Tomb Raider 8: Underworld

LEVEL 1: MEDITERRANEAN SEA - PART 4: GOD OF THUNDER

BOARDING AMANDA'S SHIP:

You regain control of Lara after she pulls her boat alongside Amanda's ship, the Megaera.* Jump from the deck of Lara's boat to grab the big ship's anchor. Climb up to grab the chain. Continue climbing to the top. Then jump up four times to reach the deck above.

MAIN DECK - CARGO CONTAINER AREA:

Several of Amanda's men stand guard in the area below. The longer you spend exploring the area with the stacked cargo containers, the more enemies will appear. There's nothing to pick up in this area, so there's really no reason to linger. If you just head straight for your goal, you'll only encounter 2 mercenaries. Here's what to do:

Go down the stairs and head forward, keeping the stacked cargo containers on Lara's left. When you reach the end of the stacks, turn left, so the containers are still on Lara's left, and move forward along the right side of the deck, killing the 2 mercenaries I just mentioned.

NOTE: The instructions for combat appear on-screen if you have Training Text enabled in the options menu. To review, hold (Z) to target an enemy. At a distance, you'll see a gray reticule centered on the enemy you've targeted. As you get closer, the reticule turns red, showing the enemy is within firing range. When that happens, shoot by pressing (B) or throw a grenade with (+). You may still be able to hit when the targeting reticule is gray, but most of your shots will miss at this range.

Go up the stairs ahead and approach the hatch on the wall. Press Interact. Now you must use the multi-tool as an acetylene torch to cut through the lock. Press and hold (A) to light the torch. Then use the Wii Remote to direct the flame downward along the hasp just to the right of the seam between he door and the wall. You'll know you're cutting in the right place when you see orange flames and sparks, instead of just blue flames. Once you've cut all the way through, the door opens. Go through.

BELOWDECKS:

Head down the stairs and follow the corridor.

Cinematic: The lead mercenary gets the drop on Lara. She dodges out of the way but finds she's taken cover behind a fuel pipe. She quickly dives out of the way as the conduit explodes, killing the soldier and setting off a nasty chain reaction.

When you regain control of Lara, the passage ahead is blocked. Go to the right and continue along the hallway. When you come to a T in the passage, go left. (There's just a dead end to the right.)

Cinematic: Lara peers into the next room and sees Amanda standing on a glassed-in observation deck. She's holding the gauntlet device that her men stole from Lara. "Damn," she curses. "It's too small. Only Lara can use it now. . .until I kill her."

A familiar voice replies, "Even that won't unbind the artifact."

Amanda then learns that the ship is taking on water. So she leaves the conversation unfinished to attend to the immediate danger. Once Amanda has gone, Lara enters the room to find her old nemesis, Jacqueline Natla, encased in a huge glass cylinder.

"I'm very pleased to see you again, Lara," she says, despite having her back toward the door where Lara enters.

In the ensuing conversation, Lara learns that Amanda has been holding Natla in this giant specimen jar, and it was apparently Natla who told Amanda about the existence of Avalon. Despite her captivity, Natla seems calm and patient. She's taken some enjoyment in watching Amanda's suffering.

When Lara asks about her mother, Natla answers that the dais Lara found in Nepal [in TR: Legend] is actually part of a travel network. She tells Lara that while searching for Avalon, her father accidentally discovered Niflheim instead. But, in truth, Natla believes Amelia Croft did not end up in Avalon but in Helheim, another Norse underworld.

Lara demands to know where Helheim is. Natla says she'll tell her one day, but when that day comes, Lara will need Thor's hammer to enter. Natla taunts Lara a bit, saying maybe she'll have better luck finding the hammer than her father did.

Lara demands to know more, but Natla provides only a cryptic reference to the coast of Thailand before one of Amanda's helicopters lifts her glass prison out of the hold and carries her off.