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Nuclear Threat by Luca Torchetti

alan 7 7 7 7
bERT 7 8 8 8
Casual Raider 9 8 9 8
CC 6 7 7 6
Dimpfelmoser 7 6 7 7
Drakan 7 6 6 6
Ejecta 6 6 7 6
eRIC 7 8 9 7
eTux 9 8 9 8
Gerty 7 7 8 7
High Priestess 6 8 6 5
Jay 7 6 7 7
Jose 5 6 6 5
Kristina 7 7 6 6
Mehrbod 7 7 8 6
MichaelP 9 7 9 7
Moonpooka 8 7 7 7
Mulf 7 5 7 4
Orbit Dream 8 6 8 7
Phil 7 7 8 8
RaiderGirl 7 7 7 7
Ryan 7 7 7 7
Sash 8 7 8 8
sonnyd83 6 7 8 7
The Aussie Adventurer 6 4 5 3
Torry 3 6 7 5
Treeble 8 8 8 8
 
release date: 06-Jan-2001
# of downloads: 60

average rating: 6.92
review count: 27
 
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file size: 17.40 MB
file type: TR4
class: Cave/Cat
 


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Reviewer's comments
"Actually, this starts off a lot better than you’d think, and after breaking into the compound, you’ll find the environmental storytelling is surprisingly good: bloodied corpses bathed in foreboding red light laying next to discarded weapons hint at just how badly things have gone astray, and an earthquake decimates the building while you’re inside, tearing it apart offscreen; a warning sign to evacuate flashes ominously above a collapsed ceiling, as water floods the lower levels and fires break out all over the place, in a scene reminiscent of the sinking Russian submarine in Chronicles. Yet after this promising start, the level veers into indefinable and unexplained territory - I guess we’re supposed to believe that some kind of eruption has happened within the earth, but the textures used are so alien and visceral that it’s difficult to pinpoint the builder’s exact intentions - and just like that, any potential this level had immediately goes down the drain. The gameplay from that point on is more often irritating than not, and you’ll rapidly have your nerves worn down after being chased by a boulder across a burning bridge and playing a guessing game with a series of levers… and that’s when you’ll encounter the room with the green gas that inexplicably sets you on fire - have fun figuring that one out! (There probably was some kind of way of getting through that room without cheating, but at that point I had already lost all my patience so I just used the reloading trick) So I can’t really say if this is truly worth playing or not, but if you can persevere through all of it then you will be rewarded with a happy ending, as you do stop the nuke from launching at the end - someone give this girl the Nobel Peace Prize!" - Ejecta (06-Oct-2022)
"This level of 2001 would have been certainly more pleasant without this horrible badly signalized passage, I managed to pass the first time normally but when it was necessary to return I used DOWY (which was activated) as indicated in the solution. A lot of shadow and flame, which did not give a great rendering. Everything happens almost exclusively in small rooms with lots of floor levers and jumpswitches." - Drakan (28-Apr-2020)
"This is one of the more interesting among the early custom levels that use the City wad. Its setting is that of a military base which appears calm on the outside—if vaguely menacing, as the level uses the default sky and background audio—, but which is falling apart on the inside, because it has been built on a volcanic fissure (turns out that this is never a good idea). Despite this, the personnel refuse the order to evacuate (which can be seen blinking on a monitor at one point) and prove to be quite determined in their efforts to stop your attempt at stopping them from launching a nuclear missile to God knows where.
This scenario reminded me not so much of TR3 (present here in the form of some textures), where it was Lara herself in one of her more irresponsible moods who did the launching, but of Half-Life; mostly because of the extended underground section in the middle, which uses textures reminiscent of internal organs as much as volcanic rock, and which could be taken as standing in for one of the excursions to the planet Xen. The effect is marred, however, by an obvious lack of effort to apply those textures seamlessly, resulting in the dishevelled custom level look of the day.
The level’s design is more on the rough-and-ready side in general. The texturing is serviceable, and custom textures are used efficiently to bring the major plot points across, but not all of them work as well as they should: the animated lava textures in particular are flickering more than they are suggestive of movement. While the texture set has been altered, the wad remains the same (a fact explained easily enough by the date of the level’s release), which is fine as far as SAS, sentry guns and levers are concerned, but the builder also gave in to the temptation to use a number of ill-fitting props, or interactive items used as props, in often arbitrarily chosen places: an explosive barrel that doesn’t explode; the swinging blue ball releases locusts and serves no other purpose; there’s a useless Mine Position Data pickup and bits and pieces of mosque architecture here and there, especially on the outside; the entire level is filled with crowbar doors which are variously used as props or as regular doors triggered by a switch, but never as crowbar doors. Several of the levers you come across early on have no effect, which can the explained under the circumstances by them being dysfunctional, but this isn’t always made sufficiently clear. The first time through, I thought I had skipped a large part of the level because I never used any of the three jumpswitches which are neatly lined up in a row; the second time around, I found that activating them made no difference whatsoever.
