Level reviews

"Another favorite for me in this series. It has nice surroundings, a combination of caves, a complex laboratory with glass passages and enemies that have been modified. They have creepy faces and personalized outfits, some are evil while others are not. Apart from the guards there are giant scorpions, giant cockroaches (flying insects), bugs and demigods. There are some easy puzzles with pushblocks but the puzzles with switches and levers were a bit confusing. You have to find many puzzle items so look well for them. I found 4 secrets; 2 of them skulls and the other two were some items." - alan

"I think I might have found a new overall favourite. I was impressed with Devil's Lair, but even more by this level. Lara gets to explore natural and man-made structures in search of gems, Guardian Keys and a trident. There are a few good block puzzles thrown in for good measure and some brilliantly executed flybys (particularly the one that shows a raising block "bridge" being removed"). Onwards to Parts 7 and 8 then..." - Ryan

"It gets creative again. Could be the peak of gameplay of the entire series, if it didn't include the Atlantis room which I would simply throw out. Like in first episodes, we get a brilliant set of organic corners and crevices but also a neat dose of grandscale hi-tech works and object customization, the enemies standing out a lot, and I always like the glass tube transparency foreshadowing or recalling a visit to adjacent locations. The only trouble was the big double doors, not possible to cross but looking like I should try. My favourite part in many aspects." - DJ Full

"There's a major theme shift here, as you go from relatively grounded settings to alien bases. This is also where the visual standard shoots up, and this is a great looking level with unique texture uses and much better lighting than earlier, especially in some of the cave-like areas near the end. Some of the interiors are still pretty flat but even those are usually near places with views into other areas and similar things (and the glass tunnel design is a generally striking aesthetic).
Gameplay is also better here, although it feels a little directionless at times, and I feel the goals in the second half could have been established a little better. Outside that issue there multiple interesting sequences and some experimental things like a room mostly made a ladder walls. On the downside returning to said ladder room later on seems to get you stuck (but maybe I missed something), and there's another part where an important enemy can get killed prematurely, but the chances are pretty low at least. The car keys from earlier levels also got converted into an item you're supposed to find here; it didn't matter much as the item is near where you use it anyway, but it's a little odd. Those bugs take away from it slightly but this is the most solid overall level so far (and the first mandatory one I'd truly call great), with Devil's Lair being the only competition." - Mman

"After two rather boring levels (for me) this level is a clear improvement again, both in gameplay and the visuals. The lighting feels much less bland in this game and at times quite colourful in a nice way; the texturing is quite good and the architecture is, too, with a nice integration of man-made structures into a natural setting - I really loved the glass corridors winding through most of the level. The bluish atmosphere of the 'outside' areas is very nice too, and there's even an Atlantean part to see and also many nice architectural constructions like the huge 'wagon' and severl pieces of the 'art of lowering blocks' (you'll see what I mean). The gameplay is more task-based and not that much about running around; the Area 51 reminiscent scene with the guard that had to be shot was certainly fun and even if heavily confusing at first the lava room with all surfaces being climbable was a quite different and fun experience. I still don't understand why the pushable puzzle had to be so linear and also only for a secret - the main artifact is just lying around in this room; the five-button puzzle also was a bit strange. Even with still a few tedious parts I found it to be much more enjoyable than the last two levels though, and there's quite a bit of eye-candy so overall a quite decent 40 minute game with six nice secrets to be found." - manarch2

"I must bring my to play-list absolutely on the newest state! Nevertheless, this was really only the first level of the Tarragona row which I have played. Disgrace about me and cinder on my head! Nevertheless, I have really had with this one single level nearly 2,5-hour playing time. And there was no moment which I would not have enjoyed. I have seen such an absolutely successful combination of caves and high-tech rooms up to now rare. Only the around glazed footbridges are this play quite worth. But they are natural only one of many highlights. It has given gigantic pleasure to explore everything exactly. There I have with the other levels of the Tarragona still something before myself." - Scottie

