Level reviews

"These two levels are quite different from one another. The first has you crawling and jumping across caves and eventually making your way into an oversized and empty underground lodge (the arboretum makes up for it, however). The second one goes into full Lab mode, with lots of caged specimen and what have you. I found the second one to be closer to my liking, but ultimately both levels share the same crucial trait in that you are on a quest for a lot of buttons to open remote doors. There are a few jump sequences here and some enemy encounters there, plus a few gems and golden stars to collect, but it seems you're always looking for the next crawlspace hiding a button to proceed. Good for a relatively simple raid. 55 minutes, 1 secret. 08/20" - Treeble

"If you've just finished playing a markedly difficult game, then this two-parter might be the perfect cure. It's very straightforward and linear and should easily take you exactly an hour to finish. Perhaps its only real problem is in the gameplay section. It mainly involves pushing a rather large amount of buttons, finding a few items, doing a bit of exploration and negotiating a bit of sliding and jumping. Not that it ever gets unbearably tedious, but I can't help thinking a bit more variety would have worked here. On the other hand, the textures are very well done, the lighting well crafted and the environments as a whole are wonderful to look at. Enemies are also mostly well placed as even if you miss the additional weapons (at least I couldn't find any others despite plenty of ammo being provided), they generally don't prove too difficult to take care of. I would say it's a well crafted game overall though, despite my griping." - Ryan

"Great level, fairly linear so long as you are vigilant regarding crawlspaces. Perhaps a little disppointed to have not been able to see the Nighthawk plane a little closer before the level end is triggered. Good to see the giant dragonflies and mutants make an appearance. At one point there is a central grey structure in a toxic green pool. On either sides are wall alcoves opposite containing two switches. I saw no way back from the first ledge - one has to ensure Lara is not simply dangling when shimmying around the central structure else she won't manouvre around the corners to get back to the safe spot. Great effort." - High Priestess

"Really a good effort with the design, architecture and texturization. All the areas have a good look, there was a good use of the cameras, enemies are well balanced and I found enough flares, medipacks, guns and ammo. The gameplay is not so good; all the tasks consist about press hundreds of buttons or search for artifacts to open doors; evenmore you can advance and advance even if you miss an item or a button so if you don't explore carefully all the rooms or choose the wrong path, the backtracking is sure. All in all a couple of levels nice to play without complications if you want to get a tranquil ride." - Jose

"I'm the last person to object to a level builder displaying their visually imaginative flair - surely,that's what custom building should all be about? Nevertheless,to describe the texturing in this two-level set as 'eclectic' would be putting it mildly.One moment you're in a cave;then a huge mansion;then an arboretum;a space-ship;a military base;a space-ship again;and finally,an underground mine.I accept that the theme is extra-terrestrial,but would aliens on a planet far,far away really be using wrought-iron doors from the city wad? Once you bypass the incredulity factor,the resultant adventure (although somewhat lacking in plot) is fast moving and never particularly challenging (well- disguised buttons on walls are the only sneaky gameplay element).Enemies are varied and generally well placed (although one guard materialised out of thin air),and the atmosphere is about as potent as can be expected within such a wildly diverse series of locations. This is the sort of adventure that would have come across much more favourably when it was originally released.Alas,the resultant ten years have not been particularly kind." - Orbit Dream

"This two-part level is nearly ten years old and therefore seems a bit crude by today's standards. However, it provides a little over an hour's gameplay and brings back some fond memories from TR3. There are a lot of buttons to push, and I recall a tedious exercise involving a lot of shimmying in a room surrounding by deadly green goo. Moreover, things progress somewhat predictably, but there are no bugs to report and I enjoyed myself here. Too bad we haven't heard recently from this builder." - Phil

"Whoever runs this starbase has tried to recreate conditions on earth. The base-like part would remind you of a marine lab. There are sharks in the ocean and in water tanks. Other tanks and cages contain creatures of different earth eras like small dinosaurs and giant lizards. But we soon realise we are in an otherworld environment when we see aliens floating in tanks, look out the windows to an alien landscape, and come across those large red-coated and legless mutants. This is a very well designed level, with lovely colours and textures. We search for plugs(security keys) to open the place up and allow us to roam far and wide, into more large caves, trying to avoid pools of toxic waste. The caves are dark and gloomy, but the base/lab areas are very colourful. One has a purple maze, another a red shark tank, and the transporter room is a lovely blue colour. We find two stars that open the doors into a wonderful looking mansion and enormous conservatory full of trees and plants, walkways and pond. Finding two gems here allows us to escape. There are no puzzles here, it's mainly an exploration/find the many switches level. And it's all over very quickly, giving the impression there could be a continuation later on. A nice straightforward level to play in pleasant surroundings." - CC

