Level reviews

"As in TR3 Gold, the series is four artifacts and Turbo could add a fifth, otherwise it ends with absurd amount of padding, like if he had enough of coding and took it out on the players. But maybe he himself is the fifth artifact, surely he's a builder I'd want to hear from and I bet he'd want to hear about the new editors as the one understanding the core the most in the world. Do a rite to summon yourself, as I can't code one." - DJ Full

"Oh hell, Lara might have some massive back pain after this adventure and anyone who played the level knows why: Pushblocks. Yeah I think Turbo Pascal used them maybe a little too often in his level and sometimes they have the same tiring purpose and also the distance that each pushblock has to be carried is huge... but the puzzles he created with the pushblocks are really clever and one-of-a-kind.
I remember playing the Remake to this level a long time ago, when I played all the TR5-levels (all 19 of 'em) and I remember how appealing it was. I also remember how excessively high scores I gave it in the review, because now I think that this original level has some aspects and puzzles, which were unique and shouldn't have been left out. Stuff like texturing is the same in both levels and this was very well done in Fenician Temple 4. A good texturing is something that always pleases me. And something distinctive about this level is the geometry: There are these angled or "triangular" walls and corners that stretch over many rooms of the entire level, they are even included at some jumping points and even a whole puzzle, i just have to mention that: the puzzle with the block that you had to move between those angled walls was a very clever and cool one! One little flaw however is the lack of "things". There were quite many corridors or other sort of passages, that were just empty and long. Overall I can say, that this is a long, fun to play adventure with many creative ideas and it was very interesting for me to play this (again) and get surprised with some totally new rooms like the one with the moving electronic, deadly devices, which wasn't in the remake." - Nuri

"The readme file does warn you that it might have been called "The Pushable Boxes Temple". There are so many nice ideas and puzzle setups spread throughout this level, but it is definitely let down by the insane amount of block pushing (I'd say about a third of my net time was spent pushing blocks around). The textures are very colorful and unique, but the environments are often square and perhaps too tall -- although there is quite a lot of crafty geometry involved -- and the general lack of objects make them quite sterile. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty to enjoy here if you can look past the rather monotonous feel brought on by the (unnecessary) padding, and as an added bonus there are a few new objects such as new enemies and the UPV is replaced by a sea turtle. 130 minutes, 2 secrets. 11/19" - Treeble

"A quite lengthy level that was given as an example with Dxtre3d (Did I spell it right?), that's how I did play first the game back in 2015, renaming it Tempio della fenice (Temple of the Pheonix, how silly I was thinking Fenician meant Pheonix!). It took me an hour to complete, immersed into a very nice gameplay and a really bad, for me, texturing, guess it was because of the quite bad texture set. I can recall an interesting part of the gameplay, there were two room connected by a tunnel that teleported (?) Lara between a room and another. I was also quite fascinated by the way the game gives you the uzis ... well is not very hard yet unexpected for me. Recommended. Wolfy Regards." - Wolf7

"Wow, what an adventure. Three solid hours of raiding with a lot of out of the box thinking required to complete the journey. At the start I was immediately stumped until I figured out the author's idiosyncrasies which generally followed on throughout the level. Small grey square walls and columns are climbable. You can shimmy on the base of ceiling ledges. You encounter breakable tiles that refuse to break when you jump on them so you need to find another way. Turtles are your friend and will help you. At the end when meeting the level boss DO NOT follow the walk through. Just shoot the bugger until he dies. Much easier and will save you much frustration. The huge spiders are copies of the Willard boss from the original game and they come at you in threes. Now game play could have used some trimming as the rooms are huge and traversing from one to another (which you are required to do) can generally become boring. I ended up sprinting as much as I could through these tasks. Also, the push-pulling of movable blocks could have been shortened. This really became tedious after a while as the lengths you had to pull the damn things were enormous. However the puzzles were clever and took some thinking to resolve. Overall a very solid and entertaining level. Not perfect but up there with the best in my opinion." - Torry

