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Vision of Future by LaraHCroft91

Ceamonks890 7 8 8 7
Czar 7 7 8 8
Danjo86 9 7 8 8
DJ Full 8 9 8 8
dmdibl 8 9 9 9
Dutchy 7 7 8 6
eRIC 8 9 9 8
janachorider 8 8 9 8
Jay 8 8 8 8
Jerry 9 9 10 8
JesseG 8 7 8 9
Jorge22 8 9 9 9
Jose 7 9 8 8
jtrim 9 9 9 8
manarch2 8 8 9 9
MichaelP 8 9 8 8
Minox 8 8 9 10
misho98 7 8 8 8
Mman 7 8 8 7
Phil 9 8 8 9
Relic Hunter 8 8 9 8
Ryan 8 8 9 8
Samu 7 8 9 8
Sarikman 7 6 9 6
Shandroid 8 9 8 8
Treeble 7 8 8 8
 
release date: 15-Feb-2009
# of downloads: 445

average rating: 8.12
review count: 26
 
review this level

file size: 113.22 MB
file type: TR3
class: nc
 


author profile(s):
email(s):
LaraHCroft@seznam.cz

Reviewer's comments
"This is essentially a scaled-down TR3 style original game, with some vibes of TR2 woven in. There's a heavy bent toward urban and industrial locations, with Lara's arsenal confined to her trusty pistols and automatic weapon types. The Glasgow levels are my favourite in the entire set– the atmosphere, design and gameplay here compare favourably with TR3's London, and whilst these levels are a little more petite and straightforward, they're no less engaging or enthralling. There are a few bugs here and there, although mostly confined to the first level and thankfully none of them obstructive. Venice delivers less than it promises, and proves to be a little underwhelming. There are water mines and classic speedboats we never get to interact with, gates that never open and a (silent) modern speedboat we get to poodle in for only a few brief moments in claustrophobically narrow waterways. The levels themselves are notably short-lived (particularly the latter two), and gameplay rarely strays from combat and the pedestrian occupation of opening doors. It's competently designed and not a chore by any means, but if any location in this game demands a (Venetian) violin for Lara, this would be it. Antarctica ups the ante, with larger, more challenging levels and less obvious means of progression in places. The first two of these levels have an industrial feel, and whilst there's the odd design fail (including a mine-track pit that it's possible to become inescapably trapped in), the design and gameplay here are otherwise mostly faultless. As VOF reaches its climax, it hits a high note – Temple of Tron is a very enjoyable and well-designed penultimate level, and the final showdown with Sophia is superb. Having to complete a multi-step circuitous puzzle across different levels with Sophia blasting at you and two wasps thrown in for good measure was a fittingly challenging finale. VOF isn't a perfect game. It sags a little throughout Venice and has a few bugs including some sticky corners here and there, but it otherwise suffers only minor design flaws. Secrets are never quite on the beaten path, but perhaps too often are either a little too easy to discover or even, on occasion, easier to locate than the means of progression. Nevertheless, this was a very enjoyable jaunt for me, and I highly recommend it." - Danjo86 (24-Jul-2023)
"As I finally finish this 10-level series, I have conflicting opinions. On the one hand, I truly enjoyed the different settings and general feeling of globetrotting, but on the other hand I also think it dragged on for too long and would have benefitted from some streamlining; perhaps one level per setting would have sufficed to tell this tale? We get fairly standard but well crafted city levels, both London and Venice-styled, with nice cityscapes and even a subway. Via Carminati, in particular, has 1-block narrow canals in which you need to navigate with the boat (which is missing engine sound effects), which I thought was a bit too claustrophobic, surely it could have been wider without any compromises. Then later on we have a few levels in Antarctica where things went south, at least for me, as lighting was used in combination with textures to hide pathways and levers, rendering them pretty much invisible. There was also a permastuck spot in Tomb of Mysteries: I dropped into the crane hole without the battery and the only way out was reloading a previous save. Gameplay is generally based on remote doors and exploring environments in search of levers or keys, but most of the levels are rather straightfoward so you shouldn't have to resort to a walkthrough except once or twice. There is plenty of backtracking spread out through the levels to pad them out as well. Supplies are plenty (and you're likely to run into several secrets by accident as well, including a couple which don't register as such), but at some point you're stripped away from your inventory. And one last observation, the mine carts are set up in a weird way, in which they seemingly stop at random in a single forward ride - you're certain you'll crash, as you've run out of options, but turns out the cart will stop right there anyway. Quite unusual, but, then again, mine carts are rarely seen in custom levels... 3h50min, 27 secrets. 01/20" - Treeble (26-Jan-2020)
"This was definitely one of the better TRLEs I have played. There are few based on the Tomb Raider 3 engine, and this one was fairly straightforward to follow. The only issue with this game was some bugs although I was able to get around them. The storyline had varied environments which is always a plus. These environments were perhaps not the most innovative artistically, but I don't view that as important. Great job overall!" - jtrim (26-Jul-2019)
"A 10-level set, which pretty much makes it a full game in its own right. Each part is set in a variety of different yet familiar environments: Scotland (looks like London), Venice, and Antarctica, with an optional home level. Gameplay is fun for the most part, although it could have been a bit more puzzling at times, enemies were stationed in places that were effective yet not annoying and the music and atmosphere were well done. The texturing was generally well done, but lighting was a bit dark at times. Still, despite its highs and lows, this is still one of the best TR3 levels out there." - Ryan (26-Jul-2016)
