Level reviews

"For some reason I've held fond memories of this level ever since I first played it many years ago, despite all its various quirks. The setting feels sufficiently authentic with its shocking yet true-to-life depiction of London's infrastructure (I'm thinking of the man-eating rats and the cantankerous policemen in particular…), and there are a few minor details that charm me like Lara's chopped bun and the two frogmen parleying beside a cracked safe. I do wish there were more diversity in the gameplay; aside from some sequences which demand deft manœuvring in order to proceed (perhaps a portent of the builder's latest creation?), none of the activities at hand are especially innovative or unexpected. It would also go amiss if I did not make note of the titular dark that pervades the greater part of the map to the point where even flares lose a little of their efficacy, which when coupled with this level's partial nonlinearity often becomes more of a hindrance than anything else. For those reasons I would advise keeping a walkthrough to hand if you do make the decision to play this one, as well as to save and reload your game after using the flares provided to fully explore an area." - Ejecta

"Oh, TR3 engine, how I miss and adore thee. Apart from nostalgia, that's also because I had to turn the gamma up a notch and I really appreciate this option in TR3 levels. Now onto the level... It was fun and rather short - rather on the combat-heavy side, much like the original London levels. And even though it wasn't perfect, it managed to capture the TR3 spirit well. I wasn't impressed by the texturing in some of the rooms, but the mostly good lighting made up for that. I admit I was a tiny bit tired of backtracking and dumb thug AI causing them to run in circles or glitch into the ceiling for eternity, so that you hear their footsteps incessantly even when you're exploring another room (I think that's also a TR3 thing). The area with the toxic water and the safe looked kinda cool and I also liked the room with the super wobbly water, pillars and the boardwalk. By the way, to get into the other side of the boardwalk, you can simply jump from one side to the other, making a veeeery slight curve - it's also a tricky jump, but a bit faster than the normal way described in the walkthrough. It's a must-play for all TR3 London lovers and also a very good effort for a debut, especially when we consider that it was the very beginning of 2001." - Mortensmor

"I had fading memories from the Lara's Home days that Beck's series were insanely difficult, and I don't think I had playing them before so I decided I'd do so with the walkthrough close at hand. This is a fairly convincing underground station level with a fair amount of backtracking. Certain spots were a bit too dark, but I guess that's pretty much intentional given the level title and besides there were plenty of flares. 30 minutes. 11/19" - Treeble

"Although I think that the level builder could've given a little bit more detail to level design, it is actually a well made underground level. Laras task in this 30 minute adventure is to find 2 keys to escape the level. Most of this level is quite dark. I got stuck near the end, because that trigger point to disable the flames next to the pushblock is somewhere that you don't need to go and sadly don't see due to the darkness. There were some other little flaws here and there but generally, this is a successful first release." - Nuri

"I must admit I am really pleased to see a TR3 level on the list after loads of TR4 games. Gameplay was nice, enemies were good, lighting and texturing job was done properly, and above all, Atmosphere was really good, although I wasn't satisfied with the sounds because there were loads of SFX which were missing. Recommended. Thanks!" - Mehrbod

"This TR3 level is set in a station, it uses London objects, enemies and textures. The tasks are easy to accomplish. There are some jumps that have to be done precisely. Lara's ponytail is missing, but it's not a great problem, indeed it's like a new look ;) Cameras are placed well, and there are some interesting flipmap effects. Recommended if you like TR3, like me." - alan

"This is pretty good for a TR3 level. It nicely evokes the atmosphere of the original Aldwych level, helped by the dark lighting (thankfully TR3 has in-game gamma adjustment as standard). The gameplay is pretty advanced for an older level, consisting of a timed run, action-packed battles, climbing and a tight swimming exercise. If you like TR3 levels, then give it a shot." - Ryan

"This is a pretty decent TR3 level. However, if you play according to Harry Laudie's usually reliable walkthrough, a crucial fire in front of a pushblock near the end will still be burning. The problem is addressed in this [url=http://forum.trle.net/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=23999]thread[/url], but I wasn't motivated to go back and replay the level to test the solution. Besides, by playing in god mode I was not deterred by the problem, and I used a savegame editor immediately after pulling the block to extinguish the flames engulfing Lara. Someone familiar with the situation should amend the walkthrough accordingly and send the revision to me for posting. Anyway, if you take advantage of the TR3 option for increasing the gamma, you should be able to see everything you're doing and enjoy yourself in the process." - Phil

