THE OLD MANSION

Level by Potter

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth

Lara begins with her back against a closed gate, facing her mansion.  Simply run forward and press the button to the left of the door.  Don't enter yet, however.  Run along the front of the house to the right, alongside the hedge.  Turn left into the archway and keep going to the end.  Loop around and push a button (although the wall switch animation has been consistently applied throughout the level).  A door opens in the main swimming pool. Return to the front door and enter the mansion. 

No need to go upstairs yet.  All the doors are locked, and you have no keys.  Go around to the left of the stairs and enter the kitchen (after noting the closed door opposite and the receptacle).  There's a button to open the door to the step-in freezer, but there's nothing to do in there.  On the other side of the kitchen is a button to open the door leading outside, and another button that opens the door to the dining room.

The following paragraph documents a probably unintended short cut.  If you want to play as the builder likely intended, skip down to the next paragraph.

Go outside and follow the obstacle course to the W side of the house.  If you climb onto one of the wooden structures you can take a running swan dive over the railing and onto the balcony. Go through the open window into a room with a small swimming pool.  There's a phantom floor in the SW corner you can swim through.  Follow for a large medipack and continue to the end for a YELLOW KEY.  Pull out of the pool and deal with two ninjas, then exit this room and jump down to the ground. Go back around and enter the mansion through the back kitchen door.

Go through to the dining room and push a button in the E wall that opens a door in the den (on the other side of the staircase).  Go there, but don't push the button on the E wall of the den unless you wish to be subjected to raucous rock music.  Continue through to the main swimming pool.  The brown structures in the area explode into tiny shards when you shoot them, but I'm not sure that doing so serves any other purpose.

Jump into the main pool E and locate the opening in the S wall.  Swim along the passage and pull out into a bathroom.  Pick up the 2 x uzi ammo, small medipack and large medipack, then continue forward to push the nearby button. A gate opens in the secondary pool and two ninjas materialize behind you.  Return to the main pool and climb out.   Locate the secondary pool and SW and jump in.  Swim into the N opening and emerge in a submerged hallway filled with treasure chests.  There's a hard to see KEY in the NE corner.  It's also hard to pick up, you need to be facing N before Lara will grab it.  Return to the secondary pool and pull out.  Two ninjas await you.

Go upstairs and use the Key in the first receptacle on your left.  Enter a bedroom with a roaring fire.  There's a loose book in one of the shelves.  Adjust it to open what appears to be the bathroom door.  Actually, it's a room with a small swimming pool.  There's a phantom floor in the SW corner you can swim through.  Follow for a large medipack and continue to the end for a YELLOW KEY.  Pull out of the pool and deal with two ninjas, then exit this room and make your way back to the other side of the upstairs landing.

Use the Yellow Key to open the first door on the right. Go upstairs and find uzi ammo on the balcony.  In the room filled with crates there's one you can move.  Pull it back twice to reveal a BLUE KEY. Take it down to the landing, killing two more ninjas along the way, and locate the appropriate keyhole SE.  Open the door and go down the stairs into a red-tinted room with closed doors.  Push the button on the block to open one of those doors.  Push the button inside to draw another pair of ninjas.  Another door has opened, so push the button there.  Only one ninja this time.  Another button to push, another ninja.  Then another button to push, another ninja.  A final button to push, and a door opens across the landing.  And another ninja comes.

Go to the opened doorway and enter a library/music room.  Pick up the small medipack and pull up into the crawl space.  Drop down the other side and push a button.  Go back and guess who's waiting for you.  Kill two ninjas and enter the new room.  Pick up the KEY RING and kill another ninja.  Exit this room, turn left and open the NE door near the end of the landing.  Enter the bedroom and go out onto the long balcony.  Around the corner you'll find 6 x uzi ammo and the UZIS (too bad we didn't have that firepower earlier), two each of a large and small medipack, and THE HAND OF SIRIUS. 

You know where the Hand of Sirius goes, so make your way past the obligatory pack of ninjas (four of them this time) and return to the main floor of the mansion.  I just jumped over the balcony for a short cut.  Open the door opposite the kitchen door and find another staircase.  It appears to be made of Kryptonite.  Go downstair, shoot more of those wooden structures and a pair of ninjas, and pick up the 3 x uzi ammo.  Shoot the vase to reveal a button and 2 x flares.  Push the button to open the NW door.  Go there and enter a trophy room.  Vault up onto the box and pick up the SWORD.  Three things happen, two of them bad.  The entry gate to Lara's estate opens, a headache-inducing earthquake starts which brings sporadic fires you need to avoid, and four ninjas come to the attack. 

Leave the mansion through the front door and head toward the open gate to end the level.