Level reviews

"This level tells the player that Venice was built on a volcano and that it has now erupted. The best thing about this game is the AOD outfit, the hotel unfortunately doesn't stay in my memory because I hardly liked anything about it, even though I've seen worse texture processing and lighting. The permanent earthquake ruins everything. Sorry, not entertaining." - vandit

"Hm. The looping background audio feels familiar but I can't quite place it. As for the level, a never ending earthquake as you crawl around dark rooms of this burning building. I ran out of flares and ultimately Lara didn't leave this place alive, now did she? At least she got herself a fine bottle of Load before she got pined against the wall. 10 minutes. 11/22" - Treeble

"If there's one thing no level needs, however brief, it's a continuous looping earthquake. Even after only 10 minutes, I still felt quite nauseated. It's also quite dark and a bit roughly textured throughout, and the key items are named wrong in the inventory. Without those, this would have been a more bearable level, but I'm finding it quite hard to recommend in its present state." - Ryan

"NO Enemies, Earthquake all the way through very annoying game, One of the very few TRLEs i wouldnt recommend" - JoeTheCrazyGamer

"Well, I'm surprised that Venician building is still standing after that non stop earthquake. Secondly, why's this got a low rating, it's better than that! Gameplay is fairly simple - press a button (wrong animation here), collect and place a few keys, avoid falling debris, avoid flames, monkey swing, a bit of crawling through vents, outrunning rolling ball which is a nice finale. The texturing, lighting and architecture are actually pretty decent with nice wallpaper, panelling in one room, coving in monkey swing room, fallen ceiling and fallen floors due to earthquake, also nice brick walls and tiled flooring. Some other nice objects are the tables, beds, bannisters and doors which Lara opens herself. This is almost like an escape level, perhaps it could have been timed, with a video at the end? Sound is the same all the way through, quite appropriate since you're in a hurry. 15 minutes net gameplay." - sonnyd83

"A short-blast here in a burning and rumbling building. The earth-quake will irritate you after 2 minutes, but thankfully you wont have to endure it for too long because you'll complete the level in less than 10 minutes. Lighting and texturing are actually pretty good, and I enjoyed the 'last sprint in the dark' at the end to reach the finish trigger. Probably one for completists only. Stiggy." - TheStig

"I've seen few levels derail themselves on one flaw as much as this one; there's a constant shaking throughout this level that never lets up, and it overshadows everything else. It's at least straightforward enough that you won't be stuck for long at all, but there's not too much else to it. The visuals are quite simple with some stretched textures (that could probably be avoided with how small the rooms are here), and every object is "load" rather than having a name (I think this is the only level in the contest with that problem). This could have been some simple fun but with the shaking it ends up being quite unpleasant to play through, and probably outright nauseating to some." - Mman

"This shoet level was not was I was expecting when I read the title (venice hotel), I thought it was going to be a peaceful hotel; I was wrong! The hotel was falling appart wich wasn't the bad part of the level; the bad part was that even for a one room chalenge level it was finished to quikly. The lighting was not the best I've ever seen and textures were not nice (in my opinion). The objects were nice but there weren't enough of them. I would recommend this level for beginners with action situations(completed in : 5 min; total rate : disapointed)" - Bradley

"After having this debut, the builder at least knows now what NOT to have in a level, an earthquake that will not let up! Don't do that, most people will feel pretty queasy after a short while, let alone an entire level. For the rest the idea is a nice one. As for textures, it needs a lot of TLC. Too dark and no flares to be found, at least I didn't. I hope the ending was with that boulder as I dodged it and couldn't proceed, as I got thrown to the menu. But a nice debut and I would like to see the longer version." - Gerty

"Take away the perpetual earthquake and the looping action rhythms, and this wouldn't have been that bad a level. As it was, I had a splitting headache after the 12-minute ordeal, but I found the gameplay acceptable in an ORC raiding tidbit. Of course, it was too dark, but what would one expect? The builder should keep plugging away, using this Venice motif to produce a more relaxing level with fewer tremors." - Phil

"I didnt play the other ˝one room challenge˝ levels, so I dont know what the point actually is. This one was just like a creation of someone who just discovered the TRLE world and wanted to show his first steps to the community :) It could have been done much better ! It was kinda atmospheric and the lightnings and textures had ˝something˝ that prevented me from stoping playing. The autor needs a more practice and Im sure, that the next levels will be much better and more fun !" - MpGrill

