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Scarecrowfield by SnakeEater

DJ Full 8 8 7 7
Drakan 9 9 9 9
Dutchy 8 7 7 7
eRIC 7 7 7 7
Gerty 8 8 7 7
Glouglouton 9 9 9 9
Jay 8 9 9 9
John 9 9 9 8
Jorge22 9 9 9 9
Jose 8 9 9 10
manarch2 7 8 8 8
MpGrill 7 7 6 6
mugs 8 8 9 8
okuhtfesq 9 9 9 9
Phil 9 9 9 9
raikutee 9 10 10 10
Ryan 8 8 9 9
sonnyd83 8 9 8 9
Treeble 8 8 9 8
 
release date: 10-Mar-2013
# of downloads: 175

average rating: 8.33
review count: 19
 
review this level

file size: 38.10 MB
file type: TR4
class: Castle
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
fischkingx@gmail.com

Reviewer's comments
"I'm usually not a fan, but I liked the sandboxy approach to level design here, it made this castle-town area feel like an actual place instead of a TR level (obviously within all the constraints we all know very well almost 30 years down the line), a bit of a fantastical one perhaps with the easter forest area. You need to fetch a number of items spread all over while dealing with a handful of enemies. The author is all too generous with pickups, even flares you get by the dozens and yet none is ever needed. Following manarch2's walkthrough I had the optimized experience without ever having to wonder where to go to next, which is where I'd usually see a pitfall for this approach in design, so maybe it's one such level that's best enjoyed with the guided experience. 60 minutes, 8 secrets. 12/23" - Treeble (24-Dec-2023)
"I loved this castle level! actually a lot of the time it doesn't feel like a castle level because so much gameplay is outside, and i was glad for that because the bright sunny atmosphere and textures while your exploring rooftops and garden areas was fantastic! the layout outside with all the higher areas and places you could get to was right up my street it was a real joy to explore. The inside areas were very good too with lots of puzzles and traps like the pushable block room with the shootable knights, the room with swinging axes, torch puzzles, collapsing floor tiles and the step puzzle with the fire traps. You even get some timed runs and some jump out of the seat moments with the falling sword and giant crab. Theres is lots of platforming and item searching as well and i thought the gameplay was almost perfect accept for a few places where there was an obscure item or task or it wasnt clear what to do next without a camera clue therefore i had to use a walkthrough sometimes. my other niggle was too many of those annoying scarecrows to kill but apart from those minor things it was one of the most fun and enjoyable castle levels ive played so far" - John (02-Apr-2022)
"A nice, cheerful, pleasant and player-friendly that was fun to play for 90 minutes. The initial huge courtyard forms the hub area where the majority of the gameplay takes place. Lara gets to battle deranged scarecrows, chickens and a giant crab in search of a few eggs and crystal artefacts. I made it through the swinging blade area unscathed (the method I used was to stand close, run forward four steps, stop and repeat). Very enjoyable." - Ryan (15-Mar-2017)
"There is a vast improvement with the previous games from this builder. He shows he can come up with some nice gameplay. Still huge boxy rooms and even with some back and fro I didn't mind this time as it was sort of clear where to go. Nice puzzles and traps and you get well rewarded with lots of pick-ups you'll find scattered all over the place." - Gerty (11-Aug-2013)
"Here we have a level nice to play with no much backtracking. The level is quite long, with a lot of tasks to do and hundreds of pickups (I finished with 255 flares), easy secrets and a nice environment. Only with the nasty walk through all those swinging blades consumed a lot of medipacks, but rest of the game was easy to play. Good use of the cameras, very well textured, it's a level to take a good sunday time." - Jose (12-May-2013)
"I like this kind of level, it is very well built and very pleasant to play. Le gameplay is easy, no jumps insurmountables. I particularly liked the "challenge secret",the challenge is not very difficult but the idea is excellent. There is a good light with some textures ill-posed. Recommended!" - Drakan (04-Apr-2013)
"Somewhere between a Coastal and a Castle settings , you are in the fields of the Scarecrows. The author has provided an original location for you to raid with a bit of fantasy. The gardens area looks a bit too fantasist and the outside areas in general are a bit too square. The level is solidly made , and quite pleasant and not difficult , lasting more than one hour , with exploration , pushing objects , and some riddles. I particularly enjoyed going above the roofs and jump over the long balcony , and the going through the dozen of swinging blades which was more easy than what it looked. The secrets are too easily found , and too many pickups are all over the places, I noticed also that the sun bulbs are probably set to the maximum , which was not very pleasant but I got used to this, and I encountered the bug mentioned in the read-me file with the pushable blocks. All in all , i had a good moment with this level." - eRIC (01-Apr-2013)
