ATLANTIS 1: EDGE OF ATLANTIS

Level by Justin

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth


Begin in a dark room, with a natural floor and a tree hugging the left wall. You can hear a raptor bleating and tromping around somewhere close by. Ready your pistols, because as soon as you step forward you'll be accosted by a giant flying bug. Dispose of it, then shoot the shatter bones located in the corner near the exit. (Position yourself a step or two away from the bones and reverse roll continuously while raining a hail of bullets at them. Before long they'll shatter.) Now go through the doorway and shoot the SAS guard attacking you from the right. Take the LASER SIGHT from him and make a hairpin turn to the right. Pull the lever to open a door elsewhere. In the near corner of this room is an exploding box you can shoot to reveal the CROWBAR.

Go to the other side of this room and shoot out the barricade. Go inside and shoot a finned croc. If killing makes your day, shoot the box in the far right corner to release another flying bug. Then shoot the box on the floor that's blocking your way to the next area, but don't yet set foot inside the passage.

Before leaving, however, turn to your left and face the corner of this room. There's a devilishly hidden trap door against the wall, one block from the SW corner. Open it (facing south) and drop down into SECRET #1. Walk left around the bend and meet a couple of friendly monkeys. There's no need to shoot them, but if you're trigger happy you'll find that they explode rather dramatically when you kill them. Keep walking forward and shoot a second set of shatter bones in the alcove next to the crate. Then climb up onto the nearby crate and pick up some explosive rockets. Go around the corner and use the crowbar to open the door, and go inside to pick up the rocket launcher. (Use a flare if it's too dark to see.) Now leave this area, pausing to shoot some more exploding monkeys if you like. (Apparently the doggone critters will keep coming at you ad infinitum as long as you stay in the secret area; I got bored and left after zapping about a dozen of 'em.)

Pull out of the hole, turn left and enter the passageway after lighting a flare so you can see where to make the turn. Run quickly, using the sprint key to get to the end of the corridor and make a left turn into the next room just ahead of the rolling boulder. Kill the two SAS guards who await you, and take the SAS GUARD KEY from one of them.

Shoot the gray crate against the south wall and pick up the CROWBAR, if you didn't get it before. Go around the adjacent crates and pick up a large medi-pack on the other side. Go around the other, lighter crates to your right and face the other gray crate near the entrance to this room. Between the crates is another trap door. Lift it and drop into the hole to find a switch. Throw it and climb back out. Turn around, away from the entrance, and you'll see one of the lighter crates has magically vanished to allow access to SECRET #2. Get the shotgun on top of the crate inside, and some extra ammo on the ground. Shoot a third set of shatter bones, affording access to a secret area in the room above.

Leave the secret area. Just outside, jump up and shoot out the slats above the facing crate. Climb up onto that crate and into a passageway lined with several rows of dart blowers. Crouch down to avoid their sting, but arise before you get to the spikes. Time a run through the spike field and arrive in an open area.

Wait for the boulder to roll down from the ramp to your right, releasing an ahmet (sorry, the raptor you heard earlier appears to be still at large). Dispose of it quickly, then go inside the little building from which it emerged and pick up some grenade gun ammo. Before proceeding, take out another SAS guard outside who was alerted by your theft of the ammo. He also has some uzi ammo for you. Then, inside the little building, enter the area that opened when you shot the third set of shatter bones, which is SECRET #3. Push the movable clock in the alcove, revealing a corridor to your right. Go inside and pick up the Uzis. Continue to the end of the corridor to find another movable block on your left. Push it and pick up the grenade gun.

Go back outside and use the SAS Guard Key to open the gate while lightning crackles around you, then shoot a couple of bats as you enter the next area. Go through the passageway leading to the temple area, and shoot an SAS guard posted in front of the temple. (Be sure to remember to pick up the revolver he drops, because you'll need it shortly.)

For now, make your way around to the south side of the quicksand patch which lies straight ahead (and which doesn't appear to have any lethal qualities) and pull up onto the short green block located next to the quicksand patch. Turn to your left and pull up onto the adjacent higher block. Turn around and do a standing jump and grab to the next block. Pull up and angle Lara to the right about 45 degrees. Do a running jump to the tree foliage above. Carefully walk across the foliage to the edge of a bridge allowing access to the temple roof. Run across the bridge before it collapses, and go straight ahead to the mountain wall and pick up the ORNATE HANDLE located in an alcove. (This also opens the temple door below.)

Do a safety drop from the roof and retrieve the DESERT EAGLE dropped by the SAS guard you shot earlier. Ignore for now the crocs scurrying around behind the closed gate. Go inside the temple, pull up onto the higher floor and ready the revolver. Then jump into the pool and swim through the tunnel on your right.

Surface against the right wall and pull up as quickly as you can. Draw your revolver and shoot the SAS guard before he has a chance to activate the burning floor and fry you.

Go across the room and pull the lever on the north wall to your left to open the adjacent gate. Drop down to the platform and eliminate those crocs that were annoying you earlier. Then drop down into the cave and pick up the ATLANTEAN RELIC in the far right corner.

