Level reviews

"It's a bit sad that this set of levels has such a relatively small amount of reviews, because they're a lot of fun and will have you running around beautiful environments that stood the test of time. Sometimes it's a bit dark and there are a few action fixed cameras here and there which may be a downside for some, but none of these ever became a problem to me. The only real issue, in my opinion, was the amount of harpy enemies, there may have been about 2 or 3 dozens of them when all was said and done. There was also something wrong with two of the secret triggers as they kept adding up to the count for as long as Lara stood, my final stats said 240 secrets found but in reality I'd just stumbled upon 8 of them. Anyway, these are definitely worthy of your time. 85 minutes, 8 secrets. 11/20" - Treeble

"MILES of progress compared to the initial game. It's currently the only second release in any author's career where I remember an entire level serving the purpose to find an item, and another level aimed at reaching the slot for this very item, ergo both the pickup and the hole feel important - so it begins good, continues great and... WHAT the heck has happened in the end??!?? Another thing I'm (speaking veeeeery softly) NOT a fan of is a double wraith shimmy - I know I did maaany bad things but I didn't deserve THAT kind of atonement..." - DJ Full

"If you're a fan of good old classic raiding, then you're in the right place. This is a four parter lasting around two hours that should keep you involved throughout. I found the first two levels to be the most enjoyable and immersing and the final two were little more than linear paths to the end of the level. The gameplay has been mostly well thought through, although some elements did outstay their welcome for me, particularly the long wraith chase through a lava maze and the scorpion finale that required you to go through the same motions too many times. I've also never been fond of enemies attacking you when you have no way of defending yourself and this happens quite a few time's. However, the overall atmosphere and construction is well up to par and I otherwise enjoyed my time here." - Ryan

"I'm surprised there were still levels from this talented builder that I'd not yet played, let alone a four-parter. This is one of her earliest releases, and it's pure Egyptian if you're not put off by that sort of thing. The levels flow rather neatly into one another, and you get a little more than two hours of total playing time. The most elaborate--and difficult--level for me was the first one, where the player seems to encounter one tricky move or trap after another in rapid succession. There are some nice visual touches, such as the modification of the crocs to make them look as if they really came out of the Nile. The builder provided her own walkthrough, but in it she documented one secret that I never found (in the first level, having to do with a reach-in switch that was devilishly hidden if it was there at all). I also found the levels much too dark for my taste, but I'm starting to reach the conclusion that my monitor may finally be in need of replacement (since the problem isn't nearly as acute on the LCD in my office), so I'll tone down my constant carping about excessive darkness in my reviews. The overall level of difficulty here is above average, so I couldn't recommend this set for beginners. However, it's a pleasant and challenging raid that most of us should enjoy a great deal." - Phil

"The level info says that this is a difficult one, but I did not found it difficult , except for the placement and/or the use of some enemies that can drain your health. The two first levels are excellent in my opinion [I could admire the end of the world at the beginning of the game though as it is possible to reach it with an accurate jump :) ]. There are good ideas here , both in the gameplay and in the atmosphere , and the tasks at hand are entertaining. Also I found the setting with mainly TombofSeth/Burial chambers textures very atmospheric. An excellent work has been made in the various uses of the camera , and the flyby when you pick up the stone of light is one of the best flybys I have ever seen in a level. In the 1st level it was also fun to deal with the 4 green harpies while there is fixed cameras. One thing that also must be said is how some thoughts and the execution of them fit well with the storyline, for example when the sky which was dark and red so far became bright blue after Lara places the little statue of light, and that in the same level : Well done ! Of course the two last levels are rather short and are less eventful , the demigods are easily disposed of , there is also some minor faults with a few missing sounds and a couple of wafer-thin walls, but it was good to see again the textures from KV5 and Temple of Horus , the free exploration in places that look natural in Revenge of the demigods was pleasant , and the fighting with the big scorpions one by one wasn't unpleasant either. In conclusion , a good and recommended adventure ! Net gaming time : 1H55. Secrets found 8/10." - eRIC

