Tomb Raider 2

Tibet

LEVEL 11: TIBETAN FOOTHILLS

• Kills: 33
• Items: 22 (26)* plus 2 keys
• Secrets: 3

(*Under found items, the number in parentheses shows total including extra items granted for finding all three secrets.)

The level begins with a movie: Now that she's got the Seraph, Lara uses a floatation device to return to the surface, then steals Bartoli's seaplane and high-tails it to Tibet. (Notice Lara's expression as she spies the cozy leather bomber jacket on the co-pilot's seat. IMO, this look alone is worth the price of the game!) Unfortunately, technical difficulties prevent her from landing at the front door of the Barkhang monastery and she crashes in the Himalayan foothills nearby.

CANYON AND LAKE: Kill the bird then jump up to the opening on the right. Below is a long ramp with snowballs at the top. Slide down, run and jump over the first wave of snow, then duck into an alcove to the left to avoid the second wave. When the coast is clear, leave the alcove and head down to the right toward where the boulders landed. Note the semi-transparent ice wall. Shoot it out like a window, kill the leopard lurking inside and go into the opening to find 2 sets of automatic pistol clips. Now continue up the hill to where the snowballs originated and pull up into a cave.

Ahead is another wall of ice. Run up the ramp and jump through the ice. You'll start to slide, so jump and grab the wall ahead. (NOTE: Take a look at the texture of the wall. There are a number of these ice ladders coming up. You can identify them by this texture.) Climb to the top right and traverse until you're over the doorway. Drop down and follow this passage to emerge above a small lake. Note the hut and snowmobile in the distance. This is where you're headed, but first....

Keep an eye (and ear) out for 2 birds, which will attack at various points in your exploration of this area. Turn around then drop and hang from the ledge. Drop to the ledge below. Hang and drop again to a ledge with a doorway.

(NOTE: You can take a shortcut here if you like, which will get you to the hut much more quickly without missing any items. However, you will miss one kill, an eagle. When you first emerge above the lake facing the hut, turn around and safety drop to the sloped ledge below. Slide back and grab the edge, but don't drop. Instead, traverse to the right and pull up. Turn around to face the water. See the ledge with the large med-pack way down there across the water? Take a carefully angled running jump to land on the rocks just to the right of the med-pack. Slide down, grab the med-pack and pick up the walkthrough below at the **.)

(If at any time you fall in the water and don't want to re-start, there's a small snowy ledge you can climb to from the water. An ice ladder there will get you back up to the ledge below the entrance. From there, you can either try the big jump for the shortcut or safety drop to the doorway below and take the long way around.)

Follow the passageway to a gap with icicles on the ceiling opposite. Jump into the water and pull up, letting the icicles fall before going on. When you reach another opening over the water, head to the right and climb over the rocks into a passageway. You'll come to a fork. Going forward brings you to a dead end at a closed gate. (NOTE: you can see the first secret beyond, but you'll get it later from the other side.) For now, go down through the opening on the left. Slide down a slope to a room with a pond and more icicles. Stay close to the left wall and walk forward slowly so the icicles fall in front of Lara. Continue until you come out on another ledge above the water.

Make your way over to the large med-pack: Take a running jump to the far side of the angled block between the ledge you're on and the one with the med-pack (the near side slopes down too steeply to stand on). From there, take another running jump to grab the ledge where the med-pack is. Another bird will try and interfere at some point.

(**) After picking up the med-pack, turn to face the cliff wall, then jump diagonally to the snowy ledge ahead and to the left. Climb up the snow to the top of the canyon. (NOTE: If you need help with this sequence, check out this .)

HUT AND SNOWMOBILE: Head for the hut and take out the 2 guys with guns who try and stop you. Take their large med-pack and 2 sets of automatic pistol clips. Go up to the smaller of two gates on the right and take SECRET #1, the Silver Dragon. Now steal the SNOWMOBILE and head into the cave that has no gate. (NOTE: The snowmobile controls are virtually identical to those for the motor boat. You'll need the turbo/Action key for extra power to get over larger gaps.) A gunman gets in your way, so run him over. Pick up his shotgun shells before moving on.

