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Level: Astrodelica 3 back home search
Author(s): Richard Lawther
total rating:8.81 Gameplay &
Puzzles		 Enemies,
Objects &
Secrets		 Atmosphere,
Sound &
Cameras		 Lighting &
Textures
Aims 9 10 9 10
bERT 9 9 8 8
Brigidsgirl 8 9 10 10
CC 7 8 8 8
Cuqui 9 9 9 8
eTux 9 10 10 9
G.Croft 9 8 8 9
gfd 7 9 8 8
Jason Brown 10 8 10 10
Josi 10 9 9 10
Kristina 8 8 8 8
Loupar 9 8 9 8
MichaelP 9 10 9 8
Navi 9 9 9 9
Obig 9 8 8 8
Patson 9 10 9 10
Phil 8 8 9 9
Raiderbabe 10 10 10 10
RaiderGirl 9 10 9 9
Sash 8 10 8 9
Scottie 9 8 8 9
Staticon 7 9 8 9
Tune Razor 10 9 9 9
Whistle 7 8 9 8
category averages
(24 reviews)		 8.67 8.92 8.79 8.88

Reviewer's comments

"Actually Lara should land at the end of Astrodelica 2 in Scarborough. Actually. But as it comes just in such a way, she lands somewhere in the Antarctic. And is completely astonished, because the aliens have sat down here already at home. Of course our heroine wants to disappear as fast as possible, finally, this ice cold is not well for the complexion. But she is able only from this place away if she frees the exit. And this goes only if she finds five stars. A star does not reach of course. These must be of course five. And that with this cold. But everything helps nothing and Lara starts looking. Finding is not so easy at all sometimes, it is a matter of cracking typical Richard Lawther-Riddles. Pay attention so always nicely to the right colour and of course sharpen the hearing. The jumps will also not easier and we also have to dive a little. Then after about 2 hours of work Lara has made it and can make tracks. The design is not so out of touch as with Astrodelica 1/2, but, nevertheless, one can recognise fast the handwriting of Richard. Opponents are here creeping and flying alien creatures.
Result: Like everything of Richard Lawther this level is also a duty for all TR fans" - Scottie (04-Jun-2010)

"I'm afraid this one doesn't quite come up to the high standards to which we've become accustomed to apply to this builder's fine works, although I had a good enough time for the hour and a half I spent here. Perhaps it was the sameness of the arctic slopes or the seemingly interminable backtracking that dampened my enthusiasm somewhat. But you won't risk getting stuck if you have the new walkthrough that's been written for this level, and there are some nice touches that you'll appreciate, such as killer penguins, nearly invisible floor levers, and color-coded puzzles. The Demon Smalls series is light years more advanced than this, but that doesn't you won't enjoy it. Recommended." - Phil (13-Oct-2006)

“On the Mac I tried to use the savegame from Astrodelica 1/2 but it didn't work. It's ok to start afresh because you pick up your plasma tube right at the start anyway. This part of the series is in an ice and snowy mountain area (does it snow like that in Scarborough! That's where we were supposed to be after A1/2) no actually it's Antarctica and Lara is warmly clothed with her hair tied up and wearing shades. A complete change from Astro1/2 and 4 more realistic environment which in my opinion doesn't really fit with the colourful puzzles like in the other two levels. What's noticeable immediately are all the slopes Lara can get stuck in which are annoying and right through the level. I found it all very confusing. And what are those things coming towards us? They're retextured rats but they look like penguins and they do bite. After Astro 1/2 and 4 I didn't warm to this middle level at all. There's a lot of climbing about in the snow. I didn't like that maze at all and at some places the end of the world was seen and most importantly I missed Richard's humour. Some things were a little too weird like the room where you swim from a jumping position jumping into a shrine thingie and if I hadn't read about the invisible levers at the end I'd never have found them (how are you supposed to see anything invisible!). It's OK but nothing like the brilliant Astro1/2 and 4.” – CC (08-Aug-2004)

