| Reviewer's comments |
"I never actually finished this level because I reached the last room without picking up the
golden star, thereby softlocking myself. This is obviously a serious design fault and
stopped me from actually completing the level - yes, I could have maybe jumped into an old
save in order to rectify the situation, but for me, this is never enjoyable and kind of
pointless when you know you are in the final room of the game anyway. Outside of this, the
actual level is pretty good. There are some really strong aesthetics and the general
gameplay is solid, but I simply cannot recommend this level due to the aforementioned issue." - Passalaqua (24-Oct-2023) |
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| "Too short to get rewarding or boring, but has immersion on par with TR4, so it's worth trying for such reason. Recommended." - DJ Full (30-Sep-2022) |
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| "The storyline in itself was pretty ingenious, but the level is not half bad either. Quite the contrary, actually. As this is a rather streamlined adventure, you don't get to spend too long in one place, and the author even managed to make the drab colors of the Catacomb texture set look appealing. I liked how the author had three or so stacked crevices in the initial room, even though Lara's shimmying animation is quite slow it was fun to navigate. Bottomline is that sometimes less is more, and this level right here is proof. 25 minutes, 4 secrets. 07/21" - Treeble (25-Jul-2021) |
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| "The first entry I've played from Btb2005, and it's not a bad way to get your feet wet. I'll start with my main complaint which is the disproportionate punishment for overlooking an item. It started when Lara found the golden beetle and got trapped in that room for eternity because she didn't have the star, requiring going back to an earlier save. Turns out she missed the ornate handle, okay, went back and found it. Went to use it and revealed a star – now Lara's missing the crowbar, have to backtrack again, even further this time and look for that. I'm just glad I didn't miss the effigy piece that was all the way in the beginning! The gameplay is pretty light but features some boulders, skeletons, mummies, and flames, as well as a simple pushing puzzle. The only reason I marked the difficulty as medium instead of easy is a certain flame in the beginning which doesn't give nearly enough time for Lara to shimmy past it – I had to keep saving and reloading to get Lara past it safely. The best part about this level is the nice architecture present in the various chambers, and the lighting is pretty good even though it could use a bit more color. 34 minutes." - JesseG (09-Jul-2021) |
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| "It's quite hard for me to review this
level fairly, as I have so many
conflicting thoughts about it. On the plus
side, it's quite pleasing architecture-
wise, texturing is solid and the uses of
fog is quite effective (especially over
the spike pit near the end) and the
gameplay sufficiently entertains for the
duration. But on the downside, the
placement of some of the necessary items
is quite problematic, as it's possible to
get quite far in the level without them
and then either have to go back quite a
long distance or reload a savegame. The
secrets are also quite odd as one of them
(the Hathor Effigy) is a needed item and
the Grenade Gun never registered as one
for me when apparently it should have. I
never got fatally stuck, but I reached the
Golden Star without the Crowbar in my
inventory and had to backtrack through
three or four rooms to get it. My comments
may seem a tad harsh and ordinarily I
would forfeit the gameplay score a bit,
but once I got into the flow of things, I
found myself enjoying some parts of this.
I'd recommend you have the walkthrough
handy for this one." - Ryan (07-Apr-2018) |
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| "After reading the story that seems quite strange in my opinion, I chose to play this"beastly" level as one of the first levels of this BtB (actually as the second). I soon recognised this looks very simile to other efforts of the builder, with the face textures and the same way of lighting, and of course many burners that will be very annoying to avoid after some time. Gameplay was mildly fun for the time it lasts, but at least there was enough to do here - but there's only one serious puzzle in this level, which also was fairly easy.. There were some flaws with secret (or non-secret) places; the first secret nearly is not to be missed, but the second is required for progression as the secret item is a key item which the player needs further in this level. The fifth secret didn't register for me, and there also was the area near some stairs to the pool room that had a hidden crawlspace in the middle, there could easily have been a secret - no, this is a room with the receptacle for the second secret item. If you go into the Beetle room without this, Lara will be stuck forever there. Else, there were no enemies to shoot; well, there were few mummies and skeletons but you could shoot none of them except the mummies in the very last room. So why the many weapons? A revolver for one of the secrets would have been enough. Apart from these flaws, this level is rather decently lit and textured and had a good atmosphere, but there's nothing overly special about it so in the end it remains a rather mediocre level. 30 minutes, 5 secrets." - manarch2 (06-May-2014) |
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"Like High and Low this is a level let down by one major
flaw; if you miss any one of three objects near the start of
the level you have to backtrack to get them (it's actually
worse as you get completely stuck at the end if you've
missed them). My gameplay score would have been in the eight
range without this issues, but it's so big I can't overlook
it. To be fair there's very little that you miss if you
don't have the means to open the exit, but you can't know
that until you open it.
