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Return to the Lost Library by The Plumber

alan 3 2 2 2
CC 1 1 1 1
Ceamonks890 1 1 1 1
Dimpfelmoser 1 0 3 2
DJ Full 3 1 2 0
Gerty 2 2 2 2
Gonxii 3 0 3 4
Jay 1 1 4 4
Jose 1 3 5 7
Kristina 2 2 5 7
MichaelP 4 4 6 5
Mulf 0 0 1 0
Orbit Dream 1 0 0 0
RaiderGirl 4 4 5 5
Ryan 1 1 3 3
Sash 2 1 2 2
Scottie 2 0 1 0
Torry 5 6 6 7
Treeble 5 5 7 7
 
release date: 12-Mar-2001
# of downloads: 110

average rating: 2.55
review count: 19
 
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file size: 17.30 MB
file type: TR4
class: Library
 


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Reviewer's comments
"So Lara returns to the Lost Library. Why? We don't know, but let's assume she wants to recover a copy of the lost second book of Aristotle's Poetics, of which she caught a glimpse during her first visit but which she had no opportunity to claim, as she was being chased by two fire wraiths at the time. Now, it turns out that the entire ground floor of the Library has since become flooded. Why? We don't know, but let's assume this revisit takes place some time after Lara averted the apocalypse and (somehow) survived the Great Pyramid falling on top of her. We've seen in TR4 that the upheavals of this tumultuous period created rifts in the Giza Plateau, so it's not much of a stretch to imagine that they caused flooding events as well.
So far, so good. The obvious problem with this conceit is that Lara would have opened all the doors, killed all the enemies, smashed all the vases, solved all the puzzles, and picked up all the pickups the first time through, so there shouldn't be anything left for her to do - and indeed there isn't, but for all the wrong reasons. It's not like the person responsible meticulously reconstructed the state that the map would be in after Lara left, and found other interesting things for her to do instead; nor do they posit the existence of any previously unexplored areas, as Dutchy did for Cleopatra's Palaces in That One Door. What did they do, then? Why, they scrolled through the list of rooms of the original map and ticked the - water' box for the rooms on the ground floor; and that is, essentially, it.
So we're supposed to assume that the doors have closed again, the enemies were resuscitated, the vases replaced, the puzzles reset, and the pickups have respawned, is that it? I guess; except with half the map now underwater, the original chain of events is broken - and so, although the original triggers were left intact (thus producing underwater tinmen, wraiths that implode as soon as they're triggered, and fires burning underwater), the only thing you can do here is pick up the Music Scroll (again) and place it on its lectern (again), whereupon Lara strikes four chords on the harp (again, but this time producing no sounds), and the level ends.
As far as rip-offs go, this could have been a rare case of one that's not entirely devoid of interest, but due to the laziness inherent in the practice, the anonymous perpetrator had to muck it up of course. - P. S.: A few textures were supplied with bump maps (which doesn't look good; it never does), while others appear in random places, as do some objects. If any of this was done deliberately, it demonstrates exceedingly poor judgement, but it rather looks like an automated process gone wrong." - Mulf (24-Jun-2021)
"I didn't finish the original Tomb Raider 4, so I thought this was a level from scratch and I was wondering why it was rated so low, till I read the reviews and then I knew why that 2.7 rating. Maybe I'm the only one who didn't notice this was an original level that was just copied and flooded (don't blame me, I only completed the first three games and played a bit of TR4 and TR5 but I didn't get very far). Anyway I followed the walkthrough and decided to take the fastest route to finish the level." - alan (15-Jan-2018)
"Sometimes some authors download an original map and modify it to create a new one. Not from scratch, of course, but sometimes they delete/add/modify new rooms/objects/puzzles so the "new" level can be interesting to the players. It's not the case. I think this time the "author" flooded a lot of rooms using the original PRJ file so the players can explore the same old areas swimming and under another perspective; nothing more. Only for nostalgics, and even so, not worth to play." - Jose (14-Nov-2017)
"What a weird oddity. Fair enough, the idea of flooding the original Library level seems like a good concept and may be worth seeing in the future. Not here though. Some of the original areas are inaccessible (including the golden star areas) and it can be rather buggy (particularly when trying to swim through what was the "wooden floor burned by torch segment" in the original level). I'd play the original over this any day." - Ryan (17-Jan-2017)
"To be completely honest I did not like this level. It was like visiting the tr4 library only to discover it had been flooded. Gameplay was more than easy with a few items to gather. The only enemies were there for nothing. All in all a very bad level not recommended to anyone." - Gonxii (15-Nov-2015)
"What a strange level. Perhaps in the builder's mind taking the original library level and flooding it seemed like a good idea. Perhaps it could have worked. Unfortunately, what it mainly is turns out to be an almost unplayable mess. It'd keep my feet dry if I were you." - Jay (27-Sep-2015)
"Not a whole lot to say here really, as this is simply a mere copy/paste of the Lost Library level map from TR4, only now its completely flooded for whatever reason(including enemies and flame effects that still seem to function properly, despite it logically not working that way in reality.) So in conclusion, best to just give this one the ol' pass-a-roo and play something else." - Ceamonks890 (08-Jan-2015)
"I rated only what the author has changed. SUMMARY: "Breaking news from Alexandria: over 5400 priceless scrolls stored in the city library have gone blur as the institution was flooded at about 2 p.m. The losses are irreparable. Probably, the unknown saboteur is a plumber, once working in the library, who decided to take a revenge on Demetrius I Soter after being fired. The suspect knew heating installation of the building very well. The builders' expertise indicates he found the crucial pipe and hit it with a spanner in the most fragile point, so that's how the two-storey room (that one with a new ladder applied a week ago) was flooded. From there, the water has soaked through the floor to the lower part of the library, destabilising the wall structure and blocking the passages to the Hall of Demetrius and to the nearby temple of Poseidon - as for a kind of a paradox, a god of large amounts of water." Extract from the manuscript of Dejayos Fullos, Alexandria Post reporter, 282 BC." - DJ Full (01-Nov-2010)
