Level reviews

"I'm very late to the party, as usual, but this means I got the chance to play the revised version in this case. While I can't vouch for what's been changed from the original version, this one kept me glued to the screen from start to finish. TR3 was never my personal favorite but this hits the right spot in that regard, and there are quite a few different settings here, from jungles to modern facilities to an ancient temple. Good and balanced fun coupled with very bright and colorful looks. Definitely a must play. 80 minutes, 5 secrets. 07/26" - Treeble

"Seventeenth of the Create a Classic 2019 competition that I actually played, this level was very original and fun to play.
The level is more on the shooter side, and finds some innovative ideas and puzzles around, starting already from the beginning area, where you have to shoot some targets around the map! As the levelset progresses, it becomes more and more "creepy" and interesting.
In fact graphically, this level applies some quirks that are pretty nice like the awesome murky water in the beginning area, that I consider one of the best areas in the whole level.
Lighting is very well applied(Reggie is a master at this) and textures and shapes really remind me of TR3 in a very positive way. It feels very classic!
There is a very good attention to detail too that I appreciated.
Secrets were neither too difficult nor too easy, which I liked.
The base was actually a bit confusing but I had my fun in there with this horus boss following you around.
The level was pretty long, but it managed to keep me interested through the whole levelset and didn't really bore me much at all. All new areas felt fresh and different from eachother.
There were some bugs here and there but it didn't really effect my fun meter, so it's all great!
The only disappointment was the end as it finished a bit abruptly(a giant pet peeve of mine). There was such a big build up and then the level finishes... randomly? Moreover the last area was visually appealing but the gameplay was a bit stale sadly.

Overall, I remember back in the day I ranked this 2nd of 18 of the Create a Classic 2019 Competition. I probably would still put this in the top 5 of the competition after some years.
The graphical side and gameplay are mainly original through most of the level and it feels so refreshing. Good Job!

Recommended? Must-Play.

Difficulty? Medium-Hard

Duration? Approx. 2-3 hours." - TombExplorer

"Some doubtful booby trap choices at the very beginning and a middle part (Hatch level, about 30 mins) that maybe I could have rather done without as it really suffers from the overall very dreary Base layout with endless switch hunting and searching through hallways. But everything else of this adventure of a little under 2 hours was great fun and really nicely put together. The lush scenery outside is fun to explore in all dimensions, there is some excellent use of sounds and audio through out that really enhances the atmosphere, you get to hop around the trees, there are some nice references thrown in, you can destroy sentry guns with grenades, the heli scene is nicely done and in the late part you get to avoid a few mild traps until you run into a tougher flamethrower guy and at the end an easy fight with 4 ahmets. So, as you can see, a lot going on and never too tricky, as long as you find your way. Also 6 secrets thrown in for good measure (found 5 of them). Great adventure that needs a bit of patience, but very rewarding to play through." - MichaelP

"First what I like : - with no doubt the camera and music, well placed and well chosen. Big + for the entrance in the temple. - This level is really big! You have various environments like a level in a official TR game, not repetitive. - A real adventure with like a story in the progression (a fan of half life or resident evil?) - This level is well made, if you forget an object or anything you can return anywhere in the level. You can't be blocked. Second what I didn't like : - I didn't understand at first that the little targets where optionnal, it was a little bit frustrating and not realistic. - The second part on the little blue statue are easily missed, important objects must be more visible. - sometime you feel lost, I needed a walktrough to finish it. The level design need to be more clear at moment. Overall : I liked this adventure, it was fun and addicting, you want to finish it and see it all. The atmosphere was awesome. With a better level design it will be a 10/10 for me." - ortancia

"I wasn't really - Lost' in the Amazon – more like perpetually - Stuck in the Amazon'. The level begins quite wonderfully, and it is that first shot of the opening area that makes one stick with the entire thing… but it quickly dwindles into a confusing, badly structured, oddly paced, adventure that I was stuck in for far too long for my own liking.

