RETRO AOD - THE DIG (demo)

Level by Terry Barrett (dhama)

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth (with Gerty's kind assistance)

Begin with Lara backed up at the end of a short passage. Run forward to an opening on your right overlooking a deep pit. Climb down the ladder to the ledge below. There's another ladder in the east wall that takes you to the floor of the pit, but let's not go down there quite yet. Instead, walk to the east end of the ledge and turn to your left. Take a slightly angled running jump to the sloped pillar and grab the edge as you slide down. Pull up, take a back flip to the slope behind you and keep the jump key depressed so you bounce off to grab the ledge above the sloped pillar. Pull up, turn around and take a running jump south to the other sloped pillar. Grab the edge, pull up and take a rolling back flip and grab to the highest north ledge. Pull up into the corridor and run forward. Shoot out the wooden barrier ahead and run down the winding ramp, killing an SAS along the way. Shoot out another barrier when you reach the bottom, and hop down into the lower passage.

Pick up the large medi-pack and push the button in the south wall to open a nearby door. If you go to the end of this short passage and light a flare, you can see a Golden Star imbedded in the far wall. However, you have no way to pry it loose at present (or maybe ever), and you'll merely slide to your death if you try to approach it. Pull back up into the higher passage and follow the ramp back to the top. Take a running jump and grab to the higher sloped surface, release and slide down the slope below and grab the edge, then safety drop to the floor of the pit at a cost of some of your health. Kill the awaiting SAS, then say hello to Jack in the Mummy before entering the opening to the north. Zig zag to the right and pass a flaming basket in an alcove to your left. Follow the passage to an opening overlooking a vast room and pay careful attention to the flyby, which conveys much valuable information.

When camera control is restored, turn around and safety drop to the ledge below. Don't get too close to the other end of the ledge, or a sentry gun stationed down on the floor near the west wall of the pit will open fire on you. There are several SAS stationed nearby, all of whom remain friendly until you fire a weapon. However, some carry essential pickups, so it'll be necessary for you to exhibit some aggressive behavior before long. There's a nearby ladder leading upward, but that's for later.

Walk out to the east end of the ledge, angle Lara to the right and take a running jump into the opening in the south wall. You can see an artifact beyond the glass barrier, but that's for later as well. From the edge of the opening, face NE and take a standing jump to the next ledge. Walk forward past a closed door to your right (which apparently stays closed in this demo) and stop at the edge near the SE corner of the room.

Turn around and hop back to grab the edge. Release and immediately grab the crawl space just below. Pull into the space and crawl forward until Lara can stand. Run down the ramp, but be careful of a blade trap that you'll trigger as you approach the opening. Time a run past the blades and you'll fall into a small pool. There seems to be nothing there, so you wonder what that's all about. You'll soon find out. Pull out of the water on either side and then pull up into the south alcove. You now need to make a series (four, to be exact) of standing jumps across gaps lined with deadly spikes until you reach a small torch-lit room guarded by two Big Mouth statues. Step onto the dais and open the chest. Pick up the CANOPIC JAR 1 as two fire wraiths come out to play. Now you know the purpose for that water pool. As quickly as you can, make those standing jumps back across the spike traps until you reach the water. Jump in to douse the wraiths, then pull out into one of the south alcoves and jump across to the north opening. Time a run past the blade trap and return to the crawl space. Lower Lara down the other side, release and grab twice to use lower gaps in the wall from which you can drop safely to the floor.

Run over to the SW corner of The Dig, dodging the sentry gun's fire as best you can, find the nearby small medi-pack and locate a long ladder in the west face of the structure protruding from the south wall. Jump up and climb the ladder quickly, as the nearby sentry gun will fill you with lead during the early part of your trip. Pull up at the top (noting the closed door just ahead, which also seems to stay closed in this demo), then hop back and grab, and shimmy to your left before Lara's feet get "set" and around two corners until you can pull up onto the ledge where you entered this area. Repeat the moves described earlier in making your way toward the SE corner. When you reach the ledge where you used the crawl space earlier, angle slightly to the left and take a running jump down to an alcove in the east wall. Face NW and take a standing jump to the nearby ledge in the east wall, whereupon another sentry gun will begin to open fire on you from ahead and above.

