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.