Levels listed...
TR5 - 33
TR4 - 3185
TR3 - 181
TR2 - 139
TR1 - 66
73791 reviews (20.4/level)
3593 (99.7%) walkthroughs
457 Hall of Fame levels
1258 levels rated >= 8
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release date: |
12-Dec-2003 |
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# of downloads: |
368 |
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average rating: |
9.65 |
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review count: |
39 |
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review this level |
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file size: |
142.65 MB |
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file type: |
TR4 |
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class: |
Rome/Greece |
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author profile(s): |
email(s): |
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Reviewer's comments |
"Howdy, this might be a very controversial review
I had a quite huge review planned for this series of levels but where I stand right now
(Bonus pack 2 level 1) I after 2 years I started I feel like I really don't want to go too
deep anymore.
It is definitively a part of TRLE history and a remarkable long series of levels released
more than 20 years ago, but you know what? Quantity does not equal quality and this level
is absolutely the prime example of this.
The first 4 chapters of this custom are absolutely fine, chapter 1 is exceptionally
entertaining and simple to traverse/remember where you need to go, chapter 2 is also, but
a little less, chapter 3 is too but always a little less. Chapter 4 is the last bit of
this game I can remember enjoying before I got to the second part and discovered the
author REALLY likes vertical mazes and wasting my time.
From here on the levelset does keep itself consistent in looking quite unique and also
quite good in chapter 5's temple area is gorgeous, chapter 7 the second part has that
temple area that is also quite good looking, almost reminiscent of how Isle of Sun by Tony
Tomb would have looked like, and chapter 9 is almost all the time a quite pretty level.
However Chapter 6, 7 and 8 really take a plunge down in quality when it comes to their
look. It would be okay if that was the entire look of the game... but the author
demonstrates how unique some areas can be, it is a shame they felt like adding more
content was going to make it all better.
And the gameplay? Chapter 1 was the best and it never managed to get to that again, it was
seriously unenjoyable to me the further I got.
I recognise it is a piece of TRLE history and that without this QRS would have not created
Egypt and Beyond, which to my eyes is the true successor to Jedi Master's work. But
compared to some classics that still are enjoyable and fun to play from this era... this
really is not one of them.
Recommended for completions and those that, like me, likes a lot QRS' work and wanted to
see where it all originated. As this is the TRLE.net version of my review I feel like
including my genuine single rating to each levels, I will go on quick: Cpt1 (10 10 10 10),
Cpt2 (9 9 9 10), Cpt3 (9 8 9 9), Cpt4 (I: 9 9 10 10, II: 6 9 9 8, III: 8 9 9 10), Cpt5 (I:
8 9 9 8, II: 9 10 10 10), Cpt6 (8, 8, 10, 7), Cpt7 (I: 9, 9, 10, 8, II: 8, 8, 9, 9), Cpt8
(9, 9, 7, 6), Cpt9 (7, 9, 9, 7).
Wolfy regards" - Wolf7 (30-Jun-2024) |
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"It's a great adventure with many levels and a huge (but diverse) number of enemies to take
down, (but the ammo and medical packs are more than enough). Lots of levers and a huge
amount of backtracking throughout the game, (playability is overall good though). There's a
bit of music missing (which at times would be fanciful). However the atmosphere is good. The
environments are huge, many of which are very beautiful. An excellent game! It took me
almost 15 hours to finish!! (36 secrets) Highly recommended!! (38/40)" - CalrOsario (28-Dec-2022) |
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"As I'm nearing completion of my 2003 raidlist, most of the levels I have left are mammoth releases such as this one, and that in turn brings my 'reviewing spree' to a screeching halt. It took me 10 days to finish this series, playing about an hour each, and I'm forever thankful and grateful for the kind souls such as Dutchy who provide us detailed walkthroughs as otherwise my playing time would have been at least twice as long. Onto the levels themselves, these are absolutely beautiful, make no mistake, and the first part made extensive use of TR1 textures which helped me discover a newfound nostalgic love towards the original Greece levels. As we go on the TR1 textures get swapped out but I also love how the author has made use of known texture sets and applied different color filters over them, so they still feel fresh and help build a color code of sorts for each area, which is coupled with the same treatment done to objects. I like how all important pickups (weapons, crowbar, waterskins, etc) are placed within huge wooden crates - they're still hidden, yes, but the fact all of them are in these crates helped build a consistency. Some areas are quite unique in design such as the multilayered switch pits in Ch.4-2, which were nice in concept but quite confusing to navigate (and yes, I say that despite having followed the walkthrough down to the last comma). The opening cutscene for Ch.6 was also quite well done, and funnily enough it was just a black screen coupled with standard sound effects and yet it delivers. There are a few things I'm not so fond of, however. For instance, I think there's a distinct lack of balance towards enemy placement, they often come in waves and several of a singular kind (so in one room you'll find dozens of gladiators, the next one will be all about giant bugs, then hordes of harpies, etc). Things get quite formulaic as it goes on (mind you, we're talking about a series made of 14 levels, some ideas were bound to repeat themselves once or thrice), but for the most part you'll need to activate a number of levers to open each door, most of the times the follow-up levers are protected by spikes and as a result you get a string of timed runs until you clear all the levers to finally open a single door. When you exponentiate this to the amount of doors you come across, it inevitably feels like padding when none was ever needed. From Ch.7 towards the end I noticed there were way too many unmarked climbable walls and ceilings and that made me slightly disappointed as otherwise texture work was spotless, and, like I said, these levels are quite beautiful overall. 10h30min, 42 secrets. 05/22" - Treeble (22-May-2022) |
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"I was getting ready to praise the unwritten storyline of this huge adventure, when to my surprise I get cut-off in the middle of the last level because I don't have a key. This key you can only get if you're a completist. And you cannot backtrack for it. Huge let-down.
Yet, even if you got the key, that does not mean the game has a meaning behind it. I was enthralled by the (mostly) Greek-Roman mythology and its occasional connections to gameplay, but it didn't seem to connect at all in the end. Maybe in the immense number of bonus levels ahead? Who knows! Seems purposeless (albeit very good).
Gameplay is a bit too heavy on levers and buttons (some you don't get a clue what for - no cameras - others have to be pushed in spread-out groups of four or five to produce an actual result) and not contextualized. Secrets are often not very well kept, too easy to find and even getting in the way (if you're not into secrets, at least). The music is occasionally misplaced and there should be many more camera-hints. The textures are repetitive and boring on occasion. But mind this is nit-picking, really. Mostly everything works.
Overall, I fully recommend the levelset! You cannot miss it. Yet, don't expect to have your hand held or to find a deep purpose to your raid. It's just fun, it doesn't mean that much to Lara, so don't fall too deep in-love.
Amazing job by Jedi Master! There is a lot to praise, since these are wonderful creative levels. Thank you for designing them!" - MigMarado (19-Mar-2021) |
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"The first level is about perfect, all in narrows but serving great for pure training without a bit of confusion. Then we do a beautiful transition to the next segment, visit a nice temple, an organic tree-overgrown aqueduct, and since that moment all goes downhill like if the author cared less and less, somehow progressing from balanced enemies and smooth lighting to unicolor ambience and constant exploration-disturbing combat. Often very intricate puzzles get interrupted with tediously repetitive multi-switch doors while every codebit activated triggers a camera, many of which aren't look-breakable. It could be interesting one or two times but not so many. As a result the excellent way to reduce key usage is almost unnoticeable among the switch overload. Some gameplay requires looking for elusive spots, and in one such point three maps are open to exploration, so if I lost myself and my focus in the atmosphere, it easily changed into wondering what stupid thing I overlooked. The ending is again better, Chapter Seven being my favourite. All in all the game has some redundant passages but also shows how much can be packed in little space. Audio usage is excellent and secrets are all little gems. SUMMARY: This is a good level but without enough storyline and including occasional tedium which should have been just cut out without mercy. MISC: I found a missing audio at entering the white staircase in the third level but I don't know what it was to be, noting here in case if the author bothers." - DJ Full (06-Jun-2016) |
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"Raiding in the grand old tradition. Just
how I like it. Boulders, movable puzzles
and traps l, traps and more traps. Not for
beginners but definitely recommended for
experienced raiders. Now I will continue
with bonus pack 1." - Ryan (30-May-2016) |
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"I don't know I can say that has not been said already about this great set of levels. I've played this set years ago but this is an adventure you can play more than once. The only "defects" I found were some unmarked ladders and monkeyswings, perhaps excessive enemies in some levels and sometimes the tedious backtracking. But I love the style from this builder: the classic breakable ledges over lava pits, spikes protecting switches, brass balls hidden between the hanging vines, timed runs not too tight, lots of ammo and medipacks, magnificent outside areas... Really a jewel of the custom levels you can't miss." - Jose (19-May-2012) |
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"When I have bumped more than 5 years ago by chance into the
level base, I was immediately of course on cloud nine. Up to
this time I did not know at all that there was such fan
sides and I also did not know of course which there was so a
lot of self-built level. Now the question positioned itself
to me which level I should play first. Maybe the levels with
the highest ratings? Or the levels with the lowest ratings?
Or the levels with the biggest download? Or or or. As far as
I can remember, I have started with the Levels which had a
very good rating and/or a big download. This was utterly
wrong of course, because the Customlevels are something
completely different than the normal Tomb Raider Games. I
have played several levels not up to the end because they
were to heavy ones. As far as I can remember, Legacy of the
Gods was one of this levels. I do not know at all how far I
had come, but I am sure that I had not played this level up
to the end. Now I want to make up for this, particularly as
there are still bonus pack 1 and 2 which I have not played
at all.
