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BtB2006 - Jin Ra Long by Aza

Anurag 9 9 10 10
Bojrkraider 8 8 8 8
Catherin 8 7 8 8
CC 7 7 8 7
Chopper 10 9 10 9
Drakan 9 9 8 9
Dutchy 8 9 9 9
Engelchen Lara 10 9 10 9
eRIC 9 9 8 8
eTux 8 7 7 7
Gerty 7 8 7 8
High Priestess 7 8 7 10
Jay 7 8 8 8
Jerrod 8 9 8 9
JesseG 9 8 8 8
Jorge22 9 8 8 8
Jose 5 9 10 9
Kristina 8 8 8 8
Loupar 6 7 8 8
manarch2 8 7 7 6
MichaelP 8 7 8 8
Mman 9 9 8 8
Moonpooka 9 8 8 8
nerdfury 7 8 8 7
Neso 9 7 8 9
Obig 8 9 9 9
Orbit Dream 7 7 8 8
Oxy 9 9 9 9
Phil 9 8 8 9
QRS 10 9 10 9
rjb 8 9 9 8
rtrger 9 8 9 9
Ryan 8 8 9 8
Sash 9 8 8 8
Selene 10 10 9 9
Staticon 9 8 8 8
Sutekh 8 8 8 8
Treeble 7 7 6 7
Whistle 7 8 7 7
 
release date: 01-Jan-2006
# of downloads: 82

average rating: 8.22
review count: 39
 
review this level

file size: 35.15 MB
file type: TR4
class: Oriental
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
harryandgill@blueyonder.co.uk

Reviewer's comments
"Quite a few puzzles to solve in this one, and while it may require backtracking if you missed one of the clues, I found this entry to be a nice change of pace regardless. There are some unique moments such as the "jump through the blade hoops" challenge, and especially the giant dragon head, complete with teeth and fiery breath. Unfortunately it was here that I encountered a softlock, where I pulled the jumpswitch before going inside the mouth to activate the flame – turns out the jumpswitch is what switches that off. I had to modify the level to remove the flame to proceed. 38 minutes." - JesseG (18-Jul-2022)
"(7) Gameplay & Puzzles: This is a creative level, with innovative individual tasks, but when the tasks are combined together as a whole, the gameplay feels somewhat disjointed and unclear. First of all, I really loved the individual tasks of jumping through the stargates, circus-style, and the timed shooting gallery towards the end of the game. Now, here are some examples of the gameplay flow not being good, in my opinion: 1) When you reach the dragon's head, you see a flyby where the final frame shows a jumpswitch. You can reach and use this jumpswitch immediately, via the top of the dragon's head, but that will break the game and you will be stuck. You instead need to enter the dragon's mouth, collect ammo, an alcove lights on fire, and THEN you're supposed to use the jumpswitch to deactivate the fire. If you used the jumpswitch already, there's no way to deactivate the fire. This isn't good design (it is intuitive for the player to try to go for the jumpswitch immediately) and the major reason why the gameplay doesn't score higher marks. 2) You will reach the red dragon puzzle board before accessing a different area that shows the correct path to move the red dragon pushable. So it is intuitive for the player to immediately want to try to move the pushable in a straight line to the alcove, when that's not the correct path, which means annoying backtracking later. 3) Prior to entering the shooting gallery, you will see a "clue" room which is the builder attempting to warn the player of the dangerous objects ahead, but all it did was just confuse me, and made me wonder if there was something I'm actually supposed to do in this room, or a sequence of tiles I'm supposed to step on (there isn't). (8) Enemies, Objects & Secrets:I enjoyed my brief time in the small snake pit, and while the goons were fine initially, it got old after a while to have goons popping out of thin air whenever I interacted with something. Wraiths, while annoying near the black dragon puzzle board, were used in a thrilling manner in the shooting gallery. Object decor was good, and the Uzi secret was done well. (8) Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras: Sometimes the level feels too "cubic", and lacking in organic geometry (example: the starting hub area which feels like a giant cube). The architecture of the dragon's head room is marvelous, however, and I've never seen anything like it. Music soundtracks were perfectly used. Standard camera hints were adequate, although I'm subtracting a point for the very misleading flyby camera in the dragon head room (see gameplay issues). (7) Lighting & Textures: Lighting was good, and I especially enjoyed the use of lighting clues in the shooting gallery. I didn't spot any texturing errors, although I felt like the builder's texturing choices were haphazard and chaotic in some rooms, but clean and lovely in other rooms. Due to this, I think it is plausible that a player, when initially finding the black and red dragon clue walls, will just think it's the builder's texturing style, as opposed to thinking it's a clue to a puzzle. Overall, a creative and confusing level, and I have very mixed feelings about it. 7/8/8/7." - nerdfury (29-Nov-2020)