“This level will eat beginners alive. Even intermediates and some experts are going to share the same fate. Everything here is just so weird and some of it just doesn't make sense at all. By far its biggest flaws are the countless illegal slopes (some of which will leave you physically stuck) and the fact that a lot of the landscape seems to be impossible to access when in fact it is. This is due to the fact that on other levels at least the background is just that an impassable object. Not on this level. You must leap all over it to stand a chance of success and some of these 'leaps' will take a dozen attempts. Another thing I'm not to sure about is the author's decision to have all 5 essential artefacts classed as secrets - what's the point? I kept getting the impression that every time I traversed a difficult bit of terrain or solved a tough puzzle the reward was 'just' a secret. There was a lot to like about this level though: new creatures and objects are always welcome especially when they will put a smile on your face! And the level was certainly original which is something we've come to expect from Dick. It's just that it's all so abstract surreal and at times illogical. And I'm the type of player who just hates to read the walkthrough. This means that there was a lot of running around not having the first clue what I should be doing. I'm sorry but I really did prefer the first 2 levels to this one. I completed this map in 2 hours.” – gfd (05-Jun-2004)

“What can I say...after Astro 1 and 2 I wasn't sure what to expect and this definitely wasn't it! However I like the cold levels and this one was truly ‘cool’ :) The enemies were pretty sparse the bulk of this level is just figuring out how to get to where you need to get to and then trial and error until you get it right. The puzzles were great and overall I enjoyed this level tremendously!” – Brigidsgirl (08-May-2004)

“Here is another great level from Dick. This time it's set in Antarctica and is (obviously lol) the 3rd level of the Astrodelica series. Lara is almost there she has almost reached the Alien base where she is heading on this journey. Dick (the author has cleverly used himself) is the one who is helping Lara to reach her goal by his teleporters. As he isn't part of the inner circle he couldn't send Lara straight to the base so he sent her here to Antarctica where she must make her own way into the base by finding 5 captains hands. This was a very fun level and although it isn't that difficult when you start off you see so much ice you don't have the foggiest idea where to begin! I did need the walkthrough often so I knew what I was doing but once you are familiar with the surroundings you will have no problems. There were some clever items and enemies in this. You had rats made to look like penguins dragonflies that were made to look wirey and instead of sprites they were bugs! The weapons made different sounds and Lara’s outfit was very cool it was similar to TR3's Antarctica outfit but her hair was in a bun and she had sunglasses on. The puzzles were quite simple and I didn't find myself reloading lots of times there is a fairly tough swimming area but when you know what you have to do it's fine but you will most probably need help with one area which contains cat statues and coloured floor pads! Some very original ideas and good fun. I recommend this to everyone! Play it!” – Aims (08-May-2004)

“I have never been much good at 'clever' games and this has to be one of the most frustrating levels I have played. Yet having said that it also turned out to be extremely compelling and had me playing long after the hair-ripping-out point had been passed. What a sense of achievement I had when I finally finished it though. [Or was that relief? :)] Thank heavens for the walkthrough. (Though sometimes I was just as baffled by this as I was with the level itself.) As has been stated elsewhere there are rather too many illegal slopes to get stuck on which held up the pace at times but I would be hard pressed to fault the custom objects and enemies in this level or even the quality of the well thought out puzzles. The atmosphere was positively sub-zero and it is beautifully lit. For sheer aesthetic pleasure though I just had to pause and admire the frozen fountain in the key room. This is another must-play level from an author that I am rapidly becoming a fan of. I look forward to playing more of his levels real soon.” – Staticon (06-Sep-2003)

“At first I was not as impressed with this level as I was with the first two but when I realized it was supposed to be an Arctic level I took another look. The scenery was nicely done and the puzzles were difficult enough especially the one with the four colored floor pads that led to the Cat Room. Even with the walkthrough I just had to keep trying until I hit the correct sequence. There were plenty of different areas to explore and some you may miss if you're not careful. I thought the names of the different kinds of weapons and medipacks was ingenious. This level has a lot of the usual scenery from the Arctic level with some unusual twists as Dick is so inclined to do. And the message on the ‘fire’ tower almost led me astray but I got the correct sequence for the ‘3 bright colors’. A Lara could drown (and did several times) in the one pool before finding the statue to be rid of the wraith beetles. I almost missed the two switches on the power towers but just barely saw them. The object is to find and collect the 5 Ice Hands so Lara can get access to the Whiz Bang so she can get to the next level. Another fine level Dick! On to Level 4!” – Patson (20-Jul-2003)

