Tomb Raider 8: Underworld

LEVEL 4: SOUTHERN MEXICO - PART 3: LAND OF THE DEAD

NOTE: The PC/PlayStation/Xbox game includes an extra chapter in Southern Mexico titled "The Midgard Serpent." In the PS2 game, there is no "Midgard Serpent" chapter. Instead the corresponding areas are incorporated into the "Land of the Dead" chapter.

LORDS OF XIBALBA STATUE ROOM:

The centerpiece of this large room is a pool of mysterious blue liquid fed by a cascade from the carved serpent head above. The blue water is deadly; so don't try swimming in it.

There are seven statues seated upon thrones surrounding the pool. These presumably represent the legendary Lords of Xibalba. Around the perimeter of the room are several doors in addition to the one through which you entered, which is now closed. Two long walkways, also serpent shaped but broken in several places, wind their way from the entrance to the exit, high on the opposite wall. Before you can leave through that door, you must find THOR'S BELT. And in order to do that, you'll need to open a few doors.

Before getting down to business, you can take a little side trip to retrieve a treasure if you like. If not, just skip down to the section on OPENING THE SIDE DOORS, below.

TREASURE #2:

Face the entrance so Lara's back is toward the pool with the serpent statue. Climb the broken stairs on the right. At the top, jump onto the small, square column. (This looks like it was originally meant to support a section of the serpent walkway that has since crumbled away.) Step to the edge and jump straight up to grab the next section of walkway. Pull up. Go to the upper end and jump to grab the rectangular handhold on the wall ahead. Jump up to grab the long, narrow ledge above. Traverse along this ledge to the left end. Then jump to the left to land on the next solid section of walkway.

Go to the upper end and take a running jump across the gap in the walkway to grab onto the opposite edge. Pull up. (If you're having trouble jumping this gap because Lara stops short of the edge before taking off, try climbing onto the low lip on the right side of the walkway and jumping from there.) Continue forward and step out onto the wooden beam. Walk across to the other side and climb onto the walkway where it continues. Follow it around to the left to find the treasure (2/6).

Once you have the treasure, continue forward along the walkway to the slight hump formed by the stone serpent's mouth. Step to the edge and jump across another gap onto the walkway below.

The door on the right is the exit from this area, but it doesn't open yet. To get back down to the floor, turn left so the door is behind Lara and she's facing out across the room toward the entrance. Move to the bottom of the broken stairs and jump down to the platform with the big screw behind the serpent statue. (Lara will lose a little health, which she'll quickly regenerate.) Go down the stairs on either side of the platform and return to the room's entrance (near the motorcycle) to get oriented.

OPENING THE SIDE DOORS:

From the entrance, facing the pool, head to the right. On the floor beyond the seated statue that's facing the pool, you'll see a shiny object. Pick up this STATUE SCEPTER.

Turn around and go to the statue just ahead on the left. Place the SCEPTER in the hole in the throne's armrest, near the statue's right hand. The clamp holding the statue's throne in place then retracts. Grab one of the bars on the side of the throne and rotate the statue so it's facing the pool. Then slide the statue forward along the track as far as it goes.

Now go to the statue on the diagonal track just to the right of the carved serpent spouting the blue liquid. This statue already has a scepter and is facing the pool. So all you need to do is grab the rail on the side of the chair and slide the statue toward the pool. When you do this, the big door on the right side of the room opens.

Now go around to the left side of the pool (i.e., left when Lara is facing the water-spitting serpent and her back is toward the entrance). One of the statues on diagonal tracks already has a scepter and can be moved right away. Rotate it to face the pool and then slide it forward.

Now go to the carved panel below the big door on the left side of the room (again, left relative to the entrance). Take the second STATUE SCEPTER from the small receptacle to the right of the carved panel. Turn around and head to the only statue on a diagonal track that you haven't moved yet (i.e., the one just to the left of the water-spitting serpent). Place the scepter in the hole in the armrest. Then rotate the statue to face the pool and slide it forward. This opens the big door on the left side of the room.

