Level reviews

"Oh. My. God. Sandstorm. Why have I never played this before? I never released my level as I'd originally intended, but my personal copy of Intrusion at the time featured that very song as a replacement for Jeep Thrills Max (but I chickened out, partly due to file size at the time, partly due to legal fears). Anyway, yes, this is essentially a reskinned Desert Railroad (much like every other train level out there), but it's not without its perks. The girders, complete with the whooshing sound effect, were awesome and quite unexpected, and the train is a lot more luxurious than usual. I fell quite a few times, and even got pushed a couple of times by the baddies, but all in all this was a very enjoyable take on a type of level we don't see nearly enough. 20 minutes. 03/21" - Treeble

"This train level should really have been titled "Let's go back and forth", as (in line with all other examples of its type) it sums up pretty much everything the gameplay has to offer. Work your way through a succession of carriages (including one containing a particularly irritating maze-like wire fence);picking up important items and shooting lots of thugs. The gameplay is never demanding (those girders in the roof of the tunnel made for some entertaining moments);but it becomes one of those levels where you become completely stuck if you do something un-envisaged by the builder - in my case,despite picking up the required pieces of the key as well as the computer disk,the final door to the engine stubbornly refused to open. It turned out that running over ALL the roofs (an absolutely standard,and expected,element of progression in Train levels) and jumping down to the engine itself was a completely incorrect thing to do,as the player would miss a vital trigger located back inside one of the carriages.This was extraordinarily irritating;and would have been a game-stopper were it not for the Walkthrough. The enemy attacks kept things entertaining,though;and were never difficult due to the copious amount of shotgun ammo. The lighting and texturing was excellent;and I suppose the twenty-year-old trance anthem "Sandstorm" was relevant in some way. It felt somewhat anachronistic to hear an electric train emitting steam hoots every few minutes;but I presume that can be put down to the generally tongue-in-cheek style of the level. Reasonable fun, all told; but, of the many standalone Train levels, Titan Express still remains the one to beat." - Orbit Dream

"I kinda have to agree with Sash on this one as the level offers nothing really new and seems almost an exact replica of the original train level in Last Revelation. The enemies are extremely hard to kill and the constant to and fro became tedious. The cabins have luxurious textures and are immense so extra points for that. I did not mind the girders wacking Lara in the head but only the first one works as once you know you simply crawl to avoid them. One question though. Why has the last car no floor? Never seen that in real life and it makes no sense." - Torry

"A nice and enjoyable train raid which I played before and didn't review for some reason. A few precarious moments where unarmed enemies can knock Lara off of the crates so be vigilant!" - High Priestess

"My God, what luxurious carriages. Leather seats, pumping techno music (let's get it on, indeed!) and stickers plastered over some of the carriages - you don't get that in the original Desert Railroad! Yes, it may be the typical train gameplay (shoot loads of guards, pick up items, use switches etc, but this was a nice little gem. Finding the crowbar, two key bits and a code disk is the goal here and you also have to avoid steel girders trying to whack Lara in the head. Definitely time well spent." - Ryan

"An underrated level in my opinion, yes - it has it's flaws and maybe it should've had a harder puzzle but I enjoyed exploring the different parts of the train and blasting some enemies with the shotgun. The griders are a very cool trap and they add more action to the game. Backtracking doesn't feel tedious here maybe because the train itself isn't that big and you can get from the first to the last car pretty quick. Texturing isn't very impressive on the outside while on the inside the visuals are nice to look at. 20 minutes in and you're already in the end, if you feel like playing something quick filled with action you might as well play this." - misho98

"Sure, it's a train level, but it's an entertaining train level. You have to go back and forth several times, as is the usual fare, and there's an added hazard of random girders that whack you in the noggin and make you fall to your death as you make your way along the top of the cars. There are a number of human enemies that try to block your progress, but a shotgun with sufficient ammo is provided fairly early on. Your primary objective is to locate the crowbar, a couple of key bits and a CD, all of which allow you to progress and to enter the engine car at the end. It all takes about 30 minutes, and it's time well spent. I've wondered whatever became of Leroy Perkins. He had become one of our established builders before he abruptly dropped out of sight. I need to put his magnum opus, Troglodyte Technology, on my replay list." - Phil

"Again the classic train level where Lara has to jump from vagon to vagon to the final one shooting enemies and open doors to pick up something there and return the way she came to use that item. The level is very well builded with all kind of details and nice textured. The problem here is that I reached the final vagon without the crowbar, and I had to go all the long way back to the start, all the long way back to the end and all the long way back to the start again. Except for this, it's an entertaining level worth to play." - Jose