Gameplay & Puzzles: At first, it's pretty clear to figure out what needs to be done: shoot those 5 targets. But what ends up not being so clear is how for most you can use the pistols but for one in particular you need the MP5 with its Scope. This makes for a bit of an annoying puzzle as a game-opener because instinctively one ends up stuck in that first area for a long time, jumping around like a madman, wondering if one can hit one of these targets without a laser sight or not. A bit too much of a game-stopper for early on, and eventually I quit and put the level away for a later date. When I picked it up again and progressed with some help from the walkthrough (which is written for the older version not the current updated version of the game) I finally made it into the second level and I thought: now I'm getting somewhere. But this starts with an underwater maze, filled with mines and deadly water currents that drag you into blades. Once you make it through that - Welcome Party', the rest of this - Hatch' level is also a badly structured maze where you'll be running around with no clue what to do half the time because all passages look nearly identical. The worst part is, you can leave the second level without getting everything you need and return to the first level, only to have to do everything over and find what it is you were missing. It's just way too confusing. There was one neat puzzle in the game that I liked: swimming underwater to look at tiles, that came in handy later on when you needed to know which pushable block to push into the water that wouldn't cause you to burn to death.

Enemies, Objects, Secrets: There are definitely some good enemies in this. I particularly liked the guy with the crowbar who charged at me early on, whose crowbar I then get to take as my own after killing him. He kind of lost his special magic though once that same enemy is repeated a few times later on. Would've been better as a one-off enemy just for us to get the crowbar. The alien Seth and Ahmets were also a cool touch. Although, it was really annoying when I entered a glass room to get a special key, an Ahmet hatched from an egg, and then I could no longer draw my guns. I had to try to escape that room via a crawlspace the Ahmet kept pushing me out of. I have no idea if this was an intentional setup or not – because Lara was fully capable of drawing her guns in that room before I picked up that key. Some of the other objects used were cool – such as being able to blow up the Sentry guns with grenades, or the explodable TNT boxes – I wish the author had made more use of these boxes and somehow built some puzzles out of them in order to get past barriers. Placing a stack of guns as a puzzle item onto a wall to open a door is also an interesting and new idea – even if it is a bit… unrealistic and illogical? There was also a really great underwater room with a floating corpse, some mines, floating flares and other objects. Nicely done.

Atmosphere, Sound, Cameras: Camera setups were good, and so was the atmosphere. I think the author did a very interesting job in combining different themes from TR3: tropical South Pacific meets Indian jungle ruins in order to create a Peruvian Jungle, with some secret military base and Area 51 alien research labs thrown in. All this was great and definitely inspired. However, there was something truly awful about two aspects of the sound design. First, the music used was fine, and I especially liked the track that played early on every time we hit one of those five targets. But then there are these awfully loud tracks of birds chirping that only sound when you cross over certain floor tiles, and in the second level the alarm sound is so bad and continuous for far too long, that eventually I switched off my sound entirely and only turned it on again later in the hopes that the alarm had died down. We've had alarm sounds in the Offshore Rig, Area 51 and VCI levels – but all of these sounds, whilst annoying and scary don't make one instantly cringe at the entire experience. Why the author chose to do this for a level that had atmosphere which was shaping up quite nicely is beyond me.

Lighting & Textures: This was at least a decent aspect to the game, but there was one part – after using the Temple key, and progressing up ramps and slopes and long passages to get to a pyramid hub area – where everything started looking bland, boring, and wallpapery… completely unlike anything else the author had created up until this point. So that felt almost like it was slopped together quickly in order to connect areas. Regardless, it all certainly captured TR3, and as already mentioned I like how the author combined different atmospheric and location themes from TR3 to create something new-but- classic. It almost feels like this could pass as the missing Peru location that was cut during the early phase of TR3's development. I was a big fan of the final giant pyramid area the author had built, and thought this looked really stunning, although I wish that for structural purposes, he had introduced it much much sooner. The problem is that early on, one finds pieces of the Amazonite Idol, and then also one piece of the Golden Idol… and at this point it just feels like the author is badly re-using puzzle objects without much thought behind them… especially since he uses the Temple key/Indra key two times right after another. But once you find the pyramid and see that "AHA I have to place both the green-blue idol and the golden idol into their respective wall-alcoves here!" everything changes and makes structural sense. I just think that this could have been introduced sooner, and the routes to get these different pieces created in a more balanced and symmetric fashion so the player doesn't lose sight of the overarching goal." - Sethian

