Level reviews

"(6) Gameplay & Puzzles: This is an easy-to-medium difficulty adventure that has some moments of neat exploration, namely the giant water globe, and flooding the initial bridge area so that you can unlock platforming paths. However, it just wasn't very exciting for me as a whole; there's hardly anything in terms of puzzles. There is 1 pushables sequence but I think it is illogical; there are 2 tiles which look different to the other tiles, and you would think the 2 pushables need to be on top of those tiles, but that is not the correct solution. (7) Enemies, Objects & Secrets: Nothing special or frustrating about the enemies themselves, although I wanted to write my thoughts about the Mummies. The Mummies drop essential pickup items and I don't think this is something a player would think is intuitive/logical. So, if the player doesn't read reviews/the walkthrough beforehand, they have the possibility of running around in circles lots, missing these essential pickups, which I don't think is good game design. Object decor is sparse. There are some neat boulder traps, but I think there could have been more trap variety. (6) Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras: In terms of architecture, I really enjoyed how the builder connected all of the areas, and how previously inaccessible areas of rooms would be unraveled as you progress. On the other hand, many rooms were too boxy and just not very convincing in terms of atmosphere. I think there needed to be more sound/music variety to represent events being triggered throughout the game. Also, there's a number of hint cameras regarding the next objective, but I think there needed more cameras to build immersion. For example, I only recall 1 flyby, at the end of the game. It would have been good to see flybys when special events were triggered (such as the flooding of the initial bridge area). Furthermore, the player goes through a lot of effort to pick up 2 hand items; wouldn't it be nice for a camera to show something epic once these 2 items are inserted into their receptacles? (5) Lighting & Textures: I only spotted a few misshapen textures, however I didn't think the texturing choices were very attractive, despite being correctly aligned/positioned. There were often large wallpapered areas, with only 1 texture utilized across all of the walls. I don't think the Lighting was good; there were so many areas where I didn't spot any lighting effects at all. When combining the builder's texture and lightning choices together, I didn't feel like it was an authentic and immersive Egyptian experience. Rather, I was experiencing a hodgepodge of rooms, with Egyptian textures, mashed together with little theme connectivity or cohesion. Side note: I did pause and question myself whether I was rating the aesthetic aspect of this level too harshly, considering it's from 2001, however there are some beautiful levels from 2001 (e.g. Piega's). Overall, it's not a bad debut, but I am sorry to say I did not find the gameplay or visuals very interesting. 6/7/6/5." - nerdfury

"Excellent level with many platforms. Lighting and textures are correct and I enjoyed replaying a level with these textures. The gameplay is quite varied although very basic. To play ." - Drakan

"This may look like another average egyptian level but it's not. This one is not linear and uses the textures quite well. Though there are few areas with lack of objects, there are others that are nicely done. The room with the water sphere was the most interesting one. Some mummies drop important objects so make sure to blow them all up with grenades. When pulling levers or placing artifacts you trigger some events like flooding a room or draining it. There was an odd part where Lara entered the water through a water wall. But all in all I recommend it." - alan

"This older level has certainly held up well for its age. The environments (albeit standard Egyptian) are solidly crafted and there is a nice mix of gameplay including ledge jumping, a flooding sequence, boulder traps and a neat gameplay sequence involving a suspended sphere composed entirely of water (presumably the Shrine itself). Highly recommended." - Ryan

"Atmosphere and textures are excellent. I got stucked and has to use walkthru to find the cartouche pieces. The solution was clever - shoot enemies by grenadelauncher and you got the pieces. I liked also waterelements, the pool + bright egyptian stuctures. I totally recommend this level." - vienna

"This pleasant and entertaining adventure has certainly stood the test of time. It's very attractive and solidly built, with a good mix of inventive gameplay and creative use of enemies (especially the mummies). It took me just under an hour to play and I could have happily carried on playing. Definitely recommended." - Jay

"An excellent level with a bit of backtracking and some difficult and tricky jumps. At one point I got stucked and has to use the guide as I never would have thought where I could find the cartouche pieces. Very clever. Enemies were blue ninjas and some crocs. I also loved the timed door with the jumps. Atmosphere and textures were excellent for me. I totally recommend this level." - Gonxii

"This is a fine level;with a solid construction,good use of textures,and gameplay which achieves a fine balance between thinking puzzles,interesting acrobatics and tricky forward progression.Indeed,there are many places where you really need to pay extremely close attention to your surroundings,or you'll come to a complete impasse.The oval wall of water looks terrific;the use of flipmaps within the storyline is novel;the enemies are well placed,and the map has been superbly designed.Only the use of mummies (they play an important role in the gameplay,but you'd never know it without sufficient clues)and a purely functional use of lighting (which did the potentially fascinating atmosphere few favours)left me feeling disatisfied.In all other respects,this is a supremely creative old level with many ingenious moments.Definately worth spending an hour over." - Orbit Dream

