Back to Basics 2007 - Following A London Sect

Level by TimJ

Walkthrough by Selene and Harry Laudie, with a few paragraphs contributed by Phil Lambeth.

The level takes place somewhere in London and starts with Lara standing inside a building of some sort. Go right and right again when you reach the first burning candle, pick up the flares next to the second one in the SW corner. There is a key lock and a trap door in the north corridor. Leave the building now and two guards attack from the left, so start off by killing them, but be careful not to run into the barbed wire at the north end of the street. Pick up the small medipack and Uzi clips they leave behind and go across the street. Behind the yellow cab (right of the burning fire) you'll find some more flares.

Turn right and go down to the far end of the street, on the right side of the building where you came out. You may have noticed a small side alley to the south that you'll come back to later. At the west end next to the fire there is a garbage bin you can climb. Turn around and do a running jump towards the swing pole, pressing Action to grab onto it. Swing around, let go and press Action again to grab the yellow hanging "box" ahead. Climb up on top of it. The sound you're now hearing tells you there's a crow nearby and it's begging to be disposed of. You can either kill it from up here or drop down to the street for some more space. If you choose the latter you'll have to make your way back onto the yellow box again afterwards.

On the facade of the building to the SE you might spot a black grated platform. That's where you're going so do a running jump over to it, then do another one to grab the crevice in the grey pillar east. Shimmy around the left corner and pull up onto another platform. Turn left and you'll see a crevice in the wall ahead with a yellow crate at the far right end. You'll have to reach this crevice and it's quite tricky, but a running jump slightly SE while pressing Action should do (since the crevice actually runs all the way to the left end of the wall, even though you can't actually see it). Shimmy right and pull up into a room with some pipes spewing out fire.

Time your run past the horizontal pipe first, running as the fire subsides. Turn right and time another run to get past the vertical flame as well. The crosshatched floor tiles in this area are fire traps. You'll find a switch in the south wall and a glass-protected button in the east wall. I'd recommend that you save your game before pulling the switch, as the next part is quite difficult. Pull the lever and a trapdoor drops below Lara's feet, sending her plummeting down to a slope. The moment she hits the slope, jump forward across the fire-trapped floor to land on a second slope. Now you have to slide almost all the way to the bottom before jumping and Lara will land on a third slope. Jump forward to grab the swing pole, swing around once and let go, grab another pole and swing into the alcove ahead (a door closes behind you) before, if all goes well, the flame emitter between the two swing poles goes back on. If Lara catches fire, simply reload and try again.

The black tile ahead is fire-trapped as well, so avoid stepping on it. Stand right before it and jump up while pressing Action to grab the monkeyswing. Swing forward and left, and as you do this a flame bursts out from the wall back on the ledge where you came from. Going back there is not an option, in other words. Continue swinging, turn right and go forward until you can drop down onto a safe floor. Turn left and stand/jump SE down to the safe floor section here to retrieve some Uzi clips. Now walk forward until Lara stands with the slope where she first dropped down on her right-hand side and turn around. Look up to spot a jump switch, jump straight up while pressing Action to grab and activate it.

Now you'll have no choice but to go through the slope jumping sequence again. Stand facing south and sideslip right onto the first slope in this room. Go through the jump sequences again, grabbing both poles again and in through the door that has now opened again. This time stand at the opening with Lara's back to the fire room and hop backwards, grabbing the edge on the way down. She will put her legs up on a climbable wall so climb around to the right and all the way down as far as possible. You can now climb all the way to the right and stay below the flame emitter without catching fire. As the flame subsides back flip/roll to land on the slope behind, then immediately jump while pressing Action. Lara will grab a second jump switch and pull it down. The tile at the bottom of the slope is now safe and you can do a standing jump to get back through the open door again.

Now the flame that came out of the wall is disabled so you can once more use the monkeyswing to get back to the other side. Drop down here and this time climb up through the open trapdoor, making sure Lara is facing S. Time your run past the vertical flame again and this time jump left over the open trapdoor. The glass cover is no longer preventing you from reaching the button, so you can now press it in order to open the door to the left. The open door partially bars your way, so be careful when you go around it not to step on the black grated fire tiles below the pipe to your left. Go into the next room, and on the right wall there's a button, but this only closes the door you came through.

