Level reviews

"I've been playing a lot of levels from this prolific author as of late, but I have to say this one in particular didn't quite captivate me. It's a very linear adventure taking place in a Venetian night where you go from one room to the next killing baddies and looking for a key to open the next door. It got old rather quickly, although the classic TR2 Venetian Violins music cut down into short slices spruced things up a bit. Some of the wine bottles didn't count up as secrets but served no purpose otherwise, so I'm not sure if they were just extra pickups for the sake of it or an oversight of sorts. 35 minutes, 5 secrets. 02/21" - Treeble

"Not as Venetian as some other levels, but still an enjoyable enough raid. The gameplay isn't particularly spectacular or taxing (the closest thing you'll encounter to a puzzle is a few simple jumps and unopened doors whereby the key isn't too far away) and the rooms and decor are rather sparse with little to do in them except complete the necessary task(s), but the search for the secrets and the guard attacks kept things spiced up (I couldn't locate the Shotgun anywhere though) for the approximately 40 minutes I spent here. No masterpiece, but very playable." - Ryan

"I liked this level, although maybe not enough to bring it into 7+ territory. There's a bit of false advertising in the title, as you don't have the look and feel of Venice except for the minute or so that you spend swimming in the canal. The other 54 minutes take place indoors in an opera house setting at the end. This builder was quite prolific in the early years and enjoyed uniformly high scores (this one being the lowest rated of the bunch), but we haven't heard from him in a number of years. There are a lot of keys to find, dogs and soldiers to shoot and crowbar doors to open, but it all flows along quite well. There are a couple of locks that have to be shot just right in order to cause the doors to open, but if you keep at it they'll eventually shatter. Not a barn burner, but a decent enough raid." - Phil

"No much to say about this short level. Pull switches, shoot grates, kill guards and dogs, using keys and few more. Simple architecture, few pickups but enough flares (I got out of medipacks at the end), easy secrets, lineal gameplay with no much problems to advance. Some old musics from TR games and some defects with the textures too. Nothing special but playable anyway." - Jose

"A good adventure in Venice with many different places to raid, it is rather dark even playing at night I had to increase a lot the gamma of my screen. It is a bit different than your usual Venice setting so that change is welcome. The game flows very well, there is a bit of exploring but mainly it is straightforward, with a few traps with barbwires and a couple of big fans to get through. I found the guards very well placed and at the end of the level I had no medipack left and only a small amount of health in the bar. Good atmosphere I like the yellow lighting in the some of courtyards. Also the quests for the secrets is quite interesting , I found 5 of them. 48 minutes" - eRIC

"I liked this little adventure. We are adventuring in Venice unfortunately in the night in the dark. Our goal is to get the Stolen Jewel which is in the Opera and heavily guarded. Meanwhile we can find 7 bottles of vine on the level but only 6 are counted as secrets. The enemies are only gunmen and dogs. You can't lose your way here and neither search for the getting on. You have to get the Gate Keys from the enemies and somewhere from vases too to get on. There are no timed runs hard jumps or puzzles either on the level. The textures are a little bit dark but we want to rob in the night don't we. :) The added sounds only raised the feeling. I can advice everybody to try out this easy challenge. You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version) savegames and pictures here: http://www.freeweb.hu/treditor/12/adventure_in_venice.htm " - Obig

"Well maybe this isn't Venetian enough as in what could probably be expected but it's still Venice I guess and I must say I liked the textures used (and well used too). The gameplay is easy and every player can play it. The only time I got a little stuck was when I was looking for what to do next by the big black gate still unaware of the red light on the other side of the room. The enemies here are baddies (who multiply themselves as the level nears the ending) and their guardian dogs. There were seven bottles to find seven secrets in all but I only found five (one of which for some reason didn't count as a secret)... I guess I won't be able to have wine in the weekend! Anyway do play this level. Quite enjoyable. (November 19 2004)" - Jorge22

"Peter should remain near his Castles he has not managed this Venice-theme so well. There was not a lot of Venice to see and in there was also not a lot of gameplay. There were no interesting jumps and also no exciting riddles. Indeed I liked the textures quite well however no atmosphere wanted to come up. Peter has already built better Levels." - Xxenofex

"Lara has come back at Venice after a long time. This time she needs to run around the dark channel and check into the mansion soldier waiting for her. Killing them and dogs she must get the hidden treasure. She needs some keys getting from enemy for opening a gate. There are no complicated puzzle and no hard action. But it's not easy to get the all bottle of wine of secrets. It needs you searching all over the place. I guess you'll feel that something is missing for enjoying Venice. If we can drive that boat it'll be very nice!" - Blacksheep

"Venice levels on the whole have been quite sequential with puzzling usually being forfeited to action or exploration well this level pretty much follows that same theme. On the hunt for a stolen jewel Lara meets up with a whole bunch of guards and dogs as she runs and swims from area to area with the occasional thing to shoot or crowbar lever to pull if she's lucky she can also collect the 7 wine bottle secrets scattered around which aren't overly difficult to spot although one alluded me. I have to admit at the time of this 50 minute levels release I found it a nice diversion maybe a little nicer than the actual level really deserved as it didn't make my brain bleed like most of the other mammoth multi level undertakings that also hit the level list at the same time." - Sash

