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BtB2005 - High and Low by MichaelP

Alarable 9 8 7 8
Bene 7 7 8 8
Bigfoot 9 9 9 8
Bogey 7 9 9 8
CC 9 8 8 8
Deekman 7 6 7 7
Dimpfelmoser 9 7 6 7
DJ Full 7 7 9 8
Drakan 8 8 8 8
droogie 7 7 7 7
Dutchy 9 9 10 9
eRIC 8 9 9 8
EssGee 7 8 8 8
eTux 9 7 8 7
G.Croft 7 7 8 8
Gerty 7 7 8 8
gfd 6 6 7 8
Gill 8 7 8 8
Horus 8 7 8 7
Jay 9 8 8 8
Jenni 7 7 8 8
JesseG 7 7 8 7
Jorge22 8 8 8 8
Jose 6 8 7 8
Kristina 6 6 6 7
manarch2 8 7 8 6
Mman 6 7 7 7
Moonpooka 8 7 8 8
mugs 8 8 7 8
Nomad 7 8 8 8
Obig 8 8 8 8
Phil 9 9 9 8
QRS 9 8 8 8
rjb 8 7 8 8
Ryan 8 7 8 8
Sash 9 10 9 8
Staticon 9 7 8 7
Sutekh 7 6 8 8
Treeble 9 7 8 7
Whistle 8 8 10 9
 
release date: 01-Jan-2005
# of downloads: 262

average rating: 7.76
review count: 40
 
review this level

file size: 33.94 MB
file type: TR4
class: Cave/Cat
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
michael@mprager.de

Reviewer's comments
"Nice to see for a change a level which took some planning - this isn't a usual line of rooms but more like a room crossword. If it wasn't for notorious wraith drain and multiple climb of the same ladder, I would +1 the gameplay." - DJ Full (30-Sep-2022)
""The spikes on top of the blocks won't hurt you." That's certainly a sentence I never expected to read in a walkthrough. I guess some raiders are adventurous enough to throw Lara on top of anything to see if it's real or not, but I personally don't find that moment very player-friendly. Another such instance is that there are some tricky jumps that players will have to repeat several times when traversing the upper part of the main chamber, I think I had to do those four times total. The rest of the adventure is pretty straightforward, dealing with skeletons and wisps while using one key after another. I enjoyed the timed pushable puzzle in particular, and the timed run was a nice challenge. The texturing suffers from wallpapering in some areas, but that is offset a bit by the nice use of colorful lighting which provides some visual variety. 42 minutes." - JesseG (20-Jul-2021)
"This is a level that is well-thought, but there could have been difference decisions to make it more fun in my opinion. As many others have put, there is much bactracking involved, which includes redoing the same tricky jumps again, and some parts were obscure like the spikes not killing you when you drop on them, only clued by the monkey bars above. But it was an interesting experience solving its progression, and I had a lot of fun in the timed run - challenging but not very tight. I couldn't find four of the secrets, which probably means they were well placed. If you like slow levels that forces you to think and observe, you will like this level but if not it may not be for you." - Nomad (09-Apr-2021)
"This is certainly not the best level of Michael. There are too many returns to the same place, with a series of jumps that are quite difficult to do more than once. Have to go down to turn off the wraiths then go up back for example. But the whole is satisfactory. The lighting and texturing are correct although there are some textures stretched or packed. Good entertainment." - Drakan (27-Dec-2018)
"If you're a fan of jumping challenges like, this is the level for you. I for one quite enjoyed my time here although having a jumping sequence in combination with a timed run was a little too frustrating for me and it took many tries until I passed it successfully. Also, I wasn't particularly fond of having to climb one ladder a few too many times, and it slowed the otherwise fast pace a bit. Elsewhere, the gameplay is otherwise entertaining with plenty of action and a zippy pace, and I quite liked the camera sequences in this one. Textures are nicely applied, but not really the primary focus here, as is lighting. I couldn't access the first secret behind a tight underwater crack no matter how hard I tried (and believe me, that was quite a lot!) so only five tridents for me, in around 50 minutes." - Ryan (07-Apr-2018)
"This time we start by fall in a water hole. We discovered a very well building catacombs aeras with a lot of wraiths and squeletons. The gameplay is not very hard but some task are maybe a bit difficult to understand the first time (the pushables one with the pool) but nothing impossible because the various cameras help us. The level is also not very dark with a very good lighting but it's maybe a pity some textures are wrong rotated or wallpapered (like the water hole in the very beginning). There are also some little challenge to found tridents (secrets) and that give a more interesting challenge to the level. Great level by Micheal and recommended for everyone." - Bigfoot (29-Aug-2014)
