TEMPLE OF DANGER

Level by Opaque79

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth

Draw pistols immediately and shoot two approaching scorpions.  Look in the far corners of this room for flares and a small medipack. Drop down into the hole and slide to a larger room with a central pool (which we'll call the hub room).  You'll find shotgun ammo in the near left corner and a small medipack in the far right corner.  Pull down the wall switch in the SE corner to open the N gate.  Before going there, get into the pool and locate the depression at the NE corner. Swim through the narrow opening and follow to a small room.  Pull out, note the black beetle in the N wall and shoot two scorpions.

Go to the SE alcove and pull up into the crawlspace for the only SECRET in this level.  Crawl forward, take the SHOTGUN and shotgun ammo and return to the room with the central pool. Pull out and enter the open N gateway.  Go through the scissor blades at the opening and shoot a ninja in the next room. He drops uzi ammo.  Go up the stairs to find that further progress is blocked by closed doors.  Return to the previous room and climb the ladder in the NW corner. Shift left near the top and drop down onto a ledge.  Pick up a TORCH, toss it to the floor below (not into the pool) and climb down the ladder. Retrieve the torch and light it at the N gate.

Go past the scissor blades into the N room and light the two wall torches at the bottom of the stairs.  The gate up the stairs and to the left opens, so go there and drop your torch before entering (you'll need it later).  As you enter the next room the gate slams shut behind you.  The S wall switch turns off the flames on the columns for a short period of time, but ample time for you to jump the columns to get on the other side of the room.  The two jackals remain dormant until you take the CROWBAR from the plinth.           

Climb the W ladder (there are no pickups in the water) and shift right to drop down into a corridor. Follow to a lava room.  Jump up to grab the ceiling and monkey swing to the other side, timing the three flame blowers along the way.  (When you pass the first one, just keep going and you'll make the second one as well.)  Drop down into the E corridor, run forward and slide down. Follow around the corner and shoot two bats. The gate ahead opens as you approach. Enter a familiar area and deal with a demigod.

At the top of the E flight of stairs is a crowbar face door.  Open it to reveal the second BLACK BEETLE that you can pry off the wall with your crowbar.  A cut scene shows the E door opening in the main hub room, leading to the beetle pyramid. You will remember where you saw the first beetle, so go S through the scissor blades, into the pool and through that narrow passage to claim the next BLACK BEETLE. A fire wraith is released, so beat a hasty retreat to the water and swim back to the hub room.

Pull out E and go through the opened doorway.  You have several options in this beetle pyramid room.  For starters, you can go back and retrieve your lighted torch (yes, past the scissor blades again, unless you prefer to get a fresh torch by climbing the NW ladder in the hub room) and light the torch on the N wall of the beetle pyramid room. The nearby door opens, so enter a room where you can see an obviously spike-trapped Winding Key on the central slab.  There are red-tinted slabs in the corners, one of which is presently on fire.  High up on the W wall is an inaccessible black beetle.

The flaming slab is a hint, so go get your torch if you didn't bring it with you in here and carefully (by standing near, but not on, each slab) light the other three corner tiles. A block rises, so get up on it and pry the third BLACK BEETLE off the wall to trigger and disable the spike trap behind you.  Hop down and pick up the WINDING KEY.  A wraith is triggered, so exit this room and shoot a ninja who tries to bar your way (you can return later for the uzi ammo he drops). Retreat W to the hub room and jump into the pool to extinguish the wraith.  

Back in the beetle pyramid room, enter the S opening and jump into the water hole. Swim into an underwater labyrinth. Take a hard left, follow the passage to a large medipack and return for air.  Take the other passage, turn left into an alcove for the UZIS and continue to an opening where you can pull out into a room with clearly marked spike traps. As you approach the SHOTGUN two bats attack.  Make your way along the clear path to the large medipack and pry the fourth BLACK BEETLE off the way.  Swim back to the beetle pyramid room and insert your four Black Beetles in their receptacles. Step inside what remains of the pyramid and pick up the MECHANICAL SCARAB.

Climb the ladder in the SW corner of this room and come to a spike-trapped passage. Combine the Winding Scarab and the Winding Key and place it on the scarab tile.  Pick it up on the other end and jump N to the upper ledge in the hub room. Pull down the wall switch to attract two wraiths and open the W door below.  Safety drop to the floor below and deal with the waiting jackal.  Water doesn't seem to affect these wraiths, so enter the W room and find a bird statue in the NW corner.  Unfortunately, this corner is also occupied by a harpy and an assassin (although the one in my game ran away and disappeared before I could kill him).  Pick up the flares in the NW corner and the shotgun ammo in the NE corner.

The W door requires two Pharos artifacts.  The far NW passage leads to a dark cave area. We'll explore this shortly. The S opening leads to a seemingly impassable deep pit. However, if you put on the binoculars and use the action key, five translucent platforms are revealed, showing you the way across the pit.  First, pick up the CROSSBOW and crossbow arrows in the NE corner and prepare the crossbow with explosive arrows. When you reach the fifth platform, blow away the two mummies with a single explosive arrow, jump across to the ledge and take the first PHAROS KNOT from the plinth.  Return the same way you came and take the far NW passage to the dark cave.

You should have plenty of flares, so now is the time to use them. Work your way along the left side of the cave until you reach a wall switch. Pull it to trigger a flyby showing you that the deep cave is now flooded.  The two wraiths that are attracted self-destruct in the water before the flyby ends.  Shoot the two crocodiles swimming about before jumping into the water. Swim down to the sandy floor and pick up the second PHAROS KNOT.

Pull out S in front of the wall switch and make your way back to the E entrance.  In the room with the receptacles, insert the Pharos Knots to open the door. Follow the passage as Lara's theme music starts playing.  In the next room, take the artifact from the central plinth to end the level.