"The Level gave me 1 5 hours of gameplay with joy. The builder is one of the I-make-it-no-so-hard section; and of course I like it - nothing bores me so much as searching for hours without a plan. You get something to see to play - nice rooms (especially I liked that room outside with water and trees...). Maybe cameras could be used a little bit more. Enemies are old/known - you will like them (remembering TR3; would like to use this little vehicle...). There is potential for the future - hope Commari goes on building - she has a lot of ideas...(constructive critic: if rooms are too long you'll see the horizon come trough)." - Miguel

"An enjoyable level with varied settings. In the first level Lara arrives to a strange planet. There are caves alien architecture and wonderful Martian landscapes. This part of the game reminded me of the Strange World level (UFO/Palopique) because there's a common house in the middle of a very strange place; but with a very beautiful garden. The second level takes place in an underground base and Lara has to find her way back home. After killing some SAS mutants flies and little dinos she finds the Stealth and the level ends. It's an easy level but entertaining and very well done. Now I'm downloading another Commari level." - Loupar

"65 minutes of a double level and I can't think of one puzzle other than pushing buttons and shooting enemies. Okay some of the enemies are pretty nice with the scary huge mutant with bladed hand that is very quick on his feet and some medium sized lizards that I don't think I've seen in these levels before of course by the name you can also tell you're going to get a whole bunch of SAS as well. The thing I liked most in these levels was probably a watery courtyard with trees and waterfall that you find in the first level but otherwise you get some caves and a base that felt like it was more underwater than actually on a planet somewhere. This didn't grab me like I would hope it would but plenty of others will find it very worthwhile so go look for yourself." - Sash

"After Lara is teleported she finds herself in an alien place on a faraway planet. She has to find a way through caves to a big house with a beautiful garden (I wish I had a garden like that). There are a few mutants in her way and SAS guards but it is not hard to deal with them. To bad the little dinos had to be shot they're kinda cute. In the second part is a lab built in caves and there she has to get to a stealth plane to get to Earth again at least that's what I think because when she runs to the plane the level ends. It's a very nice follow up to the Secret Valley not too hard either although I did manage to get stuck once (missed a crawlspace). I liked the outside area too bad you can't go there it would have been fun to explore the alien houses. There's lots of buttons to be pushed and some keys to be found mostly dropped by the guards when they're killed. An enjoyable level!" - Josi

"A two part level with some repeats in strategy. The biggest downsides I found were the long treks and returns to trip switches. You have to be observant to find some of the routes to switches which form for me the only puzzles. Enemies are various 'aliens' sharks and SAS guys. The graphics sound etc tended to set a good atmosphere but some walls thin and the camera work left Lara hiding - particularly when traversing along climbable wall look had to be pressed to find where Lara had go to. All in all well worth a play." - Whistle

"Starbase (7/9/8/9 30 min. 1 secret): I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful caves that Marion has prepared for us to raid here. Together with very suitable audio this created a great atmosphere. Very cool enemies too - green alien creatures mosquitoes and those hulks with the poisonous blade. The secret (revolver) is easily found and very useful. Gameplay is linear and easy if you spot the crawlspaces to find the crucial buttons. Later you get to explore kind of a mansion area with many pickups and a very beautiful jungle/greenhouse room where you place the four gems and advance to part 2. Lab (7/9/8/9 45 min. 1 secret): Have not played a base level in a while so this was good fun for me too. It has all the classic elements we know and love (or hate) and naturally it also has many enemies (a dozen guards sharks cute little dinos known from South America 4 the green alien creatures and mosquitoes again). It also has many buttons - almost twenty or so - which I found to be a little over the top. Still gameplay is easy enough with a few plugs to find and a trip back into caves before you reach your stealth fighter at the end and whisk away into space. Bottomline this continuation from Secret Valley is so much better than its prequel. Try it!" - Michael

"Easy fun gameplay clearly improved since 'Secret Valley'. Pretty much straightforward look around for buttons to open doors kill SAS guards and strange alien creatures. Good looking surroundings but I would have liked a little bit more on the sound to add up on the atmosphere." - G.Croft