"First of all the title screen remix is nothing but genious - for 15 years of raiding I never thought about these two tracks together, and kudos to whoever did. This time the author goes for the most complete game he attempted at that point of his career, and we even get a training level which is the first mansion I played since very long which differs from the original one for better. I mean all the elements are preserved but rearranged and refurbished in context which often makes more sense than it used to, so it's a lot of surprise despite of familiar resources and only four pickups collectible. What follows is an adventure you could call micro-TR3 but without India and with Venice replacing Nevada. The beginning of London levels almost competes with atmosphere of Thames Wharf and Aldwych, then things go a bit downhill into narrows and switches I complain about one more time, but in this case the author cares to frequently switch location and return to them from unexpected different angles, you can really see the path is well thought so the progress is never boring, also because this time we can hardly get stuck. Same can be said about later locations though the last segment is again dull, flat and all-brown like Tinnos usually tends to be, and only thanks to some little nice puzzle arrangements I could endure it without my primeval hate towards this particular class taking over. The final arena is unconventionally small but still one of the most interesting I remember, and the conclusion is very strong. SUMMARY: All fine with minor issues, missing storyline and again too flat lighting - about the last I'm not sure if TR3 is capable of much more depth but instead it provides unusual dynamic effects which are used here." - DJ Full (02-May-2016)
"While a significant improvement from the builder's initial debut on the TR5 engine via 'Book of Destiny' in several areas, I found the Venice levels to be quite uninspired and a complete chore to get through, with the overall quality not really picking up again until the very end(including missing sound effects for the boat or glitched statistics on Elbrus Valley, to name a few issues.) And as entertaining as the general experience was in my case, the gameplay throughout each level, tended to relay on a lot of crawlspaces or long ladder climbs(which felt more like padding to me than anything else in many instances.) But aside from that, this is still a fairly solid levelset all-around, with appropriate enemy/object choices, decent lighting, solid texturing and an effective atmosphere serving as icing on the figurative cake. Recommended." - Ceamonks890 (31-Jul-2015)
"I had higher hopes for this levelset because I love TR3 and it's locations but I was kinda disappointed. Some climable walls were way to long and too much crawlspaces - they were everywhere in the first section! I understand that this was the gameplay in TR3's London (platforming, climbing, crawling) but I think they were overused here. Venice was short and kinda felt uninspired, at least not so much crawlspaces in here. Switches are overused too. Anyway, for the good things - the gameplay even with it's flaws is entertaining, a lot of ammo is provided and it's always fun when you have to deal with an enemy; Lara's home is originally built not just reused from the original games; the motorboat in Venice is fun and kinda feels like a big puzzle; the snowy levels are okay too, I liked the level with the hub room and the different paths; The boss at the end is interesting too because you had some work to do, it wasn't just shooting; nice looks for the TR3 engine(but too dark, at least a lot of flares are provided). In my opinion the best levels are the second one, the one with Markus' mansion and pretty much all of the snowy levels. I'm glad I played it - it's good, it made me a little nervous at times, but it's still good. Levels are not too long, about half an our each and some even less. Recommended!" - misho98 (27-Dec-2014)
"I just played the game yesterday and i must say i love it. the firsts levels take place in Glasgow where you must jump from roof to roof,avoid subways trains and look for crawlspaces,as it was mentioned earlier the lights are not very good but that changes when we go to venice.i liked the setting at evening it looked so real but the gameplay in Via Carminati was a little tedious.finally we move to elbrus where the last part of the game take place.i thought that the Tomb of misteries level was good but the mine cart rides where very short.the author should have put a mine cart to ride at the end.Tron's Temple was good too but you must be carefull as you can miss a very important item and that means a long backtracking.finally the battle with sophia was awesome but the author should have disguised the fuse receptacles and the swichtes as is not very realistic.in conclusion this is a good example of a good TR3 level that those who use the unofficial editor should take note and not make boring and stupid test levels(sorry i couldn't resist).Reccomended." - janachorider (03-Mar-2014)
"Surely one great TR3 adventures. This game is more like original places from TR with different architecture. The home level is nice and a lot different, but you don't have to do much there. Just find the pistols. The gameplay is good, but sometimes it may make you feel bored, as you have to do mostly the same things in the whole game. Find a hidden switch, kill the guard, take the key to the door. Texturing is good in the whole game and the atmosphere is nice, but many times it is destroyed by the bad lighting. The game needs a lot of work for the lighting. The first levels seems like they don't have even one lighting spot. Lara is so very few times affected by the lighting. You may walk in a dark and red coloured corridor, but Lara would be exactly the same as she was out in the street. As you are making progress it gets better, but never enough good. Also, the secrets were very easy to be found. Sometimes I was wondering why some of them were considered as secrets. Anyway, the game has many good things to provide us. The first city level was very nice. Some interesting jumps, guards to kill and keys to be found. The