Level reviews

"Balanced. Not too big, small, complex, simple, tough or easy. Visuals appealed to me more than in more advanced entries, maybe because they felt organized. I had the reverse Michael experience: I jumped and landed randomly on the last fuse. I'd use the unused ledges and give closer view on that neat ceiling since I missed it. Also, a better ending. Recommended." - DJ Full

"This is quite a fast flowing adventure and despite me leaving this adventure satisfied, I couldn't help feeling that a little more could have been up to it. The nocturnal atmosphere of a London city has been caught very nicely and the overall environment is very well constructed (it's quite neat and tidy above and derelict once you reach the sewers). But I do think that more could have been added to the gameplay to make it involving. What there is that exists, as mentioned flows well and there's nothing that should get you stuck, but it mainly consisted of finding one item or solving one task, moving onto the next and doing the same thing until the end of the level. Once in a while there's a variation in the form of a small box pushing sequence or a few jumps, but mostly it felt a little underwhelming. I also felt that it ended rather abruptly just as there seemed to be more to do. Nonetheless, an enjoyable enough experience, if a little undemanding." - Ryan

"Alister gives Lara a lead that sends her to London to discover...keys? The gameplay has a good mix of combat and acrobatics, but I would have liked to have some puzzles in there too. This level can be a weird experience because it feels like you are unnecessarily going in circles, but you're not. For instance there is a loop where you find and use a green key, then return to the start. I thought I just wasted a bunch of time, but reading the walkthrough I realized doing that loop silently opens another door. There are several moments like this which would have really benefited from camera cues so the player knows what they accomplished. My favorite part is the atmosphere, the town is built well and the final large docking area was a good place to end the level. The textures are used well (except for a few missing ones), but the lighting could have used more color in it. Nice level overall. 41 minutes." - JesseG

"The level starts nicely with a good camera sequence in an atmospheric part of the city. There are some not that well applied textures but the effect they create is decent overall, the lighting is dark, but quite good too. The atmosphere is quite reminiscent of the classic London levels from TR 3. Unfortunately the gameplay is basically a backtracking/lever pulling/item finding orgy that does not contain many decent tasks and feels very uninspired for most of the time. The progression is very basic and you shouldn't expect surprises in this game, also not in the enemy placement. Later on there are also some visual issues like the visible end of the world, a few textures missing and a bit careless architecture from time to time, but the open area with the crane still makes a good impression. It's a fluent and atmospheric game but I felt more than a little want after the unexpected finale. Spent 20 minutes in here and found one secret that was rather nicely hidden." - manarch2

"This level starts in the streets and buildings, before moving into a Subway station and finally a sort of construction area, which creates a nice variety of settings. This is a great looking entry for the most part, however it starts to fall apart a bit at the end as various visual errors appear in the last area like invisible surfaces. It's unfortunate as the end is otherwise the best looking part. The gameplay is relatively straight-forward outside of one or two slightly tough challenges, but it's enjoyable enough, there's nothing really stand-out though and it ends pretty anti-climatically. Decent but it needed more to distinguish itself." - Mman

"Also this london adventure was good. Searching for the way out at a dark city-part, high buildings, what takes place to a friendless, metro stop, where lives the hobos. Must to get some keys... The tasks arent confused, instead the finding of the keyholes in the dark maybe makes it complicated. We have a lot of enemies : soldiers, hobos, crows and rats. The fights arent easy because of Lara is on too high or too small against the enemies, where you can hunt them the way hard, but you can fight the bad guys easily from everywhere. The revolver would be good here. But we have a lot of ammunition. Almost every victim left something useful. We also can get a secret in the adventure. You can find a Hungarian walkthrough (as we don't have English version), savegames and pictures here: http://treditor.hu/17/btb2007_09_docklands.htm" - Obig