"A fairly solid romp as Lara through another abandoned train station, for no better reason than to kill random enemies placed throughout the level, with decent texturing and a generally OK atmosphere throughout. Unfortunately however, the unnecessarily dark lighting in certain areas at times, made it quite the pain to proceed(not helped in any way by the constant tedious backtracking that you'll need to do, before all is said and done.) So in conclusion, could have been designed a little better. But it's still worth a playthrough at the very least, especially if you're a fan of exploring these types of environments to begin with." - Ceamonks890

"This could be a good level, there's a good design, architecture and texturization, also enemies are well balanced and the tasks are not too hard and entertaining. Problems for me: many rooms are excessively dark, and the flares I found were not enough for a correct exploration, but the most important problem is the backtracking, the author lets you advance even when you don't pick up the necessary keys. Also I missed some cameras to help and some musics to create better atmosphere. Even so it's not a bad level." - Jose

"I always liked the TR3 Aldwych level so it was pleasant to see some of the textures again, albeit interminently as a lot of this level seems based in earth tunnels and rather dark rooms. It's not bad for its age in terms of gameplay, having some nice timed elements and plenty of guards, dogs, rats and thugs to keep Lara busy, mainly with pistols and shotgun as the Desert Eagle doesn't turn up until pretty much the end of the game." - Jay

"You have a choice of 2 directions to go at the beginning of this level. One way leads to a key, with some crawling, jumps, and a push block leading to a timed door, to keep you going, the other up some stairs is where you end up by going the other way. The texturing is ok but a few shrunk ones in places but it looks quite like the underground station it is supposed to portray, the station has seen better days and most of the tunnels have collapsed. There's a few guards and dogs and rats to remove on your way. The climbable walls are indicated but not with the correct textures - you wouldn't climb brick for example. The sound is from TR3 Aldwych, but the texture sounds are missing, Lara sounds like her shoes are full of water. Lighting is fairly good but rather dark in a few places, not overly so though, but enough to miss pickups. I notice in dark areas leading off from light areas, the you can see the lighting visibly changing so not that good. More gameplay includes a partially flooded railway track, and several long swimming sessions, only broken by finding a key, placing another key, gang members and rats. There's a couple of divers in the water area but are easy to miss, also why do you die suddenly if you touch them? Followed by more guards, and a few jumps and climbs, collection of another key. The underwater section here seems to wobble like jelly. Then back to the start we go, one more key to place, fight a few baddies and dogs, and avoid the fire, and you're done. Overall, a reasonable attempt at a train station level but the looks could be improved, and less backtracking also. Net gameplay 35 minutes." - sonnyd83

"One of the few examples of a level the title just perfectly fits to. We are in a station, and it's indeed dark, at least in the caves in the first half of the level. The overall looks of this level are quite decent with quite solid texturing, but the mentioned darkness spoiled a little bit the fun while playing, since without flares (and it's easy to run out of them) there would be total darkness. The gameplay in this level is quite achieved in my opinion with a few nice usages of pushables including a timed run, several demanding jumps and near the end a really nice texture hint where to go next; the quite huge amount of enemies were a nice add-on and the weapons were cleverly placed in the level so that only the last few enemies were only fun to fight, without any danger. The gameplay also had its weak points, namely an also too large amount of running or swimming through corridors and several of the twenty-two minutes I needed to finish this level I just spent progressing and progressing without any bigger challenge. It's a solid TR 3 level nonetheless and recommended for a medium length level. No secrets found." - manarch2

"A surprisingly intense little level. Within 30 minutes it is action packed with a dozen or more bad guys to kill (not to mention the dogs and rats that have infested this subway station) and find a sometimes sneakily laid out circular course around the place with a bit of block pushing, a timed run and fun jumps for the necessary keys. Yes it is dark in places but all suitably so to create a believable atmosphere and a few flares are provided for help. Good solid fun, especially when considering the release date of this one." - MichaelP

