Level reviews

"Not bad but it's another game to halve in runtime - often you encounter little extra runs which accumulate. Also, half of sound is missing and lighting is blank so I was tired going through a work this long - think about it: would you write a novel including all words but no punctuation? The game can be recommended if you don't care about that." - DJ Full

"I think I have now completed all custom levels from this author. I used to like David's style and the levels can be fun, but gameplay is extremely simplistic and boils down to (too many) levers to open remote doors. As with other offerings, there's a lot of padding as you go back and forth through newly revealed pathways only to be faced with a lever in the end. There are a few other things, of course, such as some simple pushblock sequences, a nice simplified version of the quest for four keys in a Greek monastery, and what could possibly be the worst mine cart ride ever (might have been there only as a joke, now that I think about it). Even though the levels are short, ranging between 20-30 minutes each, it gets a little repetitive. There was a nice mix 'n match of different games here, with the Egyptian levels using TR4 assets and then the Greek levels using TR1 assets, and even a few new enemies such as the TR4 ninja meshes imported over the standard TR3 human enemies, Curiously enough at some point secrets stop registering as such, even though they work fine on the first couple of levels, and the adventure does come to a rather abrupt ending, but all in all it's a rather enjoyable adventure despite its shortcomings. 110 minutes, 3+ secrets. 02/20" - Treeble

"This is very similar to this builder's other level set, The Gen, but there has been a slight improvement atmosphere and environmentâ€"wise. I thought the TR4 textures, if a bit blandly applied, were otherwise nicely used. But the gameplay remains stuck in the same tedious manner as it was previously, namely the backtracking. The first four Egyptian levels are probably the longest, the highlights being a couple of traps to avoid, a few easy block sequences and a bit of help from friendly soldiers in the second level. The Greece levels are slightly more complex, but shorter and more reliant on back and forth progression than the previous levels. The builder is also rather stingy with weaponry, as I never found the MP5, and ran out of Uzi and Desert Eagle ammo near the end. It's probably not as bad as I've scathingly made it out to be, but the enjoyment factor was low for me." - Ryan

"If you've played the last series from this builder, you've played this levels too. Always the same style, pull a switch, pull another switch and pull another switch; once in a while, look for some keys and move some blocks. Sometimes you leave closed doors only to run a long way to pull a switch and go back to the same place to the now open door. The ammo for the shotgun, uzis and desert eagle was totally insufficient, except in the last level, so I had to shoot the T-Rex and many enemies only with the pistols, slowing down that way the gameplay. The rooms are often empty of objects, and even when the architecture is good with many diagonal walls this time, the environments have a poor aspect. Sometimes I got camera shots showing doors opening, but there are not flybys and no musics to create ambience. The best was the texturization, but the lighting is not well worked. Not an adventure to replay." - Jose

"My mouth started to water when I looked at the story notes and saw that this adventure consisted of a generous seven levels. TR3 or no TR3, I was looking forward to some extended playing pleasure. I then sampled the reviews and realized what was in store for me. Backtracking, and more backtracking. The supreme insult was near the end, when you have three keys in hand and climb down a tall structure only to find four keyholes at the bottom and a switch that requires you to climb all the way back up the structure to get that fourth key. It's that way pretty much all the way through the game. But since you can brighten the gamma to your heart's content in TR3 levels I had no issues with the lighting. On the other hand, the weaponry was very scarce until the very end, and I had to make do most of the time with pistols. Assassins are the primary enemy of choice, and at least they've been deprived here of that knife-spinning trick they use in TR4 levels to ward off attacks. I stuck it out to the bitter end, out of devotion to duty I suppose, but I must say that if you overlook the backtracking a good part of the gameplay can be considered rather engaging. Harry Laudie's walkthrough helped me avoid much of the tedium I otherwise would have experienced. Not a total disaster, but I won't be replaying this level set any time soon." - Phil

"This is a rather buggy set of levels, as I had problems, Lara was growing an extra head, she sometimes wouldn't climb and in the T-rex level one door wouldn't open (even after going back and fro three times). So I gave up. This is the second level by this author I couldn't finish due to a bug. Apart from this it is rather nice to see textures of TR4 Tut, Karnak and Cleopal textures passing your view. I still like them. There is quite a lot of going back and forwards what unnecessary prolongs the game play in my opinion. There are some enemies in here and they are never alone. The T-rex is very hard to kill but you can do so from a save place though. Overall a nice stroll through memory lane (sort of)." - Gerty