best about it and I believe for the whole game, is the author's architecture style. London wasn't so realistic contructed as this one. The lack of lighting, especially lighting spots is more than obvious. I don't know why the author did such a bad work with it. Maybe the author didn't know how to manage a good lighting at the beginnig. The subway was nice too, but many crawlspaces. The architecture is very good here too and maybe more realistic than Aldwych was. Lighting is a bit better here, but the majority of te areas are exactly the same in colours and light. The Venice levels were the ones I didn't like. Maybe they had a bit better lighting, but not enough, as Lara wasn't affected by it. I was desparate about finishing them as quicklier I could. Not many things to do. Just going around and finding switches and taking keys from the enemies. The game could stand without them. The only thing I really liked was the boss. The last snowy levels were better. I didn't enjoy the first one so much, but it was good. The lighting gets even better, but it still needs a lot improvement. The level with the mine cart was funny, but I managed to complete it without using any of the carts, except the last one. Maybe the author should make this forcing the player to use the carts and getting back to same areas with them. anyway, I don't think this is trouble. I didn't like that the areas were to distaned. You could use a switch which would open a door to a faraway region just to use another switch inside. The best levels for me were the two last. A well contructed, dark temple, with nice statues, good architecture and few harder puzzles. Not really hard, but it was funny. I would preffer more enemies and traps here. The last level was interesting too. The fight with Sophia is tough, but if you are careful, it is easy. WHta I didn't understand there, was why there were modern type switches and switch's covers in an ancient temple and why there was electricity in there. The best part was the rooms with the many traps. I enjoyed it a lot." - Sarikman (05-Mar-2012)
"The Mansion (not rated, 10 min): An optional training level with a small quest to get the pistols and the inevitable hedge maze, but not connected to the adventure as such.
Glasgow Levels (8/9/9/8, 30+30+30 min, 6+4+5 secrets): Classic City setting and rather accomplished as you explore around the rooftops. Many guards to kill along the way, crows, rats and a timed run added for some thrill among the otherwise fairly humble key hunt. Then onwards to the subway station, avoiding trains, killing bat wielding guys and some unusual object use, like a hammer to open a door and a penny to buy a ticket. After that you are back around the rooftops with more guards, many crawlspaces, deadly lasers to watch out for and it almost plays as a base level.
Venice Levels (7/8/7/7, 15+20+10 min, 2+3+3 secrets): The middle of the game is a bit shorter and also weaker than the rest. The Venice setting is fairly simplistic and rather dark and gameplay is centered around riding a boat through narrow canals and killing guards, culminating in a quick boss fight with Markus.
Arctic/Tinnos Levels (8/9/9/8, 30+40+40+20 min, 3+3+3+0 secrets): The last four levels are fairly substantial and play in Arctic/Tinnos settings, which generally work well. There is a lot of to and fro as you hunt down switches, but also highlights like short mine cart rides, diving through ice cold water, avoiding icycles, killing flame thrower guys, guards and dogs, as well as the Tinnos wasps and mutants. Occasionally gameplay does get a bit slow with too many crawlspaces and long ladders. The final level then culminates in a boss scene with Sophia, which was a suitable final encounter for the adventure before the helicopter takes Lara away and the end credits roll.
All in all a 4.5 hour long adventure covering a variety of settings and very solidly built, so certainly one of the best custom TR3 adventures out there. Oh - and I thought the level load screens were nicely done too!" - MichaelP (29-Apr-2011)
"Lara's Home: A very interesting home level, but not much to do or see here. The maze was the only harder area. Too many buttons to find. 10 minutes.
Roofs of Glasgow: A nice city level where Lara has to perform quite many hard jumps. There were many (easy) secrets to find, some of the textures were new here. The second best level of the entire set. 20 minutes.
Subway: This one was a bit slow as you had to get through many crawlspaces, but the level has got all fun things that can be found in the original Aldwych level, including nice trains that have to be avoided. 20 minutes.
Church Tower: Some nice textured rooms, exspecially at the end, but else this was like a continuation of the second level, with too many and too long crawlspace/ladder mazes. There were more sounds to find here that made a good atmosphere. 30 minutes.
Streets of Venice: A shooter-style level, but with too many backtracking through the entire level. Nice to see one of my favourite TR2 themes, Venice, in a TR3 level. 15 minutes.
Via Carminati: Riding a boat is always nice, but the streets are way too narrow. But the jumping-out of the boat to get on a elseway unreachable ledge was very good. I also first did not found a special key, just as the walkthrough writer, but then found the dead man with key in the water (?), another key could be found right in the room where it was used, which I didn't find that good. 35 minutes.
Markus's Mansion: Again a Home level, only last longer when you go for the three (one hard to not find) secrets. The shootout with Markus was good, easy when you have the M16. 5 minutes.
Elbrus Valley: An Antartic level, I liked the idea with the three areas much. It ended too soon in my opinion, as it was a level that was great fun. 15 minutes.
Tomb of Mysteries: RX-Tech Mines were my least favourite level in TR 3, but I pretty liked this one, because the rides with the lorrys were more simple and the gameplay was flowing much better than in the original. I liked the slopy mountain where you had to search for safe squares, the use of the jack was good too. 35 minutes.