Chapter 1: I am confused. I am confused very much. I can't
stand it at all if I have the choice whether I should go to
the left or to the right. Hence, this level was the purest
torture for me. I could go either to the left or to the
right. I could go either upwards or down. I could go the way
before myself or the way behind myself. And there a normal
mortal should find the way. I am really confused. But right
now seriously: It is not so easy at all to find the many
ways, because the whole area is branched out very much and
the ways are sometimes difficult to recognise. There it is
no miracle that I was here two hours on the move. However,
it has properly given fun, because the level is built very
good. And the level builder has distributed enough
ammunition and Medipacks, so that one can defend himself
against the opponents. However, a place was a little bit
unfair, because there one had to fight against 3 Gladiators
at the same time. As far as I can remember, I have thrown on
my first attempt already in the first level the towel. I
could still remember some things, but later everything was
anew for me.
Chapter 2: The second level was not as confusing as the
first level. A big deficiency are, however, the opponents. I
have no problem to fight against a harpy. In a pinch it can
be 2 of them. But 3 harpies at the same time is a bit
exaggerated. And a few Gladiators less would have been good
for the Game. "The more danger, the more honor" is a well-
known saying, but here has it Jedimaster a little bit
exaggerated.
Chapter 3: In this level the opponents are better
distributed and are not so numerous as in the last level.
Though I have got lost more than once, but, however, anyhow
I have found the way over and over again. The Secret rooms
are very good. Most level builders hide in such Secret rooms
only one Medipack or a little ammunition. And if they are
really generous, both at the same time. But the Secret rooms
of JediMaster are a real goldmine.
Chapter 4a: Except wild boars and some of the irritating
sting bugs there are no appreciable opponents. Obelix would
certainly have been glad about the wild boars, but for my
taste a bit too many wild boars running around here. The
riddles were very good, whereby the Jumpswitches in spite
of the Flybys not right away were to be found with. But if
one has a look at the Flybys several times, one also finds
the suitable places. The camera work was anyhow very good,
but these were they already in the previous Levels.
Chapter 4b: Oh my goodness, this level has properly confused
me. So many levers are to be seek and so many ways to go.
Partly the levers are hidden very well and sometimes they
have the same colour like the wall texture. This should not
mean which the level is bad, that by no means. But for my
taste these were a few levers and a few ways too much.
Chapter 4c: I know this level! Where from do I know this
level?? Clearly!! This is from "Tribute to Luis Martins"!!
The Bonus Level in "Egypt & Beyond Complete" by QRS. Well,
that was QRS had copied, was only a small cutting. And
slowly but steady I can understand QRS, because Luis Martins
can build really good levels.
Chapter 5a and 5b: This level is also not so quite unknown
to me, because QRS has also taken over from this level a
small part. Most time makes it properly to fun, because the
level is built very well and has great riddles. Indeed,
Luis exaggerates it now and again. I do not find it so
amusing if I must fight against 4 or 5 harpies at the same
time. Though I have at disposal enough ammunition and the
suitable weapons, but it is irritating, nevertheless if an
actually good level sometimes changes into a boring Shooter.
The big Lava room in level 5b is built brilliantly. One sees
this already in the very good Flyby. First I got the big
wailing and gnashing of teeth because I thought that this
room is too difficult. But then he was easier than I
thought.
Chapter 6: Hello? What's happening here? Quite obviously
Lara was taken, because somebody has pinched her keys. And
now I must search the keys. As if I had nothing better to
do. But what one does not do everything for our Lara.
However, at last it was easier than I thought first. Though
it were also present some Demigods, but these jerks are easy
to defeat. And the invincible boss's opponent at the level
end was anyhow too slow and not capable to harm Lara.
Chapter 7a and b: In both Levels there is the same problem
which has already appeared in some of the previous levels.
Luis has placed here too many opponents. It does not disturb
me at all if now and again a lion or a Demigod appears.
However, it disturbs me massively if I run 10 metres, must
shoot then a horde of lions and after the next 10-metre walk
again a lion's herd rushes on Lara. The same one happens in
Chapter 7a. Permanent want Demigods or fire ghosts to strip
off Lara's clothes. Such a thing inhibits the flow play
totally. The bad is that both levels are good built, great
riddles and a good camera work have. It is absolutely a
pleasure to play both levels. But the pleasure is strongly
clouded due to the hordes of opponents.
Chapter 8: This was a level completely after my taste. Few
opponents, many riddles, easy time runs, a few nice jump
combinations, a good camera work and very good built
rooms.
Chapter 9: The normal level end seemed strangely uninspired.
Lara opens a grid door, slides down and end. Where is an
explanatory Flyby? Where is a real final level? I had the
feeling as if I had seen only one part of a movie and the
last important part would have been completely cut off. And
why had Lara found no artefact? Or something very important?
Very strangely. If one uses the Secretkey, one can still
play a little bit further and than cheerfully apply oneself
to the Bonus Pack 1.
Summary: I am really glad that, finally, I have completely
played through this level. Not without reason this level
belongs to the best what has to offer the level universe.
However, I must also mention that there was a few things
which I have not liked. Some segments had too many
opponents. There I had more than once the feeling to play a
boring Shooter. And the strange end did not fit at all to
this great level." - Scottie (12-May-2011) |
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"Legacy of the Gods Chapter 1: Lara begins her descent
into this massive Greco-Roman underworld of tributes to the
gods. "Anywhere in Europe" might be a typo of "somewhere",
but it almost fits given that you cover so much ground here
you probably do cross half of Europe! This is the most
standard level thematically, with the traditional TR1 Greco-
Roman textures throughout (although a few choices towards
the end seem a bit questionable). After some initial areas
the design starts to distinguish itself with large multi-
level rooms and similar, along with mostly great lighting.
Gameplay picks up fast with a platforming sequence almost
straight away, and then a main section with a hunt for five
gems, while there's quite a bit of variety and exploration,
if you miss anything there can be a lot of backtracking to
find it, and with the amount there is to find it can be
pretty easy to do so. I also thought the last part of the
level lost a bit a steam; there's nothing really wrong with
it but, outside of one nice statue entryway, it felt a bit
less distinctive than the rest.
Chapter 2: This level starts with a relatively short,
but quite challenging lead in through some caverns with more
distinct elements (compared to the first level) throughout,
then you enter a large chamber where the majority of the
action in this level takes place. After the start, gameplay
is very non-linear, with a hunt for three gems (along with
turning off some spike traps preventing their placement),
and, especially at the start of this area, there are several
things it is possible to do at any given moment. This level
really teaches you to be perceptive throughout, as there are
quite a few somewhat hidden alcoves and switches (some
verging on being a bit too much, but they can all be found
if you look at things carefully). There's also a surprising
amount of combat; perhaps slightly too much given that
almost every switch seems to get you assaulted by Harpies
and Gladiators, but even at this stage you have just about
every weapon and massive ammounts of ammo, so at least that
isn't an issue.
This level is where the distinct art style of this pack
begins to show itself (after the relatively familiar visuals
of the first level). With a heavy usage of strong texture
colours and making the lighting mostly whitish. The author
makes this work with a combination of consistency and
interesting shapes and architecture that leads to an almost
nostalgic atmosphere to the pack in general.
Chapter 3: This section takes place in Neptune's
domain, and the theme is quite water and vegetation focused.
The texturing and lighting style is a continuation of the
last level. While the green of the vegetation mostly
dominates this level there are also some other interesting
areas like one white greenhouse type building. It's also
mostly much more cramped than the last levels, which
provides an interesting contrast in both graphics and
gameplay.
Gameplay continues in the vein of before, with five tridents
to collect around the level, and a ton of switches and other
things to find along the way. Beyond one strange dead-end
death trap difficulty is quite manageable here, as you're
used to the gameplay style by this point, and flow is quite
smooth if you don't get lost in the non-linearity. A great
continuation from the previous section.
Chapter 4: This chapter is actually three massive
levels put together. The first is a underground forest with
an aqueduct. The second is a house and its gardens (it's
much more abstract than that, but that's the closest
description I can think of). The third is some sort of large
bath-house. The visuals take a step up here, with huge,
beautiful rooms and intriguing and colourful textures and
lighting use. Water and vegetation are again a pretty big
theme here (outside of the "house" parts of the second
level).
Difficulty (at least in terms of complexity) takes a big
spike here. The levels can actually be finished in a pretty
linear order (the second in particular is pretty much
entirely self-contained), but you don't know that the first
time, and missing even one thing can instantly cause things
to spiral out of control and leave you incredibly lost.
There are countless switches to find, and the main flaw is
the irritating way a lot of them are intentionally blended
with the scenery; most can be found with some care, but a
few (like a couple near the start of part 3) are
ridiculously hidden given the size of areas they are in.
There are also a couple of tunnels full of switches in the
"house" part of the second level that get a bit old. The
first time I played LOTG I recall I found this the most
annoying part of the series, while it has flaws, with
knowledge of its complexity I appreciated it a lot more this
time, especially with how great it looks.
Chapter 5: This is another multi-part level, although
there's only two levels this time, and their link is almost
entirely linear. This is the most major change in theme
since part 2; the first level starts in a large blue cave
and moves onto a greenery-filled area with temples (after
several fire-based obstacles), the second takes the fire
theme further and has several fire areas in it (including a
large lava cave most of the action takes place in). There's
also a subtle atmosphere change here, as the background
music is more melodic (and almost heroic in the first part)
which fits your increasing experience with this place. Both
levels are full of great sights, and this is the most varied
chapter so far.
Gameplay is also very varied, with a mix of just about
everything, and the challenge level remains very high (the
structure is much easier to understand than chapter 4
though). There are some nasty flame-trap sequences, lots of
exploration and plenty of switches and items to find. The
only flaw I had is more hidden in plain sight switches
bringing things to a halt, but at least things are pretty
contained this time. The first time I played LOTG I had a
save-game bug in the second level that made me have to do a
large portion of it without saving, I didn't get it this
time so it may have just been a corrupt download or
something, but be careful for it. This is another great
section; maybe the best yet.
