Level reviews

"I have an undying love for The Lost Artifact as it surpasses TR3 itself in every single way. I've always been curious about this particular release (and believe it or not, I meant to play it when it was first released, hard to believe that 15 whole years of postponing have gone by) because in my mind it would have been an expanded remake, but what you get here is an entirely different and independent beast. There are some throwbacks and nods to the original, a couple of rooms recreated even, but for the most part it's down to setting only. Sadly the gameplay isn't quite as enticing as it's all about finding buttons and levers, and with a lot of backtracking I fear this just wasn't my cup of tea. Even by following G&D's walkthrough I often thought it was rather confusing. The atmosphere however in both levels seems to do justice to the source material, and even beyond as the beach area was quite nice as well, despite the obvious "end of the world" wall texture which the author chose. 2 hours, 6 secrets. 10/24" - Treeble

"The first level is more custom and varied than the second one which keeps the nice setting but has too many generic interactions. Maybe it would work the best to play the first level then swap to the original TLA segment. A weak point I would fix is the blue door puzzle - it makes the point very quickly then drags forever for no reason. But the most important problem is the uniform pacing and tasking over the entire runtime, so even though the level is immersive, it feels stale. In the end I can't tell if you will like it a lot or have enough of it when finished." - DJ Full

"A very good TR3 Gold level with minor flaws. The atmosphere is top, especially in the second section with the tunnel. Unfortunately, the opening section with the sea and the the strange horizon boundary is a bit out of the ordinary. There is also a strange jump here to get back to the starting area, the way back could have been easy. I also found some tree objects inappropriate here. But apart from that, the rest is top notch. Be warned though to look for a hell of a lot of levers! I especially liked the aspect of the author's emphasis on exploration. Enemies are the same as in the original, but if you find the Desert Eagle, the Rocketlauncher and the Shotgun, they don't make much of a problem. Also, there are quite a few timeruns to complete, and these can be challenging. If you find the secret bulbs, you get a few minutes of extra gameplay at the end. I invested over 3 hours in this adventure and had a lot of fun with it. A challenging level with small starting difficulties, but once you get past the initial area with the sea, you will have a great time with this classic TRLE, recommended!" - vandit

"The Lost Artifact levels were among my favourites out of the official levels, so I had a wonderful time with this two, - level set. The atmosphere and construction is nicely done and it evokes the feel of the original section very well (I particularly loved the area with the crashed train as all the memories came flooding back). The Chunnel part is a lot more complex than the Cliff part, but each is equally enjoyable, despite there maybe being a few too many switches to pull. The timed sequences were definitely among the highlights here, as well as the quad bike ride, but never anything unduly frustrating. If you can, do try and locate the two secret bulbs as that adds an extra few minutes of gameplay, giving you a total of 2:15 hours. I loved it." - Ryan

"As the name suggests this is a homage to the Channel Tunnel section of Lost Artefact. The visual design is nice throughout and does some original things with the theme (especially with the greater outdoor focus of the first level), though the blue tarp type textures felt a little overused in the first level and made the visuals a little monochrome at times, the second map improves on this though. Architecture and texturing are both good throughout, if not really having any "wow" moments. There's also some creative object uses.
The gameplay is decently varied with a good mix of puzzles, exploration and combat, with a decent difficulty transition from slower paced exploration in the first map and action/timed puzzles in the second. In general I felt it was a little linear, and almost every big area turns out to only really have one proper way to go at a time, that's mostly fine, but it did make some of the bigger areas come down to finding the one thing you need to do to get going rather than more organically tackling multiple challenges. The way the reward for the secrets in the second map calls back to the original level was nice, although it's shame it doesn't really surprise with anything in that regard (especially as a moment near the start of the first map suggested there might be a twist on the primordial sections). A good set, especially if you like the original Shakespeare Cliff map as it's a faithful extension of that theme." - Mman

