Level reviews

" - The historian is a prophet in reverse', according to one of Friedrich Schlegel's witticisms, and one of the most important tools of the trade is the benefit of hindsight. It allows historians to construe, from a chaotic mess of facts and circumstances, developments that must have taken place - of necessity'. Hindsight has enabled some Hegelians to interpret this debut as anticipating all the good things that this builder's future levels had in store.
It is not a bad debut by any means: the builder has all the basics covered (though lighting leaves room for improvement), and it gets off to a promising start with a jumping sequence, a surprise boulder, and a jumping sequence involving surprise boulders (and a rope). The latter has unanimously been voted the highlight of the level. All good and well, and had it continued in that vein, it would have made for a very fine debut indeed. Unfortunately, this fun part, which takes place in rooms the size of which is adequate and appropriate for the tasks at hand, is very brief and seems go have been conceived by the builder as mere preliminaries leading up to the - big chamber' (to borrow 3ki3ro's technical term for a room that's far too large to accommodate any interesting gameplay). It looks, then, as though the builder had succumbed to the typical beginner's temptation of going big from the beginning.
The excessive size of the - big chamber' lets the level down, and it's not helped by its uninteresting design (texturing becomes wallpapered, lighting flat). The tasks are humdrum now; it's a round trip featuring a long monkeyswing, a long pole-climb and lots and lots of running - all in order to push a few floor levers, cunningly placed in far-flung corners to ensure that you get to savour the size of the room to its fullest extent; and then backtrack the way you came. Repeat if you failed to retrieve a Hand of Sirius. As it stands, the level is at best teetering on the brink of living up to its self-deprecating title.
The rollingball suspended above one lever (indicated by a texture previously established as warning of danger) causes the last couple of cameras to bug out after it's been triggered, but that's not much of a problem. It's a nice touch that on your way out, you encounter a ninja who is waiting for you with his back turned." - Mulf

"A tutorial level very interesting especially for those who do not want to take the head. Some mummies and baddy to eliminate with well supplied weapons. Well done." - Drakan

"With all the favorable comments in the previous reviews, with which I totally agree, I'm surprised at the relatively low average scores. Perhaps it's because of the level's brevity, just a little more than 20 minutes, but it's attractive, well lighted and fun to play from start to finish. There are a couple of tricky sequences involving spike balls, but other than that you get a pretty routine raid that won't tax your mind or fingers to any great extent. Harry Laudie has provided a concise walkthrough that warns of all impending dangers. The high-powered weapons are a little too easy to find, but it's necessary to find the secrets as well in order to equip them with sufficient ammunition. I've been playing these older levels in reverse order of their average review scores and was about to give up on the practice, but if others below this one are as entertaining, I may as well keep on going." - Phil

"Despite the title, I was relieved to see this isn't a complete rehash of Tut1. It's solidly made, if somewhat bland, texture-wise. Gameplay is simple, with few enemies, some climbing, swimming, lots of lever throwing and a few spike ball traps. Blameless, but predictable" - Jay

"You have an idea what to expect from the title: good old tut1 action. This isn't badly made, if a bit simple. The appearance is actually quire nice for an old level that uses these textures. You get to gun down some ninjas, do a spot of boulder avoidance (across columns in one instance) and open some doors and do some monkey swinging. Entertaining enough for the time it lasts." - Ryan

"Tutorial but builded from scratch, this egyptian level is easy to play, very few enemies to shoot and decent textured. Some defects like the flash camera shots where you can't see anything or when you get the Hand you must figure out where to go (backtracking). Secrets easy to find, I missed some more musics and objects to ornate the empty rooms. Not interesting features but a good debut anyway." - Jose

"A fairly average level but enjoyable all the same. Very remeniscent of the original tut1 level but all elements used very well. I enjoy levels like this every once in a while as it gives a nostalgic feel for the old skool level editing before trep, wad-merging, and the like. the only challenging aspect was at the end where I hadn't realsed for a while that I had to backtrack a little to progress." - Necro

