Level reviews

"As always with StormChaser's levels, I like the quite "realistic" feel of the game, which has fairly simple features--platforming through crate mazes, burning smoke or freezing water, getting lost in empty offices while the wind whistles outside--all things you'd expect to encounter in this kind of derelict base rusting under a northern sky. But it's not so straightforward and sometimes I found secrets more easily than the regular path. The secrets are nice by the way (special weapons found in interesting areas). It's a TR3 level but the vibe is more like TR2's extension of course, and actually the Soviet base is one of the official TR environments which I'm really fond of. Here it's well rendered, some may find it dark but you get all the flares you need, and I think the dark corners add to the atmosphere. You have some nice touches as well, I liked the trees and I think I heard Lara cough while walking through steam sometime (but why just once?). If you're into excitement and brand new designs you may find it boring. As for me I have a soft spot for these casual TR2/3 levels." - OrFractal

"The Cold War is good vibes which create instant value but somehow I couldn't feel the game as much more than proceeding to subsequent rooms one way or another, so the thing dragged for me. The map shows many ideas of scenery so visually I wasn't bored, even though the place wasn't always properly illuminated. The three secrets were kinda useful but without much ammo for secret weapons, so I was rolling back to shotgun and uzis quite often, also not feeling like I need anything else. Technically a correct level but I finished mixed and underwhelmed, like if a major part of fun was missing here." - DJ Full

"There´s very little to fault here. Melnikov Island is a single level built with the TR3 platform. Billed as an abandoned Russian Base, textures from the Cold War, Tibetan levels and, to a lesser extent, the Wreck levels from TR 2 have all been woven into what proves to be a convincing and immersive environment. The "Tibetan Foothills" ambience from Tomb Raider 2 works especially well here. The difficulty level is just about high enough for experienced raiders to bite onto in places, but on the whole is relatively mild. In turn, resulting in a relaxed but no less a thoroughly engaging experience. The gameplay and level design are vintage Tomb Raider 2/3, providing a pace and style which is as reassuring as it is gratifying. It´s also very well balanced. Whilst there´s a lot of switch pulling and key collecting, the whole endeavour flows with a variety of combat, hazards and explorative platforming that fits together superbly. Combat in particular is well judged - this is exactly the environment where you´d expect human resistance and it gradually builds as you progress, but is never overdone. Pick ups are plentiful, and the secrets are well hidden but not diabolically so - as long as you´re patient and observant, you´ll discover them. Traps and timed runs are included, but they´re highly achievable without becoming frustrating or tedious. In terms of criticisms, I only have 2 small ones. Subjectively, I would have liked to have seen one or two different puzzles included and a little more creative platforming to add a bit more variety. My second criticism is a mechanical one. The level includes two doors which both require a crowbar. On finding the second door without the crowbar in my inventory, I managed to return and retrieve it from the location of its original deployment, only to find it had again disappeared when it was needed. I had concluded that the level must contain a soft lock, and only realised a second crowbar needed to be found when referring to the Walkthrough. All in all however, this is a superb level and is reflected accordingly in my scoring. I had huge fun playing this one. Thank you StormChaser!" - Danjo86

"Now that I've finally managed to get TR3 levels to display properly on my computer screen (my next challenge is TR2 levels, in some cases anyway), I've greatly enjoyed StormChaser's offerings. This one is set in a frigid Russian outpost, and it provides sufficient entertainment to keep the player occupied for more than an hour (I spent much more time than I should have trying to find the sole low-standing crate in that room that was filled with them.) The ambiance, complete with icy winds, is effective, plenty of weaponry is provided to deal with the enemies encountered along the way, and best of all, lighting is never a problem in TR3 levels where the player has the option in-game of adjusting the gamma to his liking. There are a few timed runs that pep up the action, abominable snowmen that thankfully don't poison you while they're beating on you, and some swims in bone-chilling water. A fun raid." - Phil

"Another memorable level from this author. A TR3 level with TR2 environments very entertaining and nice to play. The rooms are well ornated and textured, the tasks and timed runs are not too hard, there are enough pickups, the secret areas are an extra for the gameplay, the musics are well placed in strategic locations and the cameras will help you in every moment. I only was stucked near the very end, after the final door I found an invisible block preventing Lara to cross, but you can pass through left or right. A small jewel you can't miss. Recommended. Thanks, StormChaser." - Jose

"Based on TR2 Gold but executed in the TR3 engine this just on an hour romp provides some good old fashioned raiding fun. The level progresses rather nicely and I only had to refer to the walk through once and this not due to harsh level design but perhaps a bug. One shatter object refused to shatter for me so I found myself running around the base hopelessly trying to find my way. Once I referred to the walk through and knew what needed to be done the shatter object remained steadfastly intact until I pounded it with gunfire from every conceivable angle until it FINALLY shattered. From then all went well again. Found all three secrets but never found need for the rocket launcher (what a pity). Thanks StormChaser." - Torry