There are quite a few wafer-thin walls and floors—in some places by intention (as with the air ducts), in others definitely not (rock walls)—and one instance of a wobbly floor above water, although these errors in construction don’t interfere with the gameplay. The same cannot be said for the lighting. It is sometimes colourful (usually red, for danger) and often strong in contrast (shadowbulbs), but the level predictably succumbs to the flare bug in its last third due to too many active flame emitters, making it impossible to explore the various pitch-black nooks and crannies. Now, it turns out that this is not the kind of level in which important switches or pickups or crawlspaces lie shrouded in darkness—if the first secret is any indication, the builder may have tried, but thankfully failed, to design his level that way—, but you wouldn’t know that on your first playthrough, would you. It is any rate never a pleasant experience to have the game crash to desktop as soon as you try to use the binoculars (or take a screenshot, for that matter). On the plus side, the atmosphere never really falters once you’re inside, the dilapidation of the place is rendered well enough (to the extent that the original TRLE would allow), and there are even occasional flourishes such as a host of non-aggressive rats scuttling away to the accompaniment of the ‘Look out!’ trombone.
Gameplay is fluent and focuses much more on exploration and traps than one has come to expect from a City level: until the big shootout at the end (which takes place around an endearingly box-shaped rocket), you don’t even meet that many SAS. Unusually, too, the level even features a few puzzles—which, though solvable without the walkthrough, tend to be a bit too clever for their own good, as evidenced by numerous reviewers who frankly admit to having cheated their way through them—, and it provides you with the widely ignored Weapons Code Key. (It is a mandatory pickup, but it may easily end up invisible under a floor lever, because the SAS who drops it is stationed awkwardly close to one. It is retrievable by crouching next to the lever and pressing CTRL, but of course you have to know it’s there in the first place.) In the end, you will have circled back to the beginning—always a favourite—, filled with the satisfaction of having done a good deed, and also having played an unexpectedly good level." - Mulf (06-Dec-2019)
"This level was average in general. From my point of view, the builder should have worked more on the lighting, because there were obvious lighting differentials between rooms. The outside rooms were pretty dark, I know it was night, but a little bit of lighting could have brought the adventure more to life. Anyways, I personally enjoyed playing this debut. Thanks!" - Mehrbod (08-Jan-2019)
"Terrible level reminiscent of TR3 where the overuse of unmarked fire tiles takes all pleasure from the experience. The one room was simply inescapable from a fiery death without the use of a cheat or the save game editor and this sort of thing is simply not on. To add insult to injury in places the area was quite dark and I never found any flares so again, a cheat was required simply to illuminate my progress. I simply do not understand this kind of thinking when compiling a level. Paper thin walls are apparent and as this is a TR4 level that should not occur. Sorry but this is a fine example of how not to do it." - Torry (07-Jul-2018)
"City level that uses textures from different games, and some nice animated ones by the author. I liked the earthquakes in certain places, and exploring the caves underneath the base. There are SAS to kill but there is a friendly one, and though I knew he had a lasersight I didn't kill him and I could escape from a turret with little damage. The cheat of saving the game while Lara is on fire and when you reload she's no longer in fire, is something I hadn't seen before. There is a bug with the gates: if you jump forward in front of them, Lara will cross it and with that you can finish the level in 5 seconds or less! But I recommend that you explore the rest of the base and stop the missile from being launched. Found 3 rather easy secrets." - alan (31-Jul-2017)
"There's a rather eclectic mix of textures here, taken from the City of the Dead, TR3's High Security Compound and a few others. It certainly is different, but I am not entirely sure it comes together in a coherent manner. The gameplay isn't that difficult, save for a deadly tile room that I cheated through and a massed SAS battle near the end. You also use a few levers and open some doors. Not going to be a classic, but it is entertaining enough." - Ryan (19-Aug-2016)
"I needed quite a lot of help with this level due to flares in parts being ineffective (as well as pistol fire). There weren't enough had they even worked and I usually end a level with plenty to spare (using gunfire where effective to save my flares). It is possible to keep hold of the bike if you speed over the weakened ground to break it on a corner so the bike makes it without landing in the pit below but you won't find it any use. In fact I mounted it at the end when I emerged but the using of it made the game crash. It wasn't a bad game but I found it all a bit frustrating and a less experienced Raider would perhaps struggle with a lack of decent ammo and medipacks. Still it, was worth completing but perhaps not my particular favourite genre. I prefer city, ship or coastal/island type levels. The rating reflects a few glitches and terrible lighting in a lot of areas." - High Priestess (08-Sep-2015)
