Level reviews

"If your looking for a coastal level that has a lot of the puzzles and elements from the TR4 coastal ruins then your in luck with this one as we have crossbow target shooting, a token triggering rope charmer, a burning rope task, and a mirror room! but this mirror is in a pool and seemed a bit pointless as reflected lara swims right into you instead! very strange and I didn't know what the point was. In the level we make our through in and around outside structures and courtyards and well as enclosed rooms and areas with plenty of fun spike and boulders traps to keep you on your toes. Other tasks include some light platforming, swimming, and exploring in mazes both in and out of water with some crocs, skeletons and warthogs as enemies. Speaking of enemies that setup with gates and the warthogs was very cute, shame they all had to be slaughtered lol. The ending area was strange for me! why is there 2 keys for the last gate? one in the water behind a triggered barrier? and one just simply left on the floor nearby, anyway despite the minor mistakes and confusion I found this overall a quite a solid level with enough variety in gameplay and a nice coastal atmosphere to make it an enjoyable raid." - John

"A standard Coastal outing with many marks of a beginner's effort, though not so much in terms of technical issues. Construction is sound, if simple; there aren't any gross errors, and the minor ones - such as some squashed, distorted or misplaced textures, or one set of spikes out of many not being properly set up (José) - may be undesirable, but are of little import. Thus the map extends just a tad too far into the bottom right corner, but the disappearing-textures effect occurs only during the first few seconds of the game. After climbing a pole I had trouble getting Lara to get a weapon out or to hang from a ledge, a problem which I've often heard other builders complain about but rarely encountered myself; it's caused by a missing animation command, for which a budding builder cannot be taken to task. The misleading texturing of one spike corridor caused me some dismay, though - you can crawl underneath a row of spikes popping out of the walls, yet these walls are covered in spike holes top to bottom, so there's no indication how you're supposed to avoid them. In the last room, the builder forgot to remove a copy of the key to the exit after the last alpha test. This is the most serious error, but it's so obvious that I'm sure most players recognise it as such and gamely play along, pretending it wasn't there.
It's rather level design and gameplay where this level's status as a debut is apparent - the unnecessarily large rooms, the simple geometry, the ease with which you can reach the end of the world, or that endearingly easy secret ( - enter this not exactly hidden crawlspace'). Further indications are the builder's use of the mirror effect in a situation where it's not warranted - just because', and the presence not only of a tripartite underwater maze, but of a very dark one on land as well. Both are of manageable size though, and you can carry a Torch around the dark one. A trial-and-error task would fit neatly into this picture, and the step-on-the-right-tiles puzzle near the beginning was declared such by some reviewers; but erroneously so. Heed the advice of perspicacious Treeble and mind the subtle difference between the textures on the floor (on tiles which are safe, the textures are rotated vis-à-vis those that aren't). The level as whole can't justifiably be called a - pastiche', but of course Dimpf and others have good reason to bemoan the fact that the builder lifted the - Egyptian Adventure' puzzles straight from the original Coastal map. Because of this re-enactment I was considering a demerit in G&P, but as Orbit Dream demonstrates, at least the target shooting is sufficiently different from the original to call upon the reviewer's lenience. The standout moment - the warthog arena - is nothing short of excellent and garners the level a couple of additional points. It testifies to a playfulness that is otherwise not much in evidence.
The level appeared shorter, but it took me 43 minutes and change to complete. In his review of Run Lara Run, Dimpf made the entirely reasonable assumption that in the case of that level, all players who finish it would do so in roughly the same time; yet curiously, some players took twice as long as others. Rather, it's in this linear, fast-paced and not particularly taxing debut where almost everybody who played the level and cared to mention its duration took about the same time." - Mulf

"This is a nice level built in a coastal setting with Lara sporting a new outfit, although I think I had already seen that outfit in other levels. Besides crocodiles as enemies, there are also some pigs and skeletons. Here you can find that bug where Lara's clone appears in some part of the level, and it's a quite fun bug. Cameras and music are well placed. In the final room you can take either the fast or the long way: the fast by picking up the key that was on the floor (I don't know if that was intended), and the long that possibly was the intended one, by stepping on some blue tiles to open the underwater doors leading to the key. You can find the secrets easily by exploring some crawlspaces. Anyway, it's a good level and recommended." - alan

