwise,this is an exceptionally enjoyable adventure which rolls along from one fun challenge to the next;none too difficult,but always keeping you on your toes.Indeed,much of this game is quite nailbiting (the attack from massed skeletons while you frantically search for the Crossbow;or the beetles chasing you during a lever challenge),and the layout is extremely well devised.There were several sequences along the way which quite took me by surprise,and the degrees of inventiveness (including a refreshingly different take on the hoary old underwater maze scenario)were quite refreshing and ensured that there was not a single dull moment anywhere here! Enemies are copious (although the birds and demi-gods are somewhat overdone at times);secrets are easy enough to obtain,but ever so useful;the TR1 audio cues are incorporated well,and cameras are helpfull;while texturing is as capable and inventive as the original Cleopal wad will allow.Indeed,this is probably the most entertaining 'old school' Cleopal adventure I've ever played,and serves as a constant reminder that a custom level's success depends not so much upon fancy gimmicks and hi-res textures,but by well thought-out and entertaining gameplay. It may be nearly ten years old,but there's life in the old dog yet! Great fun." - Orbit Dream (01-Jul-2010)

"I had intended to play and review this series by the now-departed (and sorely missed) WebKnight some months ago, but I got side-tracked by something else after taking care of the first installment. I've now reminded myself of this unfinished business of mine, and I found part two to be a pleasant enough diversion that lasted a little more than an hour. It's classic raiding in the Egyptian style, and while I found it a little dark for my tastes I still enjoyed the challenging tasks you'll find here. I used Cher's walkthrough to get me past the mother of all spike rooms, and if I didn't play in god mode I probably never would have navigated the underwater maze where you have to find five rooms with jump switches so you can collect an essential artifact and move on. If you're looking for a no-frills level which nevertheless keeps you on your toes from start to finish, give this one a try. Recommended." - Phil (17-Aug-2008)

"A not much interesting cleopal level. Pull switches, look for hidden passages, kill some enemies, place some objects and few more. I had to kill several demigods only with my pistols, explore many dark areas only with three flares and waste a lot of time in a huge and nasty underwater labyrinth to find five switches. The crossbow was the only extra weapon I found. I missed some more cameras; the best for me were the textures and sounds." - José (05-May-2008)

“A nice follow up to the ‘Insisde The Pyramid’ level much better as it though as you can tell. Even though the cleopal set ain't my favourite I found the setting here quite reasonable and the puzzles to my liking (with exception of the underwater maze though) especially the chambers with the 2 switches to close previous doors and open next ones while being chased by some scarabs were interesting (What? Why are you looking at me like that?) And the ending especially the way Lara was taken to it was a magnificent highlight of this 40 minute level. I found 4 secrets along the way and the level crashed when Lara slid down to the burial chambers so I'm stating those anew. Play the first level for a couple of goodies to help you through this level - worth the effort.” – eTux (28-Jan-2004)

“I liked this level even more than the first. In the same atmosphere but this time we have a cleopal setting we are searching for a gem a pillar a scroll and the portal guardian. Every item can be found in different areas and after completing the necessary task. The head of the portal guardian was the toughest one to find not because it was hidden but because there is underwater maze with many jump switches and doors and get through. Be sure to find the crossbow down there because except that there are no other weapons given unless one was a secret that I didn’t find. The room with the spikes had a difficult jump that took many tries to get it right. The crawlspace in the water was very well camouflaged great use of textures. The enemies are skeletons little beetles harpies and demigods. Watch out for those fires around and save as you complete a task. Close to the end Lara is being teleported to another area and while approaching some pyramids and you think that you don’t have any black beetles she falls in the floor with a long slide following until you see the loading screen. It took an hour to get through this with four secrets found. A very good level and gets better as you move along.” – Kristina (05-Aug-2003)

“The second level of the Resurrection series is more difficult than the first. Secrets are easy to find but I had some problems to find the fourth item to complete the final puzzle: I had to read the forum... In the last part the flare bug appears making the game a little harder. There's a very difficult jump that took me hours to do and some annoying enemies but all in all the game is very entertaining.” – Loupar (13-Apr-2003)

