BACK TO VENICE

Level by AleXander18

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth (with thanks to Val for pointing out the location of the last secret)

Lara begins at the end of an alley cluttered with crates. The crates hold nothing of interest, so run around them into a courtyard. An SAS comes running from a NE alley (you'll explore that area later), but he appears to be friendly. You may as well kill him anyway, because he'll start becoming hostile when you shoot the barricade in front of the south passage.

Run down the passage, and a door on your right opens as you approach. Out pops another SAS. Kill him and pick up the BRONZE KEY he drops. Enter through the doorway and follow the wooden ramp up to a closed door at the top. Use the Bronze Key in the nearby receptacle to open it, and step out onto a wrap-around balcony. Go around the corner, and another door opens to your left as you approach it. Go inside the elaborate hallway and kill another SAS. Pass up for now the small medi-pack right behind him and continue south down the middle of the hallway. (Sword-wielding statues will be activated if you run down either the right or the left side.)

There's an artifact of some kind on a pedestal in the middle of the hallway, but you can't pick it up. Continue past it to a closed door. Nothing more to do here, so go back and pick up the small medi-pack on the floor. When you do so, a door opens at the south end of the hallway and a ninja and an assassin spring forth. Kill them both and continue south through the open doorway. Go down the stairs and kill the dog that attacks. You'll come to a library (a closed gate lies in the SW corner behind the long bookshelf near the west wall) and an indoor pool.

Run past the pool and turn left to run alongside the bookshelf near the east wall. Make a hairpin turn to the right when you reach the end and run along the small space between the wall and the back of the bookshelf. You'll find a wall switch at the SE corner. Throw it to open the gate mentioned earlier, then go back to the other long bookshelf and run behind it until you come to the opening. Go inside and follow the passage until you reach a hole where two bats come flying out. Kill the bats, drop down the hole and use the ladder to climb down a shaft. Pick up the CROSSBOW on the grate at the bottom for SECRET #1. Return to the indoor pool and jump into the water. Pick up the WOOD KEY at the NE corner at the bottom. There's a closed grate at the other end of the pool that you now need to open.

Surface and pull out of the water. Unfortunately, your key doesn't fit the receptacle in the north wall to the left of the desk. Go back upstairs and find another SAS prowling about in the hallway. Kill him for the BRONZE KEY he drops and go back downstairs. This key does fit, and it opens the grate in the pool. Jump back into the water and swim through the opening along a long and winding passage. Stop to fill your lungs when you reach the air hole, because you'll probably be glad you did. Pull the underwater lever when you reach the end of the passage (to re-open the door leading outside), then flip turn and swim back to the pool. Surface, pull out and run up the stairs, down the hallway and out onto the balcony. Turn right, follow the balcony to the open doorway and run down the wooden ramp to the covered passageway. Turn right and follow the passage until you reach a gate requiring a key.

The Wood Key fits, so insert it to lift the gate. Go inside and follow the passage to a ladder. As you run past the window to your left the camera angle changes to show you an artifact guarded by an SAS. Climb up the ladder, shift right and drop down onto a ledge. Locate and throw the wall switch to open some double doors in the waterway area. Safety drop back down to the passage and go back outside. Turn left and continue to follow the covered passage south until you come to a barricade. Shoot it and step forward into an alley. There's a closed door to your right and an attacking dog to your left. Shoot the dog and continue past it into an outdoor area guarded by an SAS. Kill him and satisfy your curiosity by climbing the ladder in the SE corner. You'll find nothing on the veranda except a closed grate that somehow needs to be opened.

Climb back down, jump into the canal and swim down the west passage for a large medi-pack at the end. Swim back and pull up onto the wooden walkway. Turn left and run north down the walkway until you reach the doorway you opened with the wall switch. Jump into the water and quickly swim over to the ledge to your left. Pull up, draw your pistols and kill the SAS and his dog. Go over to the west wall, stand a couple of steps back and between the flames, and jump over to the CARTOUCHE PIECE 1. Pick it up, sidestep once to your left and back flip to safety. Turn around, jump back into the water and pull up into the south entrance. Face the pole and take a running jump and grab to it. Climb up through the hole and beyond, and when you can see the upper floor turn Lara's back to it and back flip off the pole.

