trle.net
Level: Strange World 2 - Reactor Critical back home search
Author(s): Palopique UFO
total rating:8.84 Gameplay &
Puzzles		 Enemies,
Objects &
Secrets		 Atmosphere,
Sound &
Cameras		 Lighting &
Textures
Bene 9 9 8 8
bERT 9 10 10 10
CC 8 9 9 9
davep83 9 9 9 10
Dougsan 9 9 10 9
eRIC 8 9 10 8
eTux 8 9 9 8
G.Croft 9 9 10 10
Gerty 8 9 9 8
Jay 9 9 9 9
Jorge22 10 10 9 10
Jose 7 9 9 10
Josi 8 8 7 9
Kristina 8 9 8 9
Loupar 8 9 9 9
MichaelP 8 9 10 8
Phil 9 9 10 9
RaiderGirl 9 9 9 8
Ruben 8 8 8 8
Sash 9 9 8 8
category averages
(20 reviews)		 8.50 9.00 9.00 8.85

Reviewer's comments

"The adventure here begins in tram station, with Lara inside the tram. The fluorescent lighting brings a lot to the atmosphere, and texturing is very well done, looks modern and spacious with no imperfections. There's a few shelves and computer terminal and very nice looking lamps, but that's about it with regards to objects. In the first (very short) section you pull a lever, kill a bee, and push a large pad, and then get transported via lift to the next section. The sound is standard, but a well chosen tune playing at the beginning, I also like the sound when you push the pushable buttons. The texturing here is quite rustic and has a high tech industrial feel to it, I do like the very large area after the trapdoor - the 2 rooms overlooking bring it to life, broken up with a few water pipes, and I particularly like the boiling water container in the middle. Again the ambient lighting is perfect here as it gives the soulless feel of the place a little more depth. You pull a trapdoor, push a pushblock, defeat some bees, and jump through blade hoops. I like some of the camera angles, such as the one in the crowbar water hole - makes navigation easier. The difficulty in this level is that certain things are easy to miss such as shootable items. You need to collect several safe vault keys using the crowbar. After another teleportation, you get attacked by a crow, which seems out of place in a power plant! Some beetles appear and you have to find a way of turning off some flames, to press a switch. A crystal is picked up, and a rolling ball trap negotiated, then you find yourself back in the rusty area. The vault key is placed which gives you more corridors to explore - I've not seen that receptacle used as a door before. Here we have a 3 button puzzle - there's nothing too this - just do a few combinations and the door will eventually open, revealing another lever, and iris to shoot, then a bee, then on one side, you have to find a way to empty a pool of water, then see a very impressive bridge unfold! Collect the ice world dialler. Another vault key is placed, which gives access to a glass maze which looks easier than it is. You can easily get stuck in one of the compartments if you climb into it, next there's a very large, deep pit, it's not too difficult here with a few jumps, rollingball and bee to contend with, then collect old world dialler. I like the container the dialler was in. Once you place the 3 teleportation diallers, you get taken to different worlds - first one is a jungle type world, where tasks are re pulling a lever, collecting interface keys, killing some bats, birds and dinosaur. The rooms are appropriately large to accommodate the dino. Lighting and texturing are not bad but are a little blocky. You end up back at the start of the game here, but you seem to just walk there rather than being teleported. Next, you get taken to a very cold place, which has some crocodiles to contend with, but the water doesn't seem cold, and you can walk over some holes. Some of this level has jungle textures. There's a rather nice looking ice cave leading back to the teleporter, you should collect another 2 interface keys before leaving here, beware of the demons though and wraiths. You can place the 4 interfaces and the lights all turn on which looks great, I did have trouble climbing back out of that entrance though. The last thing to do before level end, is charge up a pushblock and use it to power a warp gate, the gate looks fantastic once it's fully operational. The level overall, is beautifully textured and lit, architecture is realistic with big open areas and smaller ones with plenty of nice objects in there, a few cameras. The sound could have a little variety, but I like the gun shot sound. Net gameplay 2 hours 25 minutes." - davep83 (05-Jun-2012)