"No very interesting this city level with a lot of switches to pull and no entertaining puzzles except the one with the deadly floor tiles with the solution in the adjacent control room. This one took me about half an hour to cross the room 'cause the lower ceiling, even when I knew the deadly tiles. Talking about another features, small rooms, rude texturization, many dark passages with no flares to use, but at least there are some guns and ammo to deal with the SAS and some backtracking in several areas for a level I never enjoyed. This doesn't means that this is a bad level, but not a level for my taste." - Jose (16-Apr-2015)
"This one was next on my list to play, and after I downloaded it I was surprised to learn that I had written the walkthrough years ago but had failed to review the level for some reason. And while playing it again I concluded that my skills had improved somewhat in the intervening years, as a couple of sequences that I had to cheat my way past earlier were rather routine to me now. For this reason I've updated my walkthrough and prettified it a bit. Still, I was unable to duplicate a safe crossing of the room with invisible burning tiles near the end (I suspect there may be a timed element to it, but I can't swear to that), so once again I resorted to an unusual cheat mentioned in one of the early reviews - dash across and save at the other end, and when you reload you're no longer on fire. In summary, it's a short (30 minutes) but not unpleasant raid, and I rather enjoyed going through it a second time." - Phil (12-Dec-2014)
"This is a slightly unusual mix of textures from the city wad, plus a definite base like feel and lots of lovely lovely lava, which works better than you might expect. There are one or two thin walls and missing textures here and there, but it's mainly quite well put together. Gameplay is fairly straightforward, if a bit glitchy in places, and there are plenty of guards to shoot (or run over with the motorbike at the beginning of the level). Not a great level, but not a terrible way to spend 45 minutes either. Plus, blowing up sentry guns never gets old!" - Jay (18-Nov-2014)
"Really liked the uniqueness of this level and a bit fresh break from all previous tomb/egypt like levels. Textures are rather well done, better inside buildings than outside. Gameplay is smooth and maybe there is slightly a little too much levers and some doors that remains closed but it's fun." - Casual Raider (24-Jul-2013)
"This level seems to contain a mix of themes, TR4 City, TR3 Thames Wharf, and perhaps TR3 Lost Artifact in some places. Texturing is better inside the building than outside, and I noted a few paper thin walls. I think the various textures go together quite well. The atmosphere is very dark but not a horror atmosphere, more apocalyptic, and the title describes it quite well. You begin and end at the same place in this level, which I always like. The gameplay centres around finding a way to disarm a nuclear warhead before it goes off. For most of the time, you will be pulling floor and jump levers, in great numbers, but there are a couple of puzzles, one of which is an xray room with flames, finding a way to smash a floor, and disabling flames. There's quite a few baddies, especially near the end, and you will probably use all your medipacks, there's also bats and rats. I enjoyed 2 or 3 flybys which were fairly professional, and useful, and the underground lava area, which is a nice change from the sterile outside area. This took me about an hour to complete." - sonnyd83 (20-Mar-2013)
"A good little level with a clear goal to accomplish. That is, break into nuclear base, kill everything in sight, find the rocket/shuttle, stop the launch, and run out again. Now if only real life were that simple. Logic tells us that the thing is still there, waiting for the next crew to start it up again! Perhaps that's why Lara left with an unused card, or was it to disable the remaining guns!? That long and complicated discussion aside... We have a city wad that does it's best to morph into a base level, and does it quite well. There is the ever satisfying task of targetting and blowing up machine guns and blue balls, hauling dead soldiers off things we want, short useful bike ride, trapdoors, jumpswitches, fire traps, floor levers with steam coming out of them, and very nice routes through good looking and well designed caves. So generally speaking this is an explorer/shooter level. There is one 'puzzle': eight levers lined up, push the correct ones and turn off a row of fires in a corridor. All the fires, broken masonry and earthquakes give the impression this place is already falling to bits... which could start another long discussion. The unmarked burning floor fits the theme if a tad unfair for the player. Considering it's age, this level is very good indeed." - CC (12-May-2008)
"A good 45 minutes level with a proper ending. It was certainly ahead of its time in early 2001 with some customs textures , the use of the weapon code key , and good ideas to animate the level according to the storyline. The atmosphere and sounds are pretty good. Not many enemies through out the level except for the final showdown. The looks are okay, with a few mistakes. There is a good balance in the gameplay/puzzles department, exploration mainly straightforward although you never has the feeling it is , a couple of challenging actions (I really loved to make this curved jump with a dive) in the lava caves, and some thinking required at the end of the level. Even with the hint, the puzzle with the fire tiles was not that fun though." - eRIC (03-Feb-2008)
