Level reviews

"TR2 level very riveting given the good atmosphere and the setting looking ominous with the dormant warrior : how many of them will wake up ? Some parts of the gameplay are fun , and sometimes challenging with some of the enemies and actions even when you are not put off guard. The part with the rotating wheels was very hard , you know what must be done but the timing has to be perfect. This part was frustrating and spoiled the experience a bit for me ; the rest was reasonable and quite satisfying." - eRIC

"Following hot on the heels of "Mystic Realm", this is another solid adventure around a similar thing. There's not as much jumping as there was in that level, but the entertainment factor is still not lost. Again, plenty of action to contend with as you get to use the springboards again, perform a few enjoyable timed runs, dodge quite a few traps and use the zip line a couple of times. Enemy placement is quite difficult as they often attack in packs, but luckily powerful weaponry is plentiful, especially towards the end. I thought the setting was quite pleasing too. Nice one." - Ryan

"This small set consisting of 2 levels has been quite a challenge though it was a rather short one. Took me roughly 40 minutes to finish it and I can truly say that the author did a fantastic job in capturing that mysterious yet perilous atmosphere from the original Floating Islands level in TR2. This one is in comparison to the original more challenging which mainly comes down to 2 things: 1) The room with the rolling blades + 2) The boss fight. If you think that blade trap room in TR3's "Temple of Puna" was hard, think again! With 2 more rolling blades + not having the abiltiy to crouch the author took this trap room to a whole new level. Took me probably about 10-15 minutes to pull all the 4 levers and pickup the nearby items. That's the only real challenge in level 1 though. Depending on how you've spent your ammo and medipacks the boss in level 2 can be the second challenge. Since I've had still plenty of resources available so it wasn't that hard for me. Gameplay-wise for a TR2 Level this one is more than decent and provides a good variety of taking out enemies, pulling levers, avoiding traps and more (though in my opinion it is rather short). As I already mentioned above I absolutely loved the atmopshere and the same goes for the level design as a whole. I didn't notice any bad texturing either and the usage of a few audio tracks from TR2 rounds up this two-parter. Verdict: Definitely recommended to all players, particularly those of TR2 levels though beginners may have a hard time with the more challenging areas." - KingdomHearts

"A well-built TR2 floating isles level, which resembles the actual TR2 game. The creator succeeded in having a balance between puzzles, enemies, health packs and ammo, which encourages the player of further progressing in the level. If I could point out some moments of the level, I would start with the long zip line to reach the lever that opens the palace's door, which was a highlight for me. The ending boss battle is catchy and it can be quite difficult but I had not problem with it thanks to my saving most of the shotgun ammo. I spent most of my time in the room with the rollings blades, since I couldn't find an appropriate way to use one of the levers and I can say that Lara died A LOT of times there. One drawback that I found is that flying enemies would never land, thus being to easy to defeat. Hence, i would prefer most enemies to appear in places, where Lara wouldn't be able to avoid them so easily. Conclusion: If someone wanted to remember the uniqueness of TR2, then The Great Chi by thewolf would be exactly what he needed. An interesting and enjoyable game to spend an hour or two. Good job to the creator!" - TRTheoP

"Another great TR2 level set that will keep you delighted for a good hour or more. It starts off in a floating islands environment but the morphs into more and more challenging side adventures. In particular was the room filled with rolling blades (I could not get the timing down for one of the four levers)and then the invisible platforms above the abyss (but if you hang and use the look key you can see them from underneath). The final boss fight was a doozy and it took a bit of thinking on how to defeat this adversary but once you do the level ends abruptly. Good use of secrets, plenty of pickups (which you definitely need)and an overall fantastic raid." - Torry

"Another floating islands-type of level with a rather dark atmosphere. There is one tricky puzzle with those rolling wheels, which is actually the same room as in the temple of Puna, but harder and a challenging boss fight at the end. Gameplay is more or less the same as in floating islands. The enemies in the second level show the authors creativity. I enjoyed this couple of levels and recommend to play them." - Nuri

"This work bears too close a resemblance to another TR2 level, Mystic Realm (that was released only two weeks before this one), for the similar appearances to be mere coincidence. Possibly the builders worked in tandem but independently, using the same tools. In any event, The Great Chi compares well with Mystic Realm, both providing solid TR2 entertainment in a floating islands setting. There's bonus level provided with The Great Chi, and both of them took me about an hour and a half to complete. José has provided his customarily reliable walkthrough to help things go more smoothly for the player. There are parts that are quite difficult, especially that sequence in the room with the rolling wheels. My scores have not been elevated because this is a TR2 level; it's just a good, recommended raid." - Phil

"This was a rather good "floating isles style" level but, dare I say it, taken to an extreme of "floating isles style" difficulty. Many were the times when I had to reach out for help for I didn't really know how to proceed. The baddies aren't exactly gentle either (at times) and the final battle is a really tough nut to crack. Other than that, I don't think Core themselves did much better at the time they released the game, so I won't be the one complaining it isn't next gen. Well done." - Jorge22

