Tomb Raider 8: Underworld

LEVEL 4: SOUTHERN MEXICO - PART 2: XIBALBA

After taking a look at the FIRST MAYAN CALENDAR PUZZLE in the previous chapter, hop over the low wall and get back on the motorbike. Follow the road up the hill, through the narrow pass, across the wooden bridge above the pit, and back to the room with the pressure pad. Now the door on the other side is closed. Drive over the pad to activate the door mechanism. Wait for the door to open and drive through.

Continue along the road. When you come to the BALL COURT, drive straight across and out the other side, the way you came. Follow the dirt road back up the hill. At the crest, the road forks. Go to the right. (The left fork leads back to the start of the level.)

ROAD TO THE SECOND MAYAN CALENDAR:

From here on, the road snakes around quite a bit, but there are no more splits. So just keep going. Pass beneath some narrow, wooden beams crisscrossing the canyon rim above.

NOTE: The less common of the two possible bugs in this area may occur here. Just beyond the crossed wooden beams there is a slight bend to the right. Here Lara may freeze in mid air, letting the motorcycle drive on without her until it crashes into the wall. If this happens, you must quit and restart the game in order to regain control. See the footnote below for solutions.

Just beyond the crossed timbers there is a CHECKPOINT followed by some squat, manmade columns on the right side of the road. Depending on your proficiency with the motorcycle, you may want to park here and go ahead on foot. There are 3 poachers with guns on the road just ahead. You can gun them down or run them over with the bike. Or dismount and confront them on foot if you feel more comfortable.

Once you've taken care of them, continue forward by motorcycle. Drive through the narrow, dark tunnel and over the pressure pad beyond. Doing so opens the door ahead, though you'll have to wait a minute for the mechanism to work before you can drive through. Continue through another dark tunnel.

When you emerge on the other side, you'll pass several square columns and through a rectangular, manmade archway. A little farther along the road, there are two light-colored stone ramps, one on each side of the road. Just beyond them, you'll encounter another poacher fighting a panther.

Again, you can shoot them with the gun mounted on the motorcycle or run them over if you like. It's a little hard to maneuver between the narrow canyon walls. So driving the bike up the ramp on the right and crashing down onto the enemies from can be effective as well as satisfying. Or, if you prefer, dismount and fight them head-on. In this case, you may want to run up one of the small ramps for a better, and safer, vantage point.

Just ahead the road comes to a dead end. So you'll need to leave the bike behind for now.

To reach the calendar, you must climb to the high ledge on the right. There are two ways to do this. The quickest is via the square column at the corner where the right wall meets the wall ahead. Here you'll find a short ramp. Position Lara with her back to the corner column and jump onto the ramp. Before she can slide too far, jump forward to grab the lowest handhold on the column. (Or, if this is problematic, climb up onto the flat ledge at the top of the ramp, slide and jump to grab the square column.)

Then climb around to the left side of the square column and jump up to grab the top edge. Pull up and turn right. Then jump over to the small ledge jutting out from the wall ahead. From there, jump forward to the next ledge. Turn left and step forward into the flat, open area near the calendar.

Alternately, you can climb up from the ground using the climbable wall made of many small, square blocks. There's a low, rectangular ledge on the left side of this wall. Vault up onto it and grab onto one of the protruding stone handholds. The broken wall on the left prevents you from climbing directly to the left, which is where you're ultimately headed. So climb upward as far as you can. Then climb to the left along the handhold above the broken wall. Drop down twice and then climb to the left, then diagonally upward and to the left, beneath the next broken section wall. Continue to the top, where you can then step forward into the flat, open area near the calendar.

SECOND MAYAN CALENDAR PUZZLE:

Go through the break in the low stone wall in front of the calendar. On the other side, head for the left wall, where you'll find a puzzle panel. Press Interact to examine it. The puzzle is made up of three movable tumblers with pictures on each of their faces. The top tumbler shows plants growing in a field. The middle tumbler shows people harvesting the plants. The bottom tumbler shows people planting seeds. The goal is to arrange the tumblers in chronological order—planting, then growth, then harvest—as shown in the carvings on the wall beside each tumbler.

