TARRAGONA: WORLD HERITAGE

Level 8: The Final Countdown

Level 9: The Caves of Steel

Levels by Josep Borrut

This is an authorized walkthrough by Phil Lambeth, with valuable assistance both from the author and from Monika.

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

Lara begins her adventure bedecked in a skin-tight space suit aboard an alien vessel. Push the button in the NE corner of the opening room to reveal a spare space suit and a GREEN LEVEL CARD. Approach the double doors and they'll open with a rusty squeak. Step out into the corridor, turn left and run down to the intersection. Turn right and make a little circuit around the square to get your bearings. First you'll come to a closed door with a red button above it, which means you need to find the Red Level Card before you can gain entry. Then turn left and you'll come to a closed off high-tech area marked with a yellow button. Yes, there's a Yellow Level Card to find, too. Continuing on, you come to an open tunnel with a closed door at the end, marked with a blue button. Blue areas don't require a level card, but save this area for a little later. Continue your counterclockwise circuit until you reach an open corridor leading south.

When you step into this corridor, you see a cut scene of a door opening all the way on the other side of this area. In between is a labyrinthine conglomeration of hallways and doors that open as you approach. Unless you wind your way along them in just the right fashion (to be revealed shortly), that door at the end will close practically in your face as you get it in your sights and approach it. In the meantime, take a few minutes and roam through the area, which is actually the sleeping quarters for whatever critters used to be stationed on this vessel.

I've taken the liberty of providing here the link to the map prepared by Dutchy and included with his walkthrough for these levels.

After you've satisfied your curiosity, return to the starting point and run south down the central corridor. Go through two doors and turn left at the next corridor. You'll see a door marked with a green button. Since you're already carrying that level card, approach the door and watch it open. You find yourself in a cramped cabin. Up and to the left is a grate. Draw your pistols and shoot it. (You'll be doing a lot of that in this level.) Climb up into the opening and crawl inside. You can use the ducts to visit two other cabins which you can't access from outside (because they're coded yellow and not green). Turn left at the west branch of the duct and shoot out the grate near the end. You'll hear some music that tells you you're on the right track. Drop down into the cabin and hop back a couple of times. Lara's attention will be drawn to the lower left bunk, so walk right up to the pillow and hit the action key. (Don't climb onto the bed and stand on the pillow.) You'll be rewarded with the YELLOW LEVEL CARD.

Crawl out of this room and head straight across to the east branch of the duct and shoot out the grate to the adjacent room. Drop down into the cabin and pick up the STARSHIP LEVEL MAP near the foot of one of the bunk beds. You can go back up through the ducts and explore the last room at the end of the north branch, but since it's empty you'd just be wasting your time. Now that you have the Yellow Level Card, you can exit from right here, so do so. Make your way north to the starting point of this area to re-trigger the open door cut scene, then bring up your inventory and examine the map (oriented with north at the bottom and south at the top). Make a note of the path you need to follow, then go to it. A nice touch, which also helps to keep yourself on track along the way, are huge portholes in the east and west walls to give you a view of the stars.

When you reach the small room in the extreme south end of the cabin area, you'll see a short tunnel ahead that leads to a closed door (beyond which looks like the power plant). To your left is some sort of computer bank. Climb up onto it and pick up the NAVIGATION ROOM CD. Leave this room and run north down the central corridor until you return to the previous area. Head to the blue tunnel in the NW corner and run up to the door that will open as you approach. Although you start out in inky blackness, you don't need a flare, because as you move forward down the corridor you'll trigger eerie blue lights along the way that illuminate your path. Pick up the LASER SIGHT, then continue down a short distance and claim the REVOLVER. Combine the two from where you are, then look up and shoot out one of the ceiling panels.

Jump and pull up into the opening and crawl north over the transparent ceiling panels. You'll soon come up to a grate on your left. Get up on one knee (hit the space bar), draw your pistols and shoot it. Crawl through the opening and lower yourself into the hole. Reverse roll, step down and crawl through the opening until you see another grate. Shoot it, crawl through and turn right. To your right is a flourescent light panel. Fire at it with your pistols, and when it shatters crawl inside the alcove and pick up the SILVER SKULL for SECRET #1.