"What an effort from this authors! Really a great work with the design, the textures, the objects, the special effects... Only you can get frustrated with all that jumps between levels searching for the pieces you need to take access to the four buttons. Sometimes the backtracking exploring the same areas can turn you fool, but the great environment is always worth to see. The raid in the old world with the T-Rex was the only discordant touch from this fantastic creation. An adventure you can't miss." - Jose (28-Mar-2012)

"Thanks to Phil`s latest review I discovered this marvel rather lately . A good solid adventure without any faults created with the old TRLE engine. A lot of running around and coming back mostly using switches and picking up items to fit into receptables . Recommended for a time of summer like 2009 when nothing else really happens , it will keep you well entertained but not stunned with a couple of hours of honest good gameplay." - Ruben (10-Aug-2009)

"This double-level adventure is again an original effort, there is some good objects and ideas of puzzles to fit in the storyline, which is all about searching artefacts so to access a stargate , while exploring this strange base and other strange worlds. The main room is quite impressive. A subtle adventure at times which adds to the desire to crack it up, in this regard I think nevertheless that some of the things could have been more user-friendly, like one of the small panels you have to shoot, if you miss it, you can go into circles for quite a long time before noticing it. Once used to the gameplay, and the two or three things more subtle the authors have designed, it began to be more fluent with things making sense and a good idea of progression. Various enemies , I like the monsters , the vulture that comes out from the crawlspace you have to shoot was a bit strange. Very good sounds , good puzzles and good atmospheric adventure if a bit frustrating for a while." - eRIC (08-Aug-2009)

"This is a nice two-parter that's very much off the beaten track. We don't see too many of these alien settings these days, and when they're put together with as much polish and imagination as this one is, it's an additional treat. The gameplay is innovative and fairly complicated, requiring you to activate and then use various warp machines, and without Dutchy's walkthrough I would have experienced extreme frustration. On the other hand, there's nothing inordinately difficult here in the way of execution, so players of all skill levels should be able to enjoy Strange World 2. Highly recommended." - Phil (08-Jul-2008)

"The train has brought Lara to another station. Unfortunately for Lara she must use more worp gates, find many more items, tackle more powerfull enemies, and activate that huge stargate before she can escape. Fortunately for us, we get to see all these wonderful places and watch, sometimes from a distance, as Lara explores and negotiates many fascinating rooms and accomplishes many tasks. The settings are wonderfully crafted. Again, very atmospheric with excellent lighting, textures, colours and objects. What we have here is a huge central room. We enter it high above on walkways. We can go even higher through the roof, and far below to ground level where there are four warp gates to go through to find what we need and bring them back. And they certainly feel like time warps to different ages: ice age, cretaceous period, davonian jungle, aliens of the future. Loved the way all the levels interconnect, how one thing leads to another, and back again. There is a great sense of fun here too with stuff like that amazing swan dive from the walkways to a tiny pool below, and that terrific fall down a shaft. Never before was finding the crowbar such an experience. Some rooms look daunting, but are actually quite easy, if you know what you're doing. Take for example a multi-tiered glass maze and finding a way to tackle a pool with strong sink. But, in all cases, if in doubt, shoot. I personally preferred this to the previous installment. This seems a much more professional and mature creation. I liked the way the authors placed their photos in a secret room. Almost as if they are looking at Lara from their own computer screens, to see how she is doing. In the end, it all seems far too short, and as we travel through time we wonder if we are indeed going home, or on another 'strange' adventure." - CC (12-Nov-2007)

“If you've already played the first part of Strange World than don't hesitate to load this one up. You're objective is to start up a huge Stargate and to do that you'll have to travel back and forth in time to find certain keys and objects. At first the level seems huge and confusing but before long it all becomes clear and actually seems fairly simple. The only hard parts are a few tricky boulder traps and an underwater maze with a croc fish chasing after you and the T-Rex of course though he's easy to shoot down. Lots of clever ideas and cool effects in this two hour level plus three well hidden secrets to find.” – RaiderGirl (30-Oct-2003)