"Quite a good level I enjoyed playing. The first part in particular was highly entertaining with a couple of places where you have to do some platforming action which I am fond of. Good progression and I really liked the fact how the author switched the background atmosphere when needed to give a realistic ambience, like the place where Lara returned just above the avenue. The enemies are also very well placed. The second part with the subway station and the big water area are a bit less eventful and less inspired gameplay wise , but it is still enjoyable. The setting is good although I noticed a missing texture somewhere and a climbable wall not textured as such , but as it is obvious you have to climb there, it is no big deal. There is nothing difficult in this level. Good work." - eRIC

"This linear level was quite nice. But like "The Escape" it begins better than it ends. If the first ideas and rooms were really great, good textured with a nice atmosphere, lot of jumps (sometimes a bit tricky) and some puzzles, the end with the subway station and finally the docks was a bit less good in my opinion. I found the station a bit weird and monotonous and not really realist. The docks were interesting but I'd have liked to have to search more hidden levers after some long ascent from several points. In fact there isn't a lot of things to do in the docks. The thug who were warming up with a fire in a barrel were really funny. The secret was really easy to find." - TimJ

"According to the readme Lara is on the hunt for a hidden treasure of Queen Victoria. The end is rather abrupt as we lower the barriers and access a structure to swim through... to the treasure? We'll never know. But like a lot of these BtoB07 levels this one is screaming out for a follow-up. This is a fairly straightforward level, with very little head scratching involved. But searching everywhere is a must, especially for that last yellow plug. We are definitely in a docklands area, and the start is very impressive with that lovely moonlit scene of warehouses, offices and parked car. We venture all over this place, high above on rooftops, one with a zipline, inside a huge derelict warehouse with good route around the walls, hilarious sight of a dumpster rising to meet the challenge of it's fellow 'crates', and eventually underground. The enemies in all these London levels are gunmen, thugs, crows, rats and occasionally dogs. All of them have well disguised moveable blocks that resemble column bases, barrels to dodge as they tumble from various high places, and the most realistic looking fire and steam. We make our way through part of the subway system and end up in a huge cave like area with tall crane and warehouses built out into the Thames. The author has spent a lot of time creating huge areas that look fantastic, with good atmosphere, but very little to do. So, to sum up, this was a relatively easy going introduction to this year's BtoB competition and a level I'd recommend for all players. BTW, who is Alister?" - CC

"Playing this together with Mulf we got stuck in a major way and I put this one aside for the time being. Little did I know that we almost were at the end of this level. Oh well you can't win them all. There are enough nooks and crannies to explore and that is how to get all the ammo and then some, you need. The hunt is for keys and fuses and the wrong animation in the cave area with the ladder threw me off. There are however places one can jump to, that isn't mend to be. It took me almost 2 hours to complete this level and I found 1 secret." - Gerty

"All the areas, the city, metro station and finally the dock look good, fit together nicely. The gameplay flows well, though nothing particularly memorable, or particularly bad about it. Tha lack of real puzzles perhaps, and in the dock there should have been more to do. Ended too abruptly, so in the end I felt something was missing. All in all a nice offering among the B2B '07 levels." - Akcy

"I knew I was going to like this level when I barely moved anywhere and I found the Uzis--yay! I really enjoyed this level and definitely had to think a bit throughout it. There was a bizarre church structure that did not seem very realistic, and I was fairly confused in the big dock area at the end. There seemed to be many areas that Lara could go but ended up being a waste of time. I kept thinking I was heading toward that one elusive secret, but alas, no. What a surprise, Shandroid couldn't find the secret! The textures weren't too bad, my favorite was the rooftops and city skyline, but that was short-lived. Fun level!" - Shandroid

"This is a solid, workmanlike level, nothing fancy but providing a satisfying gaming experience. It's too dark, however. I automatically bump up the gamma on my computer before playing these BtB levels, because I know ahead of time that finding your way around in the dismal London setting would otherwise be impossible. That being said, the level is fun to play because the gameplay moves you steadily along without offering any insurmountable challenges. Some of the other reviewers indicate it may even be too easy, but I didn't find that to be the case. The builder has provided a generous number of cut scenes that point you in the direction of your next task, and I've always appreciated this gesture. Without them the level would have taken much longer to complete. This will probably place in the bottom half in the competition, but it's in mighty fine company. Recommended." - Phil