Quickly take a running jump to the next ledge north and ignore for now the ladder on the wall to your right. Avoiding the white jug on the floor of the ledge ahead, take another running jump north to the next ledge and you'll finally be out of range of the sentry gun. Walk to the far end of this ledge and turn to face NE. Take a running jump into the alcove in the east wall and pull up into the crawl space on your left. Follow the passage until you can stand up, and you'll come to an opening in the north wall overlooking the pit. Turn around, hop back and grab the edge, and shimmy along the crack to your left, around several corners, until you reach a short ladder with a ledge just below. Drop to the ledge, turn left and hop down to a lower ledge, run forward down to a still lower ledge, and turn right to face NE. You can see a flash of metal at the end of the passage, so take a standing jump with grab to land inside the opening, and use the crawl space ahead to access the REVOLVER.

After you pick it up, you can either slide down the nearby slope and safety drop to the floor, or crawl back out the west end and drop down from there. Either way you'll lose a little bit of health when you land. Stay far away from the NW corner marked by a semi-circle of wooden barriers, as there are undetectable land mines in the area that will knock you for a loop should you step on one. Instead, keep close to the walls (because of the sentry guns) and make a clockwise circuit around the floor of the pit (noting along the way the barred opening near the NE corner and the closed door in an alcove at the SE corner) until you reach the SW corner.

Use the long ladder again, enduring a hail of lead from the sentry gun for the first part of your trip. Pull up at the top and turn around. Take a running jump west and grab the ledge just to the left of a statue of some big-mouthed creature. Shimmy to your right past the statue and pull up. A friendly SAS approaches you along the curved ledge from your right. Unfortunately, you need to kill him, so do so and pick up the LASER SIGHT he drops. Of course, your hostile activity alerts all the other SAS in this area, so you'll need to watch your back from now on.

Pause long enough to grab the large medi-pack from a nearby alcove, then shimmy left past the big-mouthed statue once again, pull up and turn around. Take a running jump back to the ladder and climb quickly (releasing and grabbing along the way to speed things up a bit) down to the floor. Once you reach bottom, reverse roll and take a position of safety next to the nearby crates. Shatter the jar on top of the closest crate to give yourself some running room, then pull up onto it and take a running jump NW onto the ledge. From here take another running jump NW (to the right of the sloped pillar ahead), which brings you behind the sentry gun without attracting its attention. Turn around to your right, combine your revolver and laser sight and blow up the sentry gun by shooting the red-banded cylinder.

An SAS patrolling this area will come to investigate, so kill him before proceeding. This is as good a time as any to go for the secret in this level. Climb back onto the crate and take a running jump NW to the ledge as you did earlier in preparation for blowing up the sentry gun. But this time take a standing jump to the surface of the sloped pillar. Slide to the floor and immediately side flip to the right to avoid the boulder you just triggered. Go to the ladder near the SW corner and climb both segments as you did earlier. When you reach the top, walk out onto the metal ledge facing north. Use your combined revolver and laser sight to shoot the large round object at the end of the facing ledge that looks like a boulder from this distance. (It may take three or four rounds of ammunition before the object shatters.) A rope is lowered from the far ledge for later use.

Now climb down and take that long running jump and grab to the west ledge where you shot the SAS bearing the laser sight. Shimmy to your right past the statue, pull up and go to the highest point of that ledge and safety drop from there to the small ledge below. You can see the barred opening ahead and to your left. Use your pistols to shatter the barrier, then step forward to the apex of the ledge and take a running jump and grab to the opening. Pull up into the crawl space and turn around over the trigger tile (apparently opening the door beyond the barrier in the east wall). Release and drop down the other side, where you'll slide down the passage where you triggered the boulder trap earlier.