"Having done the walkthrough with Dutchy I was glad I didn't reviewed this level way back in 2009. I had a great time just doing it all over again and I for sure loved "the Chunnel" part. I even managed to do that pretty nasty quad bike jump all by myself, as everybody should know by now… I so do hate vehicles. If you haven't had a go at it you missed out at a great game. Abide it is not looking very sleek as it is a pretty "old" level but I didn't care at all. Do go for those two so called "bulps" as that will give you some more gameplay, not easy mind you but worth it." - Gerty

"Whether your a fan of the Lost Artifact or not i highly advise these two levels. Their fun fun to play and i felt like i was playing an extended version of the original. The Cliff-This level was a decent start from the wharf slowly going inland into the Slinc facilities. I was especially impressed how the author managed to turn the skybox into actual geometry. I had to put an extra point into the Atmosphere catergory just for that. The author creates a convincing outside atmosphere that was absent in the original. The only thing that really bugged me was the ocean textures being above the waters surface. Other than that it was an overall decent level. I recommend finding all of the secrets as you will need them for the next level. I also advise taking advantage of the trapdoor bug and getting the Desert Eagle early. It will make dealing with the Slinc mercs a lot easier. Secrets found 3 out of 3 The Chunnel-Heres where things get interesting. You have a moderate progression through the mines and underground facilities until you reach the accident scene. Just like in the previous level make it a point to find the bulbs and the key so you can access the 'secret room' at the end. There's no boss at the end so feel free to use up your ammo on whatever enemies get in your way. Secrets found 3 out of 3 I'd like to see more 'Tomb Raider Revisted' from this author. Worth the 2 days it took me to complete it." - CosmicDust4444

"This is quite an elaborate two level set and as I have never played the TR3 Gold level, I did not have any references to burden myself with. It has a lot going for it with the inital beach setting in 'The Cliff' and then the underground tunnels in 'The Chunnel', which for me was the stronger part of the two and took me 2:10 hours to complete with all 6 secrets found. Yes, there are a few 'bad' things: the rather uninspired/ugly solution with the horizon at the beginning, the fact that a large part of the adventure turns into a pure 'switch hunt' and the shortcomings of the quad bike use that may get you completely stuck if you are not managing your saves well, but these are outweighed by far with the intrigueing progression through the maps, clever use of not so common elements (like the minefield and drills), rather good camera work and a few interesting timed sequences to master. The train crash site looked great and I felt a great sense of accomplishment when completing this adventure. Recommended!" - MichaelP

"I don`t know why this two level set has so low rating. I really enjoyed it. I had nostalgy feeling of TR3 Lost Artifact. Gameplay and puzzles was classical and I liked it. Secrets was well hidden and there is a little bonus at the end if you find them all. Lighting and textures applied wasn`t breathtaking but for me it was nice. Recommodation for all TR3 lovers" - OverRaider

"Great levelset, I really enjoyed it even if the gameplay didn't featured any hard puzzles. You can get stuck by missing a key or another important item. The gameplay was mostly opening doors with switches or keys but I didn't mind because there was some platforming and pushblocks. Enemies were well placed. The atmosphere was great, it really took me back to "The Lost Artifact". Good use of cameras too. Textures weren't the best thing, some of them weren't rotated, but it still looked good. Lighting was player-friendly and I didn't needed flares at all. Lots of medi-pack - this is a nice thing of course. Nice weapons too, fun to kill enemies with them. It took me 2+ hours. Recommended!" - misho98

