Level reviews

"The surroundings in this demo aren't too bad, but it is the gameplay which really let's things down. It's entirely reliant on ridiculously tricky and buggy jumps and animations and a bit of climbing. I hated the fact that Lara turned back on herself every time she performed a running jump. Now, I'm not against Lara's new moves per se, but altering them so they require pixel precision is not good mechanics. I also found that she kept sticking at the bottom of slopes unless the action button was held down. Overall, this was eight minutes of pointless gameplay, and I can't recommend it unless you're very very patient." - Ryan

"Everyone has a rough start and PH is no exception. And while this test level may claim to have a story, it only really exists to demonstrate attempts at custom animations(which noticeably needed a ton more work done on them, before being ready for prime time in their current state). So unfortunately, this turns what would be simple gameplay tasks in any other custom level, into an irritating chore that will eventually tempt even the most resilient players into using the fly cheat, just to keep things moving. And other aspects of basic game design suffer greatly from this serious lack of focus, with unimaginative boxy level design, unappealing texturing, bland lighting, little to no objects/enemies utilized and an ultimately nonexistent atmosphere. Overall, you're better off skipping this one and playing the builder's later releases instead." - Ceamonks890

"A totally bipolar game: it contains a creative puzzle which might be unreadable for some players, and introduces the most disturbing set of animations I have seen since The Eggining - but on the other hand when I got used to it I found myself jumping around like crazy, just for a bit of unreal fun regular physics wouldn't allow. Lighting should have smoother transition, objects need better tinting or any at all, and it takes much more than HD texturing to break wall monotony. SUMMARY: A pure experiment which can be enjoyed or not, but after playing through PH's first one I'm extremely satisfied to understand how this guy has evolved." - DJ Full

"This was for sure the most buggy level I have ever played. I don't want to list all the bugs - most of them are already mentioned. Also, this 4 minute game had more than one place where beginner (sometimes experts, too) players could simply give up or use DOZY, as the brutally hard curve jumps, even harder with the odd jump move Lara made in mid-air. Textures were OK for a debut and not really bad. Could be much better." - manarch2

"This is not really even a demo - it is a 5-minute test level for some interesting new moves. Unfortunately, as impressive as a couple of the new moves were, they are buggy and need much more work before releasing them. Reasonable lighting has been used but still there is too much darkness. Room architecture is simplistic, consisting mostly of straight corridors. personally, I wish builders would refrain from releasing such raw demos, because they don't do themselves any favours. Reviews can only be based on what is presented, and this demo has nothing in terms of puzzles, enemies, objects or traps. It's a pity because it detracts from some potentially clever and innovative moves for Lara, that just need some refining and sorting out." - EssGee

"Oops that was a great start, nice slide and like with an illigal slope, I could get Lara passed the threshold of that slide (the readme says, press"strg", wel sorry press it yourself). So starting again, and again Lara is dancing the dance of the jitteburg (“strg" or no"strg"). OK, new download, new install and bloody hell same thing again. So only thing left is to read the reviews and see if somebody has a solution. OK, use the fly cheat as this is ridiculous and there is just no way I can proceed. Also wondering why I have that clock in the right hand corner as that is not for flares. Oh great banana jumps, now I am getting pretty peeved, can't you tell? So... she does a nice roll when she is jumping, so what.... Bet you PH didn't make that one. No sound when using the lever and every time Lara is on a slope I still have to use the fly cheat, what a load of crap (pardon my French). I am guessing that this is all we see and if this builder still wants to continue I would suggest start at the beginning, as there is more to a game than new moves" - Gerty

"I Consider this a demo of New moves that are included rather than a level "Princess of persia", So im only going to talk about moves here. Starting from the ledge jump i think it is very unreal. Imagine it yourself, how can you jump like that its almost impossible. Monkeyswing 180°: It is useful but i noticed that if you do it when you try to perform it after a "Ladder to monkey" Lara falls, So you might wanna fix it in your complete level. Monkeyswing to Ladder: I really like this move, It looks realistic and easy to perform. Swingbar : Well what can i say, In the starting of the game when Lara jumps on a swing bar She rotates around the bar with such a high velocity, Wierd isnt it and after that she is thrown away from it like a Bullet. Very unrealistic Unknown movement: Well i dont know what its called but those who have played this level know that when you jump while running with "up" button pressed and then do a jump and still continue to press jump button during the jump lara performs a 360* swing, That is the most distracting thing of all cause sometimes she reaches the ledge with her body upside down !! Now for the movement and model of lara that author has created, Itlooks pretty good and i think all the movements (Roll , Side jump , Reverse jump ) are really very well done You should keep them in finished level!! PH since this your first level i think this a brave attempt ....If you ever read all these reviews have been submitted try to consider what they have suggested." - Damon

