LAIR OF THE JACKAL

Level by Justin

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth

The level begins with Lara standing in a wide sandy corridor surrounded by blocks. In the distance a couple of jackals come forward to investigate. You'll be seeing a lot of them in this level (hence its name), so draw your weapons and take care of them. Pause to pick up some shotgun ammo from the ledge to your right, then start making your way down the corridor. In the dark SW alcove you'll find more shotgun ammo while a frustrated jackal wails from some unseen location.

The door at the end of the corridor opens as you near it. Step inside what turns out to be the maw of a huge jackal replica, and safety drop to the floor below. Four jackals eagerly await your arrival, so dart this way and that while shooting them to lose as little health as possible. After they've been dispatched, investigate this rather large room. There are four open gates, each occupied by a set of shatter bones. There's a ladder hugging the west wall, but it leads to a closed gate for which you don't yet have the key. Shatter all four sets of bones, as you never know what reward you may get for doing so, then throw the wall switch in the SW alcove to lower a block in the NW alcove. Go there and pick up the Gate Key, then use the ladder to climb up to the upper landing.

Use the Gate Key to open the door and step into the theshold. Immediately four boulders are released and start rolling back and forth along the rounded valley ahead, while a pair of ominous-looking chains swing lazily above them. Wait until the boulders come to a complete halt (because you'll die if you touch any of them while they're still moving) and take a standing jump down to the first block. The chains are easy to avoid; just time standing jumps from block to block until you reach the last one, and from there take a running jump to the portal in front of a pool.

First, shot the crocodile that's swimming down below, and swim around to the left side of the central structure. Take the uzi ammo from the alcove, then swim around to the other side and claim the Golden Vraeus from the right alcove. Surface for some air, then open the underwater door in the NW corner. You're about to negotiate what seems to be a rather difficult maze, but it's relatively simple if you map it out as you go. First, swim inside and take the first left. Go all the way to the end of the tunnel and pick up the shotgun ammo. That's the easy part. Return to the pool for some air if necessary, then swim down from the entrance and take the second left. You'll find some uzi ammo in the SW corner of the large room you come to, so pick it up and continue forward to open the underwater door.

Swim inside and take a left (the right is a dead end), then follow the tunnel until you can turn right. Pull up into the small room and insert the Golden Vraeus in the receptacle. Jump back into the water and turn right at the intersection to pick up the shotgun ammo, then flip turn and return to the pool for some air. So far, so good. Now take a deep breath and enter the maze for a third time, and this time keep swimming forward in a northerly direction.

The first part isn't too bad, as there are no choices to make. Turn left, then take two rights, then three lefts until you reach an intersection where you can turn right. Take that right and swim west until you reach the underwater door on your right. Open it, go inside, turn left and pull up on the north side into a dry area where you'll find a small medi-pack on one side and the Gate Key on the other. Return to the water, hop over to the south side and find another small medi-pack. Jump into the water, take a right at the first intersection, take an immediate left, take another left at the T-intersection, and return to the main pool.

Climb up onto the ledge and use the Gate Key to open the gate in the south wall between the blocks. Go on in and draw weapons. A jackal skulks in from your right, so eliminate it and go around either side of the large column to the next room. There are two closed gates, one ahead and one to the right, and an open passageway to the left. Vault up onto the box to the left for a small medi-pack, then enter the nearby passageway. Another jackal comes up to sniff, so satisfy its curiosity with some lead. Note the closed door in the east wall and raid the tomb to your right for some revolver ammo. Go into the next room, to the left of the tomb, and locate the two wall switches on either side of the small pool.

After throwing them, return to the previous room and note that the door to your right is now open. Go inside and pick up the Canopic Jar 1 in the alcove to your left. Return to the main anteroom, and the formerly closed gate is now open. Enter and deal with another jackal, then make a hairpin turn to the left and throw the wall switch in the alcove. Reverse roll and go through the doorway to the west into a new room. Shoot the jackal that attacks from the left, then go over to the right and raid another tomb for some more revolver ammo. Go to the east side of either pillar in this room and pull up to the higher wooden platform. Immediately draw weapons to kill the jackal up there, then run to the south end, shatter the bones to the left and pick up the Gate Key. Reverse roll and pick up the Canopic Jar 2 in the opposite alcove.

Drop back down to the floor and return to the main anteroom to the east. Use the Gate Key to open the south gate, then step into a colorful room populated with heroic statues. The tomb on your right contains a small medi-pack; the tomb on your left has previously been raided.

Combine your crossbow with the laser sight and shoot the two jars perched atop the staffs of the two guardians of the throne. Tongues of fire replace the jars, and a block is lowered to the right of the west tomb. Jump down into the alcove for SECRET #1 and pick up the uzi.

There are seated jackal statutes posted at the lower corners of this room. Pull out the two at the south end (next to the throne) to reveal two receptacles for your Canopic Jars. Place them both and turn around to find that the floor has mysteriously vanished to reveal an underground stairway. Drop down and run down the stairs.

Go into the sunken room and run around a bit to flush out two jackals. After dealing with them, go to the pedestal and take the Timeless Sands, and try to ignore the whines of all the caged jackals that ache to get at you. Go into the gate passages in the NE and SE corners of the room and shoot two sets of shatter bones and pick up some uzi ammo. The closed grates at each end remain closed, so they must be for later. Go into the altar area between the two gate passages and raid the tombs for some shotgun ammo and a large medi-pack. Now go into the next room off the west wall and watch four jackal statues come to life. Go into the alcove to the north, thinking you're going to pick up the large medi-pack, and go on a ride of rising blocks. After the first one comes to rest, step forward and climb up to the next one, and so on, and then turn right and pull up into an anteroom leading to a large outdoor area overlooking the pool you navigated earlier.

Turn to the left and run along the ledge to the ladder. Climb up to the top of the column and look around. From this higher vantage point you can get a better view of the awesome jackal statue on the other side of the room. Turn facing south and take a running jump and grab to the next column.

Pull up and run off the column to the ledge below. Walk forward and angle Lara slightly to the right at the ledge's edge. Take a running jump to the ledge against the south wall. Turn to your left and locate the wall switch behind the SE column. Throw it to lower a cage in the central column directly in front of the huge jackal statute. Take a running jump back to the previous ledge and use the ladder to climb to the top of the column.

Take a running jump to the next column, to which a bridge is attached leading to the immense jackal statue. Run along the bridge between its outstretched arms, then turn to the right and take a running jump into the revealed hole in the central column for SECRET #2. Stoop down and pick up the revolver, then pull up and jump back to the bridge. Turn right, run along the bridge and enter the opening to the west. The door opens, giving you a veritable jackal feast. There are four of them perched on the sarcophagi, if I counted correctly. When you run forward into the room the sarcophagi magically collapse, and the door at the other end opens as you approach.

Enter the ornate room ahead and place the Timeless Sands in the lap of the green/rust statue. A block has lowered to the right of the statue, so go inside and shatter another set of bones before going up the stairs and alerting two jackals in the room beyond. After killing them, step into the next room. A closing flyby makes you decide wistfully that shooting all those bones didn't really mean anything after all, but they were fun to shoot nevertheless.