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Relics of Power (Part 4) by Seth94

DJ Full 8 9 9 9
Gerty 8 8 8 8
Gorty 7 7 7 7
Jay 8 8 9 9
JesseG 8 8 8 8
Jose 8 9 8 9
manarch2 8 9 9 8
Mert 10 10 9 10
Mman 9 9 8 9
Phil 10 9 9 9
Ryan 8 8 9 9
 
release date: 05-Apr-2017
# of downloads: 90

average rating: 8.50
review count: 11
 
review this level

file size: 172.00 MB
file type: TR4
class: nc
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
tomb_raider_seth@hotmail.com

Reviewer's comments
"Bugs/Functional Issues
  • The dreadful quadbike and its bizzare lack of reverse makes its return in this fourth part of the series. Thankfully it is not used for long, but be prepared to get softlocked against corners and walls.
Disliked
  • I'm going to sound like a broken record in this series but again, missing camera cues, unnecessary guesswork on the part of the player...you get the idea.
  • Another issue I've reiterated throughout the series is running into dead-ends, and having to backtrack if Lara visits areas in the "wrong" order or misses something. Some of this backtracking also requires losing a bit of health!
  • Several textures are a coin flip whether Lara can grab them or not. This is especially prevalent in Remnants of Tinnos, where the ladder textures are constantly used for ornamental purposes alongside the functional uses.
  • I hate to say it but the locations in this particular levelset were too predictable. In previous releases in the series there has at least been some changes in the locales from TR3, but this is just a rehash of all four Antactica levels, which took away some suspense in terms of what was coming up next.
Neutral
  • The lighting is still a bit lacking in the series, although I did see some nice use of purple and green hues here and there.
Liked
  • Texturing is done pretty well (aside from the above issue) and is on par with the quality from TR3.
  • As usual this is a challenging set of levels with some difficult traps to avoid, and as usual I generally enjoyed the challenge. Those blades in the water element area were pretty nasty though! Did I mention the timed runs? Some of them will require some advanced planning to achieve.
  • There are some intriguing puzzles in this levelset. One example is the fire pillar room that has pillars shift up and down as Lara pulls various switches. The "food chain" symbols make a come back from TR3, although as a pushblock puzzle.
  • Combat is pretty intense, but also takes a twist in the first level as Lara has to find pistols on the ship. She will have to do things like trap enemies behind doors to avoid losing too much health.
    -The final boss encounter uses an interesting combination of enemies. Instead of using gunfire, Lara must dodge both the Anubis and the bull (using TR4 terminology here) while guiding the latter to various spots to unlock her final prize.
Time: 3 hours 36 minutes | Difficulty: Very Hard | Rating: 8/10" - JesseG (31-Jan-2023)
"Part four of this series sees Lara in Antarctica, and the surroundings will be immediately familiar to anyone who has played that TR3 section. The RX Tech ship, mines, Tinnos and Meteorite Cavern sections are all present and correct, with some even more challenging parts. No mine cart riding, but you do get a hair-raising boss battle with Seth and a Bull (do save periodically after each tile is activated, to ease frustration). Enjoyable stuff, although not for absolute beginners." - Ryan (15-Aug-2017)
"Perhaps a bit too many areas are heavily inspired from the TR 3 Antartica section here, but still this is a rather fresh and inspired game as we are used to from this builder. Large and atmospheric settings, quite a variety (and also quite an amount, I must say) of enemies, gameplay that always remains quite inspired and challenging. A few downsides were that the first level could've been lit a bit better (the ship is very nicely built, though) and in the third one the knifes are unreasonably buggy, I had to use a lot of medipacks here. The boss fight was something never seen before. Secrets are quite well hidden too although some could've been more rewarding. It took me 2:10 hours to finish this very good effort and I'm already on my way through the last level of the series..." - manarch2 (24-Jun-2017)
"This set is a TR3 Antarctica homage, and goes back to Seth's more traditional pseudo-remake territory after the more original theme usages of the last couple of sets in the series. The shift is slightly disappointing to some degree after more original level ideas, but the theme is very well executed and there's still the occasional twist on things. Visually the homage to TR3 couldn't be much better, and the animation, mechanic and interface changes to emulate TR3 are still well executed.
The gameplay continues to be strong here, and, while there's still the occasional bit of tedious crawling and backtracking for doing things the "wrong" way, it generally flows well while still being quite complex and challenging. While it's the biggest offender for potential backtracking, I especially like the way the first level is built around a central ship that you gradually explore. There's also some quite original concepts here, like a twist on a weaponless section and a boss fight that makes use of a very original enemy combo (it's perhaps the first time I've seen Seth's "stagger" when taking damage actually have a real purpose for surviving). This continues to be a great series, although I hope the final one breaks from rigid TR3 area progression again." - Mman (14-Jun-2017)
