Level reviews

"Definitive experience of the author's initial trilogy. It is much longer but the impression is faithful to the middle part. Combat is more balanced and surprising. Some gameplay uses things learnt in the prequels but makes them more complex so you can get the aha moment. Optional." - DJ Full

"Don't expect to be broken in gently with this level, as the action starts right away with a tricky little fire gauntlet that'll probably have you reloading quite a few times and demands quick reactions. I thought this was the best of the Ultimate Search series, although it's still nothing too complex or ambitious. The textures are plain, but I did like the bold use of colour in a lot of places although it did get a bit much at times. The sequence of timed runs was very well executed and the bike ride past machine guns wasn't too hard, but I maybe didn't like invisible platforms room, despite the ceiling hint. Still, not bad for a quick but action- packed jaunt." - Ryan

"Tomb Raider and the Adventure Trough the Rainbow Corridors, or TRatATtRC for short. This was just walking around picking stuff and put it in the right places. The less friendly part was the start. There are no real puzzles, the enemies are two random guys that appear from nothing and as everyone knows you can not create mass, so this is impossible by science. The lightning is awful and hurts a bit, it seem like he had a pallet of colours and just had to use them all. At least the last bit of platforming was fun to do but the ending was... well there wasn't. TL;DR: A random level to walk around in the free time" - Leeth

"What a ruff start...really not a very friendly introduction for the level, but it kinda fits the rest of the scenario. Fire traps, long corridors, rooms with nothing on them except for a couple of switches, couple of doors to open, couple of Ba cartuche to pick up...basically there's little thinking to do on the level. Just roam around until you find the switch that will open the respective door. Kill a couple of ninjas that randomly appear and "enjoy" the "rainbow" lightening. Which is, in my opinion, too intrusive. There are many corridors full of colourful lightning and most of the level lacks brightness. So yeah...not really that balanced. Anyway, overall it was really boring, although the slopes mechanic was fun." - Zhyttya

"A base level that uses a combination of objects from the tutorial level and the city of the dead. Could it get any more strange? The answer is yes. Rooms are covered in a spectrum of solid colors for their ambient light, transparent metal textures are used to mark the surface of water rooms, secrets can be triggered just by jumping over them, there are several unmarked death tiles and pressure pads, and the crazy texturing cannot decide from what material this building was made, totally ruining the sense of atmosphere. The 20 minutes of gameplay are pretty interesting, however. Look forward to a chain of timed runs, a difficult bike jump, and a bike race to get past the turrets before being fried, among other things. Cameras would have helped, because sometimes you have no idea what path has opened up next (one door has a puzzle receptacle next to it, but the two are completely unrelated). It will be a fun little ride if you can take in the chaotic looks." - SSJ6Wolf

"Undoubtedly the best level of the series so far, although gameplay relies mostly on deadly traps (I think it's the usual in Cory's levels to be dropped right into action from the start) and a little backtracking, it's a nice change from the constant shooting in the previous two levels. The secret triggers should have been set up to the pick up items instead, as at least two of them trigger as you jump over them without even knowing they're there. There are two bike sequences, although the first one is not necessary to progress and the second one features a somewhat tricky jump. After climbing up to the top of the tower, there's a Ba Cartouche sneakily hidden in the fog, which had me under the impression I'd missed a large chunk of the level when I finally got there, lol. 25 minutes, 5 secrets. 11/08" - Treeble

"We've escaped part 1, but we don't have time to take in our surroundings. We must think quickly to avoid sudden death in the first two seconds. That kind of sets the pace for what is an enjoyable old fashioned run through this fairly short but entertaining level. A very colourful base type level with lots of corridors, lots of jumpswitches, lots of slopes, lots of doors, levers, traps and machine guns to drive past. It's an odd mix of Egypt and VCI textures and objects, but it certainly is colourful. There are some very interesting jumps to perform, a fall through floor to negotiate, a bit of swimming and two bikes to take us around a tricky course. The bike also comes in handy for running over ninjas. The highlights, for me, were the timed runs and the slope hopping session that could end badly if you don't pay attention. So, huge improvement all round, and looking forward to Cory's next creation." - CC

"This is undoubtedly the best of Cory's three (currently) Ultimate Search adventure,but is nevertheless representative of the series:timed runs,metallic corridors,bike rides,deadly squares,fun jumps and sneaky Ninja attacks. This is 35 minutes of entertainment (the opening 10 seconds are a splendid gauntlet),but those looking for elegantly crafted surroundings and impressive architecture have come to the wrong adventure as this is all rather simply put together.Nonetheless,there is a pleasing non-linearity about the gameplay,as you keep coming back to places you swear you'd never need to visit again and from an unexpected angle (and occasionally for cleverly obscure reasons).The motorbike rides were fun albeit a little gratuitous,but many of the challenges (the 'slow timed run' and the ingenious jumping Finale)were creative and rather unusual. A slap on the wrist for Smith Senior,the Betatester,for not noticing that the player could get completely unstuck if they slid down the slope without getting back on the Motorbike first!" - Orbit Dream

"It's all a matter of taste. I say that because I don't like levels like this with a VCI kind of setting. The gameplay although rather simple is nicely done but then again all you do is open gates and doors until the end of it. The basics are covered, which means textures and lighting are properly placed. There are two things though in this game that need to be mentioned and one is a stuck point. In the second run with the motorcycle if you drop into the first pool there is no escape and there is no need to do all that jumping onto the slopes before the last cartouche piece because you can easily drop from the flat tile above directly below the high slope. In other words the second one is a shortcut. As mentioned above you get to ride a motorcycle, actually two of them, to jump over the slopes and two sentry guns. There are ninjas to kill, not many, and five secrets to find with one of them well hidden. Considering the builder's age this is a solid level and well made. Try it for twenty minutes of classic raiding." - Kristina