Tron's Temple: The best level of the series, in my opinion. Not only with a good atmosphere, but also a very good architecture to combine all the different rooms. The ideas were simple, but the implementation was great. Everything fitted perfectly. Not often to see such a great TR3 level.
Vision of Future: A continuation of the previous level with a nice boss fight, which was clever as you had to climb up a high room while being dangered by Sophia all the time. The escape also was great, but one spike trap wasn't dangerous at all, it stopped in front of a medikit.
All in all a very well executed minigame, compared to "Lara Croft Returns" with more classic texturing, but they were placed so well everywhere. I liked it from start to finish, my only complaint is that it has too many crawlspaces and long ladders. Still one of the best TR 3 adventures." - manarch2 (27-Mar-2011)
"This 10-level megaset qualifies as a full game, and it's competing and engaging throughout. I played it over a span of more than a month, so the details have faded from my memory. Still, I remember enough to report that it's a fine TR3 release with a number of different settings that will remind you of the original commercial game. My clock at the end showed four and a half hours, and that was time well spent. Recommended." - Phil (10-Aug-2010)
"Apart from some weak points this was an enjoyable adventure. The settings are varying and fun to play, and the overall atmosphere is very close to the original TR games. You are led from the Glasgow roof tops in the first level up to a buried temple in the Antarctic in the last one. The game shows some weakness in the Venezian parts, which are rather short and offer no real challenge gameplay-wise on your search for switches and some keys. Also I found the Venezian levels quite confusing and the Mansion level a little boring. I may be wrong, but it seemed to me as if the builder built these Venezian parts unenthusiastically and for a fill-in only. Besides the boat was hard to handle within all those narrow waterways. In the end I left it behind, as I could get along better without it. But the weakness of the Venezian levels are compensated by the pleasurable mine cart ride later on in the Antarctic part.
I admit that I found it quite irritating that most of the switches throughout the game could be pushed only once, as you never know if they are timed or not. Also I don't like walls and pushable blocks looking exactly the same, what makes them almost impossible to spot. Same goes for all too well camouflaged switches. I encountered graphic bugs in the Antarctic levels when loading a savegame, but I think that is not the builder's fault, and they could be fixed by reloading once again (except for some remaining strange looking low-res textures). Also there was a bug with a falling block that Lara could walk into instead of climbing it up to reach a switch. This could not be fixed by reloading in this room, but luckily an earlier savegame from the previous level helped.
Altogether there was a little too much backtracking for my taste, a little too much crawling too, lighting a bit dark at times, and also I could have done without the maze near the end. So I'd tend to give a 8 in the gameplay section. On the other hand the difficulty level is well balanced, except for the last part with Sophia and the following spike trap part, which was quite hard stuff, but on the whole the levels are well playable even for not so experienced players. As for me this is always a plus, and since I had good fun playing this many hours lasting game I give it a 9 instead. It is one of those adventures I will surely replay one day." - Jerry (05-Nov-2009)
"Lara's Home: Getting a new home is a nice gimmick, there are various rooms and some good details and lighting. I haven't actually unlocked all the secrets in this level yet (just like the TR3 one there's some hidden stuff), so I guess I'll have to give it another look. Rooftops of Glasgow: A Thames Wharf type level. The level is decently paced but there are some mistakes (one very major) that come from either amateur design or lack of testing (or both); in one area there's a key only accessible by going across collapsing tiles, if you backtrack to use the key (instead of continuing on to find a second key that is needed as well) you get completely stuck with seemingly no way to continue. I also managed to completely reverse a timed trap doors puzzles by skipping a certain ledge, so that pressing the switch made them go down for a while instead of up, essentially giving me infinite time to get across (although I ended up having to do it the"right" way anyway). It also seemed odd for one secret to be in a similar bit of architecture to a switch needed to progress. The lighting is the weakest point though, there pretty much is none! Just solid ambient light that doesn't fit the sky at all (if it was a day level it would have been more appropriate, although still poor) with no highlights or other things to mix it up. I did like a few touches though, such as the fact you could see the ground and even get down there are one point, along with buildings in the distance. It's okay but I can't say I found it too convincing as a start, but it flows well enough to keep you going. Subway: Firstly, the lighting is much better, there's still too much ambient light but there are now various highlights and other details that instantly make it look far, far better. The gameplay picks up too; there's some more non- linearity, some nice challenges (although you can very easily skip the one for a Golden Star) and no more issues like getting stuck. Although you could very easily have to backtrack most of the level if you miss the Golden Star (thankfully I didn't). A decent level and a big improvement on the first. Church Tower: This level starts with a rooftops theme like the first (I can't say I found the transition from the previous level to this one to make much sense). The lighting is better like the previous level, with highlights and other colours to mix up the ambient lighting. The Church Tower only actually comes in at the end, with you mostly in some sort of office complex type place. Gameplay is pretty simple and flows well, although it has another instance where backtracking after opening a door results in finding you need more stuff, making it pointless (you can't get stuck this time though); it would have been better if only one item was needed, or you were blocked off until you had what was necessary. At the