Climb back out, cross the room and swim back through the tunnel. In the pool, pull the lever in the south wall to light a fire outside (which you'll need later on) and alert another SAS guard. Pull out of the pool, take out the SAS guard, then turn around to face the open gate. Take a running jump over the pool and go into the next room to the west. Notice four caged ahmets skittering behind as many gates, with a golden torch located near each one.

Go all the way across the room, around the smaller pool, and pick up the TORCH lying on the floor in front of the sandy block to the right of the gate. Turn around, exit this room, jump across the larger pool and go outside to light the torch. Come back to the room with the four caged ahmets, being careful not to fall into the larger pool on the way. (You'll lose your grip on the torch if you do, and there's no way for Lara to pick up a submerged torch.)

The only room you really need enter is the first one on the left. However, if you're interesting in maximum kills, go around the room and light each of the golden torches, in no particular order. As you do so, be prepared to toss the torch immediately and draw a weapon to dispose of the ahmet that'll come charging out at you. Then retrieve the torch and repeat the process until all the gates are open and all the ahmets are dead. Then catch your breath and go back to the entrance to this room. Starting with the room on your right and working your way counterclockwise, here's what you'll find: In the first room is a torch that doesn't do anything, and in fact will set you on fire if you don't light it just right. In the next room is a lever you can ignore, unless you want Lara to drop down to a fiery death. In the third room across the way is a floor lever that you can also ignore, lest Lara be skewered with spikes. In the last room is a receptacle in the far left corner. Use the crowbar on it, then exit this little room to find that the sandy blocks next to the exit gate are now gone. Retrieve the torch and light the torches located on either side of the gate. Turn around, toss your torch aside and jump into the small pool to get a large medi-pack and the SAS GUARD KEY from the newly-opened alcove.

Pull out of the pool, open the west gate with the SAS guard key, draw a weapon and shoot a bat in the next room. Combine the Ornate Handle with the Atlantean Relic to form the REALM BEARER, then use it on the pole to open the gate leading to the outside. Ignore the croc scurrying around behind the gate, because you can't get to it (and vice versa) and you don't need anything in that area anyway.

Ready a weapon and go through the open gate. Shoot two SAS guards on your right and take some ammo from one and the JEEP KEYS from the other. Get into the conveniently awaiting jeep and drive it up the hill and make a right turn. Before driving down the hill to the next area, stop the jeep and get out. Walk over to your right (south) and note a broken area in the plant-covered wall. Step inside SECRET #4 and pick up some more ammo for the desert eagle and the rocket launcher. Then get back into the jeep and drive down the hill. Stop at the bottom and get out. Go to the south wall and pull the wall switch to your right, then immediately draw and turn and shoot the SAS guard who materializes from out of nowhere. Take some uzi ammo from him, turn back to the wall and push the floor lever.

Get back into the jeep and drive it across the little bridge that's appeared. As soon as you get over the bridge, make a sharp turn to the left and run over a couple of SAS guards. Get out of the jeep, take the ammo and small medi-pack that have been left for you by the guards, and go over to the nearby pillar. Climb up the north face of the pillar until you reach the third rung from the top (that's right, the fourth one down). Then do a back flip into the tunnel behind you.

At the end of the tunnel, look ahead at the lava pit and the two rows of slanted platforms leading to the next area you'll need to visit. Position Lara at the left edge of the opening and angle her to the right. Take a running jump over the crest of the slope on the right--it's okay if you even bang into the right wall--and after sliding down a very short distance jump and grab the slope directly ahead. Shimmy to the left, pull up and start sliding down the next slope. Jump and grab the slope straight ahead. Do this one more time, until finally you reach the relative stability of the platform.

Line Lara up with the fire-belching blower ahead. When it stops belching, do a running jump to the ledge in front of it, then immediately turn to the left and do a standing jump and grab to the next ledge. Pull up, step forward and pull the wall lever to raise a gate elsewhere, then turn around and walk to the right front edge of the ledge. When the fire stops, do a standing jump to the ledge below, then immediately turn to the right, take a hop back, and do a running jump and grab back to the platform before you get set ablaze.

The trip back across the lava pit is a little different. Walk to the front edge of the platform and line Lara up with the right half of the plain slope (the one on your left) ahead. The next sequence needs to be done in one continuous movement, so it might be a good idea to save your game here. Take a standing jump to clear the crest of the slope. Keep the jump key depressed and bound over the next (plain) slope straight ahead. As you bound off this second slope, swerve to the right so that your next two jumps are off the slopes on the right-hand row. Jump off the final slope and then grab the ledge back at the beginning point and pull up.

Go through the tunnel, jump to the ladder outside and climb down. Boost yourself into the now-open north doorway. As you walk down the tunnel, you'll get a cut scene showing an SAS guard releasing a trio of ahmets to serve as your welcoming committee. Shoot man and beast at your leisure and make your way inside the room.

To your right there's a smaller gray crate against the south wall. Shoot it and pick up the UZIS. Go to the three crates stacked up in the other corner of the same wall. Use the crowbar on the crate in the corner to reveal a wall switch. Pull it to open your path into the adjacent passageway.