Turn around and go to an opening that overlooks the canal below. An SAS is patrolling off to your right, so fire away when he comes within pistol range. Take a running jump onto the nearest lower balcony against the east wall, and continue jumping from balcony to balcony until you reach the south side. Kill another SAS shooting at you from the adjacent balcony and resume your jumps around the perimeter until you reach a floor lever. Throw it to open that floor grate you saw earlier, then reverse roll and make your way back along the balconies. When you reach the south side, hop down onto the veranda and climb down the open shaft in the corner.

You'll notice a jar in the room below. You can shoot it, but it's empty. There are a lot of such jars scattered throughout this level, but once in a while one will contain something helpful. I'll let you know about those. Throw the wall switch in the NE corner to open a door overhead. Pull up into another section of the canal. Don't worry about the sentry gun you can see across the way; it's not operating today. As you step forward you can see the friendly SAS to your left. There's no need yet to arouse his hostility, so look down into the water and you can see a closed grate to the left. Go down the walkway to your right, hop around the trash can and go down the stairs to pick up the large medi-pack at the end.

Return the other way and hop past the SAS. As you do so the door to the opening through which you entered closes, barring your way back until you find a certain key. Run toward the herky-jerky sentry gun and locate the ladder near the east end of the walkway. Note the closed underwater gate, then turn to your left, climb a short distance up the ladder, shift to your left and drop down onto the ledge. Throw the wall switch to open the large double doors leading to the second story of this building. You can continue around the balconies as you did earlier, but there's nothing to do or find along the way.

Hop from the ledge (or simply run over the corner) into the building and look around. There's a grand piano to your left, a block to your right blocking a doorway, an area to explore straight ahead, and another room ahead and to your right. There's no particular order required for doing things here, so step forward north in an area lined with large wooden blocks. There are two openings on your left and one higher up on your right. The lower one on the left is quite intriguing. You may try a number of ways to access the opening, but the only way I found to get there was to climb up onto the higher blocks to the east and take a sharply angled running jump into the opening. Then, when I arrived and dropped down into the hole, I found nothing, so this must be a little joke the builder has decided to play on the gamer.

Climb back onto the same east block, take a running jump across to the higher west pillar (or you can access it via a back flip and grab from the shorter west pillar), face north and take a running jump and grab to the upper ledge. Pull up and run left around the corner to look out onto a room with a large floor grate. You'll open this later.

Return to the main (second) floor and climb back unto the highest east block. This time take a standing jump north and grab the edge. Pull up into a higher area and run forward into the next room. Pull up onto the central blocks and face the quite unnecessary ladder. Take a standing jump and grab, and pull up onto a ledge that partially encircles the room. Run to the west end and turn right to face a ninja hiding in the darkness across the way. Kill him, then take a running jump and grab across the gap. Pull up, run around to the west end, jump across the gap and run up the ramp into a dark corner area where you'll find some crossbow arrows. Nothing more to do here, so drop back down to the floor and exit this area.

Back down on the main second floor, make a hairpin turn to the left and enter the dark NE area. Climb up onto the two blocks ahead and take a running jump to the next block in the corner. Turn around, pick up the small medi-pack and take a running jump and grab to the ledge. Pull up, run forward and throw the floor lever. Hop back a few times, grab and hang from the ledge, drop and grab the block, and drop down from there to the floor. Go to that block in the east doorway, climb up onto it and run forward to drop down on the other side. There are two parallel stairways, each one guarded by a dog. Kill them both. There's nothing at the top of the left stairway, but at the top of the right stairway you'll find a crawl space created when you threw the floor lever just now.

Crawl into the space and move forward. Ignore the white jug to your right, as well as the one straight ahead. Turn right at the second one, then continue toward the faint light and turn right when you can stand up. Run to the block and climb up onto it. Turn left and climb onto the next own. Run to the other side and lower Lara down the crawl space. Hop to the wooden floor, stand up close to the east crawl space to alert a bat, then crawl inside after killing it. In the far left corner you'll find some crossbow arrows for SECRET #2. Go back the other way and pull up into the passage above where you can stand up. Hop down from the blocks and turn left. Enter the crawl space again and turn left. Turn left at the white jug and continue crawling up a slight incline.