"This is a solid little debut level in a standard costal environment. There's nothing that's incredibly exciting or standout about it, but it's enjoyable enough for the time it lasts (around 30 minutes). The usual coastal tasks associated with this setting are present and correct (spike traps, boulders, torch and boulder sequence, the rope appearing out of a basket) and gameplay proceeds smoothly throughout. The settings are pleasant although simplistic and not very elaborate, and you do encounter plenty of crocodiles and a lot of skeletons, although enough ammo (explosive or otherwise) is provided to deal with them." - Ryan

"Not bad, I thought this would be a generic coastal level but it contained better gameplay and length than I expected. The tile puzzle at the beginning made me scratch my head for a while because I could not understand how the markings on the wall corresponded to the 'safety' of the tiles but it turned out to be a well-made puzzle and not that hard at all. Besides that a dark maze, burning ropes with the torch, the blue tiles at the end, etc. the level involved many diverse tasks. Coastal levels have already good atmosphere by default (bright blue skies, sounds of the waves, coastal water, what's not to like) but the author improved this foundation with his design at some parts. Action is satisfactory with a bit of undead infestation towards the end. Overall it is not an outstanding level or anything but above average and entertaining to play." - Nomad

"I wish more builders would just leave the crowbar lying around in plain sight - it would have saved me a lot of grief over the years, not to mention a lot of repetitive pleading in the stuck threads. Anybody who has bothered to read my reviews (well done and bless you) probably knows I tend to be well disposed towards coastal settings and I really liked this particular one. It's nicely put together and the gameplay is classic coastal, even including the target range with spiked floor and, of course, the usual coastal enemies. Initially, you have to deal with the skeletons with a shotgun, but explosives do turn up later on. Not a level for a brand new player, but otherwise suitable for anyone and challenging enough to entertain. Fans of the genre should definitely give it a go - it's a real nostalgia trip." - Jay

"Nice to play this coastal level full of classic features. I've got problems in the room with the spiked floor near the beginning to reach the ladders, but no problems with the remaining tasks. There's an "error"? in the room where I got the coin, 'cause when the timed trapdoor opens and Lara falls, there are not spikes below. Also near the very end I found a keys near the closed door with the keyhole (forgotten from betatesting?) so it's not necessary to do the final tasks to open the UW door. There are a lot of skeletons, wild pigs and crocs, but never excessive for your guns and ammo; correct cameras and sounds and well lightened and textured. Secrets are not well hidden (I found three). Worth to play but don't you expect great features." - Jose

"Here's a coastal level from the early years, and a pretty ordinary one at that. It started out with the black-out phenomenon as Lara went down the stairs, but that soon went away and did not re-appear. There are more skeletons than crocodiles, with a few wart hogs thrown in, but aside from an extremely tricky jump over spikes to a ladder it's all pretty standard fare with no real surprises that I can recall. The secrets were quite unimaginative as well, two of which involved long crawls through fairly obvious crawl spaces. The other one is found simply by swimming along a simple underwater maze. Still, the lighting is fine throughout and the gameplay presents a few challenges along the way. Nothing to write home about, but worth the download if you like the coastal ambience." - Phil

"This sturdy debut level was built in an age when complicated gameplay was defined as 'find the explosive ammo to blow up the skeleton';and a small dark maze was believed sufficient to constitute a puzzle. This simplicity of play actually got the better of me on a couple of occasions,as I searched for quite a while to find the lasersight in order to shoot at numerous targets - until I realised that it wasn't needed,as I already had explosive ammo to destroy them all with one shot.Similarly,two of the four mazes existed simply to prolongue the duration,and were not necessary to explore.A Torch for burning a rope was unneccesary,as you could bypass the resultant hanging boulder easily.There was also a 'floor pad' puzzle to open a door leading to a key,but the builder (perhaps underestimating the intelligence of the average player) had left a spare key lying around in front of the door anyway. Despite all this (and a typically simplistic 'early-days' style of architecture) I found the gameplay to be enjoyable and fast moving;the level had a decent flow;the lighting wasn't too bad;cameras were used helpfully;there were a myriad enemies;and the levitating climbable rope sequence was great fun. It's ultimately a typical 'no frills' coastal level of long ago;but it's still good entertainment." - Orbit Dream

