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Jewel of Egypt by Lady_Wise

billie2001 7 9 8 8
DJ Full 8 9 8 8
DroneQuadcopter 7 9 9 9
eRIC 7 7 6 7
Feats 9 10 10 9
Jay 8 9 9 8
Jose 8 9 9 10
manarch2 7 7 8 8
nerdfury 7 8 8 7
Phil 8 9 9 8
Ryan 7 8 8 8
 
release date: 09-Jul-2021
# of downloads: 105

average rating: 8.16
review count: 11
 
review this level

file size: 60.40 MB
file type: TR4
class: Egypt
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
wiseajak89@hotmail.co.uk

Reviewer's comments
"This is a pleasant, solidly made Egypt level with an effective mix of gameplay. It can get a touch confusing from time to time, but, as ever, a walkthrough is your best friend. Some of the tricks and traps are fun and inventive, although when I discovered to my horror that I had to go through a monkey swing with slicing blade traps TWICE, I was inclined to whimper a bit. For me, special mention must go to the imaginatively devised mirror room with its very decent secret and I have no reservation in recommending this game to any player with a bit of experience." - Jay (15-Dec-2023)
"Had a great time playing this level! Some fiendish traps to be found along the way, gameplay rolled along pretty smoothly. I did mark it down a point for me getting softlocked, but to be fair it was mostly my own damn fault for not picking up the crowbar, even after the fly- by (which I wasn't paying attention to) showed me where it was! The level looked great to me and like I say thoroughly enjoyed my time with it! Cheers Wisey!" - Feats (12-Sep-2023)
"Solid level. I guess one could complain some puzzles solve themselves before you see them - but it's not a problem for me, as I play mostly for atmosphere - which was quite good, tho the lighting and texturing needed more love. The most remarkable to me were the spikes on the sides of the corridor - not meant to kill Lara too much, but still making me cautious." - DJ Full (21-Mar-2023)
"After several months I see few reviews for a good level worth to play. Of course, there are a couple of difficult situations in the monkeyswings with the fire blowers and the rotating blades, but the remaining game is not so hard and it's entertaining enough. The architecture and texturization are good, creating nice environments to explore; the lighting is well worked, the cameras and flybys give a good touch and they are helpful; there is no much backtracking; the enemies are well balanced and the rooms well ornated with all kind of objects; there are enough pickups to finish without problems... For me an entertaining level to enjoy. Recommended." - Jose (08-Apr-2022)
"I played this level while writing a walkthrough and then promptly forgot to review it. Since Manarch2 isn't known for doling out high scores, I read my walk to refresh my memory and agree with him that this is a really fun raid. It's classic Egyptian fare that provides many of the familiar devices, such as a hub room with three side rooms to explore, and the gameplay is engaging without ever becoming too taxing. The most difficult section for me was monkey swinging past two blade traps without being shredded. One or two of the hanging brass balls might be a little easy to miss, but part of Tomb Raider is learning to keep your eyes open. Lighting is good as well, so I have no complaints to register in that department. Recommended." - Phil (18-Aug-2021)
"I am surprised this is the lowest rated level of the builder until now as the visuals are IMO more organized and consistent in this one, there's only little of monotonous texturing and lighting here and some rooms look pretty well and the atmosphere is convincing, also with good usage of sounds and cameras. The gameplay is enjoyable too, there's a plethora of traps but also a few puzzles (e.g. with the torch, a mirror room, some target shooting or the gem one at the end), none of which is exactly inventive but it's still rather enjoyable. I also could've done with less backtracking at times but it is not overdone here. Enemy and object placement is apt, the five secrets are not very hard to find though. Maybe a bit too much of the classic modern Egypt style, but nevertheless a solid 40 minute raid." - manarch2 (16-Aug-2021)
"Amen to Nerdfury's review, I couldn't possibly have put it better myself. I found this to be a sufficiently enjoyable raid in the Egypt style, but which was nonetheless a bit more aggravating than it needed to be at times. The environments are solidly constructed, the atmosphere and texturing is well up to scratch and the gameplay keeps you on your toes, while lighting is undoubtedly creative in places. What somewhat soured things were the rather stingy amount of camera hints. Not saying that there weren't enough, but a couple of the shootable spheres weren't at all obvious to spot and maybe a little extra assistance there wouldn't have gone amiss. The backtracking past each of the challenge rooms and the various traps was also too arduous, and I too would have preferred the occasional shortcut back. I did enjoy the gem puzzle and the action packed escape sequence at the end though, which enabled me to finish with a positive impression of the whole thing. Definitely worth a look, but bring some patience along." - Ryan (14-Aug-2021)
"(7) Gameplay & Puzzles: This is a medium-to-challenging adventure that took me about 1.5 hours to complete. There's a huge variety of traps, some fun platforming involving Lara's new moves, and a few problem-solving tasks. For the most part, I enjoyed the adrenalined-based tasks, and the mirror room was neat, however I think other problem-solving tasks were underdeveloped and not memorable. I think most of the traps are circumventable by newer players, except for some flame/blade traps that you need to monkeyswing through. The timing on these is quite tight. I felt that the gameplay flow as a whole has some hiccups. For example: A) I was running around in circles for ages in the pool area with the lilypads, because of a super sneaky shootable ball. B) After you pick up the 2nd timeless sands, you need to backtrack all the way back to the obelisk room, including backtracking through various traps, which is a chore. I think it would have been much better if either the traps were deactivated on the return trip, or a shortcut was unlocked, from the lilypad room to the obelisk room. Cameras also disrupt gameplay flow and I will write about that later on. (8) Enemies, Objects & Secrets: The enemies are OK; nothing too memorable, but nothing frustrating at all. As a trap lover, I was very happy to see all sorts of objects that can kill Lara here. I could tell that the builder spent much effort on object decor. These objects mostly look great, however it was weird to see all sorts of foliage growing out of stone, with no dirt