ATLANTIS 3: ATLANTEAN CASCADE/CANOPIES

Levels by Justin

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth


ATLANTEAN CASCADE

Lara begins her adventure by sliding down a beautiful blue waterfall. At the bottom, turn left and take a standing jump to the ledge for some shotgun ammo. Slide back down, and straight ahead W is a well, and if you jump in you can see a blue gem down at the bottom. However, a barrier prevents you from getting to it. Pull out W, draw your pistols and run past the cascading falls to your right. Shoot a couple of bats that buzz about you as the thunder continues to crackle.

Step forward into the clearing ahead, but watch out for the debris that falls down from the tree. A monkey comes out to greet you.  It's friendly, so there's no need to shoot it.  If you decide to do so anyway, watch it explode (or implode, depending on your perspective) in a bright flash.

Continue into the clearing and enter the NW passage.  Pick up the GOLDEN SKULL around the corner to open the door in the S wall outside.   Before heading over there, however, face the dark wall N, just past the green weeds. Light a flare and climb up the wall to the crawl space. Lara will then get "set," so release the action key for just an instant and immediately hit the crouch key, then push the up arrow to make Lara crawl into the tunnel. Near the end of the tunnel Lara will be able to stand up. Pick up another GOLDEN SKULL for SECRET #1. Crawl back out of the tunnel and release to drop back down into the clearing. Reverse roll and enter the S opening.

Stand next to the skeleton and take a standing jump W to the green ledge opposite the tree stump. Turn around, light a flare and take another standing jump into a dark S alcove. Pick up the small medi-pack, draw pistols, turn around and shoot another pesky bat. Turn around once again and safety drop to the ground below. Walk into the misty water and turn right. After a few steps you'll alert a finned croc, so draw pistols and take care of it.

Keep walking W through the shallow water until you reach a barrier. Vault up and be treated to a wild scene of two giant scorpions attacking (and killing) an SAS guard. When camera control is returned to Lara, draw pistols and shoot the scorpions that are now making their way toward you. Run down into the valley and collect the GRENADE GUN dropped by the SAS guard (probably into the stream, where it'll be more difficult to locate).

Head to the rocks over to the right, being mindful of the sheer drop straight ahead. Take a standing jump up the sloped ledge to its level top, then turn right and climb up the adjacent rock. Turn left and climb up to the next level. Light a flare if necessary and run off the left edge of this rock to slide down to a level platform below.

Turn left and walk to the edge of this platform. There's a collapsible ledge right below you, but you don't need it. Instead, take a running jump S and grab the rock column ahead. Pull up, walk to the middle of the rock column and turn halfway to the right. Take a standing jump into the passageway in the cliff face.

You'll immediately hear the sound of oscillating blades. Walk into the tunnel and turn right. Time a rolling dive through the giant cigar cutters ahead (or, if you prefer, side flip past them as the blades open). Make a hairpin turn to the right and time another rolling dive or side flip through the third blade trap.

Climb up to encounter a bamboo enclosure. You apparently have a choice here. You can either pull up and slide down the S face or the W face, jumping off at the last instant. Whichever you choose, Lara will ignite the near burners when she hits the floor on the other side. (The burners opposite the other face will not ignite.) Lara may choose a pickup of flares (when she selects the W face) or a small medi-pack (when she selects the S face). Unfortunately, there's no way Lara can get both pickups.

Go through the NW opening, turn right and draw the Grenade Gun. Walk into the adjacent room and awaken a slumbering skeleton. Blast him to bits and pick up the large medi-pack on the other side of his bed.

Go through the tunnel next to the skeleton's bed and use one of the Golden Skulls on the pedestal in the alcove. Hear the faint sound of a door opening in the distance. Reverse roll, go back through the tunnel, dogleg to the right  and return to the area with the flaming floor holes. Enter the now-open W doorway to your right.

