Level reviews

"A very complete, original, and different level; I think the author has improved in quality. Personally, Area 51-style levels and snow levels like Remnants of the Fallen Forest Kingdom are some of my favorites in the TR series, especially TR2 and TR3. I think the author captures the essence of TR quite well, providing moments of adventure and action without it becoming tiring or tedious. Quite entertaining." - Gamernet

"This three-parter is quite a marathon release, where you get two gargantuan levels and a finale of about average length. I resisted the temptation to include saves in my written walk, but the player should be aware that there are a number of difficult sequences scattered throughout that will likely require multiple attempts to conquer. One timed run, for example, requires the knowledge and use of the crawlspace roll to get through in time. Another sequence along conveyor belts isn't timed, but it requires some esoteric gymnastic moves in order to progress, and I found myself saving after rounding every corner. The boss fight near the end was perhaps the most harrowing of all, and I lost count of how many times I had to save and reload before finally getting through. It's all invigorating but fun, and I never found myself wishing that it would all come mercifully to an end. The builder must have learned from my review of the previous TR3 release with all those "damnable alarms," as the alarms here would go out after relatively short bursts of blaring noise. All in all, a well-done effort that I found highly enjoyable." - Phil

"If you thought the original TR3 Nevada section was challenging, you ain't seen nothing yet. These three levels (the first two of which would easily qualify as involved adventures in their own right) are a sort of re-imagining of their original counterparts but the gameplay is radically different. It's undoubtedly got its fair share of challenges, but I made it all the way through unaided and without too much frustration, and had a sense of accomplishment as Lara flew away n her helicopter after setting the aliens free. The environments are well constructed and the atmosphere sufficiently unsettling. There was a bit too much slow duct crawling for my liking (made even more awkward by the collision of the laser traps), but the timed sequences were exhilarating (enjoyably so), the grate-shooting exercise was neat and even the ending boss was defeated after only a few attempts. Also liked how a few of the secrets required a few challenging moves to attain. I had an enjoyable time overall with this one." - Ryan

"BlackWolfTR has returned after hiatus with yet another big and complex level set and he did not disappoint whatsoever. I was one of the testers. An amazing level set that takes place in Nevada. Great design and lighting, interesting architecture of the base, very good trap setups. Perhaps what I would reduce a little is crouching through the vents, as it might be a little overwhelming at one point. This level can be difficult for less experienced players, especially in certain places but it is not unfair at all. Overall, this is an amazing level set that everybody should try out. Recommended!" - Mahetus

"I had a hard time enjoying this level for quite a few reasons. Expecting perfection is not an expectation. There are some cool ideas here though in terms of puzzle progression. That's the level set's highlight. But there's too much of the same things going on in all three levels. Customizations are and feel incomplete. Difficulty feels unfair and misplaced. Textures and lights are not good. There are misplacements that I noticed and some places like corridors don't have lighting. Some dark areas but no real shadow use." - StudBuddha

"Wait u can really kill the turrets?Well .. solid 3 level trle here . Blackwolf didnt dissapoint .. Very enjoyable and very climatic gameplay . Although didnt think to raise again the platform in the 1st lvl but still managed to make a curved backjump to progress. what i noticed were the secrets , seriously there wasnt anything obvious although i try for them every game , in this i just couldnt , not anything obscure though , wp . . the falling part bridge was very pleasant also . much ammo , many enemies , many meds that made my walk easier . the third level was quite easier tbh .the hitboxes in this engine were a bit frustrating but nothing that really bothers in the end . medium difficulty , 2/6 secrets .recommended" - Petaludas

"Thematically this Tomb Raider 3 set is somewhat of an alternative take on the Nevada section in TR3, although there isn't really a "High Security Compound" section, and the latter parts are more of an expanded Area 51 instead. Visuals are great throughout and provide a much more visually elaborate design than the original Nevada, along with some great lighting and texture usage to bring out the stronger colours of the textures in the set and create some quite layered visuals in large rooms. Beyond some minor issues there's very little wrong with the visuals here. The modified Nevada assets (along with a few extras) also fit very well into the setting.
The gameplay is also much larger scale and more challenging than the original Nevada section, but there are some issues here that didn't seem to come up in the author's earlier releases, like tasks layered in ways where you can do some tricky actions and then realise you need to repeat them because of something later, with no shortcuts to make getting back smoother. Along with some somewhat similar tasks that get repeated slightly too much. There's also a bit too much vent crawling (I don't know if a TR3 release has implemented it, but the lack of the TR5 crawlspace flip sticks out, given the crawlspace roll is here), along with a lot of navigating around lasers with somewhat clunky hitboxes that can get frustrating (at least a lot of them just activate turrets, so you have the option to just shoot them down without failure being immediately fatal). Despite that, there are also plenty of more creative puzzle ideas, like a section where weapons only work while standing in specific tiles, and, despite the occasional frustrations the lasers are used in all kinds of elaborate ways to create unique challenges.
Combat is quite heavy here too, but you get plenty of equipment to fight back with, although you have to deal with how a lot of enemies are awkwardly placed on balconies which the MP5 is a great help with dealing with (although the lack of ability to switch targets in TR3 sticks out when Lara loves to lock on to passive turrets instead of attacking enemies). The end boss is also quite an ammo sink, and I was glad I wasn't too trigger happy with the turrets earlier. The story is decently communicated as you progress deeper into the base, and it does provide closure at the end. I feel this slightly oversteps some frustrating aspects in ways that makes it a step back from the author's last few works, but it's still a great set with it's own take on this section of TR3." - Mman