Chapter 6: This chapter provides the closest thing
this pack has to a story, as Lara is captured and gets put
in some sort of hellish prison. Luckily they haven't taken
your guns away, and the many Demigods in this level gives a
good opportunity to burn some of the vast quantities of ammo
you have likely aquired by this point. This is a very short
(by LOTG standards) and combat-heavy section, with it
starting with you having to find various switches (past
various "trials") to escape the prison building, then ending
with a short escape through caves and back into the temples,
with a sort of boss encounter with an invincible Roman
Statue. Visuals in the prison are a bit simpler than the
earlier levels, but it fits the location, and the boss area
looks great. This chapter isn't too special in itself, but
after all the epics before it this short part makes a
perfect intermission.
Chapter 7:This is another multi-level series. Part
one is a return to temple sections a bit like the earlier
levels, part two is a mix of both the Hellish and Temple
themes. These subtle shifts in theme work well and make the
environment familiar yet varied. The gameplay continues from
before (given that LOTG's gameplay involves a bit of
everything by this point this isn't repetitive at all), with
a couple of new things like a Bull sequence. I found it by
accident with a flare, but one trapdoor in a push-block area
seemed ridiculously hidden. While "easy" or "simple" are
hardly words that could describe them, these two sections
feel somewhat less massive and complex than the pre-chapter
6 parts, like Luis got a bit sick of making nothing but
massive behemoths; having some relatively simpler levels for
a breather fits well with the pacing though. Make sure you
get the five secrets in the first part to get the secret
key! As saves are provided for the bonus levels it's not
essential, but they're not too tough to get and you miss 90%
of the last level if you don't.
Chapter 8: This chapter is visually a bit simpler and
more abstract than the earlier ones; it seems gameplay was
the pure focus here. This is another relatively short
chapter, and also maybe the most linear so far, but it has a
bite to it. This part involves a series of challenging timed
runs, burners and platform sequences, and there's some very
tricky things to get past here. There's also a boss
encounter with Seth towards the end. As things are nearing
the end this fast-paced gauntlet provides another fitting
change to the pacing.
Chapter 9: You are finally outside now, given that
everything else has been underground this provides a pretty
big change in itself. This is actually pretty sedate for a
finale; there are some trap sequences but they feel a little
easier than those in the last few levels, and it's mostly
exploration here. There is another boss, which can be
trouble due to having to push blocks while the Seth enemy is
attacking (at least there are pools of water if you are set-
alight). A nice ending to the main levels of LOTG.
LOTG is still one of the most epic releases in custom level
history (although a few packs have since matched or arguably
surpassed it in size and detail), and in its focus on pure
gameplay is perhaps the ultimate Tomb Raider experience in
spirit. It's not perfect though; there are a lot of vague
actions and overly disguised switches, along with a couple
of parts between chapter 3 and 4 where it's possible to fall
into areas where you are stuck and have to reload (they are
both very obvious once you're there though). The difficulty
curve also feels a little odd, as, while chapter 8 has its
challeges, overall chapters 4 and 5 are by far the most
complex and involved parts in the series. Maybe this was
intentional as each chapter has quite a different flow and
they might have been designated as the "complexity" ones,
but it makes some of the later chapters feel a little anti-
climatic in comparison. Combat also feels a little overdone
occasinally, with almost hordes of enemies attacking you
sometimes, you do at least gets tons of ammo to play with
though. There's also the potential save-bug in Chapter 5,
maybe it's related to installing the bonus packs first as I
didn't this time? These flaws are small in comparison to the
massive amount of great moments and actions there are to do
here though, and this is an essential as long as you're up
to the challenge (which can't be overstated). As a final
thing (and potential save-bug aside), make sure you install
the bonus packs before playing; as well as adding a flyby,
it also replaces one arguably ill-fitting track in Chapter
4-III with another one, as well as the obvious benefit of
making the transition to the extra parts smoother." - Mman (12-Apr-2011) |
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"How on earth am I going to describe this epic adventure! It's enormous! But
strangely enough, when it's all finished, we would be excused for describing
it as a 'big Rome level'. Because that is exactly what it is. The settings
and textures are Roman throughout, albeit different parts, i.e. Colosseum,
baths, prisons, gardens, fountains, aquaduct, etc. We often find ourselves
in dark caves and lava pits, convoluted tunnel systems and waterways, as
well as out in the fresh air and in beautiful gardens and buildings. It is
so tempting to up the brightness at times just to see these areas, and they
are worth looking at in all their glory. There are nine sections called
Chapters, but there are in fact 14 levels. We are treated to wonderful
textures, objects, colours and lighting. The atmosphere, sounds and overall
layout is excellent. It boggles the mind to even think how the author
brought this about. Enemies are appropriate to their own environments (far
too many of them in my opinion), i.e. warthogs in grassy areas around the
aquaduct and jungles, skellies in underground passages and rooms, bats in
dark lofty places, rats in watery underground areas, bugs among the
greenery, knights and wraiths guarding precious artifacts, monsters on
floating islands, and so on. The gladiator 'knights' looked great. The
player will need a very good memory to recall which way they came from, how
many closed doors they passed, where they saw something behind a gate or
window, and so on. They would also need great patience, sometimes using a
lot of flares in the darkness, to locate the devilishly hidden blocks,
switches, levers and items. It all seems so innocently old-fashioned until
we come to a dead stop not knowing where to go or what to do. It's a good
idea to constantly look behind as well as in front, as a switch may have
lowered a block as well as open a door. We have the rull range of Lara's
actions here. Many many tricky jumps, jump sequences, gauntlets of various
hazards and enemies, climbing, crawling, swimming, rope swinging, target
shooting, puzzles, and endless searching. There are a lot of brilliant timed
runs, quite tough in places, but all are do-able. Full use is made of all
spaces, despite the hugeness of some rooms. Secrets are worth finding,
yielding lots of ammo and medpacks. We'll come across lots of situations,
like a mirror room, fall-through floor, shooting gems in lion's mouths,
element puzzle, torches to light sconces and burn floors, rolling out a
bridge, and much more. In each section we need to find a 'god' key, i.e.
Titan, Neptune, Thor, Damocles, Atlas; as well as tridents, stars, gems,
etc. The later chapters are much shorter, but fraught with many more traps
and enemies. Take Chapter 7 for example, I counted 32 lions(!), and there
seems to be a demigod at every turn.
This series has been out there for years, but I can guarantee it is as good
today as it was back then. It has stood the test of time, would be worthy
competition for any level released today, and is steeped in good
old-fashioned gameplay and surroundings. I would recommend playing the
series from start to finish... the finish being the bonus levels.
Unfortunately there are a few problems. If I hadn't read about collecting a
golden star in one level I would have continued on, only to realise I
desperately needed it much later on in a different level. Lara needs to find
many items and bring them through the levels with her. So lots of saving is
essential. Scour each area before leaving. And it would be an idea to
consult the walkthrough just to make sure. There are unmarked monkeyswing
ceilings and climbable walls. And not being able to get control of Lara
after an action or camera was very annoying. That said, this is a brilliant
series. Some extremely beautiful rooms to explore (only one example is the
stunningly beautiful sunken temple in Chapter 5). Great fun all through. And
a great sense of achievement when we hit the end trigger. Be prepared to
devote a lot of time to it and the two bonus levels to come. Excellent work,
highly recommended." - CC (07-Jul-2007) |
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"A gigantic adventure placed in an imaginary world full of beauty. There is a huge amount of backtracking throughout the game . 100 or more Levers to be pushed /pulled is not what I call a good gameplay . No music in this game ,therefore poor atmosphere. Legacy sounds good ,but what Legacy ? What are we aiming at ? Just cruising round in huge environments beautifully created and no hint at all : WHY ? Apart from critics , excellent game ." - Ruben (04-May-2007) |
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"These 13 levels were a fantastic adventure. They are not easy, but they are real Tomb Raider adventures. The locations are various; you can explore temples, caves and the dungeons of the underworld, but you can walk under the sun as well. The enemies are also various, but you have lots of weapons. And you don't necessarily have to use medipacks either, even if you fight using the default pistols. The emphasis is not on the fight in fact, rather on finding the way. I have already wrote walkthroughs for more than 700 levels until now, but these 13 were maybe the hardest to write. I had to replay the levels several times to find the optimal way and the 42 secrets of course. The levels are not linear at all; many of them are freely accessible so that you can find the items you may missed. Nobody should skip these great levels; you will take part in a real adventure.
Chapter 2: This level is not linear either. If you reach the main room, you can choose many paths. You have to find a lot of switches and buttons, push blocks onto 4 switches, while harpies, skeletons and gladiators are disturbing you. Sometimes there are more of them, so the level was harder without using medipacks. :) Although I used the default pistols everywhere it was possible. I spent a lot of time to find the last switch; I didn't notice the trapdoor in the small pool. There is also a timed run on the level, but it's not serious. It was a great level. I found 2 secrets here as well, and they worth to be find, because you can pick up much supply there.
Chapter 3: This level is not linear either. The main goal is to get the 5 Tridents and the Neptune Key at the end of the level. You can take many ways and solve many tasks. There is main room here too that has many-many passages with many challenges. There are also some dead ends, traps from where there is no return. :) The enemies are giant green bugs, skeletons, but you have many weapons against them. It is important to notice the switches in the water covered by plants, and the shootable stones in the lionheads. There are two secrets on the level.
Chapter 4-1: On this level, beside the two secrets, it is important to get the Bag of Sands and the Prometheus Stone. For this you have to find lots of levers and switches. The main room is a wonderful garden. The levers have to be found on pillars, in the water, on the top of trees, while wild-boars, bats and big green bugs keep disturb you. It is necessary to notice the two jumpswitches on the top of the trees and the passage covered by plants. This level is not linear, you can choose many ways to start. It was a little bit boring to get up above so many times, but if you raise the block with the lever on the central pedestal, you will spare many detours.
