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Back to Basics
Catacombs
Release Date: Jan 2005
Size:
145 Mb
File Type:
TR4
No of Levels 18
Platform
PC and Mac
Walkthroughs Below |
Back to Basics - Catacombs
The Back to Basics concept was to
build a collection of levels
using only the original Catacombs textures, baddies, puzzle items and
objects.
The result was a collection of accomplished levels providing a
pure Catacombs experience. Whenever you feel that Catacombs
nostalgia, here is a collection of 18 levels that will take you back.
Another Catacomb
by
Staticon (Kevin Learwood)
Story
While
exploring some caves, one day, Lara follows a narrow passage to
a fairly deep shaft. Suddenly, behind her, a gate shuts. 'Hmmm.
There appears to be no going back the way I came.' she thought.
'I suppose I must continue downwards.' So begins another
adventure.
Report
One of my favourite levels in the
collection. Tremendous atmosphere, great secrets, excellent
puzzles and good old Tomb Raider gameplay. My first Staticon
experience and certainly not my last.
Catacombs of Tisaria
by
Stormchaser (Peter Tedstone)
Story
Lara is in
search of the legendary Seal Of Tisaria - a solid gold token
said to have magical powers. As she slides down inside the tomb
she realises immediately that this is not an easy quest and she
must find her way through the dark and spooky passages where the
dead refuse to lie at rest and the way is paved with danger. The
tomb was built by Tisaria himself, a man with a warped mind and
said to be possessed by the spirits of the old ones. With his
last breath he vowed to roam the tomb forever and bring swift
death to anyone brave enough to venture inside.
Report
Don't be lured into thinking this is a walk in the park. I
reached the end of this level thinking it was all rather easy
only to discover I'd found but 1 of 5 stars needed to finish the
adventure! That taught me a lesson. It's a little on the dark
side but don't worry, there are zillions of flares to keep you
happy. Great level!
Desert Ruins and
the Serpent Tower
By Jackie Wu
Story
A bizarre
sandstorm reshaped the Egyptian desert, revealing age-old
pillars. Archaeologists found no record of any temple-like
buildings around that uncharted location so they started
digging. As they toiled in the heat, they became aware of a
coldness in the baking desert sands. Suddenly, they were
transported underground, later reappearing - dead. Something
ancient had killed them and a mystical crystal with a strange
energy was keeping them walking. What was worse, the crystal's
energy was spreading. Lara, after discovering in her library
that there were golden stars who could shield the world from the
crystal's energy, was the one to undo the crystal's power.
Report
An exceptionally well designed and crafted level with everything
you'd expect from a catacombs experience. Without doubt, one
of the best levels in this collection.
Dwellers of the
Abyss by Tombrdr (Debbie
Overstreet)
Story
As she was
exploring coastal ruins on the Mediterranean coast, the
world-renowned archaeologist Lara Croft stepped onto a soft spot
in the sand and fell through to a large cavern deep underground.
While she was fortunate that no bones were broken, the ramp she
fell down was too steep and sandy to allow her to climb out.
Groping her way through the cavern, she soon came to a gaping
abyss, in whose walls were the long-abandoned ruins of Saqqarah,
whose rulers were rumoured to have a powerful talisman that
allowed them to raise the dead . . .
Report
A magnificently lit and well textured
level with an incredible atmosphere. But take your weapons with
you because you're going to war in this one!
High and Low
by Michael Prager
Story
Yet again
Lara has tripped up on one of her quests and dropped
unexpectedly through a hole into an underground area. Luckily
unharmed she sets out to search High and Low to find her way
back out of there and while she is exploring the place tries to
bring back as many of those secret tridents as she can find.
Report
This must be the king of backtrack levels. I was tired of
backtracking high and low after the 2nd or 3rd time, but you'll
be up and down here well over a dozen times before you stagger
gratefully over the finish line. Make sure you keep a few flares
for emergencies because this one is dark and flares are almost
non existent. Better tuck a walkthrough into your backpack too
because you'll be needing it.
Laguna
by Cuahiano Small
(Nicolas T. Zimmermann)
Story
Many
places in the universe have been explored by Lara Croft. After
the past years Lara decides to reflect upon her origins. Of
course these are ruins and catacombs. So Lara reads through
geography and history books, pins a land map of intimate Egypt
and with closed eyes shoots an arrow at it with her bow. The
arrow marks a place near an old catacomb she has read about in
her books before. It's said that this catacomb was a part of the
Egyptian water supply during heydays of the Egyptian Empire.