"Now here comes craziness. Ten minutes of h(ot)ell if You know the path. Apart from delirium effect (the game shows what will happen to You if You drink too much and won't give it up soon), single (and annoying) soundtrack and squished texturing may repulse many players. But is the game as bad as it looks at the first glance? No! It has some advantages - of course, it's true they are all well masked by flaws mentioned above, but if You take a closer look, You can assume Larafan25 can be a talented builder, only the one who had a lot of misfortune. There is so many crawlspaces, doors to open and monkey swinging, and the route is designed in such way that even if 90% of the level is horizontal and You can hardly feel 3D impression, You can also hardly believe most of it all is placed in a single room. Also, about the texturing: even if tiles are sometimes stretched, sometimes squished and sometimes rotated in a direction they shouldn't be, there is a quite wide variety of them - we can spot marble walls, wooden floor, some bricks, crates, stone floor and so on. They are all in their right places - and this is what convinces me Larafan25 KNEW what he wanted to build, and he tried to care about it. For me, this is an evident evidence he can do better in the future and we shouldn't forget about him. Also, the lighting: sometimes it's unexplainable, e.g. the corridor walls are dark while the floor is bright. But in fact, lighting is affecting gameplay in good way - we have some gloom in places where we can find keys, dismal in the abandoned toilet, and bright where the fire burns. This also makes me think the author had a vision and tried to realize it. SUMMARY: If only Larafan25 updated this level with a non-shaking screen, I would've rated it much higher. But I understand any case of not updating a game - sometimes the author wants the first release to remain untouched, sometimes fixing a level makes no sense because everyone already know the game and no-one will replay it to see a single change... Sometimes the reason is different, and actually there are plenty of them, so it appears updating an already released game is seldom necessary. But if full version of a game is released, it becomes a completely new experience. So I would advise the author to forget about his bad luck, get rid of shaking screen and make a complete adventure in Venice H(ot)ell - let us see what comes out. I understand how frustrated the author must have felt when he realized about the wrong OCB - because I remember my own frustration when I saw the floating bed in [i]Transplantation[/i] - in my case, the mistake was also caused by a single parameter it's a very similar mistake. But as long as I managed to stand the frustration, I hope Larafan25 gets over it as well - because I really don't wanna any builder (no matter if it's a beginner or an advanced architect) to give up and leave. All in all, all of us have spent all this time learning a program that allows us to create wonders. For a very long time, I couldn't believe it; now I am not only ingame, but also inbuild. Anyone can be there, so keep it going Larafan25, and never give up." - DJ Full

"I have to admit as much, that in face of all the things one should not employ in a level (a never ending earthquake, wrong animations for switches, overreliance on crawlspaces, unnamed pickups) it is effective in its own right. The debris collapsing in front of you as you attempt to make your escape make for a nice effect, there is a sense of urgency to get this over with (even if only for the earthquake to stop) and if I'd ever have to imagine my escape from a burning building, this would feel pretty close, so the author gets brownie points for that. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with the looks, but A) The builder doesn't necessarily challenge himself with the design here for most part and B) Wherever the excessive darkness doesn't hide it - the shaking screen will surely distract you from any aesthetic faults the level might have. Sophisticated puzzles would be distraction with the presented premise, so the general idea of keeping this relatively simple and fast paced was right - but the inclusion of crawlspaces kind of got in the way of this feeling fast-paced and the lack of any particular tasks does make this feel like lacking substance. As said - it is effective in its own way, but overall gets more things wrong than right." - eTux

"I once stayed in a Hotel in Athens which was just about as dreadful a place to be as the one depicted here,albeit without quite as many collapsing ceilings;but it must be said that the lighting and texturing really isn't too bad,if only the builder allowed you to actually stand around and enjoy it - alas,the never-ending earthquake was nothing more than an inducement to reach the Finish trigger as soon as possible. No puzzles (pushing a table away from a door simply cannot count );bizarre design (what sort of Hotel has public toilets which can only be reached by monkey-swinging over Lava?);no enemies;and little gameplay,aside from a few crawls and one anti-climactic rolling boulder. Still,the concept of the plot itself was well meant;and there was undeniably a certain urgency about the whole thing. A short and quirky novelty,but not the sort of thing to find much favour with players." - Orbit Dream