Back out of the alcove and crawl north toward the blue lights. At the end of the tunnel you'll find another grate to shoot. Go through the opening and continue until you come to another grate. Shoot it and lower Lara into the corridor. Run west down the corridor and turn left. Push the button on the wall, which opens the door that allows you to exit this area and also opens up an area in the tunnel above.

Run back to the opening, pull up and crawl back to the opening next to the secret alcove. Lower yourself back down, vault up to the next step and pull up to the higher duct. Crawl through, and when you reach the blue-lit tunnel, turn left and then take a right at the juncture. At the end, shoot out the grate to your left. Crawl through, shoot out another grate and drop down into the corridor as ominous music plays. Don't push the nearby button yet (which opens another door leading to the exit from this area), but instead turn right and run north down the corridor. Turn left at the intersection and run to the end of the corridor. You can look through the window and see a shuttle craft in the hanger below. Turn around and go back down the corridor. Turn left at the intersection and run to the end. You'll see a grated alcove to your left with a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. Shoot it to lower the grate, then turn around to climb down the ladder to the lower tunnels. Light a flare and crawl through the space. Shoot the grate and lower Lara down to the hanger area. Turn right and face the hanger.

I know you're dying to check out the ship, but first enter the tunnel to the right. Approach the blue-lit door to open it, then run up the corridor as it turns. You'll reach a glass-paned area where you can see the ship in the hanger. Shoot out the grate at the end of this corridor, crawl into the opening and lower Lara down the shaft at the end for SECRET #2. Pick up the EMERALD SKULL. You can also crawl into the opening and shoot the grate, but a covered button keeps you from lowering Lara through the space into the hanger. Go back the way you came, and NOW you can explore the shuttle craft. Climb up through the opening underneath and go into the cockpit area. Pick up the RED LEVEL CARD; and since there's nothing more you can do here right now, leave the hanger and crawl back up into the opening you arrived through. Locate the button you bypassed earlier and push it to open the door to the blue-lit corridor. Run down the corridor, turn left at the juncture and run all the way down until you return to the quadrangle.

Turn left and run down to the red-coded door, which opens as you approach (since you now have the required card). Ahead and to the right is a device into which you insert the Navigation Room CD. The lighting changes to a soft blue and there's the sound of a door opening behind you.

Turn around and enter the horseshoe-shaped enclosure through the opening on the left. You'll see three bays of four buttons each, facing from left to right a row of planets, galaxies and stars. You need to push one button from each bay to allow access to the crowbar in the next room. The correct sequence is: the fourth or far right button in the first (planets) bay, the third button in the central (galaxies) bay, and the second button in the last (stars) bay.

Then leave this room and take a right down the corridor to enter the control room. The door to your right opens as you approach, so go inside and claim the CROWBAR. (NOTE: Although the author certainly didn't intend this, it's possible to bypass the button puzzle and go directly to the crowbar room after using the Navigation Room CD. For some reason the door still opens upon your approach, although upon further testing it seems this doesn't happen consistently. So, since it only takes seconds to go through the button pushing routine, you might as well go ahead and do it.)

After you get the crowbar, go across the hall into the facing room, then turn right and go through the open door to encounter one real ugly dude sitting in the command console. He's too busy with what he's doing to pay any attention to you, so approach the two moveable seats in front of him. Pull and push the one on the right (as you face forward) back two times, and a door opens to your left. Go inside the alcove for SECRET #3 and pick up the GOLDEN SKULL.

Go to the other seat and pull it back once. Go to the front side, drop down into the hole and use the crowbar in the revealed device to lower a trapdoor beneath the original resting spot of the first seat. Climb down the ladder, reverse roll and step forward. A cut scene shows a glimpse of an enemy attack outside. Several fires break out aboard the vessel. Time a run past the first three (you'll hear an explosion) and shoot out the nearby grate. Crawl through, shoot another grate, and climb down to the next level. Instead of trying to make your way past the fire gauntlet in front of you, which is frankly impossible, simply draw your revolver/lasersight and shoot the red button on the fire extinguishing system mounted on the far wall. (Stand to either side of the corridor, as you can't see the button through the flames when you stand in the middle.) The sprinkler system is activated, putting out all fires and allowing you to progress.