"A good level from Turbo, but I can't understand the very high ratings in the gameplay section. I liked some puzzle like the electric machines room, but most of the time I was playing pulling switches and dragging moveable blocks very long distances. Also the fight with the final boss was excessively hard, and sometimes I had to repeat the same task several times, like in the room with the fiery floor and all those cylinders. The best for me were the nice texturization, great details like the tortoise and the good use of cameras and musics. A good level for TR3 lovers." - Jose

"Great level from year 2004. There was one place where I didnt notice/realize that you can hang it. It seems unhangable edge. This level is quite long and has many different spices. The swiming-tortoise was nice connect to TR3. There is also nice puzzle from TR3 mines. This is an enjoyable level." - vienna

"Well, that was fun and kept me occupied for the best part of two and a half hours! Now, gameplay-wise, this is definitely one of the best TR3 levels out there. Fun block puzzles, timed runs, traps and many other creative elements, this is definitely one to play. As said by previous reviewers, the texturing and lighting isn't as strong as the other aspects, with wallpapered textures and flat lighting. But, try not to look too closely at the lack of authenticity and you will have fun." - Ryan

"When a builder takes his time to transfer his plenty of unique ideas carefully into a TR level, the result is most likely to be a highly original and fun game. Indeed - the gameplay in this fourth and last level of the Fenician Temple series is really great and the builder never ceased to create a plethora of fun elements throughout the whole level. I actually could not add much to eTux's review which actually says it all - at the start this game really felt rather boring with quite large areas to explore and the possibility to get lost easily due to not very well marked ladders/monkeyswings, but after throwing the first two levers the game picks up very fast. The block/lever puzzle at the start, the usage of rolling blades, breaktiles, electric machines that had to get on certain triggers using pushblocks, fantastic flipmap rooms (this puzzle actually remind me on eTux's BtB Venice level), water walls and a lot of other things is amazing; I loved the retextured UPV now looking like a turtle - also was able to get out of the water which was a very special moment in this game, and I even had the feeling the builder intendedly created this ramp where one can exit the water with it. The only real complaint I had with this level was the heavy overdose of tedious block puzzles that are not really ingenious in their design as the ones in Pirate Princess, Nerkopolis or even Castle of Training, although all the four have comparable length. The problem was not so much the non-linearity of the level some of the reviewers critizised - I actually needed a walkthrough only once in the whole game (at the boss fight, because the trigger for the first door isn't very well marked). Again, the visual appearance of this level is rather mediocre - just as what one expects judging from the other levels of the series - but the texture set is more varied and texturing was quite okay, lighting was again pretty much absent through. The diagonal walls often used throughout the level made up for a not overly blocky appearance but the architecture still is quite basic. The enemies were quite original and fitting to the setting such as the "Babylonian" knights, the Willard-alike spiders that were actually quite mortal and even if placed only in the second half of this level quite well placed; apart from a rather hard-to-miss one the secrets were rather hard to find but I still got them all. Bottomline this is one of the best TR 3 levels at least gameplaywise (and much more creative than many recent TR 4 levels) - thus highly recommended! Net gametime 100 minutes." - manarch2

"TR3 levels have a built-in disadvantage, as far as I'm concerned. Compared with the sharp details and colorful graphics made possible with the LE and its enhancements, the TR3 textures are crude and cumbersome. Playing a TR3 level these days is kind of like holding your nose while taking your foul-tasting medicine. Unless the gameplay is very good indeed, the experience is apt to be less than sublime. Unfortunately, Fenician Temple 4 doesn't quite overcome those inherent limitations. Harry Laudie has provided a walkthrough of three and a half printed pages of small type, so I expected to be engaged for about an hour. To my surprise the game clock registered 2:42 when I finally finished, and much of this time is attributable to backtracking and interminably tedious block pushing exercises. Although the level has a lot of variety and is fun to play for the most part, I've always resented it when a builder pads playing time by resorting to such techniques. A point comes off gameplay as a result. Otherwise, we have a decent raid that presents few roadblocks for the seasoned player. I would recommend it if it weren't for all the tedium." - Phil