Run about one step into the room and hop backwards towards the door again as some barrels roll by from the right. Three rats attack as well, so kill them before continuing into the room. Shoot away the crates in the left corner to find a small medipack. Now go to the right corner of the room and shoot some more crates. It's very dark in this corner so either use the binoculars or a flare to spot a switch behind the barrels to the left of the crawlspace. When you have pulled it crouch and go through the crawlspace. On your way you're attacked by two rats, the only thing you can do here is to draw guns and shoot them as well as you can (their attacks are not sustained, so you'll have an opportunity to fire at them). Continue crawling north through the water until you reach a room with a thug (possibly a member of the sect mentioned in the title?) and his faithful dog. Kill them, then pick up the flares in the near corner as well as the RED KEY the thug drops.

Go back through the crawlspace, killing yet another rat on your way (come up to a crouch and draw your pistols as soon as you see it out of the corner of your eye). Return to the room with the fire pipes, navigate past the fire tiles and blowers, and this time drop down to the ground from the west opening where you came in to begin with. Go south, and in the small niche left you'll find a keyhole with a red frame, use your newly found key here to open the door next to it. Shoot the circuit box to the right and pull the switch to open a trapdoor at the end of the alley. Leave this room and go left, here you'll find the trapdoor I mentioned. Drop in, jump to land on the opposite slope and press Action to grab the edge, then drop down. Above you there is a jumpswitch and I'd recommend you to save before pulling it as the next part can be a bit hard. Pull the switch, lowering the trapdoor below you so that Lara lands in a pool. There are two rotating fans in the pool causing a very strong current. If you're not careful the current will easily sweep Lara into the fan behind her, causing her to be instantly shredded.

What you have to do here is to keep swimming forward to the east (so keep pressing the Up arrow key). It will go slowly and make it seem as if she's butting against a wall, but eventually the camera angle will change back to normal as Lara reaches the pillar ahead and that's when you know that you have beaten the current (for now, anyway). On the back (east) side of said pillar there is a lever. Pulling this opens a door in the west wall directly opposite the pillar. Swim to your right around the pillar (to the left there's another fan blocking your way), being careful not to be swept along the current toward the fan to the right, and struggle your way over to the opposite wall and through the open door there. Swim/wade up to the end where you can climb up and drop down to enjoy a magnificent fly-by through a partially submerged metro station that eventually comes back to where our heroine is now standing.

Drop off the block and swim north along the submerged railroad tracks. Pause just past the light metal crate to your right, where you'll find some flares that you'll most likely need, as this area is quite dark in places. There are additional flares at the bottom of the escalator just beyond the turnstiles to your left. Swim up either side of the escalator until you surface, then run the rest of the way up to alert a thug coming down the stairs from your left. Kill him, then proceed up either stairway until you reach a room where three SAS are warming themselves near a makeshift campfire. Kill them one and all, then collect the Uzi ammo and small medi-pack left behind by two of them. Avoid the barbed wire near the north wall. The nearby crates are empty, and you don't yet have the red key to open the door in the west wall, so go back down the stairs and return to the partially submerged metro station. There are two sections in the main area above the tracks where you can grab some air if needed. You can also pull up onto the overhang where it meets the east wall and crawl forward to pick up a small medi-pack for SECRET #1. Nothing on the west side, sorry.

Now let's explore the section on the east side of the tracks. Inside the open SE doorway is a niche to your right where you'll find some Uzi ammo. Continue along the winding passage and you'll soon reach the water's surface. Wade forward a short distance and then run along the passage until the camera angle changes. Step forward, turn into the alcove to your left and open the door. Inside the small room is a device with a glass-covered switch and a receptacle on either side, each requiring a pickup that you don't yet possess. There's nothing more to do here at the moment, so reverse roll and continue south down the corridor and over the grate. Turn right at the T-intersection and open the door. Guess what? Another small room with a similar device bearing a glass-covered switch and a receptacle on each side. Go back the way you came and swim to the main area outside. Turn to your right and swim past the larger central opening and into the NE opening. When you can surface, run up the ramp past the steam blowers and continue north as the camera angle changes. When you reach the top of the ramp, run straight ahead into the dark wall and jump up to activate the jump switch. Continue north and make a hairpin turn around the work bench. Vault up into the alcove for some Uzi ammo, then continue north through the small doorway. Follow the ramp until you reach a closed door requiring a green key you don't have (although it's in plain sight just beyond the grate behind you.