Point the remote at the tumbler you want to turn. Press and hold (A) and then move the remote to spin the tumbler to the left or right. One possible solution is to first turn the bottom tumbler once to the left. Doing this also turns the middle tumbler, moving it into the correct position, confirmed by the gold clamps on each side moving into position. Then turn the top tumbler once to the right. This moves both the top and bottom tumblers, arranging them correctly and solving the puzzle.

The puzzle panel slides upward, revealing a hidden compartment. Take the JAGUAR HEAD artifact, which Lara somehow manages to squeeze into her tiny backpack.

Go to the small pedestal to the left of the puzzle panel and pick up a second artifact, the STONE HEADDRESS.

Now you have what you need to solve the calendar puzzle. Stand near the small, dark hole in the outer ring of the calendar dial and press Interact to place the STONE HEADDRESS, causing a handle to rise up from the dial. Now move to the headless, carved jaguar at the center of the dial and press Interact to place the JAGUAR HEAD on top of the crank where it belongs. With both artifacts in place, the dials will move freely.

NOTE: Here you may encounter the more common of the two potential bugs mentioned above, in which the second calendar is unusable. This can manifest with a random, yellow rectangle floating above the jaguar handle and/or a black void at the center of the dial. See the footnote below for solutions.

Notice how the calendar is constructed of three concentric wheels. The large, outer wheel is controlled by the handle with the STONE HEADDRESS on top. The crank with the JAGUAR HEAD moves the inner and middle wheels simultaneously. Each wheel has a symbol made of raised gold and obsidian on one segment. The goal is to turn the wheels in order to align all three obsidian symbols with the small, golden symbol near center of the dial.

First, grab the jaguar handle and walk around in a circle to turn it so the obsidian symbol on the middle wheel lines up with the small, golden symbol near the center of the dial. (The inner wheel will also move, but this doesn't matter.) There's an audible "chunk" when the symbol is positioned correctly.

Next, grab the handle with the STONE HEADDRESS and step to the left to turn the outer wheel. This separates the wheels so you'll be able to turn the inner wheel independently. It also moves the symbol on the outer wheel away from its correct position but only temporarily.

Go back to the crank with the JAGUAR HEAD and turn it to rotate the inner wheel so the obsidian symbol lines up with the one on the middle wheel—and with the small, golden symbol near center of the dial. Again, the mechanism clicks when you align the symbols correctly. Finally, return to the handle with the STONE HEADDRESS and move it back to the right to align the obsidian symbol on the outer wheel with the other symbols and lock the wheels in place.

When the puzzle is solved in this way, a cut scene sequence shows a series of huge blocks rearranging themselves back at the BALL COURT.

THE ROAD TO THE RUINED TEMPLE:

Return through the gap in the low wall to the edge overlooking the road below. Hang from the outer edge of the ledge where you climbed up and use the handholds on the wall to drop down to the ground.

Get back on the motorbike and follow the road back up the hill, past the square columns, through the narrow, manmade tunnel and into the room with the pressure pad. Drive over the pad to open the door. Drive through the second manmade tunnel beyond and continue along the road. Pass beneath the crisscrossing wooden beams.

Just ahead, you'll come to the fork in the road. Bear right here. (The left path leads back to the BALL COURT.)

Continue along the road, through several twists and turns and beneath several natural stone archways, until you emerge from the tunnel with the little ramp below. There's a dead end on the left, so head to the right, down the road past the white boulder embedded in the ground. At the bottom of the hill, where the road splits, head to the right. (The start of the level is up the hill on the left.)

After this, the road meanders a bit but it doesn't fork or branch at all. So just keep going. You'll pass a bowl-like depression on the right side of the road. A little farther along, it's possible to drive along the stone ledge above on the right or the dirt track below on the left. It doesn't matter which way you go, since both paths converge a little farther on. Keep going forward, down a short wooden ramp and through a shallow puddle. Beyond the puddle, there's a fallen tree across the road. You'll have to stop here, get off the bike and continue on foot.

