Tomb Raider 2

Venice

LEVEL 3: BARTOLI'S HIDEOUT

• Kills: 37
• Items: 18 (22)* plus Uzis, 2 keys
• secrets: 3

(*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 Automatic Pistols if you didn't get them in the previous level.)

You start this level in your boat on the other side of the doors you just squeaked through. Proceed straight ahead and the gate raises automatically. Dock your boat near the big doors on the right and get out, killing 2 rats. (And now your boating days are over...sigh.)

Take the stairs up to the left. A thug with a club and 2 more rats greet you. When you've killed all three, take the thug's large med-pack. Enter the building and continue up, killing 2 more rats on the way. Flip a switch here which opens the big doors. Another bad guy with a club comes out, so go around to meet him. When he's dead, be sure and take his small med-pack before going in.

THE VILLA: As you enter, two gun-toting thugs greet you--one is on the balcony above, the other behind the pillars. Take the shotgun shells from the one at ground level. You'll have a chance to search the other in a few minutes. For now, go to the windows on the left side of the room. Shoot them out and kill the 2 dobermans who rush you from inside. On the floor in this room is a small med-pack, flares and auto pistol clips (or, if you didn't get them in the previous level, the AUTOMATIC PISTOLS).

Return to the main room and turn left. Several mechanical guards with hacking swords block your way. Make your way carefully past them to the end of the passageway. Flip the switch here that opens some doors outside. Now, return to the main room.

Find the largest of the wooden ramps and use it to get up to the level above: Stand Lara, with her back to the ramp, one square (about three walking steps) in front of it. Then back flip onto the ramp, jump and grab the ledge ahead. Or, climb up the back of the ramp and jump and grab the ledge as you slide down the front. Find the movable block with the flowers on it and push it up against the railing (2 pushes). Stand next to the block and take a running jump to the balcony with the sniper you killed earlier. (Or, even easier, on the ground level, jump up to grab the rough wall in the left corner beyond the main entrance. Climb up and over to the left to get on the balcony.) Relieve the sniper of some auto pistol clips.

Use the climbable wall to cross to the decrepit looking window sill. Ready weapons and go out onto the balcony. A sniper is firing at you from the balcony to the right. Kill him.

THE BACK DOOR: Turn and go to the end of the balcony with no railing. Run, jump and grab the red awning. Hang and traverse left. Pull up and back flip onto the balcony behind you. Run, jump and grab the small wooden platform, pull up, then jump to the small red awning. Turn and jump into the doorway below, using the Action key to shorten the jump so Lara sails right into the opening. Two dobermans rush down the stairs, so ready weapons and take care of them.

Continue up the stairs. A bad guy with a gun comes out of the room at the top of the stairs on the right. When he's dead, go into this room and find the well hidden switch on the wall next to the entrance. Pull it to open the door at the top of the stairs. This leads to the outside balcony from which the sniper was shooting at you earlier. Take his shotgun shells and SECRET #1, the Silver Dragon.

Return to the room with the switch and the yellow wallpaper. A guard with a gun is patrolling the balcony outside the window. Shoot out the window and take care of him. Take 2 sets of Uzi clips off him, then follow the balcony to another window. Shoot the window, then enter. Two thugs with clubs and a dog emerge when you hit the floor. Kill them.

Inside the fireplace is a movable block. Push it twice then climb into the passageway above, killing the rat. Follow the passage to a slope with blades at the top and bottom, and a fire trap and pool of water below. Jump over the two blades to land safely at the bottom. The flames are on a timer. When you step on the wooden area they go out but relight after a little bit. You can clear them using a series of standing jumps beginning at the seam where the corner square meets the wooden square. If Lara catches fire, reload the game or drop into the water and try again.

THE BALLROOM: Once you've cleared the fire trap continue to a door, which opens automatically. In the ballroom below is a guy with a gun and 2 more dobermans. You can kill them from the doorway if you like. Enter the ballroom and climb up on the first angled block. From the higher edge jump straight up and grab the chandelier above. Pull up. Run, jump and grab the middle chandelier and pull up. Do the same again to reach the third chandelier. Walk to the edge, jump straight up to grab the platform above, and pull up. Kill 2 rats before heading to the right around the pillar to the brick-floored area. From here, drop down and throw a switch which opens a secret alcove on the opposite side of the room.

Do a running jump back to the middle chandelier and climb back up to the platform where you killed the rats. Go back around to the right, to the brick area. Walk to the edge and pull up onto the big rafter. Run and jump to the wood area on the other side. A thug with a club jumps out from behind the low brick wall, so be ready for him. Take the small med-pack he's carrying. Climb onto the wall, then jump over to the other rafter. Pull the switch here to change the height of the chandeliers. Return over the bricks to the wooden floor, then drop down to the first chandelier, which is now the highest.