Pull out the gray moveable block once, then go around to either side and push it away from the doorway. Enter the room ahead and find more moveable blocks. You'll need to maneuver four of them either into the anteroom or into the open area outside. (It's not difficult, so I won't bore you with the details.) Down the long tunnel to the right are two more blocks (and a nearby small medi-pack), but you don't have to drag them all the way outside. Just move them far enough out of the way to allow you access to the N face of the far column near the N wall. There's a switch there to pull, which opens the NE door to an alcove off to your left. Make your way over to that area and pick up the first BLUE DIAMOND (the burner tile underneath remains dormant).

Exit this area and return to the small room where you placed the Golden Skull on the pedestal. (You may have to shuffle a block or two around to get out.) Turn right, crouch down, back up and lower Lara through the open trap door to the next level down. Turn right, draw weapons and step forward to slide down a long slope. Run forward a step or two at the bottom and a croc will come charging out of the hut ahead. Make short work of it, then enter that same hut and collect a rocket on the other side of the open fire.

Leave this hut, turn left and go through the next hut, avoiding the fire. Outside there are two more huts. Explore them inside and out to roust out several scorpions for target practice. You'll also find some flares near one outside wall N, and a small medi-pack near the other one S. Inside one of the huts you'll find the SHOTGUN (note the inaccessible Golden Skull roasting in the flames), and a dead soldier sprawled on a trap door in the other. Open the trap door (first dragging the corpse away if necessary) and drop down into the hole.

Once inside the tunnel, run (no need to use the sprint key, start running when the nearest spikes are up) E down the gauntlet of spikes, but put on the brakes to bring Lara to a halt on the "safe" block just past the spikes. (If she goes beyond that point she'll be skewered by hidden spikes in the dark alcove.) After catching your breath in the no-spike zone, turn right and walk into a hidden alcove veiled by false vines. Pick up the ROCKET LAUNCHER, then step inside a little further to pick up a third GOLDEN SKULL for SECRET #2.

Step back out onto the safe block and angle Lara in the direction of the adjoining tunnel filled with more deadly spikes. Save your game, then time a run down the adjoining tunnel. Lara will drop down into a hole at the end of the tunnel and start sliding into the next area. If you hurry, you can jump up and reach the waterfall up ahead, taking a right and getting through just ahead of the boulder. Otherwise, position Lara in front of the boulder that's now rocking to and fro and blocking your path, face the waterfall, make sure you're at full health and time a jump into the gap ahead (or simply scoot quickly around the corner as the boulder rolls away). 

Slide down the waterfall, taking a considerable amount of damage as Lara bounces off several sloped junctures, and drop into the pool below.

Climb up onto the bottom ledge of the waterfall, then back flip at the last possible instant and reverse roll in midair to grab the ladder on the W face of the central pillar. Climb up to the top, past the layer of mist, and collect the second BLUE DIAMOND. Then either climb back down the ladder or simply dive into the pool. Swim around to the E face of the central column and pull the underwater lever, opening a nearby gate.

Swim over to the NW corner of the pool area and locate a tunnel leading off to the right. Follow it until you reach an air hole at the end. Pull out and face SE. You'll be facing a sloped surface leading into the next room filled with lava. Take a standing jump over the slope and keep the jump key depressed so that Lara leaps over the lava onto a ledge. Vault up onto the block ahead and turn left. Take a running jump and grab to the sloped column ahead. Pull up and allow Lara to slide down the other side and take a series of jumps (shifting in midair as necessary to keep from sizzling in the lava) over to a platform on the N side of this room. Pick up the SILVER KEY and note that the lava has magically turned to perrier, making for a much safer wading experience across this chamber back to the entrance.

Turn right when you reach the entrance area, jump up and grab, then pull up and slide down the slope to the platform you arrived on. Then turn left and drop down into the water hole. Swim across to the S side of the chamber with the central column, then turn left and locate another tunnel with an air hole at the end. Pull up, turn left and use the Silver Key in the receptacle to open the door to your right.

Head straight up the waterfall (the bend to your right is blocked) and vault up onto the dark ledge. Turn right and climb up two more ledges. Turn right and walk right up to the south face of the taller ledge. Do a back flip, jump off the sloped surface and grab the top of the taller column ahead. Pull up and slide down onto a level surface on the waterfall.

