Level reviews

"As far as young Lara levels go, this is certainly among the most elaborate ones. From the get go, where you're tasked with slide jumping out of the water, to several bits of platforming that will have you reloading time and time again, it's never really on the easy side. By following the walkthrough, however, it's fairly manageable and in reasonable timing too. There are a couple of unfair moments, most notably the boulder running down a stairs while a fixed camera shows your impending doom when in reality you're supposed to be blindly climbing back into safety. Burning the alien was a nice touch, and generally speaking there were several "oh, nice" moments here. The ending one, too, had me giggling because I set Lara ablaze as well as I went to burn the red pool, but I had several medipacks so after the flyby I just doused her off and went on to finish the level. Definitely worth checking out, but perhaps the guided experience is in your best interest. 55 minutes, 3 secrets. 12/21" - Treeble

"Whew if Lara survived this when she was just a teenager no wonder she is the demigod pro she is nowadays. What a level! I have never seen a level opened up this way, generally you understand how a level will be like from the let go, but in this one at first I expected a short and standard raid (albeit entertaining) and I am glad I was wrong. I was very surprised when I arrived at the big hall with the diamond sockets that promised exploration and gameplay. Which is very creative, but unfair at parts. Namely, the rope jump and the boulder trap. I have no idea how the designer managed to construct an annoying rope grab like this one, I mean you have to be astronomical to place the rope at such a spot. The second one is why I decreased the gameplay, when you are in the pit with the lever and the camera shows the boulder coming down the stairs, you can not cancel the camera angle even though you have to get moving asap. If you wait for the camera angle to get back to normal to start your run you are dead, so you have to run and start climbing the ladder WHILE the camera shows the boulder, really unfair. Though I must confess I have a suspicion that the problem lies on my part since no one else mentioned this. Back to the good part, the various tasks are amazingly done. The climb to the top with the rotating blades deserves a special mention. I liked the globe puzzle. It had me stomped for a while, but it had the perfect difficulty for me. It wasn't impossible but hard enough that when you solve it you feel a sensation of pride and rejoice lol. I recommend this level but only to the experts of the game." - Nomad

"This is definitely only a level for the experienced raiders out there. It's undoubtedly well constructed, but the gameplay does get a bit out of hand on the expert side of things. The majority of the tasks are doable within a few tries, but by the time I reached the finish trigger after nearly an hour and a half, I was thoroughly exhausted and not a little relieved. A curved running jump past a pillar to a rope was too tricky and I was looking forward to the end when I reached the globe puzzle with the crocodiles. Having no weapons was a bit of an annoyance in this case, as the crocodiles followed Lara everywhere and just wouldn't get locked up. I finally added extra medipacks to get through this section and get out of there, but overall the experience was somewhat spoiled by this. That said, the lighting and texturing are magnificently crafted, surprisingly for a level that relies on fast pace. A well put together level, but a little too frustrating in places to be fully enjoyable." - Ryan

"From the very beginning, I noticed that this wasn't a piece of cake. Anyway, the gameplay is not so bad, except for the absence of camera shots when you pull a lever (sometimes a fire appears, but very distant so it's easy you get disoriented). The tile to trigger the wraiths is not very appropriate, 'cause you must go all the way back down to the statue and repeat all the same movements to go back up the room with the deadly pool; you can continue up to get the gem and later go to the statue, but wasting several medipacks. I got stucked 'cause the unmarked climbable surfaces in the golden/transparent blocks too. The last part was better, with interesting and entertaining tasks, I could lock the crocs to move the globes with peace of mind, and the gameplay was more fluid there. The worst: the nasty skeletons chasing you all the time; the best: the great architecture and texturization. Take a try, but don't waste medipacks!" - Jose

"This is rather good and quite atmospheric level with casual yet well arranged gameplay however the first gem is plainly wrong, as you enter a whole new vast location unaware of a crucial change in the previous one. The0 second part could give more hints and the enemy approach could be better, because escaping the wraiths forces you to reclimb stuff and in another place they chase you as you crawl. The first secret is typical, the second one is nonsense with many fake torches drawing attention away, and the final one is good. SUMMARY: A recommendable option but better take a walkthrough." - DJ Full