end you find an artefact in the Church Tower and it's off to Venice... Streets of Venice: This starts off with a slide; an obvious homage to the start of Venice in TR2. The theme is pulled off convincingly, with all the standard trapping of Venice, there's also a slightly late afternoon slant to the lighting, which gives it a twist on the usual scheme used in Venice levels. Beyond that it's a very short and easy level (easier than the first three levels in fact), although it's enjoyable enough. Via Carminati: This level is based around the Boat, although the use of the demo files means it makes no sound (I'm not sure if this is the fault of the author or not so it doesn't really affect my scores). I tried to avoid it where possible anyway, as it seems you can only jump out in one direction which quickly turns it into a deathtrap when you're getting attacked from the other side. It's another quite simple, flowing level, it felt like there could have been a bit more to the gameplay overall. Markus Mansion: There's a small mansion area to explore and then a boss to fight. It fulfils its purpose well, although the MP5 made the boss laughably easy, and it's a shame the music player cuts out when you reach the boss. Elbrus Valley: You've apparently lost all your stuff in a plane crash, luckily you get it back pretty soon. There's one push-block I found overly hidden (although I did find it), and I found a way to skip half the level by jumping over a fence. Also, the game bugs when you move to the next level and you have to save and restart the game to continue, and can't see your stats for this level. The visuals are almost TR3 level (and match it occasionally) and it flowed well beyond the block. A good level. Tomb of Mysteries: This is where the complexity really picks up, with various puzzles and things to find in a large area. Past one overly hidden push-block to find a crowbar it flows well, although you could easily have to backtrack a lot if you miss something. There was also a bit where you can get stuck in a pit with a slope preventing you from climbing out, although it's very easy to avoid (and it's very obvious where it is). The mine carts aren't really needed, but I didn't mind that too much as they were still faster than walking and the paths weren't as irritating as the TR3 ones can be. The best level so far gameplay-wise and most of these issues are nitpicks. Tron's Temple: This level gives a variety of tasks in a Tinnos environment. If you miss anything you can potentially be in for some backtracking, but the level is generally very interlinked so it's rare things are too far apart, and as long as you're careful to check out notable looking rooms/areas you should be mostly fine. This is another level where the final stats mess up. Overall a great level, and another step up in quality. Vision of Future: A few traps to go through, then a final boss battle and finally a last gauntlet to leave. Using Sophia was a good idea as it allows for more creative scenarios than something like another Willard battle would (as well as making some sense in backstory terms). A satisfying finale, and there's even a custom credits sequence to finish up. When I started this pack I was quite sceptical in the first few levels, as it felt like it was riding on TR3 nostalgia and the novelty of the alternative engine rather than finding a"voice" of its own, but that feeling faded the further I went into the pack (although there are certainly plenty of homages throughout, but they felt less forced to me in the later levels). A lot of the secrets are very poorly hidden; it seems a lot were added simply to pad things to the level that the stat screen shows (secret values can apparently only be taken from actual levels so custom amounts can't be used) as opposed to any real effort being put into their use. The inconsistency is the biggest flaw though; if everything had been as good as it became around the start of the Antarctica levels I would have gave near-top marks, but I have to take into account how inferior the early levels are to the later ones, which is a real shame as it would have been a must-play if the author had improved them, or even outright remade them with the skillset they seemingly developed as they went on. As it is I can recommend it, with the warning that you may find the start a bit of a slog." - Mman (28-Aug-2009)
"TR3 always was the best of TR games I liked. So, when I began to play this game I created ilusions for. The proyect is good, with a professional architecture, well textured, well placed enemies, not difficult tasks, enough guns and ammo, easy secrets and another interesting features. There are ten levels to play, and it always belongs to thank. But not all was good for me in this game. The worst for me was the continuous darkness in most of the rooms (the London levels were a nightmare). The game is very dark, and I had to play always by night to can see something, and using flares often; this makes the gameplay more slow and tedious because many times you can miss something and have to explore the same areas a lot of time. Another times you miss something and you can't go back to look for it; then you must reload an old savegame (if you have one!) and begin to play again doing the same tasks (bored). There are few puzzles, and the majority of the gameplay is based about pull too much switches or find keys to open doors (the level "Tron's Temple" was really a nightmare), although there are interesting tasks too. In the level "Via Carminati" there is an important fail on the design: once you find the first golden key you can open the exit door to Marcus' mansion and lose a very big part of the gameplay. Even so the game was generally good, and it haven't something to envy to another TR4 custom levels." - Jose (31-Mar-2009)