Chapter 5-1: This level is also great. There is no lack of block-pushing puzzles, timed runs, jumps that are mostly difficult on passages with breakable floortiles. :) There are 5 secrets on the level, or to be more precise there are 6 of them, but the 6th can be accessed when you revisit this level. These are separate challenges. The switches were well hidden by the author, especially at the last location, where you have to monkeyswing on the ceiling to find the jumpswitch covered by plants. You have to find 3 Athena Souls in order to move on to the next level. The enemies are ancient warriors, rats and harpies.
Chapter 5-2: Well, this is already a harder level. You have to find 5 Stars so that you can put them to their places on the previous level while gathering many stones in order to get on. You will adventure in a sunken temple, in rooms filled with lava. At many places you have to jump without grabbing to reach your goal. The enemies here are also ancient warriors, harpies and two beasts at the end. I found 3 secrets while stepping into the 6th level. The level has a greta feeling, the textures are various and of course this level is not linear either. But there are some logical routes and you main challenge is to find these. :)
Chapter 6: This seems to be a dark, terrific level for the first sight, but it's not that serious. You find yourself in an underworld dungeon. You lost your keys and you have to retrieve them. Some demigods try to set you back, some wraiths, and at the end of the level some undying giant warriors and the boss himself. The main goal is to find the levers that open the doors, so you better check each wall well. You also have to jump over ropes and pass through swinging bags and burners. There is one secret on the level.
Chapter 7-1: I liked this level too. The enemies are lions here, who often attack in droves, an annoying bull and there is also a demigod with a hammer at the end. There are 4 secrets on the level, each with a button that opens another secret, so it is important to press them
all. Maybe the task with the bull is a little bit hard, but you can solve it wothout any injuries, you only have to jump up before it gets close to you, when it is about three floortiles far, then you can run away from it and you won't get hurt.At the beginning of the level if you shoot while sliding down, and of course if you hit the ball above, your task will be easier, because you can run in the opened door.
Chapter 7-2: We are adventuring in a cave and in small temples on this level. Demigods and wraiths are disturbing us in the meantime. It's interesting that also the white wraiths disappeare if you jump into the water, so you don't have to hide behind the small statues. You have to find the 5 Hades Jewel and 5 secrets in all, because you have to go back to the previous level for a while. There are timed runs, jumping on ropes, pushing vases also on this level and you can also practise swimming in a small underwater labyrinth too until you find all the three levers.
Chapter 8: This is not an easy level. You have to solve many timed challenges through burners, lava platforms and breaking floortiles. You can also collect 4 secrets. Meanwhile you are attacked by many bats, two demigods and a winged god who is immortal, so all you can do is to run away. But believe me all this can be solved without using a single medipack. :) The main goal on this level is to find levers and buttons.
Chapter 9: This level is not easy either. There are many timed runs, also one of the two secrets can be accessed this way. The enemies are some demigods here as well and also the Winged Boss appeares whom you can easily lock in. :) If you got the Secret Key on the previous levels, you can take the longer route, in the other case it ends up quickly. It was a great adventure and it has a continuation. You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version), savegames and pictures here: http://treditor.hu/16/legacy_of_the_gods.htm" - Obig (20-Dec-2006) |
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"Great levels, it's like playing an official TR game. And that says it all. Thank you Jedimaster!" - Akcy (03-Nov-2006) |
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"ABSOLUTLY PERECT!!I don't have anything else to add.but also EXTREMLY difficult.
Congratulations to the author." - dya1403 (05-May-2006) |
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"This level serie contains 14 levels and completing it takes much time but
it's worth that. Puzzles are pretty good and you really have to think to solve
them. Many areas also seem perfect and some of them are really big and
you have to explore a lot. Sometimes when I was playing this game I
thought that it would be good if there were more outside areas in the
game because almost every areas are inside areas. However that doesn't
matter very much because levels are still very various. In my opinion the
only bad thing is that sometimes there are too many enemies and
shooting them is a bit boring. Almost everything else is perfect and I really
enjoeyd when playing this game." - Samu (04-Mar-2006) |
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I have not played any of his games, until I downloaded this one. I'm now a fan of JediMaster games. Wow, I had to go back a lot of times and reload. I give it a perfect score because well it has every a classic tomb raider game has. He is really amazing. It's too bad that he is not creating more levels/games. - dantheraider (09-Jul-2005) |
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"For way more than a year I did not dare to even start this huge series, but now (May 2005) I finally got round to it and make my way through it step by step including the two Bonus Packs sequels. While many believe that the sheer magnitude of this epic justifies a straight 10 rating, I will stick to my usual fashion of reviewing and score the levels (or at least the chapters) individually.
Chapter 1 (9/8/9/8, 95 min., 2 secrets): The adventure starts out in fairly plain, desolate, sandy environs with jumps on high pillars right off the bat and lava deep down. This first chapter already provides Lara with all the crucial items needed (crowbar, all kinds of weapons and plenty of goodies - especially if you find the secrets). Enemies are of the easier kind (bats, rats, tinmen warriors and skeletons). I liked the little bath area, the rather clever push block puzzles and the good camera work. You pick up five gems and use a torch briefly at the end and acquire your first key: Titan. Maybe a bit too long a level to get started, but a very solid beginning of the quest.
Chapter 2 (9/7/9/9, 70 min., 2 secrets): Surprisingly linear and rather easy at first. Many, many levers and buttons, burners and lava, combinations of push and raising blocks. More colour gets added to the textures (very welcome) and the room with pools and fountains is beautiful. Again gems to collect (Medusa's eyes) and at the end the next Key: Damokles. What I found rather annoying was the overuse of enemies that are tedious to kill (20 or so harpies and the same amount of tinmen warriors).
Chapter 3 (8/8/10/9, 60 min., 2 secrets): This part is about the Neptune Key as you notice right at the start. It is another lever hunt but again smartly designed in order to eventually get the five tridents. The gameplay has a nice flow to it and water is used in a nice way several times. Quite some target shooting here (lion heads and brass balls), two not so hard timed sequences, a mirror room and a spike/torch puzzle. Enemies are wasps and skeletons.
Chapter 4 (9/9/10/10, 215 min., 12 secrets): Wow! This Chapter makes for a whole massive series by itself. And a thrilling one at that. It consists of three levels that kind of interact with each other, centered around a huge Jungle area. It has a lot of action (slide/jump sequences, timed runs, hopping around the trees), very nice flybys introducing yet another huge area time and again and you will need to keep your eyes open to eventually find the five Prometheus Gems, two golden stars and the occasional trident along the way. Also nice use of the elements puzzles at the very end (sand, oil and water). I don't like mazes but the 'vertical maze like areas' used here are rather interesting. Enemies vary from bats, wasps and warthogs to skeletons, very tough rats and fire wraiths. One part has a really clever push block puzzle to solve which I liked a lot. The pitch black maze is a big no no though, even with the torch it is still a pain. A lot of work in this Chapter indeed and finally you get your most deserved key yet: Thor.
Chapter 5 (8/8/10/9, 120 min., 8 secrets): We are dealing with Atlas in this chapter and you see him around his temple carrying the weight of the world. To get his key there is again plenty to do in the two parts of this chapter. Lots of action with timed sequences (especially nice in part 2 with all the variations), five Athena gems and five Pegasus gems to collect that help you get the five Helios Stars, burners, collapsible tiles, boulders, the list goes on. The big lava room was most impressively designed, even though the repeated maneuvering of the burner tiles was a bit tedious. Enemies are again harpies and warriors, a few rats and two ahmets. There are two things though with this part that spoil it a little: I had some serious troubles with savegame bugs, ie reloading would crash the game or Lara suddenly in flames or a climbable ceiling not working anymore. Those could be worked around though by reloading an earlier save and playing past those passages. And I did not like the increasingly unfair use of unmarked climbable walls/ceilings, especially for the secrets.
Chapter 6 (8/8/9/9, 35 min., 1 secret): Great start in darkness, excellent ambience audio and very different to what you have encountered so far. This is a shorter, sinister level in a prison like scenario with angry (demi)gods and wraiths around who have taken your five keys from you, so you better get them back quickly. Watch out for some well hidden jump switches and the swinging spike bag alley with burners was tougher than it looks. Nice boss ending there. I missed a few more cameras in this part.
Chapter 7 (8/9/10/9, 90 min., 9 secrets): I really liked the light green and later light blue colour tones in this two part chapter. And the lions look cool - even though there are really a bit many around (30 or so). You get some special enemies here with the bull and two hammer guys - one of which you can conveniently lock up and some demigods and wraiths. You also get to use all your well earned keys and need to deal with more traps (boulders, collapsible tiles, spikes etc.), several multi-stage timed runs (great) and collect five Hades gems. There is more camera work here again (much appreciated). The caves area is nicely built and the unfolding bridge always looks impressive. Again there is the occasional unmarked climb/monkey and that trapdoor in the vase puzzle room was simply invisible and I needed the walkthrough for that. At the end you get the Prison Key, the Secret Key, the Zeus Key and the Zeus Amulet - the big prize that you came here for.
Chapter 8 (10/9/9/9, 45 min., 4 secrets): As the duration of the levels gets a bit shorter towards the end, certainly the action level moves up a notch. Swinging blades, burners, lava, timed doors, squishing blocks, collapsible tiles all in various combinations. I think I counted five or six timed passages in this level alone - all of which are quite manageable though and should not take too many tries. Enemies are plenty of pesky bats, a few demigods and a Seth devil that is running around in a cave. Great action level!
Chapter 9 (9/8/9/9, 40 min., 2 secrets): The gauntlet that started in Chapter 8 continues here for a while. There is another annoying unmarked climbable ceiling and not sure what some of the fixed cameras were good for. Also, it seems you can end the series prematurely with the use of the Titan Key, whereas only the Secret Key brings you on further into the level and then eventually to the Bonus Levels - probably this was intended by the author but it seems a bit odd. Finally you do get to see some daylight again, have the pleasure of locking in another Seth devil and reach a nice ending with a 'title' kind of flyby, before sliding into the next stage of this huge adventure, the Bonus Pack 1, which I am about to make my way through next.