ENTERING THE RUINS:

Vault over the fallen tree. Grab the right side of the horizontal log holding the door shut and slide it to the right. The door then falls forward out of its frame. Go through and continue to the larger wooden doors ahead. Press Interact to push them open.

A cut scene shows a pair of poachers in the low area ahead. They've obviously noticed the doors opening.

The first poacher, standing on a low platform on the left, is a fairly easy target. Take him out quickly from the top of the stairs. The second man roams around below, but if you move out onto the rounded ledge with the turnstile-type lever, you should be able to target him with pistols without Lara taking too much damage.

When the coast is clear, use the turnstile lever to close the wooden doors where you came in and also open a stone door ahead on the left. Go down the stairs and forward to the far right corner of the low area where the poachers were. Here you'll find a treasure (1/10) tucked into a small niche but easily visible.

Now go up the stairs and into the alcove on the left, which you just opened. Use the switch to open the main doors to the ruins. (Press Interact and then raise the remote and nunchuk, with the ends pointing together, and pull down as you would a real switch.) Exit the alcove and turn left.

When you enter the inner courtyard, a panther charges from ahead on the left. If you get a lock on it quickly and back up shooting, you shouldn't have any trouble killing it with pistols before it reaches Lara. Now you can explore without worrying about further attacks.

CLIMBING INTO THE TEMPLE:

There are lots of tasty niches here but unfortunately nothing to find. Go up the low steps onto the terrace with the square columns. Stand between the first two columns on the left, one of which is shorter than the other. The taller one has a horizontal crevice running around it at about the level of the top of the shorter column. Chimney jump between these two columns to reach the handhold on the taller one.

(There is also a wooden pole leaning against the first column on the right at the top of the stairs. If you plug this pole into the dark crack on the front of the first column on the left, you can then grab the pole, hang facing the column and jump up to perch on top of the pole. Then jump forward to grab the nearest handhold on the column. Then climb around to the left and proceed as written below. This isn't necessary, however, if you chimney jump up the columns, as described previously.)

Jump up to grab the next handhold above. Climb to the left and then jump to the left to grab onto the next square column. Climb to the left side of the column and then jump to the left again to grab one of the small, protruding handholds on the wall of the building.

Climb along the wall to the right. Continue climbing and jumping from handhold to handhold until there are no more nubby stone handholds to grab onto. At this point, you'll see a horizontal beam behind Lara. Jump back to land on it. Walk along the beam to the right. As you go, the camera shifts to follow behind Lara. At the end of the beam, turn right and jump to grab a handhold on the next square column. Climb around the corner to the left and pull up onto the short beam jutting out from the column. Step to the end of it and jump to the short beam ahead on the left.

Jump from here to the top of the square column ahead (i.e., the one with the longer beam connecting it and the wall of the building). Walk along the beam toward the wall and jump up to grab the horizontal strip of light-colored stone above. Climb to the right and then jump up to grab the handhold above. Climb to the right and jump to grab the horizontal pole. Climb hand over hand along the pole. Then turn to face the wide ledge paved with white stones. Swing around the pole and jump over to this ledge. Go through the doorway on the left.

INSIDE THE RUINS:

Follow the dirt-floored tunnel. Slide down the slope into the shallow excavation pit. Go to the right and climb up into the low opening and go forward into a room with several broken square columns and a hole in the ceiling.

Climb onto the square block in the middle. Jump to grab the crevice between the stacked blocks on the left. Climb around the corner to the left and jump up to grab the next higher crevice. Jump back to grab the ledge behind. Pull up, turn left and climb the handholds on the wall ahead.

When you reach the highest handhold, climb along it to the left. Jump past the hole in the wall and continue to the left. When your reach the corner, drop down onto the ledge below. Turn around and vault up onto the ledge ahead. Turn left and step out onto the lichen-covered block overlooking the center of the room. Jump onto the narrow beam and cross over to the ledge on the opposite side of the room. Go through the opening on the right.

