Level reviews

"The first impression I got from this level was a quite convincing building off a sidewalk, and the illusion was soon shattered when I realized I could run to the other side of the street and bump into the end of the world right there, but the more it went the more I started to appreciate what's on offer here. I often say that modern towns are hard to pull off in a convincing manner with the weird scale of our grid-based engine, but kudos for the author for making something fun out of it. You explore a number of offices scattered around different floors until you eventually slip into the CEO's office, mysteriously asleep despite all the noisy alarms and firefights taking place in the building. Leaping from one building to another is cleverly remedied by some crane hanging building materials. The gameplay loop doesn't deviate much from buttons and keys, but the setting is quite good. 40 minutes. 03/25" - Treeble

"The adventure takes place in a tower block. Sometimes I felt dizzy, looking down at the street. You can certainly fall down. :) There are no secrets on the map, don't worry about that. It's still enough to find your way to the next level. The only enemies are a few security guards and some workers. At the end, a helicopter will come for you, and if you manage to get through the red lasers, you can catch the plane on the run. I recommend this great little adventure to everyone, it was a good time. :) Hungarian walkthrough, and savegames, pictures" - Obig

"I found this level on the random level screen and loved the futuristic colours so I downloaded it. Little did I know it was going to be a really gorgeous, well constructed city/skyscraper level. What I liked about the level: 1) First off look out at any point or out of any pane glass window to a nightview cityscape that is really spectacular. 2) The elevators! I really don't recall playing any level so far using inside elevators, so that was a really nice treat. The outside one was really cool too. 3) The rooftop!! With that cityscape horizon and the height of the buildings, it really feels realistic. 4) So many cool objects: the moving spotlight, the suspended construction materials, the scaffolding you have to backflip onto, the movable stacked boxes (of course you don't shoot them, you move them!) to name a few. 5) Not too many enemies… I always like that in a level. What I didn't like about the level: 1) A pot for a trapdoor handle? Seriously, lol. 2) The outdoor sculpture was kind of an odd thing too… it's not exactly obvious (at least, not to me) that it's what you need to proceed thru the level. 3) The run and grab for the construction materials on the way back to the building is a bit hit and miss. You really have to be bang on straight (with the building, not the object as it is visually on a skew) when you run and grab for it. My feeling is that if an object is made necessary for progression, then the aesthetic should not overshadow workability. 4) I had a glitch with the mechanic who got stuck underneath the outside stairs. Even though I like it when enemies are free to roam wherever, when this one got stuck I couldn't pickup the revolver and had to reload. All in all, if you like gameplay that's all about exploring in a very realistic urban setting thru ductwork and outside vistas, then you'll enjoy playing this level." - Lizard Queen

"This is very good and much underappreciated. The amount of effort invested into customization is insane, and every now and then a brand new interaction occurs - quite confusing and double-edged for very open maps, but this one is reasonably small to allow it. I guess there are two reasons why this hidden gem is overlooked: release date (level eaten by HyperSquare), and the ruined ending (if you miss a crowbar you backtrack half map). I will only substract one point for the latter and recommend this prologue to everybody, since I enjoyed it a lot and I can only imagine what we would see in the full thing. To the builder, just one request: please return." - DJ Full

"This is a solid little adventure taking place in and around a sleek and luxurious high-rise building. Don't play if you've got a fear of heights as some of the sections are situated at extremely high distances where one misstep could send Lara plummeting to her death. There's a lot of duct navigation and retracing your steps, but I didn't mind too much, as the other gameplay sections made up for it. Zip helps to guide Lara a bit through the level (albeit only near the beginning and end). Enjoyable." - Ryan

"This level looked like a realistic high-rise building, it was nicely lit and textured. Lara has to retrieve a laptop, and gets some guidance from Zip along the way. As far as enemies are concerned, Lara mostly has to deal with guards and mechanics, but she has the ammo and the medipacks she needs to deal with them. The crawlspaces sometimes required some thinking, and exploring the different floors required a bit of backtracking, but it's not too difficult. It was possible to get through the level without figuring out a way to destroy the sentry gun, and I used up a lot of medipacks getting through the lasers at the end." - Sakusha

"I played this about a year or so ago and just realised I had not reviewed it (I am studiously making my way through my downloads to clear out some older ones I was too lazy to delete after completion!). I too had expected a more outdoor urban exploration but there were some nicely placed, tricky jumps. It took me well over two to three hours to complete with the additional help from the written walkthrough and the fact I can often leave the game open whilst I cook a meal or take a call :D It was visually quite pleasant with some nice textures - something I may play again in the future. Definitely worth a go even though there are quite a few ducts/CS' to shimmy through. Deserving of the marks though." - High Priestess

