TEMPLE OF URANOS

Level by Szymon Cupryn (Emoo)

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth


Lara begins in a meditative pose that makes it look as if she's hiding behind a pillar. However, there's no danger in this room, so come on out and explore. Scattered about on the floor are seven sets of shatter bones. They seem to have no significance whatsoever (although in one of Justin's early levels they were the key to finding the secrets), but it's still kind of fun to make them shatter by standing in front of them and blazing away with your pistols while reverse rolling back and forth. Shoot an orange pot in the NW corner for some shotgun ammo, then vault up onto the central platform and pick up more shotgun ammo and some crossbow arrows. Locate a face panel on the NE pillar and push it to open the door near the SW corner.

Go there and locate the pole at the end of the short corridor. Climb up and backflip into the upper passage. Turn around and run forward (noting the closed door to your left) until you reach an opening to your right. Look out over the room where you began, and take an angled running jump to the roof of the central structure. Upon landing you'll awaken a skeleton at the opposite corner, so let it come toward you before you start running in the opposite direction to the point where it materialized, and pick up the shotgun. Blast the skeleton over the edge, then pick up the small medi-pack near the NE corner and go over to throw the floor lever. The door in the north wall below opens, but don't go back down just yet.

Turn to your right and line Lara up with the rope hanging down from the ceiling. Take a standing jump and grab to it, then swing forward and jump off to land on the east balcony. Shoot another set of shatter bones, then take the revolver ammo from one pedestal and the laser sight from the other. The pots are also shootable but empty. Note the receptacles in the east wall for a gem artifact and a knot artifact. Safety drop to the room below and enter the north doorway. Go to the right and pick up the large medi-pack in the SE alcove, then reverse roll and note the closed door at the opposite end of this passage. Go into the intersecting passage and come to a connecting pool that takes you to a large, partially flooded room.

Swim to your left in the new room and pull up onto the ledge in the SW corner while a panoramic flyby shows you what you need to do next. Walk forward along the ledge and turn to your right. From the edge of the ledge, take a standing jump forward and grab the open balcony above. Pull up and turn to your right. Take a running jump and grab to the near rope, then turn slightly to the right to line up with the next rope. Swing forward, jump off the first rope to grab the second, and turn back to the left and jump over to the east balcony. Climb up the pole and backflip onto a still higher balcony. A skeleton awakens on one of the two ledges spanning this room, but right now he's out of range of your shotgun.

Wait until the skeleton nervously jumps across to the far ledge, then take a running jump over to the near ledge and ready your shotgun. When the skeleton makes its move toward you, blast it into the water below. Take a running jump over to the west ledge, then use the rope to swing over to the highest balcony in the west wall. (Line Lara up with the rope, then back up all the way to the edge before taking a standing jump forward to grab the rope.) Take the Horseman's Gem from the pedestal. Dive down into the water and swim back through the SE passage. Pull up and return to the room where you began.

Go through the doorway near the SW corner and repeat the sequence described earlier to bring you back to the balcony in the east wall with the artifact receptacles. Insert the gem in the appropriate receptacle and safety drop to the floor below. Go through the SW doorway again and climb up the pole. Backflip into the passage, turn around and run forward, and you'll find that the door to your left is now open.

Go inside to trigger a cut scene showing a horde of beetles pouring out of a tile at the other end of the corridor ahead. At the same time the door behind you closes, removing any thought of a hasty retreat. Make your way quickly through this maze-like area by hugging the walls to your left. In this way you'll come to an alcove where you'll find the Pharos Knot on a pedestal, and a floor lever fairly close by that opens the door again (and also seems to eliminate the beetle threat, unless taking the knot did the trick). Linger long enough to pick up two bundles of flares and some shotgun ammo, then head over to the south wall and locate the overhead crawlspace near the SW corner. Pull up inside the small room for SECRET #1. Take the shotgun ammo and small medi-pack from the pedestals and return to the maze room. Exit through the open door to the NE.

The direct route back to the beginning room, where you're anxious to go and place the knot, is blocked by the open door. When you turn right and head the other way in resignation, the door obligingly closes again, so reverse roll and get back to the east balcony as you did before. Place the knot in the remaining receptacle and safety drop to the floor below. Go through the doorway to the north and turn right, then left to find that the door at the end of the corridor is now open.

As you enter, another brief flyby mixed with foreboding music gives you a hint of what's to follow in this area. A skeleton arises to challege you when you move forward. As there's nowhere to blast it down to, move quickly around it and take a left at the bend. Climb up the pole in the far corner and backflip to the higher level. Turn around and look at the blue-tinged structure you saw in the flyby. Step closer to it, and out pops a wraith. What to do? Skeleton down below, and wraith up here. Go past the structure and turn to the right. There's a hole in the floor next to the west wall; but more important, there's an alcove next to it that shelters a wraith-killing statue. You may find that the wraith is stubbornly reluctant to die, but eventually it will self-destruct upon the bird statue. When it does, look around and discover two more floor holes in this area.