"I don't remember one TR custom level that was successful when created with another game's theme. This one is no exception. The new moves are good except from the one after the horizontal bar at the beginning that was a little complicated and I especially liked the banana jumps. In fact I loved the new moves because of that, they made the banana jump dead easy. Other than that there is no gameplay, just a few ladders to climb, monkey swinging, jumps and a lever. After about seven minutes and a secret (where was the pick up), the level ended." - Kristina

"It seems that the author released this small demo only to show us the new Lara's movements, 'cause there are not puzzles and architecture is simple. I like some of those movements as the banana jump or the upper jump from a crevice but another features are damaged as the run off from the ledges or grabbing the edges from a running jump. Some rooms are too much dark too and I found only one enemie and no extra weapons or pickups. Those new features can enrich a gameplay with original tasks, but only having a good imagination." - Jose

"Brave new world! There is no denying that this short (less than 10 minutes) demo is a perfect example of two things: 1. What is possible in terms of giving Lara's animations a fresh new touch and 2. How this entirely the wrong focus if you want to create a decent and fun to play level - especially when it is done in a way that still has a few technical glitches and is at times a bit counterintuitive. An interesting showcase though and worth a quick look for those interested in something different." - MichaelP

"I can pretty much echo what the other reviewers have said - it's a pity that so many new builders try get into this with stuff (as of yet) way over the head. Decent gameplay and a good atmosphere are the foundations for a good level - animations, cutscenes, patching and everything else come second to that and can be considered a nice bonus (if done correctly), but I understand how those are the things that lure the new builders to try them first. And when you think of it - those things at least could make a level different from a sadly regular approach to level building with big, bare, underused rooms, random linear flow of events robbing the last crumbs of believability from the scenario. It incorporates all of that in here, and the new moves and animations as the levels joint distinguishing feature and curse. Every new thing is a matter of, well, getting used to it - but some things unfortunately never grow on you, and with a level as short as this one, they hardly have the time to in the first place. Bar figuring out how some of the new gimmick moves work, the only thing akin to a puzzle here was a connect-the-dots monkey swing ceiling in the room with the mound and the lever, which I actually thought would've been pretty clever, had it not involved unmarked monkey-swingable tiles... though I suppose that was the whole point of the puzzle, yet still I felt could've been executed much better. In a nutshell - I've certainly seen worse attempts, and I don't mean to discourage the builder by any means, but if (s)he wants to build more levels - I recommend starting with the basics and then working his/her way up to the things that were touched in this short, unusual excursion in an apparent attempt to blend the worlds of TR and Prince of Persia into one." - eTux

"If something ain't broke,don't fix it - that's what I say. This isn't a particularly badly made level (except for the final area) but the Gameplay relies heavily on extremely annoying curved jumps,combined with utterly pointless new animations which did little except make me dizzy. One of the new moves (up a ladder to a monkeyswing) seemed impossible to me but the builder had the foresight not to remove DOZY,so I was at least able to complete this 'adventure'. A secret where there apparently wasn't one only added to the irritation of the whole thing,but at least Lara's swimming animation was rather charming. This was 12 net minutes of general irritation and I can't even recommend it for those wanting to experience something short and quirky." - Orbit Dream

"Showing us new animations would need a Youtube video, nothing more. Besides, there are plenty of bugs, above all the door connections. The ladder to monkeyswing is unstable. Animations are unrealistic (you can see the new rolling) and buggy." - Neso

"I've never played Prince of Persia, so I'm unable to comment as to the connection, but this demo appears to be primarily about trying out new moves - in other words, it's a training level so don't expect anything much in the way of gameplay. Now I'm always in favour of innovation and our wonderful builders are constantly amazing us with the way they push back the boundaries, but these particular new moves aren't exactly giving me the warm fuzzies. It's an interesting and bold attempt to do something different and I applaud it as such, but the new moves seem clumsy (and a little buggy) to me so I'm just regarding it as an interesting oddity rather than a viable prototype. Of course, I could yet be proved wrong." - Jay

