Tomb Raider 2

Tibet

LEVEL 12: BARKHANG MONASTERY

• Kills: 34*
• Items: 26 (30)** plus 4 keys, 2 gemstones, 5 prayer wheels
• Secrets: 3

(*The kills total is the maximum number of henchmen and crows--the only two enemies here. However, your total will probably be substantially less. Here's why: It is VERY IMPORTANT that you never harm any of the monks. If you act respectfully, they will not interfere with your exploration and will even help you fight Bartoli's henchmen. However, if you shoot a monk, accidentally or on purpose, the entire brotherhood will dog you throughout the level, making your job much more difficult than it has to be. If you find yourself in the middle of a fight between the cult members and the monks, be very careful whom you're aiming at. Or, back off until the fight is over. Then, if there are any cult guys left, you can take care of them and grab any goodies left over.)

(**Under found items, the number in parentheses shows total including extra items granted for finding all three secrets. Note that one of the regular pick-ups here will be the Uzis if you didn't get them earlier.)

MONASTERY ENTRANCE: Follow the tunnel to the steps in front of the monastery. You'll arrive to see 2 thugs in a melee with several monks. In this case, when the monks have dispatched the baddies, you can pick up a small med-pack, automatic pistol clips and 2 sets of Uzi clips. (Who says there's no free lunch?)

The main doors to the monastery are locked, but you can get in through a window. Climb the ladder opposite the steps, killing a crow when you get to the top. Jump diagonally to a ledge to the right of the ladder, then jump across to another ledge. Cross the stone ledge to the rock wall. Kill 2 more crows that try and mess up Lara's hairdo. On the other side of the rocks, turn so the monastery window is on your left and jump to the angled block above the crevice. Slide and grab, release and grab the crevice below. Traverse left until you can pull up. Shoot out a window and enter a library.

MAIN HALL KEY: Go through the library to a purple hallway. At the far end are the main hall doors, which are locked. On the right is a room with rolling blades. Skip these for now. Instead enter the door on the left. Cross the room and climb the ladder to a walkway above the MAIN HALL. Follow the walkway to retrieve the MAIN HALL KEY. Retrace your steps to the walkway around the perimeter of the room, then continue to the right and around the corner. Step down into a small room. Move to the doorway, then side flip to avoid a rolling boulder. Follow the ramp up to a "T." Step into the hallway, then immediately step back to avoid another boulder. Pick up the flares and head up and to the left.

POOL WITH STRONG CURRENT: When you come to the room with a pool, SAVE YOUR GAME, dive in and swim along the right wall, then the far wall, to avoid the strong current that sucks Lara down to the grate at the bottom. (Try not to swim too close to either the surface or the bottom. You may need to hold the Alt (swim) and Right keys to keep Lara swimming into the wall. If you get sucked down, restart.) Head for a small opening on the far wall where you can surface. From here, drop into a deep well. Follow the dark passageway, timing runs through the 3 clamping metal doors. Climb the ladder to emerge in a room where you'll meet 2 more thugs. The monk may kill one of them for you, but you'll probably have to finish the job.

When the coast is clear, take a small med-pack from one of the bodies, then jump up the tiered altar to get the first PRAYER WHEEL of five. When you take it, the burners will light. If you stand above and between any two of the burners, you can do two standing jumps to the bottom without catching fire. Return to the next room, where you entered, and find a pair of movable blocks. Pull the first out of the way. Pull the second out from the wall, then go around the side and pull it once more to reveal a passageway out. Follow the passageway to a ladder which leads up to the boulder-trapped area above the main hall where you were earlier. (You'll notice a thug lying dead near the walkway where you found the main hall key. If the monks AREN'T on your side, this guy will be alive and kicking.) Climb down the first ladder you came up, go into the purple hallway and head left. Unlock the main hall doors with the key you found and enter.

