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The Voice that should not be by Ruediger

Bogey 7 8 8 7
Celli 7 7 7 7
Cory 9 8 6 8
Gerty 6 7 7 7
Jay 6 7 7 8
Jorge22 8 9 9 9
Jose 7 7 7 7
Kristina 6 6 7 7
Loren 6 7 7 6
MichaelP 6 7 8 8
Orbit Dream 6 8 7 8
Oxy 9 9 10 9
Phil 8 7 7 8
Ryan 7 7 7 8
Sakusha 8 8 9 8
Sash 6 5 7 6
Treeble 7 7 7 7
 
release date: 28-Sep-2004
# of downloads: 69

average rating: 7.32
review count: 17
 
review this level

file size: 29.40 MB
file type: TR4
class: nc
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
unbroken@unbrokenmetal.de

Reviewer's comments
"I loved the reinterpretation of the Tomb Raider motif that plays as the level begins, don't recall having listened to it before. The first part takes place in a city and to prevent the horizon breaking in, the author made use of several fixed cameras. I love the effect, but I know most people don't like them. After a few levers and platforming sequences we travel back in time to face off gladiators and even a centurion until eventually we learn of the titular voice that should not be. Following the walkthrough optimized my time here so I didn't need to explore any of the several side paths along the way (although I understand they're all just dead ends anyway), and bottomline is this was a rather standard adventure. 35 minutes. 04/21" - Treeble (11-Apr-2021)
"This brisk and fast paced two parter definitely has its enjoyable moments, despite it being quite quick and easy. The textures are a bit rough and ready but the appearances do improve as the game progresses and the temple areas in the second part are really quite attractive. The choice of audio and enemies are also pretty neat touches. Although there is nothing complicated to overcome in terms of gameplay, it still sets quite an exhilarating pace, with plenty of brisk timed runs, traps and acrobatic exercises. I felt that the successive fixed cameras were a bit of a nuisance (as is often the case), but apart from that, these levels are fast paced and fun." - Ryan (01-Jun-2018)
"This is a two-parter of almost exactly equal lengths (it took me 27 minutes to play each one), and while the graphics are crude by today's standards I found the gameplay to be quite exhilerating. There are a few nice timed runs and jumping exercises that likely won't be conquered on the first try. The lighting is quite good as well. Enemies consist of skeletons, mummies, crocodiles and Grecian knights, as well as the occasional dog and baddie. And let's not forget the indestructible statue warrior who must be eluded in close quarters. My main gripe is the builder's unhealthy fondness for fixed camera angles. Aside from that the levels are fast-paced, engrossing and rated about where they should be." - Phil (13-Aug-2014)
"Not bad this couple of levels with some doses of exploration with no much backtracking, some traps, some gymnastics and an easy gameplay. I missed another weapon for the first level, more flares and occasional puzzles here and there and not only pull switches. The timed runs are generous, perhaps there is an abuse of the fixed cameras but never too annoying. Playable." - Jose (17-Nov-2013)
"More than and hour very nice of game play. Part 1: The Gateway to the Past Game begins in beautiful town with beautiful garden and fountain, easy to explore. There you find a scroll and pick up some keys to proceed. In town is Lara attacked by some dogs and a few guards with stick with not much fret. You task is to find a beautiful gate to the past which leads into city of Troy. In first part is one easy timed run. I suggest a save before turning the switch. I like the dark part of basement. :-)) This is the only dark spot in game (beside the one near the end). :-) You find also a very nice chamber with books and resting place. Further you proceed through many corridors but you can't be really lost there, they are well designed. Took me some time to find one switch which opens trap door into the room with gates to the past but was very enjoyable. Also running jump after pushable blocks gave me some time to master it. :-) Part 2: The Voice That Should Not Be Through the gate you are landed into the beautiful city of Troy. Seems city was attacked recently because the buildings are still burning and also the tree. Area with rocks is beautiful designed and lights are perfect. I also like the lake, was enjoyable to swim in it, I looked everywhere. :-) The little earthquake and rolling ball were perfect for game atmosphere, also music is beautiful and very suitable. There are two multiple jumps to reach two switches and I felt like in old Tomb Raider game, very well done. In this - second level enemies are also very well placed. Of course I had almost a heart attack when meeting Roman Warrior. You can see his legs through small hole and with combination of sounds he makes this moment is unforgettable. :-)) I'm glad there was no need or opportunity to kill him. :-) After this shock you can kneel before the Goddess Athena to pick up the medipack listening beautiful music and watching flyby. :-) Also a very nice timed run awaits nearly. :-) Also skeletons and mummies gave me some thinking and running. :-) Did I mention moving spikes? I'm glad I had time when running near them and that I could stop and rest for awhile. :-) Corridors before the Voice of Lady Cassandra are very beautiful. Blue brick textures and spikes to bump atmosphere until she speaks ... Also unforgettable moment, beautifully designed with maximum bumped atmosphere. Touched me deeply. Beautiful game. Thank you for building it. :-)" - Oxy (10-Oct-2005)