"A level easy to play although sometimes you can get disoriented 'cause you return to the same places you've visited before without get anything and there's not a camera to show you where to go. Few pickups, few enemies, a lot of jumpswitches to pull, no extra guns, a couple of dangerous rides with the motorbike, simple puzzles, some jumps and no much more for a game with no bugs but without much interest." - Jose

"Not sure about this VVV whose lair I never found. (Who is that anyway, the Very Voluptuous Val? Sorry, Cory, you were Born Too Late for her, and besides, I hear she's about to get married if she isn't already.) That elusive goal aside, I enjoyed this 45-minute romp a great deal. For one thing, it's well lit, and I'm quite fond of well-lit levels. But maybe it's well lit to a fault, especially during that opening sequence when you find your knickers ablaze before you quite realize what's happening. Maybe it was sheer luck, but I reloaded and made it safely past the flames and the boulder on the second attempt. Not too much later, however, you come to a timed run (not walk, not sprint) along a corridor with so many twists and turns that I'm amazed I made it on the very first try. Some of the levers and jump switches you find will open doors that are quite a long distance away, and I'm glad I had Harry's advance walkthrough to guide me along. There's a jump sequence near the end which apparently can only be completed successfully by rolling off the last ramp and allowing Lara's back to slam against the wall and bounce her forward far enough that she lands on a slope instead of falling into oblivion. Thanks to Harry for pointing out that little trick. Even then, you have to grab, pull up and execute a couple more jumps with precision before reaching a stable surface. Not many enemies here, only a few masked terrorists, but the excitement is in the gameplay. I was duly impressed. Recommended." - Phil

"If you usually expect a bit of time to look around at the start of a level, you'll get a swift awakening with this one - it really starts off with a bang. This is actually pretty sophisticated gameplay from such a young builder - a nice balance of trap puzzles, timed runs, swimming and a wonderful, hair-raising bike ride past sentry guns. It's also well built and very colourful, which I liked. Very enjoyable." - Jay

"LOL like in his Ultimate Search 2, the minute you start this level you will die. As one of Cory's testers I played this a couple of time and every time I started up the level, I completely forgot to start jumping and of course Lara was dead before she hit the end of the slope. There is however great improvement between his first and this level so well done Cory. Here you are in search if cartouches and in between hope to survive the deadly traps Cory sets up for you. I hated that bike ride (even when I mastered it) as Lara always was burning. I did however like the second bike ride, as that takes precision driving and braking LOL. There are not much enemies but I didn't miss them. There are some clever jumps in here to perform and I never had to search far to continue. Found 5 secrets." - Gerty

"Definitely Cory's best level to date which offers a fairly straightfoward but entertaining raid of just under half an hour with a few good ideas, like the timed run where you cannot sprint, the bike jump where you need to get your speed right (and know where the brakes are), a few nice jump sequences, four compass secrets and more. The overall setting is maybe a bit too colourful and sometimes you keep running a bit too much through connecting rooms, but it's still fun while it lasts." - MichaelP

"I really enjoyed this level. The gameplay emphasis is definitely on traps and puzzles rather than shooting this time round. I only came across a couple of ninjas! {After playing Cory's last level I was expecting many more. But he changed tactics on me!} I loved the room near the end of the level with the fire traps, slanted blocks, darts and shimmy crack. There was also a good timed door sequence, an interesting fixed camera room/puzzle and a couple of occasions where you needed to use the motorcycle to progress. {Which was a little strange as we were indoors but it was fun, so hey!} The secrets were well placed and I loved the object used for them, but I would suggest that next time Cory places 'pick-up' triggers on secrets as the secret placed in the depression on the deadly floor slide registered even though I didn't really find it - I just heard the chime as I slide over it and as I couldn't go back to get it my secret count should really have been 4 not 5. The textures chosen were quite interesting and applied well although there were 'seams' underwater and a few misaligned textures, especially going up/down stairs. And maybe the Egyptian cartouche and puzzle hole looked a little out of place but having said that we don't know where the"Lair Of The Triple V" is - It might well be in Egypt. But these are small complaints and don't take away the fact that is a fun raid." - Kitkat

"I can't say I enjoyed this level more than The ultimate search 2 , for I had fun playing both. This said, Cory 's last offering is more achieved technically as the looks are better and there was no missing sound this time. The level is also a bit longer than the previous one as it clocked over 30 minutes of net gaming time, and the use of the patterned tiles to navigate the rooms is less systematic. There are not many enemies this time , but you will have to go through a gauntlet of two sentry guns with the motorbike. Also there is quite a difficult point to pass (at least it was difficult for me) : a jump over the water with the motorbike and the camera did not helped much there, at the difference of other places where the cameras made sense (maybe a one-shot flyby to show what the player can expect beyond this ramp would have made the trick). You don't spend much time on the bikes though, as most of the time you are by foot , solving puzzles with pad or patterned tiles , swimming, activating jump switches, making some timed runs (rather easy) and jumping in rooms with slopes. The jump room at the end to have access to a different point of the high room that you just have climbed is a good idea. I like the emplacement of some of the secrets, although for a couple of them you know where they are without any merit(maybe it would have been better to use a pad trigger instead of a normal trigger?). Whatever and anyway , a level I enjoyed playing." - eRIC