ESCAPE WITH THE AMULET OF HORUS

Level by Michael Prager

Authorized walkthrough by Phil Lambeth

Begin in a dark "hub" room while Lara's theme music plays over an odd sputtering sound. The door ahead of you opens before your eyes, giving you a limited view of some bright red walls ahead. Before approaching that opening, however, I looked around the room and saw the receptacle for the cartouche in the east wall next to a closed grate. In the south wall there's a passage leading to a closed grate requiring a pyramid key. The closed grate in the west wall opens upon your approach, so I began the level here, quite forgetting about the open passage to the north.

At the first dogleg in the dark passage you can see, but not get into, a ceiling hole in the corner. Continue west, and at the next dogleg there's another ceiling hole that you can indeed access. Climb up and follow the passage back to where you find the SHOTGUN near the first ceiling hole. Return to the lower passage, and when you reach the west end you'll get a flyby that takes you through the room below and ends at a pit containing an artifact.

Safety drop into the dark room below. Walk forward to the west until you reach a depression in the ground. It would be a good idea to light a flare here, because you want to stop within jumping distance of the pit you saw in the flyby, to avoid triggering a boulder trap too soon. When you get about two blocks from the pit, stop and turn to your right so you're facing north. Save your game here. Take a side flip to the left so that you land in the pit. As you slide down you'll feel the rumbling of an approaching boulder. Hit the crouch key as the boulder sails over your head on its first pass, quickly pick up the SANDS OF TIME, then immediately back flip and jump off the sloped surface (after a brief slide) to safe ground north of the pit. Hit the ground running to increase your chances of avoiding the boulder as it rolls back into the pit.

Head over to the NW corner of this large enclosed area and climb up onto the ledge. Pick up some shotgun ammo at either end, and use the reach-in switch in the middle for a cut scene showing two blocks being raised in a bright golden room elsewhere. The only way to restore camera control appears to be by turning around and jumping off the ledge. Now go across to the SE corner and stand facing south. There are three passages ahead, two of which are blocked by grates. The middle passage is open, so go inside and pick up the grenade gun ammo at the end of the passage. You hear the sound of a door opening, so go back outside and find that the grates blocking the other two passages have been raised.

Go inside the far left passage, turn to your right and climb up the wall into a higher passage. Take a standing jump and grab over the first hole, pull up and do the same with the second hole. As you pull up to claim the shotgun ammo, you hear the sound of another door opening. Drop back down into the second hole and go to the end of the passage. Turn left and use the wall to climb up to the higher passage. Jump with grab over the hole, pull up and run to the end of the passage and around the corner. Throw the floor lever to open a gate down a passage in the SW corner of the large enclosed room below. You'll also release two jackals in the process, so put that shotgun to work after you drop down and head over that way. (If you haven't previously alerted the jackals by poking your nose in that area during your explorations, then they'll likely not be out prowling around and you'll therefore be the hunter rather than the hunted as you approach the passage.)

Enter that bright golden room you saw in the cut scene. Turn to your left and use the ladder to reach a crawl space in the east wall. Access it by releasing and immediately hitting the action key as you press the crouch key and the up arrow simultaneously. Crawl forward, then turn around and lower Lara down the other end. Climb down the ladder into a slight depression, then turn around to face the east ramp. Save your game, then pull up and run forward as a boulder rolls down toward you. Stick your nose into the wall ahead as the boulder sails harmlessly by, then pull up and continue up the ramp. At the top, turn around and note the climbing surface overhead. Jump to it, climb up and shift to your right into the dark passage. Drop down and go pick up the grenade gun ammo for SECRET #1. Drop back down to the ramp and slide down the south slope. Jump off at the last instant and grab the wall ahead to avoid the spike trap below you.

Shift right and drop into the passage, and draw weapons right away to shoot two red scorpions that are scuttling toward you. Run to the end of the east passage and note the two blocks ahead that you raised earlier. Take a running jump and grab the edge of the higher block and pull up. Angle Lara to the right and take a standing jump to the sloped pillar in the middle of the bright golden room. Slide briefly, jump forward and grab the edge of the pillar ahead. Pull up and make an offering of the Timeless Sands to the pharaoh statue to open the door behind it. Go around the statue and enter the purple-tinged corridor. The ramp to your right bears every sign of another boulder trap, but it's safe.

