Tomb Raider 3: Adventures of Lara Croft

Londen

LONDON PART 3: LUD'S GATE

• Kills: 19 Items: 53, plus a key, EMBALMING FLUID, the HARPOON GUN and 11 save/power-up crystals* Secrets: 6

*Numbers are approximate and depend on which route you take. Be sure to find all the secrets so you can access the bonus level at the end of the game. Note that the pick-ups in this level will include the ROCKET LAUNCHER and SHOTGUN if you didn't get them earlier.

Objectives: Sneak into the Natural History Museum and steal some embalming fluid for your immortal friends. This will grant you access to the second part of the level. Here you'll need to navigate a series of water-filled areas and locate a key to unlock a door to the final area--the building where Sophia Leigh has her office. This is where the last London level begins.

Walk-through: In case it wasn't obvious from the previous cut scene, the Damned are now your friends, so don't shoot at them.

THE LAIR OF THE DAMNED: Turn and follow the guy with the torch down the plank walkways to a room with several shallow pools. Exit through the doorway on the LEFT. (The right doorway will get you where you're going, but you'll miss a secret.)

(NOTE: Some people have had the the gang member who leads Lara to the exit attack her apparently without provocation. To avoid this, it may help to go around the outside edge of the shallow pools rather than following the man across the center bridge.)

INSIDE THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM: Slide down the ramp and quickly pull up into the opening on the right before the spiked ceiling descends and crushes Lara. Slide down into a small room. On the right you'll see a button. This opens the trapdoor ahead on the left. Don't go there yet. First, walk over to the left onto a white rock ledge. Go to the right end of the rocks and drop down to the small brick ledge. Safety drop down to a clear area in the barbed wire. Walk to the other end and climb into the crevice. Inside are a large med-pack and flares--SECRET #1. To get out, climb onto the ledge above where you got the med-pack, then up to the next ledge. Turn around and take a diagonal standing jump to grab the edge of the opening, pull up, and slide down to the white rocks where you started. Or, take a running jump from the ledge through the opening.

Go back into the little room. Press the button if you didn't earlier. This opens the trapdoor above. Climb up and scale the grating to just above the third silver strip. Back flip into the passage behind and pick up a large med-pack. (This is the way you would have come had you taken the right door initially.)

Jump back to the grate and climb up and over to the left side. Be careful not to drop into the barbed wire. Position Lara's hands on the grate just below the opening with the purplish-red light. Jump and twist in the air to grab the grate behind (Jump + Roll + Action). Climb up and crawl into the crack for SECRET #2--a rocket. (NOTE: If you have trouble making Lara climb into the opening, release Action and quickly press it again so she loses her foothold but grabs the ledge again. Then press Forward to pull up. If this doesn't work, try pressing Crouch + Forward while holding Action. Also note that if you don't already have the ROCKET LAUNCHER, you'll get it here instead of the rocket.)

Climb down the grate to just above the wooden slope and jump, twist and grab the black grate behind. Climb up farther until Lara's feet are just below the top of the green-lit area. Back flip into the opening with the save/power-up crystal and shotgun shells. (NOTE: if you don't already have the SHOTGUN, you'll get it here instead of the shells.) Slide down the slope and jump to grab the grate. Climb all the way to the top.

DUCTS ABOVE EGYPTIAN AREA: Go through the crawlspace to the end. You'll find more shotgun shells in an opening on the right, but don't go all the way through. There's a guard in the hall beyond. Instead, backtrack to the point where you can stand up. Climb into the duct, pick up a small med-pack and drop down into the next room. Kill the guard here. Use the button to open the door, and kill the second guard in the hallway.

EGYPTIAN AREA OFFICE & EXHIBIT: Pull/push the movable block onto the gray square. This will cause the tall pillar blocking the door to the next room to slide away. Go into the hall and to the right to enter this area. Get a small med-pack on a ledge in the back. Climb the stepped blocks to the doorway between the wooden ladders. Push the movable block there so it's in front of the door. This will move the tall pillar outside back in front of the outer door. Climb over the movable block and drop down on the other side.

Go out to the top step and turn left. Take a standing jump to grab the wooden slats on the ceiling. Traverse forward and left, then drop to grab the edge of the alcove with a save/power-up crystal. Pull up, get the crystal, then safety drop to the ground. Climb back up the blocks, jump to grab the wooden slats on the ceiling again and this time head for the alcove on the right. Drop, grab the ledge, pull up and crawl into the alcove. Use the switch to open a door high above. Then, climb out and drop down to the floor.