"This level was pretty enjoyable loved the TR3 feeling in these levels, lvl 1 was a nice mix between "South Pacific" and "India" lvl 2 was more like the "Area 51", it took me about two hours to complete them, I had such a good time, but some parts were a bit confusing. Gameplay and Puzzle: The puzzles to find/use were nice, even if the builder used the same key (Temple Key), loved the small village at the beginning, the ways in and out were very well thought, it must have been a lot of thinking to make them I suppose. Gameplay was smooth and quite easy, the "hatch" part was a bit confusing, I ran like crazy when the "alien setha" appeared and I had to find my way out/find the items. So I felt a bit like inside a maze, but it is ok, I found my way. The gameplay wasn't perfect, but I saw no real issues. Enemies,objects&Secrets: Loved the secrets (I missed one) they were cleaverly placed. The enemies worked well, maybe an alien version of the "setha" would have fit the level better than the one used, just my opinion. I also found the blue amhet a bit out of place, but not that much, I get use to it, made me think about the "chupacabra" legend.I Loved the rats, and the few baddies. The two levels would have been better with some more custom objects, but as a CaC it worked very well. Loved the underwater mines. Atmosphere,Sound&Cameras: I really loved the musics (and I was very surprised by the french voice record, it add to the drama), cameras were very useful, no fancy flybyes, only useful cameras helping the players, which is a very good thing, I aint a big fan of long and useless flybyes. Atmosphere worked perfectly, I was drawn into the levels, almost stressed out when I did hear the Aliens :) Lighting&Textures: I don't really like classic textures, but the builder made an amazing work with the lighting so I quite forgot about the ugly TR3 textures, but some of them were not perfectly applied during the levels, but it was pretty nice, I would recommand to the builder to avoid the "mirror effect" on textures, for your next levels, take a 128x128 or a 256x256 texture and apply them in 128x128 or 64x64, this way you have 4 different textures in one , so you can have some variety and it avoids wallpaper effect, using seamless textures with this technique avoid mirror on textures and as I said the wallpaper effect. I'm not a pro, but that's how I work know, and this is quite decent. To sumup these levels are enjoyable, and could be even better with some work on textures. I recommand this CaC for every player, no need to be an expert player to finish this one, you'll just enjoy the time in it." - Lara_Fox_Croft

"What starts as a relatively calm jungle level suddenly expands into an intense alien adventure. Plenty of obstacles stand in your path: turrets, guards, alien creatures, and an incredibly strong pyrotechnic. The booby-trapped huts were a humorous and unique touch. The atmosphere suffered a bit because the outdoor areas are not always constructed in a natural way; some of them are quite square and come across as "leaf boxes" rather than natural foliage. My only other complaint is that missing one of the Amazonite Idol pieces can lead to a painful backtrack. The second level also forces some backtracking because a trapdoor keeps closing behind you and you have to keep going back to the switch to reopen it...I'm not sure what the purpose of that was. Other than those details, I had a lot of fun with this TR3-themed levelset. 1 hour 51 minutes." - JesseG

"Another good level from this contest. There are huge areas to explore and sometimes certain backtracking if you choose a wrong path, dangerous places, many traps and in the second level a big Boss you can't kill. Even so the gameplay is not very difficult, and the secrets are not too hidden. The author included some old musics from old TR games and the rooms are usually well textured, creating environments nice to explore. Good work! Recommended." - Jose

"This is another of those quite elaborate and lengthy games in the competition. A good thing is that it is also an improvement versus the builder's debut level, despite some annoyances along the way. There are some creative tasks in this one, like a "find the target" tasks in the very first outside area, a few decent platforming parts in the second level and the second part of the first level, also including some nice traps (those floating bombs are a pain ;)). The builder has also included a shortcut at the most needed point, because it is quite easy to get lost in the second half if you haven't found one of the idol pieces early enough and have to backtrack later on. The gameplay overall gets a little vague towards the end, a problem that was also present in the builder's first one, and more camera hints and the like could've been helpful. Perhaps it also would've been a good idea to lock the way back to the first level if you haven't found both pieces in the second. The object design is quite nice, some custom objects have been seammlessly included into the old style setting and the enemies are also quite well placed. The three secrets are not really well hidden though. The visuals are quite okay, despite several smaller errors in texturing. What was less good was that there are quite boxy areas and especially natural areas that did not look very realistic, a few paper thin walls and also some translucent lattices where you know that there is a passage or room behind, but you cannot see those. The water textures were a bit cartoonish and odd especially because this texture is only one-sided. However I liked the final area with the temple and in general the nice scale of the level, giving the atmosphere a special touch, as well as the quite unorthodox mixture of textures which made this level quite unique. Overall a game that was decent enough for some time but at times I felt the builder was as well lost in the amazon while creating this and could've done more to create a more focused game also with a more natural architecture. Net gameplay time was quite exactly an hour before the game ended very abruptly." - manarch2