Run across the Dig to the east side and locate the barred opening near the NE corner. Shatter the barrier with your pistols and pull up into the opening. The jars along the wall to your right are empty, but the white jar in the water to your left hides an artifact. Use your combined revolver and laser sight to shatter the jar, and swim down to pick up the AMULET OF HORUS for SECRET #1. Swim back up and exit this area.

Back on the floor of The Dig, go to the south end of the small central pool and look down at the underwater north wall. There's an opening blocked by a wooden barrier, so use your combined revolver and laser sight to shatter it. Jump into the water and swim through the opening and along the passage. Be alert when you reach an opening leading south into a larger room. If you stray too far to the right you'll be sucked into a spike trap. However, if you go too far to the left in order to avoid the current, a boulder will fall down and crush you. The best thing to do is swim straight ahead and hope you make it. Once through, turn right into the next passage and look for a nearby vertical shaft. Swim up the shaft, following its twists and turns, until you reach a place where you can surface for air. Pull out onto the east edge, step forward to vault up into an upper room, and jump down into a shallow hole against the north wall. Pick up the GOLDEN VRAEUS you saw earlier from the other side of the glass barrier, pull out of the hole and jump back into the water.

Swim back the way you came. That current is still treacherous, but you probably triggered the boulder on your way in. That being the case, you can swim to your right over the fallen boulder and avoid the deadly current to your left. Return to the central pool and pull out. Head over to the NE corner and hopefully get the sentry gun above you to point in that direction. Hug the north wall as much as possible until you get to the semi-circle of wooden barriers, then turn to your left and cross the pit to the right of the central pool. Go to the long ladder near the SW corner, climb up, shimmy to the left and pull up next to the second ladder. There's an SAS taking pot shots at you from above, so pull up into the alcove to your left to give you a clearer shot at him. After you've taken him out, hop back down to the ledge and climb up the second ladder. Pull up and shoot the SAS who's firing at you from the top of the structure against the west wall. (He drops something important, so remember that for later.)

Turn around and take a standing jump up to the metal ledge, then locate the second sentry gun to the NE and slightly below your present level. Hopefully it's positioned so that you can blow it up with a well-aimed shot to its red-banded cylinder. If not, there's little you can do except climb back down and try again to direct its nozzle away from the SW. But once your mission is accomplished, climb back down the second ladder to the ledge below. Turn to face east and repeat the moves previously described until you come to the ladder against the east wall that you bypassed earlier. Climb up the ladder now until you reach the top. Release for an instant and grab again so that Lara is hanging, and shimmy to the left until you're able to pull up into a crawl space for some revolver ammo. Turn to your left and continue crawling until you're able to stand up near a wall switch. Throw the switch to open a door high up on the north wall, then turn around and hop down onto the metal ledge where the second sentry gun was stationed.

If you run across to the SW corner of the ledge, you can take a running jump from here to the top of the central pillar. This causes fires to break out in three of the four baskets beneath you, but this appears to be for decorative purposes only. Turn slightly NW to face the rope that you lowered earlier, and take a running jump and grab to it. Climb up to the top to keep it from swinging back and forth, turn to the right so that Lara is facing due north, and slide down to the bottom. Swing forward and jump off at the apex of your swing to land on the metal ledge in front of the opening in the north wall. Run into the passage and pull up onto the wooden ledge to your right. Throw the wall switch to add an extension to the metal ledge in the south wall, enabling you to cross the gap later with a running jump and grab.

Now run east to the wall and turn around to face SW. Take a standing jump to the slope and grab the edge as Lara slides down. Pull up and take a rolling back flip to grab the edge of the opposite slope. Shimmy to the right and release to drop down onto a slanted but stable ledge. Use the ladder in the south face to reach a familiar ledge, and use the adjacent blocks as you did earlier to reach the floor of the Dig.

