Level reviews

"Quite a short and simple level except for this maze which took me a while to get out of. A short jeep section is quite nice, unfortunately much too short and takes you towards the end of the level." - grizzly

"Good level except for that maze (I had to use the corner bug because I wasn't going to deal with that). There are a few easy puzzles, a car to ride and run over ninjas, before finishing the classic way (sliding down a dark slope)." - alan

"Egyptian level with a bit more than the usual Tutorial stuff with a few things not often seen that were unexpected like the pushable statues. You can enjoy blowing out ninjas and mummies alike with a secret grenade gun, and drive over ninjas with the jeep at the end. It is not perfect , you can see the end of the world with the black horizon in more than one place , and there is the flares bug at the end. The hedge maze was a bit boring ; on the opposite i like the room with shimmy/jumps/monkeyswing. Good level not difficult." - eRIC

"I was quite enjoying my time in this level until the maze section. Once I entered there, the pace just completely slowed down. Admittedly, it's not as vast a maze as others out there, but it still spoilt the gameplay quite a bit for me. The Egyptian style surroundings are very well crafted, enemies are very well situated throughout and the brief jeep ride closed proceedings off nicely, but I can't help thinking that this level didn't quite reach its full potential." - Ryan

"The pyramid seen at the entrance to this level gave a good impression. Actually it's a nice little level. Texturing is not always good. The labyrinth made me regret this choice but I insisted. The last jeep ride was nice but short, although you could finish without the jeep. If you want a short Egyptian level." - Drakan

"This is a short level at 30 minutes but one that's fun to play. It's in the classic Egyptian style, and you get an early shotgun and a late Jeep to deal with the many ninjas, and a grenade gun allows you to blow up the mummies along the way. The lighting is good and the scenery is well rendered. There's a lot of empty outdoor territory you might waste time exploring at the beginning if you don't follow Harry Laudie's typically compact walkthrough. Progression is fairly linear, although you do have to deal with a maze about halfway through. Not at all a bad level to play while you're killing time awaiting more current releases." - Phil

"An enjoyable scenario read and a promising start slowly turn into a typical egyptian level with the same old designs and gameplay. I liked the plot though how Lara managed to board on the plane after coldbloodedly murdering the airport guards and why the pilot took off is a mystery. The game begins with a cool flyby a pyramid and a nice entrance. I got stuck for half an hour missing that the statue is pushable, but it was rather obvious. The next lever made an unexpected cool change to the outside of the pyramid and raised the expectance I had. Alas the originality soon dropped boring mazes and unimaginative rooms ensued and in the end there was a short jeep run which felt like the author got bored with the level and just rushed it. In spite of these it managed to give the feeling of an adventure with a plot from start to finish. Oh and the custom outfit was done well. Overall it barely sticks out from the standart egyptian levels." - Nomad

"This is a nice lively level that bowls along briskly up to the maze bit, whereupon the action gets really bogged down, searching for a lever. Mummies, ninjas galore and scorpions can be fairly readily dealt with, and a jeep ride gives the opportunity to run over a few ninjas. Not bad, but could have been better." - Jay

"Solid design for this level, with no boring tasks except in the big nasty maze where I found a closed door and I had to run a very long time to find the lever and go back to the door. Usually the environments are well textured, and there's a decent architecture too. Enemies are well placed, but most of the underground rooms are too dark (one of them black you can see nothing even with flares) and I didn't found flares to light my way, ruining the gameplay; evenmore with the flare bug present. There's an entertaining ride with the jeep near the end killing several ninjas, but no much fun in the whole level." - Jose

"A very nice level in Egypt for this author who in really well-decorated his level by playing on the lighting of torches, It created a hot and mysterious ambience which I appreciate in levels. The gameplay is rather simple and there is nothing of well complicating to be made. The end ends after a walk in jeep outside in a decor which seems very banal after the visit of inside. A good level however." - Daffy

