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Mysterious Underground by Pedros

CC 9 9 9 8
Gerty 8 8 8 8
Jay 9 8 8 7
Jose 1 5 4 6
Kristina 7 8 8 8
Magnus 6 6 7 6
MichaelP 9 8 8 8
Moonpooka 10 9 9 9
Navi 8 7 8 7
Phil 9 8 8 8
RaiderGirl 8 8 9 8
Ryan 8 8 9 8
Sash 7 7 8 9
Tombaholic 8 7 8 8
Treeble 7 7 7 7
Yoav 9 7 9 8
Zhyttya 3 4 6 4
 
release date: 11-Apr-2003
# of downloads: 125

average rating: 7.50
review count: 17
 
review this level

file size: 48.10 MB
file type: TR4
class: Cave/Cat
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
kloniusz@wp.pl

Reviewer's comments
"I played this levelset over the span of three days due to a great number of reasons, and I made the concious (and correct) decision to follow Moonpooka's excellent walkthrough from the get go to ensure I'd reach the finish trigger. Parts of the levels are rather dark, but that was a minor issue in comparison to some objectively questionable design choices the author has made. There were way too many spike traps where you are forced to quicksave and quickload a million times to get through, especially because the TR4 engine handles it in a weird manner that it just might instakill if you're too close to the adjacent tile edge, and the timing is so tight that it must be a perfect race through the spikes before they retract and pop up again. Some of the tasks were rather long, such as the monkeyswing over the lava pit near the beginning, but as I didn't play this in a single sitting I suppose I might have mitigated any potential frustrations on that regard. The secrets don't register and the grand finale against 12 or so ahmets was a bit much, but otherwise I have to admit this wasn't bad. In fact, from what little I recall, this might be the author's best offering. The way the caves are designed was very ingenious and made them very confusing to navigate - perhaps a few more attention to texturing could have enhanced their visuals, but the feeling of getting easily lost (in a level called "Mysterious Underground", no less) was spot on. I experienced one crash when trying to use the binoculars' light, but otherwise I can say I enjoyed my (guided) time here. 95 minutes. 12/20" - Treeble (20-Dec-2020)
"It is with great shame that I give this level a low score because I believe, with the right polish, this could have been an enjoyable level. But it was not, and following now I will explain my discontent and hopefully get the reader some insight into this level. Firstly, this is absolutely not a walk in a park. This is a level that will test your control skills to the limit. However, I do believe a line must be drawn between what is hard and what is frustrating. The latter is exactly what these 3 levels are all about, in my opinion. This LE can be broken down into three words: traps, enemies, darkness. The traps here will absolutely test your patience. They are, by far, the most annoying traps I've dealt with. You need to trigger them, traverse them, avoid them in the most unusual way in order to progress the levels. I'm honestly quite shocked that I managed to get through them without giving up. Then you have the overly use (and repetitive) enemies. Two variety of enemies will make their appearance throughout the levels A LOT and in the most tight and inconvenient places. Lastly I want to mention the flare bug that shows up about the end of the game. Because of the lighting limitation (if my memory serves me) the flares and binoculars eventually won't function, meaning you will have to traverse through total darkness and make your way through the annoying cave area. If you read my whole review, I'm sure at this point you know my final verdict: I am not pleased and I did not enjoy playing this one at all. So my advice is don't play this level. However, seen as my opinion differs a bit from the rest of the reviewers, maybe I'm in the wrong. Nonetheless, this was my overall experience. I don't recommend at all." - Zhyttya (19-Aug-2020)
"Undoubtedly among Pedros' most accomplished efforts, and one with quite a sting in its tail (no scorpion pun intended). The gameplay progression is quite difficult in a lot of places (unreasonably so in some cases), but I managed to make it through without needing any savegames and after quite a few reloads. This game contains quite possibly the most brutal spike traps ever devised and I was close to trashing it in a few places, but everything is doable if you practise the moves correctly. A few of the blade traps underwater were annoying and the globe pushing a bit too long. Also far, far too many ahmets to combat with scarce ammo. But those aside, there's a lot of gameplay packed into this spooky, dark, action-packed and atmospheric environment and I found it overall to be a frustrating but ultimately rewarding raid." - Ryan (10-Feb-2019)