Turn to the right and step down to the lower waterfall surface. Walk out to the SW corner and face the notched gap in the rocks ahead. Take a running jump through the gap. You'll land on a collapsing platform, so quickly step ahead (S) onto more solid footing. Turn left, vault up a couple of ledges and step forward to pick up a fourth GOLDEN SKULL for SECRET #3.

Climb up the ladder, shift left and drop to slide down the waterfall to a flat surface. Turn right, climb up the block and draw weapons upon arrival. Turn left and shoot the bat that flies out to badger you. Take an angled standing jump to the darkened tunnel ahead. Light a flare if necessary and walk and climb your way around the periphery of this cavern in a counter-clockwise direction. Drop down into a long alcove at the end, wait for the rocks to fall down, and step forward to pull the wall switch and open the door on the far wall of the cavern.

Turn around, walk to the end of the alcove, turn right and climb out. Light a flare and turn left. Make your way back around the periphery of the cavern, this time in a clockwise direction, and turn left into the now-open tunnel. Run forward into another jungle village and listen to the familiar TR3 Indian music.

Make the rounds around the village, starting to your left, and shoot a bat during your inspection tour. However, refrain from shooting the friendly SAS guards, who share a common enemy: those big red scorpions. Head into the clearing and watch the guards whip up on a huge one. Then go into the huts you just circled. Pick up the UZIS in one, then go into the one on the left for some uzi ammo and a baby scorpion. There's another baby scorpion lurking outside the next hut.

Locate the tree in the middle of the clearing and climb up the ladder on its S face. Pull up and take the TORCH off the ledge ahead. Drop down to the ground, light the torch from the fire in the E hut and make your way to the big hut to the S. Go inside and light the basket on the right. (Stay on the ground when you do this; if you step onto the wooden platform, Lara will be ignited.) Step back and watch the fire flow across the hut to the opposite basket. As it ignites, the door next to Lara will open.

Drop the torch, enter the open doorway, drop down into the water hole and swim a short distance to another hut. Pull up quickly, draw weapons and turn around to kill an SAS guard. Take the SILVER KEY from him.

Climb up onto what looks like a diving board, walk out to its W edge, then take a standing jump and grab to gain access to the room above. Pull up, step up to the ledges ahead, draw weapons and turn around to kill a couple of ahmets. Jump over their flaming carcasses, turn right and then dogleg to the left, all the way around a tree trunk. Hop onto the SW block for a large medi-pack. There's a ladder on the E face of the tree, so climb up to the top and enter Canopies.

CANOPIES

Endure some mildly annoying texture loss and leap around the roots of the tree on your right after exiting the hut. Pick up the DESERT EAGLE, then jump over to the tree on the other side of the hut (bypassing the breaktile bridge for now), and use the Silver Key in the receptacle on the W face of the trunk to open a door. Pick up some grenade gun ammo on the other side of this tree, then take a running jump back to the landing of the hut.

Turn left and run across the collapsing bridge into the hollow interior of the next tree. Crouch down and crawl under the dart gauntlet. Light a flare in the next room and locate a hole in the corner. Jump down into the hole and greet the monkey. Take a swim back to Atlantean Cascade. Upon arrival, swim forward to collect the third BLUE DIAMOND (the one you couldn't get to at the very beginning of the level), then flip turn and swim right back into Canopies. Pull up through the hole in the ceiling, crouch and crawl back under the darts.

Oh, that's right, the bridge isn't there any more. So walk out to the SE corner of the trunk, ange to the right and take a running jump to the next tree. Turn around and take a running jump to the hut landing. Go into the hut and climb back down into Atlantean Cascade.

ATLANTEAN CASCADE

Run around the tree trunk, past the dead ahmets, and drop down the hole into the water. Pull out and go into the tunnel on the W side of the hut.  Use the three Blue Diamonds in sequence to open the doors to the next area.