“Am I getting better or what? Only 9 months ago I gave up on this because I couldn't do the jump from slope to slope in the spiked room while this time I managed it on the second try. Unlike the first adventure of the resurrection trilogy this is teeming with nasty enemies and they tend to attack when it is inconvenient. Gangs of skeletons quite a few harpies four demi gods and those noisome beetles will have you jumping running shooting and reloading throughout this action packed adventure. Thank God the helpful secrets are not that hard to find. And you might consider to go for the portal guardian first (the long plunge) instead of looking for the blue gem (a swim from the main area) cause this way you have to face not quite as many skeletons without the crossbow and explosives. The underwater maze that leads to the crossbow and the head of the portal guardian is a bit of a drag but everything else is highly entertaining; fairly challenging but never frustratingly so. There are good jumps many spikes a frantic chase and an overall fast paced progression in the best TR tradition. Bearing in mind that this is a Cleo experience which is probably my least favourite wad I found the atmosphere and the texturing positively charming. Dirk used the lighting and fires to good effect and though the setting is nothing out of the ordinary it supports the storyline well and fits perfectly with the tasks in hand.” – Dimpfelmoser (03-Oct-2002)

“A cleopal level with a great atmosphere and challenge in the enemies department. There is a very enjoyable room with a lot of spikes and jumps and then Lara arrives in a room from where she must find 4 artefacts in four different adventures. My favourite is when Lara is in the high room with narrow ledges and four harpies come trying to attack and push her off from the ledges a good piece of fun. There is also this impressive cave with a lake in which Lara dives many skeletons are waiting for her on the banks of the lake and she does not have yet the appropriate weapons a good moment (but she has come back with the crossbow to wish them 'good night skellies'!). A fun level with a classic gameplay and a lot of actions.” – eRIC (28-Sep-2002)

“Things really heat up in this second installment of Resurrection with a little over 2 hours of puzzle-packed gameplay. In your quest to find 4 items to pull 4 switches thereby opening an exit door you will be confronted with more than enough demigods golden stingy birds skeletons and some nasty beetles. Each key requires a different adventure all of which are entertaining. A really fun sliding/jumping puzzle to a jumpswitch takes some finesse. The water maze is perhaps the most of your gaming time and each time you think you have everything you need to open that darn door you’ll find you’ve missed something. A definite ‘must play’ and do yourself a favor and play part 1 first.” – Momster (06-Sep-2002)

“Pfew I made it. Started this a couple of month back but whatever I tried I never could make it through those hacking skeletons. This time I knew where to find the so needed medpacks and also knew where to go so I made it. Almost didn’t make it through the rest of the level as there are beetles as well and as we all know those are a major hazard. Enemies are the demigods the golden birds and of course skeletons and beetles. There are not that many of them in this big level but the skeletons never travel alone. First you have to find the entrance and then you are on your way to get the Scroll the Knot Effigi and a blue gem. Lots of levers to pull so look carefully as I missed one and almost gave up. The underwater maze was terrible how many times I drowned...there are four levers to pull and you’ll find the Hathor there the Handle will come later. Would have liked the crossbow much earlier in the game though. Found 5 secrets that sure was fun. 29-08-2002” – Gerty (01-Sep-2002)

“When I first started playing this level it looked as though it may just turn into another straightforward Egyptian style level but I definitely underestimated it. With some of the most brilliant placement of enemies that not only posed a real threat but that also kicked up the adrenalin game play that has you going on 4 great separate quests searching for key pick ups one of those quests had such an elusive start that I had to ask for help finding it but happily I found it myself just by chance not long after asking and 5 secrets this was a wonderful and interesting 70 minutes level. And finally when you think that you have reached the end it just keeps going on so don’t whatever you do drop your guard and definitely don’t holster your weapon!” – Sash (21-Jun-2002)

“As a sequel to 'Inside the Big Pyramid' this Level stays very consistent with the story and again makes use of Rio’s voice as Lara. Therefore the big download of above 10 MB, but definitely worth it. Much improved gameplay, strong enemies that make sense where they appear, a very well hidden Blue diamond and the atmosphere, texturing and lighting of the same high quality (if not better). The secrets are maybe a little easy to find, but this is a ‘must-play’ Level anyway.” - Michael (21-Jun-2002)

“Well this certainly was a departure from the author's first level as it was ten times more difficult. If I ever see a bloody demigod again it will be far too soon. The really annoying thing was that you had no real fire-power for quite some time to take care of these nasties. The level sends you on a quest to find the scroll the pharohs knot the silly looking face thingy on a stick and a horseman's gem and the road to these treasures is a very difficult one. You will need all of Lara's moves to survive this search and if that wasn't enough you had those blasted scarab beetles crawling up your shorts. A nice level. Although a bit dark in places where the flare bug showed up intermittently.” – Torry (21-Jun-2002)