OPEN AREA WITH RAMPS AND LEDGES: Continue to a large room with a number of ramps. At the far end is a cave opening barred by two large blocks of ice. You'll have an easier time going on if you move those first. Enter the cave through a smaller opening on the left (jump from the raised ledge to reach it). Kill the 2 leopards lurking there, then move the blocks out of the opening.

Return to the snowmobile and get it into position to jump into the cave. The quickest way is to ride up the wide ramp in the middle of the open area (perpendicular to the ledges that run up to the exit). To do this, position Lara on the snowmobile with the rock pillar behind her and to the right. Ride up the ramp diagonally so you take off at the top right corner, tap the Right direction key while in the air to land on the ledge facing the right wall, and keep accelerating to continue toward the wall. Or, if you're good with the controls, tap Reverse when the snowmobile lands on the ledge to keep from going over the edge and landing in the ditch behind it.

Now turn the snowmobile around and line it up parallel to the ledge. Press Forward and Action (for a turbo boost) to gun it over the ledges into the cave opening.

THROUGH CAVES AND OVER A NARROW BRIDGE: Continue on, jumping the next large gap using the ramps on the left. Follow the left passage until you come to a chasm with two openings ahead, separated by a stone pillar. Get off the snowmobile and follow the right wall on foot. (You can do this on the snowmobile, but it's easier walking.) Pick up 2 pairs of grenades lying on the ground near an ice ladder. Climb up the ladder and pull the switch to open a gate ahead. Two bad guys come out, so climb down and take care of them. Take their small med-pack and M-16 clips before getting back on your snowmobile.

Drive on, following the left wall, across the gap and through the gate you just opened. Cross the high, narrow ice bridge, mowing down the bad guy who stands in your way and his 2 buddies in the next area. Continue to the next big gap above a deep crevasse.

THE BIG GAP: SECRET #2, the Jade Dragon, is on a ledge on the right, just beyond the mouth of the cave. Take a running jump to land on that ledge. When you grab the dragon, 2 leopards appear on the ramp opposite. Kill them from the safety of this ledge.

Down at the bottom of the canyon below the ledge, are 2 pairs of grenades in a shallow pit. If you like, you can climb down the ice ladder to get them, or wait to do this on the return trip. Three more leopards start prowling the cavern floor when you go into the pit, so quickly jump back up to the snowy ledge above and shoot them from here. Climb back up to the top of the ice ladder, take a running jump back to the ramp and get back on the snowmobile. The big gap with the two ramps is very wide; you'll definitely need turbo (Action) to jump it.

DRAWBRIDGE KEY: When you get to the other side, climb off the snowmobile and proceed on foot. Walk out toward the right side of the next chasm to trigger the avalanche. Jump to the white area of the sloped floor, slide down and grab the edge, then drop and grab the cave opening below. Pull up into the cave and take the DRAWBRIDGE KEY. Drop down into the passage below and continue to a wall of ice. Shoot the thug on the other side. Go into the next room, trip the icicle trap, then pull the switch to open the gate above.

Enter the cavern ahead. (Above is the wide gap you jumped earlier.) If you didn't get the grenades in the pit on the other side of the canyon floor, do this now, and kill the leopards that emerge. Climb back up the ice ladder next to the wooden gate where you entered to reach your snowmobile.

Drive across the cave, using turbo to help hug the sloped area along the right side of the pit and taking care to avoid any remaining snowballs. Continue to the next large cave.

DRAWBRIDGE AND HUT KEY: Use the key you found to raise the DRAWBRIDGE. Then go across it either on foot or by snowmobile. Run/jump across the flat area to the right, avoiding the avalanche. You'll hear a huge rumbling as the snowy wall gives way in the previous area, blocking the way you came. Continue ahead and to the left to a deep chasm. Jump to the ledge on the left, slide and grab the edge, then traverse across the chasm to the other side. Continue to emerge again in the room with the bridge.

