Atlantis

LEVEL 15: THE GREAT PYRAMID

• Kills: 6
• Items: 31
• Secrets: 3

Objectives: Kill the big beastie. Find Natla, who has apparently survived her fall, and bump her off as well. Then get out of town.

Walk-through: Quite obviously, the first thing you'll need to do is take out the humongous, legless mutant without letting it grab Lara or knock her off the platform. There are a number of strategies you can employ to do this. Some prefer to use the Uzis and run or side flip from corner to corner as the mutant lumbers after. Some prefer the shotgun, since fewer rounds are needed to bring the creature down (about 800 rounds of Uzi fire, versus about 25 shotgun blasts). Needless to say, you don't want to hop around too much or you'll risk going over the edge. And, for the most part you don't have to, since the mutant moves pretty slowly.

Another trick is to hang from the edge of the platform and wait for the mutant to go back to the door. When it does, pull up and shoot at it until it approaches, holster the guns, and hop back to dangle again.

Sometimes this takes a while, and if you hang in the wrong place, it'll reach under and grab Lara. The best spots seem to be the corners farthest from the door (northeast and southeast), with Lara's back to the side (north and south) walls. (The northeast corner is farthest from the mutant's favorite spot, so if you hang here, it takes the beast longer to reach you and you get more shots in each time.) If you're hanging and the mutant just won't move away, try traversing to the side of the platform near the rear wall, then back to the corner and it'll back off. When you do this, you may lose a little health--presumably as a result of the mutant's stomping on Lara's hands. But, as long as you don't stop except at the corners, it won't grab Lara. (Thanks to Sharon for the hanging tips.)

I also recommend saving your game in the middle of the fight if you're doing well. Then you won't have as far to go if you do get killed and have to reload. When he starts to keel over you can stop shooting. Soon after, it explodes, and the exit door opens.

Pick up the Uzi clips in each of the 4 corners of the platform (6 sets in all) and head for the door. Go forward, then left, and slide down the ramp. Pass the movable block in the alcove and go down the next ramp. (You should be able to hear chomping blades somewhere above.) Continue to another movable block. Push it 3 times. Go up the ramp on the right and around the corner. You'll then come to another movable block. This is actually the back side of the first one you saw. Push it once. Then go around the right side of the block and climb on top of it.

Turn around and take a standing jump to grab the ledge ahead. Pull up into a hallway with break-away tiles over spikes, as well as chomping blades. Stand at the edge of the break-away floor and listen to the blades. Start to run through the blades on the second "clang," as they begin to open. Continue forward and around the corner.

When you reach the ramp, turn right into the black-and-white corridor. Follow it to the bottom and push the movable block once. Return to the top of the ramp and turn right down the ramp you didn't take earlier. At the bottom is a ledge and on it is the block you just pushed. Note the switch above on the right wall. Climb over the movable block and push it twice from the back until it's under the switch. Turn around and go up the passage on the right. Come back down the ramp until you're standing on the block you just moved. Throw the switch to open the red door opposite.

Go through it into a room with sandy colored slopes and a lava stream running down the center. Turn right and take a standing jump to the flat spot ahead. Take another standing jump forward to the next flat spot. Now take a running jump to the next. (You're still on the right side of the lava.) Turn around and you'll see that a bridge has now been raised over the lava. It is on a timer but not particularly fast. Do the same jumps in reverse, with the last standing jump landing you on the bridge. Turn right and run through the doorway into a cave. This is SECRET #1, the reward a large med-pack, magnum clips and a box of shotgun shells. You can pick up the stuff and quickly run back over the bridge. Or, throw the switch twice, which will lock part of the bridge in place over the lava. Then take a running jump over the lava to the other side.

Repeat the jumps along the right side of the lava stream. At the end, take a standing jump to the other side.