Expecting to live adventures as in past days Lara starts her
journey to Egypt. What lies in front of her is uncertain. When
Lara enters the catacomb and slides down the ramp she scents an
aroma she hasn't smelled in a long time. It hints of old days.
It hints of new adventures.
Report
A gem of a level! Exploration is the key. Keep your wits about
you, explore thoroughly, remember where things are and you'll be
rewarded amply for the time spent adventuring here.
Lara of Persia
By Bojrkraider
Story
Ancient
legend recounts the evil deeds of the wizard Jaffar, who
possessed the Jewel of Marduk. This mysterious blue gem was
endowed with the power of the Tablets of Destiny, the magic
which Marduk wielded when he created the world. Jaffar ever
sought a way to unlock that power, to employ it in his lust for
power to rule the world. But his plans were ultimately foiled by
a bold and valiant Prince. But the Jewel of Marduk was lost,
together with the Palace of Jaffar, to the sands of time ...
until now. Following the trail of the ancient legends, the
redoubtable archaeologist Lara Croft discovered the long-lost
Palace of Jaffar in a forgotten valley amid the Elburz Mountains
in northern Iran. From its pristine condition, it was clear that
the Palace had been supernaturally preserved by the mystic power
of the Jewel of Marduk. As she sought for a way in, the ground
gave way beneath her feet, and she fell through a tunnel into a
dungeon far beneath. Lara also knew that the Prince had a
talisman that protected him from Jaffar's spells. The talisman
was in the shape of a beetle. When Lara finds it, she must NEVER
leave it behind or she'll be trapped in the palace forever. It
may happen that if Lara leaves the beetle on the floor and goes
away, it disappears. So remember, to ALWAYS PICK UP THE BEETLE
after using it or some really strange things may happen and she
may start hearing strange noises . . .
Report
This is a riveting and compelling
adventure which even has a complete story! Which is no more than
you'd expect from one of the most accomplished level builders on
the circuit. This truly is a gem.
Mourning Palace
by Horus (Nadine
Lannte)
Story
One misty morning at the end of September Lara was once again in
her library to grub out one of those dog-eared books about
ancient treasures and ruins. While she was rummaging, she
chanced upon a tattered diary. After glancing through it without
finding anything interesting she chucked it behind her. Not long
after, while reading an old book she felt a faint breeze behind
her. Then she noticed the diary lying on the floor, flipped open
to a page with red ink. Wondering how she could have overseen
that page she knelt down and read:
'Daylight has finally reached its end as evenfall strikes into
the sky. Far away in the dark glimmering moonlight sickening
souls cry out in pain. Hear the cries from the Mourning Palace,
feel the gloom of restless spirits . . .'
Happy to
finally have found something interesting, she read on to find
out more about this Mourning Palace and a few days later she was
travelling through the Egyptian desert. Patiently, she waited
for dusk to come. As the sun touched the horizon, tinting the
desert with red and orange, the sand began to shift, revealing a
stone panel in which a big crystal has been engraved. From
underneath she heard sighing wind that sounded like whispers . .
.Report
And the gems keep coming! They don't come any more beautifully
lit and textured than this and the level design is superb.
However, this one is rather on the challenging side so flex your
muscles
before setting off.
Operation Golden
Star
by Tinka
Story
Briefing:
Find the Golden Star and get out of the Catacombs.
Report
This is hidden crawlspace and disguised ladder heaven - or
purgatory if you don't like such things (better stick a
walkthrough in your backpack to be on the safe side). Having
said that, this is a wonderful level with nice room design and a
couple of really excellent puzzles.
Palaces of Pharaoh
Hepatitis
by Uvavoo
Story
Lara finds
herself thrown in the dungeons of the great Pharaoh Hepatitis
son of the great Pharaoh Hepatitis I (the son is sometimes known
as Hepatitis B). Hepatitis carried out experiments with the
undead in order to find the secret of eternal life. The palaces
are littered with these undead. The only escape is to find the
crystals of the Great Horseman Nevertitties so called because he
was not breast fed when an infant.
Report
Another gem. This is a brilliant level with some excellent
platforming. However, it has a rather obscure shootable wall
near the beginning which doesn't always work when you shoot it.
If in doubt, refer to the walkthrough.