"If something is overdone in this level, it's definitely the pickup count. They're everywhere and I focused on gathering them instead of on puzzles, what reminded me of TRU. I think net gaming time is twice as long if collecting all of them than if not. I understand the author put lots of fights in this level, so he wanted to provide full wormage, but as 90% of enemies are of horseman type, we don't actually need neither the grenade gun, nor the shotgun, nor the crossbow, the last of which is useful only one time for a single mummy. On the contrary, if something is missing, it's a door or trapdoor that would block the access to the watery passage leading to the garden and the ladder ending on the sun puzzle rooftop, because we can get in those places too early without necessary items, so a lot of time is wasted. Also, a camera next to one crucial jumpswitch would be good, as I had no idea I missed something in that particular point, while the whole rest of the level kicked open and explorable in the same moment, what made me stuck for half an hour. Other than that, the game is rather good, only the lighting is almost wiped out of contrast to disturb nice texturing (I might ask: so what the author didn't forget about the sunbulbs, if the rest is missing?) We have multi- item puzzles, torch firing, a colorful pushable, crowbar doors'n'switches, underwater sequences and shatter triggers, so we experience almost full variety, always accompanied with well-chosen music. Scarecrow fights often interrupt the peace, but fighting those funny guys is pleasant, especially in greenish and warm sceneries of village castle yards. I wonder if those flowers and eggs were intended to have something to do with the upcoming Easter, but even if they weren't, they fit it rather well. We only need to wait for something from Raidermatty or Ranpyon, and the bunny season will be open, what really satisfies me. SUMMARY: Easter is too short and forgotten too soon after it ends. Why not to start it earlier, then? Play this game as a nice prologue." - DJ Full (26-Mar-2013)
"This is a scenic, well lighted level that kept me occupied for an hour and a half with the assistance of Manarch2's thoroughly documented walkthrough. This is the kind of level that makes Tomb Raider fun to play - interesting enemies, eye-pleasing environs and puzzles that show considerable planning and ingenuity. The builder shows a refreshing exuberance in previewing his work products publicly in advance of their release, and I have no objections at all to this practice. The high ratings his levels have earned will hopefully encourage him to give us more of these engaging, fun-filled adventures. Highly recommended." - Phil (19-Mar-2013)
"After writing "17 walkthroughs" it was time for some relaxation. This was a fun level to play eventhough I had to relate to the walkthrough at some points. I have no idea why we got so many Flares, never lit a single one as the level was very bright for me. Pity.. a bit more atmosphere could have brought the level up quite a bit Nice quest though. Texture placement could be improved (misrotated textures) Good architecture though. Recommended for a rainy afternoon." - Dutchy (18-Mar-2013)
"A very fun level to play despite a few stuck moments (but what would a level be without those moments?), namely finding the jump switch that everybody simply seems to pass by near the end. The hunt for the eggs and the crystals though, everything is made simple enough so that no one will be bothered, hence the idea of fun is never lost throughout the game. Lots of scarecrows to shoot, goodies a go-go and an easy secret challenge that's simultaneously rewarding, a giant red crab, rope swinging, swimming, nice sceneries and maybe only one tougher moment which is in the room with the very quick swinging blades. It's varied, it's nicely looking and never overly complicated. Highly recommended." - Jorge22 (17-Mar-2013)
"A beautiful level (about 1.5 hours). "Easter eggs" atmosphere remind us the spring is close. In this level the action takes place in and around a same location (small village beside a castle and a garden). The object and ennemies are nice (the cramp and the crab are nice. This level reminds me also some other level(corsica by Horus, wad for the castle competition by Ilyaine. One of the best of the year 2013" - Glouglouton (17-Mar-2013)