"This is the first train level I've played that takes place in a tunnel. It must be quite a long tunnel. It must've been quite a luxurious train in it's time with carpets and leather upholstery. Now looks rather old and tatty. The atmosphere reminds of the London levels of TR3. It begins with a great flyby of the train and some dance music tracks but gives way to just background train noise, all sound effects sounds are correct. Also, shotgun sound is perfect. The gameplay at the beginning is kept simple, pulling floor levers, killing a soldier and some guy who punches you for no reason! There's a sort of maze of fencing in a storage compartment to annoy you. Then some more punching guys, I notice they reset their positions if you save and reload. We have some nice looking vintage cars here. More excitement to follow with some more compartments which are accessed by stepping on falling glass - very nice, and killing soldiers, they each have switches or goodies in them. One has a CD for later, it is easy to miss though especially in pitch black hole. Switches open doors which don't lead anywhere. I like the railings on the ceiling that come along every so often, they harm Lara if she's standing up - but not enough in my opinion. The last compartment has for some reason all it's bottom missing so it's quite dangerous, the walkthrough says you have to do a roll in mid air to get back but that doesn't work so I just got quite low on the climbable wall and jumped straight back. It's then that I realised I didn't have a crowbar, so back we go to search for it. Found it in a storage compartment. Back to the compartment with no floor and collect a part of a key card, backtracking to the start, you kill a few baddies, collect the other half of the card, and use it to open a door. The room beyond is a lot more hi tech with control panels everywhere. Where is the driver, or is this on autopilot? The CD is inserted and a flyby heralds the end with another Darude track. So, this isn't a bad level and sound and graphics are pretty good. It's a little frustrating having to go back and forth with difficult jumps if you forget something. Net gameplay 30 minutes." - sonnyd83

"Recommended to me by the new 'Featured Level' part of the homepage, I thought I'd give this a try. Pretty fun actually simply for the novelty of a tunnel setting. Not quite sure what relevance the title has to anything though. Despite that, I really like the girders coming to kill you at certain points, very clever idea as it's hard to put traps onto a train level without them looking out of place. Train levels are good to break the flow of a long level series but stand alone they are unfortunately very limited to 3 square wide gameplay." - TrueRaider

"It's absolutely sad that this level's got one bad review, I can't understand why. Anyway, this is my very first train level I've played and I am thrilled. Super atmosphere and great flyby cameras, especially the last one is perfect, the music also brilliantly chosen. In my opinion this is a must play level but make sure when you return from the last wagon to the first one, go through the cars, don't go over the roof because you'd miss the baddy who possesses the last puzzle piece item which you definetly need!" - Catherin

"In this level the author appears to have wanted a change of pace. Train levels must be very limiting for authors but Leroy rises to the challenge. Although there is a fair bit of backtracking involved as you might expect the level flows well. The textures are all new and the use of custom music adds to the feeling of accomplishment. If you have a half hour spare then this is well worth a download." - Jez

"Another train-level with nice textures and interesting gameplay. Most of the train-levels are the same: You start near the locomotive and run to the end of the train. Then go back and enter the locomotive. Here is the same game but I found it okay. The textures were new (for a train) and the dangerous objects on the roof of the wagons were very critical for Lara. This level gave me much fun." - Xxenofex

"This is a very nice remake of the Last Revelation train level. It now a modern train with luxury compartments speeding through a long tunnel. The well-textured level has wonderful objects cool enemies and fancy cut scenes. The icing of the cake is the accompanying techno music. Although the gameplay is similar to the original there are quite a few extra twists." - Bogey

"My word what posh railway carriages - more Orient Express than Desert Railroad. This is something of a departure for Leroy since train levels are by definition linear and his levels are usually anything but. The sneakiness is still in evidence however - having Lara brained by overhead iron girders was a novel experience. Ouch. The ninja enemies have been replaced by bearded thugs and there are glass skylights in the carriages to break which I enjoyed. (Go on admit it you enjoy breaking glass too don't you?). If you like train levels you'll certainly have fun with this one." - Jay

"Been a while since we had a train level and this one is really entertaining for the 25 minutes it lasts. Great little touches in terms of choice of objects (plush seats high railings) animations (opening boxes) and falling through the ceiling windows and also added sounds for the weapons and of course the choice of music is great. That all aside it is of course a train level with the usual ingredients - going one way then the other and killing a bunch of bad guys along the way. But hey - it's very entertaining nonetheless so give it a try." - Michael

"Well I suppose it is among the best train levels I've played up to date though it doesn't exactly differ much from the original besides the setting which is underground (am wondering though what is Lara doing there she surely could've slept well at nights knowing that the few poor souls on this train are still alive?) and a few neat ideas like the metal bars you have to dodge while on top of the train or the bottomless wagon. Also be sure when returning after getting the key bit from the last wagon THROUGH the wagons and not on top of them as otherwise you avoid important triggers that trigger the soldiers which leave the other key bit (thanks Aims!) I did it the wrong way and had to replay 3 times till I figured what was wrong (simply because I thought it was a bug). Another nifty thing to do in the level is reload. Why that? Well since the whole level actually moves all the time so does the loadscreen even if for a little bit nice touch! Overall not much from the ordinary but still enjoyable - just remember on your way back - through the wagons not on top of them!" - eTux