The design is decent enough, although it feels a little
generic and lacking a style of it's own; it ends up seeming
like a bunch of nice catacomb rooms with no real style.
Despite that though there are few actual problems with the
visuals and it's in the upper end of this contest's quality
in that regard. Leaving aside that glaring issue mentioned
at the start the gameplay is decently fun with a focus on
jumping tasks and traps, part of the lack of a unifying
theme is that it feels a bit linear and doesn't really
convey much of a goal (outside of the level name)." - Mman (27-Oct-2012) |
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"On the one hand, this is a simple and very pleasant catacomb-style adventure, with gameplay that focuses mainly on exploration with some traps and a bit of platforming, and only very few enemies. It looks very pretty, and while there is nothing architecturally very unique, all rooms are well constructed and lit, and invite exploration. Apart from a few lighting cracks, texturing and lighting are technically sound. Fog is used well. It's quite short - less than half an hour of in-game time - and I was genuinely sorry to see it end so soon.
BUT ... on the other hand, there are some egregious mistakes in the level. To start with: there's a burner trap at the beginning which actually requires players to use a bug to pass. Then, there's the fact that a secret found at the beginning is apparently a vital pickup. But to top it all off, there's the terrible placement of necessary items, like the crowbar, lasersight (which turned out to be not so necessary, but only on hindsight), as well as several artefacts, which you can miss completely and not even realise you have missed them until much later, and then have to backtrack through most of the level, or reload an earlier savegame and play again (both of which I was forced to do). Ironically, you can also end the level without bothering to pick up the eponymous golden beetle, making the 'quest' futile!
Overall: From an objective perspective, I would rate this level much lower, as it has so many gameplay-related flaws - and yet from a subjective perspective, I really like most of it (surprisingly enough), so there is obviously some good in it. To all future players: save yourself some extreme backtracking and consult the walkthrough regularly while playing." - Mytly (11-Feb-2011) |
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| "A beautiful level, many places look like a painting, but some others aspects need a better finishing (the puzzle is a little bit chaotic, the confusion for the secret, some inappropriate music). I think also the game can be better if the mummies are replaced by some skeletons. Anyway, despite these imperfections this level offer a great time for the eyes and the jumps." - Jerrod (18-Mar-2010) |
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| "A nice little gem in the btb2005 serie. It starts out in a fast pace with a lot of climbing, grabbing ledges and avoiding flames :) A perfect start if you ask me! The lighting and textures are very well done and the atmosphere great! The only thing that I did not like was that it is possible to get to the last door without the crowbar and get stuck in the final room. And yes, I did that. I had a savegame earlier though, so there were no big problem and it will not lower my review points in any way. Other than that it is a great level and not to be missed! The difficuly ranges from hard to very easy but never boring in any way. Way to go dhama!" - QRS (22-Nov-2005) |
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| "It's been a while since I play tested this level so it was quite refreshing coming back to it nine months later. When I was testing it, I found the star first time. As a consequence, I never spotted the error at the end where the door closes leaving no way back if you missed the star. My bad - I have slapped myself on the wrist for that. Especially as I missed it this time through and had to go back a save to get it. Other than that, I found the level very enjoyable in a classic TR sort of way. Terry has always built interesting rooms and usually has a few good jumping puzzles and platform sections as well. All classic fare. Combine this with fine lighting and excellent atmosphere and you are in for a fun little level." - Staticon (12-Nov-2005) |
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| "Start with a warning before I forget, make sure you collect every thing and search well, else you could end up not quite finishing the level and have to go right back almost to the beginning. The game play apart from the above is quite straight forward, with only skeletons (most of them you won't meet if you don't shoot every thing in sight) and mummies. There is a nice selection of things to do with multi transverses and a good selection of jumps. The textures and graphics tend to be a bit samey and therefore left me with the idea of a rather plain and undramatic level. Sound tended to be in quick bits, if noticed at all. Perhaps I may be being over critical as this level is well worth a play." - Whistle (24-Oct-2005) |
