NECRO'S DOMAIN 7: Captive in the Ice

Level by Lee Dunning

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth, expanded from a detailed outline provided by the builder.

The level begins with a dark, torch-illuminated scene where Von Croy (I assume) is muttering vague threats in an effort to impress Lara before she's taken away by her captors. An extended flyby then kicks in, featuring a helicoptor delivering Lara to an arctic prison facility. Camera control is restored with Lara tucked firmly away in her cell. Start by pulling out the moveable block in the SW corner, enter the passage behind it and crawl along the winding passage until you emerge in the cell next door. Take the PRISON KEY from the nearby table, exit the cell via the north doorway and use the Prison Key in the keyhole to your left to open the prison door. Exit the facility and turn left (if you go right you'll run right into a sentry gun).

Run past the guard (you have no weapons at the moment, naturally) and turn the corner. A couple of sleek prison dogs accost you. Avoid them as best you can and look for the hard-to-see ARMOURY KEY a little more than halfway down the snowy path. Pick it up, reverse roll and run back the same way you came, past the open prison door and straight into a brief hail of bullets from the sentry gun. Use the Armoury Key in the keyhole in the north wall (the one to your left that you'll pass by is for later) while the guard and the dogs follow in hot pursuit. Enter the armoury, quickly run to the small table between the filing cabinets and the computer station and pick up the PISTOLS. The dogs and guard outside won't follow you in, but there's another guard waiting inside for you, so kill him and take the flares he drops. Use the switch on the west wall by the door to eliminate the sentry guns outside, then pick up the nearby large medi-pack before going back outside.

Kill the guard and the two dogs waiting outside, then turn left, running past a gate separating you from a waiting helicopter. This will be Lara's escape route later, but she needs to find the necessary key first. Continue around the corner and kill the guard. Take the GATE KEY he drops and return to the NW corner of the compound. Use the Gate Key in the keyhole you passed by earlier to open the gate near the armoury.

You are now in a large outdoor space with a huge pool. Turn left to enter a cave in the south wall. (You can jump in the pool first for a small medi-pack if you wish, but there's nothing else to do in there right now.) Shoot two bats inside the cave, then continue forward and vault up into the opening at the south end. Save your game here, for coming up is a tricky little bit. Sprint east down the ramp as the camera angle changes and duck into the alcove to your left at the bottom as the spike ball rolls by. Then sprint south down the next ramp as a second spike ball is released, and at the bottom turn into the alcove to your left as you did earlier. Now run west a short distance down the third ramp and jump over a spike pit as the next spike ball falls harmlessly into it. Walk forward in the darkness and jump over a second spike pit, and at the bottom of the ramp turn left into a new area as camera control is restored.

Enter a room with flaming pillars. Shades of Palace Midas. When you stand on the first block the fires will go out and stay out until you move away. If you turn around you can see large vases in the corner niches. You can shoot the vases by positioning yourself just right and jumping up and down while firing your pistols, but you can't get into the niches to see if anything is in there. There are two crocodiles in the water, which you'll need to kill if you want to jump in to retrieve the shotgun shells near the NE corner and the small medi-pack near the SW corner. Then climb out onto the ledge near the NW corner and onto the adjacent block to extinguish the flames once again. Take quick standing jumps to each block, swerving slightly in midair as needed, until you get across to the south end.

Shoot the wooden box in the next room and pick up the CRYPT KEY. You can see some pickups beyond the grill to your right. They're for later. Turn around and jump back into the water, swim across to the other side and pull up onto the NW ledge, and make your way back up the spike ball ramps to the large pool outside. Light a flare so you won't forget to jump over the two spike pits in the first ramp going back up. Turn left at the top of the first two ramps and right at the third one. When you cross the cave and get back outside you find that it has started snowing.

Jump into the icy water and swim across to the other side, climb out and follow the animal tracks to the NW corner. Take a standing jump over the slope and use the short ladder to access an underground tunnel. Follow the tunnel north into a fairly small but steep room. Shoot a bat and run across to the NE corner. Turn left and take a running jump and grab to the nearest pillar west. Pull up and shoot another bat. Make your way around the periphery of the room in a counterclockwise direction, jumping from pillar to pillar. When you reach the pillar near the entrance, face south and take a standing jump and grab the crack in the wall. Shimmy to your left until you're over the jump switch, then release and grab immediately to activate it. A door has opened high up in the SE corner, so hop the pillars again, grab the crack and shimmy all the way to the left past the jump switch and open door.