"This is a nice and standard Egyptian level, with a rather simplified gameplay. The quest for the two eye pieces in the beginning is rather obvious, but I did NOT enjoy getting stuck in the hedgy maze right after the round door (no matter how simple it was, I think I was roaming for 10 minutes in it until I found the lever and then to find the way back to the door). The jeep ride in the end was nice and I understand all the fuss about customizing objects back then (loved the pushable statue, by the way), but having a Jeep with a "Lara (C)" right in the other end of the pyramid simply felt out of place. After a short ride you leave it behind with a Cartouche in your backpack. 35 minutes, 1 secret. 02/07" - Treeble

"With wanting to catch up a bit with what's happened in the custom level world, but not wanting to start downloading new levels before getting done with those still on my computer, waiting for me to play them - I thought I'd pick a relatively short level, that wouldn't require my attention for too long, but was interesting enough to sustain my interest. I had wanted to give this level a go for a long time so thought - why not? And this definitely had its merit while it lasted. Though the looks were unimpressive, the pyramid and the inviting, atmospheric hall beneath it are reason enough to give this a go. The puzzle down in the hall had me stumbled for quite while, which just shows I've been away from raiding for far too long. Truly, a DOH moment, considering that this level was built upon a custom wad and I could have at least as much as suspected that I could do something with the statues. But unfortunately (for this level) it already starts with its highlight - namely the pyramid and everything around it - so the search for the eye of Horus and the hedge maze that follow don't do for much more than a couple of yawns, unless you're in for those tasks. The jeep ride over the ninjas s quite thrilling, but it's over soon leading you to a small pool, which in return leads you to the abrupt end of the level. I have to say I liked the level while it lasted, so if you want a short Egyptian level with a small twist to it, this isn't a bad choice - but, then again, if you think life is too short to play every level out there, you might want to look for something else." - eTux

"As has been said this begins excellently with a quite convincing underground entrance some good enemy placement and an excellent 'climbing into a previously undetected adjacent area' sequence. From then on things revert to the Tut1 scenario with well-designed shimmy's and swings culminating in a maze ordeal which is as dull as something very dull indeed. The Jeep ride was fun and satisfying and there the adventure should have ended. But our interest is then piqued with the sight of another area and an expectation of more to come which simply doesn't happen. This results in a curiously flat finale to an adventure which had started so promisingly. A pleasure nonetheless." - Orbit Dream

"I remember testing this level with a few others in my old Eidos days and finding the exact same bugs I found now. Don't ask why but the authors back then rarely listened to their testers. It is classic Egyptian and gloomy at areas with ninjas and mummies. I was amazed back then by the use of those kind of statues as moving objects. Then again I wasn't and I am not happy about the 'end of the world' bug when you finally jump from the big pyramid to the wall or the flare bug. A few arrows were floating in the air near the end and couldn't be picked up. There is one hand a cartouche and the Eye of Horus to find plus you need to navigate inside a green maze. If i am not mistaken this has three secrets but I was always finding only one when testing it the grenade gun. Twenty five minutes spent on a medium level." - Kristina

"One of those levels that I have trouble remembering although I've just finished it. So let me give you the bits I remember. A boring garden maze not many pick ups a really great underground hall inside the pyramid at the start a jump sequence that was fun a long swim where there is a little side corridor that leads to a small room you can climb up in with nothing but a little scorpion. Oh yeah for some reason a few of the files didn't work for me so I had to go without the new outfit. Apart from the maze I found it rather entertaining and I didn't mind the shoot out at the end." - Dimpfelmoser

"This may be a fairly easy level using the tut1 wad we've all seen a hundred times but don't let that stop you from playing it or you'll miss out on a fun level. It comes with a great story behind the level in the readme file that explains what's going on - why she's wearing the outfit she is what she's after (the Ba Cartouche) and why - and is very well written and shows how creative the author is. None of the puzzles are too hard but there is a wide variety of them and include a new pushable object a slide/jump puzzle some boulder traps a maze rope swings and a too long monkey swing. It looked to me like the author spent a great deal of time working on little details that only added to the level - great camera flybys interesting camera angles interesting music good lighting (though a little dark in some areas) and the rooms are built and textured beautifully and include some well done pyramids and an oasis like outside area. Having finally found the cartouche Lara escapes in a jeep with her name on it (I wonder how the baddie got the keys though) and drives to Jean Yves house (that doesn't really look like a house) where he has installed an escape route and she's on her way. Great fun!" - RaiderGirl