"I'm not sure if I was doing something wrong, but the small crack to the first secret took maybe 25 attempts before I finally did it. The main issue was gameplay wise, the constant traversing from the bottom, up the ladder, over the multiple jump slopes just to spawn some wraiths, head to bottom, rinse and repeat. I feel that toward the end of the gameplay I was getting rather frustrated due to that... other than that it was an impressive level with some good challenges. The main room design was pretty interesting and I tend to enjoy maps that connect to themselves throughout the play through. Most of the other areas/challenge were interesting and I always enjoy jump slope challenges but the constant rinse and repeat really killed the mood while playing in my opinion. I did feel very satisfied once I finally climbed out of the massive room and completed the level, the secrets were hidden well." - droogie (27-Aug-2014)
"I could imagine a somewhat better start to the level than traversing somewhat strange looking underwater caves for the two secrets, but as soon as the first cutscene kicked in, those impressions were easily forgotten - the flybys in this level are most excellent, and kind of covers the not quite perfect architecture in some of the rooms which feels a bit blocky or random at parts. Still, I loved how the main room of this level is divided in two rooms, and how the gameplay between those is nicely connected (with the boulders and the tree that eventually turns into a pole). In general, this is a very entertaining and clever game, merging some quite precise jumps with some really tough timed runs and good puzzles. Indeed, the game gets a little slow after traversing from the lower to the upper floor for the third or fourth time, a shortcut here would have helped to maintain a certain flow in this level, but for me it wasn't that much of an annoyance. What could definitely be better in this game are the visuals - while rather solid overall, the textures could've needed a bit more tweaking here and there, and the lighting is a bit too eclectic at points - it's still a rather interesting alternative presentation of the catacomb theme, while not the most realistic one. Found the six nicely hidden secrets in 35 minutes." - manarch2 (06-May-2014)
"This entry is mostly set in one main hub area that runs around a "cage" with the exit inside, the visuals aren't especially great but there's nothing glaringly bad either. The lighting felt a little dark and flat in some of the side-areas however. While most of the individual tasks are fun this map suffers from the major flaw of padding. In a longer level this would be easier to overlook, but in a level that's around 40-45 minutes having to do a certain platforming sequence and ladder climb five+ times starts to be unforgivable. It's a shame as most of the tasks outside of that are fun and it might have been one of the strongest levels in the contest gameplay-wise if you didn't have to repeat a certain part over and over. A level that could be great let down by one major flaw." - Mman (25-Oct-2012)
"This level is set mainly around a big green cage in which you start. As I tested this level I am not quite sure how to rate this one - there are several mistakes, some that I noticed and reported and some that I must have missed. Anyway, the gameplay was usually fair, I liked the long timed run, though not everyone might be able to do that. The architecture was a bit primitive, the rooms looked rather blocky. Concerning the enemies the level was never overly challenging, it was always easy to avoid contact, though I think there were too many wraiths used. I liked the way Michael hid the secrets, there was often a hint where they were but the trick was just to find out how to get there. The textures were applied mostly well, though there are still some stretched ones or wrongly rotated ones. The lighting could have been a bit richer in contrast, though I liked the main hall with the gloomy green light coming out of the cage (might look even better with matching fog I imagine). I enjoyed that the timed run was supported by a bit more "dramatic" soundtrack. As far as I remember there was always a camera showing you where to go next if needed, though you will spend some time running around the cage in order to find your next destination." - Horus (07-Oct-2005)
Back to basics level, Catacombs... you know it by now. This one is very Catacombesque, dark and some tricky bits (such as the jumps near the beginning, the angled monkey swing...) and fulfilled with skeletons and wraiths. Not a surprise actually, but my one complain about this one is that it was dark. I only found a pack of flares by accident, but I want to believe there were more, since I didn't find any secrets and saw several pickups around I just couldn't reach. Or maybe the author was just teasing us, I don't know. I thought it was a nice touch that the level actually begins where it will end (I fell into the lower chamber in that pole room so I actually had to go back, so I learned it the hard way) and also the timed block, over which you have to push a block to lead it to the other side. This level does have an unusual architecture - designed to test your raiding skills - and it can be frustrating sometimes, but hey, we're talking about a Catacomb! 45 minutes. 07/05 - Treeble (11-Jul-2005)
