THE CRYPTS

Level by Tabsdad

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth


The introductory tag says "searching for daylight," so let's get started. You're in a fairly large room with a central pool and two closed doors in the far wall, but there's not much to do here. Jump into the pool and locate four stashes of ammo near the statues. There's a closed gate in the north wall, but the passage in the south wall is open. Surface for air if necessary, then swim through the fairly short passage and pull out at the end into a much smaller room. Pick up the GRENADE GUN in the NW corner of this raised area, then turn around and hop over to the block against the south wall for some grenade gun ammo.

Nothing else to do here, so jump back into the water and swim to the larger pool. Pull out and vault up to the ledge against the south wall between the two coffins. There's a hidden jump switch in the blackness above (closer to the coffin on your left), so activate it to open the north gate in the pool. Jump back in the water, swim straight across and follow the north passage a short distance until you reach an opening on your right. Go that way, pull out at the end and look for some uzi ammo and some shotgun ammo. Return to the water and turn right at the intersection. Pull out at the end into a small room and use the crawl space in the east wall to access another small room. Pick up the nearby flares and SHOTGUN, then use the ladder in the east wall to reach an upper crypt. Pick up the small medi-pack while the west door opens in front of you.

Go into the passage and pick up the shotgun ammo as the door closes behind you. Tiptoe into the next crypt and turn left to see a ninja whose back is turned to you. Get his attention with some bullets in his backside. When he's dead, step up onto the dais where you saw him and take the HAND OF ORION from the pedestal. This will bring four scorpions from the next passage to investigate, so kill them quickly. Go into the passage from whence they came, take a standing jump and grab across the gap, pull up and step forward to place the Hand of Orion in the wall receptacle. A cut scene shows a pair of doors opening in the pool area below, and a couple of ninjas being released.

Hop back three times and drop down into the pool. Pull out somewhere and quickly draw weapons to eliminate the two ninjas. Pick up the shotgun ammo they both drop and go through the west doors into a small room. Pull out the block from the far wall and push it to either side to get it out of your way. Go down the west passage, and as soon as you step into the connecting passage reverse roll while drawing weapons to take out a third ninja who materializes in the pool room behind you. Then turn back around and explore the new area.

Taking the right (north) path leads to two closed gates and a shaft that's too deep for you to climb up. So take the south path and turn right at the intersection. (Turning left leads to another closed gate.) You find yourself on a bridge spanning a deep room with deadly fire tiles below. Go to the end of the bridge and take a running jump and grab across the gap. Pull up on the other side and step forward for the shotgun ammo. Then hop back once, turn to your left and note the jump switch in the south wall. Activate it with a running jump and grab, and keep the action key depressed so you'll grab the edge of the slope when you slide down. (A cut scene shows a gate opening and another ninja being released.) Shimmy all the way to the left and around the corner, where it's safe to pull up. From here you can jump up and grab the bridge. Pull up and shoot the ninja who's waiting for you in the east passage.

Go back the way you came and pick up the shotgun ammo dropped by the ninja near the end of the passage. Turn right there at the intersection and enter a new area. On the other side of the room you can see a cartouche piece behind a closed gate. In the east and west side passages are also closed gates, but there are connecting passages that are open. Starting with the east passage, go inside and turn right. Follow to a small crypt with an anubis mummy, the first of several you'll see in this area. Continue across and follow the connecting passage until you emerge at a familiar intersection. Keep going forward into the north passage and follow until you reach another crypt with an anubis mummy. Pick up two stashes of uzi ammo on the other side of the mummy and go back the way you came.