"A very interesting level with nice gameplay elements, but needs some improvements in other parts. The gameplay was very basic and simple that greatly combines the integration of interactive objects. I didn't like that at the beginning ( in first 20 minutes or so ) a new enemy appears every 3 minutes of gameplay ! That was very annoying and I had only pistols so it takes some time to kill the scarecrows and the other purple thing. But I guess it should just scare Lara off. The exploring area is big and Lara needs to collect keys, pull some switches, explore the castle, climb on it and collect five eggs that are not very well hidden, including the 8 secrets, which are easily collectible without much exploring. In fact, secrets are more like ˝on the way˝ . There are far too many pickups like some big airplane with pickups explored above the field! Every few steps there is a flare to pickup, like I'm playing a pitch dark level, also there are many health pickups and munitions. The level is very playable, simple puzzles and I was able to finish it with not much headache. Some parts are just too obvious and many switches are not hidden well. A few tips from the forum helped me to get through some confusing parts, mostly at the beginning because I didn't know where I'm supposed to go first. GAMEPLAY: 07/10 ( 06.55/10 ). The design and lighting was average, maybe even under the average level creations I have played. I'm really not sure why the other reviewers are so impressed with this level. Raikutee giving a 10 for lighting and textures ??? I'm shocked ! I haven't seen anything in this level that would impress me so much. The whole outside part is just too bright, including the sun and everything has the same monotone lighting. There was some kinda nice lighting part in the garden and FEW other parts ( actually I noticed a light bulb in the garden that had different lighting - purple ), but that's it ! Since it's an outside area there are far too many angular edges. The hills are created nicely, but still look kind of flat. The inside of the caste has a simple design with not much imagination. Some objects didn't really fit in the environment, maybe because of the wrong applied object lighting. The objects look nice, but are not really the creation of the author. I must mention that level has a lag in the outside area mostly because there are too many objects ( on my computer, maybe other players haven't experienced that ). The highlight of the level is the object use. Since I'm always comparing all levels I play with the ˝big ones˝ I would even give lower scores than those I gave." - MpGrill (16-Mar-2013)
"It was nice to see the level growing better and better in the forum thread, and after playing this level I can see this builder has learned a lot, since this is clearly his best level until now and a large step upwards. The castle setting is quite atmospheric with good efforts put in the lighting and a quite interesting architecture (the walkway on top of the main area was great). Perhaps the hills could have been created a little less rectangle and one end-of-the-world-moment might have been prevented as well. The texturing is quite good, especially in the inside areas but it suffers from quite a bunch of misrotated textures. Also, the multitude of objects covers up that some rooms would be otherwise pretty barren and with a rather simply geometry. Another complaint I have is that there is a ridiculously high amount of provided ammo and especially flares, especially when considering there are so few enemies where you actually can use the ammo. Gameplay has a few very nice moments like the colour pushable puzzle or the spike pillar room, but many parts are rather dull (especially the garden area with five eggs to find) and there could've been a larger focus on more puzzles and traps as the exploration element was a little too extensive for my taste, also making the game feeling too easy in a way. I found a little bug with the raising block lowered by some armours in which the pushable floats in the air after saving and reloading, and also found a rather obvious shortcut jump to skip most of the level, but both things will probably not deny the gaming experience in this quite attractive hour long level. Found all eight secrets of which only one was really nice to find (the one with the spike pillars)." - manarch2 (13-Mar-2013)
"This was a really fun level to play. The puzzles are good, but not tooo hard that an inexperienced player would get lost. Lighting was excellent, bright and open, not needing a lot of flares. There are a whole pile of pickups, so if you run out of ammo, there is something you are doing wrong. Toughest part is the rope jump, you have to be so precise. Lighting the torch can be tricky,(I lit Lara on fire a couple of times) :( Over all I would recommend this level for anyone." - raikutee (13-Mar-2013)