"It wasn't until the fifth and final part of this series was released recently that I realised I'd not played part four, for reasons unknown. Senility? Quite possibly. It's always rather good to have the nostalgia factor and somewhat limited moves of a TR3 level without the actual clunky TR3 engine. This pushes all the right nostalgia buttons with the various settings - the arctic explorer vessel, the mine, Tinnos etc. It's not a level for beginners, parts of it being quite challenging, especially the Tinnos section, although the bit that had me dipping into the walkthrough was undoubtedly trying to find my way round the mines. Great fun, but definitely not for the faint hearted, nor the impatient." - Jay (04-Jun-2017)
"Another epic where I had to travel high and lo, as well as back and fro quite a lot. Some parts I really liked and others I are not to my taste at all, but I got there in the end. Stumbling onto the solution and finding finally the way made this level quite an exploration. This time I could make it through the boss area although it would be nice to have a bit more medipacks so that I didn’t have to keep a eye on my health all the time. The level could use a bit more flyby’s to steer you but as I said I made it out of there and it kept my busy for several days. Now waiting for the next one I hope?" - Gerty (03-May-2017)
"This builder never gives us anything other than top-notch entertainment. Time is rarely a factor when you're having so much fun, but I invested slightly more than six net gaming hours playing this fourth installment of the Relics of Power series. The builder is reportedly wrapping up the fifth and final installment, and will follow up with a bundled omnibus release, but I probably won't be first in line to replay the entire series. It would simply be too exhausting. Some have complained about the difficulty factor, particularly in the third level of this segment. The builder is quite adept at keeping players from cheating in his levels (I suspect that the backward compass he insists upon using has something to do with this) by adding extra pickups and weaponry. However, no builder yet has found a way to prevent me from playing in god mode, and its use at least helps equalize the builder-player balance of power. I found it especially valuable in navigating the third and fourth levels of this segment, which are quite taxing in places, but it by no means diminished my playing enjoyment in the slightest. The predominant motif here is TR3, and gameplay has been mapped out with meticulous care. It's all quite exhilarating, and I can't recommend it highly enough." - Phil (19-Apr-2017)
"A very nice TR3-Antarctica replica-like level set done by Seth94. Remarkable how much work was spent in creating levels that resemble so much the original one and how greatly and precise the author followed the idea and style behind the TR3 Antarctica levels. Really impressive, but on the other side, a big part of level playing experience is lost for some players as many parts of the game look very similar to the original TR3 Antarctica, just a little bit wider or shorter. The "surprise" factor is lost a bit. For some parts it's even really hard to tell them apart ( like the maze or pit at the beginning of the second level ). Even the advancing through the levels is close to the original, which can be confusing. Basically it's the same concept just rotated to a different degree, which doesn't necessary mean a bad thing, but it's a potential risk that some players won't like it. In comparison to the original levels, these one have unfortunately a bit less light work done. Also, some things from the original game sadly doesn't work here. Gameplay was for most parts good and enjoyable, sometimes challenging in a good way, but it had its very frustrating and very cryptic parts ( finding the path to the yellow submarine, finding the battery, encountering enemies without weapons, backtracking if you miss something or chose the wrong path, big lack of camera hints... ). Overall, it's a good game, but lacks a little bit more creativity and inovatitiy in most parts. Maybe naming it a remake would be a better approach or not trying to recreate it in the first place if it's not supposed to be a replica? I liked mostly the latter parts of the game, probably because I lost the feeling of playing a remake-like level set. I'm sure many people will enjoy a game like this and love the "deja vu" effect, but I would rather play again the original Antarctica levels. Also, for comparison, Seth's levels, unfortunately, don't really live up the original one and to some other great TR3 games here on TRLE net. I didn't quite enjoy playing it like the reviewers prior me, but it's a normal thing that few people are going to be on the left side of the Gaussian distribution. Looking forward for the next project and hoping to see the author's imagination maybe more at work next time. I'm sure there is a huge potential in the author. Recommended and highly recommended for big TR3 fans." - Gorty (15-Apr-2017)