When you reach the intersection, turn left and return to the anteroom. Turn left again and go up the stairs toward the entrance to this area. Look for the crawl space in the dark NE corner and crawl forward into a crypt with another anubis mummy. Stand up, turn to your right and hop down into the trench. Use the floor lever to open one of the gates outside. Pull back up into the crypt and use the crawl space to get back to the foyer. At the bottom of the stairs turn left and find that the east gate is now open. Go on inside and turn to your right to locate the CROSSBOW and some crossbow arrows. Use the reach-in switch in the west wall to open the opposite gate. On the way out, turn right into the north passage and follow straight ahead with a dogleg to the right to a sunken crypt with a pair of anubis mummies and some uzi ammo for your trouble. Pull back out and take a left into a passage leading to a small room with a large medi-pack resting on a pedestal. When you take it, a ninja materializes behind you.

Go back and through the now-open west gate and be prepared to deal with fully a half dozen ninjas in the next room. Three of them will obligingly drop some uzi ammo and two stashes of shotgun ammo for you. Explore the passages from which they came. On the left (south) side you'll find an open-air shaft with a jump switch. Activate it to open the gate in front of the cartouche piece. Go back there to retrieve it, activate another jump switch inside that's on the north wall near the NE corner (a cut scene shows another gate opening elsewhere), then return to the room with the six ninjas and take the right (north) passage).

Pull up into the crawl space to your left and follow until you can stand up. There's a closed gate to your left and a shaft to your right with a climbable west wall. Climb up to a higher passage and follow it until you see a closed gate ahead. Turn to your left just in front of the gate and you'll hear the sound of a door opening. Stop at the end of the passage, for what looks like harmless water ahead is really a floor of burning tiles. Angle Lara to the right and take a running jump to the first safe tile. Take a running jump to the tile in the SE corner and another running jump to the tile in the NE corner. Jump up to grab the crack in the wall, shimmy to your left past the crawl space that leads nowhere, and pull up when you reach the ledge.

Turn to face west and take a running jump into the opening ahead. As you run forward down the passage the door closes behind you. Hop down into the next room and locate the two moveable jackals. Starting with the south piece, push and pull them onto the lighter corner tiles. When the north piece reaches the NW tile, the gate in front of the second cartouche piece opens, and when you take the piece from the pedestal the exit door to the south opens (so moving the second piece to the NE tile is unnecessary and unproductive).

Follow the south passage to a hole and drop down into a lower passage. For your next task you now need to make your way back near the spot where you began this level. Note the hole in the floor to your right and use it to safety drop into the room where you encountered the six mummies. Exit via the east doorway and turn left at the major four-way intersection. Go up the stairs and follow the north passage. Turn right in front of the bridge room and run past the opening to your right that leads to the pool room. Turn left at the intersection (there's still a closed gate to your right) and follow that passage until you reach a new area formerly barred by a closed gate.

Go across the large room and run up the winding brown stairs until you reach the SE corner. Turn to your right and take a running jump to the wooden ledge. Follow the ledge around to the right and stop to pick up the shotgun ammo. This triggers the release of a spike ball behind you, so run forward toward the cartouche receptacle. The spike ball will stop just before it reaches you. Combine the two pieces to form the BA CARTOUCHE and insert it in the receptacle. This opens the closed gate in the passage below, and it also causes three ninjas to materialize on the floor of this room. Pick them off from where you stand, then safety drop to the floor and pick up a small medi-pack and shotgun ammo dropped by two of the ninjas. Exit via the south doorway and follow the passage to the new east opening.

Hop down onto the block below and turn to your left. Take a running jump and grab to the next pillar north. Pull up and pick up the LASER SIGHT, then turn around and take a standing jump back to the previous block. Turn to your left and take a running jump and grab to the next pillar east. As you pull up a ninja materializes down below, so kill him before taking a running jump to the ledge against the east wall. Pick up the grenade gun ammo, then safety drop to the floor. Run over to the pillar near the SE corner and activate the jump switch high up on the east face to open the door at floor level in the north wall.