"It's rare if ever that I review an unfinished level but I just couldn't get past the spear trap in the second quadrant after the gems were collected. Every time, Lara failed to change her trajectory and clung to the roof. Other than that I found it a nice level. I watched the YouTube video and read the walkthrough but just couldn't make it but wanted to review it as I got quite a way through." - High Priestess (11-Jul-2018)
"This is a nice little entry taking place in quite nice looking, but occasionally bland areas and some inside areas are rather dark, so keep a close eye out for flares. Some nice touches constitute some of the gameplay, particularly some treacherous jumps through circular blades, some nicely clued object puzzles and a timed shooting sequence. A shame that you could apparently get stuck if you went along a wrong route in the dragon area, though." - Ryan (23-Feb-2017)
"Reading the storyline I didn't have a good first impression, it feels very childish and quickly written. It's not a large gripe anyway. The gameplay really makes up for that, as there are a few rather clever puzzles to be solved here - for example the two where you first have to search for a hint -, then - most memorable - the rotating knifes hallway; I first thought those were only for decoration but was fairly impressed when I realized it's a quite unique task. Overall it remained a fun and fluent game to the very end which is a plus in my book. The multitude of enemies feels a bit tedious at times but there are enough weapons to deal with them which makes it a rather fun affair. The looks aren't anything special though; the lighting feels rather flat overall and the textures are mainly cleanly applied, yet with not much imagination, the overall feel is very dull-grey and there's not much eye candy. The rooms are always decently designed with a few nice structures but sometimes feel a bit uninspired and architecture is not very complex either. The finale with several wraiths and the shatterable balls make this 25 minute level even more memorable even if it ends somewhat abruptly in front of a grenade launcher. I found two secrets." - manarch2 (19-Mar-2015)
"Very good level of Aza. There is good puzzles, particularly with poussables where it must follow a path. Pretty end with the installation of 3 puzzles and attack the bad guys every time. It is well textured. Excellent." - Drakan (15-Jan-2015)
"This level looks good, including some nice design twists like blocks arranged to look like a Dragon. There's a decent variety of areas (with a few gloomy, creepy areas mixed in along with the bright and plush ones). Some areas feel like they could be a little more detailed than they are, but it's at a high standard the majority of the time.
The gameplay of this level is enjoyable, with many different things to do, and certain tasks I haven't really seen done much before (such as diving through spiked rings), along with a nice twist on a couple of block puzzles. Things are on the easier side, with obstacles/traps being quite simple to avoid, but that makes it a pleasant ride with little to be frustrated by. A great entry to BTB06." - Mman (24-Dec-2011)
"Can this be hated? Wonderfully compiled level. Colorful textures, good music, not so hard tasks. Relaxing. Recommended." - rtrger (13-Jun-2010)
"I encounter one little error in the puzzle (the red push-puzzle can be useless) and I don't explain the strange presence of the raised-block near the Dragon head (After reading the Jose's comment, I understand where is the error, you can runjump-grab from the stone and use the jumpswitch before jumping in the Dragon head). Anyway, these errors don't affect the quality of this level. Nice graphics, gameplay well balanced and some good ideas, everything to have a good time is present in this level... but don't save in the same slot." - Jerrod (14-Apr-2010)
"40 minutes. 2 secrets. Nice level, well done and well textured. Nothing to say about the atmosphere, the sounds and the lightings which are really perfect to me, but I think that the two secrets were such easy to find and it is short of enjoyable cameras : actually two flybys too... conventional. Annoying thing : two bugs. The first one was, as Jose already said, in the dragoon mouth (impressive idea!) : you HAVE TO trigger the flames before using the jumpswitch, or it will be no use. The second one was in the lava room, where I unfortunately used my explosive crossbow, and if you shoot the shatterable ball in front of the door with the next one just close to it, then the door won't open anymore." - Neso (05-Aug-2007)
"I have not played any levels from this author before this one, and I was really impressed by it! The main area with its waterfalls and the tree looks really authentic. Some nice traps and cool puzzle. The one I liked best was the jumping through the star gates! The lighting and textures are very well placed and adds up to the great atmosphere. One of the best btb2006 levels IMHO. Well done Aza!" - QRS (10-Feb-2007)
