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 Wii 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.

OPENING THE SIDE DOORS:

From the spot where you begin, near the edge of the pool with Lara's back to the entrance, 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. The statue takes on a greenish color, and there's a CHECKPOINT notification on screen when you've done it correctly.

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: Now you can choose which side area you'd like to explore first. The door on the left leads to the FIRE ROOMS. The one on the right leads to the COLD ROOMS. You'll have to explore both eventually. I flipped a coin and chose the right door.

FIRE ROOMS - LARGE ROOM WITH PITS AND SPINNING BLADES: Go to the right side of the room (i.e., right when facing the pool and carved serpent) and climb the stairs on either side of the carved panel to reach the landing above. Go through the open door and follow the hallway to a large room with several flame traps and fire pits.

Ahead is a large pit. Either hop down into the pit on the right side, losing a little health in the process, or use the ramp along the left wall to descend into the pit and then go around to the right side. Pick up the treasure (2/10). Then use the ramp on the other side of the pit to get back out. Although there are intermittent flame jets on the wall alongside the ramp, in my game at least, these didn't harm Lara. Still, you may want to wait for them to go out before moving past them.

Return to the middle of the edge of the pit and cross over the heat-buckled walkway to the other side.

The room ahead has a number of metal hooks on the walls, a large fire pit at the far end, and a small alcove with a brightly burning flame just ahead on the left, a pile of burning logs near the middle of the room and a pair of large spinning blades, also in the middle of the room. Avoid the various hazards as you explore.

Go past the alcove with the bright flame and follow the left wall forward to the edge of the fire pit. On the corner ledge ahead, you can see the telltale glint of a treasure. To get it, grapple the hook on the left wall above the pit and step off the edge. Adjust the length of the cable (Z + Up/Down on the Control Stick) so Lara braces her feet against the wall just above the dark, horizontal line. Run back and forth along the wall and jump to the ledge on the right. Take the treasure (3/10).

To get back across the pit, either grapple swing back the way you came, or climb onto the raised part of the ledge and turn so Lara is facing the burning logs and spinning blades. From that elevated position, Lara can jump across the fire pit onto the floor below.

With Lara's back to the fire pit, follow the right wall back toward the small alcove with the bright flame inside. Grapple the metal hook on the wall above and to the right of the alcove. Hold Z and press Up on the control stick to climb the cable until Lara is hanging level with the ledge on top of the alcove. Swing and jump to the left to land there. Be careful not to fall into the hole in the floor, since the fire is still burning below.

Pull the lever. This extinguishes the flame below, opens the big door at the bottom of the stairs in the far corner of the room, and opens the wooden cages on either side of those stairs, releasing 2 Mayan thralls.

Hang from the edge of the opening in the floor and jump back to grab the ladder on the inside wall of the alcove. Climb down and drop to the floor. Watch out for the thralls as you exit the alcove. They approach from the far corner where the cages are. Sometimes they come quickly; sometimes you have to draw them out. Be careful of the blades and flames as you fight them. You may want to climb onto the square ledge between the spinning blades, or the rounded hump next to the wall near the first cage. But, like the tiger thralls, once you've subdued them, you have to hit them with a grenade or jump on their prone bodies (Z to target, then A to jump) in order to destroy them permanently. Otherwise they rise up and resume fighting.

NOTE: If you're having trouble with the finishing stomp, it may help to release (Z) and then press it gain to re-target the prone body. Then jump toward it to stomp on the corpse and hopefully destroy it for good.

When you've dealt with the thralls, go down the stairs between the two cages. Watch out for the disk-like blades shooting out of the walls and the flames at the bottom. If you time your movements carefully, you can get through unscathed.