"This is another of those levels which crosses the line between 'challenging' and 'tormenting' once too often.Taken moment by moment,it's all very clever and continually interesting.Having Young Lara as the playable character immediately makes the neutralising of the copious baddies something of a challenge,but the gameplay itself allows the player no quater whatsoever.From the very beginning,you're constantly confronted with difficult (and not always obvious) jumping challenges;interspersed in close succession with tricky boulder runs,fire and spike gauntlets.After about an hour it all becomes rather exhausting,as there's absolutely no let-up.The moment when I encountered a particularly tough curved jump around columns to a rope proved to be the proverbial straw which broke the camels back;and I subsequently elected to 'do a Lambeth' and cheat my way past the obstacle.Many of the other jumping challenges revealed a level of difficulty which clearly indicated this to be a Japanese level,and by the end of the 90 minutes I was thoroughly exhausted and encountered the Finish Trigger with considerable relief. From a technical perspective it's impossible to fault;with grandiose locations and very skilled lighting and textures.The ingenious construction of many of the challenges was most impressive,and the adventure had an undeniably fast pace throughout. Overall,though,this is an adventure I would recommend only to those who enjoy levels on the tougher end of the playing spectrum." - Orbit Dream

"One thing I never realized about Young Lara levels is that, not only are you without weapons, but you have no flares and can do nothing to manufacture any. Being without weapons doesn't bother me, because I play in god mode so I won't be distracted by enemies. But playing without flares is something I won't abide if the level happens to be a dark one. That's precisely the case with Titak's Jungle Fever, so I binned that one five minutes into the level and started this one. The lighting here is much more player friendly, so I stuck with it and had a very good time. There are two sequences, one with multiple skeletons and the other with multiple crocs, that must have proved pure hell for those players who turn up their noses at the thought of cheating. Even in god mode I had to use the flycheat to get away from those blasted skeletons. In all I spent about an hour and a half here, so there's plenty to do. Some of the tasks are more tedious than difficult, but it's a well-done level dating from the early years, with eye-pleasing surroundings, so I can recommend it heartily." - Phil

"Warning: This level is rather a tough nut to crack and I would recommend it only to experienced players. Traps and enemies are well thought out and placed, but hard to master. More than once I was on the verge of giving up. And more than once I had to puzzle about what the levers and switches did that I had pulled, because of missing camera hints. This was a big problem in those huge rooms with many doors on different levels. And it was not really fun to go to and fro, down and then all the way up again several times. So in the end it is not easy for me to rate this level, although it was well made, but I could not really enjoy it because of the high difficulty level. But advanced players will surely like it." - Jerry

"This level wasn't much to look at but you certainly had a hell of a lot to do. the gameplay was outstanding. Some areas were a little too difficult and I had to use a portion of the walkthrough to complete. The puzzles were well thought out and it seemed that no doorway or key was simple to get/open. This kept me busy for a long time and there were places where I felt my hair fall out. The only thing about this level I wan't too keen on were the larger areas; namely the place with the graves and the two floors. It was a little unclear where you needed to be (which i understand some people prefer as it makes it a little more challenging) and I kept returning to the same places to see if any door had opened. This level needed to have made clear what pulling some of the swicthes did. On the hole, this was enjoyable and worth the challenge if you've got a few hours to spare." - Necro