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| "What I liked most in this level was it's architecture - this sort of damaged catacomb looked very realistic. The textures were applied perfectly and the lighting was nearly almost very good too. This made up a great atmosphere in the level, but from time to time I missed camera hints to show me where to go next. I encountered two situations in which I thought the audio was a bit misplaced - there was a combat audio but appearently nothing dangerous happened, I know this can be used to trick the player a bit but I think that could be done better. The secrets were a bit too obvious in my opinion and the enemies could be more challenging but it was pretty ok the way it was too. The gameplay was more or less "normal", meaning there were no spectacular things to do. However I found the level rather inspiring because of the excellent look of it :)" - Horus (03-Oct-2005) |
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| "This is as traditional as they come,but it has a good (if predictable) flow; and as you're hardly ever unsure of what to do or where to go next you'll find yourself flying through it. The rooms are interesting to look at,although not as imaginative as many of this builder's previous efforts (foggy spike-pit aside!) the secrets were clumsily allotted and the enemies could be totally ignored. The most challenging parts were the shimmies past the timed flames,but otherwise this was lightweight fast-moving fun." - Orbit Dream (20-Aug-2005) |
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| "It was a recreation to play this easy level after many of those hard levels. Our task is to get the Mechanical Scarab, what we can only pick up at the end. And there's almost nothing to hold us up with this, except of some mummies. Fighting skeletons we only meet if shooting every four vases at the pool, near to the end of the level. The parts that need skills are also easier than how we'd think for the first sight. Even the four secrets of the level almost come our way, however I didn't understand why the Hathor Effigy was counted as a secret, since we need it for completing the level, and on the other hand the Grenade Gun was not a secret. As a general impression, this was an easy level with average textures. You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version), savegames and pictures here: http://www.treditor.hu/15/back_to_basics12_quest_for_the_golden_beetle.htm " - Obig (22-Mar-2005) |
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| "Another nicely laid out level with realistic adventuring. I didn't find the laser sight, so I never got to shoot the bones for the extra secret." - Deekman (03-Mar-2005) |
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| "This is my second 'Catacomb Wad' B2B game ... and I find it hard to appreciate that the same set of data etc was used in the two games, quite amazing the ingenuity and skill used in the production of the game. This game seems to have it all; shimmies, jumps, button pushing to open doors, secrets (unfortunately some of these are necessities for the game), swimming, toxic shots, timed flames and a most satisfying 'tower' to multiple bounce up to the very top of ... great fun in my opinion! The whole level seems well constructed and increases in interest as the game progresses ... the beginning not being as exciting as the rest of the game. Having thus said, I found this a really worthwhile and entertaining and well worth playing." - Mrs rjb (03-Mar-2005) |
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| "What first occurred to me in this level was the excellent use of texturing and lighting - pure eye candy! Also the architecture is very interesting, and right for my liking! This is one of the better looking levels from the competition, and if you prefer something beautiful to something mind-boggling, this is the choice. The level is more on the simple side, but be sure to keep your eyes open to not miss the ever so vital crowbar! Or at least keep more savegames from various points to save yourself the effort of replaying the level - though that's not a big problem, cause it isn't a very long one. What bothered me a bit was the chaotic use of secrets and objects - sometimes jumping over a hole triggers the secret chimes, sometimes doing something not obvious such as shooting bones in the water reveals you a hidden grenade launcher nearby. While overall that's really a minor thing, it gives the level a certain feel of being too amateurish or unfinished. Also the possibility to leave the level without even getting the golden beetle doesn't help the matter, but as the storyline might suggest - this is not to be taken extremely seriously - take the level for what it is - a fun play in beautiful surroundings." - eTux (01-Mar-2005) |
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| "This quest is good classic raiding, visiting interesting rooms with ledges and jumps to perform, with a fluent game play, good use of the audio tracks, and nice texturing. Every room has a little challenge, a twist, a puzzle, or a charm of its own, I really loved this. Now of course, there is the problematic of the placement of the objects.. Nevertheless I really enjoyed very much raiding here." - eRIC (01-Mar-2005) |