"Pretty good puzzles to solve, linear gameplay though I had problems with the last puzzle because of not shooting the switches in the author's intended order. The construction of the dragon head is just great, brilliant idea! The level itself is absolutely worth the download as you'll be having great fun." - Catherin (01-Aug-2006)
"Ok now I will dare to start this 23-parter ;) This is also an atmospherically beautiful level and challenging at the end with shooting targets and some wraiths around, but it was great fun and the added music there was great. Some push object puzzles are well designed. Levers to use, enemies to kill (some more than in the previous level). Very well done :-)" - Engelchen Lara (14-Jul-2006)
"I would love to have rated Gameplay higher,as there are some quite exceptional moments here. Unfortunately,the large 'set-piece' room (which is clearly intended to be the Gameplay highlight) is very much dependant on the player performing the correct tasks in the correct order which,unfortunately,I didn't do;subsequently I became horribly stuck with no clear idea as to what had caused this to happen. A leangthy re-play of a large chunk of the level solved the problem,but alas much of the fun had dissipated by then. If it hadn't been for that,this would have been a gem of a level.The Gameplay is otherwise fast,intelligent and occasionaly absolutely inspired (those jumps through the deadly circular saw traps are quite audacious and brilliant),while the skill of the construction mirrors the gameplay's accomplishments. If (and it's a rather big if) you don't come unstuck in the large Dragon Room,you will leave this adventure feeling much impressed." - Orbit Dream (12-Jul-2006)
"The quest is for three rubies that will be placed in the end of the level so Lara can escape. In your way you'll find some interesting puzzles and a special move to get through the stargates. I loved that part, it was fun for me. There is some target shooting and spikes to by pass by carefully timing your jump. The setting is nice and colourful and I am surprised that this level got some low marks in the gameplay category. The two puzzles with the same pattern on the wall on how to push the movable blocks were nice but in my opinion it was unnecessary to repeat it. I found two secrets and recommend this level for some fun." - Kristina (10-Mar-2006)
"Nice level, perhaps just a tiny bit strange, with some good puzzles and just enough action. The dragon's mouth part was a nice touch and so was the shooting near the end. Good atmosphere overall." - Jorge22 (26-Feb-2006)
"This level is gorgeous. There are eastern-style textures, eastern people with staffs, and we have to fight against snakes. We have to gain 3 Dragons Gem in order to complete the level. Meanwhile we need to solve many tasks. While pushing the small statues we get some help painted on the walls that show the way. At the mouth of the dragon there is a small bug, a mistake of the author though. If we don't jump into the jaws, the fire won't blow out. Because we can get up onto its head before this and we can light the fire by pulling down the switch, it won't blow out later, so we can't continue the game. It's a pity that this bug appeared. :) Except this bug, it was a great feeling adventuring on this level. The only harder challenge was maybe the room with the boiling water after the slide, where you have to shoot the balls while being disturbed by wraiths. But it can be made also without using medipacks if you know what you have to do, and even you can gain the secret. I could find two secrets on the level, and the second was the hardest to get. I can only suggest this great adventure to everybody. :) You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version), savegames and pictures here: http://treditor.hu/16/btb2006_1_jin_ra_long.htm" - Obig (25-Feb-2006)
"Dark beginning that quickly becomes bright, colourful & dangerous! Attractive open area, when we have dealt with the dangers. Interesting, small dangerous dark area below, and a nice way to light it up. (A rare very dark area that I liked.) Good that we are given sufficient flares, as we need them. A promising beginning, with nice, gentle music, too. Attractive-looking rooms & interesting-looking puzzles in places. Imaginative to see the standard circular blade traps used almost as a 'decoration' in themselves. Ah, perhaps the 'pattern' clues are NOT as obvious to a player as the builder might hope. Should they also have been closer to where they were to be applied? (If we don't understand the purpose of the black maze path and return, we find that the upper spikes don't retract a second time.) Interesting idea, requiring a bit of thought, with the large, 'spiked' water area (the "Dragon's Head"). Ah, and then the 'danger pool' with all the hazards is an interesting experience! A fitting climax to the game. (I see that the hole from which we drop down at the end is completely surrounded by sky. Most surreal!) Attractive game. My 'thorough exploring' time was 1hr 37 mins and my 'fast as possible, pick up everything' time was 16½ mins. It is possible to go through the game and suffer no health loss." - rjb (19-Feb-2006)