“Second level of Tomb Raider Resurrection this level is set in the Palace Of Menes that Lara discovered in the first level The Great Pyramid. The level is big (I spent almost 2 hours to finish it!) and is hard mainly because there are lots of demigods to kill and few medipacks to pickup. Talking about pickups it's highly recommended to play as a minigame because you will need what you found before (ie the Uzis!). The puzzles here are based in search for items once you collect the four items you will reach a warp and so you will get to the nicest place of the level very well textured. I just would like to know what happened to Lara in the final of the level with that dark laugh of Menes...” - Treeble (21-Jun-2002)

“This level largely inspired by Cleopatra's Palaces is longer and more interesting than its prequel (Inside the big Pyramid). Still the voice of Lara and the custom remixes (with the deep voice of Menes) are great although they were in German!!! One tricky part that had me try again and again was that jumping puzzle over spikes at the beginning. Distance between columns was so wide! The second part of the game inside the temple itself was really enjoyable... but not for Lara in the end (is this game bilogy called Resurrection?)!” – Jbc21 (21-Jun-2002)

“This level is far more challenging than its prequel much better puzzles and more enemies. For example a big underwater maze kept me busy for a while. You have to find four items to be able to open four doors with a switch behind each one before you can ‘beam away’ to the end.” – G.Croft (21-Jun-2002)

“The second in Dirk's 'Resurrection' series I found this to be much larger and more complex than the original. The puzzles are more challenging this time there are more enemies to deal with and more objects to find as well. The level could be broken down into two separate parts. In the first part I found myself in a large elaborately done area with a beautiful fountain in the middle and doors around the room that lead to different areas. Your objective here is to open the door leading into the second area of the level. My favorite part from the first area is the room with the sliding block puzzle over the spikes and firetraps. The second area is more complex and a bit longer. Your objective is to find the Hathor effigy and ornate handle the Pharos Knot the music scroll and the Horseman's Gem which are all needed in order to open the door leading to the exit. Finding each object is a little adventure of it's own and won't be easy. You'll encounter traps spikes difficult jumps beetles demigods and banshees skeletons and underwater mazes in your attempts to retrieve the necessary items. I found three secrets in the level and don't forget to pick up the crossbow while you're in the underwater maze. As in the first level Dirk's use of lighting and shadows as well as a blend of the perfect textures make this a level I won't soon forget. I'm looking forward to playing part three of this series although I'm a little nervous after hearing that evil laugh as I was ending the level..” – RaiderGirl (21-Jun-2002)

“I played this level out of pity for the author since it’s been at 7.9 for as long as I can remember (which is not long). I thought I would give it a try to see if it was worth to get 0.1 points more and it certainly was! Playing in a palace your aim is to find four different ‘keys’ to pull four levers to get to the end of the level. That may sound easy but it’s actually not! The texturing is beautiful and the puzzles are if not too hard at least challenging. I found four secrets and no bugs (well I found a couple of the type of bug that runs on the floor trying to kill Lara).” – Magnus (21-Jun-2002)

“Its a very good level indeed-worth the download-you better play ‘the pyramid’ before because you might need the pickups from there as there are some awful fights and few medipacks. I really loved the changed audios with Rio’s voice for Lara and the dark voice of Menes - but I missed one or two more of them from about the middle of the level to the –wonderful – end (I really loved that!). The whole thing is hard sometimes but fair indeed its huge and you’ll be all right if you like long ways (but I found them not too long). The atmosphere is great and highlighted by sound whereas I missed a few changes of lighting (and-sometimes-textures) on my way through the game to the end. Flybys where classical and nearly perfect in timing and placing-fixed cams didn’t help you much; but that was not bad because the gameplay was well thought through and logical. The concept of placing secrets more easy to find but with items you urgently need - I think - should be used more often – that means you really enjoy the good old ‘secret sound’..."briing" and "ahhh"-great! I disliked the fights against the flying harpys-these need some more place to look elegant and to enjoy-the other enemies were placed very good and I fought fine and thrilling against demigods! Well done Webbie!” – J.J.S. (21-Jun-2002)

“It was nice to play it; sometimes maybe too much enemies in one room - without having enough weapons. 90 minutes of playing - with some nervous underwater labyrinth with the same textures the whole place....good job with flyby camera - especially where Lara changes location - beam me up scotty ;-) Webknight is getting better every time - looking forward to the 3rd level.” – Miguel (21-Jun-2002)

“This is a level where you really can’t get lost. It is not that it is a simple game but just keep your eyes open. You have to collect a Music Scroll the Hathor Effigy the Ornate Handle the Pharos Knot and a Horseman’s Gem to open a big double door. The collecting of each item is an adventure in itself. The Egyptian setting is really well done. It is a fairly long level and has some difficult parts in it. I’m going now to play level 3 to find out what that sinister laughing of Menes at the end of level 2 means.” – Monika (21-Jun-2002)
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