in sight. The flame traps would have benefitted from an accompanying object or texture to define the flame's source. (8) Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras: The atmosphere is of a high standard, and no area looks overly boxy. Classic music cues are utilized effectively, although I wanted to mention something about the blade trap sounds. I was stuck in the lilypad room for awhile (unable to spot the super sneaky shootable ball), so I was searching that room up and down, looking for a crack. The blade trap sounds started to get obnoxious after a while, and I had to mute the sound effects in that area. For this reason, and for the backtracking-through-traps reason listed above, I think that it would have been better if these blade traps were deactivated once reaching the lilypad room. There are some nice flybys to build immersion, however there is an issue with camera hints in general. So, once you reach the obelisk room, you can perform either A) the torch tasks upstairs, or B) explore further on the ground level, to obtain 2 timeless sands. The player can perform A or B in any order. The issue is that if the player performs B first, they will receive camera hints regarding area A, which is just confusing because they have not been to area A before. (7) Lighting & Textures: The texturing is generally polished, although wallpapering is quite evident on a number of different ceilings. In some areas, I think that the colored lighting is very attractive. In other areas, I think its excessive use makes the room look too "busy" -- for example, the room with a central obelisk has all sorts of colors and moving reflections everywhere, which wasn't easy on my eyes. There are also some weird lighting transitions from one room to another and I would have liked to have seen more consistency of theme. E.g. one room has neutral, realistic lighting, and then a connecting corridor has intense green lighting. This transition comes across as very unnatural. It's not a dark level overall, however unfortunately the builder does not provide flare pickups in path B (or I didn't find any). So, if you choose path B first, instead of path A, you're likely to run out of flares if you wish to check each dark corner. Overall, despite some design issues, I would still recommend this level to Egyptian lovers, or trap lovers in general. I hope my feedback was constructive to the builder. 7/8/8/7." - nerdfury (17-Jul-2021)
"Lara is after yet another artefact in an Egyptian environment. The gameplay has a good flow (if you are stuck just look around for a missed semi-hidden ball to shoot) and relies mostly on traps, some of which will surprise you because they are well placed. Those nasty rotating blades though, they may not surprise you but they will definitely kill you a couple of times lol. Same goes for one particular fire emitter. The other traps are rather easy to manage. Few enemies, the ones you would expect in an Egyptian level. There are some rather simple puzzles too but I liked the clever hints to solve them. The secrets are well hidden, one of them is really hard to spot but it is very rewarding. Textures seemed fine to my simple player's eyes but the lighting, although mostly well applied, is not used in a way to give some character to the environment. Took me a bit more than an hour to complete the level with a very TR4-style escape. All in all, not a stand-out (except for the excellent mirror room) but quite enjoyable for the time it lasts." - billie2001 (15-Jul-2021)
"General information: This map is something I was able to enjoy. Excellent smooth beginning and slow increasing of overall difficulty was a great way how to build this level. Notes for solving puzzles, like Guided by death, are an excellent way to provide small and short hints to the puzzle solution. Flyby cameras are used well, and I must admit that a few times, I was missing a camera showing me what opened next, but on the other hand, it was keeping the way of discovering it by myself. There are also some negative points I was forced to give some negative points. The lighting was nice, but for me, quite repetitive, and in one area, it was a mix of colours I did not understand. (removed 1 point for this somehow repetition and this mix of colours) The level was atmospheric, sounds were used well, and the only issue was missing cameras showing you what happened. (One point removed). Enemies were designed excellent way, so it is ok, and they are not somehow challenging, using of objects was decent, not something overwhelming, not something empty as the white room. Secrets were hidden well, I did not find any, and they are maybe way too hard to find. (Sum it up, and that is 1 point down) Last but not least, Gameplay and Puzzles. The story was narrated nice way, and it was good. What I did not like was the repetition of switches. There were only three puzzle items. All of the rest were switches. Furthermore, shootable switches did not break after they were shot, and it seems weird. The second problem for me was the insanely complex trap puzzle with two blades from the wall. The timing is so close you need to be precisely on the edge of the trap and start moving at the right time, twice in a row, with no way to save the game in between. And yes, you need to beat this trap twice, once when you go in and once you go back. As I mentioned, the map is designed perfectly, and with a little bit of practice, the author will provide maps with a 9+ rating with no problem. Practice makes perfect. Do not give up." - DroneQuadcopter (12-Jul-2021)
"A level based on platforming (with the jumps backward and upward to grab ledges) and traps. It did not began very well in reason of an opening opened half a minute after you activated a switch , then walking around in the room the exit opened, a weird triggering idea. Speaking of triggers, sometimes you don't really know what triggers what as there is not always a camera work or you get a camera showing things in places you may not have reached yet. There is hardly a moment to relax in the level, either you are avoiding traps , using Lara's moves , or trying to spot brass balls to shoot. The traps are not deactivated on the way back, that does not make the game more enjoyable. There is use of the torch and the mirror room is well made. The timing to pass the rotating blades while monkeyswinging is very tight , same thing for one fire emitter. Next time try to place spike holes on every place where spikes are , and an emitter object (or an appropriate texture) for fire, also it is not too realistic to have greenery hanging from ceilings when there is no greenery texture. Summary : a compact level solidly built which may appeal to players who like dynamic gameplay with some challenge." - eRIC (11-Jul-2021)