"This level has beetles and timed runs - two of my least favourite TR elements. Strangely, having said this, I thoroughly enjoyed this catacomb romp. Admittedly, as I am an eternal beginner with the manual dexterity and sense of direction of an ice cube, I tackled this level with the walkthrough near at hand. From reading some of the other reviews, I think that this saved me a few climbs up a certain ladder. The long timed run/jump/rope-swing sequence was a bit of a trial at first but, after only twenty-something attempts, I prevailed which gave me quite a buzz. The level was nicely designed and textured, I liked the use of music and camera work was very good. The lighting was a little uniform for my taste but, nonetheless, adequate (I didn't need to use any flares). Even though I knew where to find the secrets, I only managed to collect four of the six - I couldn't get through the crack for the first and couldn't find the second at all. :-) Not the easiest B2B level I've played so far but still a good morning of entertainment (though only 1 hour and 11 minutes in game time)." - Staticon (12-Jun-2005)
"A great catacomb level! Maybe a tad too hard for being in the 30-45min category.. It took me over 1 hour to finish it :) There was a really nice timed run that occupied me for a long time.. Overall a great level! 2005-06-01" - QRS (03-Jun-2005)
"Quite a devious level, lots and lots of action centered around a main room, I especially enjoyed the clever jumps, but the other puzzles like a very long timed run (though, maybe it was just me, but I actually found it to be quite easy) and the movable block puzzle with 3 holes, or some more devious jumps later on are greatly executed by Michael as well! Just like Matthias, I was sighing at myself 'Not again!' every time I realised I'll have to redo a particular climb again - be it because some wraiths appeared at the second level of the area and the bird cross is down, or because you opened a door below and are above or vice versa. While generally the particular climb didn't feel tedious, I just felt that the idea was overdone at a certain point. Generally though I enjoyed the gameplay as always from Michael's levels, but besides the ladder, when finishing game I felt that something was missing. A cherry atop the whipped cream. Maybe the ending felt a bit abrupt? Maybe it was because I didn't find many secrets (I remember finding only 1, but could be 1 more, though am not sure) and thus probably left some clever tasks accompanied with them behind? I don't know for sure. Yet on a more positive note - I found the camera-work to be excellent here - especially the initial flyby that follows the scarabs and skeleton at start was extremely well done - a great cinematic feel to it! More like this please, and I'll be a happy camper! The looks are solid - well done, but nothing particularly special, the level is more on the dark side, but I never really had many problems with flares or the darkness. Great level, one of the best to choose if you're more gameplay than looks type of player!" - eTux (06-Mar-2005)
"What a start! In the first minutes of this Catacomb level, I thought I was playing Run Lara Run 2, Current in water leading quickly Lara to the main area, where a terrific and atmospheric flyby shows a big flow of beetles raising from the ground and a skeleton is chasing Lara everywhere around a central structure until she spots where to climb. Some fun jumps to perform, nothing very hard, really. Then, Lara finds a way to get rid both of the beetles and the skeleton, and starts to solve the puzzles at hand. An ingenious puzzle with raising blocks and a pushable object, a great timed door (again not too hard), some subtle moves to perform later one, this level is a lot of fun. Of course it is not perfect, some rooms could have been textured more nicely, also you have to repeat the jump sequence several times. But on the whole, the level globally looks good and has also appropriate atmosphere, lighting and good use of the audio tracks. I will have to replay it again to find the secrets as I've found ...none of the six to disposition, lol." - eRIC (01-Mar-2005)
""Seemed kinda standard to start with, and then I had to keep coming around for that annoying whacky jump. And then that jump was involved in a timed run. YARRRGH! It got more interesting and fun after that timed run. There was some ammo I saw that I couldn't get, and I never did get that last trident. - Deekman (01-Mar-2005)