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| "This may be rather short at just above 30 minutes, but it is quite a treat in terms of gameplay. I really liked the fun jump/platforming passages and avoiding those burners wasn't always easy and took a few tries to get it right. On the other hand I found the placement of secrets most enigmatic (found four), as some of them are needed to finish the level, while there are other areas which 'feel like' secret and don't register as such. Make sure you do not miss the crowbar along the way. I am not sure if you could actually go back for it. The spike pit looks rather cool and there is very good use of fog in some rooms to enhance the atmosphere. Good classic fun, try it!" - Michael (01-Mar-2005) |
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| "Each room in this 35 minute level was really nice to be in for one reason or another but some of them seemed to be a little empty, and this is the feeling that the level gave off to me when I had finished it, that it was slightly empty in each aspect. The four secrets I found were so hard to miss that I couldn't believe they were actually secrets, and the two things that felt like they should have been secrets, accessed by doing a certain action, weren't. There are also only a handful of skeletons and mummies and these are of no consequence with the weaponry you can find, I'm not even sure but the 4 skeletons in the end hub area may not even have to be awakened so then the threat is even more decreased. I did however like the progression as it kept me moving smoothly through the level without having to stop and get any help, but some may see this as a downfall as there isn't a great challenge factor, and I have to admit to wanting a little more challenge but was still pleased with how it all went. So to sum up I'd say this was a slightly underachieving but still enjoyable level." - Sash (18-Feb-2005) |
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| "There are some nice traps and jumping exercises in this level. And some skimming. It is quite easy, except for a firetrap in the beginning, which requires accurate timing. The story line suggests that the level shouldn't be taken too 'seriously', and there are some quirks, like a pointless rope and that the Secret sound chimes rather arbitrarily." - Bogey (14-Feb-2005) |
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| "There is a much easier way to get the Hathor Effigy as the only thing you had to do is at the start, turn around and jump and grab and you are on the ledge and from there just one jump away from the Effigy. There still is a fire shimmy to do though. Got stuck as I didn't have the Star and no way of going back, I think that is irritating as there is no way to indicate which of the saved games is the best one to reload. One word to capture this level and that is solid. 21-01-2005" - Gerty (11-Feb-2005) |
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| "Yes! This is what I look for in a level! It is a very 'classic' TR level. Basic jumps and puzzles through the level. None of the puzzles took me very long to master, so I had the feeling of progress all the time. The jumps were easy, but fun! The level is fairly easy but still interesting. What I liked most was the architecture and the lighting. The rooms were gorgeous with small items like half sunken urns in the corners and pieces of skeletons here and there. Although catacomb, it was still very light, most rooms had sunlight shining in through skylights and that created a wonderful atmosphere." - Solange (07-Feb-2005) |
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| "Well the title of this level says it all, so your mission in this level is in search of the Golden Beetle. Your adventure starts in finding and retrieving a pharos pillar, pharos knot, ornate handle and the hathor effigy, a crowbar, a star and a gem, having all this at hand, and you will have no problems in finishing this adventure. Your enemies are mummies, which are quite easy to dodge, a wraith and some skeletons, but some of these skeletons will only surface, if you decide to go around shooting everything. You will also encounter some fire and boulders traps along your way, which adds some great excitement to this wonderful adventure. You will be pulling some objects, doing some jumping sequences and pushing some buttons, but there's nothing too tedious here, and it can quite easily be accomplished. I just loved the way, the things were laid out in this level, it was just to my liking, the lighting was very well done, and there was no need for the use of loads of flares. On the whole, I liked this level a lot, even though I had to play it twice, because I missed a very important item at the very beginning, it's a very nice and easy level of game-play, which I enjoyed very much, I think most raiders will enjoy it and it's well worth the d/load." - Gill (06-Feb-2005) |
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| "The easiest level I've played so far in this competition. Some really interesting looking architecture here, well textured and lighted, making rooms look very beautiful. The actual gameplay is quite easy, even if you have to outrun the odd skellie, mummy and wraith. There is some good jumping especially at the start. What you need is close at hand with a little bit of effort like waiting for a fire emitter to go out for a few seconds. There is a very easy but great fun jump up back and forth to several slopes. With basic TR skills you can get across a very tall room with columns and spike floor, and looking up to avoid falling boulders in another room. The only tip here is to shoot everything in sight. This would make a nice introduction level to this back-to-basics challenge series. Although straight forward it still a very good level to play." - CC (04-Feb-2005) |