Climb up the movable pillar in front of the door. Pull up onto the ledge above and go through the crawl space. The ducts lead you back to the hallway. Move the block in the computer room again to slide the pillar back from the entrance. Go back to the EGYPTIAN AREA.

Climb onto the movable pillar. Grab the ledge above, pull up and jump (with Action) to the ledge on the right with the switch. Pull it to close the door of the movable block room creating a climbable ladder. Climb up this ladder and onto the ledge on the left. Turn around and take a standing jump (with Action) to the block ahead on the left and another standing jump-grab to the doorway. Go into the alcove on the left, which contains shotgun shells and flares. Then cross over to the opposite alcove and go around the corner to a slope.

Slide down and jump at the end to grab the ledge across the gap. (Or, if you have difficulty timing this jump, slide down backwards, grab the edge, pull up and do a jump-twist--Jump + Roll + Action--to catch the ledge behind.) Continue to another ramp. Slide down to land on the break-away tiles. Immediately jump forward and grab the ledge between the sarcophagi. Pull up and take the EMBALMING FLUID.

(NOTE: There's a shortcut you can take here. Turn around and jump to the remaining break-away tiles on the left. Fall through and hold Action to grab the lowest slope. Traverse to the left and drop to a flat spot with a rocket on it. Then fall down the hole into the water. Pick up the walk-through below at the **. If you go this way, however, you'll miss a lot of action and two secrets. And, your friends will never get their precious embalming fluid. If you want to, you can come back later for this rocket. See the tip below at the ***.)

Crawl through the duct, picking up some Uzi clips on the way, and back out into the hallway. Kill the guard around the corner and go back around the corner to the crawlspace. There's another guard on duty in the next room. Take care of him, then use the button to open the doors and get a rocket. Go around the stone blocks and drop down onto a ledge high above the SPHINX ROOM.

SPHINX ROOM: Take a standing jump to grab the ceiling grates. Traverse across to the other side to get a save/power-up crystal. Rather than traversing back across the grating, take a standing jump from the left side of the ledge to land on the head. Turn to face the back left of the sphinx. Line Lara up with the point sticking down from the ceiling and take a standing jump-grab to land on a square corner ledge with a small med-pack. (You can't see the ledge from above.) Take a standing jump from the ledge to the tall, square pillar. Turn left and take a running jump to grab the back of the white angled ledge. Pull up, slide down the other side and jump to the long ledge beyond. Go to the other end of the ledge for SECRET #3--a save/power-up crystal and 2 rockets.

(NOTE: There is another rocket on a ledge on the front of the sphinx. This will be the ROCKET LAUNCHER if you don't have it already. You can get to it by dropping down from the top. To get down to the ground, stand at the edge of the ledge and back flip onto the sloping head of the sphinx. Slide and grab to work your way down to the bottom. However, once you climb down, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO GET SECRET #3.)

Go to the middle of the ledge and take a running jump to the sphinx's shoulder. Slide/drop to the ground. Go around to the other side of the sphinx. A guard opens fire from the stairwell, so take him out and grab his small med-pack. Then go to the alcove at the back right of the sphinx for some shotgun shells. When you return to the stairs, another guard comes in from the front of the room. Get him out of the way, then go to the top of the steps.

(NOTE: Sometimes the second guard does not show up. Apparently climbing onto the right paw of the sphinx and sliding down the front of it to the floor, then going back up the aisle toward the stairs will trigger his appearance.)

Climb onto the ledge above. Turn around and jump to grab the blue opening. Pull up and get a rocket and large med-pack--SECRET #4. Drop down and climb up to the ledge again. Pull the movable block on the left. Drop back and grab the ledge. Traverse to the left and use the block and the grating above as a ladder to climb up to the alcove on the right. Climb into the passageway above and drop down on the other side of the movable block. Push it again once. Then pull a second movable block twice. Climb back up the first block and grating to the alcove on the right. Again, go through the passage above. Now you can drop down behind the second block and emerge BACK IN THE LAIR OF THE DAMNED.

Go up the hall on the right, to the room where the level began, and place the embalming fluid in the carved alcove with the blue lights above it. This opens a door at the end of the short hallway to the right of the train bench "sofa." Go in and fall through the trapdoor into a pool. Now test out your new ride: the underwater propulsion vehicle (UPV).

EXPERT'S CHALLENGE/FUN BUG: It's possible to use the UPV to fly around the level.