“This game is great - not only is the custom costume really neato (neato's my way of saying cool) but the gameplay and puzzles and everything else is really cool too. You’re in Antarctica after a teleported trip and you have to search out the aliens n stuff. Look all I mean to say is the games great and you should download it now!” – Jason Brown (07-Jun-2003)

“The third level is set in an arctic environnmennt. Lara has the objective to find five stars which at the same time are the secrets. And you need them to finish the level. Puzzles are not too difficult and the builder offers a few hints. I liked the almost invisible levers. The architecture was great and Lara is wearing a suitable outfit. Cameras were sometimes missing and sound was about ok. Enemies were ghosts and something alien. What I found illogical was that Lara jumps in a room and suddenly is in water and cannot go back. So first go swimming and find a lever. Also make sure you find the useful items like the lasersight. The atmosphere was different than the levels before but I liked the snowy setting better. Built with a lot of care. Bravo!” – Navi (27-Apr-2003)

“Though you can hardly call me a ‘green guy’ - I do eat animals - I always had problems with the Croft woman killing animals. So did I with those cuddly penguins certainly them making kind of endearing sounds. But on the other hand the little buggers always started humping my legs so I 'finished' them anyhow. What is there to say it's a 'Richard' and I like his approach: always different from the rest always original. Only one notch below its original Astro 1 and 2. Only real downside are the rather big amount of illegal slopes.” – bERT (11-Feb-2003)

“Astrodelica 3 takes place in Earth not in the unknown dimension as the first levels of the series. In this case we discover what's the reason of the climatic changes: there's an Ozone Hole Emitter and some other strange things in the Antarctica. The game is very confusing in some parts and there are not enough enemies only few penguins and two ghosts. All the game is to search in every corner to get five Captain's Hands or secrets. I had some difficulties to get one of them but finally I got it. The scenery is well worked but there are too many illegal slopes and it is very easy to get stuck. Dick has enough sense of humour to make his levels very entertaining and this is worth playing. Don't miss it.” – Loupar (10-Feb-2003)

“Generally a good level but I had two downers as far as game play was concerned-The hand in the ice pillar (I looked early on in the level - no hand) and the constant getting Lara stuck either between two slopes or ‘corners’. (Hence the down marking on game play.) This broke the flow too many times. However the concept of the level was good with plenty to solve apart from the route. Not many enemies but those that did appear were ‘novel’ in appearance. The lighting and textures were a good range and well mixed to give a good feel to the various sections. Liked the notices and the use of the scroll. Well worth a go but you will lose a few handfuls of hair-you have been warned as this level is not for the faint hearted.” – Whistle (09-Feb-2003)

“This was definitely my favorite of Richard's levels and I think the easiest. It's in a well-done Arctic environment that's normal looking enough but has some great textures and objects thrown in that are really fun. Many objects are retextured too like switches health packs (alien aspirin) and the revolver. You really have to see the enemies too - the penguins are so cute I couldn't kill them and just avoided them and there are a few yellow things that I'm not really sure what to call. I did kill the dragonflies though. The objective is to find five Captain's Hand keys and they are scattered throughout the icy area - each has it's own puzzle to solve. Once you place these hands you get access to the new vehicle - the Whiz Bang I believe - and the road to the exit opens up. Unfortunately you only get to ride the bike a few moments and the level is over.” – RaiderGirl (05-Feb-2003)

“I found this level a little confusing but anyway it's a nice level and very fun to play. However I prefer Astrodelica 1-2. In this one there are lots of tricky jumps great puzzles not too hard boulders original enemies and the goal is to get the 5 Captain's Hands. At the end you find the whiz-bang for a short ride... on a wall. Great fun.” – Cuqui (24-Jan-2003)