However, when you reach the shaft the fires begin again, so time your climb up the ladder carefully past the flame blowers. Pull up into the corridor and at the end drop down into the laboratory area. Locate and push the button that opens the door to the lab. Inside you'll lose camera control if you do anything but move straight ahead. Jump over the red contraption and locate the fallen alien over to your left. Grab him by the head and pull him away from the wall. Take a jump over his carcass and pick up the device that his body was covering. Jump back over the red contraption, run up the stairs and insert the device in the slot to activate the exit from this level. Go back down through the open door and through the portal in the central part of the lab. Enjoy the flybys as you prepare for the difficult yet magnificent conclusion to the Tarragona series.

THE CAVES OF STEEL

Run to the other side of the central block and push the little green button. Six outer coverings around you will lower silently. They reveal two openings on the east and two on the west, and one each on the north and south, all of which remain blocked for the present. The ones on the east and west have medi-packs as doormats, which you'll soon need, so pick them all up before venturing into the central tunnel. When you stand on the yellow squares in front of the east and west portals, blocks will lower to allow you to enter. When you do so, you'll alert the first of four robot sentries that act suspiciously like wraiths. You can't complete your task without alerting all four of them, so be prepared to use up some of those medi-packs. Your mission is to locate and pick up two emblems called The Father and The Mother, respectively, located at the end of the tunnels that meet the block at the south end, and to insert them in their respective slots where the tunnels meet the block at the north end, all the while trying to dodge the robot sentries that doggedly suck away your health.

After inserting the second emblem, the block lowers behind you, so continue on through the tunnel while the sentries give chase. You'll soon reach a larger enclosed area. Run to the other side of it, going either to the right or the left, until you reach an opening in the enclosure. Be careful not to fall into the pool, which at this point is deadly. Run around the perimeter until you're close enough to take a running jump to the central structure. Then move quickly to the south side of the statue and push it forward so that it falls into the water. Two things happen: the water becomes clear and safe, and all exits from this area will close. Three of the robot sentries instantly explode when you jump down into the water. The fourth will soon meet the same fate when it approaches the statue in the water.

After taking a minute to catch your breath, swim down underneath the central structure and locate the pull-down switch to the north. Pulling it opens an exit hole in the north wall. Return to the central structure and jump back to the pool ledge. When you exit the pool area and step forward onto the outer ledge, an alcove opens in the SW corner of the pool perimeter and the pool water once again becomes deadly.

Before leaving this area, return to the inner ledge and run around the pool. As you turn toward the east you find your way blocked by a panel. Take a running jump around it, swerving to the right in mid-air, and run into the open alcove in the SE corner for SECRET #4. Pick up the SILVER SKULL for your trouble and go back around the obstacle in the same fashion.

Run to the open alcove in the SW corner and push the button you'll find there to lower the sixth and final block. Make your way back there and run into the short dark corridor. You can turn either right or left at the intersection; at the bottom of the ramp you pull a skull-shaped button to open a trap door beneath you. You'll slide down further; when you reach the bottom, turn to the south and slide the rest of the way down. Step forward onto the green panel to trigger a flyby that reveals the immensity of the Caves of Steel. Stoop down and pick up PYRAMIDAL KEY #1, the first of five you'll need in order to navigate this area successfully.

The place is crawling with lasers, so time your moves carefully in this area and be prepared to duck (if circumstances allow) to avoid being fried. Step forward and slide down either to your right or left and run the rest of the way down to the bottom. When the laser passes by, stoop down and crawl under the enclosure, then hop back to the safety of the cave floor. Run across to the south side and vault up onto the ramp near the SE corner. Crawl around so that Lara is in the inside tunnel facing west. Run up the ramp and take a standing jump to the flat area. Turn left and face the tall ladder in the south wall. Climb up the ladder, and near the top shift left and continue as far as you can go. Drop down to the floor and turn left. Run the rest of the way up the ramp and duck quickly to crawl under the enclosure. On the other side, use the ladder to shift further to the left and then climb down a deep shaft. When you reach the opening to your right, shift over and drop down into the tunnel. Turn right and run down the tunnel, taking a left at the juncture.

