Back to Basics 2008 - Journey Through the Andes

 

Level by Mikki

 

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth

 

 

Begin by sliding down a snowy rock face toward an ancient temple.  Get those pistols out quickly, as you're greeted by a warrior and a wolf.  When peace has been restored, go around the gallows and find that entrance to the temple is barred by two sets of closed doors, one requiring a pair of keys.  Off to the east are two more areas that are closed off by spear doors, but you can pick up a large medi-pack on the semi-enclosed structure near one of them.  Pull down the wall switch at the end of the SE alley to open the other spear door and enter the small cave.  Pull back the skeleton from the SE corner and jump over it to collect the first TEMPLE KEY of the two you seek.

 

Exit the cave and cross the clearing to the west wall.  There's a crawl space there, partially obscured by a bush.  Crawl inside and find yourself in a new outdoor clearing.  There's a wolf prowling about on the other side of the small lake, so take it out from your position of safety.  Jump into the water and pull the underwater lever in the north wall.  Pull out on the west bank and locate another crawl space in front of you.  Crawl through to find yourself confronted by another warrior in the dark room.  Kill him, then take the second TEMPLE KEY from the pedestal for your trouble.

 

Return to the temple area and use the two Temple Keys in their receptacles to open the left set of doors.  When you enter and venture further inside, they close rudely behind you.  Take an additional step or two to trigger a lingering flyby that takes you through the vast interior of the temple and highlights the several tasks laid before you.  These tasks, which require you to collect four masks, can be accomplished in no particular order, so here they are in completely random fashion:

 

FIRST MASK

 

Turn right from where you stand and run down the west stairway, over a golden tile, until you reach a long room with a checker-board floor and two rows of pedestals.  Beware of the raised tiles along the east wall, as they're all spike traps.  (At this point, or perhaps earlier, you may be annoyed by a constant repetition of the familiar "danger alert" sound.  If so, simply rename or delete 000.wav in your audio folder for instant relief.)  The lighter colored vases on the pedestals can be shattered.  Shoot the nearer one and get up on your tiptoes for the SECRET STAR.  You'll find a receptacle for it in the west alcove.  Insert it to open the spear door to your left.  Enter the passage for SECRET #1 and pick up the CROSSBOW as well as a quiver of arrows. 

 

Go back out and shoot the jug on the pedestal against the south wall.  A TORCH falls to the floor, so pick it up and light it with the nearby flame.  Light four of the short pedestals (all, in fact, except the one that housed the torch) to drop a trapdoor above the ladder in the north wall.  Climb the ladder and pull up onto the second story.  Shoot the pots on the ledge ahead for additional goodies:  another CROSSBOW,  two quivers of arrows and the LASERSIGHT.  Pull up into the opening in the south wall, and you'll see and hear the nearest ledge being raised in the room below.  It's a timed sequence, of course, so arm yourself with the crossbow combined with the lasersight and save your game. 

 

Slide down the slope and jump off near the bottom to land on the first ledge.  Turn quickly to your right and shoot the giant medallion hanging in the niche.  Turn back to your left, take a standing jump forward to the next ledge, turn to your right and shoot the next hanging medallion.  Needless to say, if you don't do this fast enough the ledge you're on will drop you onto the spike trap below, but you should have plenty of time.  You'll see flames shooting forth as you progress, but don't mind them.  When you've reached the fifth and final ledge and shot the final medallion, the spear gate in the south wall opens, so take a slightly angled jump into the opening.   Enter the small room and take the first MASK from the pedestal in the NE alcove.  The spear gate ahead lifts, so you could leave by this passage if you wished.  However, there's a second mask close by, so let's collect it first.

 

SECOND MASK

 

Safety drop from the opening back down to the long room, climb the ladder again and prepare to run the ledge gauntlet a second time.  But this time, simply take standing jumps from ledge to ledge until you reach the fourth one.  Then turn to your right and take a running jump and grab to the niche (the only one of the five that's not spike protected).  Pull up and run past the still-swinging medallion and pick up the small medi-pack just in front of a series of floor blades.  Pick up a second small medi-pack along the way, as you'll likely need it.  At the bottom of the stairway locate the second MASK on the pedestal.  When you pick it up, the spear gate around the corner to your left lifts, so use it as a short cut away from this area.  You can exit either by running the ledge gauntlet again to the passage you opened by taking the first Mask, or you can climb the ladder and go all the way around to a spear gate that lifts as you approach (both ways take you to the second story area), or you can simply go back up the stairs that brought you down here.  If nothing else, the areas in this temple are freely accessible.

 

THIRD MASK

 

Let's resume on the first story area, so if you're upstairs simply safety drop to the eye-pleasing central pool area.  If you look south beyond the waterfall you can see four barred alcoves.  This is where you'll place your masks after you've collected all four of them, and there's nothing to do or find in the pool in the meantime, so save this area for later.  For now, exit the pool area through the east opening and bear slightly to your left.  Continue until you come to an alcove with two pedestals.  Take the small medi-pack and crossbow arrows from them and turn north.  You'll find a smaller alcove with a wall, but don't pull it yet.  First explore the adjacent room west.  The central pillar is raised and lowered by the wall switch.  There are two moveable pieces, in the SE and SW corners, that you must raise to the second story and place appropriately.  Now that you have the lay of the land, go back and pull down the wall switch to lower the pillar.  Pull the SE piece onto the square formerly occupied by the pillar, then push the wall switch back up.  Get upstairs by using the SE stairway and loop around to the right (passing a wall switch next to a closed door, which is irrelevant to the present task).