"This egyptian level will not be easy to finish. It's no-lineal and you'll have to go back to the same places many times. Sometimes it's difficult to figure out why you are stucked and it's not obvious what to do. Hint: try to kill all enemies. Many enemies to kill but enough ammo to deal with them, easy secrets, some flipped rooms and some good details. Although there are not great puzzles, it's a well playable level." - Jose

"Despite its age, this is quite an inventive level, and probably innovative back then. The initial area is just huge and you just don't know where to start, but soon enough you're on your way and it becomes a little more linear as you look for the hands of Orion and Sirius to open the exit door. The level is brilliantly thought out and its one of the few levels where the Grenade Gun and mummies actually have a strong significance. I'd put this off for a while because it's a Japanese level and those are infamously hard, but this one was rather fun and enjoyable. 40 minutes, 3 secrets. 03/07" - Treeble

"This is a nice little level. It's a mite short as evidenced by the fact that Dutchy's walkthrough is only two pages long. However the surroundings for the most part are quite pictureseque and there's a nice blend of tunnels and wide open spaces. The shrine of water itself a huge sphere seemingly suspended within a huge pit is also a nice touch. As others have noted you need to kill everything that moves to make sure that you get all essential pickups. Download and play this for a pleasant diversion." - Phil

"I have to agree with the rest of the reviewers this is one of the few old levels that is very enjoyable and without bugs. It's an Egyptian level with the tutorial textures but not dark. The puzzles are nice with a cartouche and hands to get and you have to stop and think at some point how to proceed. There are mummies and ninjas with some scorpions along the way but make sure you kill every enemy otherwise you might get stuck. I didn't expect this to be that long with the first area you start with not being as useless as I thought at first. Actually there is plenty to do out there. I would say play this level a good one from the old days." - Kristina

"An original level with a standard Egyptian look this fairly large level will have you searching for the few necessary objects while dodging a few boulders making a few interesting moves and fighting off some ninjas and mummies. I came across a tricky timed door and some deadly fluids and thought water was used very well overall including a big pocket of water levitating in the center of a large room. This was a fun level that showed a lot of imagination." - RaiderGirl

"I like this level a lot for the puzzles alone :-). Textures and lighting were solidly done. I like the sound for the secrets found three of those. Lara needs to find two hands of Orion and Sirius and a cartouche she has to steal from mummies. A lot of climbing and jumping some diving but all not too difficult and well manageable. Here and there a few baddies to battle. All in all a good level recommended.." - Engelchen Lara

"Another of those I'd tried in my early raiding days and just couldn't do that timed run over the water. Today I spent a pleasurable and enthralling hour in this level and not only did I enjoy it immensely it was a good feeling to get that timed run in only 3 tries. I found this level to be very creative and with delightfully satisfying gameplay. There's an enormous amount of exploring to be done and it's easy to miss something. For me it was that second cartouche piece. It took a while for it to dawn on me to go back and kill the other mummies I'd encountered before acquiring the grenade gun. Beautifully textured and atmospherely pleasing to the eye I highly recommend it. Found 3 of the secrets." - Momster

"This is a totally stunning level in all ways. Texturally it was just perfect gameplay was exciting and diverse and the puzzles ranged from straightforward to just plain hard. As soon as this level starts you cannot help but look out at the large open aired area before you with awe and it does not stop there all through the game you come across other wonderful things such as a large solid water bubble which comes in very handy on more than one occasion some fantastic uses of spiked boulders hidden secrets and the first time I have seen one of the pull down switches in any fan created level. Gameplay was not always linear as it has you running around and backtracking to retrieve crucial key pick ups that were not possible earlier and even later on are not all that obvious to find till finally you make your way back to the starting area where you must open a large rolling door which was also a visual first in these levels sadly though it does not allow you to cross its threshold. With 1 hour or more of play time this is a must and I guarantee you won't be disappointed." - Sash

"This level offers so many things it has definitely been built by a very creative mind. I found the gameplay to be extraordinary as it has you searching for the one move that brings you where you have to go next and there are many very smartly designed 'sneak peaks' that start you wondering how to get there. The truly beautiful Shrine of Water combined with a very good flip map a neat fly-by camera with a rolling ball a funny little timed door sequence and the ending fly-by are only a few of the things that make this level highly entertaining. I found 4 secrets which were well hidden. The only annoying thing for me was that I at first did not shoot the mummies because I usually just avoid them - big mistake in this level. It took me more than an hour of net gaming time and I enjoyed every second of it." - Michael