"When a builder sets out to recreate a certain scenario, the player being a fan of the source of inspiration is a bit of a double-edged sword for the builder. On one hand the player could end up being the biggest fan of the level and just be delighted to yet again spend an hour or two in a familiar setting, and on the other hand its harshest critic in wishing that the author does not replicate too much and adds in enough of his own content. When playing this level I felt like both of those players on and off. Die Basis certainly recreates well what could've been an extended version of the Shakespeare Cliff level from TR3 Gold, yet I felt that for most part it actually feels like more of the same. It starts out rather promising both settingswise on the beach, which you don't get to explore in the original and gameplaywise with a neat when in doubt - jump over a fence strategy (to replace the regular when in doubt - shoot one) to add some variety to the regular push and pull of levers as you go deeper inland and enter the base. The second level is more faithful to the source of inspiration as you venture underground, through train tunnels and to the familiar crash site among other areas. The glaringly obvious 'end of the world' for the open sea areas in level one was unsightly and a bit of a pity, cause otherwise the level looked rather fine - and I was a bit torn about the inclusion of the train-crash crater and prehistoric secret area (so close to the earth surface? and sandwiched between two 'normal' looking base areas?) again in level two. On one hand - you kind of would want the level to reference to those in one way or the other, but I felt it was a bit uninspired to just recycle those ideas again, down to the quadbike ride (which is a bit buggy here, because you get no reverse gear, but that's a known TR3-TRLE conversion bug) and the get down to the bottom of the crater schtick - though admittedly you do so here to retrieve an item and get out again. However, this is far from a remake of the original, and I think it's great that the author didn't set out to make it as one. Some elements of the game probably didn't work out as he intended them to - so you might have to be wary of some inventory mess if you stumble upon it. But where the author adds ideas of his own, he does so greatly - I liked the use of sand to put out a fire, dispatching a boulder before being able to use a key safely was nicely done, and the tasks to get the silver and copper keys were pretty fun and inspired. All in all it is a great variation of the theme if that's what you're after and though it struggles a bit at the start gameplaywise to make the experience coherent and at the end settingswise to add something new into an already memorable (though less explored) scenario - is well worth the try for the innovative touches it does." - eTux

"All experienced custom TR players know that Die Basis never released a bad level. Although there are quite a few glitches, bugs and gameplay 'killers', both levels are great and worthy of playing. There are a lot of confusing moments in the game, and with the first one you have to deal at the very beginning of the first level. I thought I was stuck at the beach at the beginning of the first level, because I had nowhere to go from there. When I accidentally found a tricky way to jump across the fence, I thought it was a glitch in the game, I thought that the author had made a mistake here and accidentally left this slope too high. Not until later did I realize that it was not a glitch, that it actually was the only way to continue the game. There are several similar moments in the game, when you need to perform exactly the same jump in order to reach to the other side of the fence. So, this jumping across the fence is not a glitch, it is supposed to be done. But it doesn't mean that the game is without glitches. There is that notorious fence-bug, and I triggered it while I was fighting with two orange-overall workers in the pool area. While I was jumping around and shooting at them, I jumped through the fence and found myself outside, and the workers mysteriously followed me through the fence either. Also, these orange-overall workers have a very buggy AI. At several locations, mostly indoor, when I ran into two of these baddies, I start shooting at them, and for no obvious reason, the two of them would start chasing each other, completely losing all interest about Lara. Well, this was very helpful, since I could kill them easily with no loss of health, but it seemed awkward and silly to watch these enemies running one after another in a circle. Really silly! Sometimes, when close to an opened door, an orange-overall worker may get stuck in the door, and you can easily kill him. Maybe this bug with these enemies might be useful for some players, but for me was annoying, since I like fighting when playing TR. Also, there are some bugs that are included in TRLE itself, and every author must find a way around them. Die Basis used TREP patched .exe to fix holster bug and to increase drawing distance range, and both were excellent ideas. Still, the author should have found a better way to make the beach and the sea. After only a few meters of swimming from the shore, you bump into a dark wall... I know that there had to be a way to limit Lara's swimming, but there are some better ways to do it. For example, he could have placed a strong sink (current) a few meters away from the shore, and Lara won't be able to swim any further. Both levels are very realistic, with lots of static, animated and interactive objects placed perfectly in the appropriate locations. I found not even one misplaced object in all the game. Sound is perfect and I found not even one sound bug, although TRLE sound bugs are notorious and most difficult to fix, especially when you use objects that are not 'default' (e.g. the TR3 underwater switch or the big TR2 spider). Die Basis did a very good work with sounds, I must admit. There are also some interesting movable objects, like a movable coach next to the big drill at the end of the first level. Also, I was amazed at the way the author used static objects' collision (I thought Lara cannot crawl under those pipes, but actually she can, and that was really excellent). Although someone might think that dozens and dozens of switches may ruin the gameplay, this is not the situation. There are indeed a lot of switches and doors to open, but none of them was a gameplay 'killer'. The real gameplay killer was, for example, a merciless timed-run at the end of the first level. I lost two hours trying to jump to the crevice from the second trapdoor. I hate that part, really. Those timed-runs by Die Basis are really tight. All in all, the game is good and interesting. The ambience might have been improved by better lighting (I never used a single flare in all the game), but it was not so bad after all. Also, there should have been some flyby camera cutscenes, not only fixed camera cutscenes, the mine field might have been made better, but still, I have no regrets for spending four long hours playing these two levels. You have to have quite a skill to be able to perform some really tricky jump, you have to be very creative to solve some puzzles, and these are all good things, in my opinion at least. Playing Shakespeare Cliff Revisited was a great fun for me and I recommend it to experienced raiders, but not to the beginners, because it is too difficult sometimes." - Nina Croft