Draw weapons as you approach the opening to your right, as a lizard dressed up as a soldier comes out to challenge you. Waste it, then pick up the modified weapon it drops. The tunnel from which it came leads nowhere, so walk to the south end of the main tunnel and turn to the right. Take an angled jump past the glass-paneled separator and grab the ladder. Stay to the right so the laser doesn't get you, and climb up. Shift to the right when you reach the opening, and drop down into the higher tunnel. Turn right and locate the nearby receptacle for your Pyramidal Key. Insert it and move on north down the tunnel until you reach the slope.

After the laser glides by, slide down the left side of the slope and jump off near the bottom to grab the edge of the facing tunnel across the gap. Pull up and run forward until you reach a dead end. Take a right and wind your way down a series of ramps until you reach the bottom. Draw weapons and make a hairpin turn to the left into a lighted tunnel to draw out a raptor. Kill it, then continue around to the end of the tunnel for some shotgun ammo. Then reverse roll and go back the way you came. Just beyond the base of the ramp, push the green button to lower the glass barrier shielding PYRAMIDAL KEY #2. Pick it up, then reverse roll and run back up the ramp. When you reach the landing (with the green base), continue forward through the tunnel and make three turns until you reach an intersection.

Turn left and slide down the ramp that brings you back to the tunnel where the lizard-soldier was posted. Run south down the lighted tunnel and turn left at the juncture. You find yourself back at the spot where you jumped to the ladder and located the receptacle for the first Key. Return to the higher tunnel with the receptacle, and repeat the slide, jump and grab to the tunnel across the gap. This time, turn around and take an angled running jump to the right to reach a ledge jutting out from the south wall. Place your key in the receptacle, which unleashes a pteranodon for you to kill.

Take an angled running jump and grab to the right, back to the tunnel you came from, then run up the ramp and turn left at the intersection. After making a few turns, turn right at the intersection and allow Lara to slide down two long ramps. You'll wind up near a short ladder. Climb it and pull up into the crawl space. Move forward, and when Lara can stand up turn left and face a series of west wall glass corridor levels. (If you turn to the right, you can see a green skull which is inaccessible from here.)

After the laser passes, take a standing jump and grab to the higher tunnel across the gap. Drop and grab the edge of the tunnel below. Pull up and run forward. Turn left and run down the ramp. Push the green button and continue down the ramp to claim PYRAMIDAL KEY #3 (if you look up, you'll see another Key across the way). Reverse roll and run back up the ramp. Take a running jump and grab across the gap and pull up into the higher tunnel. Turn around and you'll see a blue receptacle at the end of the far tunnel. Take a standing jump and grab to the higher tunnel ahead, drop and grab, pull up, run forward and place your Key in its slot.

Reverse roll and run back to the edge of this tunnel. Access the opposite tunnel in the manner you're now used to, but refrain from entering the portal to the right for the moment. Go to the south end of this tunnel and safety drop to the floor. Run down the ramp, locate and push the green button and claim the PYRAMIDAL KEY #4.

Step forward onto the ledge and turn right to slide down to the bottom. Duck down and turn to the right. Crawl into the outside or left tunnel heading west (to avoid the laser), and when Lara can stand up run forward as far as you can. Then turn around and hop back. Keeping the jump key depressed, hop forward and grab the wall ladder. Climb up and shift to the left when you see the opening. Drop down into the red-lit tunnel and listen to some spooky sounds. Turn left and run forward to the next ladder. Climb up the ladder and pull up to the next tunnel. Run forward and take a right to locate the skull for SECRET #5.

Return to the spot where you picked up a previous Key (it's not the nearest such place, but the one a little further north). Go back up the ramp and access the highest tunnel across the gap to the north. Run to the far end, climb up the right side of the ladder and stop at the next-to-last rung. After the laser passes by overhead, take a back flip to the ledge behind you. Sidestep to the right, then take a step or two forward and jump over to the east-west ledge. Immediately hop back, grab the edge and shimmy to the right as the laser passes by from right to left. Pull up, turn to the right and walk forward as far as you can. Turn to the right again and take a standing jump and grab to the facing ledge.