Pseudo Tomb
by eTux
(Elvis Tupcijenko)
Story
Once upon
a time, long ago in Egypt a Pharaoh caused a lot of controversy
by building his tomb on the land of the living ones. Though this
was never confirmed by the Pharaoh himself, the rumours spread
far and wide, and the people felt that the Gods would not accept
such blasphemy, even from their own chosen one. A young warrior
from the Pharaoh's court noticed the anxiety among the people
and took up the chance to overthrow the Pharaoh. He secretly
conspired against him and when the Pharaoh with a dozen or so of
his warriors were checking out how the construction went,
entombed him alive. Ever since then nothing was heard of the
Pharaoh or his men, though strange things started happening
around the tomb and the place was soon abandoned. Yet the legend
of the Pharaoh who was entombed alive remained, and it was only
a matter of time till someone would dig this up.
And so it
happened that a group of archaeologists examining ancient scrolls
found out about the location of this mystery tomb and the
Pharaoh's real motives behind it. It seemed that the Pharaoh had
found out about a golden power that lay hidden deep beneath the
desert sands and dug his way down to it. A single contact with
this power, with a wish in mind could change the world as it was
known, ‘one touch to change it all’. That's why the Pharaoh was
so obsessed with finding this source of power and didn't notice
the plans of his enemies. Whether he found this power is still
unclear, and that's where Lara comes in. The group of
archaeologists knew well that the Pharaoh, comprehending the
value of the power, wouldn't leave this structure unguarded, so
they called the best (wo)man in the business to explore this
Pseudo Tomb where the excavations had started. Lara, of course,
intrigued by the story, simply couldn't decline the generous
offer and the deathtraps and Pharaoh's awaiting undead troops
were no reason for her to back out . . .
Report
Another gem in the Back to Basics
crown! The professionalism in this level grabbed me right from
the outset. Full of mystery and intrigue, you'll be immersed in
this one until you solve it's final mysteries. Better practice your
banana jumps though, 'coz you'll be needing them.
Quest for the
Golden Beetle by Terry
Barrett (dhama)
Story
By now,
Lara is getting terribly pissed off by the way amateur level
builders, seemingly think they know what’s best for her. She has
other ideas. Lara puts herself into 'noclip' mode and walks
straight out of my level through a wall, but unwittingly ends up
in another level I built right next door. This level however has
'noclip' turned off in the script, and so she is stuck to endure
yet another beastly level . . .
Report
Only Terry Barrett could dream up gameplay whereby players are
rewarded with a finish trigger for finding secrets! If you
find yourself at the end without the golden star you're going to
have to replay the level and find secrets if you want to enjoy a finish trigger.
Some excellent moments and well worth your time.
Rapid Fall
by Marksdad (Ian Smith)
Story
Lara must
explore an underground tomb dated from 987 C.E. and located
close to Baalbek in the Lebanon. In 1996, the company Mid
Eastern Electric S.A. acquired the contract to construct a
hydro-electric scheme for the immediate area (and Beirut in
particular) but owing to faulty trigonometric calculations in
the pre-construction of the water-supply Aqueduct, it was
discovered that the porous geological strata was causing the
tomb to be gradually flooding. Now Lara is asked to discover and
remove the Blue Diamond in the Tomb before the water submerges
it and the Gem is lost forever.
Report
Don't know what to say about this one. Perhaps if Marksdad had
put some effort into the lighting, atmosphere, room design and gameplay it
could have been good.
Skellycombs
by
George Maciver
Story
Lara is wandering around an old Temple that's been turned into a
museum when she discovers something interesting. She just can't
keep her hands to herself . . .
Report
Nothing too complicated here, just
a pleasant adventure through a catacombs setting with some nice
platforming and one annoying wraith.
The Origins
by Miss Kroft (Monika Kunze)
Story
After the
trouble in Egypt, when Seth was banned and von Croy dead, Lara
decided to return to the old catacombs of the coast of
Alexandria and to breathe the ancient air again; just for fun
this time, relaxed and enjoying the atmosphere. Join Lara on her
excursion back to the catacombs; back to the origins.
Report
Stunning atmosphere and camera work, great level design and
exciting platforming. What more could you want? The Back to
Basics crown gleams with yet another gem.