“After the train ride you are in another station and have to find the stargate and activate it so you can leave this strange world. First you have to find the crowbar two safe-vault keys once you enter the vaults you can find a home dialer a iceworld dialer and a old world dialer you need those to enter other worlds through teleporters so you can find four gate interfaces to activate the stargate. There are also a handle and a head (looks strangly familiar) you pick up on the way. I really liked using the teleporters and especially the stargate. It's a very good level I liked it more then the first great puzzles not too many enemies and very different worlds to go to and I found two secrets.” – Josi (25-Sep-2003)

“Now this was a most wonderful development from part 1! Usually I may not be very much into alien levels but this one is really good. Starting from where part 1 ends this game can get very confusing since there are so many places to go so much to search for so much to do... Of course confusing doesn't necessarily mean bad and everything starts to fall into place here as the game develops. You have to swan dive several times - do it even if it looks like an impossible bone breaking jump. Then you get teleported several times into different places and into two different worlds and you have to know how to manage that teleportation business - into an ice world (I've seen better looking ice world or snowy places in TR games) and into an Old World where even the T-Rex (easily killed with a couple of revolver shots) isn't missing amidst a lot of castle-looking walls. A lot of things aren't immediately evident here (the glass room puzzle for example) but you'll eventually solve things step by step. And right before the end you may be rewarded with a final secret showing you the faces of the authors - I liked it as I had liked the smilies in part 1. Finally I'd like to thank bene for helping me out a little at times (even though s/he was kind of vague on purpose most of the time ;)). It seems like everybody had played this game already and I was just late - it's good to have someone help you out even when you're the only one left to play it something we should all try to do even though I'm aware memories vanish into thin air quite quickly. Well to get back to the game: do not miss it. You may even dislike alien levels but I'm sure you'll love this one!” – Jorge22 (22-Sep-2003)

“I found to be a logical extension of Strange World 1. These two games are MUST PLAYS in my book. The enemies in 2 will not bowl you over but the T-Rex will give you a run for your money (it can be killed but why waste the ammo!). The puzzles run from very simple to a truly challenging room of glass. Of special note is the third secret that includes facsimiles of the authors. I liked this but some might not. The game flowed along flawlessly. I always knew what I should be doing (or thought I did) and was only stuck at the beginning when I should have looked down for the floor openings! A little thing but one that jumped out at me was the different design for the floor levers. Nice touch. But there is so much about this level that is at least a little new. I liked the transporters that took Lara between ‘worlds or time periods.’ I'm not sure which. I really liked playing ‘Strange World 2 -Reactor Critical’ and recommend it highly to one and all. Thanks Uwe and Palo.” – Dougsan (18-Sep-2003)

“Strange World indeed. Time/Space portals that bring you to an ice world and into T-Rex territory. A central hub you enter first from high - placed beams and you better remember how to execute the Swan Dive! Finding the crowbar for me was the greatest secret although not classified as such. After a three button puzzle there's an unfolding bridge that's fun to see and a fitting reward for seeing what that floor lever changed - took me far longer than most I'd say. Favorite area: the transparent movable block room.........beautiful. Great secret at the end. You ‘gotta’ smile. One bit of advice - shoot everything! Well worth your time. Looking forward to the 3rd in the series.” – Bene (17-Sep-2003)

“Strange World 2 begins where ST1 finished. Lara has arrived to another underground station in a completely unknown location. From here she's teleported to the Reactor Critical zone where she has to find few objects to gain access into different worlds. The atmosphere is a bit less ‘strange’ than in the first level the ice world and the old world are only accessible by passing through the teleporters (in the ST1 the change of settings between the old surface world and the underground ‘future’ world was only by opening a trapdoor). I've played again ST1 before ST2 and I must say that I love both. Original full of exploration and very entertaining to play. Not to miss.” – Loupar (29-Aug-2003)