"A generally very pleasant level, not too hard but with a few nice ideas that stand out. For one, the interesting swan dive move through the slicer dicers and then the great finale where you have target shoot a few things in sequence to make it to the other side. It starts out in a pleasant courtyard with a tree in the center, some swimming, jump switches and you need a gem, YinYang, dragons eyes and dragons gems. The push puzzle hints are originally done and the dragon mouth with the spikes was fun to watch. On the downside some areas seemed unnecessarily dark, the two secrets were not too hard to find and enemy placement seemed to be more on the annoying side with a rather large quantitiy of baddies and snakes to deal with. Solid level and a great addition to BtB. 45 minutes." - MichaelP (19-Feb-2006)
"Nice level with very good puzzles. Only some faults in gameplay that can be solved with a savegame before and a lot of pushables and clues everywhere. I finished in 1 hr and 10 min. and I found two secrets. A good level to play." - Loupar (15-Feb-2006)
"A level with good ideas and innovative tasks, you'll have to jump through the rings like the lions in the circus or looking for clues in some places so you can solve puzzles in another places. There are very good puzzles, and other aspects are very well implemented. But I find a big bug in this level (builders of BtB are going to "kill" me, I'm really a bug for them). When I arrived to the room with dragon's head, I didn't enter into his mouth, but I first explore the area, jump and grab the edge of the roof, shimmy left and around the corner, stand up and jump back to land over the "head roof", pry the two dragons and slide backwards to pull the jumpswitch at the south side of the head; after this I entered into the dragon's mouth and the fire starts. At this point there is no way to take off the fire (you already have pull the jumpswitch) and you can't continue playing. The bad detail is not that you have to reload a savegame (if you keeped one), the bad detail is all the time you waste looking for something that doesn't exist. The greatness of a TR level is that you can feel FREE to explore and make your way to advance through the world created by the author and always have the possibility to finish (if you not die), but in this case it's not true." - Jose (10-Feb-2006)
"This level was just a joy to play in every single way!!!! When I first heard the story about the crazed clones wreaking havoc on a temple I wasn't all that convinced that I'd like it, but boy was I wrong. I absolutely loved the swan diving through the stargates, the push-and-pull tile puzzles and the touch with the dragon's mouth....what neat touches to a near perfect level. I also enjoyed the names of the items needed(Dragon's Eyes etc, very imaginative). This temple is literally crawling with enemies; clones, snakes and wraiths make up for one heck of a shoot-out party. The sequence where Lara needed to shoot the balls in order to survive was awesome, although it was a bit tricky at first to find the right balls to shoot without getting killed. The wraiths also added to the difficulty here, but I was lucky enough to get all of them to dive into the scalding water and put themselves out. I also enjoyed the music and sounds used, finally one builder who knows how to add audio files!!! At places the atmosphere was a bit flat and the horizon could have been worked a bit on. Some more lighting would also be a plus. This level is of average difficulty, takes about one hour to play and I found two out of two secrets." - Selene (09-Feb-2006)
"A very good level, based mainly on soving puzzles ,some of them are excellent ! There is also some actions and traps and many baddies at the end. The author has a made innovations for the use of objects in a very clever way. Some action to perform that i've never seen before. Lighting and architecture are good, but this level is especially recommanded for its smart puzzles." - eRIC (06-Feb-2006)
"A delightful little adventure to start off the 2006 round of Back to Basics. Lara drops into an underground tunnel that leads to a very pleasant quadrant with a pool. Doors lead off from this quadrant to a series of nicely designed rooms and some quite ingenious puzzles. I was particularly impressed with the rotating knife puzzle and the final raising block room. It was, perhaps, a little naughty at one point where I activated a jump switch before triggering a flame as the switch is supposed to turn the flame off but then again, finding little bugs like this makes us feel all smug and superior. :-D I had to go back a couple of saves and re-do that section but, overall, this was a pleasant and engaging little level. Another plus - I managed to complete it without the aid of a walkthrough. A good thing for an eternal beginner. :-)" - Staticon (06-Feb-2006)