Pull up and run forward, being careful to avoid the hole to your left. You'll soon reach a low ceiling at the juncture where you need to turn left. You can run past it if you do it just right, although it's safer and surer simply to crawl under the space. Make your way south about halfway down the central ledge, then turn right to face the arched ledge. Take a standing jump to it after the laser passes by, then turn to the left and when you start sliding be ready to jump off and grab the edge of the ledge across the gap. Pull up, run a short distance to the end of the tunnel and crawl inside. At the end, turn to the right and lower Lara over the edge. Climb down the long ladder, reverse roll and place the Key in the receptacle. Climb back up the ladder and crawl back through the same tunnel as before. When Lara can stand up, turn to the right and locate a large medi-pack on a ledge far below. Take a standing jump down to it and expect to lose a little health in the process. If you look down a bit to the NW, you can see some shotgun ammo not far away.

Jump through the opening between the pillars and wind your way east along the ledge. Go into the dark portal near the east wall. Inside, turn to the left and face a lighted tunnel. Turn around and drop down to the ramp. Grab the edge and safety drop to the floor. Reverse roll and push the green button in the wall ahead. Turn left and go down the ramp to claim PYRAMIDAL KEY #5.

Go back to the spot where you dropped down. You now face an intricate series of jumps, where a misstep means either a crunchy death or a trip back to your starting point (depending on how high up you are when you slip up). It can get frustrating, so light a flare and take a deep breath. Position yourself in the corner facing west and press Lara's nose against the wall. Back flip to the slope and jump off to grab the higher slope ahead. Shimmy to the left as far as you can go, then pull up and back flip again, using the left arrow key to make Lara move over in mid-air as she jumps. The instant you hit the far slope, hit the end key to make Lara flip turn in the air. Slide down the facing slope and grab, then drop down to the slope below and jump off toward the lighted ramp. Use the right arrow key to bring Lara over to that slope, and when she jumps off at a right angle use the left arrow key to move her over as she jumps back and forth over the gap. You'll now see a pattern developing. The trip up the lighted ramp isn't a smooth ride, but rather a gauntlet of terraced blocks. The problem is that the ceiling is low in spots, so if Lara bangs her head she loses all her concentration and tumbles back down to the floor. It helps to slide down ever so slightly before jumping in certain spots to prevent this from happening. It may also help to have Lara flip turn at some point in the sequence so that you're moving up to your right instead of to your left. That way, the alcove with the receptacle will be in sight as you approach it. In any event, when your goal (the receptacle for the Key) is in sight, jump over to the safe square and wipe the sweat from your brow before inserting the final Key. Also, I suggest that you save your game just before inserting the key, not only to avoid having to repeat this harrowing jump sequence, but for another important reason I'll explain later. A cut scene shows a ZIP line elsewhere.

Make your way back to the top of the steel cave. One way to get there is by sliding backward down the lighted ramp. Grab the edge and safety drop down to the floor. Turn left and run out to where you picked up the fifth Key. Turn left and slide down the ramp. Run forward and take a standing jump up to the flat surface in front of an earlier Key repository. Turn left into the tunnel and turn left again to run up the ramp. At the landing, keep going straight, into the tunnel, and follow its twists and turns until you reach the intersection. Take a right and continue until you slide down the two long slopes. Make a hairpin turn to the right and locate the ladder. Climb up, crawl forward and turn left when Lara has room to stand. You're back in the area with the glassed-in corridors, so make your way back to the highest corridor to the north and use the ladder to attain the upper level as you did earlier.

Repeat your earlier trek to the west ledge, turn left and run forward, slide down, jump and grab the ledge across the gap and pull up. Turn to the left and take a standing jump down to the ledge where you picked up the large medi-pack earlier. Turn left and walk north along the ledge. Jump up and grab the ceiling. Monkey swing across the gap while a pternanodon tries to harrass you. Turn right at the end and drop down into a little glass cage. Kill the pterandon first, then pick up the first ARTIFACT PIECE and note the ZIP line below you. You could take a running jump, swerving slightly to the right in mid-air, from here over to the nearby entrance, but since the exit door below is still closed this would avail you nothing. So jump up, grab, and monkey swing back the way you came. Drop down to the ledge when you reach it, then turn left just before the flashing lights above you (marking the end of the monkey bars) and jump up to grab the ledge. Pull up and turn around. Note the upper passageway going back to the north. If you follow it, you'll eventually come to the starting point of the ZIP line (being careful to jump to the left over a corner hole on the way), so make a mental note of that for later, when you're ready to exit this area for good.