"It's a bit hard to rate or even comment on this offer as it certainly does have quite a few cons despite being a nice enough level. I was looking for a city/urban level but all I got was a travel up and down a high-security building but that's fine (I just wonder how they managed to get those cars on the street that leads to no place way above the streets right at the start). I did enjoy the adventure although I wasn't exactly thrilled at any time perhaps because it gets so off the tracks so often I did have to look at the blessed walkthrough quite often. Then, there's also quite a lot of backtracking and duct crawling. It's not that it's particularly hard besides that. I just wish I'd had more fun (but, before you ask, I had enough of it to keep me playing till the end)." - Jorge22

""Oh my" I thought watching the opening flyby and of course I had to walk to the edge and look down, yuck. Still no idea how the cars that are parked on the street came up here but hey it is a game. The story is a good one and played out pretty well. You have to travel back and fro quite a bit so remembering where you saw something is a must. Lots of crawling ducts but that was to be expected. When in doubt shoot and try everything as some things Lara has to do are quite obscure. Textures and lighting were good and the atmosphere was well captured. All in all looking forward to next level by this builder." - Gerty

"Only a "but" 'cause the backtracking in the gameplay section (even when there are some new objects you don't know you can shoot/move/activate), but the remaining features are quite good. Impressive objects, special effects, on-screen messages, helpful cameras, good flybies, fantastic architecture... I think the shotgun appeared too late, but I've already got the revolver. I've found lighting and texturization near perfection, excellent work with this. Near the end I didn't know why Lara coudn't reach the helicopter on the heliport and she had to take a detour through the window... Extraordinary work, looking forward for the next levels of this series; I hope the gameplay will be better. Recommended." - Jose

"This is another of those 'Thank God for the Walkthrough' levels,as some of this adventure is either downright confusing or completely obscure;and the level degenerates into way too much duct crawling and time-filling backtracking toward the end.This should not,in any way,obscure the fact that this is still a very good level indeed;filled with creative ideas and some nifty visuals.The elevator ride was the Prince of elavator rides;the internal layout of the building was beautifully put together;there were some amusing sequences;and progression was interesting and needed a good memory.Texturing and lighting were top notch;atmosphere was well caught (although the limits of the map were unavoidably intrusive);and there was plenty of action to help move it along.A really smart adventure;and it augers well for the next level in the series." - Orbit Dream

"It is actually surprisingly rare these days that a level manages to really tell a story in a way that draws you in and makes you feel a part of the adventure. In this hour long first part of what is meant to become a series of levels this worked really well for me and that is this levels biggest strength. It is all about infiltrating the building with many really clever and original ideas, occasional enemy encounters and just generally rather believable progression. The downside is maybe a bit too much duct crawling and too much backtracking (even though it is short on each individual occasion), but neither of these too problems bothered me too much. What bothered me a bit more is the two or three instances of rather obscure choices where the player has to second guess the builders mind - like the trapdoor handle in form of a squashed vase or shooting those cupboard and the neat impossible to see key in the aquarium. Still, I am left with great anticipation for the future releases of this series and eagerly await how the story will continue." - MichaelP

"This is a lively one-hour adventure in the vein of Red Alert from TR Chronicles. It's less complicated than it might appear when you avail yourself of the fruit provided by a player who has gone before and written home about it, i.e., Dutchy's walkthrough. I did feel a bit ab-ducted near the end, however, with all that crawling you were obliged to do. However, it's a fun raid requiring some tricky jumps from one tall building to another. Nice use of elevators, a fairly easy Sentry Gun to eliminate, flares that seemingly last forever, and enemies of the exclusively human variety. High recommendations." - Phil

"This was definitely a enjoyable level. I really don't have much to say that hasn't already been saved by various reviewers. From start to finish, Lara had various amounts of tasks that needed to be accomplished. I also might add, I really enjoyed the linearity of the entire level. There were some parts that forced the player to choose some paths such as do this and get this accomplished or you can do this other thing and then come back to do this (without getting to confused). I'll admit that I was bewildered a few times as to where I was supposed to go or what I was supposed to do, but a quick glance at the walkthrough and I was back on track. Most of my confusing was due to the new objects the author incorporated like the building ledges that Lara could use to reach higher heights (though, I was aware Lara could ledge-jump). Gameplay consisted of locating objects that did a certain thing for this certain events i.e, searching for key cards and finding switches. Enemies were really well and added a lot to the level itself. Objects were really placed well and made the level look a whole lot better. I didn't remember if there were any secrets at all. The atmosphere was okay at times, but outside...not so much. The only real ground breaker was that terrible view of nothingness you could see on the horizon. But, from the heights that Lara was, it didn't really bother me. Camera placement was okay as well. Lighting really stands out here in a few placements, but in the ducts, not so much. The textures here are also well executed and made me feel like I was really in an office. Overall, this was a really good custom level and I really enjoyed it, especially the ending event. I wonder if there will be a sequel? Secrets - I didn't locate any, Time - 1-2 hrs, Difficulty - Medium, highly recommended." - Larabiker301

