RUN LARA RUN

Level by Gylov

Walkthrough by Bex and posted here with permission

Introduction.

What can I say - this level is tough. Every step you take leads to trap after trap. Even finding somewhere non-lethal to save your game is a challenge most of the time - so much so that I’ve mentioned a few points at which it’s safe to do so throughout this walkthrough.

Most of the tasks you’ll face in this level are tightly timed, so I’m warning you now - if timed stuff isn’t your cup of tea, “Run Lara Run” is definitely not going to be the level for you. If on the other hand you’re like me and you’re a sucker for timed stuff, this level may well make it into your top ten. Personally, I loved every minute of it - but hey, I’m a masochist.

Savegames - posted at larashome.com, use this link -

http://www.larashome.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10402

I have included savegames at key places in this level in case anyone needs them:

- Savegame 0: After the initial timed run, spiked boulder traps and timed spike blocks
- Savegame 1: After the timed run with the skeletons, the fire burners and the pole
- Savegame 2: After the burner tiles and pillars with spiked boulder traps
- Savegame 3: After the boulder traps, skeleton ledges, wraiths and rope swing
- Savegame 4: After the timed lava room, boulder traps, ceiling spikes and scarabs
- Savegame 5: After the timed sliding, pot-shooting and jumping sequence
- Savegame 6: After the underwater boulder gauntlet
- Savegame 7: At the door to the alternative ending

Walkthrough.

Ah… you’ve just got to love a level that starts with a timed run, haven’t you? Thankfully, this one’s not particularly difficult. Slide down the slope at the beginning and enter a room with a couple of pillars in a pool and a raised floor tile on your right. Standing on the floor tile will briefly open the door on the other side of the pool. Have a practise run first and pick up the small medipack from the first pillar, then return to the floor tile and try it again for real. It’s simple enough if you remember to jump from the second pillar at the very last minute so that Lara lands right near the door, rather than having to pull up first.

Once you’ve managed to get through the door, you’ll slide down a slope - immediately turn right and sprint to outrun the spiked boulder that’s racing towards you. Jump over the ledge at the end of the boulder slope and immediately roll at the bottom then sprint again to outrun the next spiked boulder that’s on your heels.

The only place to go after outrunning the second boulder is to the first of several nasty looking blocks. Spikes will pop out from these blocks after a couple of seconds so don’t hang around, get across them all as quickly as you can to avoid being skewered.

Jump to the ladder after the last spiked block and climb up. Negotiate a couple of slopes and land in a room with spike tiles on the floor. In the split second between landing in this room and being bombarded by scarabs, you can finally save your game.
Pick up the small medipack from the safe tile on the left and run away from the scarabs before they can do you any damage. Run through the passageway on the right and jump across the lava pit, grabbing the edge of the slope on the other side. Shimmy right (avoiding the darts which are firing at you from the wall) and pull up at the end. Slide down the three slopes over the spikes ahead of you, and grab the ladder at the end.

Climb up into the next room and three skeletons will appear. You have no weapons with which to obliterate them, so avoiding them is the only thing you can do. To the North in this room is a raised floor tile. Standing on this will open the door to the South for a brief period of time.

Pick up the small medipack from the nearby pedestal and save your game when you’re at a safe distance from the skeletons, because in order to get to that door you’re going to have to tackle an absolute pig of a timed run. (Actually it’s not, though you may think it is at first. In reality it’s very easy, once you figure out that you can use a running roll to nail it every time). Here’s how I did it, although I’m sure there are other ways too:

1. Run to the trigger tile in a kind of semi-circular way so that Lara’s feet just catch one of the corners, and you’ll be positioned for a straight run to the door.

2. As Lara’s feet touch the tile she should already be running and facing the door. Jump once whilst running to clear a bit of distance, then sprint your butt off.

3. When the sprint bar is literally empty, do a running roll (press alt whilst sprinting). This will get you through the door in time.

Manage it? Bravo! But don’t become smug and complacent just yet - there’s no rest for the wicked, not in this level at least. As soon as you’re through the door, immediately sprint down the path to avoid being set alight by the burners that burst into flames almost as soon as you land on them, then jump to the pole at the end. Climb up and backflip/twist so that you land on the nearby slope facing forwards. Jump at the end and, when you’re at a safe distance from the mummy you just landed next to, save your game.

Evade the mummy and head for the slope close by, jumping up and grabbing as soon as you land on it to catch hold of the monkey bars above your head. Traverse the monkey bars quickly to avoid being impaled by the spikes that start shooting out of the walls. At the end, turn left and drop, grabbing again straight away to catch hold of the (temporarily) unlit burner tile in front of you. You could save your game as you pull up onto this tile if you like.

Quickly crawl across the burner tile and hang off the other side before it bursts into flames and you catch fire. Continue using this method for the other burner tiles in this area (again, saving as you pull up onto each one if need be). At last you’ll come to a tile that doesn’t burn. Woohoo! Safe at last, I hear you cry! Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re about as safe as someone playing marbles on a motorway. If you hang around on this tile for more than a split second, a spiked boulder will fall from above and turn Lara into a pancake. Nice eh?