“I’m not the first and I won’t be the last to say that this is a huge diversion from what we already know from Astrodelica in fact from any of Richard’s levels and I have to say that I am pretty grateful for that fact. Don’t get me wrong there is a certain charm to his usual eclectically freaky environments but I really wasn’t in the mood to be overwhelmed by huge half textured half untextured rooms and loved the snowy tundra this is set in. The goal is to locate 5 Hands that are also the 5 secrets with each of these having their own separate little puzzle to work out to reach them be it a water maze tile jumps target shooting or simply jumping into something that you wouldn’t expect to jump into. There are also some great new enemies adorable penguins invisible giant mosquitos and flying beetles that although mostly not too deadly except for the flying beetles that I had a lot of trouble getting rid of added a lot to my enjoyment of this really wonderful hour long level. I just wish there hadn’t been so many illegal slopes or ways to get to the ‘edge of the world’.” – Sash (22-Jan-2003)

“Ok this is rather non-linear as you search for the crucial five ‘Captain’s hands’ and many of the places to find are well hidden and you can get stuck in illegal slopes and reach the ‘end of the world’ in places if you really explore the areas fully. There is also an underwater maze area which I hate and with one jump I hit the invisible ceiling of the level. And for a Richard Lawther level this has mostly rather conventional if boring Arctic textures but there are so many great things outweighing those rather insignificant gripes. I got so involved into this adventure that I was very surprised at my net gaming time being only 1:10 hours at the end. A couple of tricky jumps some boulder traps nice reworked enemies (penguins – very cool! mosquitoes – very annoying a yellow ‘thing’ and two ‘wraith-beetles’ – also very cool). Plus of course a set of puzzles which require you to put a bit of thought in. Make sure you find crowbar laser sight and revolver as quickly as you can. With a cool outfit for Lara nice weapons including sounds for them and a short ride on the whiz bang at the end (which really calls for another sequel) this is yet another fun level from Dick and I hope there will be more to come…maybe ‘Ozon holes R Us’ could fund the development efforts ;-)” – Michael (20-Jan-2003)

“This level is great! I love the Antarctic surroundings and you can count on a UFO any minute! The enemies are ingenious in spite of it isn't difficult to overcome them. Maybe only the scarab spirits caused a bit headache. I didn't have to use medpacks. But it took a day till I managed to find one of the Hand Keys. I didn't think that I should jump into the GoldMan however I was next to him three times. I even walked out to the brink of the level where you can see only boards and crowbars in the black deep. :-) I love the puzzles. The texture is a bit boring but fits well to the icy region. I am eagerly waiting for the next installment. Congratulations Richard Lawther! :-)” – Obig (15-Jan-2003)

“This was well worth waiting for. I loved it. Not an alien environment this time but Arctic. Everything else is alien though. The 'pingurats' are very cute but they do bite. Even the diamond mosquitoes are nice to see but they are still very annoying. The weapons are modified to look alien and there's enough aspirine and paracetamol around if you should need them. The puzzles are not too hard. There's a lot of exploring to do look carefully around and just try jumping on what seem to be impossible slopes often you can stand on them. It took me a while to get to the golden house that was not easy. Once you placed the 'hands' there's a nice surprise waiting and also the end I'm afraid. Have fun!” – Josi (13-Jan-2003)

“Astrodelica 3’s Antarctic setting is unusually conventional for one of Richard’s distinctive levels though fans of his work will also be pleased to learn that there is also plenty of his characteristic surreal texturing to be had. The challenge is to locate the five ‘Captain’s Hands’ to gain access to the ‘Whiz Bang’ from the previous level and ride into the sunset. In fact locating the ‘Hands’ isn’t so much of a problem as some of them are on clear view from the outset. Reaching them however is another matter. Exploring the area can be somewhat disorienting as one area of snow looks much like another and it can be difficult to judge distances when assessing and lining up jumps. Richard’s use of irregular and jagged texturing often makes it difficult to judge which areas are walkable and as a result I spent a fair amount of time slipping off blocks and getting stuck in crevices! Once you get use to negotiating your way around the area you can really start to enjoy the level. From there we get several of Richard’s excellent trademark puzzles and are also treated to the usual wit and humour that makes playing his levels so much fun. There are a couple of underwater maze areas (thankfully not too difficult to find your way around) that really took my breath away as Lara was sucked into the water - a great touch that. These are the areas that show off Richard’s surrealistically spartan texturing in a way that will be familiar to anyone who has played one of his other levels. Enemies hardly come thick and fast but are originally and amusingly re-textured when they do appear. It can be tempting to forget to shoot at them and instead just stand around trying to figure out what they are! Fortunately my usual obsession with tracking down all of the secrets was dealt with by making the five secrets the five ‘Hands’ needed to complete the level so there was no need for me to revisit the level in search of an elusive secret once I had finished. This is probably not my favourite of Richard’s levels snow blindness having made some sections slightly frustrating but it is great fun nevertheless and a definite cut above the average fan level. Challenging without being obscure visually interesting and unclichéd and with peerless puzzles this level comes highly recommended.” – TuneRazor (12-Jan-2003)

