THE OPPENHEIM INHERITANCE

 

Level by Ian Smith (Marksdad)

 

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth

 

 

The opening flyby takes you by night along the facade of a building decorated by stone carvings of winged monsters.  Step forward to open the gates that lead to the building, and you'll be met by a pair of unfriendly dogs.  Dispatch them and go beyond the tree to your right for some flares.   On the other (south) side of the building is a side yard where you'll alert four more dogs.  Climb quickly onto the block near the north wall of the building (you'll hear the faint sound of a door opening if you climb up on the north side) where you can kill them safely.  If you're the curious type and wish to explore this area thoroughly, you'll find more flares for your trouble, but you'll also alert two skeletons.  If you'd rather avoid the confrontation, take a running jump east from the block and sprint left to the front of the building, squeezing inside the timed entrance gate just as it's closing.

 

Enter the building as a rat scurries up (you can't kill it, and it won't hurt you) and step forward to watch the dying soldier complete his final round of calisthenics.  There's some shotgun ammo to pick up near the suits of armor NW and SW, then go up the stairs west into the pentagonal hallway.   Where the passage starts sloping downward, look up and you'll see two spike balls poised overhead.  Save your game and dash down the left side of the passage as the spike balls are triggered.  At the opening at the bottom jump off to your left and you'll land on a ledge.  A skeleton is already on its way toward you from the neighboring ledge, so before it reaches you jump to the climbable wall below the opening and pull yourself back up into the passage.  Activate the jump switch in the south wall a short way up the passage to open a door down below, then go back and lure the skeleton across the gap before jumping to the previous ledge.

 

Follow the ledge around to the open doorway in the south wall and run inside ahead of the skeleton.  Carefully drop down onto the ledge at the other end of the passage, as what appears to be a solid ornate floor in the next room isn't, at least for the most part. You're safe from the skeleton here, so look at the ceiling and you'll see depressed squares sprinkled throughout.  You might think that the safe tiles are located directly underneath those, but you'd be wrong.  The builder says, however, that such was indeed his intention, but I didn’t find this to be the case when I played the level. To get safely across, stand one square west (to the right, as you're facing the other side) of the opening and take a running jump to the first safe tile (with a multi-pointed star).  Step forward to the right corner and take a standing jump SW to the next safe tile against the west wall (with the wreath design).  From there, a running jump south will get you to the far ledge.  (You can check your progress visually by dropping and hanging from the edges of the safe tiles and hitting the look key.)

 

Vault up into the opening and go through the niched, rat-infested passage into a puzzle piece room.  Your task is to get past them.  Piece of cake.  Push the west piece south once, turn left and pull the east piece once, go around to the other side and push the east and north pieces against the west wall, and pull back the south piece once.  You now have a clear path to the jump switch beyond the puzzle pieces.  Activate it and go back to the phantom tile room.  Use the same safe tiles to get back across, being sure to use grab with that last running jump.  Pull up and return to the outside ledge where the skeleton patiently awaits your return. 

 

Run past the skeleton as you follow the ledge to your right.  Leap over the gap and continue along the ledge until you reach the open doorway in the north wall.  The door blocks your way, so drop back, hang from the ledge and shimmy past it.  Unfortunately, the skeleton can simply walk right through it.  Enter the room with blocks topped with a multi-pointed star design.  The door ahead opens as you step on a block about halfway across, but it closes again before you can reach it.  Step onto the middle raised block against the west wall, and the door will open and stay open until you leave the block.  A running jump into the opening should thwart the closing door without the need for further analysis (although the builder says there's a logical regimen to follow in this room). 

 

Go down the short passage and climb down the ladder at the other end.  Draw your pistols when you reach the bottom and kill the dog that's charging down the passage toward you.  As you walk forward the door at the other end will open to release three more dogs that can't wait to get at you.  Step over the carnage when all is quiet and find yourself on the floor of the main room.  Go to the ladder in the west wall (behind the spike balls) and climb up past the ledges and just past the opening to your left.  Shift left and keep the left arrow key depressed, and Lara should drop down onto the ledge in front of the open doorway.

 

Go inside to find a number of water-filled pits.  Go to the left one against the south wall and jump in for the SHOTGUN.  The left one against the north wall leads to an underwater passage where you can pull out and (save your game first) step on a star tile for a cut scene showing a timed door opening somewhere outside.  Jump into the water as soon as camera control is restored, pull out and jump to the doorway.  Turn left on the ledge outside and jump over the gap.  Follow the ledge around to the right, using the sprint key as soon as practicable.  Jump toward the open doorway in the east wall to save precious time and dash through just as the door starts closing.  Once you're inside the passage, however, it re-opens and stays open, so you can go back and exact revenge upon that skeleton (now that you have the shotgun) should you desire to do so.

