These are summaries of the Classic TR games by my friend 'Dave'.
They do not necessarily correspond with my opinions,
but make fascinating reading for anyone interested in TR!

 

Tomb Raider Series Level Summaries

Enemies are colour/emphasis coded:

Flies|Swims|*Shoots|Fire|Poison
Special|Neutral|UNKILLABLE|(Invisible or hard to see)

Not all enemies of a type in a level necessarily do all the things indicated, and some UNKILLABLE enemies may be killable using 'all weapons' cheats or second pass-throughs of completed games, only being out of reach of weapons Lara is supposed to have at that stage.

My favourite level groups and levels are colour-coded gold, my least favourite purple, and those I think were particularly tough (given player familiarity with the engine at that time) red.

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Tomb Raider

The Pitch

Indiana Jane meets Princess of Persia

Overview

There are four basic groups of levels, representing the search for the three parts of the Scion of Atlantis, and the finale. Each group has a definite character of its own, set particularly by the colour palette of the textures, but also the species of opponents. Each new and more powerful class of weapon pretty much guarantees a correspondingly tougher class of opposition; a trick that's at least as old as Dungeons and Dragons but no less effective for it. The last level of each group always has a new monster as well as one of Natla's goons: Mummy, Centaur, Demons, and Mutant respectively.

Levels

Act

Level

Enemies (see Notation)

Issues/Weapons

Act I:
PERU

Caves

Bats, Wolves, Bear (snipe)

Levers

City of Vilcabamba

Bats, Wolves, Bears (fight)

Blocks, Water

Lost Valley

Wolves, Raptors, T-Rex

Shotgun

Tomb of Qualopec

Wolves, Raptors, Mummy, Goon*

Traps

Act II:
ITALY

St. Francis' Folly

Bats, Lions, Apes, Crocs

Amphibians

Colosseum

Bats, Lions, Apes, Crocs

Magnums

Palace Midas

Bats, Rats, Apes, Crocs

Fire

Cistern

Rats, Apes, Crocs, Lions

Hang and drop

Tomb of Tihocan

Rats, Apes, Crocs, Centaurs*, Goon*

Floating Blocks

Act III:
EGYPT

City of Kahmoon

Panthers, Crocs, Mummies

Fences

Obelisk of Kahmoon

Panthers, Crocs, Mummies

Sanctuary o/t Scion

Mummies, Demons, Centaurs*, Goon*

Uzis

Act IV:
ATLANTIS

Natla's Mines

Goons*

Lava, Unarmed

Atlantis

Atlanteans, Centaurs*

The Great Pyramid

Mutant, Atlanteans, Natla*

Reviving enemy

SHADOW OF THE CAT

Act IIIa:
EGYPT

Return to Kahmoon

Lions, Crocs, Bats

Temple of the Cat

Panthers, Crocs, Mummies

Engine Bugs

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Act IVb:
ATLANTIS

Atlantean S'hold

Atlanteans, Demons, Centaurs*

Leap of Faith

The Hive

Atlanteans, Demons, Centaurs*


Tomb Raider remains a classic game, unequalled by its sequels, and the UB Kahmoon levels are as good as anything in the main game. Only the alien segment (especially that headache-inducing 'heartbeat', which I was obliged to hack the sound files to eliminate before I could finish) lets the game down, as the engines limitations are shown up by objects, creatures, and colour schemes which aren't 'forgiven' by player memories of reality.

Weapons strategy: Use the pistols on anything small or that you can keep distance and/or height from. Otherwise, keep the shotgun for ambush situations (tight corridors and jumps ending with your back to a drop) and the big Mutant at the end, the Uzis for Atlanteans, including settling Jacqueline Natla's hash, and the Magnums for the big cats and sometimes multiple enemies.

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Tomb Raider II

The pitch

Jane Bond meets Duchess Nukem.

