Levels listed...
TR5 - 33
TR4 - 3185
TR3 - 181
TR2 - 139
TR1 - 66
73791 reviews (20.4/level)
3593 (99.7%) walkthroughs
457 Hall of Fame levels
1258 levels rated >= 8
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release date: |
03-Aug-2013 |
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# of downloads: |
271 |
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average rating: |
7.30 |
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review count: |
23 |
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review this level |
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file size: |
37.60 MB |
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file type: |
TR4 |
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class: |
Cave/Cat |
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author profile(s): |
email(s): |
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n/a |
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Reviewer's comments |
"Very short but well done raid with a logic behind it, by that I mean the method of travel
around the main room floors. The level is very direct and linear, save for a short
backtracking and redoing the levers if you want the only secret. In the end there is an
exciting little fight with two Hydras and the adventure ends. In between there were also
some tasks like pulling the statues and an interesting timed run. Fun while it lasted but I
can't score very high due to short length." - Nomad (19-Nov-2022) |
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"The main concept of this level is that Lara needs to pull underwater levers to raise and lower the water around a tower in order to complete tasks at varying heights. I think the level's premise is super cool and innovative conceptually, however, the actual tasks that Lara needs to accomplish are just too simplistic and don't require much thought. However, I really enjoyed the side quest in order to access the level's only secret, and I think it would be neat if builders tried this more in general -- giving secrets some kind of epic shrine so that the player feels warm and fuzzy when they finally complete this side quest. I found no texturing errors and I think the builder did a wonderful job with texturing and lighting while utilizing only a basic WAD. I do think more could have been done with static object decor, as well as varying the architectural design of the side rooms. For example, the main room with the tower is a very tall rectangle; what if some side rooms differed more in shape (perhaps a cave-in?) instead of the player just seeing more rectangles? Overall, MoE is not quite the right for me due to its gameplay simplicity, however, if you're down for an easy and short (<30 min net gameplay) adventure with polished aesthetics, give it a go. 7/8/7/9." - nerdfury (28-Oct-2020) |
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"This is a very short but very sweet level, and I enjoyed it
a lot more than the author's previous debut. It's more of a
clever massive-puzzle-room than a level really, and
reminded me almost of a sort of inverse St. Francis' Folly
– journeying upwards via raising water levels, rather than
downward over platforms. It feels like a standard TR4
Catacomb level (nothing wrong with that!) and so the sudden
appearance of the Hydra boss from TR5 was a welcome shock
for me. I thought it was a little strange that with all the
other possible puzzle and key items out there, the author
chose to once again use the Gem, when we had already placed
it 4 times previously to access the final boss fight – it
felt a bit tacked on to use it a 5th time. That aside
though, the one and only secret was pretty cool. I like
this authors style with secrets – they become puzzles in
their own right, a side-quest one can easily miss or forget
about if one isn't thorough, and how the secret gets its
own little - shrine' and generous supply of goodies is a
really nice touch. All in all, good stuff and an enjoyable
25 minutes." - Sethian (20-Aug-2020) |
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"Wonderful little catacomb level, the shotgun is very useful to get rid of skeletons permanently. Final fight against relatively simple hydres to get the gem needed for the final piece." - Drakan (09-Nov-2018) |
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"This pleasant little level revolves around a
neat concept: use different underwater levers
to alter the water level of a central tower.
The tasks to complete on each level are fairly
simple, but entertaining enough and you even
get a boss fight and a secret worth going for.