NOTE: In the Nintendo Wii game, there are two fairly large side areas here one with an ice theme, one with a fire theme. Here the fire area has been reduced to a single room.

LEFT DOOR - FIRST STATUE KEY:

Go to the left side of the room (i.e., left when facing the pool and carved serpent) and climb the stairs. Go through the door you just opened by moving the statues and take the FIRST STATUE KEY from the pedestal. Then return to the LORDS OF XIBALBA STATUE ROOM.

RIGHT DOOR - COLD ROOMS AND SECOND STATUE KEY:

Now head for the door directly across the statue room (or on the right if Lara is facing the pool with her back to the entrance). The stairs leading up to the door are broken, so climb the big, stone block in front of the door to reach it. Go through and follow the hallway to the end. The passage splits twice, but it doesn't matter which way you go. The two passages converge farther on.

COLD ROOMS - FIRST ROOM WITH DAIS AND GOLD DISK:

As Lara enters, the doors close behind her. Ahead is a low dais with a golden disk on it. Behind that is a niche with a golden skull on top, but it is not functional yet.

Go up the stairs on the right side of the room onto a low-ceilinged platform with icicles hanging above. Here the camera goes a little wonky. So carefully make your way to the left edge and maneuver Lara until she's at the center of your view and the tunnel opening in the wall is visible beyond. Take a running jump across the gap into that tunnel and slide down the icy slope into the room below.

Go around to the left side of the rock in the middle of the passage to find a treasure (3/6). Then continue to the next room.

SMALL ROOM WITH ICE WALL AND GATES:

Cross the room, climb onto the low platform in front of the ice wall and step on the pressure pad to open the gates on either side. (There's also another niche with a golden skull on top, but you need to retrieve the STATUE KEY before you can use it.)

Enter either tunnel. It doesn't matter which door choose; both passages lead to the same place. Go cautiously, though, as there's a jaguar thrall lurking inside. You may want to back out into the previous room while shooting. Then you'll have more room to maneuver while fighting. As with the thralls in Croft Manor, you must perform the finishing stomp maneuver by pressing Interact to crush the undead cat. Otherwise, it will rise up and start fighting again.

When you've destroyed the thrall for good, follow either tunnel to the end to find the SECOND STATUE KEY. Take it and return to the previous room.

Go to the niche with the golden skull and press Interact to place the STATUE KEY in the niche. This opens the exit from this room. After that happens, Lara automatically retrieves the key, so you'll be able to use it again later. Go through the doors you just opened and follow the hallway to a dead end.

DIMLY LIT ROOM WITH LEDGES AND BROKEN BEAMS:

Climb the handholds on the wall ahead. From the second handhold, try climbing diagonally upward and to the left. Lara may grab the ledge above. If she doesn't, climb upward and around to the right. Then jump back to grab that same ledge. Jump up to grab the handhold above and then jump back to grab the small, L-shaped ledge behind. Pull up.

Hang from the right edge of this ledge. (The entrance is now behind Lara.) Climb along the handholds to the right and jump to grab the handhold above. Jump up again to the next handhold. Position Lara at the left end of this handhold and jump back to grab the jutting wall behind. Climb to the right then upward to the ledge above.

Turn around and take a take a running jump to grab the light-colored handhold on the left wall. Climb to the right end and jump onto the horizontal beam. Walk to the end of the beam and then jump onto the beam ahead. Continue forward to the opposite wall. Grab the handhold straight ahead and then climb to the left or right and jump onto the ledge. (It doesn't matter which side you choose, since both paths converge in the room above.) Follow the narrow hallway to the end. Then use the handholds on the back wall to climb to the top. Climb around the corner and pull up onto the ledge. Follow the hallway around to an opening overlooking the room you just came from.

Walk out onto the jutting beam. At the end, turn about 45 degrees to the right and jump onto the next beam. Follow it to the ledge at the other end. Approach the big door.