“This carries on just where Strange World 1 left off and I enjoyed it every bit as much. The action centres around a huge room full of teleporters to take you to different areas. You visit old world and ice world in both of which you need to find two interfaces and a piece of portal guardian. These areas provide a nice contrast to the quite sterile/alien feel of the teleporter room and its environs. Ice world in particular has a really good atmosphere and some 'ice monsters' i.e. beautifully retextured ahmets. I only found two of the three secrets one of which is a room accessed via the 'secret key' (portal guardian) which contains photos of Palopique and UFO. Rather a nice touch I thought. I also very much appreciated the way the various areas joined up as I progressed which provided convenient shortcuts and saved a lot of tedious backtracking. Most enjoyable - a good concept well executed. 20.08.2003” – Jay (29-Aug-2003)

“A bit strange to play a level that just a couple of month back I saw in an early stage of being built. The main room with the teleporters did work but there wasn't much to do in the Jungle level as UFO was still building it. We (Matthias and I) got called away as the barbecue was finished that means food... and afterwards we never got to play it any further as the computer was occupied by some other players. There are not that many enemies and like always when there is an T-rex in the game it does put me very much on the edge of my seat. There are vultures and some ice monsters and also some very pesky dragonflies. Finding the sight and later the revolver is a must as you do need some practice shooting. And in doubt shoot everything in sight as some walls might be breakable. Pushing blocks and finding buttons and a lever or two as the main goal is getting the 4 interfaces and in order to do so you need the dialers to get to different worlds. All in all not a very difficult task and if you take your time you can manage it. Trapdoors are nicely hidden do look carefully and there are some nasty boulder traps so be aware. 23-08-2003” – Gerty (28-Aug-2003)

“The long awaited sequel starts right at where Part 1 ended in the train station and you are up for quite a ride in these two hours of net gaming time that you will easily spend in three different types of worlds: the Reactor Critical area which is kind of the central hub the Old World with some prehistoric enemies and the Ice World with wraiths and ice ahmets and croc-fish. In the latter two you acquire a total of four Gate Interfaces which help you activate the final stargate and also the Handle and Head for the Secret Key that activates the third secret near the end (a cameo by the author's). I have to say that both the Old and the Ice World were rather disappointing. Rather huge and empty areas with repetitive texturing and very little to do except running around. Those pieces really seemed to have been put together in a rush and with little inspiration. Having said that I thought the Reactor Critical area makes up for it with plenty of custom objects introduced some cool animated textures the quest for the two vault keys (beetles) and the three dialers the unfolding bridge the transparent movable block puzzle which is much easier than it looks and some fun boulder traps and slicer dicers. Watch out for well hidden floor trap doors at the beginning and once you get into the game it actually is not that hard to complete. The teleporters that move you around between the worlds are brilliantly executed and remember that when stuck - try to shoot something. Special mention to the excellent gun sounds provided by Tijay. All in all it is a great adventure that really draws you in - personally I thought with a little few extra touches it might have been even more thrilling. But of course the ending leaves another sequel to be a possibility...” – Michael (26-Aug-2003)

“The second part of the strange world levels continues where part 1 left off. It is more a Hi-Tech level with a few short visits in a lost world with a T-Rex and an ice world with some ice spirits and monsters there where you pick up a part of a secret key and 2 interfaces in both and the overall looks are great but I have to admit I found part 1 more appealing to my eyes. The quests here are more enjoyable than in part 1 though more because of the transporters that spare you a lot of running around but also the quests for the puzzle items and the smart ways to escape the rolling balls are fun and the final secret when you place the key you gathered through the 2 different world is a nice treat. Well a great level worth a try especially if you played and enjoyed part 1 too.” – eTux (26-Aug-2003)