Run across the room, through the north doorway and up the stairs. A couple of ninjas will run down to meet you, so shoot them and pick up the revolver ammo and shotgun ammo they drop. Continue up the stairs and use the ladder at the end to access a higher passage. Pull up, turn to your right and pull up into an even higher passage. Follow it until you reach an opening that overlooks a room with several short pillars. Angle Lara to the left and take a standing jump to the nearest pillar. Turn to your right and take a running jump and grab to the sloped pillar in the center of the room. Pull up, allow Lara to slide a short distance down the other side and jump off onto the ledge against the south wall (use the action key to grab the edge in case you fall a little short). Push the floor lever to your left, and a cut scene shows the higher door opening in the previous pillar room.

Turn around, run to the other end of this ledge and turn to face north. A ninja has appeared in the passage across the room, so shoot him and then jump up to grab the green ceiling. Monkey swing across the room, and drop down onto the last pillar before you reach the north opening. (You'll know you've gone far enough when you get to that portion of the trench to your right that juts down farther from the ceiling.) Take a standing jump with grab to land inside the opening ahead and pick up the flares dropped by the ninja. Continue forward down the passage, turn right at the intersection and drop down into the lower passage. Safety drop down the hole to the south to give you a little shortcut to the next area.

Turn to the east and drop down onto the block in the first pillar room you visited earlier. Return to the ledge against the east wall the same way you got there earlier, then take standing jumps to the next two pillars north. A final jump with grab will bring you to the entrance of the north passage. Pull up and run to the other end of the short passage. Turn around and safety drop to the pillar below. Turn to your right and draw weapons, and you'll see that you've got a bead on three ninjas whose backs are unfortunately (for them) turned to you. That makes them easier to kill, so do so and then hop down and throw the floor lever to your left (in the SW corner). Go over and throw the other lever, and immediately reverse roll while drawing weapons. A poisonous mutant comes charging out of the opened east door, so kill it before it can reach you and administer a fatal injection.

Run forward down the gold path and take the first EYE PIECE from the pedestal. There's a spike ball trap on either side of you, but they're easy enough to master. Simply run into the north and south alcoves, and the spike balls will tumble harmlessly by. (I'm not sure it's necessary to trigger them both in order to continue, but there's certainly no harm in doing so.) Enter the attractive, sun-splashed open-air crypt (it's daylight, but apparently not the daylight we've been seeking) and go around the coffin down into the east opening. Follow the passage around to the left until you reach a ledge with a deep pit below.

There's no apparent way to get across to the other side. If you look down into the pit you can see a large medi-pack lying on the ground to your left. You could even safety drop down there and get it if you wanted to, but that wouldn't be a good idea as you'd be stuck with no way out. Go back down the passage the way you came and look for a crawl space up to your right. Use it and crawl until you reach a ramp, then run up and throw the floor lever to fill the pit with water. Go back to the pit, jump in and swim down for that medi-pack, and pull up on the other side.

Go through the west passage and emerge on a ledge with two large seated statues. You might be tempted to take a long swan dive down into the tempting pool below. But don't do it, because the water is only knee deep. Instead, take a running jump and grab to the nearest pillar north, pull up and pick up the UZIS. Take a running jump to the next pillar in the center of the room. You could jump over to the north ledge from here, but the exit door is closed. So turn to face west and take a standing jump down to the next pillar. From here turn left and take a long standing jump down to the next pillar south. Turn left and take a running jump to the ledge jutting out from the east wall. Turn right and take a running jump to the small ledge in the SE corner. Go inside the passage and throw the floor lever to open the exit door high up in the north wall. You also hear signs of an approaching enemy, so go out to the ledge and look down. You'll see two raptors wading around in the pool, so shoot them from the safety of your vantage point.

Safety drop to the floor and pick up the crossbow arrows in the center of the pool. Then go inside the raptors' lair on the north side of the room and pick up two stashes of uzi ammo and a small medi-pack. Go outside and locate the ivy-covered pillar near the NE corner. Climb up the east face, pull up and step forward, and climb up the east wall until you're over the ledge. Shift to your left, drop down onto the ledge and enter the north doorway.