"Good attemp from Pedros, but I was not able to enjoy all that hard work; sorry. In the lava room there is a very long and tedious monkeyswing with a lot of ahmets, but with patience it can be done. The problem started in the cave with the eye piece; I enjoyed a lot how the big scorpions killed the ahmets, but when I go up to get the eye, the three tiles were trapped with spikes, and I was not able to get the item and continue playing. I took a look at the walkthrough, and even when the pics were still available, I tried dozens of times that tricky jumps to deactivate the spikes and always died. A pain. Or could it be that I'm getting older and losing skills with all that many years playing? (LOL!!!) I don't know, but the only thing I know is that I'm not going to try a task hundreds of times to finally finish a level. My time is very precious in that sense. Sorry Pedros." - Jose (11-Sep-2016)
"Ahmet attack would be a better name for this level. A trap galore is another name that comes to mind. But overall this is a great game that Piotr made. Seeing all the levels he made I wonder if we ever see a new one as he stopped in 2004, a pity though. This is not a game for the faint hearted as at places it is quite tough. Take your time and don't get lost in the caves (as I did) and save at strategic places, as you will have to reload quite a few times. It is an"old game" so don't expect high resolution textures or fancy objects, if you can look past all that you are in for a treat." - Gerty (24-Apr-2012)
"I'm finding that some of these levels that didn't reach the magic threshold of 8 in the ratings are more engaging than some of those that did. This two-parter is nearly nine years old at this writing, but it provides about two hours or riveting gameplay that's every bit as fun as the levels that are being released today. Moonpooka has provided a comprehensive walkthrough that I could not have done without, as the game is quite complex at times. You'll also meet up with a record number of ahmets, twelve of which are bunched together in the final room. After finishing the second level you return to the first for some unfinished business that beings you to the end. The flare bug kicked in late, and at the worst possible time, but by then I was having too much fun to hold it against the builder. A splendid effort from the early years of the level editor." - Phil (01-Apr-2012)
"I'm having a Piotr Klonowski day today. Having already played this twice, once for fun, once to write the walikie, I found myself back on it again after going through his levels index, and I still say this is a masterpiece of a level. Spooky caves, masses of ahmets, giant scorpions and dogs, and traps all over the place, who could ask for more? I loved the beginning, jumping round the lava areas while ahmets are lurking, it was really creepy. Now this is not a level for beginners I must say. It's hard work, you get lost, and the enemies are rife, so be warned. Wonderful stuff, and a must to play, so please take a look." - Moonpooka (08-Aug-2005)
"I just played 'Back to Trial of Natla' by the same author and I have to say that this is a big leap forward. There are some really nice ideas here but there are also a few things that I didn't like. Mainly the caves. Half of the level seems to be set in big dark caves. You try searching for two stars and a tiny crawlspace in complete darkness and see how you like it. When you're inside temples the level is quite fun though. There is a vast amount of enemies but I think I only killed around three of them. Most enemies were quite easy to avoid. The texturing is quite nice and the architecture is impressive at times but the level is way too dark. And of course our old friend the flare-bug decides to visit near the end. The level ended after just over and hour and I just barely made it out to the surface since I couldn't see a thing when I ran out of flares (why oh why didn't I pick up some flares?). Overall it's a quite fun level though I could have done without the caves." - Magnus (29-Jan-2004)
"I abandoned this one the first time through shortly after its release. Somehow I wasn't having enough fun to persevere through a particularly heinous spike sequence. As duty called this time (in the form of a new review wishlist) I fought through to the end. I found the quality of gameplay somewhat inconsistent. On one hand there are difficult challenges here for the hearty as well as a couple good puzzles. On the downside the game is encumbered with a couple overly long pushable object puzzles several places where up to eight levers must be pushed to open a single door (rather pointless) and several jaunts through dark maze-like caves. Another annoyance is an absolutely silly number of Ahmets to fight; the floors become littered with their flaming corpses and of course the flare bug is close behind. Other than the rather monotonous caves the rooms and environment are very nicely done. In the end I think Lara was very happy to escape the Mysterious Underground." - Tombaholic (01-Jan-2004)
"Two levels in some place there's many spikes to pass - I hated this also lot of monsters attack. Good gameplay and puzzles I must say that I cheated in the place where I needed to pick up the Horus Eye objects - I played there with dozy but this is the only time I did it sorry but this is really excellent levels." - Yoav (25-Dec-2003)