Draw a weapon, enter the next room and shoot an SAS guard lurking on your right. Pick up the LASER SIGHT he leaves behind. Shoot the crate to your left against the west wall and pick up another TORCH. Go back to the previous room where you shot the ahmets and locate the small lab in the NE corner. Hop up onto the oven and light your torch with one of the two active burners. (The nearby wall switch simply operates the door to the small room where the ahmets were contained.)

With the lighted torch in hand, go back to the room where you picked up the torch. Light the two golden torches on either side of the columns to open the east gate, then toss the torch aside. Deja vu, anyone? Welcome to the infamous torch room from the Palace Midas level of Tomb Raider I. The drill is the same, so dust off those old keystrokes, hop and jump over to pull the lever before you're incinerated, and get back over with a leisurely swim.

The door to the room directly across the hall is now open. Navigate your way across the pillars with deadly spikes, and claim your prize in the alcove at the end: the BLUE DIAMOND. (The way I did it was to take running jumps, swerving slightly back and forth as necessary, the key being to start by running straight ahead to the right side of the first spike pillar.) You'll take a little damage from the descending spikes when you pick up the diamond, but that can't be helped. Make your way back across (the spikes are now disabled, but only temporarily, so don't be too leisurely about it) and use the blue diamond to open the third and final gate in the north wall. A couple of scorpions will come out and greet you as you enter the passageway, so dispose of them before moving on.

In the next room, go around the large column in front of you and face the ramp on the other side of it. Combine the Revolver and the Laser Sight and shoot away the restraining slats, allowing a boulder to roll by and fall into a hole. Then turn around to find a moveable block that has been raised on the floor in front of the exit gate. Pull and push the block all the way into the alcove on the far right (as you face the east wall), which opens the exit gate in the north wall.

Make your way through the room with a synchronized trail of spiked death traps after camera control is restored following the flyby. (Simply run forward after the first spike trap in front of you is triggered, and follow the twists and turns of the spiked path until you reach the final straight stretch. You'll need to use the sprint key here for an extra boost, or you'll be skewered before you can reach the safety of the far passage.) At the end, jump into the pool and allow Lara to be swept down the tunnel on the left. (Don't even bother trying to make the left turn into the adjacent tunnel about halfway down.) In the large mirror room at the end of the tunnel there's a hidden exit hole in the exact center of the ceiling. Climb out, pick up the flares in the SE corner, and run to the other end of the west passage.

Jump up and grab the ceiling at the end of the passage, and monkey swing your way past three steam blowers. Lara will lose camera control here, and it's too dark to see after you make the second turn. However, if you turn to the right immediately after making that turn and continue forward to the far wall, you should be all right. Shortly after you pass the third blower, drop into a darkened chute. Do either a back flip or a standing jump out of the chute and into the small pool below.

Pull the lever and climb out of the pool onto the cement slab to the east. Turn around and do a running jump and grab back to the ladder. Climb the ladder and pull up to slide back into the chute. This time, face the back wall and do a back flip onto the sloped surface. Keep the jump key depressed and grab the ceiling at the top of your leap. Turn around and monkey swing your way past the three steam blowers and back into the tunnel across the way.

Jump back into the pool and swim through the tunnel. You now find that you can make the turn (this time a right turn) that you couldn't make before. Do so and swim past an underwater chamber and find an exit hole. Pull out and wind your way through the NW tunnel, being careful of the two flame blowers. Exit the tunnel to find yourself in a dark, stony maze. Making generous use of your flares, explore the maze and help yourself to a few pickups. When you get to the end of a passageway near the NE corner of the maze and find a lava pit on your left, take a running jump across it. Go to the end of that tunnel and pull the wall switch in the third and last alcove before the closed gate.

Make your way back through the maze until you come to a metallic tunnel (not very far from the entrance) with a trap door at the end. Open the trap door and drop down to the lower tunnel. Draw a weapon and kill an ahmet. Then go to the end of this tunnel and pull the wall switch. Retrace your steps and pull back up into the previous tunnel. Exit the metallic tunnel, turn left, another left, then right, then the second right, and finally left to bring you back to the main entrance to the maze.

Go through the tunnel and past the two flame blowers. Drop down through the exit hole to find that most of the water in the formerly underwater chamber has now drained away. Draw a weapon, go through the open panel and take out two SAS guards, one on your right and one on your left. Go around to your right and climb up onto the stove against the north wall to pick up the SAS GUARD KEY. Go through the exit in the adjacent west wall and pick up the small medi-pack behind the crate. Proceed through the tunnel and take a running jump to clear the burner at the end. Use the SAS guard key to open the gate, draw a weapon and start climbing the stairs. Halfway up the stairs, reverse and kill the SAS guard lurking above.

The nearby crate is empty, so go through the south passage. There's another lava pit ahead to cross. Time a series of jumps onto a pair of crumbling ledges and spike traps, and quickly kill a waiting ahmet when you get across.

Outside, you'll find another jeep waiting for you. The keys you're still holding fit the ignition, so take a ride toward the darkened tunnel to end the level.