"Wow! I was tired after playing this level, because it is so long and so challenging, and I spent the whole afternoon playing it. Although the overall architecture of the level is rather simple and "blocky", with long connecting passages and with very little decoration, the gameplay is so compelling and interesting that you will not notice how simple the architecture is. The puzzles here are very elaborated, and you need to use not only the logic and reason, but imagination also, to solve them. This is a very good adventure packed with enemies and puzzle solving, very dynamic and nice. So gameplay and puzzles deserve a very high score here. However, the score goes down when it comes to atmosphere and textures/lighting. For my taste, the lighting is not so good here, and the textures in large rooms look like wallpapers or something, so I think this could have been designed much better. But still, for all those hard-core fans who like to twist their brains in order to solve a puzzle, this is definitely a must-play. Despite of lot of backtracking through huge rooms and maps, despite the poor visual design, the game is more than interesting, and probably belongs to top five custom TR3 levels. Highly recommendable to all who like TR3, especially for those who like to build TR3 levels, because this one will show you what you can do with the unofficial editor, which, obviously, has still some hidden gems to show us." - Nina Croft

"As said by the other reviewers - arm yourself with patience and you're in for a treat. By far the best level Turbo Pascal has produced, so if you can prep yourself for a single level of 2+ hours of net gaming, you'll encounter some of the most creative moments in custom level history - including complex puzzles with the TR3 electric machines, magic rooms that rearrange as you pass through them, challenging traps in form of rolling blades, lava floors and the like, the great sea-turtle as your companion to overcome currents and much more. It seems like the visual side of it all has never really developed to be Turbo Pascal's thing, so, while still agreeable and not detracting from the other aspects of the game, my bet would be that the looks are not what you will like the most about this game. The lighting is consistent throughout, the textures applied cleanly, but the rooms are vast and kind of boxy, as a result of, there never really are any wow moments that I would credit to being induced by the way the level looks. While there's too much to mention in the gameplay department that makes this level a must play - and that by all rights would deserve a perfect score, I have to admit I did not love everything about the game. More specifically - I felt that less could've been more at times - the movable object puzzles seemed to squeeze out the maximum amount of pushing and pulling at every opportunity and the overreliance on backtracking and running around would be surplus by anyone's standards. Some other reviewers (including the walkthrough) mention that the boss battle was tough, and if you follow the walkthrough's advice - it is. If you keep in mind that the Puna chieftain is in fact vulnerable to Lara's guns, but only when he discharges his attack beams himself - it'll be a whole different ballgame than simply trying to ignore, evade him or trap his minions temporarily in the nearby passage. Other than that, as already mentioned (repeatedly) this game will test your patience more than your skill level or intelligence (though, make no mistake, both are tested), but even with its shortcomings, this still is one of the TR3 games, I'd recommend the most." - eTux

"This is a really great and extensive adventure that could have been almost perfect with a few minor adjustments. The overall variety of tasks, the gradually increasing challenge factor and the intermittent hints of genius with original and special moments happening are worthy of even higher scores, if only all these ideas had been presented in a little more compact fashion. The biggest downside of this 2+ hour quest is that you do spend a considerable amount of time running through fairly empty connecting hallways (often more than once as you get to backtrack quite a bit) and with most of the (many) push block puzzles the block or blocks have been placed in a way that the amount of pushes or pulls is maximized - even when that could have easily been avoided or at least reduced. If you can manage to ignore these issues, then you will be treated to one clever puzzle room after another, with ledge hopping, lever/door puzzles, an overlapping room scenario, an obscure water room connection, a nice room with 4 keys to pick up among rolling blades, a series of enemy battles with creepy willards and others, a nice puzzle room with several Thames Wharf machines, a tough timed run and best of all, a cool swim on a turtle! Thanks to the walkthrough, even the final boss was not a big problem for me, although I did think that the unmarked trigger tiles for the first helpful door were rather unfair. Overall, a true classic in TR3 custom level history that you must play - just bring a long a healthy level of patience." - MichaelP

"This is a well built level with good lighting and solid textures, although most of the rather larger and boxy rooms have a sterile industrial look to them. A little mire decoration would have made much difference. Very interesting game play with lots of TR3 features like the electrifying robots (weren't they some type of cleaning machines in TR3?). In the beginning it is a bit boring as there is lots of running back and forward through nearly empty rooms just to pull a lever and then back for the next lever and so on. Enemies come later in the game and some are rather tough, like the giant spider creatures. The boss fight war really enjoyable in the end, although it seemed to take forever as I was out of UZI ammo and only had the pistols. I would have rated this level higher if it wasn't for this tedious and never ending block pushing, that occurred several times in this level. Generally a good level but I enjoyed the TR2 Fenician Temple version of the same author a lot more. BTW - I was able to take the turtle out of the water and fly around the previously visited rooms. Nice and very enjoyable bug!" - Blue43

