Level reviews

"The readme says you can do stuff in random order - which is true because you can - but pick that one wrong corridor and pay with a hellish backtrack through entire level so not really what it advertises.Then after seeing the second round of five keyholes I was like "oh no" but that group was properly shorter than the first one, so there's some nice design as well. Looks are decent but could be better, sometimes I longed for a pattern break. However it's always good to see a well working mixture of several assets, and there's a certain dose of custom objects as well. Don't by accident use the same keyhole twice, it's TR4 engine..." - DJ Full

"I was surprised when I noticed that this level is more than 20 years old. It has aged very well, I must say. I loved the surroundings of the first area and Lara's outfit. The last area consists of 5 challenges of the relaxing kind, so appropriate for beginners and tired raiders alike. I was in the right mood for a nice, relaxing raid, so I had a great time. About 1:45 hrs to finish with all secrets and only one backtracking (lucky me). Recommended." - billie2001

"The author describes this as a non-linear level so I didn't take any chances and stuck to the walkthrough. It didn't quite feel as open ended as I'd expect, but there was a bit of going back and forth, often times going further into certain areas the second time around. Lara's on a quest for two sets of five Guardian Keys, the first batch is hidden and scattered throughout a nice town of sorts, while the second set lies behind five challenge rooms. None too taxing, but still fun to shake things up. All in all, I enjoyed my stay here. 45 minutes, 4 secrets. 12/21" - Treeble

"This single level is absolutely massive. It's well put together certainly, but it really is huge. You seemingly open up new area after new area, obtaining crucial items or using switches until you finally end the level. The main objective is to obtain a total of ten Guardian Keys, half of them by negotiating a lot of exploration and route finding, and half by completing a rather nifty hub room with different tasks. The construction of an old city has been quite well done (lighting and custom textures were nicely used) and enemies don't really pose a major threat to the proceedings. The only real problem is the backtracking required, despite some welcome shortcuts to earlier areas opening up, and you do have to wait be very observant in order to avoid being confused or overwhelmed. You might want to keep the walkthrough not too far away." - Ryan

"I liked this level, but a lot of things could have been done better. For starters i think that the first 5 items place should be on the central building of the first area. This way the player wouldn't have to roam back and fourth if any guardian key was left behind. Second, i think using the same mechanic again (finding another 5 guardian keys) to finish the level was repetitive and totally not needed. It seems that the last area was done just to lengthen the level a bit more, but that resulted in easy and small rooms. I loved the scenery on the clock town and its surroundings, but the second part of the level wasn't that appealing, and didn't quite fit the first part. Anyway, i think this level is still enjoyable enough to recommend to anyone." - Zhyttya

"A level that if you do it in the right order you don't have to roam about, but if you miss one key prepare for a long walk. At least the level was a pretty place to be, even if the layout had some flaws. The lightning and textures were well used, the atmosphere was really appropriate in every zone and the gameplay was fun even if it gets a bit to repetitive at the end of the level. That, the level layout and the simple puzzles were the reason why i gave a 5 on gameplay and puzzles. Still, recommended for a really accessible TRLE experience, i just hope you do it in the right order" - Leeth

"Those who become nervous and tremble at the prospect of playing huge and non-linear levels would probably be best advised to swallow a couple of tranquilizers before commencing this particular adventure,because it really is huge.It can loosly be divided into two parts: the first,a large rambling quest for five guardian keys involving much epic backtracking;the second a fast and exciting succession of fun gauntlets.The layout of the environment is quite clever (and I need to correct the previous reviewer,who erroneously stated that the Finale required a huge backtrack - it didn't,as a shortcut had opened up);while the customized textures (while primitive by todays standards)work quite well.The atmosphere isn't bad,while the use of enemies is creative - although I hated myself for having fun while shooting the bears.Actually,you can't fault any of this other than the often formidable size of the environment and the subsequently copious amount of retracing ones steps.Get that Walkthrough to hand!" - Orbit Dream

"I usually liked the levels from this author, but this time there's an exception. The level is quite entertaining, with variety of tasks and scenes: city, underground, outside... Enemies are well balanced too, and lights and textures are not so bad. It was very tedious for me arrive to the end of the level and see that I hadn't all keys to open the temple doors, so I had to take a very looooooooong way back to the very beginning and look for the missed keys. Also, when finally I got the scroll, I could see the exit door opening... near the very beginning of the level, so I had to take again all the loooooooong way back there only to activate the finish trigger. It seems that Peter, when building this level, forgot one of the most important paragraphs from the manual. Not a level for people who don't want to waste the time. Too much backtracking." - Jose