"A very good level, plenty of gameplay; I liked the concept of Dragon head used by the author & the way the place resembled the Dragon head. And the Stragates trap puzzle was also pretty good, couldnt have finished it without the walky. I also liked the area with plenty of shootballs. But the ending was very idiotic sort of, means in the last area you have to kill atleast 9 Clones I guess, pretty much for me. In last I would like to say that I have just 2 words for this level : MUST DOWNLOAD" - Anurag (05-Feb-2006)
"There are several very nice touches in this level, which gave me a sustained gaming high throughout my hour-long experience. Lara making like a tiger jumping through the hoops was the first such touch, followed soon thereafter by an ingenious target shoot to raise blocks and get across a deadly pool. There was also that tell-tale inaccessible medi-pack, a perpetual wraith threat that you avoided only by using the nearby monkey bars, and a target suspended in darkness that refused to shatter until I was standing in just the right position. Much fun, with scenic surroundings, challenging gameplay but never becoming frustratingly difficult. If it's indeed Ian's level, it's the best thing he's ever done." - Phil (03-Feb-2006)
"I really enjoyed this level. This is a nice garden and pool courtyard area with buildings that look like temples. Gameplay has an almost circus feel to it - jumping through dangerous hoops, putting your head into the, em, dragon's mouth, target shooting, and a lot of fun. I am left with questions though as to what was going on in some places. For example, I could climb the tree, but found absolutely nothing to do up there. I was able to get some doors open long before I found the clues (on the walls of rooms we open later on). And yet it seems that we must find these clues in their rooms to progress. But I'm not exactly sure about that. There is no clue in the dragon's head pool area about 'not' using that switch on the side before entering the dragon's mouth. I had to go back to previous savegames to sort that one out. Perhaps the author didn't realise that players could jump to the roof and shimmy around to get on top of the head first. Those snapping spike teeth took several attempts to get through, but it all looked quite impressive. Also couldn't figure out what to do in a room with spikes and three suspended balls. Another secret perhaps? Apart from that it was all good fun. The highlight, for me, is towards the end; sliding into a room, and target shooting hanging balls, which raise blocks in the lava floor for Lara to jump to before she gets fried. Reaching the last room I found I needed a third ruby. I thought that little jumping session, to find it, was great. The thugs that show up each time you place the ruby are easily dealt with by jumping back over the water and shooting them from safety. Come to think of it, there was a lot of thugs and snakes in this level, to the extent that they showed up after almost every single action, and it became too predictable. The feel of this level is certainly a lot different to the others in this year's competitive. And I wonder did anybody manage to get that medpack without being skewered!" - CC (01-Feb-2006)
"A player will have some very interesting puzzles to solve, there is some thinking to do and I really liked the jump through the ring puzzle. I had just enough of medipacks, but maybe one more at the end would be very welcome. The idea of the dragon head at the end was a nice touch, I liked it so much that I jumped through the teeth a couple of times, lol. No, seriously, I was a little stuck there, so I was running in circles for some time. The last puzzle with shootable switches is a little buggy, so save before sliding down the slope. It is possible to shoot the balls in a wrong sequence and a result might be that the exit door doesn't open, so you'll need that savegame. Time: 48/39. Difficulty: hard. Lighting: darker/red. Gameplay type: puzzles. Tech skills: advanced." - Bojrkraider (30-Jan-2006)
"In retrospect this is a mighty fine level. Pity is that you come a bit too soon into a room with the push puzzle and as you have no clue whatsoever, you are left with a frustrated feeling. Once you know where the clues are then you can make headway. Loved the jumping through the slice and dicers, that is a new one for sure. The bit with the dragon mouth, be aware to go into the mouth before using the jump switch or else you will be stuck, that is a nasty flaw. 20-01-2006" - Gerty (28-Jan-2006)