The adventure begins in a town square where Lara needs to find a time machine. In the second part of the adventure, Lara would end up in 1180 BC, near the city of Troy. There are two keys to get and a scrap of paper that gives a few hints for the switches puzzle. To my surprise, I have found a shootable piano near one of the keys, and the adventure had less darkness than usual. Nonetheless, there were still a few dark areas that have contributed to the gameplay. I haven't seen the inventor of the time machine, but his invention is well-protected by security guards (retextured MPs) and dogs. I have enjoyed the pushable block puzzle, the modified version of TR music and some of the jumps. The camera angles increased the difficulty of the adventure (especially in the area with the burning fortress, where some of the jumps weren't simple). Concerning the last timed run of the level, instead of moving hastily towards the ladder, I have decided to let the spiked boulder go through (as well as two spiked barrels), return to the starting block, and reopen the timed trapdoor. The immortal warrior god posed a certain challenge, and I have noticed that the fortress was partially damaged (hints: the cracks on the walls of the fortress and burning boxes), and I have seen a few casualties (the skeletons). However, the rest of the area appears to be intact, thanks to the protection given by Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill. I am not sure, but the double theta on the warrior's shield probably shows that he was fighting alongside the Trojans. It's like the Spartans, who put the Greek letter Lambda (for 'Lacedaemon' or 'Laconia,' two names for the Spartan home territory) on their shields. The traps have fascinated me, and the crossbow is indispensable for the end of the second level, for there are groups of enemies (mummies and skeletons). However, I was surprised to see mummies in Troy because the Trojans weren't known for mummifying the deceased. If Lara were an ordinary human being, then Cassandra's warning should've been taken quite seriously, but since Lara had enough strength to pull through, then her warning could no longer apply to everyone. So she would lose some accuracy in her warnings. Therefore, Lara probably saw Cassandra as a woman who lacked credibility. But then again, since she did not return Apollo's love, he placed a curse on her so that no one would ever believe her predictions. - Sakusha (12-Jul-2005)
"Gateway to the Past (6/7/8/7, 25 min.): You start in a deserted City and make your way inside a kind of Base via two keys. Some custom music is well used here and a timed trapdoor the gameplay highlight along with a multilever puzzle which is easy if you pick up the clue. Not sure what the purpose of the movable blocks was though? Rather few enemies (dogs, guards and a few nice custom textures are added. The Voice that should not be (6/7/8/8, 30 min.): After going through the 'time-tunnel' you end up in Troy in the past. This part has more enemy variety (troy soldiers, scorpions, crocodiles, skeletons, mummies and the ever impressive big Roman warrior). The pace is very fast and camera guidance well applied to help you forward. I like the fun jumps up the towers and the increasing amount of traps (spikebags, boulders, spikes, fires), even though all of them are rather tame. The encounter with the 'Voice' is nicely set in scene and was promising much more than actually followed, but overall this is a fun adventure to play through." - Michael (13-Mar-2005)
"Rüdiger's latest offering is a nice little double level whereby Lara must gain entry to a secret base and use the time tunnel therein to travel back to Ancient Troy just after its destruction by the Greeks in the Trojan War. Gameplay is simple and straightforward with quite a bit of running around the expansive areas that Lara has to explore in the two environments. The puzzles are not elaborate and the traps are not difficult. Enemies in the first level are guards and guard dogs. In the second Lara meets scorpions crocodiles gladiators and the Roman soldier statue from Tomb Raider: Chronicles. None of them are too difficult to overcome. Mostly standard objects are used and these to fairly good effect. The one object that stands out most was the Athena statue near the end of the level. However there were some rooms that were rather large and empty and some of the rooms especially near the end felt a bit repetitive. Diversity of rooms here and also more placed objects in the emptier rooms would have helped. The atmosphere felt somewhat flat perhaps due to the enormous environment where Lara had to run around without much to do. The lack of challenging puzzles also contributed to this feeling. Cameras