"I am sorry I have to say that I am not as excited about this level as the previous reviewers were. What the level offers in the first place is running around, back and forth, through huge rooms which are nicely textured, but simply strung together. Indeed there are some interesting elements built in, like e.g. the breakable tile blocks, the changing room and last but not least the turtle (which is a bit buggy, as Lara sticks in the wall with it in some places). The second half of the level becomes more juicy with some interesting enemies and more challenging tasks like the rolling wheels and those electrical machines (which I found the most enjoyable part in the whole game), and the big boss in the end. But altogether there was too much backtracking and too much block pushing over far too long distances what became rather annoying after a while. So apart from those points mentioned above, I experienced nothing really extraordinary gameplay-wise, it's pushing blocks and a lot of climbing, crawling and monkeyswinging to reach a switch and open a door, run back to that door to find the next switch, and so on. Altogether this level was not bad, but it shows that it was built to be a demo." - Jerry

"A very important level as Turbo Pascal did this to show off many of the features of his Dxtre3D unofficial editor. Here you will find things such as diagonal walls (indeed there is an intricate puzzle involving maneuvering a box through a whole section of diagonal wall pillars) and of course since this is a TR3 level boxes can always be placed on top other boxes for Lara to stand upon. Initially the play seems rather bland, and the rooms boxy with uniform lighting, but have patience: this is well worth playing for its own sake. When the giant spiders show up--in this level giant spiders always travel in packs--and Lara has to figure out how to get the Uzis from a series of rolling cutter blades this gets quite interesting. Actually, getting the Uzis is Secret #3. The room geometry stays generally boxy, but the puzzles are good. Some, such as the traveling electrified machines, are unique to TR3. I had played this level before, and remembered the parts where Lara had gotten stuck, and the solutions, but it still took a full three hours to finish. It's probably too much for a single sitting. Just as I was getting a little weary, the fun parts come at the end. Lara gets to ride a turtle back and forth through water corridors to overcome a strong current, a lovely novelty from TR3. Then there is the boss challenge at the end. The first time I played this the boss part took me at least an hour to figure out, but this time I looked at the walkthrough and it points out that the boss is quiet as long as the lizard creature is loose. So don't shoot the lizard creature! Just feed medipacks to Lara as needed, and leave the lizard alone. I found Lara could trigger the boss, then run through the open ended corridor behind him, then go about flipping a lever to free the push-block, and everything was easy. Many enjoyable ideas here, and a must play for anyone with a broad interest in Tomb Raider." - dmdibl

"One of the longest stand-alone level I ever played. Except for the boss at the end (which without requiring any special skills is highly frustrating and not fun at all), the degree of difficulty is well balanced and suitable for all profile of players, as you progress from stage to stage in this big map. An adventure well textured generally and suitably lighted, where the author has also thought of light effects and cameras which is not always the case in TR3 custom levels. The course is quite fluent , giving the good part to Lara's moves , with some original and good ideas like the ledges that have to been broken so to free pushable blocks , and some"mystic" moments by well made flipmaps and other means. The ledges that are broken by picking up an object is a bit far fetched gameplay wise though , and the idea of picking up an invisible object at the foot of a plant never crossed my mind. Farther , some great ideas of puzzles are extremely well thought out and fun to solve , such as the room with the deadly machines, the pushable block you have to drag in the cave with diagonal walls, or the different challenges with the rolling wheels. The author has also used some other traps such as the pistons and swinging iron thingies of Lud's gate or the spiked cylinders of Tinnos. You encounter your first enemies only after quite some time , and some are great like the spider creatures. Despite a few long sequences (pushable blocks and a couple of long crawlspaces) this is a recommended and generally pleasant adventure with some excellent highlights gameplay wise, but spoiled by the very frustrating boss ending. [ 2 h 15 / 3 Secrets not hard to find ]" - eRIC