"I freely admit that much of the pleasure of a level for me comes from the look and feel of it and this is an absolute charmer - light, bright, flower-filled garden areas and imposing castle interiors make for a very pleasurable experience. Despite the enemies - homicidal hens, savage scarecrows and, at one point, a giant crab (which gave me quite a shock) - the level manages to feel quite gentle and finding several Easter eggs made it feel quite seasonally appropriate too. There's a good variety of tasks to accomplish, but everything is of a modest difficulty level and should be readily achievable by all players. There are eight secrets to find (which I actually managed, wow) and the last one involves a little 'secret challenge', i.e. a fun but quite easy collapsing tile run. Lovely level, give it a try right now." - Jay (11-Mar-2013)
"When I reviewed SnakeEater's last game, my parting comment was: "I'm hoping SnakeEater's next venture will be a little better developed and you can bet I'll be playing because this builder has loads of potential!" He didn't let me down! The improvements are obvious. I followed the dialogue that existed between Dave and SnakeEater in the Chat Forum - having a mentor is a wonderful and rewarding experience and I know SnakeEater is grateful for Dave's input. So, on to this game. This venue is huge - I'm always blown away by the sheer height that some builders take their levels to. The castle environment really works here with the little village nestled within the safety of it's walls. The namesake scarecrows are abundant, but easily dealt with. Pity we can't make them a little more menacing. Lara spends much of her time searching for keys to the various buildings with puzzles to solve in each location. Cameras were in good use in this game and the path was usually pretty clear. I did hit one game-stopper when I jumped into an area that was not designed to be explored until a later time. I was permanently stuck and had to resort to a previous savegame. I loved the unexpected giant crab - finally something to unload all that ammo on! And collecting over 250 flares was too funny. Where are those flares when ya need 'em? This game is fun to play and I'm looking forward to the next one." - Mugs (11-Mar-2013)
"The thing I love most about this level is that it feels like you are genuinely in a medieval castle. You are enclosed by castle walls, and have to explore the area to progress. There are charming houses, hills, and a beautiful garden with waterfalls, and the inside of the castle has a very pleasant ambience. The lighting is almost flawless throughout, the water is a nice colour, and of course you can see what you're doing, perhaps there are only one or two rooms where it could be improved. Many objects are used, my favourites being the windmill, which turns, waterfalls, knights in armour, and the flowers, I think there's some repetitiveness of the grass inside the castle. The gameplay flows very nicely, there's nothing to annoy you but enough to keep you entertained. You collect 2 halves of an Inca talisman, find a key, complete a chessboard puzzle, find 5 easter eggs, collect a sun in a well, then fight a crab who drops another egg, and find 3 crystals, and end the level. Of course, there's some traps which are placed quite well, and plenty of places to explore. To save the best thing til last, the scarecrows. Yes, there are killer scarecrows on the loose and they don't seem too pleased to see you, so have your weapons ready. This is by far the best level by this author so far and well worth playing, and just good fun. This took me 1 hour 30 to complete." - sonnyd83 (10-Mar-2013)
"Scarecrowfield is a nice, relaxing, level that is fun but not too challenging. The gameplay and puzzles, while nothing groundbreaking, flow quite well and are just challenging enough; this level is very doable without a walkthrough. The enemies (scarecrows, chickens, and a crab) show up rather sparingly, although there are a few traps that caught me off guard. The secrets were really easy to find (I found all 8 with no trouble). There was a ridiculous amount of pickups, far more than anyone should ever need. The atmosphere and sound were great (except for some obvious end of the world views) and there were no occasions where a camera should have been there, but wasn't. I really enjoyed the castle atmosphere in particular. The lighting was good and never dark (making me wonder why I found almost 300 flares), and the textures were mostly great, although some looked quite wallpapered (particularly in the garden). Overall, this is an enjoyable but not outstanding custom level that anyone looking for a relaxing and brief level should consider playing. 1 hr 30 min" - okuhtfesq (10-Mar-2013)