Overview

While the first level of the game is a backwards nod to the original, the basic inspiration is now James Bond rather than Indiana Jones. Helicopters, speedboat chases, frogmen and sharks straight out of Thunderball, and armies of human henchmen all give the game away. Lara's main opponents in the chase for the Dagger of Xian are Italianate crooks, although as in The Godfather, no-one uses the word Mafia! There is also a Hammond Innes adventure story, The Wreck of the Mary Deare, which should have been on a bookshelf somewhere in the Maria Doria! The goons' habit of dropping stuff when topped, the colour-coded card keys, and the flamethrowers, are all straight out of Duke Nukem. Hail to the King!

Levels

Goons includes club and crowbarmen, pistoleers and machine gunners(*), frogmen(*) and flamethrowers(*); I know that the rodents are supposed to be Rats, but compared to those in the original game, they'll always be Mice to me :)

Act

Level

Enemies (see Notation)

Items/Bonuses

Pr: TIBET

Great Wall

(Spiders), Crows, Tigers, T-Rexes

Grenade Gun

Act I:
ITALY

Venice

Goons*, Dogs, (Mice)

Auto Pistols, Boat

Bartoli's Hideout

Goons*, Dogs, (Mice)

Opera House

Goons*, Dogs, (Mice), Bartoli*

...then disarmed...

Act IIa:
OFFSHORE

Offshore Rig

Goons**, Dogs

...rearmed + Uzis

Diving Area

Goons**, Dogs

M-16

Act IIb:
UNDERSEA

40 Fathoms

Goons**, Eels, Sharks

The Maria Doria

Goons**, Eels, Sharks

Grenade Gun

Living Quarters

Goons**, Eels, Giant Eel

The Deck

Goons**, Eels, Sharks

The Seraph

Act III:
TIBET

Tibetan Foothills

Goons*, Eagles, Leopards

Snowmobile

Barkhang

Goons*, Crows, Warrior Monks

Catacombs...

Goons*, Yeti, Leopards

...Ice Palace

Yeti, Tigers, Koi, Guardian

The Talion

Act IV: DRAGON

Temple of Xian

Spiders, Big Spiders, Tigers, Koi, Eagles

Floating Islands

Warriors*, Ninjas*

Dragon's Lair

Ninjas*,Warriors, Dragon*

End

Lara's Home

Goons*, Dogs, Bartoli's Brother*

GOLDEN MASK (the 4*3 secrets now unlock the bonus level rather than grant pickups)

Mask of
Tormasuk

Cold War

Goons*, Shark, L'pard, Eagle, (Guards)

Snowmobiles

Fool's Gold

Goons*, (Mice), Dogs, Ravens

Grenade Gun

Furnace o/t Gods

Goons*, (Mice), Wolves, Fish, Guards

Kingdom

Goons*, Yeti, Guards, Bigfoot

Bonus

Nightmare in Vegas

Goons*, T-Rexes, Bigfoot, (Elvis)

Swan Dive


The emphasis has changed from strategy to action, as very few of the almost-everpresent goons can be sniped at, and all must be killed for the pickups, so Lara is going to take reciprocal combat damage. Still, that's what medipacks are for! The all-or-nothing Secrets bonus (every level has exactly three, which grant a large bonus only at the moment of picking up the third) is a design turn for the worse, even though many secrets are now visible but hard to get to, rather than hard to find per se.

The GM bonus level is a missed opportunity. Given the talent at the 'Three Kings Conference', and the ability of the engine to handle third party combat, I was hoping for a final segment in which Lara could watch T-Rex, BigFoot, and a Ghostbusters Giant Marshmallow Elvis duke it out in the streets while she watched in comfort from her balcony! The moral? Three Kings, but only one Queen! Ah-hu-huh!

Weapons strategy: this time the Uzis are of limited use, and mostly best kept for the Dragon at the end. The Grenade Gun is the new king: use on most other big guys and a few situations where you're only getting one shot. Otherwise, the advice from TR1 applies: pistols whenever you can, APs/M16 when you must -- the APs have a range advantage, while the M16 will kill goons with just the short bursts you get each time Lara's feet are down while hopping backwards -- Shotgun for ambush situations. The Harpoon Gun is almost no use at all as it's too much trouble to aim and you have to let go of FIRE to reload: it's easier to find dry land and get frogmen from the waterside; weaving as you swim will stop them hitting you.