Worth a look for something short and sweet." - Ryan (23-Feb-2017) |
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"This is a 30-minute catacombian level which could also fit into a classic BtB competition if only the main hall wasn't that repetitive and there was more of epic to explore. But it still includes well balanced bits of everything this set originally had - a full galore of pickups, lots of skellies to knock down, a spikes to disabeetle and a surprising boss fought to a modern soundtrack - a kind of transition from old to new. There's only one secret, but involving a whole separate puzzle and as rewarding as the final artifact. SUMMARY: I have a strange (or not?) sentiment to catacomb settings and this one was fine. Could be a bit longer and varied. Recommended." - DJ Full (16-Apr-2015) |
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"Textures and lights are great, and it's also very fun with a good puzzle and tasks, but the rooms are looking very much the same and there could be different kinds of enemies. I liked the classic styles." - Don007 (25-Mar-2014) |
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"I like the classic catacomb style. A timed run for a first gem marks a promising start into this short game. The rest is a bit a disappointing sequence of raising the water level several times to finally find the other items needed to finish this Level with straight forward gameplay. The puzzles are easy to solve, enemies are skeletons that easily can be avoided when the tasks are done in a reasonable order. A single wraith is quickly extinguished two corners away from his appearance. The final fight with two dragons is fun, the provided shotgun is not really needed in this game. The good old catacomb atmosphere is well created. A nice finger exercise for in between." - Christian (27-Dec-2013) |
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"Gameplay & Puzzles: I think that this level keeps the style of the Last Revelation level, the central puzzle is unique though and the timed run with the water was good. The rest of the level is not bad, but not outstanding, just finding items and switches. The few other puzzles were well thought but a bit obvious. Enemies, Objects & Secrets: The skeletons are well used, as well as the hydras, but there is not much more to say, there could have been more other ideas. The objects are standard ones, without any new things, but are working fine. The secret is nice. Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras: The architecture is not very complicated, just basic/square, but the sound is nicely used and overall the construction with the main room is more interesting. Cameras are helping out, but there aren't many flybys or such things. Lighting & Textures: The textures are placed without many faults and fit the atmosphere. The lighting was a bit dark at times, with too intense shadows, which would be better in the main room. Total: 6,75/10, classic but with ideas, yet not outstanding for anything." - Rambo (16-Sep-2013) |
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"Even if I probably did everything in the wrong order (hence it took me a while to gather the four gems one needed) I had a great time. I even got the secret. Not that I needed it but one never know when battling hydras. The two you meet in here are more than enough to handle and I never even used the shotgun, that is how I like it. Great use of flipmaps in here and also the enemies were placed very well" - Gerty (16-Sep-2013) |
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"Here's an Olde School catacombs level that pushed my warm and fuzzy buttons. I tried something I haven't done in a while, and that's to play without taking a peek at any walkthrough that may be available. Gameplay is straightforward enough that I hit the finish trigger in 34 minutes, and only then did I look at Nina Croft's walkthrough to learn that I'd missed the secret because I never found the Pharos knot. I liked the idea of raising the water level one stage at a time, but it didn't dawn on me at first that you have to go back and lower the water level again so you can return to previously explored territory. And after triggering one spike-protected gem I lost time trying to do the same in an apparently similar situation before I closed my eyes and found that the spike holes around the second gem were harmless. Although the practice of thinking up cutesy names by spelling common words backward leaves me somewhat cold, I did enjoy this level a great deal. The current 20x20x20 challenge is a smashing success, with every entry being considerably above average." - Phil (28-Aug-2013) |
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"Always nice to play a very classic catacomb level every now and then and this is an adventure that brings memories of the past, but succeeds in entertaining the player for the 20 minutes it lasts with a nice concept of raising and lowering water levels. The tasks and puzzles are fairly straightforward and brief, yet they are well mixed and balanced. There is a bit of work to do for the one secret and you get a mild boss fight at the end. Good camera work throughout and on occasion some good use of lighting for effect, while in other places room geometry, textures and lighting have been rather routinely applied without much inspiration. Overall though, a brief and fun raid." - MichaelP (23-Aug-2013) |
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"An extraordinary game, this. Consider the following: (1) the gameplay is perfect: very well imagined, interesting, challenging, and never boring; (2) there is ALWAYS a clever way of getting rid of all nasty enemies, and doing apparently difficult tasks. The fire that consumes one secret item, for example, can be extinguished, and the skeleton that protects it, exterminated - if only Lara picks up the first shotgun she sees, evading three skeletons by easy means; (3) if Lara makes the gameplay more complex (by using a UW lever too soon, for example), this error is easily corrected. Even the backtracks for picking up the secrets are not boring ones - for it is enough to use one single UW lever to arrive at the right place, a kindness that some builders forget; (4) if places, enemies, textures and objects are not original or varied, they are at least correctly used and applied. And the lighting is very good, and there is a very apt use of camera hints; (5) there are sneaky instances to spice up things. If you push a pillar instead of pulling it, for example... if you forget to examine the bottom of the pool... well, you will certainly lose two very important items! In resume, this game is a healthy display of clever creativity, and I thank its author for a lovely playtime." - Josey (21-Aug-2013) |
