Peru

LEVEL 1: CAVES

• Kills: 14
• Items: 7
• Secrets: 3
• Starting inventory: Pistols (unlimited ammo), compass.

First a movie: Intrepid explorer Lara Croft follows a Peruvian guide across a snow-covered plateau. They approach a set of enormous stone doors. Lara throws a grappling hook to a ledge above, climbs to the top of the doors and presses a secret button to open the doors. A pack of wolves charge out from the darkness and attack the guide. Lara slides down the rope, cutting it as she falls, then draws her pistols to dispatch the wolves--too late, unfortunately, for the guide. She musters her resolve and enters the caves. The adventure begins....

Objectives: Make your way through the caves down to a door. Enter and proceed, through some complications of course, to the level exit.

Walk-through: Follow the paw prints in the snow straight ahead. Shortly you'll reach an area with slits in the walls. This is a dart trap. Keep running and Lara should get past the darts with little or no damage.

As you round the corner, the camera view shifts up and to the left to show where you need to go next, but first do a little exploring: Continue straight ahead into a rectangular cave with an angled block in the far left corner. Note the opening in the wall above this block. The ledge is a little too high to grab, so use the block to give Lara a boost. Either climb up the back of it, slide down the face and press Jump and Action (Alt + Ctrl on the PC) as you slide to grab the ledge. Or, stand Lara in front of the block with her back to the angled surface, then back flip onto the block and hold Jump and Action to bounce off the slope and grab the ledge. Pull up into the small cave, where you'll find SECRET #1, a small med-pack.

Jump down and go to the right to the base of the rocks below the opening. Climb up over the rocks to reach it. Draw pistols to take advantage of the game's auto-aim feature. Three bats fly in from the caves ahead, and Lara will probably spot them before you do. When they're dead, head into the cave on the left. In the opposite corner is a low snowdrift. Stand on this drift, as far to the left as possible while facing the ledge above. Press Action + forward to grab the ledge and pull up (no need to jump). Kill another bat in the cave above and pick up SECRET #2, a small med-pack.

Drop or jump down and return to the big cave where you shot the 3 bats earlier. Turn left and proceed to a cave lined with greenery. Go down into the opening to the left. Keep descending to the bottom, where you'll find a closed door. Use the Action key to pull the switch next to the door to open it. Enter and kill the bat that swoops down. The wooden gate on the right does not open. Instead head to the far left corner and climb up through the opening there.

Follow the passageway to an landing above a room with two wooden bridges. Two wolves lurk below--they may be asleep when you arrive but will rouse and begin to pace as you approach the edge. You can shoot them from above if you're patient. Now you're heading for the opposite corner. Either follow the perimeter of the room, using the bridges to get from side to side, or drop down, walk to the second bridge and pull up at its lowest point. (If you have difficulty lining Lara up with the edge of the bridge, you can also climb up to the walkway above the alcove where the mummy is. Then cross the second bridge.) Go through the doorway in the corner of the room beyond the second bridge.

A bit farther on is a gap with a bear lurking below. You can easily kill the bear from above. Let Lara get a lock on it, then hold the Action key and she'll shoot at it whenever it comes into range. When it's dead, safety drop down into the room below. There is one door leading out. A bat will emerge as you enter, and another bat swoops down as you go a little farther into the room. Next you'll come to an area with a small med-pack on the ground and a different-looking tile in the floor next to it. Stepping on this tile opens the door. It closes fairly quickly, so position Lara so she's facing the door, step on the tile, then run through.

You're now back in the room with the bridges. Climb back up to the top and head for the gap with the dead bear below. Take a running jump across the gap. (Now is a good time to learn that jumping technique if you haven't already. Stand on one of the two slightly raised areas at the edge. Walk Lara to the edge, then take a single hop back. Press forward and Jump--up arrow + Alt on the PC--and Lara will run two steps then take off into the air on the third. She'll land safely on the other side. If you set up the jump this way, she'll never run off the edge or miss the landing.)

Behind the columns to the left of the stairs, you'll find another small med-pack. Retrieve it and descend the stairs, guns drawn. A pair of wolves wait at the bottom. (Try side- or back flipping while shooting to avoid taking too much damage.) Enter the room at the bottom of the stairs. Find the vegetation-covered ledge on the left side. It's too high to reach, so climb the stones on either side and take a running jump to the ledge. Inside is a room SECRET #3, a large med-pack. Exit, drop down and head for the opposite right corner of the room. Here in an alcove under the stairs is a small med-pack.

At the top of the stepped stones to the right of the exit door is a switch which opens this door. The door is timed to close after a short time. Climb up, throw the switch, then walk to edge, take a standing jump to the low wall below, walk to the edge of the wall then take another standing jump to grab the ledge below the door. Pull up and run through the door before it closes. (If this method isn't working for you, you can also jump down to the floor, run around to the ledge below the door, pull up and run through.)

Continue forward and around the corner. Take the steps at a run to avoid the dart trap. Draw pistols near the top, because a wolf waits in the room above. When you've taken care of it, step on the break-away tiles at the center of the room to fall through to the room below.

You're now in a long room above a wide hallway. Below, at one end of this hallway you can see the wooden gate you couldn't get through at the beginning of the level. The long hallway is lined with dart traps and the exit doors are closed. So, don't drop down yet. Instead go to the far end of this room and jump across the gap to the opposite side. Turn left and proceed. You'll meet another wolf and find another large med-pack on the ground. Continue to a switch. Use it to open the exit doors, then go back to the first opening above the hallway. Hop down, slide to the ground and exit the level.