"This is one of those levels that starts off really interesting with a great look and some nice things to do but somehow goes flat near the end with nothing more to do than run through areas shooting enemies. There is a really cool ripped new outfit for Lara some nice flybys a bizarrely placed indoor hedge maze with dozens of mummies and a few new movable objects that I have never seen used in that way before in fact finding the first one took me almost as long as the entire game itself which was around 35 minutes. As I said though this level held a whole lot of promise but it never really bore fruit." - Sash

"As said by the other reviewers this starts quite nicely with a spooky atmosphere inside the initial pyramid and the surprise with the 'new' movable. After five minutes though the level begins to lack the initial careful attention to detail and becomes a run climb jump kill swim to make it to the end. In between you open a Horus door make your way through a hedge maze (not too hard) a breathtaking long swim a dark area with mummies and there is also a jeep ride (try to park it on the pyramid for the fun of it). After a little over 30 minutes it ends and I was wondering what that cartouche I got was for but maybe I should have read the story in the readme file?" - Michael

"What an unassuming little level this is and yet I was impressed by it in a number of ways. Firstly getting stuck right off the bat and learning the lesson that your preconceptions can be your Achilles heel (I'll only say that just because you've never done a certain thing to a certain something). Getting past that hurdle the gameplay progresses quickly and fluently with the exception of getting bogged down in one rather long shimmy and another long monkey swing. At the end you get a short but spirited jeep ride. Category 2? Sorry nothing special there. Atmosphere is not bad and there are some nice flybys at the right moments. Now to the last category. Textures are 100% tutorial but I can't find a single complaint about the way they are applied. While it may be a little plain in some places the texturing is absolutely solid. The lighting on the other hand really struck me as being well above average. The ramp leading from the daylight into the darkness of the pyramid was perfectly lit and the room with the two mummies where the light just seemed to be sucked away - well the effect is great and I don't recall seeing it before. This level is not an epic - more of a haiku. Give it a try." - Tombaholic

"As Sash mentioned it started out great and indeed ended in a running shooting match. Not my cup of tea. The outfit of Lara was great looking and the pushable objects were something new but that was it." - Gerty

"A very short but fun level. Lara has to find an artifact hidden beneath a pyramid. Good texturing but the lighting could have been better. Also the 'flare-bug' appeared because of all the fire in the level. Lara has to survive ninjas and mummies jump over lots of fire and push/pull those big statues from the Tutorial wad. She also wears a new outfit and drives the jeep. Oh and Jean Yves is called John in the readme file!" - Magnus

"Like some of the other reviewers said this level starts out incredibly right from reading the readme file which makes you want to play it right away! The sheer scale of the main pyramid and the entrance draws you in immediately. Nearly as soon as the level starts you come upon the first puzzle and definitely the hardest! This one kept me stuck for 20 minutes and the only clue is some lighting! The thing that kept me looking was that if you looked down a grate you could see the puzzle piece and that made it tempting to continue. Without giving too much away the bits afterwards see you climbing a pyramid swimming around a lot and coming up to a bit that reminded me of one of the coastal parts of tr4 going through an incredible indoor maze with mummies roaming the top (quite spooky!) and then exiting via a smallish pyramid and escaping to one of Jean Yves Egyptian houses in a Lara (c) Jeep. However that section seems to me to have been very rushed with just a load of baddys to kill and no real aim to it and considering the excellent start that is a big disappointment and sliding down to the end of the level you can't help but feel the ending would have been better being left out than in. Overall I would rate this highly because despite the obvious flaws (and an annoying problem with the flares not working) and not including the end section which is way to short and not much point to it the level contains some nice changes from the norm and it's obvious the author has talent for creating good and fun to play environments however seems to have slacked or rushed near the end of the level. Oh and i llluuuurrrvvvv the outfit! Nice rips lol and a good reason for them being there too." - Dodo