"A level with lots to do and lots and lots of jumping around over the same routes, which make the level a bit boring. Enemies fit the level with plenty of wraiths, skeletons and those dratted beatles (but in this case easy to drown) to keep you occupied. Puzzles tend to be of the move pillar type. There is also some from swimming to rope swings as well as the jumping. Pick-ups are reasonably frequent, but the biggest draw back to the gameplay are the number or rather on the edge jumps (in fact it took me a number of jumps to just get out of the water right at the beginning), and often it was these jumps that were done more than once. The graphics are in keeping with the type of level and coupled with the lighting create a superb atmosphere and the attention to detail in the areas. Definitely a level worth playing." - Whistle (01-Mar-2005)
"This level requires some tricky movements, at least if you want the secrets. One secret in particular is very hard to get in to, and even harder to get out from. There is also a quite long and tough timed run. Basically, the level is quite good, but one has to repeat the same cumbersome passage again and again and again. There are skeletons, beetles and wraiths, which chase you around. As is often the case, the wraiths are the worst, and you can dispose of the others or outrun them. The level is set in a huge hall with a central building with many large windows, so you can see where are supposed to go in the end. There are many things to do in side rooms first, though, and you have get up and down between the high and the low 'floors' many times." - Bogey (27-Feb-2005)
"I've only played five of the Back to Basic levels but by far this is the most memorable to date. The setting alone, one huge room with a second smaller but still large windowed off room in the centre, was simplistically eye catching, then you add the slopes and ledges that are your main route a storey off the ground and throw in some fun puzzling, not the least of these a brilliant involving timed move that includes the slopes and ledges, and you have one blast of a level. There's even 6 trident secrets to find, and let me tell you that some of these secrets are very complicated to collect even if you just have to swim or monkeyswing to get them, I had to finish the level without the one behind the door in the sloped block room as if I had tried one more time without success I may have sent 18 letterbombs to all the Back to Basic levels just so I knew the author of this got their comeuppance, the evil sod, or soddess! For me this 55 minute level is a definite winner and even if it isn't at the top of the competition in the end it will always be fondly remembered by me." - Sash (18-Feb-2005)
"If I wanted to feature this level with only one sentence, I'd say the followings: Much patience is needed for it. Many wraiths and scarabs make our business harder. Our goal would be to get to the surface, but before that we have to complete many tasks, mostly skilled ones. Because of the many wraiths, it is important to have in mind the only place with a statue where we can get rid of them. Moreover there's a great timed run too, what is worthwile to complete with saving during it. Getting some of the six secrets can be quite nerve-racking too. We get only two weapons against the skeletons, the Shotgun and the Grenade Gun, but this latter only almost at the end at the fifth secret. This is a very good level, but I wouldn't advice it to rookies! You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version), savegames and pictures here: http://www.treditor.hu/15/back_to_basics5_high_and_low.htm " - Obig (16-Feb-2005)
"Nicely constructed around a large central room where you begin (with a remarkably long drop into water) and end. The game concerns finding how to open numerous doors around this room, half at ground level and the other half such that you need to jump about a bit. We have an alarming-looking fly-by very near the start, with the ubiquitous (it seems, in these BtB games!) beetles racing to nibble on our Lara, which suggests that prompt action will be necessary when we again receive control. There are a few timed runs, and each time we have a 'sprite encounter' (2, one, then 2) it is in the form of an ambush. Fair enough, except for the middle sprite, when we have to go through a crawlspace and monkey swing sequence, and the latter is one of several things in the game that don't seem to quite 'work' properly. (I lost virtually all the health I lost in the game just on this one sequence, and it took many attempts to make sure that that total was not a whole medipack full.) I found the first secret underwater crawlspace crevice - triangular, tiny and most awkward - very difficult indeed to enter (80 attempts, where I only persisted because the walkthrough said this *was* the correct way). It would then be a full 10 secs! before my Lara would pick up the flares & trident that were the secret. And after that we had to struggle to leave the alcove; all this while underwater, with our air slipping away. And there were a few other such 'obtusely difficult' things we had to do - i.e, they seemed awkward for their own sake, not for any gameplay advantage - in order to collect everything we needed. These spoiled the game considerably for me. (I would say to my wife how much the game had improved after that first secret, then, alas, another difficulty of a similar nature would come along.) A curious mixture of intriguing [most of the time] and irritating. I liked the moveable pillar puzzle in the pool room, especially, and also the fact that two adjacent 'fly-by triggers' gave us a view of the same room from two different angles; then the 'frantic, energetic' music that began assured us that this *was* a timed run! I found all 6 secrets, but needed help from the walkthrough for half of them." - rjb (08-Feb-2005)