"Tarragona continues the high standard it has set for itself, and this level continues the trend once more. To me, this was much more exciting than the preceding level, though from the looks of it a lot of effort has been put into this level. Starting out in some caves around what appears to be another base, there is some tricky jumping and not-too-obvious passages to find, but from then on the passages start to make more sense and become less confusing. Gameplay here is varied, and has some unique touches like the ladder and monkey-swinging in the Atlantean lava room, and catching a guard before he floods a sealed corridor. Interesting push puzzles too. Amidst some object hunting in this level, there is a wide variety of environments aside from the beginning caves and the base - some fiery Atlantis rooms, caverns with lava rivers, and even a view of a space landscape offer areas to keep the player's interest. The new soldiers are comically good looking, and the rest of the objects in the level improved this level's unique, extraterrestrial feel. As far as lighting and texturing, the aspects are done quite well and the transition to each area is smoothly accomplished. In a few halls though, the texturing was a bit bland. Otherwise, an excellent level, yet a shame that I can't carry my pickups to the finale! Not the builder's fault though. Off to the Final Countdown then..." - Relic Hunter

"This is definitely one of the best alien levels I have ever played. The environment is very imaginary and unique including many different sort of areas. I liked especially the outdoor areas containing nice glass pipes. The ending fly by where the alien ship heads for the space was also cleverly done. This game has also some nice enemies like aliens and soldiers that has dino heads. Gameplay is variative too and this is truly a level not to be missed." - Samu

"I played the latter part of this series in sequence and saw a distinct pattern of increased complexity and difficulty as I progressed. This seventh installment is a massive and challenging release, and even with Dutchy's walkthrough close at hand it required me to spend more than two hours of net gaming time. Yet to me it was the most satisfying of the bunch so far (those that I've played to completion, that is). As I've previously noted, the final segment is the most challenging of all, almost as if the builder is forcing the gamer to "graduate" each time in order to be promoted to the next level. If someone were to ask my opinion I would suggest skipping the first four levels in the series, starting with level five and continuing to the end. Some have criticized the out-of-place look of some of the enemies and landmarks here, but that didn't bother me at all. The touches of artistry that are so evident here give testimony to the builder's skill and craftsmanship. Definitely one of the classics." - Phil

"Josep's seventh offering had me running around in circles until I stopped and caught my breath slowed down and thought about the six levels that came before. Having done this Lara and I had a lot of fun shooting up the place crawling from this to that trying to get under things that we were certain covered lots of goodies and getting into lots and lots of trouble. Of all the levels this was for me the most fun. Just outside the super high tech environment was the barren desert inhabited with giant scorpions. Even within the high tech environment there were touches of different civilizations or different points in the evolutionary chain of civilizations. Wonderfully thought out Josep. My hat is off to you (making my bald head rather cold). Lara and I managed to think our way through this level without outside assistance but it took us much longer than most reviewers are reporting. I believe three hours. Lots of fun and some challenges worthy of our hero. I strongly recommend Civilization's Crossroad. Oh and I must add -- something I tend to forget with Josep's work -- the look and feel (textures and lighting Atmosphere etc.) are some of the best I have ever played in." - Dougsan

"I loved the new guards! T-rex headed aliens indeed! There were loads of good fights in this level with demigods scorpions and aliens. A word of warning here: most of the 'normal' aliens are on your side (I didn't know this and shot them all dead!). Much nicer graphics than the slightly bland last 2 levels. There are downpoints though. Firstly the lava/block room was very difficult indeed. Secondly there are those horrible invincible beetles. Don't let that put you off though because this level has tons of good moments. However the bit where I apparently encountered a game-stopping bug with the 5 buttons was not one of them :( Luckily I was right near the end anyway. It took 2 hours and I found 3 secrets." - gfd