"I thought this homage to Tomb Raider 3 was rather well done although it could be confusing at times and the use of red herrings was mean. Take for example right at the beginning. If you dive into the waters you are attacked by piranha so I did not explore the underwater area further. Of course I became hopelessly stuck and had to refer to the walk through and lo and behold, there is a tunnel under the water you need to find. So IF you MUST go into the waters, why oh why infest them with piranha? The five targets also. What did they do? Maybe a short cut scene to help? Then we have the death huts. I just don't understand why they were even included. This is a definite get the walk through out early level I'm afraid. Level two confused me even further with the myriad passages, staircases and rooms and of course the beast you encounter that simply would not die. Graphics on the other hand were brilliant. Good level set but not great in my opinion due to the strange game play involved." - Torry

"For a "create a classic" this is one of the most experimentally themed sets (as this is actually two maps) I've seen in a while; it's generally themed on TR3, with HUD changes and a mix of pacific, India and Area 51 environments, but it changes them in ways to both make them fit together and give them a new spin, like a small village area, which even fits in some comedy. To start with I almost wondered if it kind of went against the nature of a contest like this, but TR3 itself is such a wild hodge-podge in itself that doing a tribute to it with a set of levels that are themselves that actually feels totally appropriate. The visual quality is generally good, but does vary a bit; most areas are decent, but then others are kind of flat and blocky, despite some large areas there's also a weirdly claustrophobic feel that the designer was trying to fit as much as possible in a small place, so things feel unnaturally squished together at times.

This is quite a complex set in terms of exploration, and the somewhat cramped design makes it a little maze-like, despite plenty of unique looking areas. Areas are semi-contained, but there are some major items that can be overlooked (especially an issue in the second map, which should have prevented you leaving until you found both the puzzle pieces you need, as it results in tons of backtracking if you don't). Despite the occasional frustration of the size and complexity, it's also full of varied challenges and original item usage; like the previous map I played there's even some promotion of different weapon types for puzzle purposes. The layout unravels in interesting ways and new large areas reveal themselves just when it seems like it's nearing the end, but it's diverse and surreal enough to not feel too overlong (outside the potential backtracking if you miss a certain item). The end is kind of disappointing though, but it seems to be a bit of a sequel hook? A great and memorably strange set that actually feels more faithful to TR3 in spurning conventional design rather than just homaging it, and easily the most interesting entry of this contest so far, even if that doesn't make it the best." - Mman

"I got a lot more out of this raid than I expected, although what I expected, I'm still not entirely sure. It's certainly an intriguing and involving adventure, containing a good variety of reasonably challenging gameplay that totally removes boredom from the equation during the couple of hours or so that you'll spend here. But it's also quite spread out, with a lot of exploration to do across both levels while performing various tasks and picking up key items along the way and it's easy to get confused, so be sure to keep mental/written notes of what you have already completed to avoid frustration setting in. Enemies are fearsome (particularly the lone flamethrower guy), but plentiful weaponry and medipacks are provided so you never feel overwhelmed, and the object placements were charming. As other reviewers mentioned, the texture choices are rather eclectic, but if you look past that the overall look is quite appealing. The atmosphere was quite convincing - it really felt like a humid lakeside setting surrounded by little huts. One minor thing - the gold bars pickup didn't register a secret for me, but oh well, it is what it is. Overall, a lengthy adventure that requires some patience, but is definitely worth experiencing if you're up for it." - Ryan