Since you're going to lose your weapons after Opera House, you can really pour that bonus Grenade Gun on Bartoli and his Goons, but you're not supposed to know that!

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Tomb Raider III

The pitch

Lara Sculley meets Colossal Cave

Overview

Retrogamer alert! The huge, sprawling level-structure is clearly influenced by one of the oldest computer adventure games of them all, Colossal Cave; the monkeys' habit of moving things if you don't kill them quickly enough is a take on the elves, while Caves of Kaliya, and at least sections of other levels, are simply 'a maze of twisty little passages, all alike'.

The designers now pinch their chrome from Quake II instead of Duke Nukem (although the waterfall in Coastal Village looks like Master Leep's Temple in Shadow Warrior; if so, arigato, Wang-san!) as dying snipers get off one last shot on their knees, while the entire Nevada episode clearly hitches a ride on 'The X Files'. Sorry Mr. Carter, no franchise fee, just X-ribbed doorways, grey alien corpses, and departures for Area 51 from Bay X. Finally, the original Indiana Jones barrel is methodically scraped: is that a Mine Cart I see before me? -- the cutting blades from Last Crusade sneak into a few corridors too.

Levels

Guards seems a more appropriate term than Goons this time, and the Flamethrowers are separated out along with the Torch Bearers. Enemies are much more polyglot than previous games: even excluding one-offs, over a dozen types of enemy appear in only one level each.

Act

Level

Enemies (see Notation)

Weapons/Vehicles

Act I:
INDIA

Jungle

Monkeys , Piranha, Tigers

Shotgun

Temple Ruins

Monkeys , Piranha, Cobras, Shivas

River Ganges

Monkeys , Pirhana, Cobras, Vultures

Quad Bike

Caves of Kaliya

Cobras, Loon*, Boredom

Grenade Gun

Act II: NEVADA

Nevada Desert

Guards*, Rattlers, Buzzards

Quad Bike

Compound

Guards*, Dogs, Cons, Guns*

D/Eagle, Gren Gun

Area 51

Guards*, Snipers*, Dogs, Cons, Guns*

MP5, Shotgun

Act III:
PACIFIC

Coastal Village

Spearmen, Dart Blowers*, Crocs,

Crash Site

Raptors, Lizards, T-Rex, Pirhana, Crew*

MP5

Mudubu Gorge

Lizardmen, Crocs, BATS

Rockets, Kayak

Temple of Puna

Spearmen, Dart Blowers*, Puna*

Act IV: LONDON

Thames Wharf

Rats, Crows, Guards*

Aldwych

Rats, Immortals, Torch Bearers

Rocket Launcher

Lud's Gate

Crocs, Guards*, Frogmen*, Immortals

UPV

City

Sophia Lee*

Act V:
ANTARCTIC

Antarctica

Guards*, Dogs, Mutant A

Boat

RX-Tech Mines

Mutant A, Mutant B, Flamethrowers*

Mine Carts

Lost City of Tinnos

Wasps, Mutant C*

Meteorite Cavern

Boss*, Guards*, Flamethrowers*

Bonus

All Hallows

Guard*, Dog

requires all secrets

LOST ARTIFACT

ACT VIa:
SCOTLAND

Highland Fling

Guards*, Dogs, Ravens, BATS, NESSIE*

several weapons

Willard's Lair

Guards*, Dogs, Ravens, Highlanders

ACT VIb:
CHANNEL

Shakespeare Cliff

Workers*, Rats, Pteradactyls

QB, R/Launcher

Sleeping w/t Fishes

Guards**, Rats, Mutant Fish, Dolphin

Desert Eagle

ACT VIc:
FRANCE

It's a MadHouse!