Enter the next large room that's guarded by a couple of shiva statues. (Sorry, they never do come to life.) There are closed gates to your left and right, and an assortment of ledges ringing the walls above. Go over to the shiva statues and pick up the shotgun ammo in front of one of them. Push or pull the moveable block away from the central pillar and activate the revealed reach-in switch to raise a block against the east wall. As you approach it a raptor appears on the adjacent mantel, so hop up onto the block and kill it. Then take a standing jump and grab north to the mantel and pull up. Go into the east passage and follow up the stairs. When you reach the top of the stairs, turn around and jump up to grab a hole in the ceiling. Pull up, run forward and turn around again to locate the jump switch above you. Activate it to open a door high up in the large room. Jump back down to the floor below and run out onto the bridge spanning the large room. Turn around to face north before picking up the shotgun ammo, so you'll be in position to draw weapons quickly and kill the ninja who appears on the upper ledge ahead.

Turn around again and run to the south side of the bridge, then drop to the ledge below. Face the central pillar and note the jump switch. Activate it with a running jump and grab to open the west gate below. Go inside and be careful not to fall into the pit. There are two spike balls poised above the pit. Take a standing jump across the pit and the first one falls down harmlessly. Turn around and face the east wall, standing over the pit where the first spike ball has already dropped. The east wall is sticky, so when you jump with a grab you'll stick to the wall. Release and grab the edge of the pit and pull up. Make a hairpin turn and jump back over the pit to activate the second spike ball. Now that they're both out of the way, you can use the wall of your choice (north or east) to climb up to the next area.

Go out the east opening to your left and go up the stairs to the NW corner. Turn around and jump up to grab the ledge above. Pull up and deal with another ninja who appears on the bridge below. Then take a long running jump and grab to the next ledge south. Pull up, run to the other end and turn left to take a running jump to the next ledge east. Pick up the revolver ammo and go over near the south wall. (You don't want to go all the way to the wall, because the ceiling will get in your way as you try to make your jumps.) Turn left and take a running jump to the next small ledge east. Angle to the left and take a running jump to the next longer ledge. You can't reach the next ledge north from here, but you may as well try, because when you miss you'll land right next to some crossbow arrows. Pick them up, go back to the next step, and from here you can jump up and grab the ledge. Pull up, run to the other end and turn left to take a long running jump and grab to the next ledge west.

Pull up and go through the doorway you opened earlier via the jump switch. Take the second EYE PIECE from the pedestal in the next room, and a flyby shows the exit door down below. Go back to the doorway and safety drop to the ledge below. Go back down the stairs and follow the passage to a lower ledge. Safety drop from here to the floor of the large room and run straight ahead through the east passage. A raptor will lumber forth to challenge you before you even get into the next room. After killing it, go inside the room and prepare to kill one of those toxic mutants who jogs toward you from your left. The openings in the walls to your right and left are spike ball traps, and they'll be triggered when you run into their line of fire. At the same time you'll summon a couple of ninjas who appear at the entrance to this room.

When you think the coast is clear and you go down the tunnel toward the iris door, another pair of ninjas will try to sneak up on you from behind. Reverse roll and take them out, then step up to the iris door, combine the two eye pieces to form the EYE OF HORUS, and insert it in the receptacle. The door melts away to reveal another passage with a closed door ahead. You have an idea what to expect, so draw your weapons and move forward. Reverse roll when you hear the signs of enemies approaching and shoot the two raptors. Then turn back around and go up the south passage to your right and throw the floor lever at the end to open the exit door and start an earthquake. When you turn around and go back down the passage the earthquake will stop.

There's nothing to do in the north passage, so turn right at the intersection and go through the open doorway into that outside area you've been seeking all this time. Run forward and climb up the ladder in the far wall. When you pull up to face the blue sky and the mountains ahead, the level ends.