Right now, move forward a short distance until you reach the hole. Up and to your left you'll see a gap. Turn to the right, facing the wall but angled slightly to the left, and take a back flip up into the opening. Lara will slide backward, so grab the edge at the bottom. Safety drop into the glass cage and pick up the second ARTIFACT PIECE. This will cause the bottom of the cage to fall away, dropping you to the floor and alerting another pteranodon. After disposing of it, step up to the contraption in the middle of the cave floor, combine the two pieces to form the ALIEN ARTIFACT, and use it in the oversized can opener. A portion of the cave floor opens behind you.

Reverse roll and hop down into the hole. Locate the crawl space on the east side and access it. Turn around and lower yourself into the next room. Step forward and run around the central column and into the tunnel. In the connecting room make a hairpin turn to the right and throw the skull switch to activate the lights in the area you'll be exploring next. You can see a patrolling lizard-soldier in the room beyond, but neither of you can get at each other right now. Return to the cave floor and head back to the glassed-in corridors in the west wall (enter at the SW corner, and remember to use the second, not the first opening to your left).

Make your way to the uppermost corrider to the south and enter the portal you bypassed earlier on the way to the fourth Key. You find yourself in alien surroundings, with spooky music to boot. Wind your way around to the right, draw weapons and take care of two lizard-soldiers that come up to investigate. One drops a modified weapon, the other a large medi-pack. Continue on to the other side of this area and locate a passageway in the west end. After running through the tunnel you'll emerge in a room with a number of holes in the floor. Look down into the holes, and you'll note that only one is marked with flashing lights. Choose that one to slide down to the second level, repeat for the next level, and finally do it a third time until you reach the lower regions. (If you choose a wrong hole, you'll be incinerated when you reach the bottom.) Draw weapons and kill the lizard-soldier that awaits you. Pick up the small medi-pack he drops and locate the switch in the west wall. A cut scene shows the exit door opening at the end of the ZIP line. Reverse roll and find the switch in the door in the east wall. Push it to open the door to the room with the skull switch.

You know where you are now, and you've done all this before. Head forward and return to the cave floor where you began this odyssey. Make a third tedious trip back up to the high regions and access the ZIP line by using the route described earlier. The exit door below is now open, so grab the handles and take your leave of this Ultimate Room From Hell.

I experienced several unusual and annoying bugs while replaying this level, but this may be an entirely random kind of thing that won't happen to you. First, after I pushed the skull switch and arrived at the room with the holes in the floor, none of the ramps had flashing lights, so I had to replay that portion of the level before it worked properly. Second, when I finally got to the ZIP line, the handles weren't there, so I had to replay another portion of the level in order to exit. For this reason, I suggest that if you should experience problems along these lines, you try to play in one "go" (without saving and reloading along the way) the entire segment from inserting the last Pyramidal Key until leaving this area.

Safety drop down the shaft onto a trap door, which opens to deposit you in the tunnel below. Run W and around the corner to the entrance to the next room. There's a laser protecting the area to your left, so crawl in on the irght side after it passes. Talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire! Now you're in a room that's constantly being criss-crossed by deadly lasers. There are three elevator shafts with climbable walls you can jump to if necessary to evade an approaching laser. There are also several "safe" spots scattered throughout the room where you can pause to catch your breath, two of which are presently occupied by large medi-packs.

I've taken the liberty of providing here the link to the map prepared by Dutchy in his walkthrough for these levels.

Your first task is to wait until the coast is as clear as it's going to get, then crawl into the right side of the left floor space in the west wall (which means you'll have to cross to the other side of the room). Turn right into the opening and stand up. Save your game, then push the green button and you'll see a cut scene of a door opening to give you access to the first elevator. Mercifully, the lasers are also deactivated. (However, in order to make the next move the lasers must be stopped in a certain position, and this appears to be a matter of trial and error. You may have to reload your savegame to get it right.) Crawl back out to the elevator room and run across to the other side. Crawl into the right side of the right floor space in the east wall. If you've stopped the lasers in the right spot, you'll be able to crawl far enough to reach the opening to your right. Run up the winding staircase. As you approach the end you'll trigger a flyby that shows the sequence in which the elevators must be accessed.