MAIN HALL/STRONG ROOM KEY: As you cross the main hall, 3 thugs enter behind you. The monks will take care of them. When they're dead, take small and large med-packs plus some auto pistol clips. Enter the first door on the right, which is a reading room. A hallway leads out the other side. Jump over the first of three swinging blades and enter the door on the left. Take the STRONG ROOM KEY and return to the reading room, then the MAIN HALL. (The room past the other two blades gives you a glimpse of the gemstones you'll need to get later, but is actually a dead-end.)

STRONG ROOM/ROOFTOPS KEY: Exit the main hall by the doors you came in and follow the hallway to the end. On the right is the library entrance. Turn left into a storage room. As you enter, one of Bartoli's thugs will shoot out the window and a monk will run past to engage him. Another thug will enter through the window as you approach. The monks may kill both of the bad guys, but you can assist if necessary. When they're dead, take some automatic pistol clips, a small med-pack and Uzi clips. (If you didn't get the UZIS earlier, you'll get them now instead of clips.) Also pick up the grenades on the balcony outside.

ROLLING BLADES/ROOFTOPS: Use your key to unlock the strongroom door. Inside is the ROOFTOPS KEY. Take this and head for the next room on the right--the one with the rolling blades. Time a run past them and use the key to unlock the door to the roof. Go up the stairs and to the right through the arch with the golden animals. At the end of this corridor is a switch to turn off the burners between this area and the next. The switch is on a timer but it's not particularly fast, so pull it, hurry to the burners, then do a series of standing jumps over them.

Make a left down into a courtyard with several golden trapdoors. As you enter 2 cult thugs will emerge behind you and start fighting with the monks. Finish them off if the monks fail, and take a small med-pack and some Uzi clips. Climb the ladder on the right side of the courtyard to retrieve some M-16 clips. Return to the courtyard and pull the switch to open two of the trapdoors. Drop into the room below, shoot out a window and take the 2 GEMSTONES. On the other side of this room is another switch, which opens the other trapdoor so you can climb out.

Now head up the steps and to the left to a room with a large golden door shaped like a star. There's a niche in the wall between two gold animal statues. Place one of the GEMSTONES in this niche to open the star door. Go behind the star and pull out the movable block to get the second PRAYER WHEEL.

STORAGE ROOM WITH MOVABLE CRATES: Return to the main hall, cross to the far right corner near the base of the huge Buddha, and go down the stairs. Enter the hallway on the right and go into the first door on the right. This is a storage room with several movable crates. Find the first movable crate on the left side of the stack. Go around the left side of it and pull it once. Go behind it on the left (where the barrels are) and push it next to the doorway. Go back to the stack and pull the second crate out to where the first was originally. Now, pull the first crate once to block the door. Pick up some automatic pistol clips from the floor. Climb on the crates and pull the top left one on top of the one you moved. Underneath are 2 bunches of harpoons--just what you need now that you're 500 miles from the nearest ocean. ;-)

EXERCISE YARD AND TOWER: Continue to the room beyond the storage room. Jump over the gold trapdoor--there's nothing down there--and continue to a "T" in the passage. Go right and continue to a stairway on the left. As you go up, 4 thugs with guns appear in the area below. If you've been good, you don't have to fight them alone. Shoot out the window and jump down into the exercise yard below. Use the switch there to open the door and let the monks in to fight the bad guys. Finish the job if necessary and grab the leftovers: small and large med-packs, plus some shotgun shells. Cross the exercise yard and climb a series of ladders to the top of the tower, where you'll find the third PRAYER WHEEL.

Return to the storage room, move the crate blocking the door so you can exit, and follow the hallway to the end. As you cross the room at the end of the hall, you'll hear gunfire behind you. The monks are fighting with 2 thugs. Assist if necessary, then take the bad guys' Uzi clips and grenades.