"This level was a challenge for me, and I found it quite difficult in a lot of places, especially with the timed run, which I could not do, and had to resort to a savegame. But it was extremely well thought-out to give you some very nice gameplay, which kept you thinking throughout this adventure, in where to go and what to do next. There are some quite difficult jumps to master here, and you really need to line up properly to make the jumps successful, but once you know how, it was quite easy and achievable, all thanks to the help thread, I managed to get past them. There were a lot of skeletons scattered around in this level, but the shotgun can be found very early on in this game, so this does help you in blasting them away down some water pits, beetles are also present, and they do become a quite a nuisance, fortunately for me they got stuck after a while, so I was left in peace to continue this level at a reasonable pace. The textures, layouts and lighting was brilliantly done, which gave this adventure a nice atmosphere to it. On the whole, this is quite a short level in game-play, but keep in mind that some things do need to be done in a certain sequence, otherwise you will miss out on some of the secrets. After my second attempt at this level, I managed to get a lot further, I enjoyed it much more, found a lot more secrets and managed to do those difficult jumps a lot more easily. It's a nice level for all raiders to play, and well worth d/loading and giving it a bash." - Gill (06-Feb-2005)
"I am of two minds about this game and I do love jumping, and there is tons of that in this level, I just hated the timed runs. It took me ages to get them and I was not over the moon but more peeved afterwards. The only time I was stuck was not doing that third button on that central structure. At a certain point I had to add more medipacks as I was weary of the skeletons and wraiths and for good measure some beetles. Although I knew where they 6 secrets were, I had a bloody hard time to swim in that tiny opening for the first one and couldn't get out. The one behind the door with the monkey climb was just a bitch as I had been trying to get that one off and on for several days and finally with some help from Dutchy it worked. I was however over the moon to find a friendly bug in that same room, so no back jumping and grabbing was needed. 09-01-2005" - Gerty (05-Feb-2005)
"This level features an awful lot of to-ing and fro-ing across the same difficult terrain. Not only this but you are dogged by skellies and (worse still) loads of wraiths. What's more, there is a truly ridiculous part in this level: spiked blocks that aren't dangerous! Which means you can jump on them all you like and not run around trying to find something to disable them. I beat this one in an hour and 15 minutes and found a solitary secret." - gfd (04-Feb-2005)
"This is a terrific level, the work of a devious mind. I don't know who created it, but I have a very good idea! The actual map seems to be quite small, but very involved gameplay. What is seen is very impressive, apart from the swimming at the start, which didn't look good. This level is for those of us who love jumps and timed runs. There are some difficult jumps to perform and one of the best timed runs I've done in ages. For those not too confident about timed runs I'd recommend saving along the way to make life easier, that is, save if you know you've done a particular part of this run very fast. The route actually becomes very familiar, because I climbed that ladder so often I started to think I'll meet myself coming back. However I got through the level without looking for help so it wasn't a head scratching affair. Basically you see a lot of doors, and have to open them one by one doing different tasks. Keep looking up for monkey swings along the way. I like one room where you have to push an object over raised blocks in a water room. I suppose the beetles showing up constantly could be classed as annoying, but they are easy enough to outrun. When you find the shotgun most of the skeletons can be dealt with, but there was one that is really annoying, hacking at you while you're standing beside a cross to get rid of a wraith, at the same time being eaten by beetles. The wraiths themselves are harder to deal with, particularly one that shows up while monkey swinging and I lost all my health before I reached my goal. This forces you to think how the job can be done quicker, which is good. There are boulders here, but you don't actually have anything to do with them. They are part of the final flyby. Secrets are tridents, and you leave with them, which is unusual. I loved this one." - CC (04-Feb-2005)