"Starting underground you need to find 2 stars and 4 gems to get to the second level. I liked the whole set up of the game. Atmosphere was spooky and I kept Lara on her toes as I expected to be ambushed any minute. There is some nice jumping to do throughout and look for crawlspaces. The house looked good rooms were very empty though. Do look for hidden buttons. The garden area was beautiful and I got glimpses of the alien textures the author also used in Secret Valley. Enemies were re-textured boars and very poisonous mutants. The next level is The Base and there are of course SAS men to guard whatever SAS men guard. Here there are also tiny dinosaurs I was feeling really sorry to shoot them they looked so cute. Finding 3 security cards so you can get to the mine cart and what lays beyond. Found 2 secrets in total. 25-02-2003" - Gerty

"This set of levels was great fun and introduced new enemies like the green mutant from and human/mutants from TR 3 (plus a few other fun baddies like the compys). The areas were fun to explore - it looks like the first one takes place in a mansion on another planet. It's encased in glass and you can see the Martian landscape all around. First though you have to explore a cave for two golden stars in order to get to the house. Once in the house there are four gems to place which takes you to the second level. This is the lab area and once you get past the shark there are a number of keys to search for. You'll pass more mutants compys a dragonfly etc in cages where they're being 'researched' and even a poor mutant in a cage which is hanging over some deadly liquid. Interesting environments and fun to explore - especially that crazy house!" - RaiderGirl

"This level was excellent! It starts off in the alien caves where Lara must progress to get to the labs. The lighting was superb especially in the first level of the duo. Beetles and flying wasps were the main fright in the caves in the labs however gunmen and little green dinosaurs. I enjoyed the first level better. The first level was gloomy and dark and a cave setting. It brought a good sense of atmosphere to the caves. It slowly drifts to a kind of warp kind of level. Lots of bright textures were used also. I saw a strange kind of enemy in the first level. It was a monster type thing that I had never seen before it was a scary type. I didn't know what to expect when I saw a screenshot of this When I did play it it was great!" - TombRaiderFan

"The whole atmosphere is very good and I liked the textures around and inside the caves. The enemies are new and one I hated as it has something like a hook for a hand and it's poisonous. The other enemies are small green creatures flying insects and some SAS guards. The items needed are stars plugs and four gems. Everything looked very nice I loved the waterfall area and all that greenery. At the second part you are opening many doors to collect goodies but also a gem. I didn't find the one secret at level two but I did find the one at the first part I guess it must be a gun as I picked up some clips for one. A starbase with all the necessary equipment and lasers the lava is often used and many buttons so make sure you check every area or wall thoroughly as some of them blend in very well. Also there are cages with animals and insects trapped inside and alien's corpses in small chambers I hope it will have a sequel or at least to see more levels like this one." - Kristina

"Extremely linear 2-part level that is reminiscent of Hokolo's Mysterious Alien Cave but where you find almost immediately whatever you need to progress (Jupiter keys horseman gem's etc...). It is nicely built though with a special mention for the open jungle space with multi-platforms. There's also a nice variation of enemies (even the little green Jurassic thingies from TR3 make an appearance one caged others roaming free). Two secrets I found where rather easy and after having reached the stealth plane - while the earthquake rambles on - I went back to the space with the mine car and noticed there was one button untouched that only opened a kind of canteen with one soldier in it: not sure what that was all about. Anyway by visiting the stealth plane you're thrown back to the start of the game so I guess that's it. Another level to give yourself a little confidence again when you just played an impossible level." - bERT

"This level consisting two parts is not a particularly hard level. There are no difficult puzzles so the gameplay is continuous. I love this level it was great playing this. I like the added sounds both the gruesome and the bird singing ones. According to the locations the textures are various. The enemies are quite witty and it was not too difficult to overcome them. I used only one medipack in the end of the level before I crawled in under the laser barrier." - Obig

"If you like very difficult levels this is not the level for you. This is a relaxing game the focus is on beauty nice smooth play and perfect textures. Colours are really bright and well done the details are astonishing: you could believe that some objects are real (the tasty hams in the fridge!!) everything is as close to reality as possible. The mansion at the beginning is one of the nicest I have ever seen massive and luxorious. Enemies are dangerous but not impossible to kill and Lara finds enough ammos and medipacks to survive. I didn't find any bugs the textures are clean and well placed and the game runs smooth and easy. Maybe this is the only thing that keeps me from give a 10: everything is too easy and you finish in about an hour...No difficult jumps no dangerous moves barely any puzzle you always know what to do and how to do it....I liked it anyway sometimes it's nice to relax!" - Glow