Enter the tunnel and go up just until the boulder starts to come down. Roll and run down and to the right into the safety of the doorway. Go back up the ramp where the boulder came from. Turn right and go up a short ramp. The next long ramp is another boulder trap. This one is a little faster, so either run up the slope, roll and take running jumps down the slope, cutting to the left at the bottom, or, hop backwards up the slope and start running down as soon as you hear the boulder begin to roll. Continue up the slope to the top and follow the passageway to a break-away floor tile. Step on it to break it, then hop back. Safety drop into the Scion room below.

Shoot the Scion. This opens the door opposite the Scion pedestal and sets off a series of tremors. (The quake won't cause you any damage unless it breaks your concentration. Just keep going.)

There are 2 mutants on the walkways in the room beyond the Scion room. Step out to get their attention, then kill them from the relative safety of the doorway. If you want all the kills, cross the bridge and kill the third mutant on the other side. When you're ready, drop from the bridge to the black rocks below. Walk to the south wall, find the opening in the ground and drop down through it.

Take a running jump to grab the crevice on the right. Traverse to the right, taking some minor damage from the darts. Drop to the fleshy slope and immediately back flip over the lava onto the flat spot behind. Hop back to avoid the darts.

Go through the doorway, pick up the Uzi clips on the left and walk down the right side of the slope. This will trigger a boulder to roll down the left side to land below the swinging blade. Once it does, walk down to the blade. Stand as close to it as possible and take a standing jump past it as it swings to the left. Walk forward through the spikes, turn left, continue on between the lava pits and go to the top of the ramp on the left. Ahead are three squares of break-away tile. Take one step back from the top edge of the ramp. Then take a standing jump forward to land on the leftmost break-away tile. Immediately side flip to the right to land on the right tile, then jump forward to the ledge.

Continue to the next room. Here you'll find a lava pit with 3 tall, angled blocks standing in it. Across the pit near the top you can just make out some items on a ledge. This is where you're headed. This grab is tricky, so save your game if you can before attempting it. Walk to the left until Lara bumps into the wall. Take a hop back, then sidestep as far as possible to the right so Lara's right foot is at the edge of the pit. Now turn about 10 degrees to the right so Lara is facing the wall just above and to the right of the edge. Take a standing jump to grab the horizontal seam in the wall. (It doesn't look like a crack you can grab, but if you look farther to the right, you can see where it widens into a real crevice.)

Traverse to the right all the way over the lava pit and drop down into SECRET #2. On this ledge you'll find 3 large med-packs and some Uzi clips. Go to the edge above the lava and face the angled pillars below. Take a standing jump to the long sloped block and hold the Jump key to immediately back flip and land on the block behind. Turn around and take a standing jump to grab the crevice. Traverse to the right. If you like, you can drop onto the solid block and survey the situation. Just be careful not to drop onto the break-away tiles.

(NOTE: If you can't make it across to the secret, or you have no need of 3 large med-packs, you can continue by taking a standing jump from the first ledge above the lava pit to the first angled block. Hold the Jump key to hop to the next pillar and the next. Release Jump before you land on the third pillar. From here it's a standing jump to grab the crevice. Traverse to the right and drop.)

Ahead is a combination trap involving a lava pit, a swinging blade and, up on the slope ahead, boulder trap. To get through it without losing any health, first traverse as far as you can to the way to the right. Then, as you drop onto the collapsing tiles, press and hold Jump while still keeping the Right direction button pressed. Side flip to the right twice to avoid the boulder. Then you can take your time to set up a run past the swinging blade and come through unscathed. [NOTE: Several people have sent tips on getting through this area. A few came up with the same solution independently. Shared credit goes to Haydon and Lindsay. He was the first to tell me about this; she's the youngest raider (age 10) to send in a correction.]

Once beyond the blade, there's a boulder on the right and a slope on the left. Run down the slope into the alcove on the right, ignoring the small med-pack on the ground for now. Once the boulder lands you can take a standing jump between the boulder and the corner of the doorway, pick it up and jump back the same way.