NOTE: In the Wii game, it's possible to open this door using a sticky grenade. I'm not sure if this works in the PS2 version. If you try it, please let me know the results. First, step away from the door, or the explosion may kill Lara. Then press (L1) to draw pistols. Then point the remote at the middle of the doorframe on either side. Press (R2) to toss a grenade, which should stick to the doorframe where you aimed. Then, either wait for it to explode or target the same spot with pistols and fire to detonate the grenade. The door should then open. (Thanks to Marie for this tip.)

If this doesn't work, or if you're out of grenades, you can still open the door using the lever above. Go to the left side of the ledge. A brief cut scene focuses on the two poles, one long, one shorter. To get to the poles, jump from the angled edge of the ledge to grab the handhold above the square panel with the carved skull. Climb around the corner to the right. Climb to the small handhold above and then jump up to grab the wider one above it. Lean back and jump to grab the long pole. Face the ledge with the big door and then move to the left side of the pole. Swing over to the shorter pole ahead. Lara's weight pulls it down, opening the door. Swing and jump to the ledge. Then go through the door you just opened.

Head up the ramp, climb onto the ledge above and then slide down the icy slope into the next room.

L-SHAPED ROOM WITH MANY SQUARE COLUMNS:

Turn right and head toward the door, which is closed. The horizontal pole in the alcove beside the door opens it. To reach the pole, position Lara in the alcove facing either side wall. Jump toward the wall and then jump again to spring back and grab the pole. Lara's weight then pulls it down, opening the door.

Go through, slide down another icy slope and follow the tunnel back to the ROOM WITH THE GOLD DISK ON THE DAIS. Step up onto the dais and use the STATUE KEY in the niche on the back wall. The doors opposite the dais, where you originally entered, open again, and Lara retrieves the key.

Go through the doors and follow the hallway back to the room with the blue pool.

LORDS OF XIBALBA STATUE ROOM (again):

Drop down off the ledge and approach the nearest statue. Go up the little stairs behind it and place one of the STATUE KEYS in the space at the back of its head. This lowers the stairs, freeing the throne to move. Grab the handle on either side of the throne and slide it along the track toward the pool. Doing this retracts one of the golden clamps on the throne nearest the entrance.

Go around the pool to the statue directly opposite the one where you just placed the key. This statue also has small stairs at the back. Climb these stairs and place the second STATUE KEY in the niche in the statue's head. Again, the small stairs retract. Now you can slide this statue forward toward the pool. The second metal clamp on the final statue retracts.

Go to that statue the only one that hasn't been moved yet so far and slide it toward the pool. Doing so opens the two corner doors, in the low areas at the left and right sides of the room farthest from the entrance.

Head down the stairs and through either of these doors. It doesn't matter which one you choose, since they lead to the same place. Roll through the low opening and proceed to a flight of stairs leading down. At the bottom, watch out for the jaguar thrall ahead. When you've destroyed it continue to a small room with a dirt floor. Go through the doorway where the two halls converge.

ROOM WITH RESERVOIR AND ARCHIMEDES SCREW:

When Lara steps forward into the room, a short cut scene shows the screw mechanism being used to convey the blue water to the serpent head in the room above.

If you're hunting treasures, duck through the low arch-shaped opening below the reservoir. On the other side you'll find another treasure (4/6). Get it and return through the tunnel.

Now, with Lara's back to the reservoir and screw, go up the earthen ramp on the right. Stand in the narrow alcove between the two square columns on the left and jump up to grab the handhold on the back wall. Jump to grab the handhold above. Then climb around to the left. Jump up once more, climb to the left again and then jump back to grab the top of the column behind Lara. Pull up.

Move to the outer edge of this ledge. Then hold (L1) to target the supports on the wooden structure next to the stone column where Lara is standing. Shoot to destroy the supports and topple the wooden structure. Hang from the edge of the column and use the handholds to drop down to the ground.

Climb onto the big chunk of the wooden structure that just fell down. From there, take a take a running jump to grab the edge of the wooden platform next to the reservoir. Pull up and carefully cross the wooden walkway above the toxic pool.