"Lots of jumping and climbing - climbing the same ladder countless times - gets a bit annoying after a while....Not too many enemies - skeletons and wraiths but the wraiths forces you to climb that ladder even more times. The adventure takes place around one central structure - the one you climb and climb and climb - and the assignment here is to find as many tridents as possible while searching for a way out. Since I am a lousy secret finder I only found two but there are six!" - G.Croft (25-Jan-2005)
"High and Low - a very aptly titled Back to Basics challenge level. You find yourself in a big cavern containing a large cube-shaped caged structure with ramps and rolling balls. But most of the action is outside of the structure in the surrounding corridors ledges and adjoining rooms. High and low - exactly so as there is essentially a higher and lower gameplay area to negotiate. And so onto the tasks at hand. There's a clever moveable block puzzle but the completion of it was a little obscure. There's an absolute timed run from hell which although the doors you must reach are nearby you have to travel a long and testing pathway to reach them. Then there's a rather sticky monkey swing/wall climb which will test your nerve with wraith in pursuit. If that's not enough you have thrown in for good measure - a very tricky angled block jump to a monkey swing in the waterfall area. When all is said and done I felt very pleased to have accomplished these assignments but felt that the author was trying a little too hard to make this difficult for the player. There's also a very easily overlooked button that is integral to the players progression which finds you backtracking to press it. And hence this level is really pitched at the experienced and dexterous gamer. Some of these tasks will bring a mere mortal to their knees and I'm sure will be the source of many 'keyboard rage' incidents. Mine is a little worse for wear after this level LOL. Architecturally the main room is rather good while other side paths are a little simplistic. Texturing is also somewhat simple with some errors especially a large see-through hole in the columns in the flipped room waterfall area. Sounds were suitably triggered and camera clues led the player fairly. I finished with 3 secrets (tridents) in hand in a net time of 1:15. Take a nerve settler before attempting this one." - EssGee (25-Jan-2005)
"A level where you will totally wear out one ladder from climbing it a 1000 times (bit boring after a while) There's a Secret right at the beginning I never could get in a normal way cause if you did get in that small hole you would die inside never found the way to get out again. The build up to the end is good finding the 5 Tridents and opening the doors to finally get into the Central room where the exit of the level is to be found. Getting around in the level requires a high jumping skill. Those Beetles at the start were a nice surprise when you stood there and saw them all come running for you but if you found the way to get rid of them in that underwater cave they were no problem anymore. The level looked great and texturing was good some pillars disappeared in the last room with the Grenade gun behind that door you had to open by reaching a monkey swing after an almost impossible jump series (not too hard if you finally knew how) Great level to play..." - Dutchy (24-Jan-2005)
"After an initial tight swim the level begins with scarabs and a skeleton racing towards Lara - and so the action begins! Lara spends most of her time on ledges surrounding the cavern rather than on the floor (for obvious reasons). But constantly dropping down to climb up and run around the ledges again becomes tedious after a while. There are some very tricky jumps next-to-impossible to get secrets (due to tight fits) and nasty surprises in store such as attempting to flee from a wraith which is buzzing through Lara when she simply doesn't have a fast crawl monkey swing and ladder climbing speed to be able to get away quickly - hardly fair. Gameplay was fast as Lara was constantly fleeing something however the skeletons guarding the knot were a laid-back bunch and didn't seem to notice Lara rush in to grab it and rush out again - they found what was going on in the next room much more interesting apparently....?! Fine by me boys just carry on walking around gawping next door and I'll take that! The ending seemed to be quite anti-climactic I wanted to explore the last room visited which was the one that the 4 boulders dropped in to but seemed you were only there to climb a pole to finish. It was the same for the room with the fountains I wanted to do more there too. You finally enter some decent-sized rooms to only flick a lever or climb a pole which seemed a waste. Still it was very cleverly set out and an excellent effort." - Jenni (24-Jan-2005)