"Another perfectly enjoyable 'early' level which,while using the Tut1 textures,does so in such a way as to make the environments look suitably different to what you naturally expected. There's an organic appearance to much of the adventure,with copious use of rock and greenery and effectively dark corners. Gameplay is easy (with the exception of a smart gauntlet involving boulders,columns and a rope - which gives a hint of future ingeniousness on the part of the builder),fast-moving but entertaining. No standing still and pondering here,just full ahead exploration and running and jumping. Once again: no classic,but good entertainment." - Orbit Dream

"A nice short level of about 20 mins. The only problem with the enemies was that you could kill them too easily with the grenade gun. The gameplay was good but seemed to get a bit too confusing towards the end, one or two more cameras would have been helpful. The atmosphere was nice and the texturing was, on the whole, quite good. An enjoyable level that I recommend." - Cory

"Well, yes, so the title unsurprisingly betrays the concept of the level - it's another one of those based on the tutorial wad. But then again - what's really wrong about that? If you're tired of those - you can't say that this level didn't warn you. Sometimes it's nice to give a level like that a chance, and as far as this one goes - it's actually reasonably good. So there isn't really anything that makes it stand out from the rest of the bunch, but I was pleasantly surprised how well the looks were done and though quite simple - the tasks offered entertain you for the 15 to 20 minutes the level lasts too. Considering it's the author's first, this is actually quite a good achievement and makes this level worth to try if you don't want anything particularly complicated for a short raid. Well done!" - eTux

"In this level, the title gives us an ominous warning that this level might be a bit newbie-ish. However I was quite surprised how good this level was. It was pretty good, short, but a good experience, especially for a first try. Admit ably it had texturing problems, a bit unorganized and a bit sparse. Apart from that, level design was good, the fly by was ok and gameplay was good as well. Not a bad first effort and has the makings for better work in the future. If I had to give this level a grade, I would give it a C+, a high pass mark." - The Aussie Adventurer

"Yet another tutorial level without anything special in it. It's not very hard and it took me less than 15 minutes to finish. There isn't anything in this level that makes it stand out but it's still quite fun and nice. When I played the level I had a background-sound from Tijay's 'Research Centre 2' instead of the one that was meant to be there. It fit the level very well though and it was very calm just like the level. As I said there isn't anything that stands out in this level but the thing that shows great promise for possible future levels by the author is the texturing (it was very nice). This is a nice short level which can be worth playing if you're not tired of levels set in Egypt yet." - Magnus

"What can I possibly say when the title says it all. It is another tutorial level with standard textures and the usual jumping and traps like spike balls a ninja here and there. The Eye of Horus and a hand to proceed and finish after thirty five minutes. A level for your tutorial collection." - Kristina

"This level is quite simple too. You have to collect two pieces and a star in Egypt. There are no special sounds and music. There are only a few enemies the texture is average." - Obig

"The title of the level describes it exactly. Expect nothing but another level that uses TUT1 wad and textures. It was short (20 minutes) and fun but I do think that the author could have used something different. When the level was released a lot of other things were possible (custom wads specially) and well what I do imagine is the author wanted to start with something standard. Not a bad debut I would say!" - Treeble

"The creator seems to have read my mind when I slid into this level unfortunately when I thought it a yawn also escaped my mouth. You do never know though what wonders could be found in these unassumingly dull looking starts but this one just didn't really make a move to that greatness and instead for me lingered in the zone of forget ability. Running just over 20 minutes with 3 secrets that are a little too easy to find this is a pleasant yet unmemorable tomb level." - Sash

"The level was very very easy. There were actually no puzzles only switches to go on. Standard Tut1 textures hardly any sound and failed camera flybys give evidence of a first work which hardly possesses atmosphere. There were one or two baddies and a few mummies as opponents. Nowadays one can achieve more even with the Tut1-wad but the author might see this rather as an experiment or demo. A level which will tax only absolute beginners." - Xxenofex