"Here's another enjoyable level from the early years, provided by a builder who was quite prolific until about six years ago. All of his 14 releases have garnered high review scores, so it's regrettable that he's no longer on the scene. The textures here are crude by today's standards, but the gameplay is engaging and there's plenty of light so you can see what you're doing with no difficulty. The builder has provided a remarkably compact walkthrough of a page and a half, which covers more than an hour and a half of net gaming time. It's a good thing, too, because your primary task is to locate five pyramid keys to gain access to the final building. Since you don't know ahead of time whether you need two, four, seven or whatever, having the walkthrough is very helpful in preventing needless backtracking. When you do reach that final building, you think it's all over, but no, there are five locked rooms inside that present an additional variety of tasks. You can do them in any order, locating a key at the end of each one to open the door to the next room, so that by necessity you have an unused key in your inventory when you complete the level. I had a lot of fun here, so I need to go back soon and sample the rest of this builder's body of work. Recommended." - Phil

"Conceptually, quite a good middle eastern style level, the Scroll of Belhexera takes you on an adventure through several buildings, gardens, courtyards and underground caves and finally on to a Temple where your treasured prize resides. Only problem is that your prize is a little too hot to handle, and in order to bag it you'll have to complete five challenges. But of course you're up for a challenge, aren't you? Don't be concerned though, there's nothing too nasty here, except a few hungry bears and a triple tag team event with some rabid dogs and their blade wielding masters. Structurally the city area is quite well done, but it is littered with squashed or incorrectly rotated textures, which detracts from the overall appeal. There are various gaps in the 3D lighting, and you may bump into the odd invisible door block. There is a rather obscure skylight that needs to be opened, and I arrived at the temple without essential inventory to continue here. My other frustration was arriving at the first set of guardian key holes with only 2 keys in hand, and having to hump it back through the long and winding cave to figure out what I had missed. Inventory items were generously supplied and I found two secrets after spending about an hour and a half of net gaming in this sandy city. This is a fun raid without being too challenging, except for the non-linear progression which may lead you down the odd blind alley way." - EssGee

"Enjoyable level with lots to do and most of it not so hard. I liked the clock tower that Lara should get to the top of and the gloomy and dangerous caves. Well worth playing." - Duncan

"What you get here is pretty much two separate adventures all with the same task at hand to locate 5 guardian keys with the first set of 5 you get to explore a little town in the hunt and in the second you are inside a building where 5 key locked rooms hold them. Your actual goal is to finally attain the scroll of Belhexera and this is done with the help of the last 5 guardian keys. Along the way in this 70 minute level you will meet an array of enemies from axe wielding men to bears and if you are observant you can also pick up 5 secret coins which all registered for me unlike for some other players. What I liked most was the fact that you could pretty much decide for yourself which guardian keys you'll get first as it is a little non linear in that way but this also means you might have a bit more backtracking depending on which you collect and when. This is a definite play and will keep you well and truly captivated till the very end." - Sash

"A very enjoyable little level to play. Not too difficult with plenty of nice textures and settings. There is a lot of scope with all these city levels and this one did not disappoint. Enemies were dogs rats bats and the men reminded me of Cossacks. I was particularly pleased that I did not shoot the bears in the keep as I kept bumping into them on my way round and was quite disappointed to say goodbye to them." - Tortoise3

"This time Lara starts in a small square with a fountain and your main goal is to gather five Guardian keys and a couple of Hypostyle keys to go any further. That will teach me next time to look before I rush off as I had to do that whole bit back and forward again as I didn't count how many of the Guardian keys I needed LOL. They are nicely hidden in the first part and because of me not looking in the first place stumbled on four of the five secrets. Second time around found even the last one so I am happy. After placing the Guardian keys you are off to find even five more each in their own area. Enemies are some dogs re-textured tinman pesky bats and even more pesky rats. I hated to shoot the bears though as they do growl so pitiful when they are dying. You leave with the scroll and a key in Lara's backpack. 10-11-2003" - Gerty

"I may have been disappointed to learn that this offering from Stormchaser wasn't a castle level because I love castle levels and he does them so well. However I certainly wasn't disappointed when I began to play this enjoyable level. The use of textures and lighting is very good one cave area in particular I thought beautifully lit. Enemies are re-textured tin men dogs rats the occasional plague of locusts (which I HATE) and bears. Collecting guardian keys is the main objective - you need ten altogether. Normal door keys are also required and I especially liked obtaining the one from the lava room with the fire jets slides and nutcrackers - that was fun. Also to be found are five secrets (gold coins) and yes I did find them all. Wow. Well up to his usual high standards." - Jay