“A great level for a change! That is why the high score. Puzzles were not too hard to figure out with some hints you had to look for. This I like since some levels out there tend to try to go for the not so logical. Wonderful textures with a lot of imagination for the ‘alien touches’. There was more searching than shooting which was a nice change too. The penguins and golden chicks I called them were the only live targets here. Only one timed sequence I can remember with the scroll which provided for an even better raiding experience for me! Hope more levels follow like this from Dick.” – Raiderbabe (12-Jan-2003)

“I have to say that this is the easiest from the Astrodelica levels. You're in search for five hands that will lead you to the end. It's not hard to find them but to be able to reach them you need to perform a few jumps solve puzzles like in the cat room and the floor pads with the symbols kill some penguins and flying insects. There are two beetle spirits that and the penguins were something new not forgetting of course the retextured items in the inventory. Unfortunately there are many illegal slopes in the icy rocks that made me reload many times because I was getting stuck between them. Also I was able to access the underwater maze from the exit that confused me a lot and I am sure it has to do with the many slopes around. I enjoyed this level a lot but I liked the second one better. Now waiting for number four.” – Kristina (10-Jan-2003)

“Wow yet another fantastic level from Richard! I liked this just as much as the prequel maybe just a little less for a few reasons I'll name later. What shall I start with? The level may be quite confusing at the start cause you see so many things to do but actually can't do any of them now! My tip is to go where your nose leads to and the higher the better. The sounds are really weird (and fabulous) and may not be for the liking of some players but they were original and gave the bit weirder feel to this Antarctica adventure. The textures are not familiar to Richard's other levels since they're applied quite ‘normally’ with not much black holes so this may be a reason for players who didn't like the textures in his other levels to load up this one. Even though the level is great it didn't match the great raiding experience in part 1 & 2 I wouldn't call this a Serpentine Gorge syndrome but when you play it seems like you've seen this somewhere before. I didn't actually mind this and it was not enough for me to take the point from the perfect score away but what the heck was the underwater maze doing here? I don't mind the innovative ones where the authors show how interesting the mazes can be (the jeep maze in Antarctica Base B9 the glass maze in Algernon’s Lab (TWH 6) the ship underlay maze in Dark Skies 5 or even the pitch black maze in Recon labs 3 with just naming a few) but this one felt like a bad excuse to make Lara get to the opening from which she got one of the hands. Maybe it was not as complicated as I describe here since I got through it quite fast but mazes are always a bad sign and usually make me abandon levels! I had to take away a point from the texture category because the end of the world bug appeared at some points. There are still a lot of creative things and a few jokes here and you also use the whiz-bang in the last minute of the level so download & play this level for the 1:20 hour fun raiding through it.” – eTux (10-Jan-2003)

“Another level with Richard’s typical looks this time in snowy mountains near the alien base. The area you move around in isn’t very large but the trick here is to find and find the way to all the five ‘Captain’s Hand Keys’. Tricky jumping and puzzling makes this a fun level to play. Make sure you look everywhere there could be another hole behind the next pile of snow.....Enemies here are cute little penguins alien wasps and ghost beetles (which I didn’t encounter until the end so I just ran away from them. But they followed me down that last black lane into the alien base - that looked kind of cool!).” – G.Croft (09-Jan-2003)
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