"So I've finally managed to reach the most recent release by David Rukawa and I'll admit that by this point, the all too familiar style of the builder's previous work is starting to rear its ugly head in an unappealing combination of both tedious and incredibly boring gameplay elements here, with levels that mainly take place in a location you would commonly find in abundance under the main TR4 custom release catalog(including a large number of assets being from those respective levels in question), not really helping matters in the slightest, in attempts to keep the general experience fresh. So at the end of the day, despite some decent visuals and a more effective atmosphere, the overly stagnant lever and key-focused gameplay is ultimately the main culprit once again, utterly killing the overall enjoyment factor for me as the experience begins to quickly devolve into something that you simply don't want to play any more of for a long time, upon proper completion. Best approached with caution if you're still curious, otherwise steer clear if you're not a fan of repetitive gameplay." - Ceamonks890

"An everlasting to and fro with the main task being pulling lots of levers is - boring, boring and yet again boring! The gameplay in this level is incredibly monotonous, I lost about halfway through the second level to be honest but I finished this game because it has been underreviewed until now, what I can perfectly understand though. There's nothing else to say about the gameplay and while typing this review I even think the 4 is actually a too high score for it but the sparse amount of pushblock puzzles marks at least a tiny bit of diversity. The level's strength are the looks though. While not outstanding in any way, the recreation of the TR 4 and 1 atmosphere worked rather well and texturing was rather solid, though some rooms were tending to be over-lighted. The recreation of several TR 4 enemies and objects was interesting but I thought their placement could have been more effective and some enemies only attack if you run in front of them (I don't mean the friendly ones), and the red ninjas didn't quite fit to the Greek setting. The secrets (I found seven registering ones) were way too easy fo find. All in all not quite a rewarding gaming experience, spent 1:45 hours in here and left feeling glad to have finished it." - manarch2

"This is a step up from the other packs by this author I've played. The texturing and lighting are both mostly decent (and on the higher-end of mods for earlier TR's I've played). The Egypt levels look a bit generic at times, but it improves as it goes along, and I especially liked the atmosphere of the Greece levels (including a lot of usage of slanted walls), although the enemies didn't fit at all.
Gameplay (and especially the level layouts) is also an improvement; this finally seems to move away from the constant maze-like designs and lack of goals that the earlier packs had. There's still issues, as the gameplay is still a bit generic and biased toward switch pulling and mundane block moving, but the presentation is so much better. There was one weird trial and error puzzle in one level, the valley level had a bit too much vague gameplay, and there was too little ammo later on (to the point I decided to just run from a few enemies). Those were the only problems I came across though, beyond the ending being very anticlimactic (it almost seemed like the last two levels should have been swapped around). This set shows improvements from this author, and is a good choice for playing a relatively short pack." - Mman

"London - A happy accident (not rated, 5 min, 2 secrets): Gratefully a small Home level that only has a few rooms and serves as a quick warmup level.
Egypt (6/7/7/7) - Convicts tunnels (20 min, 1 secret) - Tutankamon's pyramid (20 min) - Slaves valley (30 min, 2 secrets) - Temple of Damon (10 min): A level set leveraging nicely the standard TR4 textures and objects in a TR3 environment. You get a mix of Tut1, Karnak and Cleopal and then later a bit of Desert and Catacombs. All solidly built with smooth and easy progression and lots of running around to find switches to open doors. There are a few cool skull head enemies and red ninjas and the gameplay highlight are two small push block puzzles. There are maybe a few too many crawlspaces in Slaves Valley and you can get stuck in Damons Temple if you let the moving spikewall pass in front of you.
Greece (7/7/7/7) - Knossos ruins (35 min, 2 secrets) - The prisons (15 min, 1 secret): These two levels are even better than the Egypt set and more challenging too with many enemies to battle, including raptors and a TRex. The progression up and down the ledges is great fun, but also a bit tedious and repetitive after a while. The last level is another switch hunt.
Overall this is a pleasant and easy set to play through - suitable for beginners." - MichaelP

"This adventure has 7 levels. Like the other levels, locations, textures, challanges are different. But not too long levels. If you have a little free time, try it." - Obig