"Again, another excellent set of levels from this author. With a TR3 style, no shimmy around the corners, no binoculars, no raising blocks... the environments and the classic tasks will bring the sensation of a TR3 game. Sometimes you can find certain backtracking, more in the first level, but usually the gameplay is entertaining with some interesting puzzles and a lot of exploration. Don't waste medipacks, 'cause you'll need several ones in the final fight with two powerful enemies. I found enough guns and ammo to deal with the numerous enemies; the secrets were not very difficult to find, but some secrets are well hidden. I only missed some flybys and more musics to create a better atmosphere. As usual, I found a great architecture and texturization. Not suitable for beginners, but and adventure very worth to play for many players. Recommended." - Jose (11-Apr-2017)
"The initial level has one moment when if you choose the wrong order you need to climb twice, but it's even a kind of pleasure to repeat because the scenery is one of the most organic fragments of the entire series and the varied activities like ship searching, bike riding, caving and rooftopping all belong. I would just make the ship a bit shorter because too many switches is too many. One very good thing is making the water instantly deadly, that simply but very efficiently bypasses all pointless swimming known from other levels of this type. We get stronger weapons quickly what allows multiple combat scenarios to kill 27 stupid people without using any medikits exactly as I like. The second level grants even more, and I find it even better on Lara's own feet without the minecart I had enough of driving since the original game. But I would recommend to provide a hint for the crack secret replica, and the handle destination, and recreate the missing mutant breath with TRNG. The third level, even with nice puzzle mods - the clever push and oceanic items - feels downhill to me, for these challenges I've seen dozens of times and I don't really see a point in a fire room, trapdoor room or water blade room which take as much time as a whole Bender level but bring nothing creative in return. But I'm glad I didn't have to lose health underwater - finally, someone made it fair! Some sequences even made me think, like the initial trapdoors or the cage blade. Also unlike in many Tinnos levels, the baddies were fun to deal with. Traditionally for this builder, the final level is a pure bossfight, this time with enemy combo like I've never seen before, requiring some precision to negotiate but still fair and so fast-paced I don't even know how the final item was named. Another great improvement, the whole part doesn't conclude with a pickup but with a proper aftermath, resolving all the tension gathered. Still, I would place the finish one square further... A global change (to apply in every level) is texture function consistency - if one tile can be grabbed, all of the kind should be. SUMMARY: Of all parts, this one bears heaviest remake characteristics but is mostly enjoyable despite of them and also improves certain things from previous episodes. Good time." - DJ Full (05-Apr-2017)
"Seth posted the DL Link in his Thread on tombraiderforums so everyone got to play this masterpiece earlier which i really appreciate Turns out this is even better than Part 3 (for me at least) great looking environments inspired by Tomb Raider 3 but improved in my opinion. It was a nice change to see Lara without Weapons at the start. Luckily she won't be without weapons for too long and you get Uzis, Desert Eagle and Shotgun in the same level. Level 1 was the better Antarctica, it really was confusing at first with lots of Plattforming and the very well hidden broken window where i had problems finding it at first but it worked with the help of the forums. I also liked how the Crowbar can only be used twice instead forever, just like in TR3. Level 2 started like the original RX Tech Mines with the door puzzle, the crawlspace etc. Unfortunately it just wasn't the same without the Mine Cart but understandable because that's still not possible in the TR4 Engine. The Level was still great fun though with the seperate Challenges to get the puzzle items. Level 3 was my favorite (probably from the Series in general) with the starting area which was different than the original Tinnos start but obviously inspired by it. The "Demigod Tinnos Mutants" were a very nice surprise i have to admit. After getting 2 Keys the player gets to the stunning Hub Room of this Level which i just loved. It was also really nice to see the Foodchain puzzle from the original Tinnos but this time with Pushables instead. Great idea! I can't tell which of the 4 Challenges here was my favorite but the fire one sure was annoying, i died like over 20 times i think lol. But i understand a challenge is needed after the first two easier levels. Also it's Tinnos so it has to be challenging in my opinion. I loved the water challenge because the author even changed the background music accordingly. I love how Seth cares about every single detail to make it look, feel and play like the original TR3. Level 4 had an okay start. The Boss Battle Room looked Amazing. But the Boss Fight itself was frustrating at first until i figured out that the player can stun the boss by shooting with the Shotgun or the Desert Eagle and then it became easier. What i liked here is that we got to see the Relic this time. I hope we get to see them all in the inventory in the Full Version. OVERALL: In my opinion it's the best part so far and i'll replay it to get all secrets this time. Looking forward to play the Full Version of Relics of Power. Thanks a lot Richard, good work!" - Mert (05-Apr-2017)