All in all, this is very well crafted classic gameplay with a good balance between exploring and action throughout. Despite it length I rarely felt bored, although you do get the hang of how the author is hiding things and what could be a possible next step rather quickly as many ideas do get repeated throughout. Still, I am very much looking forward to continue the journey through the two Bonus Packs." - Michael (16-May-2005) |
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"This is my favorite among Luis Martins levels. I can't begin to describe how much I enjoyed these levels. Luis mastery of deathtraps, breakable tiles, burning floor (you name it) is amazing all throughout these hard and huge levels. The secrets are sometimes so hard to find it took me days to figure them out. For me Luis is the master of custom levels and this is his masterpeice. Full score and I wish I could give him more! 2005/04/08" - QRS (10-Apr-2005) |
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"There are some builders out there who I'd qualify as 'professional'. Hard to define really more along the line of a general feeling when playing a custom level that it could very well be sold in stores because of the overall top quality of it. This mini-game and its author undoubtedly belong to that category. Amazing settings perfect use of lighting and colors very good music adding a lot to the atmosphere and a well balanced gameplay of above average difficulty. Tricky jumps timed runs nice puzzles two mazes (one in the dark and one underwater) very well designed secrets tough enemies which will keep you moving research and traps. Lots of them. The plot too is interesting with a 'funny' twist midway. There is even a bonus part in the last level which is accessed by finding one secret key some levels ago. It's a long game which took me more than a day game-time to complete mainly because of research and me stopping often to gaze at the scenery but never never was I bored. All this being said it isn't perfect. It lacks a little something. Humor perhaps? Or one of those nice little touches I've seen elsewhere? But that's not really important considering. This game is joining the short list of my all-time favorites immediately and I'd wish to thank the author for having given us this jewel." - Sutekh (28-Jan-2005) |
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"Almost 20 years ago I read an article about the English band The Fall in the German music monthly Spex. Mark E. Smith (singer of the Fall or rather Mark E. Smith is the Fall) was quoted with a bitter complaint about music journalism. Said he: 'If hacks write about the Fall they usually write about themselves'. Which Spex thought of as a flattering remark as their comment was: 'Can you make a bigger compliment to the band and the music papers.' I have to admitt that I never understood this cause if you -as a rock critic- rather talk about yourself than the band you must be convinced that you are so much more interesting which makes out that the Band is pretty dull. I guess what Spex wanted to say is that it's dead good if a Band touches you so deeply that you are inspired to part with private information and talk at great length about your emotional topography. I stopped reading Spex shortly after that cause no matter how moving and riveting the lives of them editors were when I buy a music paper I want to read about music and not about the sad and sordid life of some third division hack who feels pretty important just because he knows some crap little indie bands that you and me haven't heard of. You might wonder what all this has to do with Legacy of the Gods and quite rightly so. We will get to that in a minute. There is a major difference between reviews of records and reviews of custom levels. Right maybe even two. First you never get 19 reviews from different people about the same record in a mag and second Rock critics are usually paid to write their bit (which makes them professionals by definition). I say 19 reviews because mine will be the 20th for this level. I mean do you really want to know how many secrets Sash found in Chapter 9 what kind of enemies you will encounter in Chapter 2 or how long it took gfd to complete Chapter 5. Personally I couldn't care less but if you are keen on that kind of information I suggest you skip this here and see what the others have to say. Me I will just ramble on some more about me and this level in general cause I think everything else is already covered nicely by the rest. And I might stress that it has nothing to do with the fact that it has been some time since I played this series. So if this level was a record which one would it be? The Clash's Sandinista springs to mind. If it was a film? Maybe Spielberg's AI? Oh well this allegory is utter crap cause you can't really compare a level to a record; it's just that I followed Luis' Level Building career with great interest because his development is quite fascinating; like that of a talented yet stubborn director or musician that is striving for perfection. He released a very promising debut in the December of 2001 and then worked his way up from there. In my view he peaked nearly two years later with the utterly wonderful South America 1-3. A triple feature that was as professional as typical for Luis' style that he had developed over the years. A true masterpiece. Of course as Piega must have asked himself after Sanctuary Inchdix after the Hidden Garden Epic or Josep after he finished the Tarragona saga Luis might have thought: 'where do I go from here?' When I played Legacy of the Gods I couldn't help feeling that Luis tried to top his last effort by simply making everything bigger. Bigger rooms more switches more enemies more levels more cops more panic (sorry got carried away) whereas -unfortunately- I found all his trademarks that I had become to love so dearly pushed into the background in this one. Sure this is totally awesome in many respects and as many reviewers will tell you it can compete with all the original games and yet to me it is the most ordinary thing that Jedimaster has put out in a long while. I'm not going to accuse him of complacency but obviously he knows what he is good at and that makes this a very professional and enjoyable 14 hours plus adventure but in my humble view the genius that was so palpable in Egyptian Mythology 5 - Nofretete's Dark Temple and South America 1-3 has given way to a more workmanshiplike approach. All the more since it seems to me that he has lost the overall plot in this one (admittedly easily done in such a huge ouvre) as I was missing the continuous storyline. The highpoints for me were Chapter 4 and 5 and after that it was slightly anti-climatic because of some repetitions and a general feeling that he just couldn't keep up the suspense and pace. But then again shouldn't we be grateful that he hasn't just stopped building (ie releasing) like Inchdix?" - Dimpfelmoser (02-Sep-2004) |
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"As this is just too long a game, and a marvellous one at that, and too many levels, but really how many is too many, involved to write like the fluently poetic author I'm striving to become one day I decided to just give you my notes as I wrote them while playing and I leave it up to your skills as educated people of the world to piece them together.
Chapter 1 - A few jumps over lava, giant rats, now what did that jump switch in the small room with three doors do, I guess I'll come back and find out later, much larger lava areas with brilliant architecture and texturing, skeletons, retextured tinmen that are now evil warriors, fairly easy movable blocks puzzle, loads of vases to shoot and some you just can't, collect 5 Venus diamonds, a second movable blocks puzzle, if you can't open a door then maybe looking up with a scope will help, unlike Luis's other levels as this is not a level with trap after trap to get by and although some areas are large they are not overwhelmingly confusing as his previous have been, deactivate spikes in front of certain switches, really good camera aids, the whole level starts in cave areas but ends in a more ruinous temple environment, a third block puzzle with only one block this time but many trigger tiles and some raising trapdoors that sometimes aren't only helpful in the raised position, my favourite block puzzle of the bunch, find torch and burn wooden floor, collect and use Titan key to end level, I'm still not sure what that jump switch did but I finished so who cares, 2 secrets, 105 minutes.
Chapter 2 - Some swimming to start, timed gates with levers and spikes behind them, red harpies, jumps over lava room looking for 3 buttons to open a gate, Grecian like underground temple where you spend almost all this level, locusts but only in fairly small packs, skeletons, cameras aren't so prevalent but still there, slamming stone hammers, warriors, timed turned off spike tile that reactivates, 3 Medusa eye gems, some gates take more than one trigger to open them, one harpy froze and was a pleasure to exterminate, movable block puzzle, waterskin, pick up Damocles key and go to level 3, loads of harpies and warriors, you can choose the order of which you go to collect the gems, 2 secrets, 75 minutes.
Chapter 3 - Giant green wasps, skeletons, 5 Neptune statues that need tridents, I feel like I'm running around like a chook with it's head cut off but still making progress, cameras are sufficient, a bit of target shooting, a combined run, jump, climb, backflip onto a raised timed block, another timed run past a gate, mirrored room, rope burning, some movable, lowering, and raising blocks, the placed tridents fill a once empty pool, collect Neptune's key and finish, there is one lever that is never accessible as spikes gore you if you push it but it seemed not to have a purpose so I expect it's just a red herring, 2 secrets, 65 minutes.
Chapter 4, Part 1 - Green giant wasps, greener environment with trees and an aqueduct but still inside and I'm ready to see the sun, timed run and jump to gate, vividly beautiful colours and the most delicious major area so far, warthogs, the pseudo outside area is also filled with large mushrooms and small temple rooms, movable block puzzle in a watery room with raising blocks to aid the blocks route, collect bag of sand and Prometheus stone, some tree climbing with one part done a little repetitively, cameras were maybe now a little overused with one overly long flyby and 2 separate jump switches in trees having each 2 cameras to point them out when finding them should have been part of the challenge, 2 secrets, 70 minutes.
Chapter 4, Part 2 - Giant rats, after a slide you meet crushing blocks but don't dilly dally as a round boulder is on your tail, large main room with central structure and walls laden with platforms to jump, secondary area that is mostly greenery, fire sprites, loads of well hidden switches and levers guarded by spikes, two Prometheus gems, trident, and a gold star to collect, a couple of stair like areas that the author used to such brilliant use with many switches, skeletons, timed run to a secret, 3 secrets, secrets are placed perfectly without being too easy to find or way to hard like most levels out there, 85 minutes.
Chapter 4, Part 3 - Organic room where you place 5 Prometheus gems, second main brightly lit room with many doors to open, skeletons, easy timed gate run, movable block/raising and lowering block puzzle, fire sprites, fill a pool with water, second movable block puzzle in a small maze area, fire burner jump room over deadly water that you will change to safe, a lot more small and medium sized timed runs, torch puzzle in a pitch black maze which really wasn't difficult but gee those black mazes are just so uninviting, place gems, collect oil and star and go back to level 4.1, 5 secrets (missed one secret which would make 6), 80 minutes.
Chapter 4, Part 1 - Place both stars, sand, oil, and water to collect Thor key as well as a third secret I didn't get before and leave, 10 minutes.