FIRE ROOMS - ANTEROOM AND THRONE ROOM:

Proceed to a small room with spinning blades blocking the way forward on both left and right. There are handholds and wooden poles on both walls. Grab the lowest handhold on either wall. Climb to the top handhold in the stack of three. Then climb along the upper handhold and jump to grab the single handhold nearest the blade and poles. Climb to the end of the single handhold and then jump past the first pole and blade to grab the second pole. Drop to the floor and pull the switch to retract the blade into a track in the floor.

If you want to, you can also pull the corresponding switch on the other side of the room to retract the other blade. This isn't necessary, but it may make things easier later on when you need to fight a couple of thralls in this room.

Ahead is a flight of stairs leading up to a throne. More spinning blades prevent you from reaching the throne from below. So go into the small room opposite these stairs and climb the long ladder on the back wall. At the top, release the control stick and press (A) to leap back onto the ledge behind.

Step out onto the wooden walkway overlooking the throne room and go to the right. Follow the walkway around to the end. Hang from the edge and drop onto the horizontal beam below. Walk across the beam, which runs along above the spinning blades, and jump up to grab the ledge on the other side. Pull up and go forward to the wall.

Grab the stone handholds and climb to the right. You'll also climb up and down a bit as you go, but you're heading as far to the right as you can go. When you run out of handholds, jump to the right to land on the wooden ledge in the corner.

Turn to face out over the stairs leading up to the throne. Take a running jump to grab the first in the series of horizontal metal bars ahead. Here the camera becomes fixed on Lara's right, making it a little difficult to maneuver. Press to the Right on the control stick to make Lara swing around the bar. Then jump to grab the next bar. Now press Forward on the control stick to make her swing and jump to grab the next bar. Repeat for the third and fourth bars and finally jump to the wooden ledge ahead.

Turn left and take a running jump to grab the light-colored stone handhold on the wall ahead. This handhold runs from the corner toward the middle of the room. Climb along it to the left until you can pull up onto the ledge above the throne. At the back of the alcove here, you'll find a puzzle panel. Press Interact to examine it.

To solve the puzzle, first press (A) to light the torch. The rest of the puzzle is just like the ones in Bhogavati: Rotate the gems by aiming the remote at each one and pressing A or B to spin it clockwise or counterclockwise. The first and last gems are already positioned correctly. So rotate the second through sixth gems to form an unbroken line of light along the snake's body.

Solving the puzzle causes the blades at the foot of the stairs leading up to the throne retract into the floor. Unfortunately it also releases 2 more thralls from the alcoves in the anteroom below.

To get down, turn around and step to the left side of the ledge (where you pulled up). Hang from the edge and climb around the corner to the right. Continue climbing all the way to the right corner. Then jump back to grab the wooden ledge. Pull up and take a running jump off the other side of the ledge to grab the edge of the ledge below. (This is the ledge at the left end of the balance beam. By jumping directly to it, you can then skip the four horizontal bars and the balance beam altogether.)

Follow the wooden walkway around to the ladder and jump to grab it. Climb down and drop to the floor. You may now want to run forward to the stairs so the thralls can't corner Lara in the alcove with the ladder. Shoot them until they fall and then stomp on their corpses.

When the coast is clear, go up the stairs to the throne and take the FIRST STATUE KEY.

Return down the stairs, through the anteroom and past the alcoves from which the thralls emerged. Carefully navigate past the flame jets and blades as you climb the wide stairs. Then head to the left, through the large room. Follow the uneven walkway across the wide pit and then return along the hallway to the room with the blue pool.

LORDS OF XIBALBA STATUE ROOM (again):

If you haven't already done so, move the 2 diagonally oriented statues on the right side of the pool to open the door to the COLD ROOMS, as described above. 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.

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.

Advance cautiously and get ready to target the jaguar thrall that charges out from behind the rock in the middle of the passage. When you get a lock on it, back away shooting. Then, when it falls down, jump on it or blast it with a grenade to finish it off.