"A nice return in catacombs for Lara who will have to confront quite a lot of enemies and solve some rather prickly pulzes, regarding the enemies this level would have to be called the lake of skeletons, it is so much met throughout game that it becomes there a bit hard. One thinks well of the rather simple gameplay and it is amusing to play. Decoration is not the most original and group remains" classical catacomb" nice to go through. The building is clean and made well, it is a great work of the author." - Daffy

"In the beginning everything looked so easy swimming through the lake shooting the crocs from safe distance... so that is all Crocodile Lake has to offer? No way! Many traps and mazes are waiting for unsuspecting Lara in this 45 min level sometimes difficult never unfair. If you enter a dark maze there waits a flare for you and if you see skeletons appearing there will be a pit to push them into. Real fun was that room where 4 pigs are let loose on you - like lions in the arena. Never seen this anywhere else. Three bad things I have to mention: the aim-at-that-target puzzle was almost identical with the one from TR4 I could only solve the firetrap puzzle by trial and error and why was the key to open the level exit simply lying next to the door?" - Rüdiger

"For a debut level not too bad. Mainly set in catacombs with enemies being warthogs crocodiles and skeletons. Puzzles were rather simple. My Lara found three secrets. There was a lot of sound and it was suitably added. Cameras were also useful and textures quite diverse. A nice level for in between." - Navi

"This is a nicely done Level from 2001; a lot of things from the original coastal level. The outfit of Lara is a good work textures a well placed but for a better deeper ambience he could have used much more light/shadow. Saw a mirror-effect room but never found out the sense of it - doesn't matter. Found 3 Secrets and in my opinion to many weapons and goodies. Nice for playing - about 45 minutes. Straight gameplay not difficult." - Miguel

"Beautiful level nicely designed. Interesting gameplay not difficult but with some tricky puzzles. Very ingenious and novel the underwater mirror effect. Curiously you find more skeletons than crocodiles. It's a fun level to play." - Cuqui

"Remembered this one from the early days. Not so bad little level that starts with a well-built staircase after which you get to cuddle a few crocodiles that is if you want your hands bitten off. One trial and error room with spikes and burning tiles: not very pleasant those situations because not really high scoring gameplay but after a few tries you'll get through. Underwater mazes are not exactly my favourite but these could pass as not too tedious and something strange happening there because...there's two Lara's and not in a mirror situation strange. The coin-and-cobra-rope routine is present too with the crossbow nicely tucked away if you don't look carefully. Last room had something weird going on because there it was just laying in front of you the escape key. Now why did you have to find that other key by checking the blue tiles. May have been a secret who knows but I found three others that were a bit too easy. And always nice: a skeleton blow-up extravaganza! All in all: a nice in-betweenie." - bERT

"I have played to this level approximately one year ago the first time. I must say: It has given me the same enjoyment like at that time. I consider the age of the Level with my Review. The atmosphere has well succeeded although the lighting was a little bit too bright at most places. The sound fitted completely well. The puzzles were not very difficult and one could manage all the jump combinations. The textures were processed rather well and fitted in the general view. The opponents were very neatly placed I hate skeletons if I still have no explosion-ammo. For 6of9's first-born's value it has become good. In my opinion a game for all not too difficult and not too easy." - Xxenofex

"It took me a long time to play this level the name was not inviting and skeletons as enemies...not my favorite ones. Was very glad to find the crossbow and although you only get 10 arrows it for me the fun begins as I like running around and blast as many away as I can with one arrow. The gameplay of this level was quite nice and even when the keys you need to open gates are just laying on the floor the puzzles are interested enough. In the Revelation puzzle the token didn't fall on the floor the first time had to enter that room again and there it came. Nice touch to provide for the torch which you have to take with you through the dark maze so you don't need flares as it is pitch dark. In the last room even missing the clues of the blue tiles won't hold you back as there is a back-up key laying almost in front of the gate. What provoked me to say WOW.. was the underwater mirror effect. Had to let Lara swim past herself numerous times. Found 3 secrets. 23-07-2002" - Gerty