Big Cats, Monkeys, Pirhana, Vultures

Grenade Gun

Reunion

Mutants, Sophia Lee*


Tomb Raider III is the hardest game of the series, probably too hard, especially the PlayStation version, where the jumps from the new triangular surfaces can be murderously difficult. Mudubu Gorge is the hardest level of this hardest game, there is some suspicion that the canoe mechanics are slightly more difficult in the Mac port. Caves of Kaliya is undoubtably the weakest level in the entire series so far, and Lud's Gate one of the most tedious, as various game elements are pushed to excess. Compared to previous games, all the reptiles (crocs, dinos, lizardmen) have Chobham armour!

Playing strategy: Although the game is designed to allow you to complete Acts II, III, IV in any order, it's madness to go anywhere but Nevada first because the Unarmed section deprives you of least picked-up material that way, while London is so long and dull it might make you give up, but if so it's a shame not to have played the much better South Seas levels first!

Weapons strategy: In India, it's essential to do as much damage as possible to the Shivas with pistols, saving the shotgun for the Loon, as the Grenade gun provided for the confrontation with him doesn't work - the grenades now have a minimum trigger distance and he's too close. Grenades are still fine if you've got the separation, or a confined space - they don't hurt Lara no matter how close they explode!

Similarly, although the designers almost certainly intended the Rockets for the Boss Mutant, it's more useful against the tougher lesser Mutants B/C: instead, keep that kick-like-a-mule Desert Eagle for the big guy (and Puna), plus snipers and alarm triggerers in Nevada.

Otherwise, as before, with the MP5 a worthy replacement for the APs/M16,

Lost Artifact is a major bonus, seeming to use the advantages of the revised engine without creating as much overload as the main game: The first and fifth levels are both standouts (Kahmoon and Venice being better level sets) Ironically it is probably the least played part of the entire series. Strongly recommended!

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Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation

The pitch

Indiana Croft and the Last Crusade

Overview

A pretty complete lift from Raiders of the Lost Ark III, if we read Jean-Pierre as a father-figure. 'Young Lara finds her backpack' is a clear pinch from 'Young Indiana Jones gets his hat' (check out the corpse in Angkor Wat), while the skeletons are lifted, down to the last frame of animation, from Ray Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts: steal from the good ones! Game-of-choice for chrome theft this time appears to be Dark Vengeance: transparent Lara, waving banners, slow-moving crusader knights and ghosts. Finally, that Nitrous Oxide is a present from BA Baracus of the A Team: something certainly scratched his truck before Lara cannibalised it!

Levels

Again, some types have been grouped for brevity. Ninjas include both the White and Red/Black costumed types, while Soldiers seems fair for what appears to be the regular Egyptian Army. The Flying Beetles have been abbreviated to Flys to save space, but they're a lot nastier. The Locusts are nastier still.

Act

Level

Enemies (see Notation)

Issues/Weapons

Prequel:
Foot Chase

Angkor Wat

Wild Pigs, Von Croy

Unarmed, Ropes

Race for the Iris

Wild Pigs, Von Croy

ACT II: AMULET OF SETH

IIa: The Amulet

Tomb of Seth

Scorpions, Jackals

Niche levers

Burial Chambers

Jackals, MUMMIES

Amulet, Shotgun

IIb: Jeep Chase

Valley of the Kings

Assassins*

Jeep

KV5

Assassins*

Hanging levers

ACT III: SEMERKHET

IIIa: Finding...

Karnak/Hall/Lake I

Scorpions, Crocs, Bats...