were placed it appears to help reduce the sight limitations which were caused by the expansive areas and the use of bright outdoor horizons. At times the quickly changing camera angle felt awkward. Other than that cameras were used to good effect in showing the effects of activated switches. The custom music was an excellent effect and was a positive contribution to the feel of the level. Placed lighting was minimal giving a flat feeling to the textures whereas more placed lighting would have given a greater feeling of depth. On the other hand it did give the feeling of a gray day following the destruction of Troy. The textures were a composite mostly drawn from the original levels with many custom textures added in. In some places particularly in the outdoor 'gray day' environment this was often used to good effect. Indoors in the second level however the combination of textures sometimes clashed. All-in-all I felt that The Voice That Should Not Be was a fair level and can be recommended especially for beginning raiders." - Loren (22-Jan-2005)
"This short and somewhat roughly built level starts off in a modern town where Lara finds her way to a time machine which takes her to a castle in ancient Troy. Enemies are often well placed and a few jumps are not quite trivial but there are no real puzzles and overall the level is rather easy and straightforward. I liked the story but the concluding part did not meet expectations. The cameras were quite irritating in certain places. Also my Lara got paralyzed in a room with enemies during a cut scene. This was very frustrating but luckily she did not take much damage." - Bogey (04-Jan-2005)
"This is a very good level but a little tricky (good) it took me an hour and 10 minutes. The voice that should not be of course. The sliding jumps were very good and difficult. Finding the way into the castle was very hard mostly because of the cameras LOL :D . The 'voice' that should not be I found hilarious and what she said was a lie it was actually very easy. The harpoon was quite tricky to get to when the boulders feel down and I didn't use it. The music was a bit loud and I wanted it to stop because at that time I'd just pulled the lever on the second floor. The Greek god was difficult especially when you cannot kill him. There were a few pointless caves though that were quite easy to get to. The first level was a little puzzling and so was the timed door. I think this is the best level so far Ruediger; I'm looking forward to playing the next one." - Cory (08-Nov-2004)
"Excellent mini-game built with the Coastal and Tut1 wads. Lara travels back in time to a long time BC in Troy. In the beginning she can choose out of three possible ways... One to the right: she fights a gladiator and avoids a spike boulder was there anything else there? One to the left: she finds the crossbow. One ahead: that's where the adventure is. The enemies are gladiators a roman soldier's statue that shoots deadly rays and screams like a dragon one crocodile plus skeletons and mummies (thank God for the crossbow!). There's some swimming some interesting but easy jumps and some levers plus some easily avoidable traps. Near the end when the textures start to become more interesting an oracle tells Lara 'I am the voice that should not be' and she'll never get out of there alive. What a mistake! These baddies have never heard of Lara Croft but what do you expect long before computers were invented? The level is easy and can be finished quickly but it's also highly enjoyable. (October 26 2004)" - Jorge22 (26-Oct-2004)
"Two short levels the first 20 and the second 30 minutes that for me seemed to miss the mark a little. The storyline itself sounded intriguing find your way to a time travel tunnel and activate it to land in an area very close to Troy in the year 1180 B.C. what let the levels down was that the gaming just wasn't there. Sure there were three timed runs but they were quite easy to master the rest of the levels seemed to relate to finding levers to pull which never holds much of a thrill. I did enjoy meeting up with the giant Roman from Chronicles here I guess he is a Trojan coming across the enormous castle for the first time and the effect of a females face appearing on some wall tiles as her voice played overhead but that didn't make up for the lack of interest that the story made me feel I would find there weren't even any secrets to collect." - Sash (23-Oct-2004)
"Nice rehash of the Tomb Raider music at the beginning of this two part level and can this really be one of Ruediger's levels? It's so light bright and cheerful. After some initial truly irritating camera angles in the outside area things settle down a bit and you can begin to explore the attractive coastal town soon making your way into a base to gain access to a time machine to travel back to ancient Greece. Um scorpions and crocodiles? After some cave exploration some enjoyable jumping around in a couple of rooms and an interesting timed run you get inside a big temple building to have fun with a huge warrior statue spike bags skeletons etc. before a rather fascinating encounter with Cassandra. This is a typical Ruediger level (apart from not being dark) - it's quite short not difficult and good fun." - Jay (16-Oct-2004)