"I never played the original level, so I have no idea what changes were made here. I really enjoyed this level a lot. I loved the bright beach, and honestly, even the chunnel was fairly bright, as I never once used a flare, even though many were provided. I thought the the gameplay was superb here, with some nifty moments like shooting a pipe to stop fire blowing on a key. I did find that it wasn't necessary to obtain the hut key to get the desert eagle, as the trapdoor just flung open on its own, which was fine by me, as I got to use the gun longer. The secret room was quite nifty too and worth obtaining the secrets for. I thought that lighting could have been better, with better shadowing, especially in the chunnel in order to add more realism, but other than that, I found the level to be very well done." - Shandroid

"This is agood TR3-like level. Only for the TR3 style I see it with another eyes 'cause it was my favourite TR game. The levels are very well builded, with a good architecture and well textured. No impossible tasks, but it cost me a lot the running jump to the ladder over the deadly pool in the second level. The first level was tedious for me 'cause there are few puzzles and tooooo many switches/buttons to pull; push a button to open a door, go there, push another to open another door, go there, push another... and so. Even I think there are some "bugs" 'cause the map for the mines field was not exact and there are two erroneus tiles (I jumped to the tile marked in the map and Lara exploded, and I had to try and error to look for another tile). At the end of the level you get very disoriented 'cause when you pick up the card there's not a camera and it's difficult to figure out you need to go back to the hut near the beginning. The end of the sea has not a very good look too. At the very end I only need to place one card to open the door to activate the drill. The second level was quite good, with better puzzles and very interesting situations, I've enjoyed a lot. I picked up a key for a secret in the first level and I got the blue bulb in the second, but in this second level I picked up another key for the same secret; I don't know if it was intentional from the builder, but I finished the game with this key in my inventory. Definitively a good game for me." - Jose

"A pleasant and nostalgic romp into a TR3-like chunnel. This is very much in a classic game play vein, with Lara gradually working through the varied tasks that let her progress. I was able to do these two levels by only once consulting the forum (when Lara was stuck at the deep shaft near the end, before the quad bike ride, because of a hidden jump switch). Mostly Lara was lucky enough to find just the right steps to take, but even so these are long levels to plays, each taking hours to get through. Solid, well-designed, with good game play, but with the potential to be frustrating if one misses a clue--though there is now a walkthrough. I found the rocket launcher secrets, and was expecting to confront giant flipper mutants in the next level to make use of the missiles, but, sadly, the rocket launcher was never used. I liked the opening beach scenery, though was puzzled by a sort of "wall" to block out the end of the world, instead of the more normal strong water current to prevent Lara swimming out. This opaque "wall" is used in other parts near the beginning, and by the third time was somewhat annoying. The atmospheric setting in the chunnel was good--it was here that Lara spent a long time trying to figure out how to get down to the wrecked train cars at the bottom. This is one of the more intricate parts, with some back and forth. The quad bike ride was fun, once Lara got up speed to make the initial jump, though there didn't seem to be any reverse for the bike. In sum, well built levels, that in places do much to capture the fun and spirit of the original TR levels." - dmdibl