"The first level of this two-parter was absolutely stunning with its brightly-lit, outdoor beauty, while the second part was business as usual as the indoor tasks took prominence, but this was only a slight letdown for me. Anyway, you get to return to the scenic outdoors to finish the game, which I found to be amazingly complex as I was writing a walkthrough based on the posted video walk. I kept expecting something dramatic to happen after shooting those targets in the first level, and I can only assume that the grate leading to the Armoury Gun would not have lifted had I not shot all five. Along the way you need to be wary for unsuspected traps, such as crates that drop down to crush you if you fail to step quickly and lightly, and boulders in places you would not expect them to be. So far this has been an excellent CaC competition, and this entry deserves to be in the top echelon. High recommendations." - Phil

"This may be classed as a jungle level, but in fact it encapsulates South Sea Island, base and alien settings equally well, making it something of a unique experience. It's well made, innovative and interesting to play in its entirety, although I personally liked the initial island setting best of all. Some of the enemies are quite tough, but fire power is generously supplied. Enjoyable." - Jay

"What an absolutely incredible game. I started playing this game and straight away I was instantly amazed at how beautiful this game looked. Shooting the targets were a really awesome addition to the game as well. I love the little added Easter Eggs that you've added to the game. This level had such wonderful atmosphere and I was instantly immersed in the builders incredible creativity. Well done to Reggie who made this game. You've made an absolutely amazing game and I look forward to what you make next. You truly have the potential to be one of the best builders as the amount of potential that you are showing is beyond amazing." - TheWorldlyGamer

"Even before the updated version coming, this level does good in eclectic yet somehow not random design. The only moment which cries for a reminder is the armory slot. It would also be better not to close so many doors in the second level - it was done to make it easier, yet you get less backup ways in case of getting lost. The rest was doable intuitively without any bigger problems, contrary to what the title prepares you for. Waiting for the full version, hoping the lack of deadline allows Reggie to adjust the entire level to the quality of the initial location, which currently stands out as the most unique and polished. Good work." - DJ Full

"A great step-up in quality from 'Fragments of Destiny Episode 1', this release utilizes an impressive variety of assets from across the first five TR games in quite clever ways to create something that feels fresh yet familiar, with some reasonably tough gameplay that puts the player through a number of interesting scenarios which is complimented by a top notch visual presentation and appropriately utilized musical cues, leading to an utterly immersive, engaging experience all-round. Sure, the gameplay here can have its highs and lows at various points throughout. But that shouldn't deter you from playing this two-parter in the slightest. Highly recommended!" - Ceamonks890

"An absolutely outstanding and unique levelset, either design wise and also the gameplay. It took me about 2 hours to finish and I found 2 of 3 secrets. It's a classic adventure, indeed, but it's so much more, since with the comic-like artistic design choice and all these guns and exploding stuff it feels like a game or movie, where everything has to be a little bit "too much" in a good way. The storytelling which happens with little hints and infos here and there is progressing well along the playthrough and it is filled with some cool easter eggs, but also very tense moments. I would have give a 10 for Lighting and Textures, if there wouldn't be some large areas with not much going on and wallpapered like textures, which is really, really sad, cause the builder definitely proves, that he can do much better. Especially the starting area looks fantastic! Unfortunately there were also some places, where the end of the world could be reached very easily. I could understand, why someone might dislike this levelset - it's something new and it is filled with many unique ideas, as well as the TR3 and comic-style design, but after all the community really needs something fresh and it's brave, that the author dared this step in a direction, where I would like to see more levels like this. Highly recommended and keep up this good and unique work!" - MarlenaCrystal

"These levels were awesome, I finally felt the feeling I got when I first played the original games for the first time. We also had the pleasure to go through very different atmosphere (jungle, testing laboratory, temples..). Lots of brilliant puzzles to solve and of very different styles !! I first thought the builder was very generous with the amount of ammo we're getting but considering what kind of enemies we are sometimes facing it wasn't shocking! Could enjoy 4 guns for distinct purposes. Secrets were well hidden and had to be deserved. I really enjoyed it and I recommend it to anyone missing TR3 feels!! Thanks a lot to Reggie who also helped during my playthrough, lovely from him!" - Esilenna