If Lara falls into the area below the walkway, where you found the treasure earlier, just roll out though the low tunnel and climb back up to the reservoir and cross the walkway as you did before.

Pull the lever to stop the Archimedes screw from moving, halting the flow of water from the reservoir to the pool in the room above.

Return across the wooden walkway and drop down to the floor. Follow either hallway back to the LORDS OF XIBALBA STATUE ROOM. Slide down the ramp into the now-empty pool. Take care not to step into the shallow puddles on the bottom of the pool. Even this small amount of the blue liquid is deadly. Drop down through the hole in the bottom of the pool into the pit below.

SMALL, DARK ROOM BENEATH STATUE ROOM POOL:

The utility light should come on automatically here. Move to the opening leading down into the next area and look down to spot another thrall lying in wait. You can probably shoot it with pistols from here. Then, when it falls, slide down and finish it off.

TALL ROOM WITH LEDGES AND BLUE POOL:

Facing out over the room and step to the outer left corner of the ledge. Take a running jump down to the ledge below. Watch out for the broken corner of the ledge just below and the hole in the floor on the other side. If Lara falls, it's a long way down to the pool of blue death at the bottom of the room. Go to the other end of this ledge, hang from the edge and drop onto the ledge below.

Face the narrow, horizontal beams. Notice how the tops of the beams are broken in places. Don't try to land on those broken spots, or Lara will fall. Instead jump to the left side of the first beam, then the right side of the second beam, then the left side of the third beam. Finally, jump forward to grab the corner ledge ahead and pull up.

Turn right and take a running jump down to the small, square ledge jutting out of the wall below. This next jump is a bit temperamental. So instead of trying to jump from the square ledge directly to the handhold on the wall ahead, hang from the edge of the ledge, climb in toward the wall and then jump back to grab the handhold.

Climb to the right and jump to grab the L-shaped corner handhold. Climb around the corner to the right and then jump to the next handhold. Climb to the right again and then jump to the next ledge. Hop down onto the corner ledge below. Grab the long, stone slab on the wall and climb to the right. Drop and grab the smaller handhold below. Climb to the right so Lara is hanging from the small, oddly shaped stone. Drop to grab the two small stones below. Then drop once more to grab the rectangular block. Climb to the left and jump over to the dark ledge in the corner.

Go to the other side of this ledge and take a running jump to the small, rectangular ledge protruding from the side wall. Cross this ledge and jump to grab the handhold on the wall ahead. Climb to the left and jump onto the angled corner ledge ahead.

Go around to the right into a small passageway that runs behind the wall you were just climbing. Here you'll find a small niche in the wall containing a treasure (5/6). Take it and return along the passageway to the angled corner ledge.

Stand at the right edge of the ledge and jump to grab the handhold on the wall, between this ledge and the next. Climb to the left and jump over to the next ledge. Go down the ramp, around the corner, down a second ramp and on to the end of this ledge. Turn left and jump across the gap onto the chunky, gray stone ledge below. Step forward and hang from the narrow edge of this ledge. Drop onto the slope below and slide down to the lower ledge. Take a running jump to the rounded edge of the ledge ahead.

Go through the doorway and down the ramp. Drop off the ledge into the room below.

ROOM WITH GRAY STONE COLUMNS AND NORSE CARVINGS:

Enter the room and go to the right.

Cinematic: Lara examines the carved panel, speaking into her recorder as she interprets the pictures: "The Midgard Serpent, Jörmungandr, that lies on the bottom of the ocean, encircling all the world. . . . The coming of Ragnarök. . . . Jörmungandr thrashes beneath the sea, flooding the land and vomiting its deadly poison into the air."

She moves along the wall to a carving of a figure with a huge war hammer battling the serpent. "The final battle of the gods. Thor kills Jörmungandr with his hammer, Mjolnir, but then he retreats only nine steps before he succumbs to the serpent's venom."