At the end of the passage you'll come to an opening overlooking a deep room with sloped pillars. Angle Lara to the left and jump to the first pillar. Jump off and keep jumping from pillar to pillar as you make your way across the room. Don't get in a rhythm, however, as the sixth pillar has a much longer surface and you'll have to slide down nearly to the bottom before jumping off and bouncing over to a flat surface where you pick up CARTOUCHE PIECE 1. (If you happen to miss and fall to the floor, the builder has graciously provided a ladder beneath the opening in the west wall.) At the same time, you hear the creaking sound of a crawl space being opened up in the east wall.

Walk out to the east end of the pillar and take a running jump and grab toward the east wall. Pull up into the confined space and crawl forward until you can stand up. Pick up the shotgun ammo over to your left. Walk back over to the far right side and slide down from there into a shallow depression for SECRET #2. Pick up the small medi-pack and resume your slide down to land on a flat surface next to a hole. Turn around and face NW. Jump up onto the ramp and slide back down toward the hole. Grab the edge and climb down the wall until you're dangling. Release to drop back down into the passage overlooking the large dark room you explored earlier.

Although I could have mentioned this the first time around, Tomb Raider is a game of second chances. Stand at the edge of the passage and angle Lara as far to the right as you can. Take a standing jump and grab a crack in the pillar against the east wall. Shimmy to your left and around the corner, and keep on shimmying until you reach the NE corner and can go no further. Pull up and back flip onto the scarab pillars, then turn around and step forward to pick up the GRENADE GUN. (This doesn't register as a secret, although it meets all reasonable criteria of a secret. But don't despair, as a bona fide secret is on the way.) Hop down to the ground and head west along the north wall. You'll come to a raised block, so climb up onto it and then onto the adjacent scarab pillar for SECRET #3. Pick up the large medi-pack for your trouble and hop back down to the ground. Leave via the passage in the SW corner and repeat the painstaking route described in the paragraph beginning: "Enter that bright golden room..."

When you again reach the point where you drop down into the passage overlooking the large dark room, turn around and follow the passage east until you return to the sputtering hub room where you began the level.

Now it's time to explore that bright red room to the north. Step up to the threshold, and a magnificent flyby takes you through the room to give you an idea of just how immense it really is, ending with a lingering look at the second cartouche piece you need. Climb down the ladder to the ledge below and run to the other end. Pick up the flares and walk out to the NW corner, facing the rope. Simply run off and grab the rope, then slide down to the bottom. It's possible to reach the higher pillar against the north wall with a mighty jump and a grab, but that would leave you, shall we say, high and dry. Instead, climb up to the block to make Lara stop oscillating, then rotate to face dead north. There's a long dark opening in the wall, and if you look closely you can see a second rope hanging down inside. Swing toward it, jump off and grab the second rope. Swing forward again and jump off into the higher passage for SECRET #4.

Step forward and pick up the small medi-pack and the large medi-pack, then go back to the opening and safety drop to the lower passage. Walk out to the opening. Look out and note the spike ball poised to drop onto a ramp against the south wall. Make sure Lara is at full health and safety drop a long way to a ledge jutting out of the north wall. Turn to your right, climb up onto the block and pick up some grenade gun ammo. Hop back down to the previous ledge and take a running jump west to the ledge against the north wall. Turn around and take a standing jump east with grab to avoid bumping your head on the ledge ahead and so you'll land on the lower ledge.

Turn around again and take a running jump west and grab the rope. Swing forward and jump off to land at the top of a long slope. Pick up the large medi-pack and hop back for a long slide down to the floor. Run over to the pedestal near the east wall and take CARTOUCHE PIECE 2, which causes a block to rise at the SE corner. Climb up onto the block and jump up to grab the crack in the south wall. Shimmy to the right and around the corner, and drop down into an alcove. Use the ladder wall to your right to reach a room with a closed door at the far end. You can't do anything here right now, so turn around and take a standing jump and grab to the higher block. Pull up, turn to your right, climb up two blocks and pick up the flares.