Jump down and a door will open automatically in front of you. In this new area, run forward past a trailer and an RV on your right, and watch a titanic struggle between an SAS guard and two giant scorpions. The guard is likely to be vanquished, so get prepared to finish the job for him. After eliminating the scorpions, you can run back to the entrance area if you like and shoot any monkeys that might be loitering about. Then open the door to the RV and shoot the unfriendly SAS guard inside. Take his GRENADE GUN. Turn right, open the door past the burners, and pick up the SILVER KEY in the next room. Exit the RV, turn right and run around the front of the RV. Climb on top of the elevator you'll find on the other side of the RV (as opposed to entering it, which will transport you to Canopies). After pulling up, step forward to face the ivy-covered wall. Jump and grab the crevice, then shimmy to the left and around the corner until you can drop down onto a platform. Throw the wall switch to cause some turmoil in the trailer. Safety drop to the ground, turn around and this time enter the elevator to return to Canopies.

CANOPIES

On the other side of the tree straight ahead is a large medi-pack. Pick it up, then take a running jump over to the next tree W (ignoring for now the locked door in the dark alcove) and a standing jump to the next tree further W. Make your way around this tree in a clockwise direction and enter the N hut ahead. Run across the collapsing trap door, then climb down the ladder. Turn around, pick up the BLUE DIAMOND, and climb back out.

Exit the hut and take an angled running jump to the right to reach the tree root. Turn right and take a running jump and grab W to the tree in front of the next hut. Sidestep to the right and take a standing jump to the next root for some Shotgun Ammo. You'll notice that the door to the hut is closed, so take a running jump and grab E back to the previous tree. Turn right (to the S) and jump to the next tree over. On the E side of this tree is a hole. Drop down into it for a brief return to the first village in Atlantean Cascade.

A door opens before you at the base of the tree. Go into the hut ahead and to your right and note that the fire has gone out in your absence. Pick up the GOLDEN SKULL from the ashes for SECRET #4.

Return to Canopies via the hollow tree and make your way E across two trees. Use the Blue Diamond in its receptacle in the N face of the second tree (in the alcove you passed by earlier) to open the door to the hut behind you. Take a running jump to the portal. Keep running to get inside the hut before the blades under the portal slice you into little pieces. Throw the switch in the far wall to open the door to the third hut.

Exit this hut and make your way W over to the third hut (as you did before for practice when you picked up the Shotgun Ammo). Draw weapons, take a standing jump to the portal and shoot the SAS guard who's poised just inside. Take his LASER SIGHT. As you enter the next hut you'll hear the door closing behind you. Sprint past the dart gauntlet. (Don't try to crawl under the darts, or the collapsing bridge will lead to your demise.) Watch out for the blades as you enter the next hut complex. Take a left into the first hut and awaken a sleeping skeleton. Blow it away with exploding ammo and take the small medi-pack next to its bed.

Exit this hut, dogleg to the left and use the Silver Key to open the door to the next hut. Enter, make a hairpin turn to the left and startle a bat. Shoot it, then climb up the ladder to the upper chamber. Take the ATLANTEAN ICON from the skillet in the corner, but hop back quickly before the flames ignite.

Climb back down the ladder and walk to the W end of the walkway. Take a running jump over to the next tree, then keep on running over the edge to avoid the blade trap. As you leap into the void, you'll be transported back to Atlantean Cascade.

ATLANTEAN CASCADE

Back in the area with the RV and the trailer, turn to the NW and face the boulder trap. Climb up on the box ahead, combine the Desert Eagle with the Laser Sight, and shoot the support to release the boulder. This will also ignite several fires, including the spot where you're probably now standing, so take a back flip immediately after shooting the support.

Enter the elevator and return briefly to Canopies. Note the ATLANTIS POWERSTONE against the base of the tree ahead, but don't be too quick to rush forward and grab it. That blue lightning will put a zappin' on you, so try to time your move in between the deadly flashes and hope you guessed right. Before turning to leave, note that the surrounding tree trunks are now aflame, making it impossible to do any more tree hopping.