When you regain control of Lara, go up either of the narrow passageways leading out of the room with the carving. They both end up in the same place. In the small room where the passages converge, dramatic music kicks in and a Mayan thrall shambles down the ramp from the room above.

It's difficult to maneuver in this tight space. So you may want to just nail the thrall with a grenade and run away. Or get its attention and run back down the ramp to the room below. You'll have a little more room to fight there. As with the other thralls, subdue it with gunfire and then jump on its bones to put it down for good. Go up the ramp where the thrall came from into the next room.

A short cut scene focuses on the huge statue of Thor. Just above his hammer there's a small door in his chest.

CAVERN WITH THOR STATUE AND BLUE POOL:

The lever just inside the room is broken and can't be repaired. The other lever, on the platform near the statue, is intact, but the mechanism it operates needs to be activated before you can use it.

So go through the doorway on the right side of the room and follow the passageway to a gap in the floor. Jump across and use the switch to partially activate the statue mechanism. Jump back across the gap and follow the hall back down to the statue room.

Cross to the other side of the room. The hallway leading out on this side is blocked by rubble. So go to the edge of the ledge between the ramp on the left and the low platform on the right. Jump across the gap to the rocky ledge with the two narrow streams of blue goo. (It's safe to step on them.) Here you'll find the last treasure (6/6) lying on the ground.

After picking up the treasure, stand at the edge of this ledge between the two streams facing the big statue. Turn left and jump to grab the irregular handhold on the left where a chunk has fallen out of the huge fluted column. Climb around to the right as far as Lara will go. Then jump to grab the edge of the ledge beyond. Pull up.

There's an opening above, but it's too high to reach. So, instead of climbing up there, turn left and hop across the blue stream into the low area beyond. Vault onto the low ledge and jump up to grab the natural shelf on the wall above the ledge. Climb along this shelf to the left and jump into the rough opening on the left. This is the area behind the fallen rocks that prevented you from entering the hallway from below.

Follow the hallway to the end and pull the switch to activate the second part of the statue mechanism. After using both switches, the lever in front of the statue will now work. The panel with the blue lines on the left is too heavy for Lara to shift, however. You'll be back shortly with the super powers you'll need to move it.

To get back to the big statue, step to the edge of the opening on the right and drop down onto the ledge where you were before. Move to the edge of the ledge and take a running jump across the chasm. Aim for the lower part of the ledge just to the right of the platform with the lever. Just be careful not to run on into the small pool.

Climb up to the lever and press Interact to pull it. If you've pulled both switches, the lever should now work to open the compartment in the big statue's chest. It also causes a serpent statue to rise up out of the small pool and moves Thor's hammer upward to defend against the snake.

Lara can't reach the upraised hammer, so you'll need to bring it back down in order to climb up onto the statue.

Hop down off the lever platform and move around to either side of the serpent. Grapple the metal ring on its head. Then, with the cable still attached, move around behind the serpent and onto the low platform with the broken lever. Press Interact to yank on the cable and pull the top of the serpent's head off.

With the serpent destroyed, Thor lowers his guard. Now you can jump from the platform with the working lever to grab the metal bar on the side of the statue's hammer. Climb up on top of the hammer and enter the small room within the statue.

In a brief cinematic sequence, Lara reaches for THOR'S BELT, only to have it disintegrate, leaving a small device similar to the ones that powered the gauntlets. As she clamps the glowing blue device to her own belt, the gauntlets begin to crackle with power once more.

Return through the low tunnel and step out onto the hammer. Turn right and jump down to the ledge below. (Don't jump too close to the statue's shoulder, or Lara will get hung up on it and fall into the chasm.) Once again climb onto the ledge on the left. Jump to grab the handhold on the wall and climb along it to the ledge beyond. Follow the hallway back to the room with the switch and the panel with the blue lines. Now that Lara has the belt's power, you can pull the panel away from the wall and go through the opening behind it.