"Due to the gameplay limitations, Young Lara levels are notoriously difficult to build, and it takes a brave author to make a serious attempt at one. So far, few authors have attempted it, but I'm very glad that Blacksheep is one of them! I was honoured to be given the chance to beta test this Mac-made level, and was immediately impressed - it's not only very entertaining from start to finish, but does a good job of getting around the limitations of the lack of weapons. Rest assured that if an enemy appears, then there is almost certain to be a way to neutralise or avoid it - you may just have missed seeing it ;) For that reason this level rewards those players who like to explore, but it's not that easy even then. The sprite chase from the high room is a good example - you could run around like a headless chook in the hope of tripping over the place to destroy them, or you could have taken the trouble to look around carefully in the main room before heading up there. But that doesn't mean it's going to suddenly become easy, because getting there is a trial in itself! Later on, there's a great timed run at one point that requires Lara to race up some stairs, then make a well judged curve-jump-on-the-run to get cleanly through a wall opening, so as to be able to make a mad dash to scrape through a closing door. It seems to be not so difficult until you actually try it, then you find it's a matter of figuring it out stage by stage until you get the run smooth enough to scrape through. The areas in this single level look great and are quite varied, the texturing and lighting are well done, the gameplay is a lot of fun with some great adrenalin moments, the secrets are nicely hidden but not too difficult to find, and the level ends in a very satisfying way. What more do you need? Well done Blacksheep!" - MacRaider

In this level we are back where it all started, well it looks like the start from the other games anyway. Here we have a pretty tough level, consisting of many puzzles, trap and items to keep Lara busy. The most pleasing thing about this level are the variety of puzzles/traps. Most of them are well thought out and constructed well. The level layout is quite good too with the player never stuck for too long. Now, being a young Lara, means that she doesn't have any weapons. There are many skeletons, crocs and other nasties that cannot be disposed of making this a very hard level. Texturing is probably the downside to this level. It's very simplistic, some minor texture errors and placement were a bit off. Lighting was used sparingly as I never had to use any flares. Camera work was ok, sounds was ok and the atmosphere was good too. Secrets were composed of roses and some additional items, most of which were done well. I would recommend to play this level for the gameplay as the appearance wasn't too flash. If you think you're up for a challenge, go ahead. If I had to give this level a grade, I would give it a B, a distinction. - The Aussie Adventurer

"A good run around with some thinking to do in order to work out your route from the opening pool area through the various rooms in the 'building'. Enemies are crocs and the occasional skeleton but as Lara is weapon less you have to think of ways to trap or just avoid them. Novel use of the iris blades under water and plenty to keep the games occupied as puzzles from the boulders used to break tiles to the globe puzzle which I some how managed to solve as there are only two marked tiles and three globes. Plenty of objects to find from the trigger items to medipacks as well as the 3 secrets. The graphics and textures were in the main of the standard sets but put together in an imaginative way. Lighting was also used well along with sound to set the scene. A level well worth playing." - Whistle

"I don't like Young Lara levels and this is the rare exception to that dislike. It is logical and well-developed with some very well-crafted settings (such as the pillared hall with the huge lion face) and clever gameplay. Lara has to outwit the baddies and that succeeds rather well. I intensely dislike dealing with skeletons when I can't fight back and that degraded the gameplay for me. There is an excellent ending on this one. Well worth the time even if you hate not having your guns." - Duncan

"Without a doubt the best Young Lara level released to date - the puzzles are great (wont spoil these) and there's a lot of action for a young Lara level (the ghosts chasing Lara trapping the crocs near the end doing her torch puzzles while having 6 skeletons chasing her escaping a rolling ball that is coming straight towards you). I liked the logic of the puzzles a lot after getting them done all made sense I also found 3 rewarding secrets along the way. The environments are not my favourites but well done nonetheless. This might not be the easiest 1 hour level to keep you entertained but worth the trouble - you should give this one a try if you haven't already." - eTux

"A level with young Lara that starts in a Coastal ruins setting and atmosphere and continues in Catacombs with graveyards and rooms with textures from the Lost library. Classic texturing what makes the difference is a perfect ambient lighting and a good architecture. A lot of subtlety and innovation have been put in the puzzles and the gameplay. The use of the few enemies is so clever as well. Many big rooms with plenty to do I thought it was the end of the level when I entered in the room with the golden key but I was only halfway from the end! The difficulty is suitable for average players who know how to master Lara's moves. If you want an entertaining level that makes you think without being a brain-teaser Out of Curiosity is the one. It has just won the special award from the Jury at the TR festival of Le Mans 2003." - eRIC