Turn around and re-enter the elevator to return to Atlantean Cascade. Run to the left past the RV and into the trailer. The rocks you released earlier have made a shambles of the interior. There's now a hole just inside to the right, so drop down into it, crouch to get past the low ceiling, and approach the pedestal in the middle of the tiny room W. Combine the Atlantean Icon with the Atlantis Powerstone to form the STAFF OF QUALOPEC. Use it to open the door ahead. Slide down the long tunnel back to Canopies.

CANOPIES

Splash your way into the tunnel ahead and use exploding ammo to blast away two sword-wielding skeletons. At the juncture take a left, go into the room toward the SE and pick up the SILVER KEY in the corner.

Go back to the short tunnel W you bypassed when you were engaged with the skeletons, and use a Golden Skull on the pedestal to open the door on your right. Pick up two stashes of Desert Eagle ammo..

Exit the tunnel and take a hairpin turn to the right. Walk down to the edge of the cascading waters, then take a standing jump and grab over the deep pit to reach the Elemental Room. Pull up, draw weapons and shoot a couple of bats. There are three closed doors in this room, the keyholes to two of which are protected by cages. Use the Silver Key in the N keyhole to open the door to the Water Room.

The flames ahead will ignite Lara, but just take a running jump over the major portion of the flame tiles and keep on going past them into the pool to put out the fire before significant damage is done. Swim down to the right of the central pillar and pick up the GOLDEN STAR from the alcove at its base. Surface for air if necessary, then swim to the other side of this underwater chamber. The door ahead in the E wall will open as you approach, so swim into the opening and alert two crocs. Flip turn and return to the safety of the green platform. Pull up, turn around, draw weapons and shoot the crocs as they swim lazily through the doorway in search of Lara.

Jump down and swim back through the opening. Go through the diamond-shaped hole straight ahead and pick up the second GOLDEN STAR. Surface for air if you need to, then swim across the chamber and enter the opening on the W side. Zig to the left through the small triangular opening, then turn right and zig to the left through another triangular opening. Pick up the third GOLDEN STAR in the alcove, being mindful of the descending spikes. Once you have the star the circular blade traps you must have noticed will become disabled, so leave by the most expedient means available. However, your activity has alerted another croc outside, so pull up on the green platform and shoot it at leisure.

The door on the N face of the chamber is now open. Save your game. Swim into the tunnel, and the door will immediately close behind you. Swim down the tunnel and turn left at the wall. Keep making right turns from there until you reach an underwater lever to your left above an alcove. Pull it. Flip turn, swim out and right, and take a right as you exit this short tunnel. Turn right again and swim all the way S to the end, turn right and pull the second underwater lever. Flip turn, swim back N, take the first left, take the next right, then turn left and locate a much-needed air pocket up in the W wall. Replenish your air supply, then swim down to pull the third and final underwater lever.

Swim around the column housing the switch, turn right, then right again so that you're heading W. Then turn left, stopping for a large medi-pack, and zig left into the next chamber. Collect the fourth and final GOLDEN STAR, and continue forward and then left to grab another large medi-pack. Turn left, then right, and at the wall turn right to exit this area.

Pull up onto the green platform and insert the four Golden Stars in their receptacles at the base of the pillar. When you insert the last one, the barrier will be lowered in front of the blue lightning. Dive down into the water (while you still can, and assuming you didn't find it earlier) to claim some desert eagle ammo in the W alcove below, then pull back up to the green platform. Time a jump onto the central structure and grab the SILVER KEY without causing Lara to be fried in the process. The reward for your success will be electrified water all around you, while a cage is lowered back in the Elemental Room.

Jump to that section of the green platform facing the S wall, if you're not already there, and take a running jump (but not with your back against the star receptacle) and grab to land in the tunnel leading back to the Elemental Room. The flame tiles are now dormant, so run up the platform and go to the S wall, where the cage blocking access to the keyhole has been removed. Use the Silver Key to open the door to the Earth Room.

Run down the platform and vault up onto the ledge ahead. Make your way all the way across this subterranean chamber to the far (S) wall. Pull up to find some shotgun ammo. Then turn around to locate an alcove containing a wall switch near the SW corner of the chamber. Pull it down to open a door in an alcove near the NW corner of the chamber. Make your way there, throw the wall switch at the bottom of the angled alleyway, and stop to pick up some uzi ammo before you leave.