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"Nothing really special in this small catacomb level, but nice to play with a classic style and an interesting flipped-stacked-water rooms sequence. Enemies are well balanced and the player will have all the needed flares and pickups to do the game enough enjoyable and have a good time. There are some small defects but I can recommend it." - Jose (20-Aug-2013) |
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"A great 20 minute classic raid. Yes, it's kinda short but it
includes just enough. All is one huge main puzzle - you have
to go to the different floors by using levers to control the
water level and this way you can access different doors. The
skeletons were quite annoying but at least we get the shotgun
to blast them away. The final battle was great. Textures are
okay, no high quality or something like that, but it captures
the Catacomb atmosphere just fine. Enough camera hints were
given, maybe more music could've been used though. I liked the
extra tasks for finding the only secrets and you feel very
satisfied when you get it! A recommended adventure!" - misho98 (10-Aug-2013) |
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"Aside from a secret (which I never went after,but which presumably meant a degree of backtracking)this was a very straightforward and generally undemanding 20 minute Catacomb adventure,with the usual tasks so familiar to this wad.Nevertheless,the Hydra Finale was fun and less frustrating than others of a similar nature;and gameplay progression was always fluid and fast-moving.Everything was put together perfectly well and it provides a relatively stress-free short raid.Not a lot to remember in the long term,but a good choice if following on from something rather more demanding." - Orbit Dream (10-Aug-2013) |
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"Having in mind the fact that the builder used almost
unchanged catacomb WAD (adding only hydras, mechanical
scarab and UW levers to it) and already existing catacomb
textures, this level is superbly built. Yes, it is simple,
the objects and textures are seen for hundreds of times
already, but still, the final product is still a very nice,
short and interesting game. The main goal is to gradually
raise the level of water in the main tower in order to reach
higher tiers and collect four gems. In the process you meet
some skeletons and have to evade them and lure them away,
due to the fact that you are missing explosive weapons.
However, it is not annoying but fun in this case. The
gameplay includes a bit backtracking as you need to lower
the water level sometimes and to return to lower tiers, but
it is not overdone and it makes some sense here. The whole
gameplay is a big puzzle (raising/lowering water level) that
is superbly thought of and never boring. There is a short
timed run, an easy jump sequence, collecting additional key
items, pushblock puzzles, wraiths, and one secret worth
backtracking. The level is not heavily decorated, but that
does not have to be a flaw here. The final battle against
hydras is an excellent climax and hydras are well chosen for
catacombs settings. Although the textures are already seen
hundreds of times, the lighting is really applied
professionally here. Honestly, I was amazed at the way the
builder used bulbs, shadows and other effects. This level is
rather short, maybe 15-20 minutes of gameplay, but
definitely worth playing. The builder showed an amazing
talent here and should definitely build more levels in the
future." - Nina Croft (08-Aug-2013) |
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"This short level is a pleasant, classic catacomb setting, with the usual elements all present and correct - wraith, skeletons, darling mechanical beetle etc., - up until two entirely unexpected hydras at the end. The basic premise revolves around flooding several levels of a room with a tower structure in the centre and collecting gems. Nothing hard to achieve, but an agreeable enough way to pass twenty minutes." - Jay (07-Aug-2013) |
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"A classic Catacomb style level, this uses only the original objects, textures etc from TR4, and original soundtracks. I think it works quite well. The game consists of a central area with several floors and you need to use levers to fill or empty each one to get to each floor. Leading off from each one is an area with a gem, and a challenge, and something which triggers access to the next area, there's no running round like a headless chicken here. Challenges are a timed flip map room, which I've actually never seen done in that way before, a room where a windup mouse has to be used, pushing a pillar to release a ghost, and taking care of some skeletons. Deadly squares are indicated well. There was a star on one of the walls but no crowbar to pry it off with. The final showdown was 2 giant snakes from TR chronicles, always good fun. This was the Catacombs we know and love, but with a few new ideas. 25 minutes." - sonnyd83 (07-Aug-2013) |
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"The level ultimately left my feeling nostalgic with the old
Tomb Raider engine but none the less; I'll make sure to keep
a unbiased review. The gameplay began out nicely but nothing
was original and has been done before. There weren't any
puzzles, more like find what goes here which is something of
annoyance. Like with every catacomb level, there has to be
skeletons along with wraiths but; at least they were easy to
defeat but along the lines of originality, weren't the most
fun thing to beat. Everything came out of the catacomb wad
except for the boss battle at the end of the level which I
liked personally. There was one secret but, to get it; I had
to do something that I personally don't approve of. Lara
(me) had to literally walk into a flame underneath an object
you need in order to progress to the only secret. Lara has
visited catacombs many times in her custom life and I have
to say that this level is one of many atmospheric level and
while it's definitely not in the league with them, it still
looks the author took time. There weren't any audio
soundtracks except for a custom one in the final boss battle
which did add something if not nothing to the experience.