(NOTE: You can also do the previous sequence with the drawbridge and avalanche on the snowmobile if you prefer.)

At the foot of the huge snow bank is the HUT KEY. As you approach it, a baddie on a snowmobile comes in through the opening between the drawbridge supports. Shoot him, while dodging like mad. Or, you can climb up on the snow to the right of the key and shoot at him from there. Just be sure to stand toward the front of the block. He can drive over the snow behind Lara, but he can't turn sharply enough to run her over. When he's finally dead, take the RED snowmobile (his is very cool with its guns and all, but it doesn't have the turbo feature to jump the big gap) and head back to the hut.

(Sharon, one of the alt.games.tombraider newsgroup regulars, suggests parking the snowmobile near the key, facing the exit, then picking up the key, jumping on your ride and speeding out before the nasty guy can get a lock on Lara. Keep going until you get past the big jump over the canyon. He can't follow on his heavy machine.)

BACK TO THE HUT: You'll have to stop at the snowy barrier just past the cave with all the ramps and walk the rest of the way. Go cautiously as there are 2 leopards waiting above. Back at the hut, unlock the door and take the 2 small med-packs, 2 sets of Uzi clips and 2 sets of M-16 clips lying on the floor before pulling the switch. This opens the cave gate, and 3 thugs with guns rush out. When you've killed them, take their large med-pack, Uzi clips and auto pistol clips, and head into the cave.

CAVE WITH SNOWMOBILER: Continue to a large open area where you'll meet another guy on a snowmobile. You can shoot him while dodging or run immediately to the back of the snowy block, where you can climb up to relative safety. Once the bad guy is dead, walk or take his snowmobile and ride on until you come to a deep chasm. From the top you can see the Gold Dragon down in a small opening. Either, get up some speed on the snowmobile and drive across the ledge on the left side of the gap, or go on foot: Jump and grab the left ledge, traverse across. Now climb down the ice ladder down. As soon as you drop to the ground, jump to the side to avoid the rolling snowballs. Wait for a second wave of snow, then take the dragon, SECRET #3 (along with 4 sets of Uzi clips if you've found all three secrets). Climb back up and keep going on foot.

OPEN AREA WITH SNOWMOBILERS: When you reach the next large opening, 2 guys on snowmobiles will be waiting below. Immediately climb on the rock wall to the right and shoot them from there before climbing down. (The M-16 works nicely for targeting, but you can also take your time and use the pistols as long as you back away from the edge when they drive by with their guns blazing.) Or, bring in the other black snowmobile from the previous area and use that.

CAVE WITH POOL AND EXIT TUNNEL: Proceed down the hill to the wall, where you'll find a movable block. Push it twice to enter a cave where 2 more thugs are waiting. Another bad guy lurks in the cavern below, on a ledge to the right. Take him out before descending.

(If you aren't bent on getting all the kills, you can use a little trick when entering this room. When you push the block twice then jump on top of the block or to the right, 3 bad guys are waiting beyond. But, if you jump to the left of the block, no bad guys! Pretty nifty.)

To get down to the bottom, you can take several routes. The easiest are: (1) Drive one of the snowmobiles over the edge and Lara will jump off, landing safely in the water. (2) Walk over to the right side of the cliff edge. Turn around, drop back and grab the edge, and traverse all the way to the wall on the left. Safety drop to the snow below. Lara will slide to a stop on the ice ledge. (The sniper isn't carrying anything, so you needn't bother going over to the cave.) Turn around (so Lara's back is to the pool) and safety drop again, or take a running jump off the corner of the ice ledge to land in the water. Swim across the pool to the far left side. Enter a small tunnel in the corner. Follow this to the next level.