Approach the circular puzzle panel on the wall ahead and press Interact to examine it. The on-screen instructions explain how to manipulate the puzzle. Point the remote at the center of the disk and press (A) to turn the disk clockwise or (B) to turn it counterclockwise. To move one of the animal tiles into one of the niches on the disk, point the remote at it and press (A).

The goal is to rearrange the four tiles so they match the pictures on the wall behind them. At the start, yellow tile is on the left, red at the top, white on the right and black at the bottom. Rearrange them so the black tile is on the left, white at the top, red on the right and yellow at the bottom. There's no special trick to this. Just move any tile into one of the niches on the dial. Rotate the dial so the empty niche points toward the tile that belongs in the spot you just cleared. Then move that tile into the niche. Rotate the dial back so you can slide the tile you just moved into the spot where it belongs. Then repeat the process for the remaining tiles. When all four tiles are positioned correctly, the panel with the puzzle on it slides open, revealing a doorway.

Go through to a small room with a square hole in the floor. Drop down into the room below. Hurray! The flashlight finally works! Drop down off the ledge and head for the doorway, where you can see light coming in from the next room.

OPENING THE WAY TO THE LOWER LEVEL:

As you enter the next room, the camera shifts to show a large, square panel on the floor, a tall stack of square blocks, and a golden ring mounted on the wall above. When you regain control of Lara, go through this room to the alcove in the far left corner (i.e., to the left of the carved stone doors). Grab the handhold on the right side of the alcove and climb to the ledge above the doors. Cross this ledge and jump to grab the slightly higher ledge ahead. Pull up, move to the other end of the ledge and turn to face out over the room.

Grapple the golden ring on the opposite wall. Then walk to the right, so the cable snags on the carved stone block perched on top of the stack of blocks between Lara and the ring. Press (X) to yank on the cable, nudging the square block off the stack so it crashes through the floor, opening a gaping hole into the room below.

CLIMBING DOWN TO GET THE JAGUAR HEAD:

Jump back down onto the ledge above the door and drop from there to the floor. Then approach the hole in the floor. Position Lara at one of the straight edges on either side of the stack of square blocks and step off to grab the edge. Traverse inward toward the stacked blocks so Lara is hanging above the narrow, gray ledge below. Drop to grab it. Then traverse toward the alcove on either side. When Lara reaches the end of the angled part of the handhold, drop down to the handhold below. Then traverse a little farther so she's hanging above the floor of the alcove. Drop down.

Hang from the edge of the alcove. Drop to grab the handhold below. Climb around the corner into the center alcove with the lit torches and drop down.

Approach the puzzle panel in the center of the alcove and press Interact to use it. The puzzle has four painted panels. From top to bottom: a tree trunk, two human figures, two human figures and the roots of a tree. The goal is to rotate the panels to form a complete picture, from top to bottom: treetop, tree trunk, two figures, tree roots. The second panel from the bottom is already in the correct position, as indicated by the two gold dots beside it. The controls are the same as for the previous tumbler puzzle (remote + A).

Here's one way to solve the puzzle: Rotate the second panel from the top once to the right. Now the second panel is in the correct position, but the third panel has also moved so it displays the tree root, which is incorrect. Turn the bottom panel once to the left so it shows the treetop. Turn the third panel from the top once to the right. This moves both the third and fourth (bottom) panels into the correct positions. Now turn the top panel once to the right to show the treetop.

With all four panels in the correct positions, the picture lights up, and the panel slides back. Take the JAGUAR HEAD artifact from the compartment.

LEAVING THE TEMPLE:

The carved stone door on the other side of the room starts to open, but the bars in the opening below prevent it from dropping all the way. Press (Z) to target the bars and then shoot to break them, enabling the door above to open fully. Jump from this ledge to the square block in the middle of the room. Then jump from there to grab the edge of the stairs. Pull up and go through the door you just opened.

Follow the hallway to a room with a turnstile lever. Grab either handle and walk around in a circle to crank open the doors ahead. You only need to raise them far enough to roll through so you can proceed to the next room.

