Tomb Raider 2

China

LEVEL 1: GREAT WALL

• Kills: 23
• Items: 4 (8 and grenade launcher)* plus 2 keys
• Secrets: 3
• Starting inventory: small med-pack, large med-pack, 2 flares, pistols (unlimited ammo), shotgun with 2 shells. (*Under found items, the number in parentheses shows total including extra items granted for finding all three secrets.)

First a movie: Lara jumps out of a helicopter and descends a rope to the ground near the Great Wall of China.

CAVE WITH POOL: The level itself begins in a cave at the base of the wall. You'll need to climb up the rocks to the tower. If you're new to Tomb Raider and are having trouble negotiating this climb, the diagram caves.gif may help. I refer to areas marked with letters the descriptions that follow.

Cross the cavern and wade into the water (1). Climb onto the rocks at left (2 or 2a). If you like, turn and shoot at the tiger that emerges below. You don't have to kill it since you're going up, not down. And tigers are endangered, you know. ;-)

Follow the ledge to the end (3) then do a standing jump to the block ahead (4). Turn right and jump to the next ledge (5). Follow this ledge to its end (6) and climb onto the rock in front of you (7). Reverse and do a running jump to the ledge across from you (8). This ledge is short. To the right, across a small gap, is a longer ledge that spans the wall you were facing when you first entered the cave. Jump across to this ledge (from 9 to 10) and follow it to the end (11), where you'll find SECRET #1, the Silver Dragon. From up here you can kill a second tiger on the cave floor if you like.

Turn around and return across the small gap (back to 9) then climb up three blocks--two waist high (12 and 13), one taller (14). Look to the left to see the flat area you'll need to jump to next. Stand on the slightly sloped surface near the wall (15) and take a running jump to the flat area (16), then pull up into the building (17).

FIRST GUARDHOUSE: Stand on the trap door to drop down (safely) into the room below. Swim/wade out of the pool and go to the top of the stairs. Do a running jump and grab the ledge near the switch. Pull up. Pull the switch to open the exit door.

POOL BELOW THE WALL: Go out onto the wall and kill 3 crows who'll approach from the other building. Continue toward the second building, then take the slide to the right down into the water. You'll find the GUARDHOUSE KEY In a small underwater cave (to the right if you're facing away from the wall). Climb out of the water and kill the tiger. (NOTE: If you like, you can tread water near the left side of the pool until he runs off in that direction, then climb out and hit him with two shotgun blasts.)

SECOND GUARDHOUSE: Face the wall and climb up on the rocks to the right of the pool. Use the key to unlock the guardhouse door. Enter and kill 3 spiders. Climb the ladder, kill another spider and take the RUSTY KEY, which unlocks the exit door below. Go through the exit and continue to the next room. 3 spiders will come down from the ceiling and another spider will come in behind you, so kill all of them. Take the shotgun shells and large med-pack from the skeleton. There's a large stone block in front of the exit. Move it out of the way and go through this opening. Slide down the ramp to the right and step into the water.

GAUNTLET OF TRAPS: This area is a trap in which sharp blades are shot across the room from various holes. To clear it, go to the left wall and jump and grab the crevice above. Hang and traverse all the way to the right, and the blades will pass harmlessly below. Drop into the water, reverse underwater and swim to the corner near the door. Surface and pull up to the right side of the shooting blades.

The next few areas include a series of hazards, which you'll have to do in sequence in order to get through. Save your game here, since you'll probably need several attempts. First comes a series of broken floor tiles with deadly spikes below. Run over these, then keep running, cutting to the right as you enter the next room. You'll be pursued by rolling boulders, so keep running to the door on the left. Leap over the spikes to land on a slide, which will deposit you in a room with spiked walls encroaching. Unless you're really fast, skip the automatic pistol clips on the floor near the skeleton and immediately pull up into the opening. (NOTE: If you want those clips, here's how to do it: Slide down into the room and immediately press Look to get Lara's perspective back. Jump left to land right on the clips, pick them up then jump forward to the opening and pull up.) Here you can catch your breath and save your game.

(NOTE: For the double boulder trap at the beginning of this sequence, you can also run straight forward just to the middle of the slope, or all the way to the wall. Then the boulders wil roll past and you can head toward the spikes afterwards.)

Now, run down the next hallway, over the collapsing floor with spikes below, leaping over the three slicing blades as you run. At the end of the hall, cut to the left. If you can manage to do it before the spiked walls close in, pick up SECRET#2, the Jade Dragon. Continue running down the next long hallway, keeping to the right to avoid more spiked walls moving in from the left. Slide down into the next room. Roll when you land to face the opposite direction from the spiked wall coming at you. Then run onto the collapsing floor to fall to safety below. Whew!

Ahead you'll see two huge rolling blades. In front of them is a skeleton with a small med-pack, which you can pick up safely if you don't get too close to the first blade. Now, run carefully past the blades and emerge in a cave above a huge cavern. There are 2 spiders in the area near the doorway to your right, and 3 more spiders will descend if you approach the zip line. Take care of them now so you don't have to worry about them later on.

DOWN INTO THE CAVERN: Don't take the zip line yet, or you'll miss quite a bit of action. Instead, stand at the edge of the huge cavern near the zip line and look down. You'll see a flat, square ledge with some moss growing on it to your right. Stand with your back to the cavern and hang and drop down to this ledge. Pull up to grab the crevace in front of you and traverse to the right till you can pull up into a small cave. Follow the path, picking up a box of flares on the way, until you reach a shaft with a ladder. Climb onto the small ladder, climb to the right then down the long, dark shaft to the cavern floor below. When you can't climb down any further, drop to the floor. You don't really need flares here since there's nothing to find, but go ahead and light one if you like.

Enter the cavern and advance just to the two skeletons. You'll start to hear a rumbling, so either prepare to fight the T-Rex, or run back to the tunnel opening for some cover and plug away at him from there. When Mr. Rex is dead, cross the cavern to an opening in the middle of the other short side. Here you'll need a flare to see and retrieve SECRET #3, the Gold Dragon. (If you've gotten all three secrets, you'll also receive a bonus of a small med-pack, 3 pairs of grenades and the GRENADE LAUNCHER. You'll have other chances to acquire this weapon if you miss it here.)

(A WORD OF CAUTION: I HIGHLY recommend saving all or most of your grenades for the last few levels of the game. There are a few enemies there who are quite easily dispatched using grenades and very, very hard to kill otherwise. Now, don't say I didn't warn you.)

By now you'll be hearing more stomping and roaring. That's Mrs. Rex come to mourn her poor departed husband. Put her out of her misery, then return to the tunnel by which you entered. Follow the tunnel until you come to the step. Climb up onto it, turn around and jump up to grab the ladder. Climb all the way to the top of the ladder (don't get off on the left where you climbed on) and you'll come out near the zip line.

THE EXIT: Now, grab the zip line and hold on as you slide down to the opposite side of the cavern. Try to let go before the end of the ride to drop onto the green area. Two tigers charge from the doorway opposite. Kill both, then head through the doorway. You'll emerge near a big wooden door, which should look familiar if you watched the opening movie. (NOTE: Perhaps the opening in the rocks on the left was originally intended to lead somewhere, but in the final game it's unreachable.) Approach the door to finish the level.

Next, a cut scene, in which Lara has words with a member of the Fiama Nera cult. Now you're off to scenic Venice. . . .