"Eons ago I started Tarragona series on the Mac but had to abandon that as my Mac crashed (not because I played the game LOL) so I lost my saved games. Couldn't bring myself to start this epic and as you can see only played this one and yet again....together with Matthias. We started this in the wee hours of the morning as his bus was leaving at a ridiculous time and it was better to do some raiding than sleeping just two or three hours. He played this one before but as he said was feeling a bit guilty as he didn't appreciate it as much as it deserved. It probably was us being rather tired and maybe because of that Matthias' memory wasn't up to standard (and he also played it eons ago) we got major stuck almost at the beginning. Lucky for us there is a walkthrough so once we sorted that out the rest was not that difficult. There is a lot of jumping to do and that suited me fine. Main goal of course is finding all kinds of artifacts and the secrets are skulls. Enemies are mutant soldiers huge scorpions nasty bees and four demigods. I needed just a tiny bit more medipacks than was provided as the demigods took a lot of Lara's health on the PC and strangely enough they never do on the Mac. There is enough in this level to keep you occupied for a while and it never gets boring. 09-11-2003" - Gerty

"Lara starts out at the end of the preceding level having been teleported into some other world or maybe another dimension. There are caves and there's high alien technology very well put together. I must say I had to take a couple of looks at the walkthrough in a couple of parts which were not that obvious... I had a hard time in lava room for example where I found it hard to figure out exactly what to do. Apart from that I loved the whole game and the first encounters with the bad aliens with a lizard face. At the end Lara sets on an interstellar journey to the last chapter in theses episodes. Don't miss it!" - Jorge22

"To think this series of levels had Lara adventuring in a wonderful and earth bound environment and now she has made it to what seems like a different planet our girl does get around where she has found a base manned by T-Rex and alien headed guards you really would think she'd just like to stay home on a Saturday night once in a while and watch a video but no! Her journeys take her through lava rooms and lava caves large block moving rooms and of course the base itself with glass walkways and large docking bays for huge alien tanks one you can interact in all in search of pyramid keys rubi's and escipion tears also 6 secrets if you're lucky I wasn't as I only found 2. This is a really great 100 minute adventure but for some reason it didn't fully satisfy me but that may have more to do with the fact that I'm not a major fan of the alien/space kind of level and it felt quite different than the earlier levels in the series that I loved this was similar for me when it came to Pascal's Rescue 11. This however will be a big hit with most and therefore is highly recommended." - Sash

"You certainly do feel that you are at a crossroads between civilisations now in this level. You've been teleported from earth I presume to a rocky cave in space I presume to see a gigantic structure with glass walkways connecting very spaceage buildings in an alien environment. These alien rooms are very Atlantean looking and in an odd way very beautiful. That room with lava floor and all the monkeyswinging and backflipping from column to column was a great challenge. Enemies are TRex-headed guards (that's more of an earth era crossover don't you think!) and alien-headed guards these are the friendly ones. There's an enormous truck type vehicle with loads of wheels like a tank and storage rooms with crates some of them are Atlantean textured so you get the idea that these people are stealing something from this alien environment. And the demigods of their civilisation ain't pleased and attack. The giant scorpions are more appropriate here than in any other setting as are the giant mosquitoes. It's scary watching them all the time through the glass as you know you're going to have to face them eventually. You get glimpses all the time of the blue gems but you've got to work out how to get them plus the pyramid keys to open doors and the lovely ruby 'cartouches' from the Atlantean rooms. The caves below with the lava floor where the alien idol is (what an ugly thing) was another great challenge. This idol is a retextured Roman statue that needs a trident (and cosmetic surgery!). There were a few texture hiccups in here but it would be an insult to downgrade this overall brilliantly textured level. There are some puzzles here i.e. block moving ones monkeyswinging and finding switches in the shape of those snake/fire things. Lara finds her ruby sunshades here!! And what a brilliant ending when the spaceship takes off with Lara on board. Now what's going to happen? Joseph is a creative genius. I could go on and on this is an exceptional level. Time here 3:27 hours." - CC