"This is an atmospheric Russian arctic base setting, complete with the deadly cold water and unfriendly guards round every corner. The yetis can come at you a bit mob handed at times too. It's mainly exploration based, although there is the occasional timed run, fire trap sequence etc. – enjoyable without being too taxing. It sets a brisk pace and if you're a big TR3 fan, this should certainly satisfy your cravings." - Jay

"StormChaser is quickly becoming one of my favorite builders, and quite a proliferous one as well. If you've played his previous levels you'll be right at home here, so to speak. This time around, we're exploring a TR2 Gold style facility filled with baddies and gameplay revolves mostly around finding levers to proceed. Most of the keys you'll come across are obtained by looting guards near their receptacles, but a couple of them will require a bit of exploration. There was a bit of running back and forth near the beginning, which felt a bit repetitive as it did require to jump over a fence, but afterwards it was pretty linear until the boat ride home. I loved Lara's outfit and also the retextured enemies (which I'll presume to be sasquatches). All in all, this is a pretty standard level, but also a fun one. 65 minutes, 1 secret. 06/20" - Treeble

"Sticking resolutely to Peter's TR3 building style, this is yet another competent and enjoyable, if not overly taxing raid, this time in an atmospheric and pleasing Arctic environment. No complex puzzles and the enemy action comes thick and fast (apart from the Harpoon Gun, you actually obtain all of your arsenal in fairly quick succession), but it remains entertaining enough throughout its 68 minute duration due to the fact that you always keep moving along in a brisk, linear fashion without pausing too much for thought. That can be a good or bad thing, but in this case it's never totally boring and you're treated to a sufficiently fun raid." - Ryan

"Probably the level with the best atmosphere the builder has provided as of lately, with a rather realistic look and feel to the whole thing and decent visuals as well. Enemies are decently placed as well even if the game tends to be quite a shooter at times. Well you know what I think about this kind of gameplay: Very heavily based on finding levers and keys and rather little to do in terms of puzzles and platforming, although there are a few decent tasks here and there like the timed runs towards the end it is a lot about exploring huge areas for a single key (the worst example being the large warehouse with nothing to do except finding one key and the respective keyhole). The traps are also okay, but easy to bypass after some time because they are quite repetitive. The three secrets are also fairly easy to find but I liked that you have some extra areas to explore (not too different from the rest though). Overall too much of the same gameplay style for me but the rest is quite solid at least. 45 minutes." - manarch2

"A nice TR3 Russian-type level, not globally hard, but challenging sometimes, namely in the last timed run. The design looked good, albeit very dark at times in spite of the many flares distributed throughout.There's a bazooka, which is good in my book and you get to use it against a trio of tough yetis. Good balance between exploring and the typical icy-location baddies. Enjoyable." - Jorge22

"I had a good feeling about this one and was not disappointed. Generally I prefer "casual" raids to "hardcore" levels, and this one definitely falls into the first category. I had to turn gamma up a lot which probably impacted the atmosphere but I actually did not mind that (TR2 is a good example for great atmosphere in bright light settings). Everything was findable if you put enough patience in - I especially enjoyed the yard with the hundreds of crates in it - no enemies were too hard, no timed run too tight. Love the cold and base setting anyway. Cameras were on point, sounds were well used, nice to hear some TR5 soundbytes in there aswell. The last two timed runs/levers/doors are entirely skippable if you hop on the top ledge, the builder might want to fix that. Lovely game, thanks StormChaser!" - Manymee

"A level with a progression having Stormchaser's signature : although not quite looking like it, rather straightforward with some reetrances to finish area after area , a gameplay with a well balanced level of difficulty, many pickups to find and enemies in good number but never too many. Several times when activating a switch you get a camera showing a door you haven't seen yet. Suitable atmosphere and the dark areas did not bothered me too much. I can't speak of the secrets for i found none of them 3 , they must be good to hunt. What i enjoyed the most was the dodging of the few traps and the timed doors (alwyas fun)." - eRIC

"Named after the photograph in the TR2 GOLD title screen, this level brings us another trip to Alaska, where you can explore the old russian base once again. Enhanced by the TR3 engine with its snowing effect and freezing waters, I must say the setting was a good choice. I do appreciate the underwater sections being short enough not to start losing health inevitably. It was fun to raid this base, despite not having any original puzzles, tasks were entertaining and well crafted. Abundance of ammo and medipacks is never unwelcome, given the amount (and variety!) of enemies. Secrets took a large detour, which I liked because we get to explore bonus areas (The Cold War's skull secret comes to my memory). Don't try to escalate to the end of the world, you'll make it. In summary, a very decent TR3 level from an author who's getting better every time." - Feder