"At first I didn't think I was going to be able to play this level because I couldn't figure out how to configure the gamepad, however, I gave it another go and figured it out. I am really glad I did. I think I might be in the minority, but I loved TR3 and so having many of the same aspects of TR3 show up here in this level set was a treat for me. Firstly, that being said, I really hated the saving/loading screen. I know it is set up like TR3, but it was so very tedious to have to open up the item screen, arrow down, select load/save, arrow to the right to save then finally, SAVE. Now, if you aren't a serial saver like me, then, well, this probably wouldn't bother you so much, but it was tiring for me. I stuck it out, though and it was definitely worth my while to. I loved every area travelled to: Glasgow, Venice and Antartica. Each had very memorable moments. I was especially impressed with the final showdown, which was challenging and very rewarding, followed by a deadly run for the exit. I never think very many levels include a satisfying enough ending, and that was such a nice surprise. I did find some buggy areas, and some really strange things happened to me from the time I started Tomb of Mysteries until the end. The item background would be stuck on a previous screen and strangely, Lara would switch back and forth between two different outfits, which wouldn't be so terrible, but the textures would change which would sometimes be bad. I loved the music and the enemies were very good. Riding the boat was fun in Venice, but I missed seeing more timed runs. All in all, a very solid adventure. I look forward to another great level set from this author in the future, hopefully utilizing the TR4 engine." - Shandroid (24-Mar-2009)
"A complete TR3 adventure with no installation to do. An adventure that is recommended given the good work made, plus there are things and animations that we are not used to see anymore in custom levels based on the TR4 engine. I experienced a few bugs which required to reload a previous savegame, such as collapsible tiles that turned to be solid, or Lara 'sucked' in the walls when monkey swinging too near from them. The levels are well made and enjoyable in general. If the lighting is average, there is good work made for the design of the settings, for example in the Glasgow levels, the author has added some more roofs of buildings to render a realistic horizon of a town, or when in Venice we have a diagonal canal (!) Atmosphere , sounds and the use of audio tracks are pretty good, and camera work solid. One minor grip : I would have liked that all switches to be more visible as some of them were not located on textures indicating there is a switch there. Glasgow roofs : Quite an enjoyable level , straightforward for the most part , with 2 great and more subtle areas to raid towards the end. [27 minutes] Subway : Not a big and disorienting map here , there is nevertheless a bit of backtracking between two subway stations. An interesting level with good gameplay and use of objects. The end of the level is more straightforward [46 minutes] Church tower : This level was the less interesting for me, as you raid on the two sides of a big shaft, with some backtracking , there is crawlspaces and ladders, the main interest was how to deactivate or get through traps, barbwires and lasers , sometimes combined together [34 minutes] Streets of Venice/Via Carminati/Markus mansion The progression and gameplay in this second world are rather simple , yet it was quite pleasant to explore canals, streets and courtyards, searching for levers or keys, and using pushable blocks to attain higher places. I noticed that the boat was not absolutely necessary to complete the levels, still it was a nice addition. A short mansion level , where we have a first boss , that can be easily defeated. [18 + 15 + 12 minutes] Elbrus Valley/Tomb of mysteries /Tron 's temple/Vision of future The most serious raiding in this 3rd world, ice caves , army base , and Tinnos temples where the gameplay is quite diversified , with traps to avoid , movable blocks to spot, and other things , with interesting features and a good boss area in the end with an impressive flipmap , before a great escape to the outside world [2 hours 35] Well done LaraHcroft and the others who have participated in the release of this 5 hours game." - eRIC (13-Mar-2009)
"First off, mac players if you get the TR3 demo, you will be able to play this adventure through the mansion level by dragging the application into the download folder. It crashes after the mansion level due to invalid static meshes that the author left in the following two levels (which do not seem to be used). I removed these and the levels were fine afterword. I'm hoping these fixed levels may be incorporated into the download. The author should be more careful about leaving buggy objects unattended to. Either way it is great to see the TR3 engine in action, although it feels like some features were kind of shoved in without any true purpose (like the minecarts, which you do not need to use). Lara explores a variety of locales, from city roof tops to a temple in the antarctic. There is clearly a good effort done towards texturing, however the lighting could use just a little spicing up (something that I acknowledge is a bit harder to do with the TR3 engine). The levels sometimes had odd or frustrating level structure. For one, if you miss a certain switch or item, you often face a long and painful backtrack. On top of this the areas are too often structured so that you will most likely find the exit before whatever it is you need to find there, having you returning to a previous area and wondering what the point was to the route you just took. Also, oddly enough the ways leading to the simple secrets are more obvious than the route you need to progress through the level. Do not get me wrong, this will be an elaborate adventure that will be hard to forget. If the author could reflect more on how a player will explore an area and cut back on the backtracking, things will only get better from here." - SSJ6Wolf (12-Mar-2009)
"From Glasgow to Venice to the Antarctic and the temple environments, there was a fine retro TR3 feeling throughout this level.Unfortunately, the game could well have done with a few timed runs, which it didn't. And I wish the builder have given a thought to using the Nevada settings, my favourite in my favourite official game. As I said that, since it's all so perfectly done, I, of course, had to like it. Now, taking it into perspective and putting myself in someone else's shoes, namely someone who doesn't care that much about TR3, I guess this game could be considered just ok, meaning well done but without any amazing moments. My personal preference goes to the very first levels, in Glasgow and that is very subjective, you yourself may prefer some other part. Namely, the final showdown against the old Sophia is a very nice touch (once you've died enough times to know what to do exactly), followed by a trap crowded grande finale. Since it fortunately plays from its own exe, without need to resort to any complicated installations, I guess I could remmend the experience to everyone. It even isn't too hard, so suitable for almost everyone. Enjoy." - Jorge22 (08-Mar-2009)