"This was another huge level and was very creative especially with all the new monsters I liked the T-rex dudes. There were a lot of puzzles and I couldn't put it down until I was finished. I'm trying not to sound like a broken record but everything was up to par and more. This is definitely a series I will play a few more times and I haven't even gotten to the best levels yet!" - JRaider66

"In the 7th level it seemed as if Lara would be in another world. The opponents were different and differently represented. A class of its own also the entire graphics and construct of this level is simply a masterpiece. Lara explored like into a spaceship. The outside world were caves surrounded by giant oaks. In addition the colour effects were extra emphasized. Lara had to find different puzzle pieces for example three pyramids keys two cartouches 3 blue crystals and a Trident. My Lara found only 2 secrets. The camera guidance and the sound support the wonderful atmosphere. Lara also had to fight hard in order to get away to the end with the spaceship. Simply a masterpiece. Very recommended. Now to the last two parts." - Navi

"If you were unsure to download or not this level you shall do it NOW. This level was really really really great and my rating is not four tens because the level was somehow too dark for me. The first six I played in a row but then I took a break and now I restarted it with only the initial inventory so that might explain - I am sure there were more flares to pick up in the previous levels. This one starts right where the previous finished (the blue transporter block) and in the end Lara activates the starship which goes right into the space. I am wondering what to expect next! Congratulations one more time Josep!" - Treeble

"After a little disappointment in Algernon's lab I am very impressed by Civilisations croosroads. The gameplay is excellent and much more exciting the setting and atmosphere are very good and as usual with Josep levels the camera work is perfect. And now we now the storyline behind the episodes: it is an extraterrestrial conspiracy my dear brothers the aliens with a face of dinosaurs have already a footstep in Catalonia and have settled down in the beautiful natural caves of this country near the good old town of Tarragona! And they have made a pact with giant beasts (scorpions and beetles) and with other aliens the evil gods of Egypt! Inside an underground base with many suspended glass corridors some rooms with the Atlantean textures of TR1 and beautiful caves with lava give a strange and good atmosphere. Lara must infiltrate the base make enjoyable acrobatic moves to find secrets and explore in the hope of finding the rubies and crystals that will allow her to enter in a space truck ship that will lead her into the cosmos to probably find more about the alien conspiracy. Now I sleep better at night since I have come to the end of this rather difficult level and since Josep has revealed the truth: I know why there was already an evil demigod in the SAS base of the Underground empire (this guy seemed out of place when I played Tarragona 5) and why the blue gems are strangely called escipions tears: those spies are not from the Earth my dear friends. We also know now that Poseidon was an alien. So follow Lara Croft in this thrilling adventure with the eye of a true cameraman and storyteller and enjoy without moderation. Seriously it is one of the best level I have played the most interesting so far in this saga and everything is in its own place according to the storyline that the author reveals before our eyes." - eRIC

"Wow! What a fantastic level from Josep I absolutely loved it! The design of this place is truly marvelous the Atlantean rooms are awesome and the use of the expanding and raising blocks in it is the best I've seen to date (especially the sequence where the golden skull is revealed). It did get frustrating for me at some points but that was mostly because of my own fault and I didn't downrate anything because of it. The enemies are great too especially the T-Rex headed soldiers and the aliens. Don't be fooled by the aliens they are not always as friendly as they seem cause one will start an excellent trap where Lara will be locked up in a water room and drown if she didn't pass that part in time! The main down for this again is the object mess and I think the author should really think about releasing a finalised script with the Reset HUB lines (they remove any puzzle items from the next levels which I think would be very helpful here cause you don't have to bring one item from one level to the other) so the object thing could be solved. With that mess I already started the level with 2 Prophets tridents and I don't know into what puzzle items the triangular key and the trident that remained will transfer into level 8! But nevertheless a truly fantastic level compensates everything I found boring into the last 2 levels!" - eTux