Pick up the large medi-pack and step onto the first elevator. Turn to the right, hit the look key to restore camera control and wait until you reach the opening. When you do, run forward into the short corridor. At the end, turn around and hang from the edge. Safety drop to the second elevator, sustaining some damage in the process. Turn right, and as the second elevator rises, start jumping up in an effort to grab the edge of the opening above until you're successful. (When you do so the elevator stops rising, which becomes important when you reach the third elevator.) Pull up, run into the connecting corridor and down the ramp. Turn around and safety drop onto the third elevator. You should be able now or shortly to jump forward into the north opening, where you'll find a floor lever. If you'd dallied in the second elevator, the third elevator would apparently have risen as well, preventing access to this opening. Push it to remove the blades at the top of a fourth elevator shaft. Hop back onto the third elevator and let it carry you up. Go back the way you came and ride the first elevator all the way to the top of the shaft. Run forward a short distance to the fourth elevator and ride it to the opening at the top. Run east along the tunnel as the camera angle changes.

At the end of the tunnel you come to a corridor with a closed door to your left. A large medi-pack is positioned just where you can't get to it. Turn right and wind your way along the corridor. At the end you'll find a large medi-pack and a modified weapon. You're facing a dimly-lit room with an electrified green floor. Jump up to grab the bars, then monkey swing across the room. Drop down onto the platform in the middle of the room (wait until the far edge disappears from your view). As soon as you hit, you'll alert four lizard-soldiers, two on each side, so quickly pick up the Grenade Gun ammo at your feet and use it to good advantage. Then continue your monkey swing over to the south end of the room. Drop down and push the green button to your right. A cut scene shows the door opening near where you got off the elevator, so monkey swing back across the room and return there.

Pick up that large medi-pack and continue down the corridor until you reach the opening to the reactor area. To your immediate left is a closed door that you'll access later. For right now, turn right and run along the ledge. Turn left and crawl under the green glass corridor that's connected to the reactor. Vault up onto the platform on the other side and turn around. Sidestep to the front right corner and angle Lara slightly to the right. Take a standing jump and grab the top of the glass corridor. Shimmy to the right until Lara can pull up. Jump up and grab the pink ceiling, and monkey swing around to the opposite glass corridor. Drop down, turn left (W) and crawl forward until you reach an opening overhead. Stand up, turn around and pull up into a crawl space. Crawl forward until you reach the end, then turn around and lower Lara into a hole for SECRET #6 and a GOLDEN SKULL. Return to the top of the glass corridor; you don't have to monkey swing back across, but can safety drop from here (don't crawl back to where the monkey swing is, or you'll drop down into the trench and will have to use the ramp to come back up) to save some time.

Make your way to the NW corner of the reactor area. You'll find a hallway decorated with the same pattern as the pinkish ceiling you just now used for monkey bars. At the end is an open door leading to the deck area. Go inside and down the ramp, and take the first left that brings you to a green-lit intersection. Make a hairpin turn to the left and step into the alcove. Push the green button in the center, which causes several things to happen: The door just inside the entrance to the reactor area opens, the reactor itself is deactivated, and the electrified floor in the adjacent room is neutralized. Just for fun, reverse roll and zig to the left to kill another lizard-soldier, then turn to look out the observation window at the area where you began this level.

Go back the way you came, leave the reactor area via the ramp with flashing lights, and run down the corridor until you reach the room where you shot the four lizard-soldiers earlier. Since the floor is now safe, hop down and enter the first door on your left. Locate and push the green button to open the door to the armory. Go inside and rummage around inside the large metal trunk (facing NE) until you claim the MINE. The other rooms don't contain anything of interest, so don't bother exploring them. Return to the reactor area and go into the open doorway to the left just inside the entrance. Push the green button on the wall. A cut scene shows a door closing; but more important, the trench around the reactor is now filled with green water and the way to the reactor itself is now open.

Run down the ramp into the reactor and step into the red-lined square depression. Locate the ladder straight ahead, jump up to grab it, and climb up. Lara won't climb up all the way, so shift either to your right or left and back flip into a corridor. Take an angled jump into the north glass corridor (or jump back, shimmy around the corner and pull up). Run to the end and place the Mine in the wall receptacle. (If Lara tries this with the receptacle at the end of either the east or the west corridor, she will do her imitation of a suicide bomber, the only difference being that there are no innocent bystanders here to take out with her.) Reverse roll, run back down the corridor and drop back down the hole. Go back up the ramp and push the green button again in the room to your right to restore the reactor to its original configuration and to re-open the door to the deck.