Head back to the platform near the S wall of the chamber, where you picked up the shotgun ammo earlier, walk out to its N edge and take a running jump to the central column. Face N, take a running jump and grab to a well-hidden crevice in the wall, and shimmy to the right around a corner and pull up to face the now-open doorway. Save your game.

Sprint into the room ahead as the boulders tumble this way and that, and take a right at the blue stream near the far wall to reach an exit portal just ahead of the boulder that's right on your heels. Don't stop to congratulate yourself, or the slicing blade trap in the stream bed will get you. At the end of the stream turn right and slide down the waterfall.

Climb the ladder on the facing wall, pull up and run forward along the passage.  Draw weapons and eliminate the two ahmets that come out to greet you in the next room. Again you'll have to time a jump onto the platform to claim the SILVER KEY without getting zapped. A cut scene shows a cage being lowered in the Elemental Room. Pull the wall switch on the N side of this room and exit through the door that opens to your left. Pick up the large medi-pack before returning to the now-familiar terrain of the Earth Room.

Hop, skip and jump down to the floor of this area and locate the exit tunnel on the N side. Back in the Elemental Room, climb the ladder, shimmy to the right and around the corner, drop down to the upper platform and pick up the flares.  Use the Silver Key to open the door to the Fire Room. Hop back and take an angled standing jump onto the slope. Slide down and hop forward upon reaching the breaktile at the bottom. Pick up the large medi-pack. Go to the end of this tunnel and take a left. The flare bug apparently kicks in at this point. Watch out for the flame blowers and make a quick right when the coast is clear, then another quick right before the flames resume.

Pick up the torch in the alcove. Light it from the wall sconce ahead, then turn around and make your way back to the entrance portal without being set afire in the process. Light the two wall torches in the flame-free passageways (hopping over the hole where the breaktile was), then go back to face the flame-thrower gauntlet once again. You must now time a perilous run down the flame-ridden hallways, so save your game after each successful segment. Run S down the hall, doglegging slightly to your left, and turn right at the S wall to reach a torch in a flame-free zone. Light it (noting the nearby exit door, which is still closed).  Now run to the E wall, turn left and find the fourth and final wall torch.  Light it to open the door you saw, then go back the same way you came to exit this area. You no longer need the torch, so toss it aside.

Go N down the tunnel and pick up the SILVER KEY lying in a distinctive circular tile on the floor. A cut screen shows another cage lowering in the Elemental Room. Continue forward down the tunnel, take a right and pull up at the end. Take an angled standing jump SE and locate steps where before there was a smooth sliding platform.

Vault up the first step and run up the others until you reach a slope.  Jump over it into the Elemental Room. Draw weapons and shoot the giant scorpion that's scampering about. Climb up the ladder, shift to the right and around the corner, drop down and face E. Use the Silver Key to open the adjacent door. Walk to the edge of the platform and take a standing jump and grab to land inside the Lightning Room. Run forward, avoiding the lightning traps, until you reach the water-filled room ahead.

There's a giant scorpion running around inside, but it won't bother you. In fact, pause for a moment and watch the scorpion take out the ahmet for you, then swim under the bridge and locate a GOLDEN SKULL in the N alcove. Beyond the bridge there's another pool. Stand up, wade forward and pull up E into the next area. You may have to jump to it from the bridge, or you can simply swim E through the tunnel.  Step forward and jump into the pool (unless you swam there). Pull the underwater lever N and make your way W back to the other side of the previous room. Wade over to the right and step up W into the Lightning Room. Collect the Final SILVER KEY in the alcove just ahead (another cage lowers in the Elemental Room) and hop back quickly to minimize damage from the hot steam.

Carefully go back W to the other side of the Lightning Room. Safety drop to the floor of the Elemental Room and use the Silver Key in the keyhole in the W wall. Drop down into the hole (or climb down the ladder) after the door to your left opens. Run along the tunnel until you arrive at a closed door and trigger a flyby that carrys you away to the next level in this fabulous series...