There are in fact spiked boulders above every single pillar in this room, and they will drop almost as soon as Lara sets foot on those pillars. Run and jump to the first pillar and immediately run and jump with grab to the second one to catch hold of the edge. Shimmy around to corner the left. You’ll now be nicely lined up for reaching the pillar opposite. Pull up and quickly take a running jump with grab to that pillar and, once more catching the edge, shimmy, this time around the corner to the right. You’ll be perfectly aligned to race across the remaining pillars to the open doorway ahead. As you slide down the slope, save your game.

Grab the small medipack from the floor and as quickly as you can (so as to avoid being slaughtered by the army of skeletons that appeared from the side doors that just opened), push the floor lever to open the large door in front of you. Proceed through the door and use the slopes to position yourself to land in the small pool below you.

Beware of the currents, as they will carry you into spike traps if you’re not careful. Near the first spike trap, head to the right and go through the opening in the wall that you’ll find there. Before being sucked into the second spike trap, swim upwards through the hole in the ceiling.

You’ll be carried over a pretty waterfall. Jump when you can to clear some of the distance between Lara and the pole at the end of the shallow pool you’ll land in. It’s important to get up the pole quickly, as the pool you’re standing in will catch fire within a few seconds.

Backflip/twist off the pole to land on the nearby slope facing forwards. Slide down another slope and jump at the end. The floor you land on will rise, and as it does so a spiked ceiling will lower. Yikes! Head through the hole in the wall as soon as you can and slide down the slope ahead, jumping at the end to land at the foot of a staircase.

An ominous rumbling will begin at this stage. Oh joy! It’s a boulder heading down the staircase you’re standing on. You now have to race up the staircase towards it, dashing into the doorway at the top of the stairs at the last minute to relative safety.

I say “relative” safety because as soon as you manage to get through this door you will be set upon by two wraiths. As if that’s not bad enough, I should warn you that these buggers are going to be on your tail for quite a while whilst you tackle a number of traps which get nastier by the minute. How lovely!

Assuming you have now evaded the boulder and landed in the room with the wraiths, pick up the large medipack and notice the ramps through the doorway nearby. You’ll probably experience a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach at this point, especially if you look up as you approach the doorway. There’s not one, but two spiked boulders suspended high up in this ramped area, both of which are perfectly positioned to make mincemeat out of poor Lara.

The one directly about your head won’t fall just yet. You’ll need to trigger the one over the gap on the next ramp first. Take a running jump to that ramp to trigger it, then immediately roll and without stopping run back to the first ramp and sprint down it, heading back through the doorway and keeping to the right to avoid being squished by the boulder that was hanging above you earlier. You really do need to be quick about this or you’ll be splattered in no time. When you’ve done it and are at a reasonably safe distance from those pesky wraiths, it would be a good time to save your game.

Head back up the ramps. Yay! It’s one of those cross-thingies that destroys wraiths! Only… it’s not. As you approach it, you’ll fall through the floor and land on the first of three slopes. At the end of the third slope, jump to the first of several ledges in this area, most of which have skeletons on them.

Do not take your time here, because apart from the fact that those wraiths are still in hot pursuit, the skeletons will of course also spring to life at any moment, with the intention of giving Lara a few unwanted body piercings. Hop across the ledges as quickly as you can, picking up the small medipack on the uninhabited ledge near the rope. Jump to the rope. You’ll see another of those cross-thingies on the East wall, but it’s a trap, as you probably already guessed due to the fact that it’s guarded by flames and bolts of electricity. Swing as high as you can so you land inside the doorway above the cross instead.

If you happened to land near the cross and catch fire, you can throw yourself in one of the shallow pools inside this room, but hopefully you managed to get here without frying yourself. Finally! Real cross-thingies! Use them to rid yourself of the two wraiths that have been bugging you for what seems like an eternity and save your game.

The door in this area should now be open. The whole of the next room is timed from the minute you slide into it, so it’s up to you whether or not you decide to take a few seconds to pick up the two large medipacks which are lying on the central plinth. (It can be done in time).

Either way, from the central plinth, run, jump and grab the first pillar on the North wall (the first one on your left as you enter this room). Make your way across all of the wall pillars in this room in a clockwise direction without stopping.

Shoot the pot on the last pillar so that you can land on it and use the monkeybars above your head to get to the high crawlspace opposite. If you did it in time, great, onwards you go! If you didn’t, well, you’ll be busy dying in the lava pit that just opened up beneath your feet.

We’ll be positive here and assume that you made it. Slide down the slope on the other side of the high crawlspace and jump at the end to grab the ladder. At the top, pull up and immediately backflip, jump forwards and grab the ledge above you. Quickly pull up to avoid the spiked boulder that is hurtling towards you. Once the boulder has passed, backflip again and jump forwards once more to grab another ladder. Climb up and shimmy right, dropping off onto the slope nearby.

What follows is really nasty. At the end of the second slope, jump forwards and grab the edge of the slope ahead. Shimmy right and do not stop shimmying until you get to the end. The camera angle will change to show you why - you just landed on a slope which is full of spiked boulders, all of which are heading towards you. I repeat: Do not stop shimmying until you get to the end! If you do, well, it’s curtains for Croft.