CLIMBING OUT OF THE THOR STATUE ROOM:

Go to the end of the corridor and climb to the uppermost of the four handholds. At the top, jump back to grab the ledge behind Lara and pull up. Follow the hall to the four-way intersection just ahead. To the right is a dead end. Straight ahead there's a window overlooking the statue. Go to the left and follow the hallway to the end.

Climb onto the ledge opposite the entrance. Turn around and jump to grab the nearest handhold on the wall above the doorway. Climb up to the handhold above. Jump up twice. Then jump back to grab a handhold on the opposite wall. Climb to the ledge above. Go forward to the wall and grab the lowest handhold there. Jump up, then jump back to grab the bottom of the opposite wall. Climb onto the ledge above.

It's a bit darker here than it was below, and the walls are made of small, closely set stones. Turn left and jump to grab the light colored handhold on the side wall. Climb a series of handholds, traverse around the corner to the right and pull up onto the ledge. Once Lara is standing here, she can reach the next light-colored handhold on the side wall above the others. Grab onto it and climb to the left and up to the next handhold, then the next. Climb around to the left and pull up onto the highest ledge in this room.

Get ready to fight the jaguar thrall waiting to ambush Lara here. You may want to jump past it into the hallway ahead, so it doesn't knock Lara off the edge. When you've destroyed it, follow the tunnel to the end.

Hop down into the L-SHAPED ROOM WITH MANY SQUARE COLUMNS (again). Turn right and go forward to the door. Use the chimney jump maneuver to reach the horizontal pole on the left, just as you did before. Again, Lara's weight then pulls it down, opening the door.

Go through and slide down the icy slope into the ROOM WITH THE DAIS AND GOLD DISK (again). Turn right and head toward the dais. Go through the big doors on the left and follow the hallway back to the room where you started.

LORDS OF XIBALBA STATUE ROOM (yet again):

This time, when you enter the room, the camera pans to the exit, high on the wall opposite the entrance. Drop down off the ledge and approach the empty pool.

In the short cinematic sequence that follows, Lara once again examines the carved serpent, noting that ancient sites such as this must have been the inspiration for various underworld myths, perhaps because they were protected by the walking dead.

Now it's time to make your way to the exit. Get back on the motorbike and drive up the long, curved staircase to the left of the entrance (i.e., right when facing the entrance, left when facing the pool and serpent). As you round the curve at the top of the stairs and the serpent walkway levels off, speed up to jump across the gap in the walkway just ahead. Then, as you round the next curve and head down the slope, press on the brakes (R2) to avoid sliding off the edge ahead.

This is the exit door where the two "heads" of the serpent walkways meet at the middle of the room (near where you found treasure #2 earlier). Get off the bike and grab the gold-edged panel at the bottom right corner of the door. Use your Thor powers to slide the heavy, stone door to the left. Then get back on the motorcycle and drive through.

EXIT TUNNEL:

Follow the hallway as it twists and turns between several stone walls. A short way on, it widens and you can see a long, dark tunnel stretching out ahead. Stay near the middle of the tunnel at the start. Accelerate up the ramp to jump the bike across the deep pit.

The next three pits have solid walkways on both sides. So as long as you don't go too fast, you can just cruise along near either wall to get past them.

To clear the fifth pit, ride up either of the stone humps near the walls. If you're coming from the left side after the previous pit, I'd recommend steering diagonally across the road so you get a nice, long run-up to the hump on the right. If you're coming from the right side of the previous pit, do the opposite: steer across the road and accelerate onto the hump on the left. Then drive along the sloping wall above the pit then down onto the safe floor on the other side.

Steer straight ahead into the narrow tunnel ahead. Accelerate up the slope to jump over one last pit. Then continue forward to finish the level.

Cinematic: Lara emerges from the tunnel and stops to phone Zip. She reports on her progress and asks him send the hammer's coordinates to her PDA. Lara also asks if he's made any progress on his "other project." Zip says he hasn't tracked them down yet, though it's not clear at this point to what or whom he is referring. Lara says she'll call again when she reaches her next destination, Jan Mayen Island, in the North Atlantic between Norway, Iceland and Greenland.