 

Walk to the other end of the passage, where you'll get one of those annoying fixed camera angles.  If you pay close attention, you'll see the lower tip of a spike ball poised overhead.  Step out onto the ramp, turn right and start running down the ramp, using the sprint key to give yourself some extra boost as the spike ball drops down and starts pursuing you.  You'll need to make two left turns, and near the bottom of the third ramp run off the left side, and if you're lucky you'll land on the top of a pillar.  Pick up the CARTOUCHE and safety drop to the floor a short distance below.  Light a flare and locate the small medi-pack near the SE corner for SECRET #1.  Go to the ladder in the NE corner and climb back up until you're just over the ramp, shift right and release to get that fixed camera angle again.  But this time there are no distractions as you wind your way back up to the opening. 

 

Go out to the ledge and run over to the NW corner.  Insert the Cartouche in the receptacle there and you'll hear the sound of a trap door opening.  Safety drop to the floor and you'll find the open trap door near the east wall.  Drop down into the dark passage, light a flare and read the discouraging message as you approach a long slope.  Save your game, turn around to face south and start your slide downward.  Grab the edge at the end (sorry, that large medi-pack's not for you), release and immediately grab the crack in the wall.  Shimmy right and release over the left side of the slope in the corner.  Slide a short distance and jump off with a roll to land on the next slope facing forward.  Jump off with a curve to the right to land on a flat surface, then draw that shotgun and turn to your right to take out an SAS who's firing on you from high up in the east wall.

 

Deadly water is all around you, but there's a way out.  Turn to the NE and take a running jump toward the lower sloped surface of the central structure.  You may land on a flat surface, or you may slide back.  Either way, grab the edge and shimmy left until you reach the climbable wall.  Climb up along the left side of the structure and pull up at the top.  Turn left and take a standing jump and grab the monkey bars.  Swing toward the north wall, curving to your left near the end so you'll land facing forward when you run out of bars.  Jump off the slope and grab the pillar in the corner.  Don't try to pull up, but shift left and around the corner.  Go down a few rungs until you can see the top of the pillar behind you (a lion face design should be at about shoulder level to your left).  Take a rolling back flip and keep the jump key depressed so you bounce off the face of the next slope and grab the edge of the pillar beyond.  Pull up, slide down the other side and grab the pillar ahead.  Climb to the top and pull up.  Turn left and take a running (not a standing) jump to grab the overhead monkey bars.  Swing toward the opening in the far wall, and go to the very end.  Lara will drop down into the opening.  Run forward through the short passage onto a ledge overlooking the next room.

 

You see sloped pillars down below, popping in and out of view.  Wait until you can actually see the nearest one to your left, take a standing jump to it and take three successive jumps off sloped surfaces to grab the east ledge on the other side.  Pull up and step on the star tile to open a timed door in the south wall as two dogs come down the passage toward you.  Kill them, then proceed east up the passage.  Pull up into the crawl space at the end for SECRET #2 and a small medi-pack.  Go back out and step on the star tile again to open the south door.  Save your game (as the floor in the next room is deadly) and take a running jump into the opening.  You'll slide down a slope, and at the very bottom jump off and grab the rope that's hanging down from the ceiling in the next room.  Slide quickly down the rope (but not all the way) to get out of range of the SAS who's firing at you from a block in the SW corner.

 

Turn to your left to face the slope in the middle of the room and swing forward.  Jump off and either slide down the slope or (if you're lucky) grab the edge and shimmy to your left before pulling up.  Jump with a curve to the left to land on a block in front of an opening in the south wall.  Draw your shotgun and quickly dispatch the SAS, then jump over to the block he occupied and pick up the shotgun ammo and small medi-pack he dropped.  Jump back to the previous block and grab the opening overhead.  Crawl inside and follow the passage until you trigger a cut scene with action music, roaming dogs and a rabid Demigod.  When you actually reach the treasure room you'll find that it's guarded by a skeleton as well.  Take out all enemies and pull up onto the ledge in the SW corner.  Pick up the BREAST PLATE as a memento of your visit.  The door at floor level is now open, so hop down and deal with two SAS who emerge from the passage beyond.

 

Enter and run up the stairs to the waiting motorbike.  Mount it and ride up the ramp toward a host of waiting SAS and dogs.  I didn't bother to count them.  Just run over all you encounter as you make your escape through the estate grounds and past the gates that brought you to this level, then either ride straight ahead or turn the corner to hit the exit trigger.