"I don't think we've seen many custom levels in the veins of Floating Islands but here's a great one. You have a somewhat challenging quest for two plaques as you make your way into the main temple. I struggled a bit with the room filled with rolling blades (couldn't get the timing down for one of the four levers) and then the clever chasm with invisible platforms also had me stuck, even if only for the vertigo inducing fixed camera. Trial and error also works, so you have that as a last resort (plus, if you hang from the edges you can see the platforms from below). The second part was more of a grand finale in itself, including a neat customized guardian for a rather engaging boss fight: he's just as likely to smash you as he is to push you off the rather narrow platform. All in all, I had a great time here and hope to see more from this author in the future. 45 minutes, 3 secrets. 12/2017" - Treeble

"A level tribute to the forum member ˝the great chi˝ using his profile picture for the level. The level heavily reminds of Danaths ˝mystic realm˝ and gives a good comparison line because it has close to the same level design. I don't know who copied who with the idea, but both levels are quite similar. The gameplay was average in my humble opinion. Not really something new, but enjoyable. I already jumped on floating island just few days earlier. The tasks were easy, sometimes interesting, but not something too innovative. If you want to get through everything I highly recommend reading the walkthrough to find where Lara can climb or otherwise you will never know. I think there was a slight overuse of enemies. The atmosphere was good and I did like it, but it does bother me how a similar games get released less than two weeks apart. The overall level looked at some parts very chaotic and unorganized. There were some nicely designed areas where it's clear that the author put a lot of effort, but some were rather dull and made with not much imagination. Inside parts were less attractive compared to the outside parts. The light was typical TR2 with often too dark spots that hide the layout too much. Texturing was simple and fair, but is unfortunately sometimes very repetitive. Overall, a nice game and a major improvement for the author. I finished this level less satisfied than the mystic realm. Recommend." - Gorty

"Could be the best TR2 floater out there but in fact I wish this and Danath's were in a single game - THAT would be really the greatest outcome. I loved everything here except from the Puna trap which will make 90% of players cry for a savegame, and the unmarked ladder which will make 90% of secret hunters cry for vengeance. I really appreciate the second part which is like an extended version of Dragon's Lair, because I always thought that part of the original game was too short." - DJ Full

"This is a large improvement over the previous levels of this builder and a really fun TR 2 adventure. Despite of the setting, there's not so much platforming across floating islands here actually, but that's not a problem - there are so many other creative and sometimes quite challenging tasks that you won't miss that. Boulder challenges, a small series of timed runs (one against a boulder for a secret, nice), a nerve-wrecking room with rolling blades on every square, springboards (I still love them) and several other things to do here, and while there are allusions to the original Core gameplay elements nothing is simply repeated. The second level is more "traditional", but still enjoyable and the boss fight is quite a highlight. In general the usage of enemies is great, while there are a whole lot of warriors flying or running around it's never too hard to get rid of them, ammo is plentifully provided as well but not too much either. The three secrets are well hidden, although the path up to the silver secret could've been a bit more senseful. The overall atmosphere also works well, there's some care for detail here also with good usage of fixed cameras and some sounds and nice architecture of the islands. Texturing is clean, if a bit wallpapered at times at the "greenish" parts, although the quite solid lighting compensates that a bit. Good stuff and I hope to see more soon, this really cries for more! Finished in 30 minutes." - manarch2

"This is a very fun floating island themed level. It's a great progress from this author since his last release, this one is longer, more challenging, with more puzzles and even a boss fight at the end. The never ending zipline was an intrigging moment, I had no idea where it would take me and all around me was black until I began to see some roofs and parts from the islands where the game started. But be careful, because if you let go before you reach the roof and you don't pull the lever, there is no way back as the zipline handle only activates once (that should've been corrected in beta testing fase). The sword warrior's behaviour was well implemented, although technically they don't chase you like the original level, one of them manage to throw me out of a platform, and the last two flew all the way to the roof and dropped in front of me (before they got stuck), I was really surprised. Something I didn't like was how to get the silver dragon, I had no clue that one texture could be climbable only in one wall but not in the rest of them, you should put some sort of hint to make the player think and not jump around blindly. Enemies are well balanced, and I like the fact that not all the statues come to life, it creates more suspense. The bounce pads were nice too, but there is one that requires a very tricky jump to get through. The atmosphere is credible, removing the horizon makes it a little empty but it's a good way to get rid of the black walls bug. Textures were well applied, but the lighting was not so good. You could see the abrupt change of lighting between some rooms, and some of the rooms of the second level would look better if the room lighting were completely dark and placing a few light objects, instead of placing pitch black shadows behind the pillars. Overall, another very enjoyable level for TR2 fans. Recommended." - Feder

"Another solid level from this author with a professional touch. The design is very good, and you'll feel you're playing an official TR2 levels. There are, in my opinion a couple of hard tasks to solve: the room with the rolling wheels and the final fight with the boss so this level is not for beginners. I found only two secrets, and I'm surprised in this sense 'cause it supposes that the silver dragon should be the easiest to find. Again a very good use of cameras and musics, and the lights and textures near perfection. A fantastic mini-adventure with all the ingredients to challenge the players. Recommended." - Jose