Chapter 5, Part 1 - Boulder chase, timed gate run past the boulder that is now rocking back and forth, a blue harpy gang attack, gladiators, first main location is a grassy cave area with long rock walkway, breakaway tile run around corners with fire burners unseen below that can ignite you without you seeing them, timed run/jump over small lava pits to gate, movable lady puzzle followed by a larger movable block puzzle in a small maze, rats, second area is an indoor outdoor looking place with Greek themed buildings, statues of Atlas, and a wall where you have to place 5 stars that you locate in the following level, timed target shooting, collect 3 Athena Soul gems, use them, and go to next level, 5 secrets, 65 minutes.
Chapter 5, Part 2 - Watery cavern with temple entrances, timed run to a Pegasus Tear gem, timed run to switch that is guarded by spikes, red harpies, timed run across a roof, a double timed run from switch to switch and then rope swing to gate, gladiators, timed run past rolling boulders, find and place 3 Pegasus Tear gems, lava rooms with some really nice jump sequences, final timed run to gate jumping over fire burner and lava, spiked ahmets, 2 Athena Soul gems to find and place, 5 Helios Stars to collect, 2 secrets, 60 minutes.
Chapter 5, Part 1 - Quick stop back to place the Helios Stars, collect sixth secret and Atlas key, 3 minutes.
Chapter 6 - Okay where the hell did my keys go, horned demigods, water sprites, timed gate run, oh there's my keys, sprites, swinging spiked wood and fire emitter path to cross, fire sprites, after leaving sinister temple you are outside in a small sandy caved environment, large temple area with a giant unkillable Roman gladiator throwing electrical bolts at you, pull and push some switches and buttons and slide out of there to the next level quick smart, 1 secret, 35 minutes.
Chapter 7, Part 1 - Target shot to outwit a boulder crush, timed gate run, lions, lions, and more lions, green coloured beginning temple, lava room with bridge you will eventually have to unfurl to use, oh crap, wall tiles that need to be smashed and that can only mean one thing, there's gonna be a bull, use the 5 keys you've collected throughout the game, hammergod, timed gate run over the hammergod room, collect Charon Coin, 4 secrets all with buttons that show a gate as of yet unopened, 35 minutes.
Chapter 7, Part 2 - Horned demigods, double timed run from switch to switch and then to gate, sprites, water sprites, movable vase puzzle, hammergod you can thankfully trap, cave/temple location, easy underwater maze with lowering blocks and switches, fire sprites, turn deadly water safe, collect and use 5 Hades jewels
to get the Prison key, now let's go back to 7.1, 4 secrets, 50 minutes.
Chapter 7, Part 1 - Loads of lions, open prison door to a room with 6 cells that all contain something or other to do, collect Zeus key as well as 1 secret and the Secret key that having finished the levels I have found gives you an extended end to the entire game, now you guessed it, back to 7.2, 10 minutes.
Chapter 7, Part 2 - Use Zeus key and collect Zeus Amulet, slide to level 8, 1 minute.
Chapter 8 - Swinging blade walkway, timed run combined with the swinging blades and fire burners, squishing blocks, breakaway tile run, timed run/jump to a gate, fire burner hallway with timed runs to switches, horned demigod, another timed gate run, yes one more timed run for the road, winged Seth, cave/temple location, 4 secrets, 40 minute.
Chapter 9 - Horned demigods, breakaway tile run over lava with a timed target shooting element, don't rest though as a boulder is on your tails so hop to it and run, timed run to last secret, oh thank the lord I'm outside, the first time in over 13 hours but not for too long, if you don't have the Secret key then your journey pretty much ends here but if you do then you can play on, a nice platform jumping lava room with statues lining it's walls, outside again where another winged Seth awaits, you can trap him I think but I stuffed up and didn't so he was on my butt as I pushed and pulled some vases, run up a grassy cave tunnel to the end building where all you do is pull a lever and enter into the opened door, end with nice flyby that indicates there's more levels to come, after flyby it goes back to Lara who takes a few steps and starts to take a slide and ends but instead of really ending it threw poor Lara into literally the Editor's title flyby which was just surreal and when I tried to check my saves there was all this funny colouring and letters, 2 secrets, 35 minutes.
What a momentous undertaking for a level builder and I congratulate Luis for making everything just perfect, I will however say that I was getting a little claustrophobic always being inside the almost entire 14 hours it took to play and as someone else said the gameplay is a little the same all the way through, this though I was fine with as it was still a nicely challenging game without being boring, but if Luis reads this, can you please make some outdoor levels intertwined with the indoor levels if you are planning anymore level sets. Otherwise a truly must play!" - Sash (23-Jul-2004) |
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"If I did my usual kind of crit then I would write reams describing each section even briefly. From this comment you can expect a very long set of levels equivalent to about 12 normal lengths. The game play is arduous at times with lots of well hidden switches sometime you have no clue as to what it has triggered. The switches are of every variety going. Also lots of back tracking and running things like lava pits and burners several times over in order to complete sequences (I hate this kind of scenario). Enemies are varied from Lions and bats to big dude Thor. Difficult jumps and timed sequences are also quite frequently encountered and coupled with break-tiles just to make it more 'interesting'. Puzzles are evident in all the levels/chapters. The graphics are very good and the atmosphere created could not be bettered with lighting and sound to augment the scenes. Little else to add except it took me nearly two months (only playing on average about 45 minutes a session and not every day) to complete so go ahead and try this level. For the faint hearted who get stuck I have a series of saved games for each level." - Whistle (02-May-2004) |
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"I have played heaps of brilliant levels and just haven't got around to rating them however I just had to make the effort with this one. It is just more than brilliant! Very clever. The sound is so appropriate at all the right times. I jumped back in my chair on more than one occasion. Enemies are timed to be very annoying even the smaller ones where one false move to avoid them can mean sudden death. I was so sad to finish these levels 1 and 2 can't wait for the follow on. BRILLIANT and thanks to the author." - Moonliteshadow (22-Apr-2004) |
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"This is a Herculean effort by a level builder who has earned his reputation as one of the very best TRLE craftsmen. I spent the better part of two weeks working my way through these 14 interconnected levels and I could never have done it without Dutchy's amazingly clear and complete walkthrough (that I understand required valuable input from Kristina and Val). I must confess that on the whole I've found Jedi Master's works to be something more to be endured than to be enjoyed. He seems to concentrate on tight spaces break tiles fire pits and spikes to a greater extent than I would prefer. Although there are certainly exceptions in this epic series I didn't often encounter the beautiful scenery and wide open spaces that are typical of levels by Piega and Debbie Overstreet for example. If I were rating these levels individually they wouldn't receive top marks. However this is definitely a situation where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Jedi Master has given Tomb Raider enthusiasts at no charge a complete game (with more bonus levels to come I'm told) that is definitely worth a price tag of $19.95 or even $29.95. I would gladly have parted with my hard-earned dollars for this gaming experience. And I also intend to play this series again at some future time. So Legacy of the Gods passes my two-pronged test for a top rating: (1) would I pay for it and (2) would I play it again. That being said there were some things I found distinctly annoying. The unrelenting wailing and moaning in the later prison levels and the unceasing action music in another level were so distracting that in good conscience I must subtract one point from the third rating category. I realize that the overall tone of this review seems like I'm damning with faint praise but my assessment of Legacy of the Gods is that this is one of the genuine classics that must be downloaded played and kept in a safe place for later enjoyment." - Phil (07-Mar-2004) |
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"Are these collectively the best custom levels ever released? If not the best they certainly are an achievement that easily deserves a place in the top 10. Playing these levels is a vast undertaking at about 19 hours of game time. In fact having finished the first time I had trouble remembering a lot about the earlier levels. So I played the whole series again (only 14.5 hours the second time through). Having done so I hope my comments can be viewed in the light of the fact that I've thoroughly seen and experienced every detail of these levels. In terms of gameplay you'll encounter every manner of challenge trap and puzzle here as you might expect in so long a game. Of course there are the many trademark runs on collapsing tiles over bubbling lava a la 'South America'. Timed runs also abound especially in the latter levels and are always a challenge without being ridiculously frustrating. As in 'South America' too pushable object puzzles take center stage here. In the end it comes down to pushing a lot of buttons and levers though and if not for the variety and originality of the tasks it could have easily become boring. This is reason number 1 for the less than perfect score. Enemies are many and varied and mostly of the custom genre with the Greek and Roman heritage and mythology holding sway - living and mechanical gladiators lions ram-horned demigods to name a few. The most impressive was a giant gladiator inspired by the TR 5 Rome levels. And in most cases I found the placement of the enemies and their AI to be very well done. As for secrets the quest for the 42 secrets is a sub-plot almost as satisfying as the game itself. All of this is set in a series of Greco/Roman-inspired rooms with many beautiful custom textures in addition to TR textures. The quality of the atmosphere does vary however peaking with rooms like the spectacular forest room with its aqueduct but also including rooms where so much has not gone into the design and the texturing is rather bland. This is reason number two that I didn't give a perfect score. The third reason was rather more annoying: the cut scene cameras (and there are MANY) will not release when 'look' is pressed nor can you even move Lara in many cases so the player is forced to look at every cut scene for several seconds. I don't know if this is a technical issue or deliberate on the part of the author but I like to choose how long I look at a cut scene especially if Lara's underwater or a lion is chomping on her hip. It's easy to see how playing this vast game can leave one a bit awestruck just in its scope alone. It would be like Magplus having released all 13 levels of 'The Rescue' at once. This is definitely one that everyone should try." - Tombaholic (02-Mar-2004) |
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"Those 14 levels were simply fabulous. The graphics alone were a class of its own. The puzzles are not all that tricky - you only need to keep your eyes open and bring along some patience. The enemies are diverse and suitable to the levels. Flybys are nicely designed and the sound was ingenious and very suitable for the atmosphere. I can only recommend it to everybody - a masterpiece. Looking forward to the bonus level." - Navi (17-Feb-2004) |
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"What a huge set of levels it must be the largest to download. I must admit that I did not get on with the South America series but these I found to be brilliant. How on earth Luis maintains such a high standard throughout I will never know. There is no let up as the puzzles and timed runs follow each other so swiftly they leave you gasping for breath. Each one has a different variation to overcome so there is no chance of ever getting bored. How on earth the man thinks up so many varieties of puzzles is beyond me. I loved the slide down into 'hell' and must admit I thought I had finished the game here when the screen went black but no chance and I was up and off for further adventures. There is nothing more to say that has not already been said but just to add that this is a must to have a go at and although absolutely HUGE it is one that should not be missed. Congrats Luis" - Tortoise3 (24-Jan-2004) |
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"This is such an amazing adventure. I don't know where to start writing about it but I'll try. The levels are beautiful and have their own theme and enemies. Plenty of levers to pull and buttons to push of which many are very well hidden. Sometimes you have to activate 4 or 5 levers to open just one door but it never gets boring. Also a lot of jumping to do and many timed runs especially in the last levels but they are not to difficult a challenge yes but not undoable. And let's not forget about the collapsible tiles really tricky sometimes. You can find all the weapons and enough ammo but more medpacks would have been nice in my case. Anyway a great and highly entertaining adventure so if you have a chance download and play!" - Josi (24-Jan-2004) |