"I had a good time playing this nice city level. I enjoyed the nice cutscenes, the atmosphere of the building, it was just perfect in my opinion. While the atmosphere and textures are perfect, I have some problems with the enemies and gameplay(mostly gameplay). First of, this level was a bit linear. I found myself not going through a challenge or action, which made this game a bit linear. I also did not enjoy the long crawlspaces that Lara had to crawl through, as it made parts of this level a bit boring. The enemies were well place, but they didn't really make a challenge for me. If this level had a bit more of a challenge in it, this level probably would have been a gold star. Overall, a beautiful, but linear level. If you are a beginner or mediocre at tomb raider custom levels, then I would recommend giving this level a try. If you are an expert raider, then this level isn't for you." - MegaGamer

"This is a fairly rousing adventure in the VCI building genre so bring your knee pads as there's a significant amount of crawling through ducts involved. Also, I hope you've got a good head for heights. It's solidly built and the outside areas may be vertigo inducing but they certainly are impressive. Enemies consist mainly of guards and one or two spanner wielding chaps, but they're not over used. As one would expect from this type of level, there are laser traps to negotiate, but really nothing too difficult - suitable for most players. I enjoyed it and since it's entitled 'part 1' I assume there will be more to come. Good." - Jay

"A level that sets the expectations high with its starting cutscene, and indeed the technical skills of the builder are impressive. The object design and the flyby cameras are well done, and the look and feel of this level is overall pretty modern not only because of its genre. The texturing is quite good, sometimes feels a little bland though. Overall, atmosphere is well conceived and benefits from a lot of smaller details, like the fixed cam in the elevators, the nice feeling of height at times and objects that create a nice three dimensional effect. Maybe a bit more work on the audios would be good, those used are decent though, and the end of the world problems in the first area could've been handled in a different way (but the skyline is amazing!). I could imagine a few different (and at the end more) enemies in this game, but those present are quite well placed. There are only few problems concerning the collison as Lara sometimes gets pushed over a ledge, but it doesn't really affect the gameplay. Speaking of gameplay, it's for me the weakest category of all, mainly because it never gets quite as exciting as the rest. It all starts fairly dull (if a little funny), with Lara entering the building through a place you'd never imagine, and definately has way too many long crawling parts in the ducts. In general it's not really a challenging game, more in the way of finding the correct way to progress - which can be more or less interesting - but sometimes ist's fairly obscure, e.g. the "vase trapdoor" or the ropes you have to climb down, otherwise getting through the game is more or less free of difficulty (all the lasers, in particular, could've been more of a challenge if it wouldn't be allowed to touch them and get around them in a different way). Towards the end there's an overdose of backtracking which kills even the last bit of excitement of the escape, and only the small laser traps in the very last passage give it a bit more fun. There is a lot of potential in this builder and I hope his next game has a bit more of a challenge, to be able to enjoy it in any regard. Spent 40 minutes here and found no secrets." - manarch2

"Loved this game. I am scared of heights and conatantly had a queezy feeling while outside. Managed to finish without cheats and needing only one hint,(I didn't look down due to heights). Only two types of enemies and I found no secrets. Objects are very good but would have liked to be able to shoot out windows even if that left me in danger of falling. Perhaps too much crawling around in air ducts though. Am really looking forward to next episode." - Zebra

"Loved this city level, I had a blast fining my way through. Textures and lighting was executed properly and the occasional adrenaline rush contributed to my enjoyment. I'm eagerly looking for part 2! Last bot not least , a well deserved recommendation!" - young Lara Croft

"A beautifully created city-type level, I found that this user's second entry into trle.net was quite fun and, at some points, a bit challenging! I wasn't sure what to expect, as some level sets that are broken into parts aren't that well made, but I really enjoyed myself while playing through. The story seems vague, but just interesting enough to keep the players interested and anxious for future installments. This first part has you infiltrate an archaeological facility to gather information about a particular site by using the most unconventional means -- using the front door! Given a short explanation as to why by the text that pops up -- which, I may add, is a nice little addition to keep players up to speed while not getting in the way so much -- we waltz straight in, guns blazing. I didn't find trouble at all while dealing with the baddies but they came in at good measures so I never felt too over-or-under powered. The neat little elevators and the laser corridors truly gave you that atmosphere of a high-security facility, and I really enjoyed the kind of taste this user brought into the level. What I most enjoyed about this level, though, was the ability to go back to nearly the beginning with little trouble, to grab whatever items you missed. And you need that in a level like this where the game tells you your objective, but doesn't hold your hand the whole way through. Fly- bys were done well and the music added in was a nice touch. All in all, this level is worth playing if you've got about an hour to spare and enjoy city type levels. Very well made; I can't wait to see the next installment!" - Quinn