The camera work was exceptionally really cause; you trigger
something and the author had the kindness to show you what
happened although it would've been okay without it. As said
above, the lighting was exceptionally good with a few rooms
being a little bland. But, I really did like the two
pedestal rooms that had bright light beaming down on it
along with the audio that played in the last room, very
atmospheric. The textures were very well done and as far as
I know, nothing was wrong except for a few if not many
stretched textures." - Larabiker301 (05-Aug-2013) |
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"This entry in the 20x20x20 competition serves as more of a
Back to Basics level of sorts, with most of the resources
used being included with the original level editor. Our main
objective in this levelset is to explore the side-rooms
within the main hub area for four gems in order to access
the final boss fight and the mask itself.
Gameplay itself is pretty simple and straightforward, with a
small amount of backtracking available for those who want to
collect the only secret present in this level, after
collecting a few key items(outside of the gems), solving
very simplistic puzzles and surviving decent enemy
encounters involving undead skeletons. The objects used
throughout fit the environment well, but tragically due to a
lack of them, can make the tomb feel quite empty and barren
as a result. Texturing, lighting and musical choices on the
other hand are all used very effectively, helping to capture
the classic atmosphere of TR4's levels flawlessly into this
levelset, that many of us old-school raiders enjoyed so
much.
In conclusion, I found this levelset to be well worth the
time playing. Despite the level only taking 16 minutes to
complete(if you're willing to collect the secret) and
feeling quite empty for the most part, it more than makes up
for it with high amounts of polish, casual gamer-
friendliness and clever use of different water levels to
access different areas of the tomb. Highly recommended for
raiders who just want an easy, non-frustrating level to play
after a long hard day at work/school." - Ceamonks890 (05-Aug-2013) |
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"A basic catacombs themed level; there's nothing really ugly
about the design of this level, but nothing that stands out
either, and it's pretty cubic looking. The default objects and
enemies are used well enough. This is structured around a
flooding/draining (although you can do it in a linear order if
you aren't getting the secret) central area and various side
rooms. Like the visuals there's nothing especially stand-out
about the gameplay, but nothing too bad either, and getting
the secret spices it up a little (even if it's mostly object
hunting). It's okay but doesn't excel in any area." - Mman (04-Aug-2013) |
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"Maybe this level is a tad less inspired in the visual quality than the others, using the original catacomb textures the builder has still managed to create a convincing enough setting with very interesting gameplay. I found the overall appearance to be a bit simplistic in several rooms, with one room having mostly the same (slightly psychedelic) colour. Some textures didn't clash that well to the surrounding ones. But the main thing in this level is clearly the central puzzle - the multi-stage flooding/draining of the central tower to find four gems -, and it's very well conceived and gives the game a very original touch. The concept combined with some gameplay that is neither too confusing nor too linear either also hides the fact that some of the side quests are rather mundane and not so special, although there are exceptions. I especially enjoyed the nicely designed timed run in the lava room and the quest for two additional items to find the secret was also fun. The enemies (i.e. skeletons for most of the time) are effectively used and the hydra appearance at the end a nice surprise; overall I found this to be a well-rounded 20 minute effort. Recommended." - manarch2 (04-Aug-2013) |
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