"This episode was quite good overall. What I didn't like is the fact that these 2 levels were so ''separated'' from each other in a way that they weren't connected at all. I mean... from a beautiful beach and scenery, we suddenly go to a train station underground. Furthermore, I really hated those fences that were way too hard to jump over and I had a hard time figuring out the way to pass them. And now to the good parts! :) Stunning atmospheres, really awesome to view BUT they seemed so close, giving you the impression that you're gonna touch it (like a wall). Anywayz, the levels were pretty well created with the appropriate textures and the lightning was OK(although in some areas more lightning was needed). I'm interested in playing more levels from you in the future. :D" - Leo

"Well, I've been giving a lot of ten's lately, but I've been playing a lot of really great games !!! Congratulations Die Basis on a really interesting variation from the usual Tomb Raiding. I love the tech / lab levels, and you did a very good job with this one. Great imagination, puzzles, jumps, appropriate enemies, (although you could have a giant underground spider, or something like that) but not so hard I wanted to give up." - Juno Jim

"This was an unexpectedly complicated three-hour adventure closely patterned on the TR3 textures and sounds. Both of the two segments were equally fun to play, and I finally conquered the timed run in the confined pipe corridor in the first level (after I discovered that enabling the flycheat did not help at all). However, the flycheat did come in handy getting across that mine field in the pit (I hate having two arduous tasks thrown at you back-to-back by a builder). Everything after that could be accomplished with a little extra effort until I got to that timed button near the end that raised a platform for an inadequate time (for me, anyway) to reach and push the nearby floor lever. So, it was the flycheat to the rescue once again. Some fond memories were revived during the gaming experience, although a sense of tedium started setting in near the end with all those buttons and switches and opening doors. The concluding quadbike run was fun and not at all difficult. A refreshing change of pace. Recommended." - Phil

"well this game is set up from 2 parts ... the cliff .. shorter one and the chunnel ....... a bit longer one ... is some good intentions from the builder ...BUT .... he intended to make this game harder but artificialy harder .... iff u know what i mean .....he made some jumps more difficult but only cos put in the way a obstacle like a grate or a rock wich can be made only with side flips ....... and still need some luck to archive ....right after start u get easy stuck iff dont try to jump over the fence wich was unsusual somehow ...and need to doo that with help off some cliffs .....the chunnel level is even more anoing .... cos alot off back and fro running . u pull a lever wich open a door .... u get through .... and find another lever wich open another door ..... but to get there u need to get back at the first lever and push it again to close the previous door and open the new one wich alow u the way at 3 rd lever and so .......this lead to the opinion = the builder was lack off ideas and make confusions through the game ......... artificialy .. is alot off back and fro runnings and some very short timed runs...and to be worse this timed runs involve trappdoors from trappdoors !!!this feel like a very unpolished game with too much running back and fro just to get at the next lever ..... also alot off levers must be activated 2 times . and camera shots not much help .... cos no flyebyes . just shot the grate wich lowered or door wich opened .... usualy far from actual action place ....... personaly i was find this game a pain in the ass .... cos is very confusing moustly the chunnel level ....... u can try it .. but not much fun .. belive me ....." - Jack&

"I thought this level was a very good level, but not as good as the last. The gameplay for me was the most disappointing as i didn't know if some puzzles were either there not to be fixed or it was just buggy e.g at the start when i climbed onto the box to try and get into the cage with the button in it, i couldnt, dunno if that was supposed to happen though. Enemies were good, very strange but good, i'm not sure i liked those sea creatures though. Atmosphere was amazing, i loved the way it looked, the textures and lighting were generally good but the lighting could be better, the structure of the level is beautiful. I think this level should have been checked a few more times, should maybe be BETA tested, i'm not sure. Grade = A-" - herothing