"Unfortunately there are a few areas in this level that the player can access and isn't supposed to which spoil the atmosphere. It starts from the ground then you perform a few jumps and finally move a block to get a key, not the only one here. The many jumps though are something that I am not very keen of. I am sure I did something wrong because I never found the yellow fuse at the end but I finished the level anyway and of course without cheating. I found one secret." - Kristina

"Interesting is the word that best describes this level. Classic tomb raiding without any novelty touches, correctly applied textures (almost always) but nothing worth reminding for very long, no wow moments, a permanent lack of thrilling occasions. Lara must find keys and fuses, easily escape just a few traps... While some builders seem to exagerate a bit on the difficulty side, others may perhaps overdo things on the simplicity side. That having been said, I enjoyed playing Docklands and I'm sure you will too, I just didn't enjoy it a lot. Now, give it a try, naturally, it's a BtB level." - Jorge22

"I did like this game, with its variety of puzzles, some inventive jumping, the need to think about how we wanted to explore, the surprises, the plentiful supply of uzi clips (a couple of which had been amusingly swallowed by a rat!), the well-placed baddies, the fact that we were not often at a loss - for long - as to what to do. Unfortunately, almost the entire level, bar a room or two and parts of the station area, was sufficiently dark that it took a great deal of time (that one would have liked to have been spending exploring) having to carefully check walls, floors, roofs, nooks and crannies, etc, in case we had missed some important detail. I had sufficient flares but I also needed to stop frequently to carefully check my surroundings with the binoculars. The end section that suddenly opened up when we placed a fuse gave the impression that the scale of the game was going to expand significantly and perhaps the author intends to create a sequel starting at that point. I did have my only technical problems of the game here: the game crashed because I'd left too many enemies alive [I had allowed 2 rats to survive and now needed to make sure I killed at least 3 of the 5 club-wielders] and I ran into a few missing or 'incorrectly functioning' textures and illegal slopes. Up to this point I had had no problems at all. Despite these last comments I repeat that I liked the game and was able to proceed from A to B to C fairly easily. I would have liked to have seen my surroundings more while doing so, though." - rjb

"This is a brief but very nice and well-structured level. Although there is a lot of button-pushing/lever throwing/door opening to do, it doesn't get tiring as almost always you either know or can easily guess where to go next. The whole setting and atmosphere remind a lot of Lud's Gate and Shakespeare Cliff, especially in the second half. Basically there are two different sections, one on 'dry land' where Lara has to do some climbing and monkey swinging around the 'docks' area so as to open a few doors and make her way to the train station. This section is a bit dark and many times I had to use the binoculars so as to spot keyholes, crevices or ledges. After some wandering around, you arrive at the underground which is ruined on one end (a very atmospheric and nicely textured area, with nice lighting) and there's some exploring to do here too until you are able to flood even more the already flooded pit, so that you can get to the exit. A pleasant and straightforward level, that will keep you good company for the brief time that is lasts." - Ravenwen

"London is nicely set up with a series of jumps that take you to a chapel with a cleverly hard to see push block. The Metro area leads to a well designed docklands so why the disappointment on completion? The rather unexpected abrupt ending, perhaps, or the fact that there was little to do in the end in an area that begged for more gameplay. Didn't find the one secret but did find perfect areas for it - one where the rat 'gives' ammo and the top of the structure near where the last fuse is placed. Fast paced and fun. Recommended for all." - Bene

"This is a nice, straightforward, pretty linear and fast paced level. It's good to have one or two easier offerings in the B2B series and this was like a rest cure - fun without being at all taxing. I especially appreciated the button in the Underground station that opened four doors at once - now that's my kind of button, lol." - Jay