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| "Enjoyable level with fluent gameplay. Not much puzzling more jumping and finding your way through to the goal - the beetle. Some secrets were necessary to find to be able to finish the game." - G.Croft (25-Jan-2005) |
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| "Although gameplay was simple this level has a lot to offer. The shadowy corners of where the star is collected is brilliant and even more so when the door swings open in to the darkness becoming completely black itself and darkening the room more rather than letting in more light; the huge cavern with the deep pit that goes on forever which is jumped over; swimming tunnels were a nice blue hue which made a nice change too. Loved the sloped ledge jump to the top and the pink room containing the golden beetle - just fab! And of course not forgetting the fantastic spike room where the flyby went right down in to the spikes! The secrets were easy to find and one of the objects necessary for continuation of the level (the effigy head) was a secret which I thought was odd. The music seemed wrong in some places fast paced 'something is going to get you look out!' started up when I went in to one room but there was no danger at all. I would have liked to have worked a little more to get vital items leaving a pool to find the crowbar lying beside it just seemed to spoil the seek-and-find fun that is a prerequisite of Tomb Raider levels. There wasn't much in the way of enemies though did have some fun doing some fancy side-stepping around a mummy while trying to place the knot and pillar. The spiked balls had trigger issues as they either fell too late or too early so were easy to avoid. All in all it was a nice and picturesque level which was fun to play and the little touches which made it unique ensured this level stood out: the bones that you shoot are blue... I could go on!" - Jenni (25-Jan-2005) |
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| "Well what a way to start a level. That damned fire shimmy beat me and I could have well binned the level right there. So after this hiccup we do get to explore a fairly typical catacombs environment. Although some rooms were well created there is a bit of a boxy feel to parts of this level with room architecture in some areas being a little simple. Texturing is generally well applied and there's suitable sound triggers to compliment the passage of play. There's a fun sloped jump sequence which shouldn't give any problems. This level probably posed me more problems than any other to review. I couldn't put my finger on why as there was some good gaming to be done here but it just didn't captivate me. Emphasis in level design seems to be more on tasks to be performed rather than a gripping atmosphere to host these events. Cameras are fairly used to give clues to tasks to be completed as are the sound interludes. A linear progression will advance you through the level in about 40 minutes. I found 4 secrets." - EssGee (25-Jan-2005) |
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| "This is a great slice of traditional tomb raiding we get here! 'Quest for the Golden Beetle' begins with an interesting jump and climb sequence. Don't overlook one secret in a vase here you need it much later to obtain a golden star and without the star you'll be stuck in the last room and can't finish the level! Apart from that the gameplay develops a great logical flow which leads the player to the next door the next room and so on. Good variety of jump challenges and fights. Even a slow mummy can disturb you when you have to push a column around and yes I was stupid enough to shoot the vases and unleash the skellies thereby grumble... I liked one flyby camera which showed a switch I might have overlooked otherwise and just when I said to myself: 'oh that's nice!' the camera moved downwards to show hundreds of diabolical spikes waiting for Lara's legs and that's what I call a nasty surprise! Lots of music added a bit of drama too." - Rüdiger (23-Jan-2005) |