"This level was a nice surprise and I for one don't understand all the carping about the textures and Egyptian levels. I like the sandy look sometimes it is a bit hard to see where you have to go next but that is more the fun. The level was much larger than I expected and your goal is to get the two pieces of the Eye and the Hand of Sirius. Enemies I counted two scorpions and two ninjas (one was even stealing a goody) and 3 or 4 mummies. But with the grenade gun they are blown to pieces before they even could bother Lara. There were some nice and not too hard jumps to do. The spiked boulder jump and rope were very tricky and the camera angle was great. The lighting was to my liking as I get a bit fed up walking around with a lit flare all the time. I found two secrets the second one nicely hidden. 05-08-2002" - Gerty

"The title says it all a standard tutorial level but a good one. But also don't expect too much anyway for beginners it's a nice game. The textures are standard enemies are easy to kill if you find the grenade gun. Net playing time was about 45 minutes 3 secrets found no medipack spent. A nice easy level for a short break try it!" - Freeman Porter

"Actually for a tutorial level I thought this was quite good. It does display the usual drab tut scenery but the author has done a decent job lightening it up and inserting some nice extras. Objective is to get the 2 parts of the Eye of Horus proceed deeper into the tomb to collect a hand and make your escape after about 45 minutes into the bright sunlight of the outdoors. There are not a lot of baddies in this level a few guards a couple of scorpions and mummies. The level is delightfully loaded with jumps hazards and traps. The author's done a fine job keeping the player entertained. A little linear but not boring a good offering for a first-timer." - Momster

"Considering the title you pretty much already know what this level's gonna look like - and although it's a little less flashy than most Egyptian Kings would like it's still a good looking tomb and covers quite a large area. It's starts out to be pretty easy and in some areas all you need to do is pull a floor lever to open a nearby door. There are however some tricky parts thrown in that almost make this level difficult. Spike and boulder traps some tricky jumps over fire and hardest of all the room with the spikes boulders and rope swing. That'll take you a few tries at least. Lara finds a few artifacts here the Eye of Horus and a hand but unfortunately she must use them to escape the tomb. I am so grateful to the author for not making this level so dark that I had to constantly keep a flare lit as I've had to do in so many levels lately. That always takes away from my enjoyment of the level and it makes me feel like the level builders are just trying to cover up their design flaws by making their levels so dark." - RaiderGirl

"Alright it is fairly standard and seems to be a first attempt by the author and there is nothing special in it - but hey it is a fun half hour of raiding a tomb fast paced with a bit of nice jumping and platforming not too hard not too easy with an overload of weaponry (grenade gun revolver shotgun) for few enemies (two scorpions three mummies two ninjas) and I found two secrets the Horus Eye pieces (which you place in the middle of the level for a change not at the end) and a hand. The level could use a bit more music and less medipacks (ended it with 6 small and three large ones)." - Michael

"Quite clever to give your level such an unpretentious title cause one doesn't expect much and is actually pleasantly surprised by what you get and I wondered: If this is just another tutorial level where are the scorpions? But this fluent and easy exercise only has a handful of enemies which renders the secrets (if there was more than the one I found) a bit pointless. However it's a solid effort with a fast paced gameplay long climbs the odd lever that opens a nearby door and the occasional spiked boulder to avoid. The all too familiar tomb is reasonably textured and the atmosphere rather authentic though nothing out of the ordinary. As far as tutorial levels go you could do worse. I really liked it how the whole adventure started very linear and simple but then managed to come up with some unexpected thrills along the way. Plus there is no maze. Hurray!" - Dimpfelmoser

"This level was pretty good but the textures could be a bit more interesting a lot of the time there was just sand and no real Egypt inscriptions etc. At times the textures got pretty detailed and object placement was pretty good. Lighting wasn't very good... In an Egyptian tomb the lighting should be lots of torches and dark areas it was much too bright to be underground. It was a pretty good level but there were some mistakes. I'm really bored with Egypt levels by now but this one wasn't too bad. Worth a look if you like Egypt levels. :)" - nite_traveler