"The first level Gateway to the Past starts out in what I'm assuming is a town square. It's laid out pretty well however the camera angles are a pain. It's different but it's a hassle. The first level is mostly finding keys and switches with an occasional timed run and switch sequence. The timed runs are a little taxing because they are done with levers and it takes up time to have to reset them. The second level is about the same as the first except there is a god thrown in more puzzles to open up the fortress. It was a nice touch to have Cassandra thrown in but it was easy to leave despite her warning. I felt just a little let down by the second level when I ran into two areas that pretty much were dead ends. I was really looking forward to exploring these areas only to find out that they really served no purpose; although one did lead to the crossbow. The music was superb! I wouldn't mind hearing more like it. :-) And the 'Aha!' was a nice nostalgic touch." - Celli (15-Oct-2004)
"Watching Titak playing this level on the Hamburg Meeting and seeing it also in the 'raw' stage did make it a bit easy for me to go through the end product. Although Rüdiger did change some parts it still was the about same but now I understood what he was saying then. The first part starts in a town and you need to find some keys to progress as well as a piece of paper with instructions on it. I see that Rüdiger had a go at camera angles and I don't like them. They are OK if they serve a purpose but in here it just was plain annoying. The block pushing was a bit tedious and of course I went to that part first and found out that I had to have a go at some levers first as the trapdoor was still closed. So I had to push them all over again the second time around. Then you are transported at the outdoors and I liked the fort part a bit better. There is a big explosion and the landscape alters a bit. There was some nice jumping to do to get to the two levers that opened the fort. Had to laugh as that jumping caused some irritation while playing it on the Meeting but this time it went smoothly. It is a fast pacing level and it was over before I knew it. 03-10-2004" - Gerty (10-Oct-2004)
"Well it's a game with two short levels thirty five minutes total time with no puzzles except switches. The music is nice and you hear a warning and a face is on the walls a haunted place maybe. The first level starts outside and after two keys and a timed run you enter the base area and not long after you activate the tunnel which will transfer you to the second level. Although the first was more atmospheric the second seems more mysterious with trigger tiles that activate doors and a room with spike-bags with the timed run not missing here either. There are a few good jumps but the areas here look empty only the statue of Athena which seems angry unlike the real one and a few Greek wall textures made the main area better than the rest. As the author explained he tried to recreate a historical area in Nafplion Greece but still I can't help but notice the horizon problem and the emptiness. I am not sure if this is a prologue for other levels to come meaning if we should expect a series. Nevertheless it's a good effort." - Kristina (03-Oct-2004)
"You can always rely on Ruediger to provide a fast-moving adventure and this is certainly one of his most entertaining. Clearly a good deal of work has gone into this and there are many brilliant moments (which I shall get to in a moment) but it was slightly spoiled for me by a few too many easily correctable errors: the end of the world was easily reached on many occasions (which ruined the atmosphere); the Gameplay was a little too predictable (mostly of the 'push lever door nearby opens' type); and the ending was crushingly anti-climactic. Indeed let me elaborate on that: a tremendous fly-by accompanied Cassandra's voice reciting a powerful warning to our Lady (essentially telling her there was no escape from her predicament); Lara promptly dropped down into a cavern with heavy triggers and mummies sprinted around a bit and quickly jumped into the tunnel containing the 'end of level Trigger'. A splendid gauntlet containing numerous physical and mental challenges was surely in the offing after such a portentous announcement (followed by a reward perhaps in the form of a treasure of some kind) and yet it didn't really happen (although a sequence of traps which appeared a little earlier in the game would probably have been just the thing). This was more of a shame as I had been quite caught up in the storyline which establishes itself well in level 1 and continues quite effectively in the subsequent level. The voice of Cassandra the giant Warrior (a superb moment!) the Statue in the centre of the Temple and the well composed music are all wonderful moments. Added to this a fast-moving Gameplay which never has you standing still for long and you're guaranteed a good time here. It's entertaining and slick; it's just a pity that it never quite realised its full potential." - Orbit Dream (30-Sep-2004)