"This is a level in four separate parts: The Lord of Life and Death: Quite an adrenaline rush as you get harpies attacking you frequently (usually at the most inconvenient times but that's harpies for you isn't it?). There are a few crocs and dogs having a go at you as well but nothing like as heavy an infestation as the harpy problem. As you have very limited firepower at this stage you really need to keep moving. There are some good jump/rope swinging/spike avoiding maneouvres and one or two cleverly disorientating camera angles to confuse and confound. The vital objects to retrieve in this part are two halves of a cartouche to permit entry to: The Holy Light: Do you fancy being chased round a lava filled maze by an ice wraith? Well I hope so because you will be. If you get the chance to admire the scenery please do because it's well worth it. I was stumbling round for ages getting quite frustrated but eventually found my way into: Revenge of the Gods: Oh how nice to be in a pleasant outdoors setting with nothing more deadly than a few pigs attacking. Oops spoke too soon - where did that demigod come from? This is a very attractive setting that makes a good contrast to the previous parts and yes you will get to meet a few more demigods before you make your way to: The Guardians of the Holy Light: There's a plentiful supply of crocodiles round here and they don't look quite like the usual species. In fact I didn't recognise quite a lot of textures in this part. You'll find yourself in a huge room with many doors and a major key finding/lever pulling operation to undertake hampered by giant scorpions. I must say I enjoyed the overall game very much though the lava maze was probably my least favourite bit. The only real problem you might encounter is running short of medipacks in the first part of the game. Try to conserve your health and enjoy a good raid." - Jay

"A very beautiful start at this four-part adventure. It's beautiful all the way through actually but the second part was a bit dark. The puzzles and the exploring part were great but I hated the enemies because it was very hard to battle them sometimes like four harpies in a small room and just the pistols to shoot them or being chased by a spirit in a pretty dark maze. There were not nearly enough medipacks and I would have liked to find the desert eagle but found just ammo for it. But mostly the level is fun to play and certainly nice to look at." - Josi

"I may differ here with a lot of the other reviewers but I found this set of 4 levels just absolute fun. There are some great areas to work your way through here inside and out, most enemies were brilliantly placed especially in the first two levels to make the battles actually heart pumping and pulse racing, the ten black rose secrets although not too difficult to find were a great inclusion, and game wise maybe harder puzzles could have made it slightly more of a challenge but I enjoyed them nonetheless. The 4 levels gave me a combined game time of 100 minutes with the last two being quite short and for some reason although I found all 10 secrets my total was much higher and kept getting higher the more I went back into the statistics even without moving Lara in-game. The only thing I really disliked was the queasy camera angles in the second level as they gave me a feeling of motion sickness that I get playing second person games (this is why I don't play those anymore) other than that I had a ball of a time." - Sash

"These four levels make up a great Tomb Raiding experience with lots of large rooms and areas to explore a number of objects to search for and some fun puzzles that were challenging but never frustrating. Some of the enemies were frustrating however especially the large number of harpies that attacked often and in groups. I also ran across some crocs demigods and boars in my travels. The highlight for me was definitely exploring the many great looking rooms. I spent 90 minutes in these four levels and somehow ended up with 236 secrets?!" - RaiderGirl

"The Lord of Life and Death (8/8/7/8 45 min. 4 secrets): It is always good when something of a story can be recognised and this is definitely the case here. The AOD style outfit is cool and Lara starts in a nice area with waterfalls. Soon it turns into a more Settomb WAD style adventure though. You get a big lava room with some rope swings occasionally a cool lighting effect and an interesting fixed camera and there are spike traps left right and center and some underwater lever action and a few jump switches - but what really stands out here is that you have to deal with more than a dozen green harpies only with your pistols and the shotgun plus with some crocodiles bats scorpions and jackals. The secrets are fairly easy to spot (black roses) the flybys solid but not overly spectacular and the renaming of the objects you find (portal guardian knot cartouche) makes sense with the storyline. The Holy Light (7/7/8/8 30 min. 4 secrets): Still in settomb style you start in a very nice room and pick up a hand. The blue light poles are really cool but the wraith chasing you around for a very long time was seriously annoying. The maze is not too bad with a few lava pits the secret roses again easy to find and only a few more harpies to battle. There are more traps alonog the way but nothing overly taxing and I liked the flyby when you place the Sun Goddess and the way the sky changes (again supporting the story). The Revenge of the Gods / The Guardian of the Holy Light (6/7/8/8 15+15 min. 2 secrets): The last two parts of the adventure seem a little rushed. Both are quite short and more in coastal/karnak style with a nice little lake some warthogs crocodiles and demigods to kill a bit of block pushing and a rather impressive room in the last part but unfortunately the gameplay there is quite repetitive and tedious in getting seven keys fighting six giant scorpions only to reach the end. Bottomline quite an ambitious project which will keep you interested along the way and has a couple of memorable moments and some tough battles to fight so go and try it out." - Michael