SMALL ROOM WITH ICE WALL AND THRALL CAGES:

Continue along the icy tunnel to a small room with several corridors branching out of it. If you want to, you can cross the room, climb onto the low platform in front of the ice wall and step on the pressure pad to release 2 more jaguar thralls from the cages on the left and right. If you choose to fight the thralls, do this just as you have before: shoot to subdue and then stomp on the corpses to keep them from reanimating. Again, if you find the finishing stomp maneuver difficult, try releasing (Z) and then pressing it gain to re-target the thrall before attempting to jump on it.

NOTE: You don't have to release the thralls now, but if you don't, be careful later when you return to this room. At that point, you'll slide in from above and unless you jump while sliding, Lara will land on the pad releasing the thralls. There's a reminder about this in the relevant section below.

The raised alcove on the right has another golden skull niche. This will open the big doors later on, but it's not yet functional. So leave it for now and follow the other hallway leading out this room (i.e., to the right when facing the entrance).

ROOM WITH WOODEN PLATFORMS:

The next small room has a series of rough wooden platforms. Climb onto the lowest one, which is on the left. Take a running jump to grab the next higher platform (on the right relative to the entrance). Pull up and turn around. Then climb up onto the tallest platform.

Turn right and step to the middle of the platform. Take a running jump across the deep pit into the doorway below. Climb the ladder to the next room.

NOTE: It's possible to drop down into the pit and live, but try not to do this. Lara will be trapped and you'll have to save the game manually and reload from the last checkpoint, which is way back in the room with the golden disk.

SMALL ROOM WITH BIG DOOR AND SKULLS ON SPEARS:

Go to the left wall and press Interact to examine the puzzle panel. Hold (A) and move the Wii remote to direct the torch and melt the ice. Then hold (A) again to wield the screwdriver. Point it at the bottom left corner of the gold bar and jiggle the remote to pry the treasure (4/10) loose. Pick it up.

Climb the handholds on the wall opposite the entrance. Climb to the right along the upper handhold and then jump to grab the pole sticking out of the wall. Lara's weight pulls it down, opening the big door.

KEY ROOM:

Go through and approach the puzzle panel straight ahead. Press Interact to examine it. Then hold (A) and move the remote to melt the ice. Take the SECOND STATUE KEY. Then go around to the back of the structure on which the puzzle panel is mounted and use the STATUE KEY in the niche there to open the door opposite. Lara takes the key back automatically when she's done.

Go through the door you just opened and fight another jaguar thrall, which charges from the tunnel on the left. When you've destroyed it, go into that tunnel and pick up another treasure (5/10).

Then go to the larger opening with the icicles above and slide down the slope into the SMALL ROOM WITH ICE WALL AND THRALL CAGES (again). If you didn't destroy the 2 jaguar thralls in this room earlier, be sure to jump as Lara nears the bottom of the slope to avoid landing on the pressure pad directly below, since triggering the pad opens the cages releasing the thralls. There's nothing inside the cages, so you don't have to fight the thralls if you don't want to.

You now possess the key to open the big door. So go to the alcove on the right, when facing the dais, and use the STATUE KEY in the niche there to open the big doors. Again, Lara reclaims the key automatically. 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 third handhold in this stack. Then climb to the left 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 a ladder and climb to the top. Jump to the ledge beside the ladder and 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.

The quickest way to open the door is to use a sticky grenade. Don't stand too close to the door as you do this, or the explosion may kill Lara. First, hold (Z) to draw pistols. Then point the remote at the middle of the doorframe on either side. Press (+) 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. Turn right again and head for the far end of the room. Take the treasure (6/10) from the small alcove on the left. Then return to the door.

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 DAIS AND GOLD DISK. 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. Follow the long hallway 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. Then a jaguar thrall attacks. Deal with it as you have the others.

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 (Z) 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 cross the wooden walkway to the puzzle panel on the other side of the pool. Avoid falling into the toxic pool. Press Interact to activate the puzzle.