"Already the storyline excuses this level's shooter nature, but at least the countless enemies here don't shoot back, which makes it more bearable than most other shooter type of levels. The mad stick-wielding goons along with the snakes and sprites do play an important role in the level, but that doesn't mean it lacks puzzles, jumps and traps too - actually the ones that are there are really nice - the dragon's head, the "circus jumps" and the final room with the shootable balls and raisable tiles were my favourites from the variety of tasks here. The 2 pushable pawn puzzles still have me confused, I must have missed the point of the clues. Overall the room geometry doesn't surprise with any complex designs, but aesthetically this level is quite nice, with the main tree, waterfall and temple area being the most memorable. The biggest complaint would be the cryptic pushable puzzles (as said, could've been just me), though just the repetitive nature of the gameplay, and on the whole far too standard looks would be a reason why this ain't exactly a four-tenner for me too - but not a bad level at all. Worth a play, even if you don't enjoy having many enemies - like I usually don't." - eTux (27-Jan-2006)
"Not really sure how the title may translate into English but it maybe something like 'Look For Hints'. There are a couple of movable object puzzles in this level, set in an oriental courtyard with pool and huge tree (that you never get to play on sadly) where all the adventures branch off, and each of these movable puzzles has a solution but somewhere else in the level so I pushed them all around for ages like I had an obsessive compulsion disorder with moving things trying to find their solutions (not clicking that there were hints, DOH!), very smartly designed I must say. Besides those some of the things you'll find here are a fab circus performance of diving through raised circular slicers sitting on fires, some nastily placed enemies and loads of them at times, thankfully I found the way not to release the wraiths near one of the movable puzzles as I may have fully gone bonkers trying to solve it with them whipping away my health, and a brilliant looking dragon head with retracting spikes that served as gnashing teeth which you have to enter. Again I'm thankful that I never had any of the problems some had with reaching a jumplever too early in the dragon head room and played through it untroubled. You end with a nicely designed timed target shooting puzzle, that also has a hint in a previous room, but I thought that it was a bit mean of the author to also through in a couple of wraiths here as it made it all a bit frantic, hey what am I talking about, I like frantic. This was definitely a load of fun to play and I can barely believe it all happened in only 35 minutes. I found 2 secrets." - Sash (19-Jan-2006)
"This is a great game. I actually believed, that I was in Dragon's mouth and I almost died in his stomach (I call it wraith lagoon). :-) And men with stick, they were really angry, one even bumped me down into a cellar to the snakes! So watch you health and try to find the secret before entering Dragon's mouth, because it is precious Medi-Pack. Game probably isn't suitable for beginners, but if I ended the game, I think almost everyone can. I enjoyed playing very much and I did all the "flying" jumps through the blades, marvellous. I didn't know I could do that. And I love the pedestal with Dragon Gem, placed in a colour box near them. Atmosphere was fulfilled with everything - with peace in nice setting, and with energy in other areas. My big puzzle challenge was how to enter Dragon's mouth to pass his sharp teeth so I did almost everything before I succeed. :-) And I'm glad some baddies were stuck into the wall because of my poor health and not enough medi-packs I wouldn't survived. Textures are placed well and gave oriental atmosphere. I placed three Dragon Gems on their proper pedestals and I found two secrets. :-) I have to report a bug. In poisonous water Lara didn't wan't to shoot with crossbow, so I did with revolver and I got only one bullet left." - Oxy (19-Jan-2006)
"The game play for me was spoiled by the over long traverses and the fact that the operation of switches was sometime obscure, which made it very frustrating when a switch did not work. The puzzle switches were also laboured and as much trial and error as anything else. Enemies were snakes, Bullies and wraiths. Here was I felt a good touch as the wraiths kept appearing if you did not use the monkey swing-that is until you did a save and restore. Collect the two snake eyes and the three Dragon eyes. The secrets were not difficult, with the second just heavy on health fighting the effects of the wraiths. Lots of jumping, traversing ( too much perhaps at one go), swimming and generally running round. The graphics were fine in general but the doors could have opened quicker (obviously a characteristic of the wad set up) and the odd camera angle improved. The musak in the end started to get on my nerves, and as this is the first level done, will probably do so in future. Good use of lighting created some good atmospherics." - Whistle (14-Jan-2006)