"A very nice attempt to copy the original game feeling. Although I thought most of the level was too dark, but that could also have been my graphics card...I had a nice time writing a walk for these levels, you really get to know them well that way. But that also had me going through the dozens of crawlspaces over and over again. There were too many, same goes for loooong ladders. I loved the Venice level with the boat and also the mine cart was one of my favourite parts" - Dutchy (06-Mar-2009)
"Some of these TR3 levels are excellent. In "Tron's Temple" I was amazed that the author achieved the perfect use of texturing in soaring grand rooms, so that they are majestic and elegant. There are traveling light wave effects. We get to see a camera shot of Lara dropping a push block from the upper levels down to the ground below. This is TR3 at its best; I thought the author should be getting a 9.5 for these levels. But then there are some levels that are, well, mediocre. The Venice levels, with their cramped canals, lack the pleasant scenery that we might expect. And the concluding Venice mansion level had me painfully aware of the mechanics of the level editor building process. Two weak essays can ruin a collection of essays by detracting from an otherwise forceful book. And weak Tomb Raider levels can start a player thinking that the overall series isn't that good. The entire series has three London levels, three Venice levels, and four Antarctic and Tinnos levels. The opening in London has fun jumping and exploring for Lara over the rooftops, a very promising beginning. Then we have an Aldwych-type level, leading to a church tower and an artifact. How you react to this will mainly depend on how you feel about the original Aldwych Underground level: some love the complexity, and some find it confusing. The design is always original, but conveys the essence of TR3. The Venice levels feature cramped canals, only wide enough for Lara's boat, and are mostly hunting up keys. Collect a second artifact in the mansion. Then on to Antarctica which has the best design work and game play. Since this is TR3, Lara takes damage in the cold water, though this is hardly utilized in the game. (No need to use the cold-water bug.) There are mine cart rides, but again these feel too brief. Notable before the mine cart ride is the crafty hiding of a push block that is right out in the open, practically in Lara's face, and is almost impossible to see. Game play is all new, but again reminiscent of the original mine cart level, so expect to be confused by layered tasks. Next is "Tron's Temple," the most impressive level. I loved the appearance, but wasn't too happy about some author tricks, such as hiding a switch in a long pit of spikes. I suspected something might in the spikes, and had Lara craning to look down, but couldn't spot the opening. Worse, if Lara misses this switch, she can jump across several invisible platforms and get caught up in a maze of switches and gates, only to find at long last that she doesn't have a needed mask in her possession. This can kill an hour. The gate here should have been set so that it opens not at Lara's approach, but instead when Lara picks up the mask. For climax, there is a tense showdown with Sophia. Sophia is a tough TR3 opponent, but Lara should have plenty of health packs in her possession (I did wonder why Lara was picking up so many of them), and it is quite doable. My playing time was about seven hours. As someone who really enjoys TR3 games, I'm grateful to the author for this series. With "Tron's Temple" as an indication of the superb caliber that be achieved, I'd hope to see further TR3 levels in the future." - dmdibl (06-Mar-2009)
"This eleven level, TR3 custom game begins with the usual choice between Lara's Mansion and getting on with the game proper. It would be no loss to simply get on with the game proper as the mansion isn't much to speak of. Beginning then with the 'first' level, Glasgow Rooftops we are of course in familiar territory with TR3 texturing and audio. Immediately at ease then, I found it really enjoyable going over these rooftops. There was some good set ups with platforms and walkways with the occasional gunman or guard along the way. Not to forget a crow or two. One area here to retrieve the last key has a flaw with platforms that can be completely avoided. Onto level two: Subway and my enjoyment increased, immersed as we are in an Aldwych type level. Again, there is another flaw in the arrangement of this level meaning a small section involving a monkey swing to retrieve the star symbol can also be avoided. It would seem the beta testing wasn't thorough enough, if there was any. This level is more extensive than the first, prolonging the enjoyment I had. There are a few areas which are really quite dark, but I think no more so than the original TR3. Onto level three: Church Tower and this one is really quite short, consisting of very little to do as it does before we pick up the first of three meteorite artefacts. That done it's out of 'London' levels and on to Italy with level four: Streets of Venice. This is a bit odd in moving from TR3 London-esque levels to TR2 Italy, but of course we are still in familiar territory. At opening Lara is attacked by three men and it's nice to see a bit more action in terms of enemies than has thus far occurred. The streets here are small and tightly formed, with many a turn and seemingly an enemy around every corner in the pursuit of keys and gates and keys and doors to get through. As with Church Tower, this one is also a short level before we are introduced to the familiar TR3 globe, and strangely it's possible here to jump well ahead to Tron's Temple. It doesn't seem right to me, so I choose the other route, and continue in Italy with level five: Via Carminati. There's not much I can say except more of the same here, TR2 Venice type. It's another short level and I get the same kind of keys reappearing with reload, which enables me to progress when I shouldn't, not actually having found the real key that I need. It's back to the lack of beta testing. Come the end of this level and it's on to level six: Markus Mansion. This is basically a Croft Manor level, only a good deal smaller and tightly packed. There's nothing more to say as there is so little to excite comment. On to level seven: Elbrus Valley, and we move into Antarctica territory here. Another very short level, but I enjoyed it