"This level's look might deceive you at first as just another Egyptian level but as you proceed you discover the true nature of this level: Beautiful designs especially that water bubble you dive into. There are many enemies yet not too much and also he changed my mind about mummies they can be really useful (well not exactly THEM but if you play the level you'll know what I mean). There was also a nice cut-scene with the rolling boulder. This level is definitely worth a download." - Yonatan

"It was a pleasure to play this level. Even when I got stuck in a major way and it took some days to get a helping answer this level was too good to chuck away just because I didn't use all my wits. The lay out of the place was very well designed. The puzzles were original and fun. Everything was there running jumping climbing even jumped in the hole where after a great fly-by where the rolling ball disappeared. That was not the way to go I found out. Seeing the huge bubble of water and diving into it was great fun. Although you had to travel back and forwards it was not that difficult. Lighting was perfect in my opinion. Check this one out." - Gerty

"This is one of the most creative levels I have ever seen. It is highly entertaining. The smart trick with the mummies almost made me quit after almost one hour of searching with no progress. Well we learned to just avoid the mummies right? Not in this case. Every single puzzle is very well done and the traps are fabulous. The secrets are very well hidden (I have found all four) and this is of course a level of exploration. The use of cameras is also very nice especially the one with the boulder in the fire pool. You will find almost all Tomb Raider moves here cracks in walls slopes to climbing surfaces boulder runs which need sprint sinks. And I must say the creator is an expert in modelling and connecting rooms. The shrine of water itself shows the amazing modelling skills. The only weak point in my opinion is the poor lighting. In a nutshell this is a great level. A must have. Download it!" - Fabio Ribeiro

"The first half of the level is a little boring very simple and common in gameplay the second half becomes better. There is a big water sphere very good worked but puzzles are simple and not too much to think. The room map in general is good with some very nice passages. Enemies objects and secrets are simple from tutorial a lot of ninjas. Secrets are simple. The level needs more music and more cameras. There is one camera that I liked when a rock falls and breaks the floor. But I think level really needs more cameras. Lighting and textures are very good worked. The author really used lights almost in every place so Lara looks always beautiful but I think the 10 is only if there is a little bit more like new textures. Anyway I suggest people to play this level it is a very clean level." - Juan Carlos

"This is a game without new things. Every texture is known and the kind of puzzles are simple. In general is a game good worked. You can always see Lara in 3D because of the good use of lights. Some resources are ingenious like the water sphere. Without troubles is a funny level." - Lorena

"I guess that Monga the author of this level knows the fun of playing Tomb Raider very much. The puzzles and the maps seems to blend in well. Textures and Lighting are very good. In particular the big waterball made a big impact on me. That idea is great and very original one. I think it's rare that the Grenade Gun is very important. I regret that the finale was a little bit arid but it's sure that Monga have shining talents for designing levels." - Vinci

"The shrine of water is a good level. The architecture of the main area is very well done and I liked the effects of these rooms filled with water at the end of the level. You will have to find two broken tiles of Ra and the hands of Sirius and Orion. A very good point is that most of the time you will have to make extra efforts to have some pickups. The use of cameras is well done but the atmosphere is a little poor. The lighting and texturing are very good even if these kind of textures seem to be old now. But the most important in a level is the gameplay and puzzles and you will surely enjoy this one." - eRIC

"Now this is a fun little level to play but I guess people who dislike Egyptian levels wont find much in here cause it's the same like in most other Egyptian levels (and not that you'll miss too much even if this is a level I'd recommend to everyone). I never knew such a small sphere of water (that looked like a lollipop with that wooden column lol) could make such a flood that flooded I think about a fourth of the whole level. It was quite interesting that the mummies are important in the gameplay so be sure you kill them if you don't want to stuck in this level for too long. The secrets were quite easy to find (at least the 4 I found). I liked some lighning effects like the shadows behind the column that made it look more realistic but the metal windows at the top of the very same room 'destroyed' a bit of it all :P This is a level I'd recommend everyone to play for the interesting ideas that are in this level (even without a real mission though)" - eTux

"What a brilliant little gem of a level. So it's not that long so it's not that hard (i.e. I managed) so what?! Such fluent pace well placed enemies (I know this was said before but here one ninja had me close to a heart attack) great vibe and a wicked sense of humor. Mummies that leave grenades for you spiked balls that kill you if you try to get away and a swim in suspended water. I especially liked the way the rooms were put together. They all interacted and you rarely made the same moves twice even if you had to cross a room three times. Also my favourite kind of gameplay where your progress appears not to be too linear but is still pretty straight. This is the sort of adventure I was hoping for when I started out playing custom levels but they gave me the Last Crusade instead. Just my luck." - Dimpfelmoser