Step out to the NW corner and face the rope. You have to be lined up perfectly, but you can make the running jump and grab to the rope. Your momentum will carry you into the north wall, which is a trifle disconcerting, but when Lara stops swinging turn to the right and swing toward the ladder wall in the NE corner. Jump off and land on the ledge, then step forward, climb up the wall, shift to your right and drop down onto the higher ledge. Turn south to face the ramp with the boulder trap. The key here is knowing that jumping to the ramp won't trigger the boulder; what triggers it is standing on the level area at the SE corner. So take a running jump over to the ramp, turn around so that Lara's back is against the south wall, and side flip into the SE corner. Immediately take a running jump forward and grab the previous ledge as the boulder tumbles down and comes to rest in the SE corner.

Take a running jump back to the ramp and use the ladder to climb up to the top of the tall pillar in the south wall. Take a running jump to the ledge in the west wall and turn to your right. Pick up the shotgun ammo along the way, and when you reach the NE corner combine the two cartouche pieces to form the BA CARTOUCHE, and insert it in the receptacle. A cut scene shows the door creaking open in that room you took a glimpse at earlier.

Restore camera control by hitting the end key and running back along the ledge. Then return to the NW corner, turn to face west, hop back and hit the action key as soon as you clear the ledge so you'll land in an alcove directly below. (There's a crack in the wall here, indicating that the builder intended that you reach this spot by going back along the ledge to the SW corner and doing two hang drops in succession, then shimmying to your right, but this little-known jumping ability on Lara's part saves you a little time.) Turn around and take a long running jump east to a lower block jutting out of the north wall (losing a little health in the process). Hop down the east side of the block to a lower block, then turn to face south. Aim at the highest block underneath the boulder ramp and take a running jump with grab so you'll land safely on the block.

Hang drop twice from the west side and turn to face the room below. By this time you can hear the whining jackals, so see if you can kill both of them from where you're standing. If not, take a standing jump over the gap into the room and take care of them at closer quarters. Then step into the opening and take the RA CARTOUCHE from the pedestal.

Now we have to get back up. Go to the entrance and take a standing jump and grab to the higher block. Pull up and climb the two taller blocks to your right. Take a running jump and grab the rope near the north wall, then turn to your right and swing forward to jump off to the ledge in front of the wall ladder. Climb the ladder, shift right when you get above the ledge and drop down onto it. Go over to the south edge and take a running jump to the boulder ramp. Go to the top of the ramp and climb the ladder to the top of the tall pillar. There's some grenade gun ammo on the ledge near the SE corner, but it's too far to reach from here.

Turn to face north and take a long running jump without grab to the ledge. Turn to your right and use the ladder to reach the top of the pillar. Now, if you wish, you can take a running jump back across to get that grenade gun ammo, then turn to your right and repeat that running jump-without-grab move to land on the ledge to the west. Then jump back across to the north ledge and climb the ladder a second time. Take a running jump SE and grab the rope, then rotate to your right, swing forward and jump off onto the long ledge. Run to the west end and climb the ladder back into the hub room. Insert the Ra Cartouche in the receptacle near the SE corner to open the door to your left.

Run to the end of the east passage to find yourself facing five parallel tunnels. Turn to your left and go to the end of the first tunnel. Light a flare when it gets too dark to see, and pick up the small medi-pack. Through a small opening you can see there's something beyond the tunnel, but there's nothing else exciting to do or see in here. Reverse roll and return to the north-south entrance pathway. Turn left into the second tunnel and greet the welcoming committee of two scorpions. At the end is a somewhat larger space giving you a better view of the area beyond the tunnels. You can even jump up there by using the slope and the arrow keys, but the space is too small to crawl through. Head back down the tunnel and you'll have the opportunity to shoot another pair of scorpions at the entrance.