very much nonetheless. This one had me foxed a couple of times for a well hidden pushblock and a well hidden (by way of being obvious) switch. Next we begin level eight: Tomb of Mysteries, and indeed this was a mystery as it had me running around like a headless chicken for what to do next. We are of course still in Antarctic environments here, but underground a la RX-Tech mines, minus the mutant seal men. In finding what I was stuck with - probably the best well hidden block I've seen to date, it's onward. This level is by far better than all the others so far, for the complexity is increased, along with the difficulty in seeing exactly where to go and what to do next. There is some fun cart rides, sadly all too short themselves, and more very well concealed paths to discover. Naturally, with all this, my level of irritation increased too, but I can't blame the builder for that. Eventually we move on to level nine: Tron's Temple and we are completely in Tinnos environments here. As with the previous level, there is much to do here with plenty of well disguised elements. We have the addition of some of the large mutants, which are just a little bit tough, but not grossly so, and the ever annoying giant wasps. I say ever annoying, but they're really not so here as they are easily dispatched. I think I can safely say that I enjoyed every aspect of this level and was rather disappointed to be moving on from it. To the final level then, level ten: Vision of Future and it's a Sophia Leigh situation mixed with Tinnos and wasps before flicking a few switches in order to electrocute her and place the three artefacts. Once placed the level doesn't quite end there, but opens the way out for a final escape that presents a little bit of a challenge for multiple and successive trap avoidance for the player. Over all then, this is a reasonable set which varies between mediocre and very enjoyable, but all reasonably well executed (setting the couple of avoidable situations and reappearing keys aside). Texturing is pretty much well done throughout, looking particularly good in the final three levels. Similarly, lighting improves as the game progresses. Level of enemies I think were just about right over all, being neither too little nor too much. Don't expect perfect with this set, but it's definitely worth a play." - Czar (02-Mar-2009)
"I loved that feeling of nostalgia for tr3. In the bad points, there are many crawlspace, and sometimes the lighting was not very good, I noted a few minor bugs, I found 2 times the same key in the same place, impossible to read the screen end level. The initial levels were fairly simple and difficulty came, without being too difficult. But I was delighted this adventure and I highly recommend to all raiders" - Minox (25-Feb-2009)
"I must admit that I really liked the nostalgic feeling this game has and the features which normal TR4 levels don't have like mine cart vehicles. In terms of texturing this game is really well built but lighting in turn was somewhat bland because many areas included only ambience lighting and not many actual light effects. Nevertheless environment is well created and I liked the large range of different looking sceneries which makes this game interesting and varied. Objects are mainly from TR2 and TR3 and some of them are really nicely used like sophia enemy and the mine cart vehicle which I already mentioned. Gameplay is rather normal and contains lots of basic jumping, switches and items to find and some block pushing/pulling as well. A feature which I didn't like in gameplay was the quantity of extremely well hidden crawlspaces, pushable blocks etc which really spoiled the fun for me in some parts of the game. Sometimes the area where you are looking for a certain little thing can be very large and it's very easy to become frustrated because you have really no idea where to go. Despite the few minus sides this game has also plenty of fun gaming time to offer and I recommend it for everybody." - Samu (24-Feb-2009)
"I haven't played TR3 for a long time and it felt really strange - the saving and reloading seemed very cumbersome by comparison - but it was a real nostalgia trip. The first three levels revolve very much round the original London/Aldwych levels (albeit renamed Glasgow), followed by a trip to Venice, exploration of some mines which involves brushing up on your mine cart driving skills (great fun) and culminating in a run in with Sophia. I had completely forgotten what a formidable enemy Sophia can be when she's not the wimpy TRLE version, and just in case that isn't quite enough, you get to beat a hasty retreat that gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'sharp exit'. This is a multi level game that will keep you occupied for some time. It is for the most part quite linear and straightforward, but does become a little more devious as it progresses. I certainly enjoyed it, although I think a large part of that is the aforementioned nostalgia factor. Definitely worth taking a look at." - Jay (23-Feb-2009)
"Among the so far, few unofficial custom levels utilizing the TR3 engine rather than the TR4 engine most of us are familiar with, the author still manages to put together a pretty solid, 4 hour adventure spanning a variety of locations, and a revamped version of Lara's Home as well. The levels start out easy and nicely tend to get a bit tougher in difficulty, though I found the Venice levels to be the easiest of the entire set. There are 10 levels in all, most of them lasting less than an hour for the seasoned raiders out there, so this can also be an entertaining raid to newer players. Gameplay through the levels follows a linear path and flows pretty smoothly all the way through. Along with properly placed camera hints, this in all provides for a relaxing gaming experience. On the aesthetic side this looks good, though at the beginning everything feels the same since there isn't too much lighting, but its presence becomes better seen further on through the game. The texturing is done pretty well though. On another note, I did feel the secrets were a bit too easy at times and not very well hidden, but perhaps this approach to openly placing secrets can encourage players to find the rest of them? Regardless, this was for me, a first exposure in a long while to unofficial custom levels, and with time I'm sure more will be hosted here at trle.net. Until then, this is an entertaining raid that made my weekend. I hope to see more from the builder!" - Relic Hunter (19-Feb-2009)