"Nice level, although some things were a bit confusing, a puzzle you could attempt to solve before you could get the clue and a confusing part at the Dragon's mouth because you could jump to the roof without lowering the white blocks and therefore use the Jumpswitch too soon. The target shoot part was great and I really liked the"jump like a Circus Lion" traps to get that first Gem." - Dutchy (14-Jan-2006)
"Amazing fun and what a great run around. Lara arrives in a temple setting with a small pool and various doors leading off of this main room. It's all very jolly both inside and outside the temple, with well decorated rooms and nicely placed objects throughout. Now, beware because things become quite confusing and I had to check the stuck threads a few times to understand what I was supposed to be doing. First confusion is the object moves; there are two floors to tackle, and both have a hint someone else in the level, but when you arrive in these places nothing is obvious so be prepared to back track in order to suss things out. The second confusion was in a dragon type structure and if you do the sequence wrong you will be stuck, as you have to enter the dragon's mouth before you release a hang lever; so, keep save games handy! There are many traps of the blade kind, and you'll even have to jump through blade hoops on blocks which I have never seen before, and what good fun it was too. There is also one crashing wall passage but there's nothing too tricky about it. Lara will have to collect a gem, the Ying yang, two stars and three artefacts; plus the revolver and sight to shoot some balls, and the crow bar also needs to be hunted down. Enemies are Ninjas, wraiths and snakes, quite a few of them in fact and health can get low so watch out. Near the end there is a fabulous shoot out with some balls to avoid being squished by a boulder, and it was particularly mean to send in two wraiths to play with Lara in this already hazardous lava room, but it was all in good fun. All in all I loved it; I found two secrets in this great looking level, the atmosphere was good and game play was fun." - Moonpooka (13-Jan-2006)
"Ye gods, this monastery is absolutely crawling with snakes and, unlike some monasteries we have visited, there are no friendly monks about, just decidedly unfriendly baton-wielding thugs. There's an unusual run, involving jumping through slicing blades, the like of which I hadn't seen before. My favourite bit though was the timed shoot at the end of the level. I had a spot of bother in the dragon room as I did things in the wrong order, but otherwise found this a reasonably straightforward, fun level." - Jay (12-Jan-2006)
"Ok, this was one strange level. The fact is that it's obviously built in a very squareish fashion and there's a noticeable lack of lighting, so the atmosphere is rather dubious. You're on a quest for three dragon stones, and the third one is sneakily hidden in the end - had me going for a while. The other two you just stumble onto them on the logical progression of the level. There are a few nice things about it, though. I personally enjoyed the one bit where you have to dive through circle blades over flames - it reminded me of those joyful circus shows. For about any remote pickup or lever, when you turn around you'll see a baddy or two have come for you. This formula soon gets old and it gets a bit tiresome towards the end, but luckily you can get a lot of additional firepower throughout the game to dispatch them quickly later on. Both pushable dragon puzzles weren't really complete, as the maps found within game were missing one or two tiles, but I got them to work by calculating them from the end to start instead of following what I had seen in the walls. 35 minutes, 2 secrets. 01/06" - Treeble (08-Jan-2006)
"The game is linear and not too difficult to play. What I liked more is how puzzles have been built full with fantasy. Also the atmosphere is perfectly oriental." - Chopper (04-Jan-2006)
"What I like about oriental levels is that they're generally eye-candy and "clean". This one isn't an exception to the rule. Nice textures, good mix of colors and generally good lighting except for some places that were so dark (even once "lit") I had to adjust the gamma on my monitor. The gameplay is quite good with very intense moments - especially toward the end - and quite creative puzzles. Maybe there could have been a bit less Chinese Brutes around, but they were well-placed. The only real problem I had is in the Dragon Head room where I got a bit confused - even though I played the revised version. Since it is the first I play of the series I can't compare to the others, but in itself it's a good piece of enjoyment. Recommended." - Sutekh (04-Jan-2006)