Return to the deck, go through the corridor at the NW corner and to the alcove with the green button you pushed earlier. You may want to save your game at this point. Push the button and quickly reverse roll before the activation of the flyby that shows the reactor being reactivated and the mine being triggered. As soon as camera control is restored, zig forward and to the left into the area where you killed the lizard-soldier earlier. Keep running past the deck and make a hairpin turn around the corner to the right. Then turn left and head for the transporter beam before the alien ship explodes into atoms.

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

Lara returns to the first ship in the room that was inaccessible during her earlier adventure. Step down to the door in the SE corner, which opens upon your approach. In the next room you find the corpse of an alien whose last conscious act was to lend you a helping hand. Pick up the ALIEN'S HAND from the pedestal and re-enter the N corridors leading to the sleeping quarters. You soon discover that there have been major changes in your absence. Many of the doors are no longer working, and fires have broken out here and there in the hallways. Turn left and begin an outer circuit around the corridors. Draw weapons as you round the corner and start heading north. When the door in front of you opens, look ahead to the opening to the left where another vessel has docked with this one. Run forward, and at the next intersection shoot the three lizard-soldiers posted in the connecting tunnel to your left. There's nothing of interest in the other vessel, but you can go into the tunnel and get a nice look at the stars. Continue north down the corridor. Another door will open in front of you. At the far end, draw weapons and turn right to meet another lizard-soldier.

When you reach the central north-south corridor, turn to the right and you'll see two fires burning closely together. I found it next to impossible to negotiate the following sequence without being set ablaze, so if you're not interested in collecting all the secrets and getting yet another ammo pickup, skip to the next paragraph. Walk carefully up to the line in front of the first fire and sidestep against the right wall. Take two steps back and jump over the first fire, swerving to the right in mid-air to land in a safe zone. Then turn to the right and jump over the third fire. Step forward to claim some revolver ammo and SECRET #7.

Make your way back to the north-south corridor and run to the north end, shooting a lizard-soldier along the way. Step down into the metal corridor and turn left. Make a quick right and come face to face with a friendly alien. Although it may seem there's nothing on this wrecked derelict that's worth defending at this point, if you look up to the right you'll see a crawl space. Jump up to it and crawl to the other side. Turn around and lower Lara into the hole on the other side for a modified weapon and SECRET #8. Return to the metal corridor and try to make small talk with the alien. Parlez-vous francais? Habla espanol? If that doesn't work, crawl into the north opening past the alien and run forward. A door opens upon your approach, so continue along the blue-lit tunnel on the other side. When you reach the intersection, turn left and run up the slight incline. At the green-tiled corridor turn left and then make a quick right. Drop down the hole at the end. Light a flare if necessary and use the crawl space. Turn around and lower Lara into the corridor in front of the hanger.

Go inside the hanger and enter the scout ship through the opening in its belly. Enter the cockpit area, and use the Alien's Hand in the left receptacle (as you face it) to drop a trapdoor above you. Use the ladder to climb up to the top of the scout ship. Turn around and shoot out the windows to the control room. Take a running jump and grab over to the control room and pull up. Step onto the platform to raise the shielding over the receptacle to your right, then use the Alien's Hand in the receptacle to open the door ahead. Enter, make a hairpin turn to the right and run down the corridor until you reach an opening to your left. Enter the second control room, and the door closes rudely behind you. Pick up the SHUTTLE CD from the platform and shoot out the windows ahead. Safety drop to the hanger floor and enter your getaway vessel from below as before.

Go to the cockpit and use the Shuttle CD in the right (as you face it) receptacle. A cut scene shows the scout ship being readied for takeoff and return to Earth. Ahead warp factor one, Mr. Sulu! After a very quick trip, push the button to the left to lower the hatch. Jump down to the ground, and Lara finds that the shuttle has landed right in front of her home. Step forward into the alcove to trigger a final flyby with a surprise ending. I won't spoil it for you by revealing it here, but I'm sure you'll find it most amusing. A fitting ending to a challenging and mind-bending series of levels. Bravo!