"Now this is a difficult one. The fact that you start chased by beetles AND a skeleton gives a clear hint of what's awaiting you. Tricky jumps a lot of research near impossible to get secrets (the first one under water is so difficult to get indeed that it becomes ridiculous) a wraith chasing you through crawlspaces monkey swing and ladder and so on... I more than once got that dreaded feeling of frustration and tedium. Having to do the same set of ladder climbing/tricky jumps something like five times might have contributed to it as well. Too bad. Had it been a tad less tough the gameplay would have been great. Coupled with the good atmosphere and lighting it could have been a winner in my book." - Sutekh (19-Jan-2005)
"The setting isn't very impressive but not bad either and although a couple of areas are nicely done I found nothing to attract my attention. Personally I found the jumps involved not hard at all the area with the ladders and knot receptacle is as close to a challenge as you can get. It's not a bad level but it just didn't click for me. The skeletons and wraiths were not a big threat and as for puzzles except from a few items you have to get there isn't anything memorable for me in this level. The complaints I have is that if you want to shoot the vases at the end in the room where one spike ball stays in the air and doesn't go all the way down you have to swim all the way back and go back up again which is tedious. On the other hand it's good that the author gave the player a second chance to get a secret unless it wasn't intended. That brings us to my second complain it took me five minutes of trying to get in and out that tiny crack and find the first secret that was really annoying. I found two secrets that were tridents and this level left me unsatisfied in general." - Kristina (17-Jan-2005)
"Oh my goodness I am exhausted after playing this. It's taken me nearly two hours to complete and several valium too lol.. Lara arrives in a water tunnel and makes her way into the inner chambers only to be immediately greeted by some lethal spikes if they catch you in the right place a skelly and a swarm of beetles charming! Next comes the tricky part jumps! And I mean jumps of the severest kind to get round to buttons and open doors which you then have to find while being attacked by wraiths. Collect two pillars and a knot to proceed and then the fun really begins there are some fabulous sloped jumps which I really loved doing and I think there were three sets in different rooms. I felt a distinctive change of style from the BtB levels I have already played and I wasn't sure if I was going to finish due to the hard jumps at the start but as I progressed I got used to the style and all seemed pretty straight forward. Rooms were lovely I liked the lighting which gave this level a wonderful atmosphere and textures were nicely placed though I found a few missing ones Oops! Great level if you like to be tortured by hard jumps but I would certainly recommend it." - Moonpooka (16-Jan-2005)
"Isn't good that the player has to go from place to place pulling too much switches and crossing always the same paths." - Jose (15-Jan-2005)
"This builder is a sadist. Have your inhaler handy because you hardly ever get a breather. From the bothersome underwater slit that houses goodies/secret to the nasty beetles and skellies on your tail all while you are sans weaponry is just a taste of things to come. Keep moving unless you have to squat at a cross to extinguish a wraith while a skellie whacks away at your head. Polish off all your skills because you'll need to make quick moves especially when traversing the sloped blocks. There is a moment that made me long for Recon Labs 3 it involves sloped blocks and a monkey swing that leads to a door. Thankfully you do not have to do this twice. Swing your nose against the wall the door opens drop and grab immediately pull up and collect your reward. Once in the center structure the spike ball to the west dropped to the path below but did not roll down to the end depression. I could see another trident on a ledge but just couldn't find my way to it. I'm not saying this level is bad actually it's quite good. It's just not for the uninitiated. The problem isn't figuring out what you have to do it's having the skill to do it. Veteran Raiders will appreciate the challenge. I ended the game with 5 secrets and an aneurysm." - Alarable (15-Jan-2005)