"I always loved Die Basis's levels, and i immediately downloaded this one too. Firdt it was hard for me, but when i figured out the tricky parts, i was good from the start to the finish. Very logical,well builded levels, what really gives you back the original Tomb Raider feeling (and that is waht i love in the other levles too!). I loved the TR's Shakespeare levels, but maybe a bit a loved it more. :) The quad bike was my problem, becuse i couldn't found the back on the bike, so i stucked a bit :) Musics from the TR3, objects too expect some and the outfit :) Well if you like the nostalgic, but brand new levels, try it!" - Roli

"This is indeed a nostalgic experience and a great deal of fun. It's a two part level and moves along at a brisk pace. Base style levels can be a little hit or miss for me, but this particular one I found most agreeable. There are some good puzzles, well hidden objects, quite tight timed runs and a rather fiendish mine field to navigate, among other things. Enemies are guards, dogs and construction workers as you would expect and don't go into the watery areas without keeping an eye out for voracious fish. The crash site in the channel tunnel is perhaps the highlight of the game and beautifully captures the feel of the original. Sadly, I'm still really bad at steering the quad bike, but I enjoy it anyway. Good atmosphere and a game I found hard to stop playing." - Jay

"The "heart" of this game is the chunnel level. The first, cliffs,suggesting (to me at least)how the chunnel was infiltrated is a bit more mundane. The player will understand early on that this game involves a lot of switches and keys. I thought, initially, that it might detract from the game, but it really doesn't. There is much to do and it's all fun! I found that the search for the last "bulbs" was the real test. By the end of the game, when obtaining these items is critical, I had seen so much and been to so many places that trying to remember where I had seen the blue bulb was a little frustrating. Oh, well - what's a little frustration when trying to keep up with Lara ? IMO, a really good game leaves you wishing for more and this one does just that ! Bravo, Die Basis! Don't keep us waiting too long." - Mugs

""What lasts long, becomes finally fine." Who does not know this saying. Here he fits exactly, because, finally, Joerg has published his both endless projects. He has built time on it, then has left again, then mended, again left et cetera. And now he has published them, nevertheless. And this was a very good idea.
The Cliff: For what should one go, actually, in the surroundings of Dover on the English Channel if one can see the cliffs also here?! One could mean, Joerg would have been directly on site, because the cliffs and the hinterland look very natural and realistic. He could have developed the sea, however, a little bit further, because hardly one is in the water and swims a few metres, one is on a "wall". Though there is quite a considerable horizon, but he even works from the distance. It would have been nicer if he had shifted this "wall" further outward and had inserted a current, thus one can swim only up to a certain spot. A little bit unsuccessful was the place where Lara has to go in a big hole, where she must jump over mines to the other side. Besides, the camera looks from far above at Lara. One ascertains fast which hangs the camera too high, because it can be estimated only hard whether Lara is not too near at a mine field and in which direction she exactly looks now. Nevertheless, otherwise the riddles have well succeeded. Though I had a few smaller start difficulties, because I did not hold it, for example, for possible which I can jump over a fence. But, nevertheless, after these smaller problems it advanced quickly.
The Chunnel: Lara is on the move here in the main tunnel under the English Channel and his adjoining tunnels. A real highlight is a scene of accident in the main tunnel. There is a gaping chasm, a gigantic hole in the ground. One can see a train which hangs about the abyss and completely below lie a few remains of this train. But, actually, it is almost quite unfair to emphasise this place particularly. Also this second part has really felt well all together. Indeed, I had there a small problem. After I had gathered on the ground of the hole an briefcase and a key, a tunnel worker was shown in a cut sequence. This person was on top in a room which I had already visited. But when I was on top, nobody was there. Then I had searched all accessible rooms and had found nobody. Then by chance I had noticed which the worker had jumped completely down into the hole. This is of course no mistake of the level farmer. I wanted only to mention it, so that the other players are informed which such a thing is possible. Apart from the fact I also had with this level a lot of fun.
There we player have had really the luck, that Joerg has still published this level. And maybe he has buried even more such treasures in his cellar." - Scottie