Turn right into a depression where you can stand up. Draw your pistols and kill the SAS standing silently to your left. Continue past him around the passage and drop down the hole at the end. Throw the wall switch to your left to open a floor grate nearby. You also alert three ninjas in the room below, so draw your pistols and hop down to give yourself more fighting room. Two of the ninjas drop uzi ammo, so pause to collect it before proceeding. Now climb up onto those blocks again and jump over to the higher one to the west. Take a running jump and grab north and pull up into the higher passage. Run around to the left, and you'll find the floor grate is now open. Climb down the ladder and drop down onto the top of a stairway. A flyby shows an SAS escaping before camera control is restored.

Run down the stairs into the room below and explore a bit. If you climb up onto the south blocks you'll cause an assassin to come climbing out of a hole. After you kill him, drop down into the hole he vacated and throw the floor lever to open the east doors through which the SAS escaped. Climb out, hop down and follow the SW passage along the bookshelves until you come to a ladder and a closed floor grate. Remember them for later. Reverse roll and exit this room through the south doorway. The SAS in just inside the next room, and so is a ninja. Kill them both and pick up the uzi ammo dropped by the ninja. Go all the way to the back (east) of this large library area. Turn right and go past an opening to your right into a small dark room where a dog and an SAS await. Kill them, pick up the shotgun ammo dropped by the SAS and pull up into the alcove for a small medi-pack.

Return to the wall opening that you went by a few seconds ago and run up the stairs to a room with a fireplace to your left as you enter. Go in front of the fireplace and shoot the jug in the window at the south wall. Vault up onto the block and pick up the SILVER KEY, then reverse roll and run around the piano to find a floor lever on a block. Throw it for a cut scene showing that floor grate you saw earlier opening. The nearby jug in the window isn't important, but the assassin trying to sneak up on you from behind is. After killing him, vault up into the opening near the piano and pick up the large medi-pack.

As long as you're here, let's divert for a secret. Hop down onto the red awning and jump across to the more ornate balcony. Follow it around to the left, and from there take a running jump south to the sloped roof. Slide back and grab the edge, and shimmy all the way to your right (you'll see a gondola down below as you near the end). Pull up and back flip to the balcony behind you. Turn around and make a series of jumps counterclockwise along the awnings until you reach the SAS balcony. The SAS stationed there won't bother you until you start shooting at him, which you must do to acquire the UZIS he was carrying, not to mention SECRET #3.

Jump over to the sloped roof, and allow Lara to slide off into the canal below. Pull up onto the landing next to the gondola and vault up onto the raised surface. There's a hole framed by fruit trees. Jump into it, down into the water, and note the underwater lever to the west. Throw it to raise the gate above it. Swim out into a familiar area. Pull up onto the steps to the south and run forward as a couple of SAS stationed on the west balconies start firing at you. Make your way back to the NE ladder and climb up as before. If you wish to rid yourself of those pesky SAS, head their way with pistols blazing. When all is quiet, jump over to the lower west balcony and pick up the small medi-pack dropped by one of the SAS. Return to the ladder and climb up to the top.

With Lara's hands on the second rung from the top, back flip onto the red roof. Take a running jump and grab to the first south awning, pull up and continue west until you reach the upper balcony. Pick up the shotgun ammo dropped by the second SAS and return to the red roof. Hang drop from the hole in the SE corner into the water far below. Swim down through the shaft and follow the passage until you reach what appears to be a maze-like area. Continue straight, past the opening on your right, turn right just past the opening and then make a hard left. Turn right into the first alcove and throw the underwater lever to open the grate overhead. Swim up for air, but let's not leave this area just yet.

Swim back down into the larger underwater room and locate the NE passage. Follow it to the other end for the SHOTGUN and SECRET #4. Return to the underwater lever and swim up into the canal area. Climb up onto the stairs as before and use the ladder to access the main second story of the building. Climb up onto the east blocks and jump over to the sloped higher west block. Take a running jump and grab north to the upper ledge and pull up. Run around to the left and climb down the ladder. Drop down to the stairs and run down to the lower room. Make a hairpin turn to the right and run along that narrow passage until you reach the ladder and the open floor grate.