"I am glad it's over I hate mutants and spike traps such as these. The game is full of caves and mutants I mean a lot of them in just one room I saw eight or more and with all those spikes around it's boring. You need a vraeus stars the Mystique Star to progress. It took me much time to realise I had to activate the spikes and jump carefully above each corner to get the Mystique Star I come on it difficult not to mention the very small room further were you need to practice dying from the spikes and get all around it to get back again and catch a door open. I am sorry but this isn't funny or fun. Everywhere you go there are spikes even at the globe room which has no hint and it was trial and error for me. The maze was terrible as well I was lost forever in there killing beast again that along with big scorpions and wraiths are the enemies in this game. One wraith in particular was very annoying and burned Lara many times in a small room that she had to run around collect the laser-sight and combine with the revolver then stand still and aim to shoot at something. Excuse me but I had enough of this. I finished all right but I wouldn't play this again for the world." - Kristina (04-Sep-2003)
"Lara falls into an underworld and hits water. She goes deeper and deeper into caves lava rooms and temples. You never get a break in these levels if it's not ahmets continually coming after you it's spike traps lava and giant scorpions. Some of these scorpions are useful in that they kill ahmets for you. I was stuck for ages on the temple steps after getting the crowbar until I read about the crawlspace over the lava. Actually I started the game with the crowbar which I thought odd. This has happened to me a few times but I still like to know if one is available in a level and usually there is. This one is just at the start of the Puzzle of Death level and could easily be missed. You are kept on your toes all the time with deviously clever puzzles and traps. I mean take a look at this: an extremely tight timed run straight into a room with 5 ahmets or a room with a run past chains chased by ahmets to a switch and two chains to pull while being poisoned by darts sheesh. The cave setup was very confusing I ran around in there for a very long time being attacked by more ahmets got the stars and had to read about that crack of a crawlspace to get out. And just to add insult to injury when you reach the temple to place all your hard earned stars you get spiked to death. Methinks Piotr has developed a sadistic streak. Some places are extremely tough and I can see people cheating their way through. Otherwise it would have got a 10 for gameplay. A new one for me was swimming through circular blade traps. And it would have got a 10 for enemies as well only I thought there was just TOO many of them. A really tough level not for the faint hearted. The most welcome sight was the final run out of the caves to the sunset. I'm glad I played it but I ended up not with a great sense of achievement more like 'thank heavens that's over'. All the same this level will go down in history as one of if not THE most challenging levels around. Great job Piotr." - CC (28-Jun-2003)
"Another level where I wanted to like it so much because of the wonderfully built environment that brings you back to places you think are long since passed and all the really nice ideas such as the large chess like moving globe puzzle but at a point about half way through I just wanted out so badly and would have ended it there if it weren't for wanting to write a review for it. The things I hated were the ridiculous amount of ahmets throughout and in such enormous amounts at once I counted 13 in one room alone there is also a large cave again filled with ahmets that has as its exit a tiny little crack which I thought I would never find the flare bug kicks in at a crucially dark area and finally the spike traps in this level are just for want of a better or should that be cleaner term are bloody ridiculously hard add to one of the spike traps a timed run and I wanted to beat the level builder to death with my keyboard. The only thing that kept me sane through this 110 minute level was the fact that the flycheat was not disabled so I could in the end cheat through some of the spikes and fly around in the cave till I found the crack. Using the flycheat for me is a last resort though and it definitely loses its sense of fun as soon as I have to go that route. I recommend this only for the most experienced of us of which I thought I was one (insert sarcasm)!" - Sash (18-May-2003)