“This 90 minute level starts where the last left off inside the front of the train that has pulled into a different station and different this level does turn out to be. Actually this is one of the few levels out there of the longer and more complicated levels that I probably never had to get help for as even though the environment is at first quite complex everything really fell into place for me and I somehow just found everything I needed to find and do fairly smoothly. Speaking of the environment the main section of these two intertwined levels is set in a very high tech but not base like building with teleporters placed to help you move around the other areas you get to explore are visited via these teleporters and one is set in an arctic environment with the other being set in a kind of Angkor setting the first has you interacting with a few mutant crocs ice sprites and ice monsters and the second a T-Rex and vultures. You only visit these areas very briefly to pick up 3 objects as well as a secret placed in each. The objects in these areas will help you access a large stargate in the main level that when jumped through will end the level but you still have to work out a movable block puzzle that will not only give entry to the last secret a room where you must place the portal guardian to be rewarded with 2 raised blocks adorned with Uwe and Palo’s face but will also open entry to a shootable object that eventually activates the stargate. This set of levels may not have the organic beauty of the first Strange World but it excelled it in every other aspect and I just loved it just make sure you shoot a lot as there are objects to shatter and covered crawlspaces to enter that can sometimes blend in well this also goes for some floor trapdoors so if in doubt crack a flare!” – Sash (23-Aug-2003)

“A great fun futuristic level where you have to find certain key items to be able to travel through teleportation gates into other places or worlds. The first mission is to find the crowbar (and it is not placed in the beginning of the level...) and then the adventure begins. Pry loose the two beetles to open up the first two gates. Find dialers to teleport you to the right places. And along the way find four interfaces to open up the stargate so that the adventure can continue.....Only one complaint - too short!” – G.Croft (19-Aug-2003)

“With all these big downloads the last couple of weeks (now=Aug 19 2003) and sometimes pumping soundtracks it was a relief to play a rather tranquil game like Strange World 2. There is the occasional contact with animals (big birds T-Rex and such) but Uwe sees the future as a place where everything is amazingly quiet and seemingly peaceful. The aliens apparently have died or are in hybernation in an either big mortuary or dormitory. You are on a quest to open the time gate and go to next ventures (I hope). To do that you have to get the four interfaces. To get them you visit other worlds (Jurassic time and Ice time) through little time gates (well done) but before that you have some searching to do in and around a big hall with high up it four long walking paths. Anyone who has played the same author's Return to the Blue Planet and loved it will feel comfortable again playing this game. And the soft kinda pastel colours and textures are here again too in some of the rooms. Gameplay wise there's a shove-the-see-through-boxes sequence a push the-three-buttons-in-the-right-order routine and in other occasions you have to take a really good look around for floorhatches or shootable thingies. Found three secrets including one where the authors (that is Uwe and Palo) put themselves ‘on display': probably they see themselves being remembered in the far future and as far as I am concerned they are entitled to it because of their original and entertaining approach. Must-play beauty! Why you certainly HAVE to play it: there's a corridor sequence where the builder creates an effect Hitchcock and Spielberg used in some of their films whereas it seems the camera loops forwards but the foreground comes at you: amazingly done! You can see it in the trailer for this game too.” – bERT (19-Aug-2003)

“The sequel of ‘Strange World 1’ and what else could it be rather than a high tech level. The textures are grayish with pipes all over the place toxic water and the appropriate stargates; the ones you have to pass as an obstacle and the ones that help you travel in other galaxies. Most of the level is about traveling in other worlds with the help of dialers to gather four interfaces and start the stargate. Along the way you will find a T-Rex condors in the Old World ugly looking creatures and fish in the Ice World. There are two beetles to find as well to access the appropriate areas and gather the items you need. I found a secret key which is the portal guardian actually but I didn’t find a place to use it it’s for the third secret I guess since I only found two. I liked diving from the structure above to a small hole with water below teleported and visiting other worlds was nice too. It’s an interesting level with custom objects that continues where the first one left off. If you liked the first you will surely like this one too.” – Kristina (18-Aug-2003)
Tag Cloud from Reviews:
back home search