"What you might notice when playing this level is that there are some quite similar puzzles as in the Coastal Ruins level in Last Revelation especially the token retrieval puzzle which was identical but there was still enough fun playing and originality to make it a really fine level. With a whole bunch of skeletons thankfully near pits indoor and outdoor settings secrets a mirror trick that will take you by surprise and a pitch black booby trapped maze that is helped by the use of a torch this 1 hour level will keep you busy right to the end. The ironic thing is there aren't that many crocodiles!" - Sash

"If you like coastal settings this level is one for you to try. It starts out a little sequential but gameplay picks up later on and becomes more interesting though never too difficult. The outside texturing has been improved in the updated version which I just played again but still you can reach the 'end of the world' in a few places and have a few paper-thin walls around. For my taste there were maybe just a few too many skeletons around but as pits are provided close by to get rid of them I guess that is ok. I am not a huge fan of mazes but the two in this level are well designed and not too frustrating. All in all I have spent a net gaming time of about 45 minutes and the major downside is that quite a few of the puzzles are simply re-applied from the original TR coastal levels but certainly the variation of the mirror effect and the special outfit for Lara are really cool." - Michael

"This is a level that I played almost a year ago prior to being seconded to writing down my impressions of these levels and sharing them with the world. I must admit that I remembered it almost immediately and this is one of those pleasing levels where you can go about and do your raiding without removing the cat from the room. Overall time was two bourbons and three smokes. Joking aside this is a fun little level that will give you a few minutes away from the real world without taxing you too much. One question! Where did all the crocodiles go?" - Torry

"This level not hard nor easy was quite enjoyable. The lake was very nice but it appeared only in the start of the level (or else I am taking something wrong). However there are more skeletons than crocodiles! The skeletons happily are always near holes or pits to send them back to the hell. I liked the final rooms of the level in that 'tower' where you have to find three spots to open three gates. But I didn't like the first puzzle of the whole level. Instead of looking for a map in the walls try to detect differences (small but there are) between the textures. One kind will take you to death the other kind will keep you safe through the way. This level has two mazes one underwater and the other in pure darkness but there was a torch to help and as I don't like mazes I rated a bit lower the gameplay." - Treeble

"A nicely done level not overly difficult and quite linear. Beautiful outside areas and finally a level with more light rather than lots of darkness apart from the maze but there you have the burning torch that creates a spooky atmosphere. If you like skeletons this one is a must for you. Luckily there is always a pit nearby to send them off to hell." - Qwendo

"Welcome to the ghost town! Skeletons and wild boars rule the place. Despite the name of the level crocodiles are not so dangerous. And this deserted city nicely designed and lit is also as empty as... an unfinished city! Lots of free space could have been used for more puzzles or traps. Many huge rooms and corridors were just built for nothing unless you take this game as a tourist visit. Some good mazes though especially the underwater labyrinth which however lacked pickups. I was unable to understand what must have been a wall map for the first puzzle with spikes and fire. So I just jumped almost randomly to find the right path! For these reasons I rated lower on gameplay and higher on design. But I think the author could re-use this level to improve it by adding furniture secret area (I found three secrets but they were all obvious... maybe I missed some tricky ones). Ah I was going to forget... Lara's double in the swimming pool is it an averted mirror effect or just a fun part?" - Jbc21

"There is a little too much borrowed from coastal ruins in TR:TLR. Otherwise though this level is fun to play with some interesting effects such as there are two Lara's in one of the water pools! Personally I don't like mazes especially underwater mazes which there are a couple of which limits my rating for this well textured and reasonably well designed level." - TrueRaider