Pull up into the opening and follow the tunnel to a dark room with a closed door in the east wall. Go to the carved statue to your right and insert the Crypt Key between its legs. (Phil, bite your tongue.) The door opens, so enter and follow the tunnel to a wide ramp. There are spike balls up there waiting to be released, so run up the slope while avoiding the boulders. The middle one drops down first, then the one on your left. You may have some trouble coaxing the third one down, just to say you did it, but in any event the spike balls don't provide a very formidable obstacle.

At the top of the ramp, pull up into the opening on your left and run forward. Kill the dog that runs up to greet you, and look around. You are now in a huge ice cavern. The idea is for you to make your way up to the top, pull a switch to open the double doors (located just to your left) and make your way back down to them. First, run across the cavern to the NE corner and pick up the SHOTGUN lying on an icy mound. This triggers a dog that comes toward you from the direction of the entrance, so kill it. Take a running jump and grab from the mound to the first pillar south, pull up and continue along the pillars in a generally clockwise direction until you reach the final pillar with a monkey swing track overhead.

Stand at the south edge of the pillar and jump up to grab the bars. Monkey swing along a winding path and release to drop onto a ledge. Take an angled standing jump to the ladder in the south wall and climb up. Shift either to your right or left when you pass the opening and release to drop down onto the upper ledge. Run east along the ledge and safety drop to the bridge below. Cross the bridge to the north side of the cavern, turn left and take a running jump and grab to the ice ledge west, pull up and take a running jump to the next ice ledge. Turn right and enter the tunnel in the north wall.

You come to a room with a ramp to your left. The way across is fraught with danger because of the numerous spike balls poised both to roll down the ramp and to drop down from the ceiling. This part, as confirmed by the builder, is largely trial and error, so it would be a good idea to save your game before you start. You first need to work your way over to the NW corner to get the CROSSBOW, then navigate over to the exit in the SW corner. The builder says that what worked for him was to "start in the middle and run diagonally to the right, jumping every now and then. Try to jump over the corner of the slope at the end to avoid that last boulder." Another way is to take a few tentative steps forward to shake a few spike balls loose (hoping that they don't land on your head), save your game, take a few more steps, and so on. You can get across without triggering all the spike balls, and in fact triggering them all will impede your progress through the room.

When you successfully reach the SW opening with the crossbow in your arsenal, run up the ramp (which is spike ball free) into the next area. Shoot a bat, take a running jump and grab north to the bridge and pull up. Cross the bridge over to the east wall, jump north to the next segment of the bridge and climb up the long ladder at the far end. Shift left near the top and drop down onto the ice ledge. Turn around and face the spike gauntlet ahead. This next part is very tricky. Time a standing jump and grab to the first platform while the spikes are down. Pull up and take a running jump to the second platform, which is safe. (You will lose health in the process of pulling up, but you won't be skewered so long as you get out of there before the spikes come up a second time.)

Take a standing jump to the next spike tile while the spikes are down and take another immediate standing jump to the next safe tile slightly to your left. For the last two tiles, repeat the procedure described in the previous paragraph. An alternate way is to take a running jump off the spike ledge to the ledge beneath the ladder. You can reach the ledge with the ladder with a standing jump and grab from the ice hump. When you reach the ladder, climb up to alert a bat, drop back down to shoot it, then climb back up all the way. Pull up into the next area and run forward (noting the barrier to your left) to push the button in the south wall. A cut scene shows the double doors opening below, giving you access to the quad bike.

Follow the wide ledge around to the north side, shooting a bat along the way, and use the long ladder to get back to the bridge. Retrace your steps along the bridge, down the ramp and through the spike ball room (being mindful of any spike balls you may not have triggered earlier), drop to the intermediate ledge and from there safety drop to the floor. Run to the open double doors near the SW corner and mount the quad bike. Ride the bike up the slopes (you may alert another bat along the way) and be mindful of a gap near the top that you can easily get across if you're looking for it. Continue until you reach the button you pressed earlier and smash through the east wall just beyond it.