"Not my cup of tea I have to admit apart from quite difficult jumps there are also some timed runs in this one and.... Lara is without weapons. There are skeletons not one but more hacking her to pieces and also those crocs you can lock up but in my game no matter how hard I tried one kept escaping. Am I glad that there is something called the TRSGeditor so I could add medipacks. Getting those three gems is quite hard and then it isn't over just yet. Spikes and boulders seeing the Ankh but it takes some doing to get it. Main thing is to think hard what to do next as it isn't that clear cut. Not a big fan of young Lara I still had to give it a go and I am glad it is over and done with. 27-07-2003" - Gerty

"One of the best laid-out and paced levels I've played. Young Lara at the coast no weapons with temples above underground and underwater to explore. I hopped about that stupid rock in the water like a maniac in every direction but the right one - a simple jump/backflip - hint from the forum. There are skeletons crocodiles wraiths but it's possible to out-run them and kill the wraiths on a cross. Don't assume just because it's young Lara that this level is easy peasy because it's not and I'd recommend saving a lot in different slots. There are just too many things to describe. I'll just mention the high room with the jumps and flips up different ledges and at the top when you thought you'd managed it you must run for your life before being spiked to death. I'm not sure about anyone else but I had two wraiths chasing me while I did this and it wasn't funny constantly reloading. Then there was the globe room that is to say the crocodiles in the globe room. What a brilliant idea of trapping them in the tunnels. That took a while to figure out. And the whole layout of the huge tall room with the gigantic 'face' with gem receptacles for eyes and a 'third eye' was great. Being chased by six skeletons around the floor of that huge room was no joke especially as you have to get one of them to break a vase for you. This was one of those places that had me scratching my head but the forum answered these questions. The Forum Works. Look just get it it's a brilliant level. My game time was 2:02hrs." - CC

"Definitely this authors best level yet and quite an adventure with no weapons available to get rid of the crocs or skeletons plus the level is built so that often you have to do a lot of exploring and thinking to figure out what your next move should be. Especially the large multi-leveled room had me reloading quite a bit till I figured out what to do next and don't forget the boulders (nasty but fun) timed doors deadly blades elementals fire tiles rope swings and other fun things to do. This is a brilliantly designed and built level both in looks and gameplay. I'm not usually a fan of young Lara levels but this shouldn't be missed. Secrets found: 3" - RaiderGirl

"Although I am not particularly fond of young Lara levels this one really captured me. Don't think that because there are no weapons available there is no action or enemies and the puzzles are quite good. You need to find and place three gems while solving a torch puzzle trapping crocodiles to solve a puzzle with globes yet solve another torch puzzle by lighting a small pool and watch a nice flyby. I tried to capture most of the skeletons at the bottom of a very tall room but one got away and was harassing Lara what a rude fellow. All the above is accomplished by visiting one room at a time but first you need to open the respective doors to enter them. The secrets were not hard except one that was a timed run and Lara had to avoid fire tiles run all the way to the top of the room and manage to pass a door with a gap in front to get the rose. A must try." - Kristina

"Thoroughly impressive and very inspired gameplay especially when you consider that this is a Young Lara level a genre which is typically hated by players because Lara has no weapons and not many options to do things. Well not so in this game. From the very start this will require you to think around corners try and manage unusual (though not at all impossible or very difficult) moves keep your nerves around wraiths skeletons and crocodiles (remember no weapons here!) as well as with boulder chases spike traps and two torch and one planet puzzle. The core of the game is the acquisition of the three Devil's eyes (gems) which you get to place in a nice head structure. And not to forget the three golden rose secrets which apart from giving you extra big medipacks provide for a bit more gameplay fun as well. Definitely a level not to miss - very very smartly built and very rewarding to play for the 1:20 hours it lasts." - Michael