"Sigh! Why did the builder think that a constant earthquake throughout the level was a good thing? Add to that several pitch-black rooms and a constant 'action' track instead of ambient sounds, and you have the recipe for a headache. The concept is not bad at all: Lara has to escape a collapsing building (presumably a Venetian hotel). The gameplay is fairly simple, involving traps like fires and collapsing ceilings, and a rolling ball. There are a couple of keys to find, but that hardly requires any thought at all. There's also a lot of duct-crawling ... and not much else, really. The level ends with Lara being chased by the rolling ball - a rather abrupt ending, to say the least. The textures are rather badly applied. Some rooms are fairly nicely lit, but others (as mentioned above), are pitch black, and there are no flare pickups, so I have no idea what the texturing was like in the later pitch-black rooms. I found a bottle (called Load), but I have no idea what it was for - a secret? Overall: A good concept, but executed badly." - Mytly

"This was my least favorite part of the One Room Challenge. From the start to the end of this level there is a headache-inducing earthquake. There is a lot of darkness and limited flares so the player basically stumbles from room to room and has to find crawlspaces, kick open doors and use a monkey swing to reach a switch. Most of the area is cramped and small except for the lava room. The texturing was simple; the lighting looked well in the areas where there was fire and the atmosphere was claustrophobic. I hate to say this, but I was glad when this level was over. (11 minutes, 0 secrets)" - Blue43

"The level has some obvious drawbacks such as the constant earthquake and the simple key-finding that comprises most of the gameplay. However, the level shows a lot of promise. I hope the builder is able to focus on the positive things and continue to improve because I'm sure with a bit more practice we can expect good levels from this builder." - Ward Dragon

"Running from room to room has nothing to do with gameplay. Lesson one: If you create dark rooms, provide flares. Lesson two: If you want to drive your players crazy, create an earthquake, that never stops. Fortuately it doesn't take longer than 10 minutes. I have nothing more to say about it." - Christian

"Don't get me wrong if you think I review this piece just to raise the number of my reviews ..... I intend to play all this pack of games made by different builders and probably got the worst one ........ What to comment about a game which is even not a game ..... rather a bad joke. Poorly constructed Hotel? .... You emerge from a room to the next (and in the meantime a silly earthquake makes things worse) ... mostly empty ones .... finding keys and pull ocasionaly 1 or 2 levers and monkeyswinging, crawling at some spaces ...... it is really a game which deserves 0 in the line .... but the lowest mark is 1 so I need to give 1 in the row for it lol" - Jack&

"Note: I will not be reviewing this level with leniency due to the fact it only contained 1 or 2 rooms, as it deserves to be treated the same as any other level. Oh dear. I'm afraid that this competition has a weak link. The level on the whole was very beginner-ish, and made worse by the CONSTANT EARTHQUAKE that the player has to endure. The level is really go through a crawlspace drowned in shadow, go to the next room, get a key, go through a new crawlspace, place the key, repeat. The only lighting is the aforementioned shadow covering the crawlspaces and texturing was average with quite a few stretch textures. There was very little atmosphere created, and it didn't seem like Lara was in a hotel in Venice (DJ Full's Venice canal seemed more like Venice). This is the worst of the competition I am sorry to say, and unless you want to play all of the levels in this competition, I would say avoid this one. Not recommended." - Cory

"There's lots of linear running around, occasionally going into a crawlspace or monkey-swinging a long distance, and finding a key to use immediately after, all during a never ending earthquake. I understand the hotel may be breaking down but it would have been far better if it was presumed the earthquake's been happening for a while, ending it quickly at the beginning, and the falling debris would still make sense. On that note, the level doesn't really look like a hotel. I can't recall hotels entirely built out of stone for the most part. It doesn't help that there's a plethora of squished textures - it's hidden by the darkness. The only hair-raising part is the long sloping hallway at the end, where the feeling that the boulder chasing after you is going to catch you, yet you hit the finish trigger just in time. The premise isn't bad, but it lacks a storyline and the execution is poor. I think the author can do good things, so I hope he isn't discouraged." - Relic Hunter

"Since the author succeeds in producing the most annoying level of the contest--and apparently doing so deliberately--I suppose one has to concede that this is a winner of sorts. The texturing is haphazard, the wallpaper vertical or horizontal in adjacent strips. The textures beneath crawlspaces are stretched. The lighting is bad. The exploration is mostly routine. Finding an overhead monkeyswing was only hard because of the earthquake. Yes, there is a headache-inducing earthquake shaking the screen image for the entire level. Fortunately, one-room levels are brief." - dmdibl