GAUNTLET OF TRAPS/TRAPDOOR KEY: Return to the end of the hall, then go left into a room with a series of traps: burners, swinging spiked balls and rolling blades. It looks awful, but you can take it in parts, saving between each. First, stand on one side of the opening or the other so you'll only have to deal with one of the spiked balls at a time. Approach the flame. It will go out, giving you a moment to time a run into the pit below the swinging spikes. Go underneath as far as you can, then turn around and pull up on the ledge. Stay close to the edge to avoid the swinging spikes. When the rolling blade passes moving left, jump to the burner, which will go out just long enough for you to do a careful run into the pit to avoid the next set of spikes. Continue underneath as far as you can then turn and pull up on the right. Now you're facing the second rolling blade and the doorway beyond.

Before going into the next room, take a little detour to grab a secret. Make a series of runs past the rolling blade into the passageway to the left. There are alcoves you can duck into to avoid the blade. At the end of the passageway on the left is a doorway. Beyond this are 2 sets of clamping doors, and beyond these, SECRET #1, the Jade Dragon. Return past the clamping doors and rolling blade to the room on the left. Take the TRAPDOOR KEY. Follow the hallway up and to the left, then slide down the slope, into a large pool.

LARGE POOL FULL OF WATER: Go for a swim. In the opposite corner there is a small underwater passageway hiding SECRET #2, the Silver Dragon. Climb out of the water, and find the exit back to the hallway. Turn right and proceed back to the main hall.

TRAPDOOR/PATH TO OUTBUILDING: On the far side of the big open area is a gold trapdoor. Use your key to open it and drop down. Follow the passage and climb out in a courtyard. Go to the right and follow the canyon to a large pillar. On the far side of it is an opening with a ladder. Climb up to the landing and go to the right until you come to a wooden bridge. A crow gets in your way on this side and a thug with a gun shoots from across the bridge. Kill them both, cross the bridge, take the thug's M-16 clips and continue on.

Two more crows attack when you reach a small building. Take care of them, then climb up the rocks on the right. Do a running jump to grab the stone ledge, then another running jump from there to grab the roof of the building. Drop down into the room below to get the fourth PRAYER WHEEL. Pull the switch to open the door. As you exit, you'll see a monk in combat with another thug. When the thug is dead, take his shotgun shells and return to the monastery the same way you came. You'll meet 2 more bad guys on the way, whom you'll probably need to kill yourself.

ON TOP OF THE BUDDHA: Back at the courtyard, use the switch to open the big doors back into the main hall. Two more of Bartolli's henchmen have invaded and are fighting the monks inside. Once they're out of the way, cross the hall and enter the second door on the right side (facing the statue). Climb the ladder and follow the hallway to an opening above the Buddha. Do a running jump to grab the statue's elbow. Pull up and climb onto the hand. From there, do a running jump to grab the head. Cross the head, then jump to the other hand and from there, do a standing jump to grab the alcove above. Place the second GEMSTONE in the niche to open a trapdoor in the room underneath the statue.

Jump back to the hand, drop down to the shoulder, drop and hang from the chest and finally drop into the Buddha's lap. Before going down to the floor, go around to the back of the statue where you'll find a small alcove concealing SECRET #3, the Gold Dragon (and 4 sets of M-16 clips if you've located all secrets).

DRAINING THE LARGE POOL: Go to the bottom front of the statue, enter the low-ceilinged room and drop through the trapdoor. Follow the passage to a room with pipes and bamboo-barred windows. Flip the switch near the bamboo pipes to open the door with the face on it. Enter the room beyond and push the movable block in front of the water to prevent the pool below from refilling. Return to the pipe room, then slide down the sluice backwards, hang and drop into the now-dry pool below. Find the movable block in the raised alcove and push it aside to reveal the fifth PRAYER WHEEL. Climb the ladder and return to the main hall.

Take your finds to the room to the left and behind the Buddha. Place the 5 PRAYER WHEELS where they belong to open the big doors. Enter and put the Seraph in place to open the secret entrance to the Catacombs.