Use the ladder near the SW corner to climb up and retrace your steps to the ladder in the east wall. Climb up that ladder, and two rungs from the top back flip onto the slope behind you, and keep the jump key depressed so that Lara bounces off two slopes in succession, without sliding, and lands within an opening in the east wall.

Run forward through the short passage and enter the next room. Looks like a variation on the ol' Palace Midas theme. Before you can begin, though, you need to lower a cage on the other side so you can collect the artifact that awaits you. Jump into the water and swim between the pillars on the west end. Locate the alcove to your left and swim inside for a cut scene showing the cage lowering. Climb back out, using the nearby stairs, and walk over to your starting point. The first dark tile shuts off the flames on the next tile for a short time, and so forth. Go ahead and make your zig-zag run across the pillars, run jump and grab the last one as spikes shoot out from the sides, and pull up quickly and run forward to safety. Run forward and pick up the CANOPIC JAR 2. Jump into the water (avoiding the spikes), swim to the other side and climb out onto the stairs to your left.

Go out to the opening overlooking The Dig and look down to see the small medi-pack on the metal ledge to your left. Take one step back from the edge, angle slightly to the left and take a standing jump down to the metal ledge. Pick up the small medi-pack, then turn to your left and you'll see another one on the slightly higher ledge against the south wall. Take a standing jump and grab, then pull up to claim your prize. With your back against the south wall, take a standing jump back to the metal ledge. Turn to face north and take a standing jump and grab to the edge of the opening in the east wall. Release and you'll drop onto a slope and slide down onto the ledge next to the ladder. If you want to take the fast way down, turn to the SE and jump to the slope in the east wall, slide down and grab the edge, and safety drop to the floor with an unfortunate but unavoidable loss to your health.

Run over to the ladder in the long pillar against the south wall near the SW corner. Climb up to the opening, shimmy to the left around the corners as you've done before, and drop down onto the ledge. Step forward and climb up the second ladder. Pull up onto the ledge at the top and turn to your left. Pull up onto the extended metal walkway and turn to face north. Take a running jump and grab across the gap, then pull up and run to the other side. Turn left just before you reach the far end and take a standing jump across the gap to the other section of walkway. Follow it to the north end and turn to your left.

Take a standing jump and grab to the ledge in the west wall. Pull up and turn to your left. Run south along the ridge, and when you get near the far end turn to your right and run off into an alcove. Face south again and take a running jump across the gap to the base of the small pyramid. Take a standing jump forward to reach the other side of the pyramid, and from there take a running jump south into the alcove just ahead. Step back to the edge and turn to your left. Jump up to grab the crack, and shimmy to your left around two corners, and when you reach the third corner pull up and run forward to pick up the GUARDIAN KEY dropped much earlier by the SAS who was posted up here.

Reverse your steps as described in the two preceding paragraphs and return to the floor of The Dig. Run over to the SE corner and place the Guardian Key in the hard-to-see receptacle to your left (beneath the bright light). Reverse roll and pull up into the alcove in the corner. The door to the right is now open, so enter the small office. Insert the Golden Vraeus in the receptacle to set off an explosion in the opposite NW corner. Leave this area and cross The Dig area diagonally. The land mines have been neutralized, so locate the triangular opening in the west wall, not far from the NW corner, and vault up inside. Pull up into a passage, and a door closes behind you to bar any retreat into The Dig. There's a closed door to your left and a sloped passage to your right. Turn around and step back carefully toward the sloped passage until you're nearly at the edge of the designer tile, then back flip and jump forward into a small upper room before the released boulder has a chance to flatten you.

You'll see two receptacles here, one for each of the Canopic Jars. Place them both to open the west door down in the passage below. (When the boulder came to rest, the exit door to The Dig also re-opened, but you're through there for purposes of this demo.) Hop down and enter the new doorway. Take a running jump over the designer tile into the alcove, and pick up the large medi-pack. Then hop back (the tile has fallen away) onto a slope and enjoy the ride down. The remote camera is aimed at you from below, and as you approach it the level ends.