Here you'll find a lever in a horizontal track on the wall beside the exit. Approach the lever and press Interact. Use the multi-tool to blow the accumulated dust out of the track. Then slide the lever to the left to open the door. Go through to emerge in the area in front of the temple where you fought the poachers earlier.

Pick up treasure #1 in the alcove to the left if you didn't get it earlier.

The big wooden doors beyond the turnstile lever are now open again, and there's another pair of poachers at the top of the stairs. Take care of them and continue through the second, smaller doorway. Hop over the fallen tree and get back on the motorbike.

RETURNING TO THE FIRST CALENDAR PUZZLE:

Now that you have the JAGUAR HEAD, you can use it to repair the first calendar wheel. To get back there, follow the road back the way you came. At the first fork, head to the left up the hill. (The road to the right leads back to the beginning of the level.) The uphill path leads past the white boulder embedded in the road, to the dead end with the small ramp. Use the ramp to jump the bike into the tunnel.

Follow the road to the next fork. Again, bear right here and continue to the BALL COURT. Drive through and out the other side. Continue to the room with the two doors and pressure pad. Drive over the pad to open the door on the other side, drive through and continue over the wooden bridge above the pit and on to the calendar.

FIRST MAYAN CALENDAR PUZZLE (again):

Go to the crank at the center of the wheel and press Interact to place the JAGUAR HEAD where it belongs. Now you'll be able to manipulate the puzzle. Grab the crank handle and turn it so the obsidian symbol on the middle wheel lines up with the small, golden symbol near the center of the dial. Now take hold of the handle with the skull-shaped STONE HEADDRESS (which is already in place) and step to the left to turn the outer wheel and separates the inner wheel so it can be turned independently.

Return to the JAGUAR HEAD handle again and turn it to align the symbol on the inner wheel with the one on the middle wheel. Return to the skull handle one last time and move it back to the right to line up the symbol on the outer wheel with the others, solving the puzzle.

Another cut scene shows the mechanism beneath the ball court activating once more, raising a massive statue of a two-headed snake flanked by huge, fire-breathing serpents. The floor between the rows of snakes then retracts, revealing the exit from this area.

XIBALBA GATE:

Unlike the other versions of the game, the elaborate gate in the BALL COURT is not on a timer. So there's no hurry to get there before it closes. Return to the motorbike and drive back along the road, through the pressure-pad controlled door, to the ball court. Drive down the ramp into the room below.

Cinematic: Lara races through the gate, the doors close behind her and she skids to a stop just short of a deadly spike pit. She pauses to catch her breath then begins examining the architecture. Deciphering the carvings she reads, "The Place of Fear. . . . It's definitely Xibalba, the Mayan land of the dead."

NOTE: In the PC/PS3/Xbox game, the next chapter begins here. In the Wii game, Xibalba goes on a bit longer.

LONG HALLWAY WITH THREE PITS:

When you regain control of Lara, get back on the motorcycle and drive forward along the hallway that leads out of the room with the spike pit. Ride down the stairs and along the twisting hallway. At the bottom of the next flight of stairs there's a long straightaway with a series of pits. There are wooden ramps at the edges of the first two pits, enabling you to jump the bike across them. But once you clear the second pit, slam on the brakes (+) and/or steer in toward the wall to prevent Lara from sliding into the third pit, which has no ramp.

Get off the bike and climb the handholds on the left wall. Climb to the right and jump to grab the handhold on the square column. Lara's weight pulls it down, raising the ramps at the edges of the next pit.

Drop down, get back on the bike and jump across the pit. The quick start maneuver can help here: Face the ramp, hold the brake (+) and rev the engine (Z). Then release the brake to zoom up the ramp and over the pit.

Continue along the hallway, through several twists and turns. When you come to a T, go to the right. (The left passage is a dead end.) Proceed along the hallway lined with carved snakes' heads. At the next T, go left and continue to the large room at the end of the hall.

Cinematic: Lara walks to the center of the room and checks out the seated statues. She speaks into her camera's audio recorder: "The lords of Xibalba were said to kill visitors for sport by sending them into devious trap rooms." Hmm. . . sounds right up Lara's alley.