"This level is a mixed bag. {It is also a first level and a demo so that should be taken into consideration.} There is very little gameplay; shoot a ninja, pull a lever, jump a lava pit, and the most difficult puzzle was figuring out how to control Lara! But I have to admit once I mastered the "banana jump" I really enjoyed it. However the new "getting down from a ledge animation" looked good but made getting down from a ledge much more difficult than it should be. There are a couple of fountains, and some plants, not very much eye-candy at all, and the levels "secret area" was just sitting out in the open. The atmosphere was quite good in the underground tunnels but not quite so good in the outside area but the music fitted really well. I also really liked the textures chosen. The lighting was also quite good, although a little too dark in places. I have to say I absolutely love the level's name, though! I do think this demo has potential: if PH sorts out some of the unnecessary and inhibiting animations, adds a few more enemies and some extra areas and lightens some of the rooms just a little. I know I'd like to see this adventure through to the end." - Kitkat

"I definitely don't want to discourage the builder, but this demo is totally pointless. I'm a sucker for the Prince of Persia games and was extremelly disappointed when I ran this level, the animations seemed to be the main focus of the builder yet they're totally messed up and seem to play randomly, especially the jumps. Banana jumps, nearly impossible in the past, are now performed by a simple running jump, but it's just as frustrating as they ever were, because the animations don't help at all and you might end up in the same spot. Speaking of ending in the same spot, right on the first slide, Lara will be stuck there forever until you hold down Action to make her stick her hand out, same for every other ledge, she won't drop down. The engine crashed when I reached the outside and I was rather surprised to find that was the end of the level, upon a reload and running along the walls. Found a secret underwater, but no pickup. It seems these days patching is more important than building, because when you play a level like this, you just run through empty, square rooms with the oddly placed fountain and some lava pits to be cleared with jumps, which is easier said than done because of the messed up animations. I'd suggest sticking to what made the TRLE engine great in the first place and try building from there, leaving the animation customizations for the last part of the building process. 8 minutes, 1 secret. 08/07" - Treeble

"A short, five minute Demo that is more trouble than it's worth due to the pointless and annoying animations. There was a turning jump so bendy that I actually made Lara do a 360-degree turn several times before working out how to control it properly. Also, there was a ladder-to-monkey bars animation that is practically non-existent, that ended up with me getting stuck inside a wall when I attempted the 180-degree monkey-turn. Finally, there was the problem that Lara simply refused to fall off a ledge of any sort (even a two-click ledge), due to the new falling animation. The rest of the animations weren't as buggy, but were still mostly pointless in this level. The rest of the gameplay was simple, although jumping over one or two lava pits, doing a monkey swing, pulling a lever then climbing a ladder is not my idea of good gameplay. The secret that I found was within a pool that had no element of secrecy to it, and that contained no items for Lara to take. The texturing was alright, although it was pretty dark at times. I certainly hope that the full version of the level is much better than this, and that the terrible animation problems are also sorted out." - Spike

"Five minutes to play and finish this level. It's a bit short in my opinion. The few tasks you have to do could have been good if they weren't a buggy. At the beginning Lara is sliding on a slope and I was forced to jump before she fall at the end of the slope because there was a bug : she fall and then come back at the top of her fall and fall again and etc. The new moves were nice but the "banana" jumps were exagerated. Lara is able to make a circle when jumping and land on the floor exactly where she jumped. Really unreal. TREP offers good possibilities but builders should use them carefully. It was hard to jump normally. I had problems when I had to grab a monkeyswing from a ladder. As soon as I wanted to move on the monkey swing after Lara grabbed it I fell on the floor and died. I needed a lot of tries. I didn't understand why I had the music of the secret when I jumped into a pool. The level ended when I wanted to reach a door. Really surprising. I give 2 for Gameplay & Puzzles because the level is really too short and gameplayless. 2 rather than 0 because there were interesting jumps. I give 4 for Enemies, objects & secrets because there was an enemy (unkillable though because there wasn't enough pistols ammos). The Lara object was buggy and there wasn't a lot of statics meshes to decorate the level. However the final outsite room was nice and there was some plants in the last corridors. 4 for Atmosphere, sound & Cameras because there was some audios tracks and there was an atmosphere. It doesn't remind me Prince of Persia though. The textures were well chosen and we could make great levels with these. The texturing wasn't too bad even if there was a lot of flattened/stretched textures. Lighting could be really better. The level was too dark and there wasn't enough flares. Good Luck for your continuation, PH, I'm sure you can make progress." - TimJ