"Top marks for the look of this train going through a tunnel. Nice carriages with cosy red upholstery seats and the limos looked good. I liked the idea of the roof glass breaking and the overhead bars that could knock Lara off the roof of the train. They gave me so many scares I eventually decided to crawl not run on the train roof. I can't see how you can alter a train level except to hide the pickups about the place. Leroy does give us a nice little diversion in the end car that has no floor. But for the rest it was killing that same guy over and over again in the corridor. Lara has to get a disc and two key pieces on the train to get into the drivers compartment and take control of the train. Then there is a very good flyby that shows the train from each side front and back and all over. Oh I nearly forgot the new action of Lara kneeling down to take things from boxes on the floor very good. This would be a very good level as part of a bigger series." - CC

"Well the tr4 data file is called 'choo choo' and that does sum up the level. Lara has to get through the train and a lot of baddies. It's quite um linear BUT the player should find the crowbar before getting past the train car loaded with autos (the car with the cars...). I like this piece and enjoyed playing it." - Duncan

"Some of you may not have known this little bit of trivia the phrase this level gets it's name from is actually the mating call of the beer speckled aussie boozehound this is not a rare species down here in fact the government is thinking of doing some humane culling as they are starting to over inhabit the landscape especially of a Friday Saturday night at the local watering hole. Sadly this creature usually incorporates this phrase into being the whole extent of their foreplay and this leaves the female of the species very dissatisfied thankfully the following minute and a half of ritualistic missionary mating is usually a sedate affair and gives the female time to think of more necessary nesting chores such as dusting the cobwebs out of the corner of the room or whether to get low fat or full cream milk at the shops. So concludes the lesson for the day for the ladies though just make sure if you ever come across one of these creatures in your travels to avert your eyes at all times otherwise the slightest hint that you have recognised them may result in an attack of unwanted pawing on your person and from past experience this is only countered by pointing out a bustier blonde of the species to them so that their attention is diverted to another. Now that I have that out of the way the level itself is pretty much a remake of the train level from TR4. The last carriage with no floor and the plush interiors were nice the thug trying to jump from a passing car onto the train but instead just falling to the ground with an 'ugh' was hilarious and a replay moment but the highlight was the girders you have to duck while traversing across the carriage roofs to avoid losing your head. This though isn't enough to take it out of remake status and so I rate accordingly." - Sash

"WOW a train level and what a train ride this was. And a very roundabout way to get your hands on that crowbar that took some time for me to figure out. Have been over that train a zillion times and a bit out of sheer frustration I let Lara climb over the top of the train to the engine and lo and behold... got the damn thing. For the rest there isn't that much you can do with a train. The nasty workmen were nasty indeed unless you get that shotgun and the guards well they were just guards. Getting your hands on a disk and two part of a Key and you are home free. Do save here and there as walking on top of that train has a nasty surprise for you installed LOL. Nice Techno Beat rhythm and how appropriate the song is called: Let's get it ON. 24-07-2004" - Gerty

"A train level with a retextured train and enemies. The gameplay is quite simple; find two halves of a key and a disk to be able to enter the control wagon. I liked the train's look and the obstacle that was placed on the roofs of the wagons. I was surprised the first time I encountered it; I didn't see that one coming. There are some minor glitches like if you reload outside one of the enemies might start running on the spot but from what I've heard that's one of the editor's problems. It is very short as a level about fifteen to twenty minutes but fun to play. Give it a try." - Kristina

"A train level is usually not different from other train level. The same gameplay - this is what we have here. Moves from fancy wagon to other wagon kill soldiers and nomads pick up ammo from small boxes crowbar and three objects. Kick doors and pull switches - nevertheless it's a nice level that is worth to play." - Yoav

"Here's another little train level. Not much to do as you are only on a train. Objective is to get the key piece to access the train controls and take control of it by placing a disc. The level isn't that fun to play it's basically a remake of the train level in tr4 but looks different (is a electric train not a steam) has retuxured rooms to look like a fancy train and is going through a tunnel at night. So I can only really praise it for its looks. New enemies like rough looking guards from tr3 which can be tough to defeat and some jump on the train from a car roof (cars driving in a train tunnel?). I was lucky a few times as they jumped straight onto the tracks! lol and there were guards with guns wearing masks. The only weapon you have is a shotgun and there are a few medis so no worries of dying (unless you are careless and fall on the tracks). You go from one end of the train to the other and back. I did like the look of the train the comfy chairs in the carriages and the cars on the trailer carriage but that's all it has to offer. It is too dark as well and there are no flares to pick up which was a pain. But if you are a fan of train levels then I recommend it if not then maybe play it just to see the looks of it and listen to the dance/techno style background music." - Aims