Turn left as if you were going to enter the third tunnel, but don't go inside or you'll be spiked. Stand about a step inside the threshold, then take a running jump east to avoid the spike trap. It's mighty dark where you land, so light a flare and take a few steps forward. Look to your right and you can see an opening in the wall. Take a standing jump to the opening and slide down into the fourth tunnel. You see a similar opening dead ahead, but don't be fooled. Turn left in the fourth tunnel and walk slowly to the east. After a few steps you'll trigger a phalanx of spikes that quite effectively bar further progress. Nothing to do but tiptoe through the spikes. Pick up the large medi-pack to replenish your health, then look to your right for a second wall opening. (Yes, if you'd taken the first one, you would have been spiked.)

Take a standing jump to the opening and slide down into the fifth tunnel. Turn to your left and throw the floor lever, then close your eyes and walk east down the exact center of the tunnel. You'll trigger spikes that come out of the slopes on either side, but not out of the floor, so continue to walk blithely forward to the far north-south pathway. Turn left and go through the now-open east doorway.

You now enter a very dark room, and the door slams shut behind you. Turn to your left and locate the GUARDIAN KEY on the pedestal near the north wall, then turn right and approach the closed gate near the NE corner. The gate lifts automatically, but approach with caution. You're at the first of three spike ball ramps. This first one is easy. Simply set one foot inside the threshold and you'll trigger the release of the spike ball. A piece of cake, you think, as you easily hop back and get out of the way of the lethal missile. Think again. The second grate to your right lifts right after the first spike ball comes to rest against the west wall.

Step inside the second passage just like you did with the first one. Hmm, nothing seems to be happening. Walk a couple of steps up the ramp, and you'll feel the rumbling of a released spike ball. Not so easy to get away this time, was it? The most reliable means of dodging the second spike ball is by hopping back onto the ramp and immediately dashing forward and to one side to safety.

The third grate is now open, so go inside. Go one step up the ramp, turn around and hop back. This should be enough to trigger the third and final spike ball, and this one is easier to evade than the second spike ball was. Run up this third ramp to the top, and you'll be rewarded with the chimes of SECRET #5. Pick up the large medi-pack and run back down the ramp. You'll find that a block has been raised in the NW corner next to the first spike ball. Climb up onto it and pull up into the crawl space in the north wall. Crawl forward until you can stand up and pick up the small medi-pack.

The north and west walls are both climbable. Use the west wall to access a wide passage with a low ceiling. Stop to pick up the flares to your left and the grenade gun ammo to your right, then approach the pink row ahead with caution. Sure enough, it's a spike trap, as the central section gives you a courteous warning. Save here. Run forward when the spikes retract, and you'll start sliding down toward two similar spike traps. Jump over them both, and you come to rest in front of a fourth and final spike trap. This one refuses to trigger upon your approach, so you'll need to take a running jump over it. As soon as you do, a half dozen jackals pour out from the room ahead, so draw that shotgun and eliminate them one by one.

When all is quiet, time a run past the portal spikes into a red-tinged room. Go to the far corner, enter the passage, and the door at the other end opens upon your approach. Drop down into the south passage in the hub room and insert your Guardian Key in the nearby receptacle. The gate to your right opens, so enter the west passage to find that you've completely lost camera control. Take a left as the camera angle switches, then another, and then you come to a blocked end. What now? Turn around and hop toward the SE corner, and you should be able to restore camera control at some point to reveal the AMULET OF HORUS lying practically at your feet. Pick it up to trigger a mighty earthquake that turns out the lights and completely reconfigures the hub room.

Go back there, and when you enter the hub room you find that a universal fixed camera makes it quite difficult to make your way around. Light a flare and note the darker surface in the north wall ahead. Step up to it and jump up to grab the edge. Pull up to the top, step forward and pull up blindly into an outdoor area as heroic music heralds your arrival. You're greeted by some unfriendly bats, so shoot them and then turn around to face SW. Run along the sand toward the aqua opening to trigger a perpetual flyby. Reverse roll from wherever you are to break the spell and end the level.