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| "A nice subtle beginning in the first room with several small puzzles each of which needs a little thought. Then we find a lovely 'misty' room early on with a small waterfall entirely enclosed but with sunlight above that adds greatly to the atmosphere of the whole. This is followed by a series of connecting rooms where fairly straightforward puzzles need to be solved in order to progress. After a relatively gentle start therefore it is a surprise to suddenly realise at the entrance to another room that we are being chased by one of those hungry white sprites. We haven't seen the needed bird statuette when this appears so we can only go forward 'in faith' as it were. Depending on where we go first in this next room we will either be able to reach the 'anti-sprite' platform or we will be treated to a fly-by of the salient parts of the room (including 2 of those elegant buttons to find) while the sprite is still 'at large'. It is interesting and quite unusual therefore to see the white sprite still flying about our Lara in the cut scene (it cannot harm her while the fly-by plays) so that we have a few moments when we can avoid the usual panic that sets in around these 'creatures'(?) and just watch. And it is soon afterwards that we learn that perhaps all vases are best not broken after all. The point comes in fact when you feel that perhaps the level of 'challenge' has suddenly gone up a gear. There are 'helpful' hints throughout - even patterns on a wall shaft where to jump off a ladder eg. I did miss the early laser sight so I had to go back in order to reap the benefit of shooting at a couple of sets of bones. (One reward was the grenade gun so it was worth repeating!) Then near the end we have a lovely cut scene where suddenly we rise up from Lara and up and up until she is but a speck below! I found 4 secrets but there is some question as I write as to whether there are 5." - rjb (23-Jan-2005) |
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| "This is a little gem in the Back to Basics contest. The opening sequence with the ledges sets the mood beautifully. Classic Raiding and a lot of fun. The only difficulty may be reaching the final room without the star and the need of the crowbar. The star is easy to find and the crowbar easy also and easier still to go past it even with it being in plain sight. Going back through the level to find it gave me another opportunity to appreciate it although it would have added to gameplay if access to the final room were denied until a player had everything needed as the door closes with no way out except a save game. Or of course a way could have been provided to allow a way back into the game. But then again as I said the crow bar should have been easy to spot - not the builder's fault if I ran by. Secret counting is a bit strange as some were necessary to proceed. I got four secrets but I don't know how many there are. Seemingly very short - I thought it took about thirty minutes but stats said an hour. I enjoyed it and was disappointed when it ended." - Bene (19-Jan-2005) |
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| "Turn to same old story if a player get distracted and lose the crowbar the Hathor Effigy or the Ornate Handle arrive to the end of the level and discover that has to travel and look for the items across all the level again. On the other hand it's no good you have to discover a secret (Hathor Effigy) to can end the game although in this case was very easy. At the end of the level if you enter in the scarab room the door closes and you can't go back for the star if you don't have it. You have to reload a savegame. Is not a dark level but I haven't found any flares." - Jose (18-Jan-2005) |
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| "I feel quite sad because this was the final level of the challenge but what a wonderful way to end it. Lara starts in a small area where she has to do some shimmies and button pushing. The subsequent rooms are pretty small too so it's literally grab what you see and get out again with not too much searching to do but you'll still have to work quite hard to get what you came for as mummies hinder your way and fire emitters are at work. Enemies are of course skellies and mummies but you can avoid the final four skellies if you wish. I found four secrets all of which were nicely placed. The rooms were nice pretty usual for a catacomb level but still nicely worked on with a cool atmosphere. This was a really nice level to play with no frustrations and a few nice jumps to do there's also a rather cute trip to a deep spike pit where you have to make your way over by changing the pillars nice touch. Collect the pillar and knot then reach for the star be rewarded with the gem and then take the golden beetle to end this nice little level. I recommend this highly and it will remain one of my favourites of the back to basic challenge." - Moonpooka (18-Jan-2005) |
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| "It's a short level with some interesting rooms but not exactly what I would have liked to see. There are a couple of areas like the room with the gem that was nicely done and the jumps to get to a higher level which wasn't an original idea though because we have seen exactly the same design but with deadly water in 'Movie Theatre' and to be more exact in one of the connection levels between the movie levels. It is easy generally speaking but you can get trapped in the room with the star receptacle if you miss getting the star before you enter that room. The door closes behind Lara so there's no chance to finish that's not good at all. There are bugs that don't 'hurt' much like wrong textures but something like that is definitely a big flaw. I found four secrets and I thought the two pick ups behind the doors we open by shooting bones could have been secrets as well. I hope next time the author will make sure his levels get tested thoroughly before releasing them." - Kristina (17-Jan-2005) |