Poles

Karnak/Hall/Lake II

...plus Assassins*, Ninjas*

Uzis

IIIb: Semerkhet

Tomb Semerkhet

SCARABS, Jackals, Bats, SENET

Spirits, Torches

Guard of Semerkhet

Bats, BULL

ACT IV: ARMOUR OF HORUS (interconnected levels with Coastal Ruins as an interchange)

IVa: Train Chase

Desert Railroad

Ninjas*

Gren Launcher

IVb: Key to the Catacombs

Alexandria

Scorpions, Assassins*

Laser Sight

Coastal Ruins

Skeletons

Crossbow

IVc: Four Tridents

Catacombs

Skeletons

Ghosts, Graves

Temple of Poseidon

Skeletons

IVd: Pharos Keys

Lost Library

Woodmen, Mounted Woodman

Hall of Demetrius

Ninjas*

IVe: Beetles

Pharos, Temple of Isis

Skels, Shark , Uraeus, SCRBS

Palaces of Cleopatra

Skels, Uraeus*, Guards(*)

ACT V: rescuing Jean-Pierre (interconnected levels centred on rear of Chambers of Tulun)

Va: Bike Chase

City of the Dead

Soldiers*, Guns*, Bats

Revolver, Bike

Chambers of Tulun

Soldiers*, Flys, TULUN

Grenade Gun

Vb: Keys and Nitrous Oxide

Citadel Gate

APEP*, Flys, LOCUSTS, Crocs

Trenches I

Soldiers*, Guns*, Steam Pipes

Nitrous Oxide

Vc: Mines and Explosives

Chambers/Trenches II

Soldiers*

Street Bazaar...

Soldiers*, BULL

Mine Detonator

Vd: Epilogue

...back to Citadel Gate

Soldiers*, LOCUSTS, Crocs

Minefields

Citadel

Ninjas*, CRUSADERS

ACT VI: The Final Conflict (effectively one huge level)

VIa: Four Gems, Four Scriptures

Sphinx Complex

Ninjas*

Shotgun

Underneath Sphinx

BULLS, Bats, Crocs, SCARABS

Gren Gun, Maze

VIb: Four Shaft Keys part I

Menkaure's Pyramid

Scorps, Flys, Soldiers, SCARABS

Revolver

Inside M's Pyramid

Bats, Mummies, Guard(*)

Uzis

VIc: Four Shaft Keys part II

The Mastabas

Bats, Jackals, Scorps, Mummies

The Great Pyramid

Ninjas*, Flys

Grenade Gun

VId: Four Shaft Keys part III

Queens Pyramid

Scorps, Flys, SCRBS, Guard(*)

Mult Weapons

Inside Great Pyramid

Ninjas, Bats, Jackals

Crossbow

VIe: The Final Conflict

Temple of Horus I

Ammut

No route out

Temple of Horus II

SETH*

One route out

BONUS LEVEL (Web Download only)

The Times

Somewhere in Egypt

Several enemies

Most weapons


Did I say Caves of Kaliya was the worst level in the history of Tomb Raider? Well, that's only because Underneath the Sphinx wasn't built then! Not only is this a multiple maze, it has a worthless 'clue' which encourages you to look for answers that aren't there! As the Dinosaur says in Toy Story 2, the only reason such levels are included in games is to sell hint books, and since there are free walkthroughs on the net they don't even achieve that. Minus several million for style. And more mazes elsewhere!

Otherwise, I found Last Revelation the blandest Tomb Raider so far, even the good/bad level colour-coding should perhaps be one shade paler than previous games! On the plus side, Coastal Ruins has one of the most beautiful vistas in the whole of Tomb Raider, as you reach the seashore from the amusement arcade, and Cleopatra's Palaces has as good a 'reveal', but Act V is as dreary as London was in TRIII, with its darkness, multiple unkillable enemies, and wearying cross-level backtracks if you guess wrongly or just miss something. Act VI is just an anticlimax, although the pyramid slope puzzles are good.

Given that the skeletons can be destroyed by blasting them over a ledge or into water, I was particularly disappointed that the mummies and woodmen can't be defeated by fire (there are situations where Lara can confront them holding a burning torch to no effect) while someone at Core has lost track of the basics with the 'kick-down-door' action - the game system only makes visual sense if all of Lara's weapons and actions are two-handed. In the Macintosh port the Guards fire is ineffective, hence bracketed, but you should feel morally obliged to kill them anyway.