"This is another old, old level that I've tried playing a few times, but for some reason the game would simply crash. I downloaded a new copy and then it worked and I'm glad I did, because this is a very fun city level. You get through a lot of traps and jump switches (which fortunately are very easy to spot) and work your way inside this base to desactivate a nuclear shuttle. The grand finale is something quite unique, bearing in mind the few resources the builder had at the time, and it's probably much harder if you don't get the grenade gun secret a bit earlier. Once you lock the system and shut the doors, then it's time to flee. Overall, it is a nice level since the beginning, but I wasn't too fond on the 'lava' bits, though I did like the burning bridge sequence. 25 minutes, 2 secrets. 01/07" - Treeble (28-Jan-2007)
"As you can tell by the score, I did not like this level much. My biggest problem was the fact, fire was overly used. There were just too many instances were you either had to jump over flames, walk around flames just cheat to get through them. For a city level, I was expecting this to more about shooting than jumping over the firery depths. On a good notes, this level was straight forward without being overly difficult, other than dealing with fire constantly. There were at times, where enemies were just placed at random rather than having them well placed. This level is not bad, it's just too uncreative. If I had to give this level a grade, I would give it a D, a fail mark." - The Aussie Adventurer (20-Aug-2006)
"A really nice level and lots of fun. Make your way through the city area and use the bike to proceed but I thought this a bit of a waste of the bike as its use is short lived. Enemies are guards and sentry guns some are disabled some are not. A great lever puzzle to solve some burning tiles to fathom out hang switches to use and some great areas like the lava caves to visit with some good jumps and areas where the route gets difficult like on the burning bridge. Textures were nicely used and some different areas kept my interest here from the base type rooms to the caves all was well done. Lots of small earth quakes going on throughout ending with a big one. If you're looking for a shorter type level that's fun and interesting with not too harder tasks involved some good gameplay and nice surroundings then this I can recommend." - Moonpooka (26-Aug-2003)
"This was an extremely ambitious level for when it was made; in fact it was absolutely way ahead of its time. I loved the storyline hiding beneath the gameplay; the variety and contrasts of scenery; the well thought-out map that brought you cleverly back to the beginning for the grand finale. I very much disliked the patchwork texturing at the start which somewhat delayed the build of the atmosphere; the extremely tough jumping over flame tiles; and the rather confusing end path (what were the key cards for? I never used them; and why wasn't there a fly-by in the Rocket launch bay indicating which way to go once you'd disabled the thing?). However this is an entertaining adventure; and absolutely chock full of action and detail." - Orbit Dream (02-May-2003)
"A nice level even without a readme it does tell a story. I was baffled by a lot of doors that never opened so be warned. It also means that there are some you do have to open. Some jump switches are nicely hidden so do take a good look. There is a great 8 switch puzzle and the burning tiles.... I just saved when I was on fire and reloaded and see....no fire (thanks for that tip Michelle). Get a card from a SAS man so you can disable some sentry guns and you have to find the laser sight as there is a blue ball to shoot very well hidden indeed. Overall there is some nice jumping to do and after you disabled the rocket you end up where you started. Found 2 secrets. 19-04-2003" - Gerty (20-Apr-2003)
"Nice end-of-the-world-but-with-a-slight-chance-of-saving-it level. With every move you make you seem to make a mistake because it is succeeded by a small earthquake that keeps you on your toes and then you still have the big quake to end the level. A lot of hang switch searching but not too difficult. Once you go underground you have to watch your steps in several places because there's either tiles that make you burn your feet machine guns lurking that burn you like a barbecue piece or guards just not really happy to see you. I like the way the author messes with you because when following a path of destruction and later going back for instance the machine guns no longer function but you think they still do and don't dare to go back. On the other hand that may be frustrating to many gamers too. The eight push lever riddle was well done too (don't know however whether it was possible to put out all the fires just stepped aside the one that kept burning). All in all a little enjoyable level." - bERT (19-Apr-2003)