(*** NOTE: If you want to get an extra rocket, before going down through the trapdoor, return up the ladder to the EGYPTIAN AREA, as you did at the beginning of the level. Climb up through the exhibit hall to the ledge opposite where you picked up the embalming fluid. Turn around, slide backwards down the slope and grab the edge. Let go, and grab the bottom of the next slope below. Traverse to the right and you'll see the rocket below. Let go to slide down the metal slope and land near the rocket. Pick it up and drop into the shaft. Lara will land in water. Swim down and allow the current to carry Lara to a spot where she can surface near a ledge with some harpoons on it. Pick up the walk-through below at the **. Note that you'll miss the area with the crocodiles described below.)

UNDERWATER AREAS: Drive the UPV into the big cavern, harpoon the crocodile (Action is the fire key on the UPV as well), and head for the opening on the right (with the wooden crate top) to get some air.

(NOTE: I found it easier to kill the croc with the hand-held harpoon gun. If you don't already have this weapon, you'll have to make do with the one on the UPV. Either way, make sure to drive the UPV out into the open area, as the current will prevent you from going back into the tunnel for it.)

Scour the area for goodies, but be careful; another crocodile comes out when you pick up the harpoons on the square cement block. Other items here are: a small med-pack on the bottom near the cement block; a save/power-up crystal and 2 bunches of harpoons in the room opposite the one with the air space; a large med-pack and 2 more bunches of harpoons in the next room; and Uzi clips in the room next to the air room. The large brick opening leads to the next area, where you can surface.

(IMPORTANT NOTE: DON'T SAVE YOUR GAME FROM THIS POINT UNTIL AFTER YOU FINISH THE NEXT AREA AND GET ALL THE SECRETS!!! Some people have experienced a bug in which an invisible wall appears blocking the entrance to the sixth secret. Saving here seems to be what causes it.)

(**) Climb onto the ledge, pick up 2 bundles of harpoons. Jump into the water on the other side. Swim along the brick passage to a room with a glass ceiling where you can surface for air. (You can also see another UPV in an adjacent room.) Pull the underwater lever to open the nearby trapdoor. Swim through it, climb out of the water and press the button to open the door in the underwater passage to the left. (You passed it on your way in.)

(NOTE: Be sure not to accidentally fire weapons here, or you'll attract unwanted attention from the guard on the other side of the window and miss getting one of the secrets.)

AREA WITH GUARD AND FROGMAN: The next bit is rather complicated, but it will enable you to get one of the more difficult secrets in the game. Ostensibly the object is to kill the frogman before he can get away and close the door to the underwater room with the UPV. The catch is that you can't shoot him on land. The frogman on top of the crates is just set dressing. He can't react to Lara, and she simply won't target him. You do want to avoid attracting the attention of the guard, though. This is actually what sounds the alarm and closes off the secret. Here's one strategy. The diagram luds.gif shows the path you'll take. It's quite rough and not at all to scale, but it will help clarify the text directions. (Very special thanks to Sugarmama and Jeff Reid for their help on this section.)

Swim through the door you just opened into the area with the guard and the frogman. Swim forward and to the right until you come to two small underwater openings. You can surface in the corner near them and not be seen by the guard above. Go down into the left opening for SECRET #5--Desert Eagle clips. Then go into the right opening, get a small med-pack and pull the lever to open a concealed trapdoor nearby.

Swim UNDERWATER back toward the tunnel where you came in and continue past it down a small channel. Surface and climb out on the ledge to the right. Climb up and CRAWL forward to a hole. Back up to it and drop into the water below. (This is the trapdoor you just opened.) Get the save/power-up crystal, climb out on the other side and CRAWL around to the white rocks on the far left (opposite secret #5 and the room with the lever).

Once you're behind the rocks, you can stand. Go to the back right corner, jump up the small slope and pull up into the doorway. There's another guard lurking inside. Don't bother with him yet. Instead, run down the dark hallway and jump from the left side of the opening at the end to land on the metal ledge behind where the frogman is standing. He'll jump into the water and start shooting harpoons at Lara. Kill him before he swims away.

Now kill the first guard and jump into the water where you killed the frogman to claim SECRET #6--4 bunches of harpoons, a large med-pack, a save/power-up crystal and the second UPV. (NOTE: Make sure you get everything in the secret room before going on. If you leave this area then come back, the invisible wall bug may be activated.)