You enter a new area while a strand of heroic music plays. Get off the quad bike and find yourself in another cavern with two buildings nestled in a huge pit. Get onto the roof of the nearest building you see by jumping onto the flat NW corner (the chimney at the more convenient SW corner gets in your way), then take a standing jump onto the roof. Run into the small hole near the chimney to break through a tile and land in a spartan bedroom. There's nothing in here, so open the east door and kill the guard just outside and to your left. Open the door he was standing near and enter a companion beroom. Pick up the BINOCULARS from the raised platform, exit this room and run down the stairs to your left to kill another guard. Pick up the uzi ammo he leaves behind.

The bathroom door to the south is locked, so continue down the next flight of stairs. Hop into the hole, go down one more flight of stairs, kill the guard around to the right and open the nearer door at the NW corner. There's another guard just inside, so kill him. Enter the kitchen and look for the shotgun shells and crossbow ammo, then exit this room and open the door down the hall to your right (going past the alcove and pushbutton to your left). Go into the music room and take some more crossbow ammo next to the piano, then leave and kill the guard waiting outside. Run back to the stairs, go down and hop down into the cellar. Pull down the wall switch to open the bathroom door upstairs, then make your way back up there. Kill the guard who comes out from behind the wooden block and take his uzi ammo, then pick up the nearby shotgun shells and finally climb up onto the wooden block for the SILVER KEY.

Go back down to the alcove and pushbutton that you passed by earlier, and push the button to open the door in the alcove. Go outside and shoot two dogs running toward you from opposite corners of the building ahead. Run diagonally to your left and use the Silver Key in the lock to open the door to your left. Enter the second building and shoot two guards. One of them will drop some uzi ammo. Go to the door near the south wall and open it. Pick up the small medi-pack near the window in the SW corner, then pull back the dead soldier in the NE corner to reveal the UZIS. Leave this room and open the other door in the NW corner. Enter the kitchen and locate the LASER SIGHT near the window. Leave and go up the wooden stairs.

Ready your uzis and pull up to the next level. Immediately draw the uzis, turn to your right and pour lead into the back of the poor guard before he has a chance to reach the door around the corner to the right and close it. Go there as the camera angle changes and enter the passage to your right for SECRET #1 and a large medi-pack. Go back and open the door in the south wall. Enter the bathroom for some crossbow arrows and shotgun ammo, then exit and go up the stairs. The rails at the end bar your way, so pull up to your right and kill another guard around the corner. Open the nearby door and kill the two guards in the bedroom, then take the GATE KEY from the NW computer table. Leave this building by taking the stairs all the way down, and kill two more dogs when you get outside.

Run around the left side of this second building and locate the water hole near the south ice wall. Jump into the water and swim through the tunnel until you reach another opening. (It's a one-way trip, by the way, because once you're in the water you can't return to the buildings you've just explored. Try it and you'll see what I mean.) Pull out into a small chamber. Kill a couple of bats and use the Gate Key to open the south double doors.

A dog is coming your way across the bridge, so kill it and cross the bridge. Turn right and run along the ledge, kill another dog and cross another bridge. Jump into the water hole SW and swim through the short passage. You'll come to a metallic room with a waterfall at the far end and a tunnel running off to the east. Swim through the tunnel, go just past the underwater opening on your right (which leads to the cog wheel room you'll visit later) and climb out into the opening on your left. Stand on the raised tile, which acts as a timer as it opens the door above for a few seconds. Run forward and jump onto the first block, take a side flip to the right and immediately roll upon landing on the second block. Take a running jump across to the ledge, swerving to the right as you do so in order to take an immediate running jump to the ledge in front of the timed door. Dash inside and pick up the first COG, which is suspended in midair over a rusty barrel.

Go back and jump into the water. Turn left and swim to the next opening south. Pull out of the water, run forward and pull up into a room with unseen swords dangling from the ceiling. Make your way gingerly across the room as the swords start falling and pick up the second COG in the SW corner. Go back to the water and swim to the west end. Pull out at the third and final opening. Pull up into a small room with a steep slide at the west end. Slide down the middle section and jump off at the last second to land on a ledge as the spike balls rolling down from behind you hurtle harmlessly into the deep gap. Grab the third COG at one end and pull down the wall switch at the other end to convert the slope to steps. Jump back across the gap and climb up the steps. Jump into the water and swim to that underwater opening you bypassed earlier. Enter the cog room, place your three cogs on the empty pegs and then pull down the nearby wall switch to activate the cogwheel.