"This is a very well done level using the coastal setting. This great looking level is fairly easy with a few exciting moments and tricky puzzles thrown in to make it interesting. A few skeletons keep you on your toes as they chase you around areas that have an underwater maze a floor puzzle with both spikes and burning tiles (and a map) and platforms situated over deadly green water that catch on fire soon after you jump to them. One puzzle is exactly like the one in the Last Revelation where you retrieve the token. I spent an hour looking around for the laser site but apparently you're just supposed to use the ammo on the platform. The last room is my favorite - listening to the peaceful sounds of the waves as you run for your life from skeletons while you attempt to step on three different blue colored tiles and gain access to a key. I found three secrets and apart from the dark maze scattered with spike pits I had a lot of fun playing this level. It's a large area with places to explore I liked Lara's outfit and the double Lara effect was really cool." - RaiderGirl

"I thought this was an extremely well thought out and layed out level challenging to the brink of frustration on occasion but not a mind numbing exercise in futility! I never wanted to throw the computer out the window. Lots of "baddies" evenly placed throughout kept you on you toes. One of the little buggers even made the first puzzle all the more difficult. Another thing that I liked was that there were not 'pick ups' all over the place equipping Lara with stuff she really never needed. Not miserly; mind you just frugal. Crocodile Lake took me nearly two hours to complete. That time could have been shorter but -like I said- there were a few challenging puzzles and I took the time to map out most of the mazes. The in game texture and graphics looked really well done crisp and neat. I especially liked the mirror bit (not giving too much away I hope) but I did snag some screenshots. The use of a custom outfit was also a very nice touch (The only thing better would have been to see one of mine in there). I thought it was nice to not have a dark corner in an otherwise brightly lit room. If it was dark and sometimes it was it was supposed to be! And the torch helped! I only noticed one place were a wall seam was see through. Another plus was the fact that there were none of those annoying camera angle changes that don't allow you to examine your (Lara's) surroundings and make maneuvering Lara around difficult at times. If I were to judge this level against some of the others that I've played I would have to five it nine stars! Why it's one of those levels that once you're at the end you wish it could have been just a little bit longer as opposed to "Whew I've finally got through that!" All-in-all a really enjoyable level and I'm looking forward to the sequel."- Tommy

"A nice coastal level but there is a pyramid in some part of it only from the outside though as inside it's just a little different from the original level with the targets and token. A dark maze with spikes and the boulder with the torch again as the original. Skeletons are all over you and wild boars the crossbow is your weapon here. There is a room with a pool and three different routes to take but what makes it interesting is that there is a mirror inside I would like to know how that was achieved. The final part of it comes with more skeletons and some crocodiles so you can say starting and finishing is according to the title and the keys to open the exit door." - Kristina

"Even if there were some things taken from the coastal ruins and less crocodiles than other enemies this is quite an entertaining level and has it's strong points so if you chose this level it was not a bad choice." - eTux

"This is great fun to play but rating can't get that high as it is pretty much a pastiche of the original Costal Ruins level. The gameplay is very fluent I don't recall a single lever and giving you only 10 explosive arrows with many more skeletons to dispose of is a nice idea. The mirror effect in the pool is really baffeling (although I'm not sure what it was good for) the assault of the four warthogs a truly dramatic moment and the underwater maze mercifully small. The keys are placed rather listlessly I'm not that sure about Lara's new outfit and some buildings looked a bit two dimensional but on the whole an entertaining affair throughout that won't take you longer that 45 minutes. Mind you I covered a lot of ground during this. If you enjoyed The last Revelation you can't go wrong here." - Dimpfelmoser

"This is a nice level. There are some mean riddles. But I think they are solvable with a bit of luck and a bit of trying. The textures were flashing from time to time but that could have been my win2k. The objects and textures as well as some of the riddles are Coastal Ruins style. You'll meet lots of crocodiles some skeletons and more." - Tombraidergirl

"An interesting level fun to play in the coastal setting which is a favorite of mine. The title would have you looking over your shoulder for crocodiles at all times but possibly Skeleton Lake would have been more appropriate. Well-placed pickups not an overabundance but thankfully lots of handy pits. The jump over the spikes and fire to a ladder gave me a certain degree of frustration but I persevered. The mirrored swimming pool a nice touch and thankfully fairly short water routes. All in all worth the time to give it a look." - Momster