ATLANTIS IV: WHERE THE DEPTHS UNFOLD

Level by Justin

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth


Begin the level submerged in a short tunnel. Swim forward, turn to the right and surface in an open area. Your first inclination will be to paddle forward and pull up, but resist the temptation. There's a cleverly hidden blade trap precisely in the area where you'd logically want to pull up. Instead, turn to the right or left and pull up anywhere else, run quickly across the central ledge to trigger the blade trap, then return to collect the SMALL WATERSKIN.

Turn toward the closed door in the W wall. Throw the switch to its left, in the SW corner, then run diagonally to the other side of the room and throw the switch in the NE corner. Shoot the vase in the SE corner for a large medi-pack. Return the way you came and enter the now-open W door. Draw powerful weapons and kill the two giant scorpions that come out to greet you.

In the room ahead you'll notice three sets of scales, one directly in front of you and one to either side. You'll need to make three separate trips to the central pool, filling and using your Waterskin each time. Make your first pit stop now and step forward to the scales on the W wall. Fill the little pot on the left side, and the nearby door will open. Go inside and claim the flares, then step up against the pedestal facing SW and use one of the Golden Skulls you brought from the previous level.  The nearby door opens, so enter for SECRET #1 and pick up the UZIS, then turn left into the dark alcove and collect a couple of batches of uzi ammo.

Go back outside, fill up the Waterskin again, and use it to balance the scales in either the N or the S wall. Ditto for the scales in the opposite wall, whereupon the door to the right of the first set of scales in the W wall will open.

Enter the tunnel and run to its end. Pull the lever to the left to open the door leading to the next room. You'll be treated to a bit of deja vu from the Atlantis levels of TR1. Slide down the ramp, which is really a giant spinal cord, and run up the other side toward its highest point. Lara's attention will be drawn to a golden globe to the left, which is a signal to draw weapons. The globe is actually an egg, and it hatches to release an ahmet. Hop back as necessary to keep your distance while filling it full of lead. When it dies, watch its carcass slowly burn itself out.

At the highest point of the spinal cord, turn to the right (N) and take a running jump and grab to a flat surface. Shimmy to the right over the deadly lava until you reach a spot where you can pull up safely. Step forward and pick up the first KEYSTONE (which may show up as an Unknown Artifact in your inventory). Reverse roll and take a running jump back to the central spinal cord. Turn right, run forward just past the highest point from whence you jumped across earlier, turn left and run across the S bridge that leads to the second KEYSTONE. Turn left and pick it up, and you'll be rewarded with the sound of an opening door.

Turn around, run back to the central spinal cord, turn left and run through the open door (jumping over the critter cadaver if necessary) into the pulsating fleshy tunnel. Take a diving roll (or side flip) through the giant cigar cutter and turn right at the bend in the tunnel. Slide down into another lava room. Take a standing jump across the gap and keep running as the platform buckles and begins to disintegrate under your feet. As you approach the fleshy blocks jutting out of the slopes to your right and left, angle in the direction of either one and jump across to it. Use one of the Keystones in the receptacle ahead.

Reverse roll, walk to the edge of the block and take a slightly angled running jump back to the flat portion of the central bridge. Take a running jump over to the companion block on the other side and use the other Keystone in the receptacle. You'll hear the sound of an opening door. Reverse roll and take a running jump to the flat portion of the central bridge. Turn right or left, as the case may be, and face N. Walk up to the edge of the slope and take a standing jump to the higher surface. Run through the passageway into a continuation of the fleshy tunnel. Dead ahead is a dark alcove with some shotgun ammo and a golden star imbedded in the wall. Light a flare and pick up the ammo, but you'll have to come back later for the golden star after you obtain the crowbar.

Hop back out of the alcove and turn right to continue E down the tunnel. As you emerge into what looks like an oversized egg carton, draw weapons and step forward carefully. As you move forward, a harpy will explode from the far left egg and an ahmet will erupt from the middle right egg. Deal with them and then holster your weapons, as no more eggs will hatch while you run to the other end of this room. Turn right at the E wall and follow the wall until you reach an opening in the S wall. Enter and turn right, and run to the wall switch. Throw it and listen for the sound of an opening door. Continue down the passageway to the W and turn left at the bend. Turn left again and run up the stairs. Turn left at the top and pull up into a higher area. Turn left once again and continue up the tunnel, turning right at the bend to enter the rafters above the egg depository.