First hold (A) and wave the remote across the panel to burn away the blue residue, revealing four panels depicting various parts of a golden snake. Like the portrait puzzles in Croft Manor, you need to slide the tiles along the tracks in order to get them in the correct order. When you begin, the snake's head is on the left, there are two body segments in the middle, and the tail is on the right.

To fix the picture, first slide the head and two body tiles down. Then slide the tail all the way to the left. Slide the two body tiles back up. Then slide the head to the right as far as it will go. (The lower right space is blocked, so you can't move the tile all the way to the right.) Slide the body tile on the left down. Slide the body tile on the right to the left. Then slide the head up and to the right. Slide the body tile on the bottom to the right then up. This should solve the puzzle.

The Archimedes screw then stops 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. Slide down the long slope to land on a ledge at the top of the next room.

TALL ROOM WITH LEDGES AND BLUE POOL:

Face 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. Approach the puzzle panel at the end of the passage and press Interact to use it. This puzzle has four rotating panels depicting parts of what looks like a decorative knife. The two silver knobs beside the third panel are extended, showing that this panel is already correct. To arrange the others, first spin the second panel once to the left. That puts it in the correct position. Then spin the bottom panel twice to the right. This moves the top panel as well. With the four panels aligned correctly, the small compartment in the wall on the left opens, revealing a treasure (7/10). 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.

The camera controls are completely useless 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 repair before you can use it.

So go through the doorway on the right side of the room and head up the ramp. As you advance along the hallway above, another Mayan thrall appears at the far end. This time there's plenty of room to back away shooting. Crush its remains and continue forward. When the passage splits, go to the right and continue to a small room with a blue pool. Pick up the treasure (8/10) in the alcove on the left and return along the hallway to the split.

This time, go to the right. (The left branch leads back down to the statue room.) Jump across the gap in the floor to reach the gear puzzle. Pick up the missing GEAR from the floor and then press Interact to use the puzzle. Arrange the two medium-sized gears on the shafts between the two larger gears to start the mechanism moving.

Jump back across the gap and follow the hall forward, then to the right, and back down the ramp 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.) 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 a small room at the top of the ladder straight ahead, where you'll find another gear puzzle. But without the missing gear, it is not yet functional.

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 right. Kill another Mayan thrall and stomp on its bones. Then continue forward to find the second missing GEAR at the junction of three hallways.

You can see the gear puzzle through the hole in the rocks on the left. But you can't get through there. So, for now, follow the hallway to the right. Pick up another treasure (9/10) in the room with the blue pool. Then return along the hallway to the end where the rockslide blocks your progress.

Go through he opening on the left onto the small rock ledge above the ledge with the two blue streams. Grab the narrow shelf on the left wall and traverse back to the right end. Drop onto the small ledge below. Turn right and hop down. Go forward to the ladder and climb up into the small room above.

NOTE: The panel with the golden handle and blue lines doesn't work yet either. You'll be back shortly to move it.

Go to the gear puzzle on the right and press Interact to activate it. With the missing gear in place, you can arrange the two small gears on either side and the medium-sized gear in the middle to repair the mechanism.

Climb back down the ladder 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 done both gear puzzles, 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 (Z) 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. The camera pans to the little room on the left with the stone panel with golden handle and blue lines. Turn right and jump down to the ledge in front of the ladder. (Don't jump too close to the statue's shoulder, or Lara will get hung up on it and fall into the chasm.) Climb the ladder into the little room and grab the handle on 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:

Climb the next ladder. At the top, jump back onto the ledge behind. Follow the hall forward 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.

Look on the floor to the left to find the final treasure (10/10) in the level. Then 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.

Follow the tunnel to the end and hop down into the L-SHAPED ROOM WITH MANY SQUARE COLUMNS (again). Turn right and go forward to the door, which should still be open. Slide down the icy slope into the ROOM WITH THE GOLD DISK ON THE DAIS (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 (+) 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. 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.