"I'm afraid this level did nothing to endear itself to me with the unremitting earthquake. Please builders, no earthquakes, they make most players feel quite queasy. I tried hard to find anything pleasant to mitigate the constant shaking, but the gameplay was very simple, the surroundings rudimentary and, for a hotel that was on fire, the place was surprisingly dark and gloomy. Was it a success as a one room experiment? Possibly, but to be brutally honest, although I usually enjoy a visit to Venice, however short and/or simple, I was just relieved to end this particular trip." - Jay

"I cannot ever remember playing a more irritating or annoying level than this. If I had not been reviewing I would have thrown it in the bin after five minutes. Constant earthquake, either produces nausea or headaches, far too dark, little gameplay, repetative textures, crawlspace after crawlspace... I won't go on! Usually I spend time looking round for any secrets, in this level I didn't care, I just wanted to get to the end. I would like to find something positive to say about any level but this one I can't, sorry." - Diz

"Big mistake. Never, never, never have an earthquake in a level that lasts longer than a few seconds. In this level it lasts for the entire duration of about 10 minutes of play time. It is also a bit of a sloppy level with rather bad texturing that is often squashed, stretch or wrongly rotated. That is, when you can actually see it, given many areas are pitch black. The one button has the wrong switch animation and the keys are called Load in the script. And the linear gameplay is simply extended by having you slowly squeeze through several crawlspaces. On a more positive note, the general idea and setting does work quite well and I thought the fires and collapsible ceiling are put to good use. With a bit more patience and practice, we can see more interesting things coming our way from this builder." - MichaelP

"Hard to say I appreciate this level, this constant earthquake is a major pain. The decor is simple but I've seen worse. The gameplay is key in the key, nothing really fun to do. I still think this author to build capacity for, I encourage him to keep in mind that Tomb Raider is above all, a game!" - Daffy

"Does mean "One Room Challenge" really that the level builder must limit himself on one room? And if so, can there generally something originate reasonable from it? Anyhow I have my doubts, because I always have "Lara in the box" in my mind. Well, we will see what the level builders have made with this regulation. If I had to write down my impressions in one single sentence, it would be the following sentence: Finger away from this level! Well, the textures are all right. But if the playing time amounts 10 minutes and the screen wobbles constantly during these 10 minutes because of an earthquake , one has as a player only two possibilities. Either one sweeps this level immediately from the hard disk, or one plays up to the bitter end and ruins his eyes. I have played up to the bitter end and I know I will regret it up to the end of my days. This level is real only for the players who play every level." - Scottie

"This was the first level I finished from the one room challenges. I downloaded it because I like venice levels and the screenshot looked nice. When I started it there was an annoying earthquake which I though would last for about 5 seconds but I was wrong because it lasted throughout the whole level! Really annoying. The level is non lineal and very easy. I don't understand how there was lava in a venice hotel though and there seems to be no one anywhere. Not the best level but alright for a debut and it is suitable for beginners and proffessionals." - afzalmiah

"Nothing interesting in this short Venice level. A couple of keys to find, a couple of switches to pull, a monkeyswing and several crawlspaces. Bored. The earthquake during all the game was very nasty. Many rooms are too dark, and there's not flares to pick up. No enemies, no secrets, no cameras, no puzzles... Not a good debut, of course." - Jose

"The first level of this series I have finished, and I was pretty disappointed by this one. Earthquakes, one of the few really big "NO"s from me, and that throughout the hole level. Then, way too many crawlspaces. Too dark rooms. Nothing to do but running and progressing too fast through these rooms. The only room I liked was the lava room, but it's not recommended from me." - manarch2

"This level looked excellent from the screenshots, but when you play it it is much more different. There is a constant earthquake during the entire level which is so annoying. It was so annoying that I quit this level and after I finished the other levels from the challenge, I finally went back to it. The level is very linear, not difficult at all. I am not reviewing this level as just an ordinary level, I am reviewing it as a level made with just ONE editor room. The lighting and texturing was average, reminded me a lot of BtB 2010 (nothing wrong with that though). The atmosphere was ruined by that constant earthquake as well :\" - God Horus