Now you can take your time scouring the area for goodies. In all, you'll find: the BOILER ROOM KEY, which the first guard will have dropped; the HARPOON GUN and 2 bunches of harpoons (3 bunches if you already have the HARPOON GUN) behind the crates near the window and silver door; 3 more bunches of harpoons--one where the frogman was standing, one on the white rocks just behind that, and one on the big ledge above the red flashing light; a large med-pack in the pit behind the crates opposite where the frogman was; a small med-pack in a hole to the left of where you entered the dark room (you have to crawl then drop into it); flares and a save/power-up crystal in the dark room with the guard. (After climbing in from the rocks below, look up in the right corner and you'll see a crawlspace. The items are inside.) You can also kill the other guard here now.

When you've collected everything, drive the UPV down the long, diamond-shaped tunnel near where you killed the frogman. (NOTE: If you missed Secret #6 and don't want to bother trying again, continue to the next area where you'll find another UPV in the upper left alcove on the right wall.). Another diver lies in wait, and there's a crocodile in the large, open area beyond. You may want to kill the diver then return to the previous area for air before taking on the croc.

LARGE UNDERWATER ROOM WITH DIAMOND-SHAPED OPENINGS: This area is illustrated in the diagram ludsgate.gif. (The wall where you enter is labeled "Near," and the others "Left," "Right" and "Far" relative to that.) There's an air pocket in the top left opening on the right wall. First, pick up a few things: a large med-pack in the lower right opening on the same wall as the air space and a save/power-up crystal in the opening next to the entrance.

Now comes a series of underwater levers and doors. Needless to say, you'll need to go back for air between each action. I found that the UPV is very difficult to maneuver in the tight spaces inside some of the side rooms. It may help to park it outside, do the lever business, then return to it to speed back to the air hole. Here's the sequence: Swim into the opening to the left of the entrance (when facing it). Around the corner to the right is a lever. Pull it to open a door in the yellow area (just above the entrance). Swim in there to get a small med-pack and pull another lever. This opens the door in the red area (left wall, top right). Swim in there, picking up a save/power-up crystal on the way, and pull the lever to open a door in the blue area (far wall, upper right, next to air opening). This also lets in 2 more scuba divers. Here, I recommend either rushing back to the air hole, then using your hand harpoon gun to take them out, or simply avoiding them and heading for the exit.

BOILER ROOM: Ride the UPV into the blue opening and up a long, vertical passage to surface near the BOILER ROOM. Climb over the ledge and jump into the water below the burners. Here you'll find some harpoons and a lever. Pull the lever to turn off the flames. Jump from the ledge, across the burners, stopping near the second burner to pick up a large med-pack and Uzi clips. Then jump to the doorway.

Follow the duct around the corner to the pistons (?). Watch the shadows on the floor, and you should be able to run past them one at a time without a hitch. Climb up to the ledge, then take a running jump to grab the grate on the ceiling. Traverse all the way across to the rolled steel duct. Drop down in the area next to the pool and pick up Desert Eagle clips and flares. Climb up to the duct, grab the ceiling grate again and traverse to the wall near the waterfall. Drop to grab the small opening, pull up and crawl through. Use the boiler room key here to open the door. Get the save/power-up crystal and press the button to open a door back down in the underwater area.

BACK THROUGH THE LARGE UNDERWATER ROOM WITH DIAMOND-SHAPED OPENINGS: Climb out, drop into the water and drive the UPV back down to the bottom. There's another crocodile waiting down there, but you can hurry past it much more easily than you could kill it. Also, your previous air pocket is now gone, so you don't want to waste any time. Drive directly across from the blue opening into the purple one. Head to the left through the door you just opened, and continue up a long, vertical passage until you can surface.

MACHINE ROOM & LONG SHAFT: Climb out of the water on the ledge with the large med-pack. Then cross back to the other ledge. Walk to the edge facing the left side of the platform with the swinging steel gizmo. Take two steps back then do a standing jump to grab the platform. Shimmy to the left (against the wall) and pull up. Walk across the platform to the other edge. (Or, if you're having trouble walking past the machines without taking damage, stand near the wall and roll.) Take another standing jump to grab the next platform. Again, pull up next to the wall where it's safe. Walk to the far edge and take another standing jump to grab the last platform. Jump from there to the doorway.

Follow the passage around the corner and kill the guard. Now backtrack to an opening in the ceiling near the machine room. Climb up and follow the duct to an opening above the very deep, very wide shaft. Take a running jump to grab the small, rectangular opening across the way. Drop and grab the opening below. Crawl through the duct to a brick ledge above the open shaft. Again, take a running jump to grab the opening opposite. Crawl through the ducts to the end of the level.

A cut scene ensues: Lara confronts Sophia Leigh in her office. Sophia is unwilling to part with her artifact and flees. Lara, naturally, won't take "No" for an answer.