"Well it all comes down to a matter of taste for the most part. I loved this one almost as much as the first 3. Some astounding work went into building this level. I enjoyed the gameplay in this level immensely with its difficult jumps raising and lower blocks and even the huge shimmying sequence. The moving block puzzles were fairly easy but still enjoyable to find out what would happen. Just a wonderful effort by Josep." - Momster

"It's interesting how this series keeps changing from one level to the next and this is probably the strangest of all - and one of the most confusing. There's a lot of exploring to do here and it's very easy to miss an important object or even a whole area which leaves you stuck later and unsure what to do. The environment has a combination cave/lab/spaceship look and the enemies match perfectly - soldiers with the heads of T-Rexes or aliens. The ending was a bit strange and was supposedly Lara taking off into space so now I'm off to the levels 8 & 9 to see what happens. Secrets: 5" - RaiderGirl

"It's been a while since I had finished Part 6 and it was really refreshing to now revisit Josep's great style of level building. This is a great adventure in a base set in another world between very realistic looking caves. Progression is not too difficult if you keep an open eye and only the secrets are a little tougher to get (there are six of them three skulls near the start and three with pickups near the end). Pyramidal Keys gems ruby cartouches and a trident to collect and use along the way. Enemies are unique with the T-Rex- and Alien-headed soldiers some pesky wasps giant scorpions and demigods. The lava caves were great as you had to think about where to jump. Camera use and sound is impeccable and some movable and raising blocks as well as an elevator spice things up. After 1:40 hours Lara finally takes off into space and I can't wait to play the highly acclaimed Part 8 and 9 of the series now." - Michael

"This was the first sample of what was going to follow in the next levels. The space theme with the aliens present and quite impressive. A free level I would say as far as the gameplay is concerned. You can revisit an area and you probably should as you never know maybe you can find something that wasn't there before like a secret. The secrets are skulls in the beginning and they have the builder's personal touch the difficulty is medium to high but there are easier ones too. It is admirable how the environment is giving a whole complete sense of reality. The lava rooms are interesting as in one of them the player has to work out how to get to the puzzle item that's above by climbing a number of blocks all around the room and with switches to raise some of them and clearing the paths. The rubies and Escipion's tears which are gems the name might bring memories to some of you that played the first and second levels of Josep are the items you need to finish this level. Lighting and textures are as always very good. Don't miss this level in fact I would suggest to play the whole series you won't regret it." - Kristina

"After being teleported Lara has to find her way through caves and an alien base. Glass corridors with great view monster trucks aliens (some friendly some not so friendly) a lava cave and I loved the lava room with jumping shimmying and climbing looking for a way out of there. It's not hard to get the trident but I already had two in my inventory (the keys from the previous level transformed into tridents). I had a great time with this level." - Josi

"Oh what a beautiful level! The caves and glass corridors are perfect. I liked the way to find the 2nd pyramidal key and the silver skull with these tricky jumps and the pushable block with a set of blue lights showing where to place this block. Flyby showing Golden Skull it's amazing. I think that's so original! And gameplay always clever and fun. I've enjoyed this level as usual with levels made by Josep." - Cuqui

"Civilization Crossroads is a really well placed level which shows us a very good combination of textures ambience lights and shadows. Challenge and surprises alternate and really good cameras for enjoying the scenes. The designer even changed enemies and objects which is a lot of work - I appreciate it so much. Many things are not as they look like and that makes it very interesting - the obviously alien ambience is a mix of glass technical and nature - the designer placed it very well together and the rooms have often a visible combination. Very good textures objects and enemies - sounds are TR-original and you may remember them with a smiling face...." - Miguel

"The most impressive feature of this level is certainly the architecture of it and also its very good lighting. The use of textures is nice too and the laboratory area is very real. The feeling of 'base inside a mountain' is great! And the 'Atlantean' areas were very well built. The puzzles and traps of this level are good too and we have some nice new objects here. Really worth a download." - Leandro