 

Move the piece onto the brown tile in the SE corner.  You'll know you've made the correct placement by the flames that shoot forth overhead.  Safety drop down the central hole and pull down the wall switch again.  Move the SW piece onto the target square and raise the pillar.  Get back upstairs and move the piece onto the other brown tile against the west wall.  The spear gate lifts in the north wall, but save your game before picking up the third MASK.  When you do so, the trap door releases to plunge you onto a slope with a boulder chasing you from behind.  The most reliable way to avoid being crushed is to jump off the slope near the bottom with a right curve to land in the side passage.  Continue to your right and hug the north wall, and the second boulder that's released can't reach you there (even though it appears to bounce off your back).  When all is quiet, jump over the boulder and head up the south ramp.  Pull down the wall switch to release the trap door above, and climb up the ladder.  When you pull up, the trap door closes again, and you find yourself in a familiar stairway.

 

FOURTH MASK

 

You're through downstairs, so let's get up to the second story.  Return to the central pool area and go up the steps to your right just past the east opening.  Remember that wall switch in the NE corner you bypassed earlier?  Make a mental note of it for your next task, but continue into the pushpiece room where you got the third Mask.  Stand in front of the open trap door, and you can see a crawl space down below and to your left.  Take a standing jump slightly NW and grab the opening.  Pull in, crawl through and drop down the other side for SECRET #2.  Take the small medi-pack from the pedestal and crawl back out.  You'll need to drop down and slide back to the boulders, but just run up the south ramp and push the wall switch back up to open the trap door above.  Climb the ladder and return to the second story.  Go back to that still unused wall switch and pull it now to lift the door to your right.  Run down the passage and the door slams shut behind you.  In the next room, don't step forward past the first raised tile.  Look to your left and you'll see a number of similar raised tiles that are illuminated by sunbeams.  Carefully jump to those raised tiles only (flames will erupt from each one as you leave it), without stepping onto the checker-board floor, and the spear gate in front of the fourth MASK will open.

 

Before leaving, pull up into the alcove near the SW corner, occupied by a pedestal with a pink vase.  Turn around at the edge, jump up and grab the opening above.  Pull up for SECRET #3 and a large medi-pack.

 

The exit gate has re-opened, so return to the landing overlooking the central pool.  You now have all four masks, so dive into the water and pull out into one of the south alcoves.  Place a Mask, attend to the pedestal inside (you have a large medi-pack, two empty pots and a jug that won't break) and turn around to activate the overhead jump switch.  Do this four times.  When you activate the fourth jump switch you get a cut scene showing the outer doors opening. 

 

Swim back across the pool, pull out and run up the north stairs, and deal with the raptor that's wandered inside.  That done, continue north and find yourself outside in the beginning area.  The other doors on the far side of the temple are now open, but you have more to do before you can go there.  Run straight ahead to that covered shelter and see that the gate in the east wall has lifted.  Enter a new outside area and prepare to do battle with another raptor that sneaks up from your left.  Don't try to climb on either of the blocks to get a better view, as they're both spike trapped.  There's a wooden bridge spanning the river, but the gate across the way is closed.  Don't jump into the water, or you'll be swept to your death by the current. 

 

Go to the south wall, right at the steep bank, and hop back twice.  You'll land safely on a ledge.  Walk through the cascading water into a small cave and use the crawl space to access a cell-like room.  Pull down the wall switch to open the gate across the river.  Get back up onto the east bank, go across the wooden bridge, but just before you reach the final rope supports, stop and take an angled standing jump over the rope to a flat spot in the rocks.  You'll see an opening under the bridge, so jump SE to get there and crawl east for SECRET #4 and a small medi-pack.  Crawl back out and simply step back onto the flat spot.  Take a standing jump back to the bridge and continue east to enter what we'll call the Temple Annex area. 

 

Two wolves attack from your left, so kill them, then go through the opening in the large wooden fence in the NW corner and enter the opening there.  A warrior was sleeping inside until you awakened him, so dispose of him and then push the cage forward. Step back to pick up the CROWBAR, then exit this area and go to the open NE doorway.  You have your choice of two sloped pillars inside, each one faced by a ladder.  Ignore the one on the left (the north one).  Jump up to grab the left side of the south ladder, take a rolling back flip from there to land on the first of three sloped pillars.  Jump off each one in turn, without sliding (except maybe a little bit from the last one), and you should land safely on a ledge.  Step forward and use your crowbar to pry the GEM off the wall.  Go back and take a standing jump NW over the slope to the entrance.

 

Go outside, take a left, and enter the Temple Annex through the other east doorway.  Go around the central structure and find another GEM embedded in the wall of the east alcove.  Pry it off and go all the way back to the main temple area, where you began this level.  Enter the other open doorway of the main temple and head down the stairs.  On the way you'll trigger a flyby that carries you through the room below.  Continue down the stairs and turn to your right just inside the room.  Place the two Gems in the beetle receptacles to open the spear gate between them.  Go inside and take the GEAR from the pedestal.  Reverse roll and run to the cogwheel contraption on the east wall and place the Gear on the leftmost peg. 

 

The contraption spins to life, as does the water wheel near the south wall.  Barriers are also lowered in the central structure, so go face the turn wheel from the east side.  Turn it six or seven times, and you can see the spear gate ahead lifting ahead of you.  Angle to your right (or lef), take a standing jump forward and run around the central structure toward the open gate.  When you get near, stop and roll beneath the closing gate. 

 

Step forward and trigger another flyby of the next room.  You see a gold artifact on a spike-protected pedestal suspended seemingly in mid air.  However, there's a solid but transparent floor in the room, so step inside without fear.  Loop around to your left and see a wall switch beneath your feet near the SE corner.  Stand over the switch and hit the control key.  Lara's switch-pulling animation will activate and you'll hear the spike trap being triggered.  Go over to the pedestal and take the GOLDEN AMULET.  The door ahead in the west wall opens, so run forward and down the stairs.  Slide down the slope toward a waterfall to end the level.