"Not the kind of level of which I knew the author being capable of making, but certainly not unwelcome because of that. The underground station is rendered nicely and gives off a vibe of having recently endured a disaster of sorts. Unleashing Lara upon it is yet another kind of disaster for the unfortunate location, but results in an enjoyable 30+ minute game for us, players. The looks are solid, and I generaly have few complaints - if anything the author could've done something more to the lighting other than making it so dark as per the level's namesake. There's nothing that stands out in particular, but it feels believable enough not to raise too many eyebrows. As implied - the gameplay is more lenient than one would expect from the author - yet that's not to say you can't get yourself into trouble here. I found the entire key-hunt and application somewhat confusing, and effectively managed to miss out on two (when I had the opportunity to get them), thus being forced to backtrack through the better part of the level more than I'd preferred. While the author could have made it more player friendly, I suppose it would be unfair to punish him because of my own lack of observation skills. Otherwise the raid is not very stressful and thoroughly enjoyable, and while there's obviously no guarantee you'll think the same of the 2 sequels it has, you can, least of all, enjoy this one for what it is if London Underground type of scenarios are your thing." - eTux

"First level by the author. And the first one, what a normal user could play. :) I liked it. It's playing on a metro station. In fact we have find three keys. We can pull higher the gamma thanks for the God, so it's not will be dark. Non linear level, you can run over many times. Enemies are easy, some baddies, dogs, and homelesses. The two diver aren't enemies, just we pick up before what they need it. We look in the water well, up and down too. :) I have one problem with the level. There are no secrets. I can suggest this level for everyone, it was good adventure. But I miss secrets. :) But it has sequel, the Serpent City." - Obig

"This starts well with a large underground station, effectively realized and well lit. Lara goes down the tracks to enter a section of broken wall. From here there are several possible routes, one of which may lead to confusion, and unfortunately this is the path recommended by the walkthrough. Game play could easily have avoided problems with a slight design change. The main parts of the level are excessively dark even when the gamma is boosted to ten, particularly since a series of wall textures are a muddy brown--maybe this has something to do with the title. (The nice thing about TR3 is that those who like dark levels can set the gamma to one.) An underwater exit passage was cleverly concealed. Lara gets keys and shoots thugs and guards before a welcome return to the starting station. If she discovered a correct route the fire will be out in front of a needed push block. She gets the Desert Eagle and quickly shoots two thugs, several dogs, and two guards in order to exit. A quick level." - dmdibl

"This level fulfills its title, it is very dark indeed, even pitch-black at times which is very annoying, most notably while doing those parts in underwater corridors where it is already hard to find your further way and easy to overlook an entrance. And if you decide for the wrong way e.g. ending up by a keylock with no key with you, you have to go all the way back and do a certain part again when you return later. At one point near the end a fire that should have been off was still burning. I had no idea what to do or what I did wrong, and without the help from the forum I couldn't have finished this level, as the walkthrough was not of much help in this part. It should have been no problem for the builder to simply place a switch somewhere to turn this fire out, instead of requiring a certain way to go by the player (when there is more than one way), and if they didn't, then do some superfluous backtracking again. But this aside the level was quite enjoyable to play. Enemies are not so many, only a couple of guys and some rats. I needed 45 minutes to finish." - Jerry

"Just when I was beginning to despair of the lack of overall quality of Unofficial levels,I play this and have my faith re-confirmed. It's a little cracker! The Underground Railway Station is well portrayed and generally plausible (there appears to have been a nasty earthquake recently,which convincingly explains all the holes and fires);progression is twisty and engrossing,with some very ingenious 'back to the beginning' moments;key holes and important alcoves can be easily missed;there are some quite tricky jumps;plenty of varied enemies;a 'put the fire out so you can push the block' puzzle;and it builds to an exciting Finale with a lovely little Coda. Only the occasional excessive darkness (there's a virtually pitch-black underwater swim,which is not much fun),and one annoying waterised-wall sequence gets in the way of complete enjoyment;but lighting is otherwise effective and the texturing of a very high standard,considering the vintage release date. Atmosphere is tense and effective and,overall,this is a very fine 45 minute adventure which I recommend heartily." - Orbit Dream