"An action-packed ride through a surprisingly diverse set of levels that evoked classic TR3 exploration of both a jungle and a high-tech base. Like TR3, there is a mystery with horror elements that made these levels lots of fun. The best part was the open-ended exploration. There is a target puzzle that required Lara to scan the environment carefully, and this was a nice added layer to looking for pickups. I found out that the radio and frequent wheel symbols are references to the TV show "Lost" (get it?), but since I haven't seen the show these were . . . lost on me. I encountered four tricky situations that I don't think the author intended. First, there is a move where Lara needs to crouch, move forward, and hang at the same time. Many laptop keyboards don't support input from pressing three buttons at once, so be sure you have access to a separate keyboard or a high-end laptop in order to complete this move. Second, in level 2 "The Hatch," it is easy to miss the crucial connector cords required to start a machine and retrieve part of the Amazonite Idol. I played through without collecting them, and released the immortal alien monster (a retextured Seth) before realizing I needed this item. Running around trying to figure out where to find this missing piece was made considerably more difficult because of the monster's one- shot kills either on contact or through blasts of energy. I realized this level would have been *much* easier if I had completed tasks in a different order, although honestly it was kind of a thrill to run around the dark corridors avoiding the monster (while dying a lot). Third, the the room with the Amazonite Idol head, it is possible to get stuck in the wall when falling through the semi- solid floor onto a sliding platform: be careful! Fourth, it is possible to arrive at the end without realizing TWO idols are needed to exit the level. I had to return to the jungle to figure out where I had missed half of the idol in the weapons station. These two instances of significant backtracking made me wish that there had been some clearer indication of a *right* order to the open-endedness. Lighting was quite pretty, and showed off a lovely remaster of Lara's TR3 outfit. Textures were eclectic, drawn from TR3 and Lost Artifact and a few from TR1, but sometimes applied in repetitive or stretched ways (not too dissimilar to the original TR3, but distracting in 2019). The architecture also looked blocky, with only the last pyramid standing out as especially interesting architecture. While I liked the vibrant colors, there was nothing especially Amazonian about the level (the textures and objects clearly contained Indian elephants, Pacific Island statues, and central American carvings). I enjoyed the enemies, especially a final battle with the giant green lizards (retextured Ahmets) which I dispatched with the grenade gun (poor things). While not as streamlined in architecture or gameplay as an official level, I could easily imagine this as an addition to TR3, and really do recommend playing it for a great (and occasionally scary!) mystery game." - Cbl

"There is an interesting blend between nature and technology as the builder mixes TR3 jungle and nevada compound into a single style. It's a truly nostalgia invoking adventure brimming with atmosphere. I look forward to seeing more from Reggie!" - Klona

"The level started quite nicely, but through progression of it, I feel like it wasn't consistent enough both visually and technically. I have to say I like the theme of this level, even though story is quite short and simple, it was enough to keep me interested to uncover more and more about it. Gameplay at some parts was quite fun (the second level especially, really liked the atmosphere in it) and in some quite weak/uninspired like temple areas were a bit underwhelming with some platforming and not so hard traps, and puzzles that just open the door to lead you to another puzzle piece. Shooting targets felt a bit random to me and out of place, same with random placement of crowbar switch that opens the trapdoor on another part of the map, no connection really. I wasn't fond of flamethrower enemy either, especially as it all happened inside a really small space so it took me some time to kill it before I got killed (I'd like to add it might be good to mention players should avoid reloading while in that fight, otherwise enemy reset). The level offers a nice variety of enemies, and from what I've seen, they had no issues, they were all properly set up. There were some cameras, however they weren't used in proper spaces as they allowed players to see beyond the room, outside its bounds which made it look quite bad. I like how much attention the builder paid to details when it comes to textures (not enough though), there is a nice variety of original set with nice transitions, however, I've noticed many texture issues, some were squished, some wrongly rotated and some just didn't fit with the rest. The level was full of cracks (especially visible from water) which were an eyesore to me! I also noticed some static objects don't have proper lighting, I could hear distress call from the surface, missing underwater switch sound, missing helicopter sounds. Visually (aside from texture issues), levels looked stunning in some parts, but in other it felt too basic, blocky. The geometry wasn't convincing enough, it didn't have much variety, but that's alright, that comes with experience as the builder is new to TRLE world. This level wasn't bad, it just needed a bit more polishing, other than that, I'm looking forward to more work from this builder as he really shows great promise!" - Raider99