"To start with this is not a level for beginners. Lara needs to make her escape from down underground into the open. Puzzles were not that difficult but the traps she needed to overcome were. She needs to find five stars and two artifacts. There also plenty of enemies about 999 Ahmets ;) and giant scorpions. To make it more difficult they often appear from behind so you better stay on the move as there are not many medipacks around. And I even had to leave one there because it was in a spike trap and I could not get it. I was surprised that a giant scorpion killed two ahmets for me and Lara could have a little rest. Graphically this is a very dark level and there were almost no flares. Later the flare bug occurred so you could not even use the binoculars. Sound and camera were added suitably. Lara found four secrets which only registered via the sound and not in the statistics. I was intrigued by the level as Lara was really tested here and it is all manageable with a lot of patience even without the fly cheat. If you like a challenge try this one." - Navi (26-Apr-2003)
"Ancient Underground Complex (9/8/8/8 40+20min. 1 secret): After all is said and done I would say this is by far Pedros' best level. It starts off with a slightly annoying underwater maze but soon after you enter a remarkable lava room with great atmosphere and the fun starts. About everything you have to do in this level is just a little more tricky than the norm and in particular this refers to spike traps with seem impossible to avoid but can be mastered with enough patience. The first part is rather linear and brings you to the entrance of part 2. When you return from there you have to make your way back to near the start to reach the end as you escape into a beautiful horizon. Two vraeus and a Horus Eye are your artifacts for this part and I counted abuot 20 ahmets to battle plus quite a few giant scorpions. There are a few areas which are a bit tedious (long monkey swing planet pushing multi lever pulling ...) but the diversity and difficulty of the progression makes up for that. The Puzzle of Death Stars (8/8/7/8 45 min. 3 secrets): This is the part where you dive into in order to get a total of five Death stars (one for a secret). It blends in nicely with the flow as here as well you need to master devious spike traps battle another 20 or so ahmets some dogs giant scorpions and fire wraiths and keep a good look out for well hidden crawlspaces. Some elements are surprisingly easy (like the planets puzzle) others are outright evil (like the swim through slicer dicers to pull two underwater levers). The huge cave was a bit too huge as you can run around in there for a while and completely lose your sense of orientation but still the overall game keeps you entertained if you are up to a challenge. All in all quite an ambitious project and very recommendable for those who claim to be very experienced raiders." - Michael (21-Apr-2003)
"This is a really tough level to play so hard that I almost have up many times and if every level was like this I would probably quit playing TR completely. At the beginning of the level Lara is falling through a hole in the ground into the 'mysterious underground' and her only objective now is to escape and make her way back to the outside. Getting there is not easy as along the way she finds many dark confusing caves to explore ahmets spikes lava chains ahmets spikes dogs circular blade traps ahmets spikes giant scorpions fire traps darts a tough underwater swim with circular blades a near impossible timed door and did I mention the spikes and ahmets? They seem to be everywhere. There are also five stars to collect and a number of puzzles nothing too hard to figure out but I was still confused at times wondering what my objective was and where I was supposed to go. I finally ended up back near the beginning of the level where the landscape had changed just enough to allow me to climb a rock slope that was previously too tall to climb and I could walk the rest of the way to the surface. I found three secrets one of which contained a lot of goodies." - RaiderGirl (20-Apr-2003)
"Be warned - this is good but it certainly isn't easy. Prepare to be confused and challenged. I needed a LOT of help from the forum with this one. However if you have patience this is a very rewarding level. There are some extremely difficult moves involving spike runs lava rooms etc a difficult swim and a fiendishly tight timed door. The main enemies are ahmets (an almost limitless supply of them) and scorpions but don't shoot the scorpions unless you have to; sometimes they help you and mostly they leave you alone. Parts of this level are very dark (even by the cheerful light of burning ahmets) so you may want to give yourself extra flares. The main objective is to find gold stars and some of them take quite a bit of finding! I got so turned around at one point I was almost tying myself in knots. Regrettably the flare bug raised its ugly head towards the end of the game which did little to aid my searching but I stumbled through eventually. There is no way I could have got through this level without a substantial amount of cheating which inevitably detracted from the enjoyment somewhat but give it a go anyway - it's quite an experience." - Jay (19-Apr-2003)