You also get a fixed camera angle, so grope your way back and jump into the water. Swim to your left and return to the metallic room with the fountain. The water level has been raised, enabling you to pull out onto the fountain ledge. Follow the tunnel west until you reach an indoor pool area. There are two crocodiles in the pool, so kill them before doing anything else. Locate the block in the NE corner and pull it back west as far as you can. Leave it there for the moment and jump into the water. Locate the underwater lever near the NW corner and pull it. Note for later the ladder and wall switch, also in the north wall, that are presently unusable.

Pull out of the water and move the block against the west wall directly beneath the waterfall. The water flow stops and the pool is drained. Use the ladder to climb down into the pool, and pull down the NE wall switch to open the door above. Climb back out and go to the open doorway near the SW corner of the pool area. You're immediately accosted by an abominable snowman, so draw the best weapon available and deal with it. Then go through the doorway in the far right corner and deal with the mutant monster you'll encounter inside. Jump the ice ledges until you reach the SE opening that leads to an outside area.

Kill the two guards, take the uzi ammo dropped by one of them and the HELI-PAD KEY dropped by the other one. The double doors open automatically, so enter the open doorway and find your trusty quad bike just inside. Get on it and drive along the passage, running over and killing various critters along the way. When you reach the next area with stone pillars, get off the quad bike and shoot a bat. Climb the ice blocks and run to the east wall, alerting another bat on the way. Locate the hidden moveable block near the SE corner, pull it out once and push it aside to reveal a passage. Step inside for SECRET #2 and pick up the REVOLVER.

Continue north and west along the ledge (alerting yet another bat), pull the two moveable blocks out from the north wall and push them onto the smoother tiles on either side of the opening. You can see the barrier there, just waiting to be shattered by your quad bike. However, you have to get it up here first, and that's no easy task.

Go back down and mount the quad bike. Position it near the right edge of the first ramp facing east. Gun the quad bike and never let up speed as you go over the ramp to the flat block and finally to the block/slope in the SE corner. When you reach that corner block/slope, slam on the brakes (the alt key) and save your game. Back up the quad bike until the rear wheel is nearly hanging off the edge, then gun it again while making a sharp turn to the left. Jump the gap and hit the brakes again when you land on the long slab. Aim for the right side of the NE block/slope, jump the gap and hit the brakes when you land successfully. Save your game again to avoid having to redo all this. Position the quad bike so you're facing SW, with your rear wheel hanging off the NE corner. Gun the quad bike with a sharp turn to the right so that you clear the slope and drive over the next block/slope ahead with enough speed to reach the final block/slope in the NW corner. Hit the brakes with a turn to the right (so your momentum won't carry you over the far edge), wipe your brow and save your game one last time.

Position the quad bike facing north with your rear wheel as far back as possible without falling off the edge, then gun it over the gap and smash through the barrier ahead. Mission accomplished. Get off the quad bike and follow the short tunnel to an incredibly deep shaft. Jump in and you'll fall down into some water where the current will carry you through several passages adorned with the builder's trademark messages while calliope music plays. You'll eventually reach a large open area where a couple of crocodiles are swimming lazily about. Surface into a driving snowstorm, pull out and make short work of them, then go to a familiar cave over to the south. Vault into the passage at the end and continue to the spike ball ramps. Follow them down, being sure to jump over the spike pits in the third ramp.

Turn into the Palace Midas room and do the standing jumps while the flames are off to reach the other side. In the small room you can see an opening in the ceiling in the SE corner with a vase suspended high up in the air. Combine the revolver and the laser sight and stand facing the corner just to the right of the orange barrels. You should just be able to draw a bead on the vase and shatter it. Remember the similar vases you shot earlier without having any idea what they were there for? Well, smashing the third one causes the grill in the SW corner to open, allowing you to enter for SECRET #3 and a large medi-pack, some flares, three stashes of uzi ammo (better late than never), and an extra COMPASS.

Go back, up the ramps and through the cave until you reach the lake area. Head over toward the right and enter the prison compound through the open east doorway. Go straight ahead and use your Heli-Pad Key in the keyhole at the NE corner to open the gate. Approach the waiting helicopter and the level ends.