At the end, drop off, slide down the small slope and sprint like hell to the pole at the end of the path you’re on to outrun the boulder that’s gaining on you. Slide down the pole as the boulder crashes behind you. Continue along the path you’re on, sprinting to avoid the swarm of bloodthirsty scarabs that just descended on you. Run through the ceiling spikes nearby and save your game.

Jump over the two spike pits and slide down the slope. You’ll land in a room with three buttons on the walls. Unfortunately, so will a load more scarabs.

Push the buttons as quickly as you can to open the door, and in the next room shoot the four pots to open the door to the next room. Still being pursued by scarabs, run into the next room. As you do, Lara’s weight causes the floor here to sink slightly. Pull the floor lever on the right to stop this happening and head for the South wall near the previously sinking floor. You can now pull up there. Do so on the right-hand side of this wall and if you possibly can, save your game whilst you’re in this pulling-up position, as there’s a really tricky sliding, jumping and shooting sequence coming up next. Out of the whole game, this is the one part which turned me prematurely grey and had me calling Gylov some names which don’t bear repeating, lol…

As you pull up, you’ll find yourself on a slope, with another slope and several pillars in front of you. On each pillar is a pot which is on fire. The objective here is obviously to get to the other side of the room. As you slide down the first slope, whip out your pistols and jump to the second slope. As soon as you land on the second slope, shoot the pot on the pillar ahead to turn off the fire there for a few seconds. Jump to this pillar and immediately shoot the pot on the next pillar and run/jump to that one. You have to be quick as the fires only remain off for a few seconds.

Repeat this shooting, running and jumping method until you arrive at the other side of this area. This whole thing will most likely take a few (!!!) attempts, and may well destroy a fair bit of your remaining sanity in the process, but take heart as it can be done! (Actually, I know I found this bit really frustrating, but even as I was cursing the author I had to admire the concept of this puzzle - I’ve never seen anything quite like it before or since, so I have to give credit where credit’s due for originality).

Save your game. Taking care to avoid the steam jets as much as possible, climb the ledges until you get to a slope. Slide down the slope (jumping over a couple of spike pits as you go) and at the end, jump and grab the ladder texture on the wall ahead. Notice anything… disturbing… about this ladder texture? Yep, you guessed it. Spikes. As quickly as you can, make your way across this room. The camera changes to show you that a few backflips with twists will be necessary in order to do this. Note that your progress will be quicker (and therefore safer) by far if you get Lara’s feet in what I call “dangle-mode”. By this I mean that her feet should not be on the ladder, she should almost be shimmying rather than climbing except when she has to have her hands and her feet on the rungs in order to actually pull up and backflip.

After your final backflip with twist you’ll land on a slope. At the bottom of this slope, run across the blocks in front of you as quickly as you can because they will retract and drop you to a fiery death if you don’t get a move on.

A rising floor will transport you to an outdoor area. I’m not a fan of fixed camera shots at all, but I have to say that the one you get here is excellent - if the sight of a whole hill of spiked boulders hurtling towards you doesn’t give you a huge adrenaline rush then nothing will. Sprint as fast as you can down the slope and jump into the water at the bottom. Save your game.

What follows is a real pig of a boulder gauntlet (yep, Gylov is certainly fond of his spiky balls… and take that how you will!) It’s bad enough that it’s such a nasty set of traps, but what makes it worse is that it’s underwater, because of course you only have a limited amount of air.

Unless you are really speedy or really lucky (or both), you can expect to be here for some time. Personally, I became extremely well acquainted with my reload key at this stage. Argh…

There really is no way to explain how to do the first bit of part. It entails triggering a whole load of spiked boulders. All I can tell you is that I found it easiest to trigger each boulder very carefully one by one rather than trying to bomb through the entire thing in one go. But it’s really trial and error, whatever works best for you.

Once all the boulders have been triggered, swim through the tunnel nearby. If you have a fair amount of air left (unlikely), grab the large medipack from the floor. Time a swim through the pink spike trap ahead and prepare yourself for another boulder trap. Are we having fun yet? LOL…

If you can, save your game in the small tunnel just after the pink spike trap. That done, swim out of the tunnel and straight ahead (the current will help you). Swim upwards to the hole in the ceiling as three more spiked boulders hurtle towards you.

Fill your aching lungs with air and save your game. You now have two options, it depends on which ending you want to see. For the normal ending, simply climb out of the pool and follow the path until you see an interesting looking pyramid ahead of you. As you run towards the pyramid, the level will end.

If however you want to see an alternative (and more interesting ending), go back to the pool and swim up the slope the three boulders fell from. At the end, look up and to the left. There’s an open door up there (for some reason, that door doesn’t seem to open unless you first get out of the water, go down the path until you can see the pyramid, and then return to the pool).

Swim through the open door and climb out. Make your way up the ledges and drop down from the crawlspace into the main pyramid room. Grab the large medipack from inside the pyramid and make your way to the top of the structure using the pale whitish tiles on its side. At the top, jump to the rope and swing to the crawlspace. Enter this area and watch the end flyby.