"You always know you are in for a treat when playing one of Peter's levels and this one is no different. Lara in a nice outfit initially roams around some kind of Mediterranean city setting exploring houses shooting vases for pickups avoiding a few boulders and spikes and doing a bit of target shooting. There are sewers a nice church warehouses stables and great caves with very good lighting. After finding the five guardian keys she reaches the building where the scroll is kept and is sent for five more little quests for another set of guardian keys which are all short not too hard and fun to manage. Quite a multitude of enemies are getting in your way and I am not sure I always found them fitting in so well. There are also five golden coins to find as secrets (although only four of them registered as such in my game). All in all I spent a rather relaxed and enjoyable 70 minutes here and can only recommend it." - Michael

"This builder keeps on getting better and better. A lovely setting with many puzzles and things to find. I got off on the wrong foot and was feeling a little low but then it started clicking and finally finding the church really got me rolling. A little trickier than previous levels by this author. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommend." - Sherry

"Lara starts out in a little town with a lot to do. Plenty of puzzles with many different things to accomplish. In order to get the scroll Lara needs to find many pickups among them 10 guardian keys about the same amount of gate keys and four secrets which are not too hard to find. The atmosphere is well done and we especially liked the small cave. The rooms are not too huge which helped keeping the orientation. Textures are well chosen sounds were standard but fit in well. Plenty of enemies especially watch out for the locust swarms. Other than that dogs bats and also bears ;-)....in any case they are placed fairly. Gameplay is fluent and Lara can always proceed with a bit of skill." - Engelchen Lara

"This time it's not a Scottish castle it's a castle in the Middle East very nice. A lot of climbing on things and jumping to start and opening doors. At one time you break into a fellow's bedroom to get his key and he shows up quickly to chase you wielding nasty looking blades but he's dressed in a cool looking red suit. Actually Lara looks good too I like her hair and her outfit. More of these guys show up later on. The idea here is to get keys and six blue pyramid keys to get into the main castle. I must have passed one of them at least four times and short of waving at me shouting 'yoo hoo I'm right here' I don't know how I missed it. So look carefully. Very well placed enemies i.e. the giant rats crocodile and dogs. Also look out for things to shoot with the lasersight. The starting area is connected via a very good cave system to the main castle this looked really well. And inside this huge castle are gates to open and keys to find behind these gates are separate little tasks to perform to get the next key and another five pyramid keys. I got five secret gold coins some very well placed. A very enjoyable level with a great sense of place and highly recommended." - CC

"In a search for two sets of five Guardian Keys leading to the Scroll you will find a wonderful little town whose high walls sometimes conceal hidden entrances. Other Keys grant you entry to good puzzles along with the capture of the Guardian Keys. There's a somewhat spooky Church that's fun to get into but who were those enemies chasing Lara? Spear wielding savages? All in good fun and at the end Lara gets to keep the Scroll to add to her collection. After playing this I now want to catch up on Peter's other levels. Not too difficult and not too easy......good for all Raiders. Thank you Peter for a little town I wish I could have stayed in a bit longer. Lots of fun." - Bene

"A great fun level. Non linear - find keys to open doors but the keys are all the same and will fit everywhere. Easy but enjoyable gameplay set around what in my imagination seems like an old prison area. The mission is to lay your hands on the scroll and in order to do so first you have to find 5 guardian keys to open up the door to the scroll and then another 5 guardian keys to put out the fire that protects the scroll. The search for these 10 guardian keys each gives you a little adventure to manage." - G.Croft

"The author is known by now for given us many good levels in the past with his favourite theme being the Scottish castles. This level though deviates and provides something different. There is a church to see in your way to find ten guardian keys many regular keys to open doors and the famous scroll the story informs us about. There are also five secrets golden coins which I found. I liked the garden areas and although it's not a hard level it lasted two hours. It's a very entertaining level in my opinion non linear with dogs retextured tin men and rats as enemies. The sewers were nicely done so were the darkish caves there are a lot of paths to follow down there but only one will lead you to the right place. We don't get many traps something that surprised me only fires in a few areas. I had fun playing this and as all of Peter's levels this one is worth playing as well." - Kristina

"This was a great level I loved the atmosphere of the city the Puzzles were not hard but good - enjoyed to play thanks." - Yoav

"This was another great level from Stormchaser. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was sad when it was over. Some lovely buildings and rooms to visit each with its own qualities. Enemies are reformed tin men bats dogs and some bears which really wasn't nice killing them. Collect 10 guardian keys plus the keys to open the next door I think there was about 10 of those too. I found 4 gold coins which were secrets. Ammo and health was low but that is a bonus. Of course there's a timed run and those I always enjoy it wasn't a hard one though. Collect the scroll at the end and Lara gets to leave the level. Really nice raiding and well worth a visit." - Moonpooka