Go back down and swim to the main area. Make a hairpin turn to your left and swim into the larger central east opening. Turn left at the T-intersection and continue until you can surface. Run across the enclosed bridge to the west side and follow the passage past the open doorway to your right. When you reach the water to your left, wade forward until you're able to swim, then continue forward and pick up the small medi-pack near the turnstile. Flip turn and swim back the way you came.

Enter the room you passed by earlier and save your game in front of the switch to your right. When you pull it down you see a cut scene of a door opening and you hear a burst of action music that's indicative of a timed run. Reverse roll, exit this room and turn left. Make another quick left and sprint across the bridge into the water. Swim forward, turn right and keep swimming until you reach the companion bridge. Turn right, surface and sprint across the second bridge. Make a hairpin turn to your left into the open doorway. Once you're inside, the door stays open.

Look through the crack ahead and you'll see a fuse box in the wall SE. Draw your pistols to shatter the cover and reveal a switch, and a trap door is also lowered to your left. Jump up to grab the crawl space, crawl inside and lower Lara down the north side. Pick up the RED KEY and crawl back up. A grate in the east wall bars your way, and you can't get at the switch that's so tantalizingly near, so exit this room, make a hairpin turn to the right and cross the bridge back to the east side. Swim back to the main submerged area and continue over the turnstiles to the west. Surface and run up the escalator, then up the stairs and into the room with the campfire where you wrought all that carnage earlier. Use the Red Key to open the door in the west wall.

You face a slope with two fans and barbed wire in a pit. There is also a barrel on a far upper slope. Slide down the slope and jump to the pole between the fans. Press the forward key and swing around once. Then release the key to jump safely over the barrel onto the more even ramp. Run up the ramp and shoot a thug. The thug drops a large medipack. Shoot a box in the corner for Uzis and Uzi ammo. Climb onto a block and pick up YELLOW FUSE #1. Drop into the corner and press the pushbutton on the wall. You get a cut scene of a platform rising over the pit. Go to the entrance and grab the ceiling. Monkey swing over the pit and back to the door. Go back down the escalator and swim over the turnstiles into the flooded station again.

There are two tunnels to the north. Swim to the end of the left tunnel and see a timed underwater lever on the east wall. Pull the lever and swim south. Loop around to the left through an opening in the wall and swim up the right north tunnel. At the end, pull up through a timed door in the left wall. Once you make it, the door seems to stay open. Hop into the north tunnel where it is dry. Stand jump to the north to get over the bump. Go north and follow the tunnel to a construction site. Shoot a thug and his dog. At the end of the tunnel, look up to the right. You can see a V-shaped notch in the column. You can pull up there and onto the column for flares. Look to the north-west and see a ledge and an opening in the wall. You cannot get there yet, but remember where you saw it.

Drop to the ground and enter the lower north-west opening. You enter what appears to be the basement foundation under a church. Shoot an annoying bat. Go east and into the south-east archway. Shoot two bats and pick up Uzi ammo. Go north to an archway for a small medipack. Go north into the water and you can see a closed door. Return to the basement and go to the north-west corner. Stand on the mound of dirt and pull up to the north ledge. Jump into the opening to the south. Then run and jump to grab the middle ledge to the south. Pull up and see a chandelier with fire in the middle of the ledge. There may be another bat to shoot.

Go to the middle south ledge and look down south to see a ledge with an opening. Take one step back, and stand jump forward with grab to glide onto that ledge. Go to the opening and run and jump to the south-west to grab the ledge you saw from the column. Run and jump with a right curve to the north-east to grab the edge of a beam. Pull up and go south over the beam. Pick up Uzi ammo for SECRET #2. Jump down to the ledge and safety drop to the floor. Go back to the north-west corner and climb and jump again to the middle ledge with the chandelier with the fire.

Go to the north-east corner and jump down onto a lower ledge. Immediately hop back and grab the ledge. Hang there while two barrels roll over your head. This trip was only to trigger the barrels so they are not in your way later. Shimmy to the right and pull up onto another ledge. Go east a little and pick up the PIEGA (green) KEY. Notice the lock on the other side of the fence. Safety drop to the ground.