"A 'Back to Basics' level using the catacomb wad so I won't go into detail about enemies and objects - you know the score. It's all very well finding the owl statuette in good time when you've got wraiths on your heels but it's definitely frustrating kneeling by said owl with a skeleton hacking at you with his sword and beetles snacking on you at the same time. Ah well that's tomb raiding for you. There's an object pushing puzzle which is partly timed and partly just plain devious - a nice twist on the usual idea - and plenty of interesting and occasionally quite challenging jumps to achieve. I managed to miss a couple of the secrets and I could have sworn I'd been everywhere." - Jay (10-Jan-2005)
"A memorable little gem of a level that offers a gameplay that was very much to my liking what with tons of tricky jumps and a rather long timed run (that is actually dead easy). It mainly takes place in one big room and the concept is such that you have to open more and more doors so that the whole area becomes accessible. Nothing wrong with this but there is one particular climb that I reckon I must have done 30 times and you can't help thinking 'Oh no please not again' when it becomes apparent that you have to get up there yet another time. The enemies keep you on your toes most of the time and they make sure that the pace is pretty quick which was appreciated although there is one ice wraith placed a few crawlspaces and a tricky monkey swing away from the cross and that made me curse the author in a rather rude fashion. The setting is rather functional as you would probably expect from such a concept and some of the little rooms that branch of from the main hall don't really blend in with the overall style but by and large I thought that the atmosphere is appropriate. Well to tell the truth the underwater tunnel at the start is dead ugly and unfortunately you have to return to that halfway through but the rest is alright. So if you like a good jump I recommend this without reservation." - Dimpfelmoser (09-Jan-2005)
"I have to say that this level really grew on me as the gameplay unfolded. Like Laguna it's quite dark in spots but the difference here is that the darkness was oddly appropriate and didn't detract at all from my enjoyment of the gaming experience. There are a generous six secrets to be found one of which (leading to the grenade gun) is almost unbelievably tricky. It's obvious that the hand of a true craftsman was behind the compilation of this gem of a level and I suspect that it will finish in the top half of the competition. (And this is only another way of saying that the competition is stiff indeed but we players just love it.)" - Phil (07-Jan-2005)
"If you like difficult jump sequences with a killer timed run this is the game for you. Yes I liked the jump sequence once I knew how to do it but having it incorporated into the timed run was frustrating as I seemed to get worse not better the more I had to do it. I would have liked to have a place for the Tridents as for some reason I didn't realize they were secrets until the end. The atmosphere lighting and textures fit well together and thankfully the shotgun is found fairly early on and the skeleton stops being a problem. A note to the author: Those who are better players than I will I am sure rate this level higher." - Bene (07-Jan-2005)
"This level is high and low. High from the fact that the author was able to build an entire level using only one main room and its small surroundings. That's minimalist ingenuity. Low in that it's a bit dark and that I can't remember one single room where I may have been touched by the beauty of anything. Not that it's ugly. Just correct. Complicated too at times as in not obvious at all and thank God the forums exist. Still there's always action and no space is wasted in this level. Don't forget to get the secret that comes with the grenade gun - you'll love blasting the damn skeletons to pieces! As I did. Not a tops experience but quite enjoyable. (January 6 2005)" - Jorge22 (06-Jan-2005)
"This was not the first game of the Back to Basics series that I played but it is my first review. I suppose it is fitting that I start by telling you that I hated this game. Okay. I hated 95% of it in a good way. This is one of those games that challenges all your jumping/timed run skills. This is the part I loved (and hated). That doesn't mean I find those things particularly easy but I do love the quest! So if you enjoy this kind of thing then this game is for you. There are also several good puzzles to solve - I made so many trips to the 'Stuck Forum' that I lost count and bene was ready to kill me. Maybe one more camera fly-by might have helped at least one of those critical moments. What left me a little cold was the ending. It's a personal preference of course but I like to have an ending that ties up all the loose ends...like finding homes for my hard-fought-for tridents. If my ratings are too low I apologize - there are more reviews to come and I wanted to save the highest points for the potential 'blew me away' game. Now - is this where I name who I think authored this game? It has to be someone who writes diabolical gameplay into their games and I can think of quite a few. For this one I'm betting on Michael." - Mugs (06-Jan-2005)