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The Curse of Jayavarman II. by Mohrruebe

DJ Full 9 10 10 9
eRIC 9 10 10 10
JesseG 8 9 9 9
OblivionJaw 9 9 9 9
Phil 9 10 10 9
Ryan 9 9 10 10
 
release date: 04-Mar-2024
# of downloads: 955

average rating: 9.33
review count: 6
 
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file size: 236.00 MB
file type: TR4
class: Cambodia
 


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Reviewer's comments
"While I was playing the first level of this four-part marathon, I kept saying to myself that this was real Hall of Fame material. Although the details have become somewhat foggy in my memory by the passage of time, I was continually impressed with the innovative nature of the presented tasks as well as the player-friendly lighting and eye-pleasing surroundings. Then followed more of the same with little change of variety in the next level, and then again in the next level and...well, you get the picture. While the full adventure is undoubtedly worth the considerable amount of time it takes to get all the way through it, I feel that the builder would have been much better off releasing each segment separately in intervals of several months. There is such a thing, after all, as too much of a good thing, and I'm reminded of that old phrase "gilding the lily." But that's only a minor quibble, as the quality of play is top notch throughout. The builder has given players the opportunity to acquire a generous total of 18 secrets, six in each level, and if you collect at least 15 of them you're entitled to play a bonus level that would (to repeat myself) do quite nicely as a stand-alone release. I'm embarrassed to divulge my total playing time, but I do have a legitimate excuse in that I was writing a walkthrough while playing. A definite must-play, despite the considerable investment of time this will necessitate." - Phil (14-Apr-2024)
"I've been nursing this epic for the past couple of weeks, in snatches here and there. Doing so might have been a double-edged sword, as this can be quite a spread out game and thus quite difficult to remember (read: fairly confusing at times), but at the same time I'm glad I did because this really is an adventure to be savoured. I take Jesse's point in his review that seeing the Khmer Empire wad across three (or four if you unlock the bonus level by collecting enough secrets) levels might become overwhelming and repetitive, but this didn't bother me as the architecture is crafted with such painstaking care, plus the textures are extremely pleasing and the atmosphere well up to standard. Platforming forms the crux of the gameplay, with little in the way of complex puzzles. This did get a bit arduous at times, but I never found myself bored or wanting it to end and there are a couple of block pushing sequences, timed exercises, flipmaps and a quad bike jaunt to add a bit of variety. Enemies are actually quite fearsome, as they tend to attack in packs (mainly the soldiers), but enough weaponry is provided if you explore thoroughly. You also get numerous chances to acquire each weapon, antidotes to protect against the numerous poisonous enemies and Magic Potions to provide brief invulnerability (although the latter took a bit of practice to work correctly). Overall, a very involving and rewarding raid, but does require a fair bit of experience." - Ryan (12-Apr-2024)
"Loooooooooong level. Beautiful but long. Filler activities interrupt good parts so I needed many sessions to finish these, in fact just three, levels. After 40 kilometers I think 40% of it could go without harming the impression a lot. Good things are pickups which help combat - very balanced - and secrets which, aside of standard ones, include optional harder challenges, plus a bonus for finding the majority, giving friendly room to skip three tasks you might find too hard. Overall a very permissive game which will relax you in the beginning, give some action in the middle, then bore you to death as you pray for the asset and colors to change, to eventually reward you with a strong ending and aftermath. Sloooooow but still recommended." - DJ Full (08-Apr-2024)
"Honestly, this is one of the better levels that I saw in my personal opinion. The entire presentation of this level blew me away, and the gameplay did not disappoint me! I really enjoyed the various gameplay trials and puzzles this game had to offer. Issues and some bugs were present, but honestly I cannot deny that this is an excellent game that everyone should play!" - OblivionJaw (01-Apr-2024)
"Bugs/Functional Issues
  • There are magic potions that should make Lara invincible, but it is still possible to die while using one. I found that Lara needs to have a certain amount of health to withstand the damage she would normally take, and then the potion behaves fine. Also this item seems to cause the hotkeys for medpacks to stop working, but they can still be used from the inventory if needed.
Disliked
  • I'm showing my bias here but there are too many jumpswitches hidden in obtuse places. For secrets I don't mind, but for the main route it can be a pain, considering that most people wouldn't expect a civilization to build a switch mechanism into natural rock and also force its inhabitants to leap high into the air to use it.
Neutral
  • Many things that touch Lara can cause poison: bats, spiders, darts, and certain fauna. Luckily plenty of antidote items can be picked up to combat this, but the idea of constantly curing poison may be a turn off for some players.
  • The serpant monster makes an appearance at the end, frequently spawning bats to attack Lara. The saving grace is that many of the aforementioned magical potions of invincibility are available in this area, but again the idea of constantly entering the inventory may be a turn off for some players.
Liked
  • Fun and challenging traps await Lara, including a gauntlet of spiked platforms across flames and lava.
  • There are some nice puzzle moments, such as arranging crates for a timed run and pulling switches to line up a path for carrying a torch.
  • The visuals are consistently great quality throughout the three levels. The one drawback is that seeing the same Khmer aesthetics for a long period of time may get a bit tiring for the player.
  • There are moments of heavy combat to test Lara's mastery of the various weapons along the way, this shouldn't be debilitating as multiple copies of each weapon are available; players will find most of them at some point or other. Also, thankfully a good amount of explosive arrows are available to help deal with the skeletons.
Time: 5 hours 48 minutes | Difficulty: Hard | Rating: 8.75/10" - JesseG (22-Mar-2024)
"7h06 - only 11/18 secrets so i did not played the bonus level (at least 15 secrets are required). A lot of work went into this game , with large settings to explore and a strong gameplay. But there is a few bugs : in the first area of the 2nd level one of the cages you need to lower for the fantastic timed race is not triggered by a one shot trigger switch (it was amusing to see the cage disappear below the ground if you activate the switch several times) , as for the puzzle with raising block and pushables in that same area , Lara could not stand on the RB although it looked raised ; the worst problematic situation is in the room with two switches to drain/flood a pool : no indication to what switch does what and these switches are oneshot , thus it is possible to be stuck for good. I also had crashes when using the crawl key when entering higher openings (only the forward key is needed). The progression relies a lot on spotting cracks in walls and pillars and the Lara moves associated, also on pole ropes (i like much the faster animation to reach longer distances). There seems to be repetitivness at times , nevertheless i liked my time spent in all these areas (this said the first level and the beginning of the second one were imho a bit better than the second half of the game). Good ideas all along 3 levels and many challenges with enjoyable jumps , very elaborate and enjoyable timed runs thankfully not too difficult, and different traps. The most difficult place was for a secret with spikes and fire burner gauntlet. Too many static objects to shoot. Some of the secrets consist at times of a new area or room which is a good thing. Enemies are tigers , a few crocs , local skeletons and tinmen, a few dramatic ambushes with diverse mercenaries and many poisonous small spiders and bats , without forgetting the final boss. Another good thing : aside from the classic big and small medipacks, we have antidotes and magic potions. Atmosphere and architecture are excellent , special mention to some audio tracks." - eRIC (12-Mar-2024)