Go back to the north-west corner and jump south into the opening. Now turn to the west and jump to grab a higher ledge and pull up. A fence prevents you from getting to the ledge with the fire. However, jump onto the north ledge and Lara looks at a triangular space in the wall. Reach into the space and pick up BLUE FUSE #1. Carefully jump to a lower ledge and then safety drop to the ground. Go south to exit this basement and return to the metro tunnels.

Follow any tunnel to swim back to the flooded station. Swim into the north-east tunnel and follow the tunnel again back to where you saw the locked door. The fence beside you was where you found the Piega Key. Use it now to open the door and follow the tunnel. Climb a ladder and shoot two thugs. Follow a north tunnel to a church area and shoot a crow. Pull out a movable block from the west wall. Get into the alcove behind the block for a large medipack and SECRET #3. Pull up onto the canopy over the four columns. Use the floor lever and get a cut scene of the door in the basement area opening. Exit this church area and go to the west. Slide down the slope to a ledge in the basement. This is a shortcut and there are no barrels to kill you.

Go north into the water and go through the open door. Climb the blocks and pull up into a triangular opening to the east. Climb another block and you are in a room with a fire. Shoot the barrel in the north-west corner. A small fire starts and explodes a section of the north wall. Enter the next room and shoot the fuse box in the north-east corner. Pull the switch inside and the door opens in the west fence. Shoot the guard and pick up YELLOW FUSE #2. Exit the room and return to the basement. Be careful of the vibrating barrels and go south to exit back to the metro tunnels. Go south and swim into the flooded station.

Swim to the south-east corner again and follow the tunnel to the rooms needing the fuses. The first room needs the blue fuses, so continue to the second room and place the two yellow fuses. The glass panel opens to reveal the switch. Pull down the switch and get a cut scene of a fan stopped in the underwater tunnel. Exit and return to the flooded station. Enter the left south tunnel and climb the second box at the left wall. Pull up into a tunnel in the east wall. Follow the crawl space and swim back to the tunnel with the fans. The south fan has stopped, so swim south and into a tunnel in the east wall. Pull up into a tunnel and shoot a bat. Follow the tunnel to a crosshatched wall. Climb the wall into another tunnel. Follow the tunnel and drop into a small room. Shoot a box to release a rat. Shoot the rat and pick up BLUE FUSE #2. Follow the tunnel and ladders back to the tunnel with the fans.

Enter the hole in the west wall and swim back to the flooded station. Swim to the south-east corner again and follow the tunnel to the rooms needing the fuses. Enter the first room and place the blue fuses. The glass panel opens to reveal the switch. Pull down the switch and get a cut scene of a fan stopped in the underwater tunnel. Exit and return to the flooded station. Enter the left south tunnel and climb the second box at the left wall. Pull up into a tunnel in the east wall. Follow the crawl space and swim back to the tunnel with the fans. The north fan has stopped, so swim north and into a tunnel in the east wall to get behind the north fan. Swim north and into a tunnel as the camera view changes. You exit into another tunnel with a fan. Turn to the left and slowly swim north against the current. Swim to the north-west corner and pull up onto a ledge.

Climb a ladder into an open outdoor area. Shoot a thug and his dog. Pick up flares and go east. Enter a niche and open the door. Enter the room but do not go near the south windows. The barbed wire outside the windows can damage you. Go north up a ramp and follow the ramp to see two closed doors. Open the east door but the opening seems to be fenced off. Open the north door and enter a room with a closed door. Return to the ramp where you see a floor lamp. Look for a jump switch on the east wall. Pull down the jump switch and you hear a door open. Return back to the north room and enter the open door. Follow the tunnel to a small room. Then follow the south tunnel to an opening overlooking the starting area.

Use the zip line to get to the ledge at the far west side of the area. You are on a ledge near the roof the church where you started. Go west to enter the north side ledge next to a fence. Turn left and you are on a ledge on the inside of the church. Just follow the inside ledge and turn to the right into an opening. You are on the south side outer ledge. Go west and shoot a thug. Wait until he disappears and pick up an OLD KEY. Follow the ledges back to the zip line. Beware of the barbed wire on the ground and safety drop to the ground. Enter the church again and go behind the west wall.

Use the key and the trap door opens. Get into the hole and slide down to the end. You get a cut scene of a thug who disappears. You now face a room with some deadly pools. Carefully run and jump over a deadly pool and be careful of the fire on your left. Run east into the alcove where the thug was seen. You get a small flyby and the level ends.

22-jan-2007