"I was just wondering when the next 'Tarragona-level' was going to be released and the next day this level got released. And of course it's just as fun as the previous levels. Lara starts where the previous level ended standing in some sort of cave. There's also some sort of base in that cave but getting inside it isn't as easy as it sounds because before entering Lara has to perform some quite tricky jumps. The enemies are well placed and some of them look very fun. The Poseidon-statue on the other hand looks weird. Okay it is a statue of an alien but an alien with a beard? There are also six secrets to be found (three of them are sculls). One of the secrets are Lara's sunglasses but I can't stop wondering how it got to the place where she is now. Maybe she's closer to her home than she thinks." - Magnus

"This level looks so very different to so many others. The author knows how to impress players by using this mix of caves and high tech. Same with the enemies. Besides some big scorpions you'll meet guards that have human bodies but the head of an animal (T-Rex). That makes it much easier to shoot them ;o). And not to forget those demigods and some annoying little beetles. I finished this level after 2'20'' but I feel like not having explored really everything. There is still this big kind of battle tank standing on a hole. But Lara couldn't crawl in. I am quite sure there is a switch or something that will make the tank move to let Lara explore that area beneath the tank. Maybe one of the secrets can be found there? I found only two out of three. You won't find that much ammo so be economical with what you have. But as long as you avoid battling the demigods it's sufficient. When you meet them - just run and take no notice of them at all. Play this level it's much worth downloading!" - Sheevah

"The puzzles were very good and not all of them were the old lever/door puzzles either. The block puzzles were visually very good but were way to easy for my liking. I liked the guards with the T-rex heads. The camera work was good. After completing one of the block puzzles a very good dissolving block sequence revealing one of the secrets was cool. I was just getting in to the game I thought it was getting quite exciting waiting to see what visual effects were going to be next and then suddenly a camera flyby goes off to the stars and I had finished. At this point I was going berserk as I wanted more more more. This was very short for a level by Josep I was a bit disappointed with the length of game play and the ease of the puzzles maybe I am just being greedy. I will still look forward to the next installment from Josep but hope that the puzzles will be a bit more cryptic and game will last longer." - Jason

"I played the level twice. Some parts of this level are really unique. You come into different types of areas. The rooms are well built. The puzzles are not too difficult. You just have to try things out. There are some difficult jumps e.g. getting one of the Pyramidal Keys or in the lava room with a central structure. The T-Rex Guards which had to be killed and the Black Guards who didn't bother you were quite an interesting idea. On the whole there is not too much killing. Personally I could have done without the giant scorpions. One had to collect Escipion's Tears Rubis Rubi Fragments and Pyramidal Keys. Found 5 secrets out of 6 (with the help of Josep). I just gave up getting the first one. Got 2 Pyramidal Key and used one. I found it a level which was enjoyable to play." - Monika

"Josep Borrut has particularly well succeeded the connection of the Tarragona series. Crazy jump combinations difficultly puzzles to be solved and mad opponents in a fantastic atmosphere. In this Level everything was build really good - up to the end! There it has thrown me simply on the desktop. This series of levels is really done by a professional for professionals. Beginners should stay away from it." - Xxenofex

"Well I don't know about you guys but I have mixed feelings about this one. Part of the environment was absolutely marvelous but somehow it didn't come together. I really liked the new enemies and found it slightly irritating that the author couldn't resist the temptation to throw in the good old scorpion as well. The trident statue seemed completely out of place as did the demigods. So it was called Civilisations Crossroads but I got the feeling that this was just a cheap excuse to throw in everything that took the creators fancy. Sometimes the gameplay was really smooth at other times I died a lot and some items seemed to be placed at random. Maybe it's just me but I prefer quests that have a main theme that create a unique atmosphere where you have an idea of the overall structure. It's still a good level but because of Josep's previous output I was slightly disappointed. Plus I hate it when you need special equipment just for one task." - Dimpfelmoser

"Technically perfect level. Only few difficult jumps and some objects hard to take make its rate a little lower than the other levels of the complete game. I want to know where Lara will be in the next one." - Loupar