Drop down into the one you saw first, next to the bird statue. Uh oh, another skeleton. Hang around just long enough to note the star receptacle, make a mental note of it for later, and use the sticky wall to make your escape. Now go to the opposite hole against the east wall. There's the star you need, but no crowbar as yet. So avoid the skeleton you've just awakened and climb back out. Go over to the SE passage and drop down into the third hole. Look in the corner and...yes! There's the crowbar. And another skeleton. Quickly pick up the crowbar, climb back out, return to the second hole and pry off the Golden Star while the skeleton pesters you. Then go to the first hole and place the star. (Yes, I know I could have described the holes in reverse order, but then you would have missed out on all the fun with the skeletons on the return trips. Besides, the skeletons won't bother you if you climb up onto the coffins for refuge.)

Climb back out and return to the pole. You can't jump to it, but you can lower Lara down over the edge and drop down to the area below. If you wish, you can lure the skeleton into the adjacent room with the pool and blast it into the water with the shotgun. For some reason, skeletons melt when they come into contact with water. Then return to the open doorway to the NE and note the climbing surface to your right, just inside the threshold. Climb up and drop down into the hole at the end of the short passage for SECRET #2. Pick up the large medi-pack (you have to stoop to do so, because of the wall torch) and the flares. Whew, no skeleton in here. Climb out, drop back down to the main area and go back to the pole to find that a nearby door is now open.

Step inside, and the door rudely closes behind you. Now it's time to play musical doors. There's a closed door ahead, an opening to your left. Go left, and the door ahead opens. Continue forward, and the door ahead and to the right opens. Same thing with the next door to your right, but before moving forward turn around and go into the small room to your right for SECRET #3. Take the uzis from the pedestal and pick up the uzi ammo from the floor, then return to the main corridor and go through the open door to your right. Run to the end of the corridor and turn right, and another door opens. Step forward and you hear the distant sound of another door opening. If you go straight ahead the door at the end of the corridor refuses to open. If you turn right you'll wind up going in circles. So reverse roll and go back in the direction you came from. Turn right at the intersection to find a hallway with a pole in the middle and a closed door at the end.

Climb up the pole and back flip into the passage. Go past the scarey-face panel and throw the floor lever as a wraith emerges. Climb back down the pole to find that the door below to the north is now open. Go inside and discover to your amazement an ancient Egyptian elevator that takes you partway up the shaft. Jump up to grab the NW opening and pull up. Run forward and take the revolver from the pedestal, then turn right and wait near the bird statue until the wraith self-destructs.

You've got three closed doors in this room, together with a floor lever and a moveable piece in the corner. Throw the lever to open the adjacent door, then move the piece to the face tile on the floor to open the larger door on the other (south) side of the room. Go into the room to the south and use the crawlspace to the left to access SECRET #4. Choose the goodie of your choice from the three pedestals, because once you take it the other two become enveloped by flames.

Now go into the opening to the north. A cut scene shows you the nine vases neatly arranged in three rows across the way, but it doesn't tell you much else. The floor below is riddled with spike traps, so don't even think about jumping down there. Combine the revolver and the laser sight before stepping onto the tile with the black circle in the center, then shoot ONLY these four vases: the two corner vases in the front row, the right vase in the second row, and the middle vase in the third row. If you shoot any of the other vases, the tile you're standing on will set you aflame. When you shoot the correct quartet of vases, the third door in the room behind you opens.

As you enter the new area, a skeleton is awakened on the other side of the water hole. Wait for it to jump toward you, then blast it into the water to get rid of it. Jump over the water (there's nothing down there) and walk up to the top of the ramp ahead. Looks like a perfect opportunity for a boulder trap, and so it is. You have the choice of two paths to finish the level. The left one is easier.

Slide down the left side of the slope while a boulder comes crashing behind you in the right lane. Don't get complacent, however, because when you reach the bottom of the slope and slide to the left another boulder gives chase right behind you. You'll need to jump off the platform into the water, just about the time the cutscene takes over, to avoid being crushed by the second boulder. Swim to the other side of the pool and pull up to trigger a wraith. Turn around and dive back into the water, and locate the underwater bird statute in the far corner below. Wheh the wraith has been neutralized, pull back up where you were before and pick up the shotgun ammo in the shallow central pool. Then throw the two floor levers on either side and jump back into the water.

Locate the underwater opening and swim inside. There's a little maze you need to navigate here to find some uzi ammo, another shotgun and the Pharos Pillar. When you've found them all, swim back out and pull up on the side with the floor levers. Put the pillar in its receptacle, then swim to the other side of the pool and pull up. The door to your left is now open, so go inside and hear Lara's theme music. Stop to pick up the stashes of shotgun ammo next to a pillar on either side of this room, then approach the closed central door. It opens automatically, so enter another elevator and enjoy the ride up. Step forward into the next area, and the level ends abruptly.

If you chose the right path and managed to avoid the trailing boulder, you'll drop down into a dark room with a moveable piece in the center. Push the piece straight forward onto the face tile. (If you push it onto any of the other three face tiles, you'll be skewered by a spike trap.) A block is raised in a nearby corner, and so is a skeleton. Climb onto the block and take a standing jump forward to grab the ceiling. Monkey swing to the other side and drop down into the alcove. Throw the floor lever to open the exit door. Stop long enough to pick up the ammo lying about, then go into the next room where you hear Lara's theme music. End the level as described above.