"These are the ingredients for a tasty level. One takes a level from TR4, for example, The Lost Library, put these Lost Library half under water, places somewhere a music role and the Pharos Pillar, into the bargain two Horsemen and already one has cooked something tasty. So has imagined that in any case the level builder. However, he has probably forgotten, that the best-before date for the ingredients are expired long time ago. Hence, this dish is bland and without any own taste. Both Horsemen are absolutely harmless, because they are only under water and Lara hold always enough distance. I have not found a use for the Pharos Pillar and the music scroll opens the door to the level end after about 10 minutes. Result: Here you can spoil yourself only the stomach, so best of all you search for something else." - Scottie (29-May-2009)
"I'll take the word of all the other reviewers (even though I recall little of the TRLE level itself)that this is simply a waterized version of the original prj. OK then,one point for the idea and its execution;zero points for anything else,as it was all some other builders work.A bit harsh,but there it is. It's perfectly playable,though,for those (like myself) with poor memories." - Orbit Dream (07-Apr-2008)
"If you have a prj and tga for the Library which I presume you do with the Editor you could flood all the rooms delete some rooms and you'd end up with something like this. Those big vases you shot in the original game are there but underwater you can't shoot them (unless of course you give Lara a harpoon! maybe) and two knights run on the floor after you as you swim above! Remember that room with the two gigantic lion heads you crawl through their mouths that's there too and as you swim you trigger the boulder. Here too is the pull down switch which can't be used because it's underwater and you can get two scrolls on the lion's heads. I can't even give credit for the good camera angles because if memory serves they were always there. You could end the level in a couple of minutes if you find that chain pull it and exit. Now all this would be perfectly acceptable if there was a plausible twist to the tale but it's nothing more than a flooded version of the original library and cannot be credited." - CC (01-Oct-2003)
"This exercise seems completely pointless to me. You get a flooded library but apart from picking up the scroll and leaving there is nothing to do. You can still light the torch but what for? Enigmatic fly bys are triggered when you swim past the spots you reached by other means in the original game the animation for opening the double doors does not work and there is a crawlspace into nowhere. Not amused." - Dimpfelmoser (14-Oct-2002)
"If you liked the original Library this is the level to play excuse me to swim. Although all the doors are open and you even can get the torch and light it the floor you needed to burn is already burned. The first floor of the Library is flooded. I had a real laugh to see the horsemen running around whilst Lara is swimming above them. Just for the heck of it I visited every room even when I knew where to find the scroll and the room where to place it. 27-09-2002" - Gerty (01-Oct-2002)
"Yes as the name says this is a return to the Lost Library level of Last Revelation only this time it is partially submerged under water but herein lies the cause of a lot of bugs such as having horsemen running around underwater rooms you cannot enter as although they are under water they are not filled with water flames that ignite under water and water effects that are from the original Lost Library level and are obvious even though they are under water and should blend in. Despite all those things you would hope this level would hold some interest but it doesn't all you need do is find a scroll and place it to end the level which could either take 5 minutes if you remember where things are located or it could take you 30 minutes of useless swimming and running around." - Sash (21-Jun-2002)
"Actually a nice idea, but it does not seem to be thought through to the end. This is an (almost) exact copy of the Lost Library level with the creative angle of the ground floor being fully watered. It has you searching and swimming around for a while, reminiscing and trying to remember where to find which pick-ups, but then you find the music scroll, place it and leave the level and after 10 minutes it is all over." - Michael (21-Jun-2002)
"A simple little level (if you remember the original Lost Library from Last Revelation) that can be completed in 10 minutes. Here the bottom level of the library is flooded and you need to find the music scroll (I remembered where that was) and place it in its holder by the harp (but could not remember where that was - sheesh). It's a bit of fun being chased around by submersible horsemen but aside from that a relatively ordinary level that could have offered SO much more." - Torry (21-Jun-2002)
"Well most part of this rating goes to the original Lost Library. By the way Return To The Lost Library shows you a sunken lost library. I have to say it was very nice interesting idea. But on the other hand as it is the original Lost Library with flooded rooms almost every object was useless here. It's lots easier and shorter due to it. You just need to find the music scroll and use it. Lara will play it on the musical instrument and open a secret door. Then the level finishes. I liked it at all." - Treeble (21-Jun-2002)
"This level sounded so interesting I just had to see it for myself. 'The Lost Library' is one of the levels I'll never forget so I had to see what the creator had done with it. Basically the first floor is flooded and all of the doors are already open so you don't have to figure out how to open them. That actually would have made the level more interesting in my opinion it was just too easy this way. However it was still a lot of fun to swim around and see all the first floor rooms when they were underwater. It was funny seeing the horsemen running around waving their weapons underwater as they chased me around the big room. Quite interesting to look at but there's really no game here." - RaiderGirl (21-Jun-2002)
"It is an exact copy of the original level from TR4 that we all know so well. Starting in water I thought it would be interesting visiting the rooms again in that state and I was also curious of how the game would progress. What a big disappointment! All there was as mentioned above were flooded rooms and after picking up two music scrolls and a pillar if you remember where it was you place one of them and the door opens to end the level. I did laugh though with a horseman running down in the water also I saw some vertical bronze columns in the middle of some rooms to be exact half of them which I can't understand their purpose. It's your choice if you want to see again the library flooded although without any game play or puzzles at all or search for something more interesting." - Kristina (21-Jun-2002)