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| "To answer Dimpfelmoser's question before I forget the revolver and the lasersight are to have a little fun at the large pool near the end of the level. Shoot the four vases at the corners and before the skeleton hidden within each one has a chance to become oriented shoot off its head and watch them all go scooting around like turkeys the day before Thanksgiving. This is a short but very appealing level that's fairly easy to play as well as being easy on the eyes. Nothing you'd call innovative here and it took me a little over 50 minutes to complete it (which means you pros did it in 20 or so) but there's never a dull moment in that time. In this regard it compares favorably with Rapid Fall but it gets one extra point from me because of its visual amenities. Play it when you're in the mood for something light and not overly taxing. A worthy addition to the BTB series." - Phil (17-Jan-2005) |
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| "Very nice level with some nice settings at times plenty to do but one big flaw in the very last room where Lara finds the Mechanical Scarab... The door to that room closes behind her and what if she hasn't found the star which was in a dark crawlspace along the way? Then she can't finish because there's no way out of that room. Apart from that I liked the level very much and found it challenging enough. From jumping to monkey swinging from swimming to shooting bones there's a bit of everything here. A nice one for you to play... Just remember to find the star. (January 17 2005)" - Jorge22 (17-Jan-2005) |
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| "This is a most enjoyable game! There were some subtle tricks that will keep you on your toes plenty of pickups (which I think is always a great thing!) and rooms that are interesting and very pleasing to the eye. You folks have really done a super job demonstrating variety! Bets have been placed and my money's on Marksdad for this one!" - Mugs (15-Jan-2005) |
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| "Aaaahh... Classic tomb raiding at its best. Gameplay is perfectly balanced reaching the ideal level of difficulty and the infamous fine line between challenge and frustration is never crossed. Well OK maybe it's a bit too easy never really allowing a 'I did it!' cry of victory moment. This said the secrets are... strange. You find some at places you have to go to complete the level anyway while some that look secretive enough aren't counted as such. Made me wonder if there hadn't been some mix-up there. The settings is fine very 'back to basics' indeed although leaving some room to variety and the atmosphere while not extraordinary is there mainly thanks to lighting. All this added gives a quite enjoyable albeit a bit short level." - Sutekh (14-Jan-2005) |
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| "A 'Back to Basics' level using the catacomb wad so I won't go into detail about enemies and objects - you know the score. There's a very nice bit of jumping sliding and shimmying at the start of this level. In fact the emphasis is on agility rather than having to deal with loads of enemies so it suited me very well. Nothing difficult to achieve and it's quite a linear level but good entertainment for all that. I found four secrets." - Jay (10-Jan-2005) |
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| "So maybe it is a bit safe and linear but I played this late last night when I came home from some party and was rather drunk so that suited me fine (that the level is rather easy and also my state of intoxication). Unfortunately in the final room I found myself short of one star and no way to leave the premises. So I had to reload an earlier savegame and look for the things I missed. It turned out that I had overlooked the head of the Portal Guardian in the very first room. Let that be a lesson to you kids drinking and playing TR only goes together on the meetings when you have the builder sitting right next to you. But that was not the end of my troubles as I had also rushed past the crowbar although it's not even hidden. However I finally made it. Although there isn't anything too original here I think the classic gameplay went together nicely with the very traditional setting. There was lot's of jumping and you could avoid most of the skeletons if you didn't trigger them (although I suspect that this way I missed out on a secret). There is a nice flow to the gameplay and although nothing is particularly challenging you have some feeling of accomplishment as you make good progress. I like the modesty of the builder. Here we have someone who doesn't try to be particularly clever but instead delivers a solid adventure that is just fun to play. But what were the Revolver and Lasersight for?" - Dimpfelmoser (09-Jan-2005) |
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| "Rather easy level to get through as everything is just linear playing. No hard puzzles to deal with and most of the Secrets were quest items you needed in the level to proceed then the door that opened with shooting some bones in a pool should have been a Secret. Atmosphere and sound were good in my opinion lighting and textures too." - Dutchy (07-Jan-2005) |
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