Take a standing jump to the middle chandelier and another to the third chandelier. Turn and take a running jump to the alcove you opened earlier, grabbing the edge and pulling up. Grab the LIBRARY KEY then return to the third chandelier, then the middle one.

(**) Once on the middle chandelier, turn to face the wall with the fireplace and the alcove where you got the key. Angle Lara a little to the left and take a running jump to the windowsill. Pull the switch to open a trapdoor behind the fireplace. Shoot out the window and walk out onto the sill. At the right end is an opening in the back of the chimney. Drop down through this to land in a pool below. (NOTE: You can also drop down to the floor from the secret alcove, run to the back of the fireplace, and drop into the water below to put out the flames, but this can be tricky.)

UNDERWATER NEAR LIBRARY ENTRANCE: When you surface, the books on the landing here show you've found the library. But before entering, you'll need to do a little exploring. Pull the underwater lever to open a door into the next room. Go into this area and surface facing the chain link fence. Take a deep breath, then head down and to the left. Go right and continue underwater, navigating around columns and through narrow passageways. Pick up 2 pairs of grenades and SECRET #2, the Gold Dragon. On the wall near the Gold Dragon is a lever that opens a trapdoor above. Pull it and surface for air. (Perhaps this is stating the obvious, but if you're running out of air, you can pull the lever first, get air, then pick up the goodies.) Return to the library entrance the way you came.

(NOTE: You can also get the Gold Dragon and grenades by jumping out any of the library windows into the canal below, then swimming into the flooded area through a window. However, you can't get from the secret are to the library door unless the small door is opened from the other side. So, you'll need to return to the ballroom--either via the trapdoor above where you got the gold dragon, or by climbing the ladder on the outside wall of the building. Once back in the ballroom, climb the chandeliers and use the switch to open the trapdoor behind the fireplace, as described above at the **.)

THE LIBRARY: Unlock the library door then enter with guns drawn. A thug with a club comes out of the room opposite, so take him out, then take the small med-pack he's carrying. Go into the room he came out of, climb the bookshelves on the left. Kill 2 rats lurking on top of the other shelf. Jump across, climb onto the shelf and flip the switch which opens one of the doors in the main room. A bad guy with a gun comes out, so go down to meet him.

When he's dead, head into the room where he came out. Climb up the shelves to the right of the door, turn and jump to the top of the shelves opposite, then climb up to the topmost shelf. Jump diagonally to the window, shoot out the pane and walk out onto the sill. Turn and slide backward down the awning, grabbing the edge. Pull up and back flip onto the balcony behind you. (Or, slide down the awning frontward and jump to the balcony.) Do a running jump to the tiled roof below the awning, then jump over onto the brick wall. You can see the boathouse across the canal.

THE BOATHOUSE: Walk along the brick wall to the right end, where there's a slight ramp. Stand at the highest point and run, jump and grab the boathouse roof. Pull up and go to the back of the roof. On the left side you'll see another brick wall with an opening behind it. Jump diagonally to the top of this wall, using the Action key to alter the arc of the jump so you land on the wall. Drop down behind the wall into knee-deep water. On the floor are the UZIS.

Climb out of this room and drop to the walkway below. Go around to the door, take out the guard with the gun and take his automatic pistol clips and the DETONATOR KEY from the table inside.

Cross the canal to the garden door, which opens automatically. A thug with a gun awaits you, so take him out and grab his large med-pack. Return to the main room and pull the switch here, which opens the remaining door. There are 2 thugs with guns in the garden outside. When you enter the room, you can see them through the window. Kill them and take their shotgun shells and Uzi clips.

THE ABANDONED BUILDING: In the garden where these two came from is a door that opens automatically when you approach. Go out to the canal and swim over to the far left corner, where you'll find a spot you can climb out. Kill the rat, then climb up onto the brick ledge. Pass by the detonator for now and climb onto the garden wall. Follow it to the end, climb up to the roof, shoot out one of the windows and enter the room beyond to take SECRET #3, the Jade Dragon (and 4 boxes of shotgun shells if you've found all three secrets).

(NOTE: If you don't mind missing one kill and a medium-sized explosion, you can now take a shortcut to the end of the level. Exit through the window where you came in, turn right and walk across the roof. At the corner, pull up onto the brick walkway. Follow the brick path around to the back right corner of the roof. Drop down, then slide down the ramp to end the level.)

THE DETONATOR: Return to the detonator and use the key to set off an explosion in the building where you just found the dragon. A sniper begins firing on you from the balcony above, so take care of him before proceeding. (You can get a clear shot from the garden wall, but keep moving since you'll be vulnerable as well.)

Go to the ruined building and climb to the top. (Don't bother crossing over to the sniper since he's not carrying any goodies.) From the top of the ruins drop down into the brick passageway. Slide down into the next level.