"Out of curiosity is a level that is entirely unconventional. It begins that way; with a bizarre come up for air back flip onto a rock maneuver. Later Lara has to enable the help of a baddie to continue and there is even a part where you have to jump into the air to catch a current to leave a room. Without the help forum I would have run around forever. But this is definitely a level worth playing. It is NEVER boring and figuring out what to do leaves one with a sense of accomplishment! There were some technical problems that made me glad I save the game frequently but nothing major. Go get this level and have fun!" - Wendee

"It seems that playing a level with the young harmless Lara has been quite a fairly boring concept so far but that all changes with this level. The brilliance in this charming level is that as it is young Lara and she is unarmed the times she comes across enemies crocs skeletons and sprites are great challenges and even at one point she has to tempt one of them into helping her progress. Set in a brightly lit temple you have to make your way through some deadly traps some extremely interesting rooms and find some very well hidden objects to leave with a gold skull 3 secret gold roses and an Ankh in an awaiting speedboat. There is one large T shaped multi-leveled room that will give you the most grief and have you checking the forums for advice on how to find the above mentioned hidden objects but it is such a nicely set up area that you can forgive the frustrations and really enjoy the rest of this well made 70 minute level." - Sash

"A beautiful Japanese level with Young Lara. At the beginning it did not seem very difficult but over time it became more tricky because Lara does not have any weapons. She needs to solve puzzles avoid traps skeletons wraiths and crocodiles. Not easy but manageable. Graphics are partly very diverse. Very few cameras so be patient ;) Sound was ok. There are three blue gems to find and keys and at the end the Ankh. There are also three secrets to pick up (one with a timed sequence). I like the level as it was a challenge and Lara did not have it easy. Intriguing. Recommended if you like Japanese levels." - Navi

"A tricky level with difficult jumping and something new to burn. You play as young Lara and you have to find the Amulet of Horus. You start off by the shore and have to find your way through a temple with high ledges rope swings key-findings and of course enemies which are wraiths skeletons and crocodiles and since you have no weapons.........." - G.Croft

"Beautiful explorative level with here and there some refreshing new ideas. For instance the Anch-sign lying in a pool and that literally you have to 'dampen' out. It goes a bit wrong technically (if you jump in it while it's in the water Lara gets stuck) but it does not irritate. This author succeeds furthermore in creating a realistic setting: it looks easy when you fiddle with the editor but it is absolutely not. So top marks for lighting and textures. The outside setting has no glitches as far as I can tell and certainly that very big and very high inside room (with the three blue gem receptacles) is a small piece of art as far as TR goes. The ending was also very well set and made me think about the way that other level by our oriental friend Munakata (Lost Valley) ended in very cinematographical style. The enemies are very well used (wraiths skeletons and crocodiles) considering young Lara has not the ability to use weapons. I hesitated to give 9 for the gameplay because no matter how I enjoyed this level the gameplay nearly ruined it: I mean the skeleton you have to lure towards a green pot. I don't think there's even the slightest clue you have to do that: this is the one moment I had to go to the forum and luckily someone posted the solution and I can't but think it was discovered more by sheer luck than by brains. But since you read this ;) you the reader won't have to let this one spoil your pleasure. Play this game: it's a classic." - bERT

"This is a young Lara level so if you like shooting things this may not immediately appeal to you. However don't for one moment think that just because she has no weapons this is a boring or straightforward level. It's inventive challenging and very enjoyable indeed. From the first moment of the game you have to use plenty of skill and ingenuity to progress. There are different twists on torch puzzles and because you cannot shoot vases you may have to find other ways of breaking them!! One bit I very much appreciated was the way you could trap the crocodiles in another room to enable you to solve a globe puzzle in peace. A very well done and entertaining level. Even if you have never fancied playing a young Lara level I urge you to try this one as I don't think you'll be disappointed. I took an hour and forty minute and found two secrets. 01.06.2003" - Jay