"A nice Nevada level set which the builder obviously put a great deal of effort into. There were some innovations especially with the push block puzzles and laser tunnels, sometimes combined with a plethora of timed runs. There were many occasions gameplay was both challenging and frustrating in equal parts. Perhaps this was sometimes (in laser tunnels) not helped by the transition from forward roll to crawl requiring an extra step - maybe a Tomb3 feature. Ammo was plentiful and secrets well hidden (The one after the walkway collapse seemed a little unfair, but kudos to everyone who got it). Finally if I ever see another laser trap or tight timed run again it may be too soon ;-) Recommended though not for the inexperienced raider I would venture." - Adrian

"A top Tomb Raider 3 game, especially if you love the Nevada levels. I like these levels in Tomb Raider 3 the most; this game has unique gameplay and puzzle elements that I haven’t seen anywhere else before. Very good level design and atmosphere. The only thing I didn’t quite like were the too many timed switches, but otherwise a real masterpiece. 9.5/10" - Raider278

"A full adventure among the best Nevada. Some setups are only here, at least for now. Could have less vents and the second map less uniform, as the more you open the harder it is to navigate. You won't find secrets by accident so keep your eyes peeled." - DJ Full

"The graphics and soundtrack are absolutely stunning. Planes occasionally streaking across the sky add a great deal of mystery to the entire game. However, there are far too many time-limited switches in the game, with extremely tight time constraints. Especially in the initial Sokoban level, there are actually five or six such switches, which can be quite overwhelming. Still, due to the limitations of the tr3 engine, Lara tends to get stuck easily. On top of that, the bosses are way too powerful—even stacks of health packs can barely keep up." - cheng

"As a beta tester, I can say that it was a very interesting journey in Nevada, one of my favorite themes with a lot of variety in gameplay, exploration, backtracking, creative puzzles, challenging traps, and very well-hidden secrets. The timers are very tight, and there's a lot of combat, but it kept me entertained from start to finish. Blackwolf always has great ideas. Of course, it's a simpler level set after a hiatus of practically one year, but I hope there are new levels ahead, so I recommend it only for experienced players. 3h 24min, 1 secret found..." - PedroCroft_

"Pretty good TR3 level, a nice breath of fresh air since it's rare to see this elaborated TR3 levels nowadays. The gameplay is pretty good, it pretty much has a bit of everything from platforming to exploration and some nice puzzles. The pushable puzzle with the traps is also a pretty nice highlight, it was creative and unique but at some point you couldn't pull or push the block while standing on a trapdoor and it was a bit weird. There are also some challenging sequences in the following levels which are really well done and rewarding when finally completing them, specially some timed runs underwater with water currents and they were nice to perform. One issue was probably in certain parts it was a bit annoying to shoot enemies in areas with turrets, as sometimes you'd be aiming the enemy but then it would aim the turret randomly. Secrets are well hidden all through the level, rewarding if you find them too. At some points though there are too many decorative objects and you just bump into them because of TR3 hard collision but other than that they were well used and decorate the place properly, the lasers were exceptionally well done with a custom object on top of them so that they're visible unlike the original game. Lighting is flawless and play it in a low gamma because otherwise you're gonna chop all of the work put into it, texturing is also really well made too although I wasn't a big fan of those MS Paint hourglasses that a lot of levels use since it kind of breaks immersion, it's better to tell things subtly to the player rather than shoving it on their faces and if not a 3d object like a hourglass switch or just a 3d object would've worked better. Other than that the texturing work is flawless therefore so is atmosphere, cameras are also well used through the level so no complaints about these. Overall a really nice level, it's not that difficult although it does have some challenging parts. If you don't like puzzles maybe you'll find it overwhelming but still definitely try it." - Neltharion