The Red and the
Blue
by eRIC
(Eric Claire)
Story
Alesandro Azzuri-Rosso, a wealthy and prolific 16th century
composer, had built a magnificent palace for his two sons above
some ancient catacombs. Alesandro’s elder son had a fiery
temper, whereas his brother was cold and calculating. One day,
the two sons stole a scroll containing one of their father’s
most magnificent symphonies and hid it somewhere within the
palace, or perhaps in the catacombs beneath.
To prevent
anyone from retrieving the scroll, the brothers devised
ingenious traps to prevent anyone from locating and retrieving
the famous Music Scroll, and they even found a way to raise the
dead to serve as an additional line of defence against
intruders.
Then one
day, the renowned adventurer and explorer Lara Croft discovered
the existence of the Music Scroll and learned of the steps the
brothers had taken to guard it. As she imagined the pleasure she
would derive from solving the puzzles and traps the brothers had
left, a devilish smile graced her face, and she set off at once
for the Palace of Alesandro Azzuri-Rosso.
Report
This is classic eRIC level design.
Hard to imagine the time and effort that goes into designing a
level like this but the effect makes it all worth it. Fabulous
camera work and superb room design. However, this is an expert's
challenge and, to be honest, one or two of the jumps will have
you pulling your hair out with frustration (unless you enjoy
reloading a zillion times of course).
The
Underground City
by
Harly Wuson
Story
‘So this
is the place....’ Lara wanders her eyes around the area. During
Medieval times there once were tribes which settled on this
land, forming cities. But as time passed by, the tribes, along
with the civilisation they created,
diminished and eventually disappeared from the rest of the
world. What remains are just ruins. Lara looks back at her jeep,
‘Damn it, breaking down at such an inappropriate time. How am I
supposed to go home?’ Just wanting to go for a ride, Lara didn't
expect to be stuck in such a remote location. In an urge to find
the way out, she accidentally slipped into a concealed crack
which turned out to be a tunnel. Thanks to the fall, it gave way
to Lara discovering buildings underground. Lara suddenly
realises the tribes had continued
their lives underground for some reason. Now Lara has to explore
the underground civilisation and
find a way to leave and get back to the surface . . .
Report
We're
being spoiled with all these masterful levels, we really are.
This game kicks off with a brilliant pushblock and underwater
currents puzzle and from there just gets better and better. A
brilliant Raid with a great story.
Through the Shadow
of Death
by Idealist
Story
In ancient
times, philosophers learned of the Music of the Spheres, a
perfect, harmonious music inaudible on earth, and created by the
stars and planets in their movement across the heavens. The
Greek philosopher Pythagoras deciphered the meaning of the music
and copied the Music of the Spheres onto a scroll near the end
of his lifetime. Upon his death, this Music Scroll, along with
many other scrolls in his collection, was delivered to the Great
Library in Alexandria, Egypt for safekeeping.
When the
librarians learned of its special significance, they realized
the tremendous power that it could unleash. If ever someone were
to play the Music of the Spheres in acoustic perfection, one
could gain control over the movement of the stars and planets,
causing widespread devastation through earthquakes, typhoons,
volcanic eruptions, meteorite storms, and the like. To prevent
this from happening, the librarians hid the Music Scroll in a
special vault in the catacombs beneath Alexandria. For added
protection, the catacombs were guarded by the souls of the dead
that would prevent any from passing.
In modern
times, a secret society called the Illuminati has learned of the
existence of the Music Scroll and its whereabouts. Knowing that
it was buried deep in a tomb, they sought the services of the
world-famous Archaeologist/Adventurer Lara Croft to recover it.
However, before she accepted their commission, Lara decided to
infiltrate the Illuminati's secret headquarters and there
discovered the reason why they wanted it: world domination. To
prevent the Illuminati from ever finding the scroll, she decided
to find it herself and relocate it to a secret place they would
never think to look for it . . .
Report
And last
but by no means least, this level was the only Back to Basics
level to hit the Top Fifty charts at trle.net. Quite an achievement and
well deserved as you will find out. Fabulous piece of work
recapturing a brilliant Catacombs experience.
Bugs inherent in the revised Catacomb WAD
1. If Lara gets stuck in a
crawlspace use binoculars and she'll start to work again.
2. Always pick up the Mechanical Scarab after you use it or you may
hit serious bugs that will prevent you from
finishing the level.
3. If polygons
stretch from Lara, then save and reload and they should be gone.
4. If a pushable object starts to flicker, disappears
or Lara can’t get a hold of it, run around the nearby
rooms and that should fix it.
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