Jump to the ladder and climb down to the dark passage below. Follow the passage upward until you reach a new room. Climb up onto the east block ahead and locate the moveable block in the corner. Pull it out twice, then hop down and go around to the right to pull up into the revealed alcove. Pick up the COPPER KEY and hop back down to the floor, where two SAS have been alerted. Kill them both, then run back down the ramped passage (which is now a boulder trap, so don't tarry).

When you reach the ladder, climb up and back flip to the grate. Turn around and run along the narrow passage until you reach the stairway, then run up the stairs and pull up into the room above. Use the north ladder to reach the upper level, then run around to the right and hop down to the main second story level. Run to the south doorway and safety drop to the wooden walkway. Run to the closed west door and insert the Copper Key in the keyhole to open the door. Hop down and use the Silver Key in the keyhole to open the double doors.

As you enter, the doors close behind you. Climb up onto the SW block and hop down into the passage on the other side. Follow it to a ladder and climb up to back flip into an upper room. Climb up onto the block and throw the wall switch. Hop down and climb back down the ladder. Head south down the passage and turn left into a new opening. Climb up onto the block to your left, hop down the other side and run to the ladder north. Climb up and back flip into the next room. Pick up the small medi-pack in the SE corner and jump back to the ladder. Climb up to the top and shift left. Drop down onto the ledge and pick up the spare UZIS. You're in a mirror room, but there's nothing to do here.

Admire yourself in front of the mirror while an assassin jumps down from the west opening. Kill him, then jump up into the opening and hop down into the next room. Kill the SAS and exit onto the west balcony. Turn left and enter the next room. Climb the blocks and get on the pole. Climb up and back flip into a dark upper room. Make your way to the north side and kill a dog and an assassin. Look around for two quivers of crossbow arrows (another assassin attacks when you pick up the quiver on the block) and some shotgun ammo. You can also painstakingly make your way to a hole up in the NW corner (being mindful of the large hole in the floor) by jumping and grabbing and shimmying around to your right and pulling up into a tight space, but when you get there and drop down inside, you find there's nothing there. The joke's on you again.

Jump back to the pole, climb down and go out to the balcony. Back flip off the south end into the water below and swim north to the stairs. Climb up and throw the switch in the north wall to open the door beside you. Hop down and throw the wall switch to your right for a cut scene showing a gate opening near a waterfall. Turn around west, pull up onto the block and jump into the canal. Swim south and turn left at the bend. Swim underneath the lifted gate toward the waterfall. Allow Lara to spill over the top of the waterfall into the area beyond. If you pull up onto the walkway to your right and light a flare, you'll come to a closed door that leads to the final secret.

Jump back into the water and locate the lever in a small south alcove. Pull it to open the door above, then pull out and follow the long dark passage. Be prepared to use up to a half dozen flares, as you won't need them after this. You'll eventually come to an open room, but you need to pull up into an opening and continue. Finally, you come to the end of the passage and a window overlooking the canal. Pick up the large medi-pack for SECRET #5 and make your way back in the other direction.

When you reach the wooden walkway, jump back into the water and swim east until you reach a canal passage where you can surface for air. Swim forward and pull out onto a wooden ledge. Run along the ledge until you reach the end where you can pick up some crossbow arrows just beyond a ladder. This brings an SAS running, so kill him before jumping to the ladder. Climb up, shift left and drop down onto the balcony. Pick up CARTOUCHE PIECE 2 and shoot the SAS who comes around the corner toward you.

Jump over the balcony into the water below and swim into the NE passage until you reach a docking area. Pull up on the west side and go around the central column to find a large medi-pack for SECRET #6. Jump back into the water and climb up next to the inoperable motor boat on the south side. Kill the assassin, then run up the stairs and find the receptacle to your right. Combine the two pieces in your inventory to form the BA CARTOUCHE. Insert it in the receptacle and the double doors to your left open silently. Go inside to end the level.