"I look forward to Peter's levels as they are fun and not frustrating as so many builders are doing these days. I like Venice levels and this unfolded like a traditional Tomb Raider game should. I have been put off of Lara for the last few months but this level has sparked some of my original feelings. Thanks Peter." - Sherry

"It's not the most Venicy of Venice levels but it is fun albeit rather dark. Peter has at least provided lots of flares. You need to rescue a stolen jewel and there are plenty of guards and dogs trying to stop you. You're also likely to suffer damage from rotating fans and barbed wire. The secrets come in the form of bottles of wine - how very civilised. It's a nice short unpretentious level well within everybody's capabilities." - Jay

"Nope this is not your typical Venice level and I liked it for that. Some large and unusual rooms using the Venice textures which is cool. Gameplay is straightforward. So blaze through this one and enjoy offing the baddies - there are plenty of 'em. Lots of fun." - Duncan

"As always when I saw Venice I dived on this because I love these type of levels. Storm has created an unusual version here. There's no red awning jumping but there are windows to shoot out. There's a fair bit of swimming and climbing shooting guards and dogs and finding keys and the crystal. A new version of the opera house with nice looking boulders like balls of twine. I love the fountain area with the gondola and speedboat. I dived into the boat and promptly fell into the water so it can't be used. Very short level." - CC

"It wasn't the Venice I expected but nevertheless I had a great time. This is also not hard for the very experienced raider so that suited me fine as well. It was also nice to see the level 'unfolding'. Funny though as I played this level at home before I went to the Hamburg Meeting and there I played it again together with Pam and I couldn't remember where the revolver was. Found it again when I loaded this one up at home again as I started to doubt myself. As finding that hardware is pretty handy if you're not comfy in doing a curved jump as you need to shoot a fuse box. Loved seeing the boats lying in the canal a pity you can't use them. 20-09-2004" - Gerty

"Peter just likes his darkness - but with the flares provided it is actually not much of an issue in this 40 minutes adventure. Venice? If not for the title and for a bit of water along the way I would not have made that guess. Oh there is if course a bit of really nice music. You spend the time largely making your way using a bunch of keys finding seven wine bottles five of them secrets shooting plenty of dogs and guards and eventually will find the jewel and make an escape. The cartoonesque kitchen textures were hilarious but all in all this feels like a bit of a rushed an uninspired level from Peter. Still fun while it lasted." - Michael

"Is it an unwritten rule that level builders must continually improve on their previous achievements? Can't they just build a level for the enjoyment of it? I mean this adventure isn't a classic by any means (it's rather too empty and linear to be particularly stimulating) but it provided me with a decent enough hour long entertainment. Surely that's qualification enough for playing it? My only real reservation was that there didn't seem to be enough medi-packs; but a charming effort all the same." - Orbit Dream

"A forty five minute adventure with seven secrets to find I found six and this was really the highlight of the whole level for me. I was slightly disappointed when I wasn't faced with the sort of level associated with Venice; here we have only a few water channels and none of the beautiful buildings and docks we look forward to. Most of the level consisted of mansion type areas with some pretty dull and empty rooms. Game play was basic like find some keys and shoot a few things to proceed and guards and dogs will hinder your way but other than that this tame level had nothing much to offer me. I hope Peter sticks to castle levels in future as this just isn't his style and doesn't do his skills justice." - Moonpooka

"This is a short level about thirty five minutes featuring Venice. I don't understand why Venice levels have to be dark but they are not my favourite anyway. There isn't much to do in this level some target shooting guards and dogs to kill with no powerful weapon given which makes it really tedious. Keys are to be found that open doors. Just a basic level with a nice music theme though. I found five secrets which were bottles of wine and two of them didn't chime. This happened in the previous level of this author as well so I think not much attention was given again." - Kristina

"Don't remember playing a level of the author for a long time (since Diamond of Kashtuk actually) and since this one had the inviting word 'Venice' involved in the title what is one of my favourite original surroundings and given the authors distinctive style I thought that this shouldn't be a disappointment. And it wasn't really contrary to what one would believe from my ratings. No - it's a very decent half an hour experience in a slightly different Venice environment and not only cause it's taking place at night. This ain't quite the Venice you've been to before - tall sky-scraper alike buildings lots of dry land - so this might actually not be the best level for a nostalgia trip BUT the author's original approach should be appreciated. So what were the not so good things here? Well - despite the author being a matured designer there still are some mistakes builders usually make at the start of their career - paper-thin walls needlessly tall rooms compressed textures all over the place also the a bit out of place (ie - serve no purpose) shotgun ammo and lasersight (never found the corresponding weapons for these though it just MIGHT have been me missing the according firearms). Also - the gameplay is very linear - should you ever have to back-track then only for a secret so this gives the game a pretty good flow and I would have recommended this for beginners if I hadn't had a hard time with medipacks and enemies. It again might have been just me having missed a medipack along the way but anyhow - I do advise to use what you have sparingly. Also I mentioned the lasersight being superfluous - one might question why - if the level has one shootable red lamp and a handful of locks. The thing is that from where you find the crowbar with a curved jump you can jump into the alcove with the red lamp and use the good ol' pistols to do the shooting. All the mentioned stuff is what the author could have missed and you don't really miss out on much so it's not all that bad. In fact this level ain't bad at all - it's just that it could've been so much more! Worth playing nonetheless!" - eTux