Weapons strategy: Another game, another weapon. This time it's the Crossbow and Explosive Arrows that you'd like to turn on everybody, but have to ration. One-shot kills of the Flying Beetles, which can otherwise push you off the sides of the Pyramids, are a priority, while skeletons, mummies, and giant scorpions can be shared with the Grenade Gun. The Shotgun remains the best corridor-clearing option, and poisoned arrows or the revolver, combined with the lasersight, best for sniping.

With so many of the heavier enemies either unkillable by weapons (Apep) or at all, and a number of others, especially mummies, outrunnable, it would be surprising not to end Last Revelation with a lot of unused lesser ammunition. Maybe that's what caused the floor to collapse under Lara...

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Tomb Raider Chronicles

The pitch

Four Missions and a Funeral

Overview

What the movie buffs would call a portmanteau movie, with a touch of auteur theory in the way the level data files are named after the designers rather than the contents! Each level group is now separate (equipment doesn't carry over) while Secrets unlock material external to the game instead of equipment or levels within it. There is a strong feeling of Christmas Past and Christmas Future:

Levels

Act

Level

Enemies (see Notation)

Issues/Weapons

I: ROME

Streets of Rome

Dogs*, BATS, LARSON*

Revolver/Sight

Trajan's Markets

RATS, Head*, Giant*, Hydra*

Larson*

Colosseum (II)

Lions, Gladiators, Giant*

Uzis

II: RUSSIA

The Base

Goons*, Dogs, Grab

Desert Eagle

The Submarine

Goons*, Chef

Unarmed, S/gun

Deep Sea Dive

Minisubs*

EDS Suit

Sinking Submarine

Goons*

Uzis, D/Eagle

III: IRELAND

Gallows Tree

IMPS, RATS, BATS

Unarmed

Labyrinth

GHOST SKELETONS, MONSTER

Guides

Old Mill

BATS, IMPS*, DEMON

IV : VCI TOWER

Uncompleted due to loss of interest/diminishing returns/bugs


The series goes out with a whimper rather than a bang. TRC is extremely short by previous standards, little more than TLR Gold given the previous ratios of Gold to main game data, and even then there is excessive use of cutscenes as padding. Secrets now only unlock some pretty worthless design artwork for the game and/or NetGenLara. The final act in particular is/was significantly buggy, and the product placement frankly shabby.

TRC would be very poor value without the Level Editor and the consequent availability of free additional levels -- but given that there were well over 500 such levels available on the net by the end of 2002, perhaps 5000 by end 2005, at least half of which seem worth playing on current experience, it's actually essential --

With the game at least 20% light on levels, it's psychologically interesting that even with an improved engine, the Core team didn't feel able to go up against the original for a fifth act as a way of bringing closure to the series. But independent designers are already working on recreating TR1 for the new engine, so we may yet be able to Return to Kahmoon, again...

Weapons strategies: almost irrelevant, as Lara only has pistols or the HK rifle most of the time, and not even those in Act III.

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Tomb Raider Custom Levels

It's unlikely I will be doing reviews or exhaustive analyses of Custom Levels here, as they are all based on the modified TR4 levels supplied with the TRC Editor Tools, and hence feature the same sets of enemies, but after playing approaching 250 of them, I'd say that compared to the 'official games', the quality is very encouraging:

10% as good or better than anything Core have ever done
25% reasonable levels that might have got into the main games
15% OK, but too small/simple ever to have made the real games
10% so large/difficult/over-egged that they're not much fun to play
30% somewhere between not worth playing and really rubbish
10% have bugs serious enough to prevent proper playthrough

So at least 50-60% are worth the trouble of downloading and playing, which I'd rate exceptional value overall. Mike Prager's Site, Level Heaven, Tomb Builder's Lab, and Tombraiders.com all have extensive sets of download pointers and/or individual level reviews. My own favourites to date are:

Monika Pawlus/Philae and the Isis Temple (single nicest level I've seen)
Rene Brooymans/all levels, especially the Last Crusade series
Jon Heywood/Celtic Folly I-III (original series)
Bibi Phoque/Lost Diamond I-II, The Big Fortress
Fabio Ribeiro/City of Blezqi Zatsaz (now level I of Quest for the Asphaeings Amulet)
Francesco Zecchinelli/Diocletian Thermae (many of his earlier ones are much weaker)
Jeyem/Stunt in Underground (a very pure 'puzzle' level)
Michal Mularz/Laguna Temples (a very pure 'environment' level)
semitonic/Jackson Pollock's Puzzle (the best 'off the wall' level)

There are a number of truly impossible levels featuring huge arenas, sometimes beyond the rendering capacity of machines which met the level player's spec, massively non-linear solution routes, near-impossible jumps, endless sequences of reaction death-traps and the sort. Of those I've abandoned, only Jeyem/The Lost Valley felt like a fair fight I lost rather than a rigged contest.

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Overall Summaries

The table below attempts to calibrate the relative size of the games on several factors: level count, level data file sizes, and approximate step count (roughly pages times number of illustrations) in the Prima Strategy Guides

Although TLR has a different structure in which about three dozen (by TR III standards, smaller) levels are interlinked and revisited several times (a minimum of 56 'level loads' of 41 data files, to finish with all the secrets -- sometimes a level changes slightly between visits), there is enough context to equate groups of TLR levels to single levels of the other games (see relevant table)

TRC can really only be counted as 11 levels: (Submarine, DeepSeaDive, Sinking Sub) is just "there and back again" across a single level.

Game

Levels

Level Data

Guide Steps

TR1 (UB)

15 (4)

50MB (25MB)

~750

TR2 (GM)

18 (4,B)

80MB (30MB)

~1000

TR3 (LA)

19,B (6)

80MB (35MB)

~1300

TLR

19~T

160MB

~1500

TRC/LE

11~P

70MB

~700

TRLP

3000+?

30GB+?


Notes:

() = Gold levels
B = bonus level
T = The Times newspaper level
P = Playable tutorial level included with Level Editor

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Platforms

This section lists the various platforms the series has been available on to date. The PC/Mac columns also list the 'best' supported video formats available, although the hardware/OS/driver requirements to achieve these have risen progressively through the series. PC is 95/98/ME/XP, but not NT/2000; Mac is typically G3/MacOS8.6 to Chronicles, then OS9/X as specified

Game

PC

Mac

Sony(A)

Others

TR1

DOS software(B)

[*]

TRGold
RAVE

[*]

PS1

Saturn, PocketPC

TR1UB

DOS software(B)

TR2

DirectX

[*]

RAVE

[*]

PS1

TR2GM

DirectX

RAVE(C)

[*]

TR3

DirectX

[*]

OpenGL

[*]

PS1

TR3LA

DirectX

OpenGL(D)

[*]

TLR

DirectX

OpenGL

PS1

Dreamcast

TR Times

DirectX(C)

OpenGL(E)

TRC

DirectX

OS9

PS1

Dreamcast

TRLP

DirectX

OS9/X

TR:AoD

DirectX

OSX

PS2

TR:Legend(F)

DirectX

OSX

PS2


Notes:

[*] in Trilogy pack for that platform

(A) PS2 is backwards compatible with PS1 versions
(B) some support for early 3D cards and/or DOS4GW mode
(C) Only ever available as separate products as web downloads
(D) Only in Mac Trilogy pack, now long deleted
(E) PC-only, but can be hacked to run in Mac TRLP, see MacRaider

(F) The return of Toby Gard, originally scheduled Autumn 2005, now 2006

Handheld platforms

There are two games for the Colour GameBoy, Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword, one for the Game Boy Advance, Tomb Raider: Destiny, a series for the Sky Games Network, Tomb Raider: Apocalypse, and a game for the Nokia Ngage mobile phone has been announced. These are all side-scrolling platform games rather than 3D.

Screenshots for the PocketPC version of TR1 seem of better resolution than those for the PS1!

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2005/09/23