"Starting out in a small city block there's a well hidden jump switch to find in order to get the motorcycle then you need to drive it over some collapsible tiles in a corner. This takes you into a base/lab area where there are more jump switches and some shafts to explore till you get to first an underwater tunnel that reminds me of someone's digestive tract and then you get to the hard puzzles. There are eight switches in a room and you have to find the correct combination in order to get the fires put out in the necessary hallway then there's a green room with tiles that set you on fire if you step on the wrong ones. I found this extremely aggravating as even jumping over the wrong tiles sets you on fire and you have to jump over one to get across. I must admit though that I found out by accident that if I saved while on fire and then reloaded I wasn't on fire anymore. Finally you get to a room with a rocket which must be the objective of the level and after pulling two more levers you end up at the very beginning of the level again. That seemed like an awful lot of work just to pull two levers." - RaiderGirl (09-Feb-2003)
"Finally a really good city level that actually has a point to it with Lara needing to infiltrate a military building through a deadly lava cave and then find and deactivate a rocket that is fired up and about ready to launch. Amazingly for a city level this doesn't have an overabundance of SAS men that is until the rocket room where they come thick and fast but the emphasis is placed more on the great progression and a couple of nice puzzles. I also found 2 secrets in this 50 minutes level but I'm sure I may have missed some either way it's just great to see a level that includes some wonderfully placed pools of bright red blood!" - Sash (21-Jun-2002)
"Most of the times I do not particularly enjoy the levels based on the City WAD but this one really gripped me and did not let me go until I finished. One of the few levels with a visible storyline and consistently designed to meet it. It has a couple of nice animated textures but unfortunately also quite a few paper-thin walls. The automatic guns are used smartly earthquakes support the atmosphere and what a grand finale! Quite a few more difficult puzzles as well like the 8-lever room or the green fog room. Definitely a very interesting level - best played with darkness around you J." - Michael (21-Jun-2002)
"Starting from outside with some guards you enter the underground area. The bike is needed for that. Going through lava and wooden bridges with fire as soon as you step on them you make your way up. Sloping areas are ahead and more lava. After a tough puzzle with levers and seven floor tiles to extinguish if I hadn't missed the laser-sight it would have been easier the player enters the final stage or close. Another room green I might add with fire tiles on the floor again had me troubled for a while. There is one of them that you need to step on but you must avoid pass the two diagonal tiles near it. It took me more than ten times to succeed not to mention that I had to go back the same way. Another problem was a card dropped by a guard in the room next to the control. I was stuck there because the guard refused to give me his card after I killed him two times finally he got tired I think of dying and the third time he just dropped it so kind. The textures are not so good many wafer walls and edges. One thing I didn't get to use was the mine data never found where to place it. After an earthquake and opening the other big double doors to the outside area the level ends." - Kristina (21-Jun-2002)
"This is one of my favourite levels from now I think. So many elements and textures combined into one level that look perfect. On the downside for the textures was the lighting that in some places was very simple and weak but not really in much places. Even if there's no read me therefore no story the player can read as you reach the rocket room the name makes sense and you can imagine a story for yourself like Lara must stop a rocket from being launched. As long as I know this is also one of the first levels that was released so I think it deserves the high ratings from me for being so original and fun to play. I ended this level without a single medpack and ammo so it really takes all you can give. I recommend this level to everyone." - eTux (21-Jun-2002)
"Stop Nuclear Testing Now! An Infiltrate-into-the-base-level with a difference. In fact I'm not completely sure if it's a base Level at all. You get some doors the compulsory crawls and SAS guards (half of them in the final battle) but sandwiched into the lab scenario at the beginning and end is a cavern/lava section that doesn't seem out of place. You have some tricky jumps to do neutralize a couple of sentry guns find and flick a lot of jump switches solve an 8 lever puzzle and do all the climbs and runs in between. It's probably not really difficult but right at the start I searched rather long for a crowbar that wasn't there (to open the blue doors which apparently stay close well some of them) when all I had to do was drive the motorbike onto the collapsible floor. So maybe I started this adventure on the wrong foot (Can you say that?) but I must say I didn't find it that memorable. The gameplay is ok and the atmosphere not that bad either the course that brings you back to the starting point is always welcome and yet this left me indifferent to some degree. I reckon partly because there is no overall theme as far as tasks and textures are concerned." - Dimpfelmoser (21-Jun-2002)