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"Wow yesterday (22.1.2004) I finished this 13-level custom. That was a great adventure. I was enjoying every minute while playing. Enemies were fantastically changed and one of them - big warrior from TR5 - was the best. In those levels there are a lot of running jumping perfect timed-runs some interesting puzzles wonderful labyrinth in the Chapter 4.2 and many many more... Each of the levels are different and everywhere is an amazing atmosphere. Sometimes you want to forget what you must do and you just admire the level for some minutes. Technically this custom is almost perfect because sometimes enemies were being stuck in the column. I wouldn't like to say too much because I don't want you to read this but to download this level! In the end I only say that I put '9' in the 'puzzles' because in every level were some the same puzzles like searching some switches balls and that opens doors. But the whole project is one of the best 10 which was made. Everyone must play I recommend this one very much!" - Pedros (23-Jan-2004) |
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"God this is so huge and I even stopped in the middle so that I could play my recently bought AoD I can't even remember all of it. But one thing I keep in mind: it would be unfair not to rate it 10 in all four rating items. This represents an enormous amount of work and makes me wonder how unfair it may be that we don't pay a fee to authors of this magnitude for the works they deliver. Perfect textures good well balanced action great landscapes a lot of imagination and know-how... Never too simple never too hard perfect for different kinds of players more and less experienced. I even liked the ending with the 'To be Continue(d)'. And I'm eagerly waiting for the continuation..." - Jorge22 (21-Jan-2004) |
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"Another masterpiece from Jedimaster in nine separate sections. Rather a good concept with the first five levels dedicated to a different god/mythical being whose key you have to find before you leave the area. Secrets are well worth finding as they generally come with quite lavish pickups. Chapter 1. You find yourself in a typical Jedimaster environment - huge impressive rooms with lots of different routes to choose. His levels are just about as far from linear as you can get but they are very good indeed. Bats giant rats gladiators and skellies galore try to hinder your progress but the shotgun crossbow revolver and grenade gun turn up quite early on. You need to collect five Venus diamonds and the Titan key. Chapter 2. Harpies harpies and more harpies. Not to mention the occasional plague of locusts and more gladiators and skellies. Whew. There are some very well hidden crawl spaces here so look at everything thoroughly. Four Medusa's eyes and the Damocles key to find in this section. Chapter 3. Very soon after entering this good looking area you see that five statues of Neptune are missing their tridents. Guess what you're looking for in this section? Enemies are those vicious flying beetles and skellies. There's a particularly good mirror room in this part and a nice block puzzle. Pick up the Neptune key and go to - Chapter 4. This starts off in a lush jungle setting with wild pigs and fire wraiths - about 50 of them. Well that may be a slight exaggeration but there were certainly a lot of them and it took me ages to find water. There are many doors here that require multiple levers to open and you can easily miss them in the three dimensional mazes that abound. There's also a very tight timed run but it's for a secret so if you really can't manage it at least you can continue with the game. There are five Prometheus stones two stars two tridents and the Thor key to find. Chapter 5. Boulders collapsing tiles lava pits and half a dozen harpies. A typically warm welcome for Lara. This part starts off in a huge beautifully lit cavern. Enemies apart from the harpies are Greco/Roman soldiers (wonderfully re-textured tinmen) and there are three Athena souls three Pegasus tears five Helios stars and the Atlas key to find. There are also some good assault courses to enjoy - collapsing tiles/flames and pendulums/spikes etc. Take time to admire the nicely done Pegasus statues. Chapter 6. Damn - all that hard work for nothing. Lara has been imprisoned and the keys have been taken away. Don't worry they're soon reclaimed although shooting a goodly number of (really spookily re-textured) demigods is involved. There is an enemy in this section that I can't recall having seen in a custom level before - the statue from the Rome levels. Most impressive and seemingly invincible. Chapter 7. Wow lions. Lots and lots of lions. Several prides of lions. You get to use all your keys in this part. Find a Charon coin (shouldn't they be in pairs) assorted keys five Hades jewels and a Zeus amulet. Aaaaaaaaargh hammer gods. At least you can trap one of them. There's also a very tight timed run here; well there are a few tight timed runs actually but one of them is a bit of a beast. Chapter 8. More spikes fire emitters collapsing tiles and timed runs. The fun never ends. I'm not the world's biggest fan of timed runs but I must admit there are some really enjoyable ones in this section. Chapter 9. More collapsing tiles boulders and a continuation of the general spiky theme. If you were wondering what the secret key you picked up several adventures ago was for this is where you find out. Have you ever noticed how difficult a pot pushing exercise can be with Seth on your heels? No? Well you will now. I only found 35 of the 42 secrets and I shudder to think how long I took to play this level - I didn't dare look. It's vast it's confusing it's occasionally difficult and it's just not to be missed." - Jay (16-Jan-2004) |
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"The level is a mixture of enigmatic puzzles spellbinding professional look and the length helps extend the level(s) fun. Everything was good about this level and it was worth downloading to play. GREAT JOB!" - TG (13-Jan-2004) |
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"I finally finished these humongous levels and was sad when it was all over. They took me so long to complete they became part of my life for weeks lol. I can only repeat what everyone else has said and that this was a most spectacular event in custom made levels. I really don't think words can describe the beautiful rooms gameplay and atmosphere and well just about everything was perfect with only a few minor niggles mainly a door bug and an item bug where I had a star disappear from my inventory and with such a complex series of levels going back wasn't something to get excited about because these really were quite hard levels to tackle. So without boring everyone by re iterating what all the above say I will just say if you miss these levels you will miss one fantastic Raiding experience. Absolutely stunning! Top marks all round!" - Moonpooka (11-Jan-2004) |
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"9 levels of marvelous fun exciting 18(!) hours of tomb raiding! Set in different surroundings and various enemies for each level. Tricky jumping timed runs traps finding levers and exploring and exploring. Is it sure we don't have to pay for this!?! These levels could easily be a part of any official game and all for free! Definitely a must-play!" - G.Croft (09-Jan-2004) |
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"There really is not much more than I can say that the previous reviewers have not said already. This is a fantastic set of levels. It has everything going for it Wonderful settings amazing lighting beautiful locations and ALMOST nearly ALMOST impossible jumps/timed runs/hidden handles hidden levers/high rope swings/jumps and puzzles that will keep even the most ardent TR fan entertained. I loved this to bits but never found anywhere near the 42 secrets but that is down to me I just wanted to get on with the game. From start to finish it's an adventure and one well worth undertaking. If you only download one level this year (shame on you :-))... but if you do then make it this one I promise you will NOT be disappointed. Top marks." - Avalon (09-Jan-2004) |
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"I played an incredible very long adventure with fantastic places to visit. I don't know where to start giving you an idea of what you will see or expect. The game starts underground with lava around jumps to perform and a lot of back tracking which follow in the rest of the levels but not to that extent. As the player proceeds the scenery changes into Greek-Roman levels with many parts to complete and usually some items needed in one part are in the next part(s). Items like gems keys stars tridents to name a few are scattered thought out the levels but in order to acquire them you have to pass various traps and work hard to complete every task that will get you closer to the desired object. I can't really choose one level that I liked best I was captured by the atmosphere and design of them all with my favourite setting being the gardens and the outside areas. The gameplay is quite confusing though due to the fact that one in order to open a door or proceed has to find many switches levers jump switches or buttons so well hidden that one spends several hours searching the surroundings. My advice is to often use the binoculars and look everywhere on trees walls foliage in every single place you can think of. The enemies vary from bats and skeletons to weird blue sort of demigods and the guy with the big hammer. At one level the bull is used for the usual wall-button smashing. This is a very enjoyable game which is also huge and has everything; traps puzzles secrets that do not interfere with the game play or finishing the levels. It's what a player dreams of challenge in its full with timed runs and even obstacles in the way suitable to please every player. I would say this is the game of the year. After his previous series someone would think it can't get any better well Luis has proved that it can and is an excellent builder. I found 34 of the 42 secrets but I did find all five of them in level 7.I. I am looking forward to playing the bonus level(s). Well done and a big thanks for the many hours of fun." - Kristina (29-Dec-2003) |
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"Where to start as this is 14 level game is way too big to describe what goes on in what level. Sufficient to say that it took me almost two weeks in real time and about 28 hours on the clock to finish this game. What stands out is that I found every level had its own enemies textures and mood. The hunt for all kinds of coloured gems to get to the next level is a feat on its own. You also see a sort of build up enemies are getting fiercer timed runs tighter more traps and although there is a plethora of levers to pull it didn't bore me one bit. Luis is very tricky in hiding levers some blend in so well and at a certain time you can sort of guess that there must be a lever sneakily hidden somewhere as there are still spikes popping up. Only thing I didn't like is that although in the first couple of levels there were some flybys but in the 4th level most of them were gone. And that level in my opinion was the most frustrating level because of that. There is everything in here what should be in a Tomb Raider game and maybe even more. Some enemies had me jumping in my chair and I had to think some moves through as nothing is that obvious. The music that was added did contribute enormously and don't forget the puzzles as there is a absolutely nasty block puzzle in there that kept me busy for two whole days. You will find enough ammo and medipacks and all the hardware there is. And to be honest I didn't get all the secrets as at a certain time I couldn't be bothered. So I hope someone does keep a saved game with the so needed key to play the bonus level as I don't have it. 20-12-2003" - Gerty (23-Dec-2003) |
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"After I played for a week I finally finished the 14 levels and it was not easy. Excellent levels many puzzles to solve for some gates/doors you need to find 4 switch until you open them hidden jump switch behind vegetation was tricky shooting on lion's heads very good. Gameplay wonderful. Atmosphere and Textures same. I enjoyed to play this. Thank you Luis Martins - you build great levels." - Yoav (22-Dec-2003) |
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"1: A wonderful start to the series (10/9/10/9) and a big welcome back to Luis! The moment you load this up you are greeted with a rather lovely load screen then, when you enter the menus, you will notice that even the title tune has had a bit of a make-over. Nice incidental touches like this let know you are in for something special. This massive level looked and played brilliantly. It also boasted excellent atmosphere, including some things I don't believe I've heard before. Not to mention some new objects (well, new to me anyway). But the thing I really liked about this level was the feeling of non-linearity. In other words, you could (to a certain extent) make your own way through the level a lot of the time. Don't worry though, it's structured so that you'll almost always find a nice shortcut back to where you want to go. Enemies were good on this level (skellies, gladiators etc) and will provide you with a nice break from the exploring. Well done Luis - what a start! It took me 2 hours and 45 minutes and I found 2 secrets (I also didn't need to refer to the forum even once - always a good sign!).