"Another dark level? Uf! I've played 5 BtB levels and all very dark. All authors like darkness? This is a level no much long and easy to play, there are no difficult tasks and it's lineal, but entertaining and funny; you only can get problems at the end, 'cause there's a not marked climbable wall. Well placed enemies, the only secret I found was poor (only 1 uzi clips). Perhaps I expected some more musics, but ambience is good. A level which is worth to take a pleasant time." - Jose

"Oddly enough - after finishing this approximately 40 minute level, I seemed to lack any feeling of accomplishment for doing so. Was it too easy? Maybe the ending was too abrupt for it to kick in my mind? I do not know, but when Lara swam down the tunnel in the weird structure in the middle of the docklands, I was wishing for there to be more, because not everything made sense by the end. It starts out nicely in a courtyard of sorts that works as a hub part of the level and leads you to various adjacent areas - the city, the sewers, the metro station and finally the docklands themselves. On the whole the gameplay is enjoyable, and not too terribly complex - maybe only the final area might imply that there's a lot to do, which sometimes works discouragingly for me, but is not the case here as all you really need is lower the barrier to flood the area, which was nicely done (you can reach the sea (Thames?) easily prior to this - only to burn to crisp though). While it is hard to recall any specific highlights, I remember that it was fun all the way through despite not feeling like I've done everything I should have. Maybe it's because I didn't find any of the secrets? In any case, I didn't let that impact my judgment a whole lot - and can only recommend this level if you enjoy the London setting. 9th of the 10 levels I played." - eTux

"I must say this was pretty nice London level. Objects are used well and textures laid carefully and atmosphere is very good too. Tasks you have to solve are quite easy and they could be also more creative but they are planned well enough to keep player happy. The final big and good looking area offers nice ending for this level despite the game ends quite unexpectedly. My opinion is that there's nothing bad in this level but some things could have just been done a little better. The author of this level seems to know quite well how to use level editor to build good levels." - Samu

"Nice level with big water ambient and lot of guards who keep passages and exit. Constructor made a lot of hard for vuew locations which you need to solve. Beginning of level is corectly made with dark areas and few keys and doors. For about one hour nice activation in dockwaterareas." - Ivan

"Although the atmosphere of a nocturnal (somewhat run-down) London has been quite capably caught,this adventure is generally less than the sum of its parts. Some of these parts are undoubtedly enjoyable (the final Port area is very impressive) but the Gameplay is generally too contrived to be as enjoyable as it ought to. Entire geographical areas exist simply for Lara to perform some sort of aerobatic maneuvre,rather than being fully homogenous locations in their own right. The final area,in particular,contains places which the player probably wasn't supposed to visit (and the final 'open sea' can be reached quite easily,only for Lara to burn up) and also involves a rather sadistic 'hunt for a very small Fuse' sequence,which pads out the level effectively enough but does nothing to endear itself upon the player. Added to this a qite unfair 'pushable block which looks just like an ordinary piece of Wall' Gameplay element,and my outlook was rather soured. A shame,then;as the individual areas are all nicely put together and the pace is generally fast and linear. It's all about hunting for switches or keys which open up doors back in places you've already visited,and there are many people who enjoy this sort of adventuring. For me,it wiled away the time;but it could have been so much more." - Orbit Dream

"One of the shortest BtB Levels for me but still great fun while it lasted. Flybys are good, jumps around the buildings are fun and the Metro station looks good and opens up to more underground areas below it. Texturing is maybe not quite as good as in the other BtB Levels and seems a little patchy at times. Enemies are the usual ones from the set and the level has plenty of pickups that you don't really need. The search for the yellow plug was a bit annoying at the end, but otherwise a fun adventure." - MichaelP

"Second level on my BtB07 run. This one was particularly amazing, about every area here was huge and rich in detail, even if you didn't get to explore them throughly (maybe that's where the secrets were). Gameplay is pretty straightforward though, with the occasional traditional to-and-fro switch puzzles and it ends abruptly when you swim inside a towerlike building. Texturewise the level is perfect, maybe a little more could have been done with the lights, but London based levels rarely vary much on that aspect. 45 minutes. 01/07" - Treeble