The next trap involves a slope with a boulder behind, a swinging blade ahead, and lava pits on either side and at the bottom. Stand to either side of center facing down the ramp. Slide forward and jump at the last minute to pass the blade and land on the flat block ahead. (If you wind up grabbing the edge of the block, you won't have time to pull up before being squished by the boulder.)

Hop down on the left and go through the doorway. In this room there's a small med-pack on the ground ahead, several lava flows and a door on the far side. Run forward to the med-pack. Stop and pick it up. The lava flows out behind you, but you're safe here. Take a standing jump forward then run into the doorway. The remaining lava flows should miss you. Pull the switch to open the door.

Enter and go to the right. The door closes behind you. Continue forward and pick up the Uzi clips. Turn around and run forward past the door, but stop just at the edge of the next lava pit. A boulder will roll down and pass overhead. Take a standing jump to grab the opposite edge of the lava pit. Wait for another boulder to roll past above, then pull up.

Continue to the next room, which contains a water pool and a bunch of torch pillars. Relax! It's not anything like the Palace Midas torches. You'll be fine. Stand on either side of the first pillar (not in the center). Face the edge of the pillar beyond and make sure Lara is lined up squarely with the pillar edge. Take 5 standing jumps in a row to clear all of the pillars. (If you do fall or accidentally jump into the water, climb out below the starting point and try again.)

In the next room there is a red-and-gold structure with a swinging blade in the middle and break-away tiles below the blade. Walk down the slope and stand facing the break-away tiles. Hop back, then take two more steps back (walking). Take a running jump and continue to hold jump and forward. Lara will land on the edge of the break-away tiles then take a running jump off of them into the opening beyond. This is SECRET #3. Inside you'll find a large med-pack and 2 sets of Uzi clips. (NOTE: In the PC version of the game, this secret may not register. At the end the display will say you found 2 out of 3 secrets but, trust me, this is it.)

Return to the doorway and either take a standing jump from the edge, or take a step back from the edge and swan dive to land in the tiny pool below. Pick up the Uzi clips on the bottom, then follow the underwater passage until you can surface. Climb out of the water and pick up 4 more sets of Uzi clips.

Advance into the next room with weapons drawn. Above on the left is your old friend Jacqueline Natla. Only now she's sporting a spiffy pair of wings and shooting fireballs at you. Use the same basic strategy as with the centaurs: Back flip and side flip to avoid the missiles, keep shooting and don't let her get you in a corner.

Once she falls, assess the situation, but don't get overconfident: Natla is not put down so easily. She rises up again to resume the fight. If you've been asleep at the wheel and somehow don't have enough ammo, you can run into the tunnel to the right of the entrance. Here you'll find 6 sets of Uzi clips. Unfortunately this tunnel can't be used for cover, since Natla will follow Lara inside. Kill her a second time and you're home free. (Each time Natla falls counts as a kill.)

Now you'll need to get up to the top of the cavern to exit. In the northeast corner are some climbable rocks. From here you can jump into the doorway behind (use a standing jump with Action to get in). Follow the passageway up to a doorway. Take a running jump to the pillar beyond, then another running jump to the pillar to the left. Take a standing jump to the next pillar, which is just below a door. Climb in and follow this passageway to an opening in the floor. Drop down onto another, higher pillar.

Turn around and take a running jump to the pillar ahead and to the left. Take another running jump to the next pillar, then another running jump to grab the pillar beyond, which is under an opening. Climb up into it and follow the passage to another opening where you can drop onto the highest pillar.

Take a running jump to the red-and-gold ledge. Climb into the opening above and continue forward to a long ramp. Slide down to end the level and the game.

Congratulations! You did it! Now sit back for a final short movie.

Lara runs out of the pyramid just in time. She takes Natla's boat and speeds out to sea as the top of the pyramid blows off, then the entire island explodes.