2: Another excellent level (9/10/8/8) follows smoothly from the first. This time, however, rather than have Lara traversing a vast, complex level, Luis has saw fit to change the tempo a little and offer us a smaller, more focused and more intricate map. This is a very nice change of pace. Beware though - just because the level's smaller, doesn't mean the enemy-count is - because there are even more tough fights this time around (gladiators, dragon-birds and skellies)! There was one thing I didn't like though, and that was the fact that some of the gates were 'pushable'. Well, I don't think I've really come across that before and I assumed they were just scenery (they certainly seemed to resemble an iron fence). There were also a couple of fixed cameras :( Anyway, apart from that slightly unfair time with the push-gates, I only had to access the walkthrough once. This level took me 2 hours and 15 minutes and I found 2 secrets.
3: This level (10/9/7/8) feels a bit like a mixture of the first 2, in that it's still pretty big (like the first) but it's still quite difficult to get lost due to the way it's been constructed (like the second). Whilst this level was still just as good as the first 2, what with nicely designed puzzles, well hidden levers and good fights versus skellies and green beetles; I can't help thinking that it still had its share of faults. The most obvious of these is the distinct lack of cameras, which was sometimes slightly off-putting. The second and third revolve around 2 rather unfair 'deathtraps' (a spiked lever, near the start and a large 'metal type area which you're not supposed to enter until it's flooded - but it doesn't look dangerous at all!). These small faults shouldn't deter you though because this level flowed so nicely and was such a joy to explore that I didn't need the forum once! :) I completed this in 1 hour and 30 minutes, but I only found 1 secret :(
4.I: This level (9/7/9/10) starts with a very difficult jump/climb sequence straight away. So difficult that I almost had enough. Having got past that point things improved dramatically, because you'll soon enter one of the most graphically and sonically impressive locations yet! This area you enter is designed so well that it almost feels real. This is a very focused map full of tricky jumps and sneaky climbs, but only a few fights (with boars and green beetles). It must be said now that there is a slight lack of cameras. A lovely level then (in both senses of the word) and one which only me had me accessing the forums twice :p All in all, this map took me 3 hours! But at least I found 2 nice secrets :)
4.II: Another giant level (10/8/9/9), but one that still manages to stay 'focused' rather than just sprawl. This time Luis has increased the trickyness, meaning that some of the levers are very well hidden indeed. So much so that I had to access the forums on a couple of occasions :( One thing I didn't like about this level was an unfair lever/block deathtrap :( Fights were minimal (a few skellies and some strange 'super' rats which take a hell of a lot of punishment) but there were an impressive number of wraiths to avoid (including, on one occasion, about 4 or 5 at the same time!). This well designed and very enjoyable took me another 3 hours to complete! Still, at least I found 2 secrets :D
4.III: Another lovely looking and lovely playing level (9/8/7/9), but one that wouldn't have missed the odd extra camera. Having said that, you should know by now that when you press a switch and nothing seems to happen it's because it's either a timed run or gives access to a secret. The trouble is, it's not always obvious which one :( Things are getting a bit confusing now, here on the third part of level 4, because you'll find yourself going back and forth between all three parts :O Having said that, I didn't need the forums at all for this part (unlike 4.I and 4.II)! Fights were mainly those cool skellies again so make sure you save your hi-ex. I completed this in 4 hours!! Some of that was the to-ing and fro-ing from level to level though. Anyway I managed to find 3 secrets :D
5.I: This level (8/9/7/9) starts you off with a fantastic battle in a giant cavern atop a cliff dealing with at least 5 phoenix at the same time! Now that's what I call a fight :) The rest of the time is spent fighting either more of the above or stone swordsmen. The main action then takes place in and around 3 beautiful temples. Be warned though there are still very well hidden levers to find; and a deadly run across a dozen collapsible tiles before you even get there (very difficult). There was also a pretty confusing block puzzle. I'll be honest now and say that, although it was pretty obvious what switches did most of the time, a few extra cameras would have been handy. Still, this level had enough fresh ideas to keep you on your toes. I completed this in 2 hours and found 3 secrets - all with no help from the forum :D
5.II: This level (9/10/9/10) starts off with a fantastic underwater city. It then continues into a very attractive temple complex and, finally, through one of the best looking areas I have yet encountered (a lava cave). You need an awful lot of artefacts from this level (5 stars and 5 gems). Don't be put off though, just keep searching as the areas are not vast, just intricate. Fights on this level were stone swordsmen and phoenix again. Oh, and a couple of giant lizards for good measure. There were a lot of very tight timed runs on this level which, at times, proved all most too much for poor old me :( A few extra cameras may have helped here. Mind you, I didn't need to access the forums this time either, so they couldn't have added much. Playing these 2 levels was far less frustrating than the last 3, because you hardly need to travel between them at all, which was a relief :D This all took 2 hours, but I only found 1 secret....
6: A very atmospheric level (8/7/10/9) that is thankfully much easier than the last few, meaning a welcome change of pace. There's not a heck of a lot of puzzles here because it's mainly a run 'n' gun level. Talking of which, I hope you've saved some super grenades for all the grey devils on this level! Don't bother shooting the big sword boss - he seemed indestructable :( This level only took me 45 minutes to run through, but I didn't find a single secret :(
7.I: Another short level (10/10/10/9), but one packed with a massive amount of combat, mainly with lions. In fact, at one point you'll be fighting at least 5 of them at once! You'll also meet a bull and have to make use of it in a dangerous ouzzle (the bull is indestructable AFAIK as is the big stone swordsman you'll meet at the end). The graphics are lovely, once again, particularly the giant 'bridge room'. This all helps create a very nice ambiance. Be warned though, if you want to access the bonus level make sure you have found all secrets before you leave this one. This map only took me 45 minutes and I found 3 secrets, and I didn't need to access the forum at all :)
7.II: The ambiance is actually improved a little on this level (9/10/10/9) what with all those poor skeletons that have been nailed to the wall). There's also even better music. The fights (with grey devils) will knock your socks off: I just hope you've been conserving your ammo. There was only one thing I didn't really like about this level and that was to do with finding a certain tile in such an unusual way that I think few people are going to figure it out (I certainly couldn't and had to access the forum). That minor point was soon forgotten amongst all the good stuff; especially the titan which you could 'trap'! This all took me 2 hours and I found 4 secrets.
8. This map (8/8/9/8) has more than it's fair share of timed runs and they were beginning to outstay their welcome. Luckily, the fights, and 50ft-high jumps were around too. By the way, I hope you've been careful with your magnum ammo, because there's quite a handful of objects that need to be shot. It's also worth noting that there's nothing to collect on this level (no gems or keys etc) and that makes a refreshing change from the last few. I completed this in 1 hour and 15 minutes, and I found no less than 4 secrets!
9: This level (5/5/7/8) begins with a truly horrible jump/rope/slide/collapsible-tile sequence right at start. Then follows on with, quite possibly, an even worse boulder/slope sequence that will have you dying a dozen(s) times before you crack it. Later on we have a dreaded fixed camera :O The rest of this level is fairly easy though and there's only 1 enemy to worry about, but no boss to speak of. Also, there was no end sequence or final camera, just Lara sliding down a slope :( This level took me just 30 minutes and I found 1 secret.
The series as a whole was, by and large, fantastic and the best set I have played yet. The good points (exciting fights, wonderful graphics, scary/upbeat ambiance, non-linear progression through each level, short cuts to regularly visited parts of levels, hardly any tedious block-push puzzles and was always interesting and fun to play) far outway the bad (one too many timed puzzles, a couple of fixed cameras, unkillable enemies and the odd 'deathtrap'). Some points in these levels were truly amongst the best ever, whether it was a stunningly textured room, an epic-sized cavern or a fight with half a dozen enemies; there was always something in each level to make you go 'Wow!' To conclude, I feel that these levels, when viewed as a full series, are worth more than the sum of its parts. I completed the entire epic in 25 hours and 45 minutes! I also managed to locate 28 of a possible 42 secrets :D" - gfd (22-Dec-2003) |
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