"Another multi-level adventure which is,at times,a little difficult to recall in detail. Of the seven levels,the first is a simple and quick Mansion level,while the second and third are reminiscent of the Tut1 tutorial,with both containing "locate the switch and then backtrack to find the door it opened,behind which is another switch,etc" gameplay. Objects are placed well enough (although having non-shatterable vases was a little disconcerting)and both last around 30 minutes. Level four is a rather more complex affair and is undoubtedly the most challenging of the set. I spent an hour wandering around,searching out cunningly concealed hiding places and occasionally finding myself up against the end-of-the-world.Nonetheless,it was absorbing stuff and contained some rather clever ideas and good-looking underwater areas. Level five was memorable for an irritatingly obscure 'deadly floor' puzzle,while level 6 reminded me very favourably of St Francis Folly.The final level was a short little excercise leading to an anti-climactic and arbitrary ending. All seven levels were competantly built,but eye candy was restricted to just a few grandiose areas here and there;and lighting and texturing was everywhere competant and occasionally exhibited an eye for tasteful atmospherics. Camera's were used helpfully,and the builder showed great discernment in his placement of weapons and ammo;there was just enough to make life easier,but only with judicious economising on the part of the player. Most people will probably be able to eke out the overall playing time to around 4 1/2 hours;and it will be time well spent on the whole.Nonetheless,the repetetiveness of the gameplay ensures that surprisingly little of this mini-epic is especially memorable.Reccomended for critically undemanding players." - Orbit Dream

"I know there is a tendency to be dismissive of TR3 levels, but there is artistry in these levels. If players take a few moments to decrease the brightness of their monitors, so that the surroundings look good when TR3 gamma settings are at 3 or 5, they may appreciate the colorful TR4 Egyptian setting of the start. I liked the waterfalls used as curtains. In rooms where there are burning braziers there is a subtle use of shadowing that can easily be missed if one simply gives the rooms a quick glance. The author has matured with the unofficial level editor, and has a fine visual creativity. Game play is a little bland. It tends to be hunting out details, such as spotting a pushable block, or climbing up rocks to find a key. In the third level a lot of work was put into designing a large underwater chamber for Lara to swim in, and I think the lighting is pretty good here. But Lara spotted a small crevice in a pillar within moments of swimming down, and this leads to a switch. Most authors, after spending all the time to create such a chamber, would have put six or seven different tasks here. (There is a hidden small medipack, which the walkthrough missed, but that's about it.) Throughout there are challenges, but most will find the action tame. In that respect the author's "Mysteries of Australia" was better. The last two levels echo TR1 St. Francis, and the texturing seems relatively drab, and the use of ninjas at the end of passages is maybe not an inspired choice, the whole something of an anticlimax. These levels are best as a break from more trying adventures, sampled two or three levels at a time, rather than consumed all at one sitting. I enjoyed this." - dmdibl

"After the short mansion level which lasts only 4 minutes , 3 Egyptian levels ( with a Cleopatra , Karnak , and Desert Valley feel to them ) which last between 20 and 40 minutes , a Catacombs level lasting 10 minutes , and 2 Greek levels with a TR1 flavour to explore for 40 minutes. Gameplay in these levels is mostly based on exploration , almost traps free , and with not a lot of puzzles , except for some good movable blocks puzzles. No difficult task to achieve in these levels , I did not noticed any timed door , nor difficult jumps. In fact I was often on"automatic pilot" , there is the occasional backtracking , helped by cameras shots. No unfair thing , except it was hard to spot a golden switch on a yellow wall in Slave's valley , and the puzzle with deadly tiles in Damons's temple has no clue ( thank you Harry for the walkthrough ). A lot of care has been put into the Texturing ; maybe too many mirrored textures for the rocks in Slaves' valley but i like much the sand textures ; the atmosphere could have been better as lighting is weak and some sounds are missing, mainly for objects and enemies which are not TR3 by nature , but I salute the effort of the author to have incorporated those , which may not have been obvious to achieve technically. Enemies are mostly red ninjas, who become gunmen in the Greek world, there is also Egyptian dogs in the lost valley, crocodiles and friendly blue nijas in the Karnak level, thugs with a skull face in the Cleopatra level , raptors and a T-Rex in the Greek levels , the first one reminding St Francis folly. A fluent game of 2 h 30 approximately." - eRIC