"This a 4 level game and although it starts very promising I felt a bit disappointed at the end. You need to find a lot of artifacts and the first is the two pieces of the Portal Guardian. Some nice jumping is involved with some rope jumps. In total you get a Heart of Anubis (a Hand) the crowbar a Golden Star the Goddess of the Holy Light and a Stone of the Holy Light and a crystal (blue gem) and a lot of keys. Secrets are black lotus flowers don't know how many I got as I found one on a stone in the third level and it did register as 75 so there must be a bug somewhere. Enemies are lots of harpies some dogs small scorpions and also big ones crocs and demigods. In the second level the author used camera angles they made me so sick I had to shut the game down and start up again later. After playing this I did like the first and second level. The third and fourth were disappointing specially the last one with the back and forward travel you had to do to find the keys and to open gates to get to levers that will get you another key. The ideas are great but it was a bit too much of the same thing at the end. 31-03-2003" - Gerty

"This level started very good and looked interesting. The first outside area with the waterfalls was a nice sight. Progresing it seemed to have nothing to do with an Egyptian level except some objects. The harpies and possessed dogs though started to give away the location. Not many items to collect apart from a portal guardian and a knot that for some reason I was searching forever. Spikes to avoid crocodiles and deadly blocks with scarab symbols. I liked the hint for the puzzle before the knot room. Going to the second level I started to get frustrated from a spirit that was chasing Lara all over the place and you have to complete a maze with it on your tail. I don't think that was such a good idea with no medipacks given or ammo until you get some secrets and exchange them the level gets to your nerves. A star and the Sun Goddess is what you get and then the third level is very boring. I found seven secrets and got a crossbow and arrows I think some shotgun shells as well. The weird thing is after the moving blocks and the second demigod my secret count was showing 102 I have no idea why that happened and I am curious. As written above you just push some blocks kill demigods and big scorpions and the really annoying thing is to have to get up to an area something like five or more times to collect keys. Then go and place the keys to open gates pull switches and finish the level. I really got disappointed because at first this looked very promising. I don't know what happened and the levels as you progress get less attractive. Do give it a try though. It's a little over two hours of game play." - Kristina

"The first two levels are pure fight for survival as there are plenty of harpies and you only have the pistols (well you find the shotgun but no ammo for it). But with luck and skill I still made it. Then there is the annoying wraith following Lara until she finds the artifact. Like I said enemies were not placed well in my opinion as Lara cannot really defend herself and there was a severe lack of ammo and medipacks. I anyway do not like shoot 'em ups as it does not make any sense and the next two levels were mainly about pulling levers and a few demigods are around. You find the crossbow but no explosive arrows??? And still no medipacks but there two levels are easier to manage. At the end Lara has to find plenty of keys shoot giant scorpions find another key etc etc. Again it did not make much sense to me. There were secrets to find (9 roses) but I would have preferred them to reward you with ammo and medipacks instead. Atmosphere was kind of mixed textures not always cleanly applied sound was ok. The levels just did not click with me - sorry. But try it - may just be a matter of taste. My ratings would have been higher if a) enemies would have been better placed and b) the puzzles would have been better thought through. Maybe my expectations were too high but I am sure the next level will be better." - Engelchen Lara