Use the rafters to cross to the other side, noting the cage NW that now blocks your access to a wall switch. Turn right at the cage and go around the gray pillar. Pick up the CROWBAR on the other side of the pillar. Safety drop to the lower level with all those eggs, then run to the W along the central spinal cord and re-enter the tunnel ahead. As soon as you spook the ahmet lurking around the bend ahead, hop back out of the tunnel and draw weapons. Wait until the ahmet emerges from the tunnel into the open area before opening fire. (If you kill it inside the tunnel, you won't be able to get past its flaming carcass.) After the ahmet is dead, go back W into the tunnel and turn right at the bend into the dark alcove you visited earlier. Light a flare and use the newly-acquired crowbar to claim the first GOLDEN STAR.

Return to the egg hatchery and turn right at the entrance. Go into the tunnel and return to the rafters via the stairs and upper tunnel. Once you've returned to the rafters, turn left and locate a switch on the gray pillar near the SW corner of this area. Pull the switch, alerting a harpy and lowering the cage across the room. Make your way over there, dealing with the harpy in the process. Enter the tunnel formerly blocked by the cage and get ready for a difficult timed run.

Throw the wall switch at the end of the tunnel, which briefly opens the door below in the E end of the egg hatchery. Immediately take a twisting back flip and sprint toward the pillar. Just in front of the pillar, veer to the right and jump toward the door below. Reverse roll the instant you hit the deck and squeeze into the tunnel just ahead of the closing door.

Head into the tunnel, and the door will shut with a thud behind you when you reach the intersection. Turn left and shoot the ornate jar. Pick up the LASER SIGHT in the alcove. Then reverse roll and and continue down the tunnel, turning left at the bend. Enter a larger area and note a wall switch as you dogleg to the left, then back to the right. To the right of the wall switch is a dark area that hides a shaft. Use your binoculars to peer up into the shaft (using the action key for extra light), and you'll note a row of four colored bricks. The blue one has been selected for some apparently secret purpose.

Step away from the shaft and throw the wall switch. The door behind you and to the left opens, but a cage also drops down in front of it to bar your way. Throw the switch again to close the door and lift the cage. Now enter the alcove to the left of the switch and pull out the moveable block four times. Then go around to the right and push it once against the closed door. Return to the alcove and claim the DESERT EAGLE, then throw the wall switch once more. This time the door opens, but the block prevents the cage from lowering.

Pull the block away from the doorway and enter the new area. Draw weapons, turn right and step forward onto the spinal cord. Kill the ahmet that bursts from the egg to your right. Proceed down either the right or the left side of the pool and enter the next hatchery S. Note the four colored panels lined up in the W wall across the room, each bearing a wall switch. The clue in the previous room means you need only throw the blue-colored switch, which is the second one from the left. However, if you want maximum kills, throw the other three switches to release two harpies and an ahmet. Throwing the blue switch opens a door below and to your right. Hop back twice, side flip to the right and enter the tunnel.

Turn to the left, but don't go beyond the pulsating block in front of you. Draw the revolver, combine it with the laser sight, and shoot the blue ball swinging in the distance to spring and disable the blade trap right in front of you. Keep your weapon handy and dispatch the giant scorpion that comes out of an alcove ahead and to the left.

Proceed N into the next chamber. Walk out to the edge of the lava and take a running jump and grab to the central column. Climb up, and when Lara is about a body length from the top, back flip into an upper level where you'll see some menacing blades. Walk around the blades to the right and head toward a decorated panel in the S wall with an emblem of a skull in the center. Pick up the GOLDEN SKULL in front of this panel for SECRET #2. Then safety drop back to the lower level. Locate the alcove in the SW corner of this larger chamber and take the second GOLDEN STAR with the crowbar.

Turn to the left, run all the way across the chamber and vault up onto the pulsating pedestal in the N wall. Yank once on the chain to open the door on your left. Go inside and encounter another lava room. Walk to the right along the dark, swiss-cheese-like walkway, lighting a flare if necessary to see better. Leap over the block and pick up the uzi ammo in the NE corner. Reverse roll and run back around the walkway, turning right at the end. Take a standing jump to the block which is ahead and slightly up. Take a running jump into the tunnel ahead, which proves to be a maze.

You'll experience some texturing problems in this area, but try to ignore them. Use the strategy of staying to the left as you navigate the maze. By doing so you'll first encounter an ornate jar which hides a large medi-pack. A little farther on, take the first UNKNOWN ARTIFACT from the pedestal. Next up is another ornate jar, but there's nothing inside. Then you'll arrive at a bay of four wall switches, but ignore them for now. Then you'll run into another ornate jar for a large medi-pack. After that, another ornate jar (which turns out to be empty) in an alcove to the left. Finally, you'll return to the tunnel entrance where you started.

Reverse roll and start another trek through the maze. Wander around about a bit. I hate to be so vague, but it's next to impossible to be more specific when you're trying to describe a maze. You'll eventually come across a drab-looking empty pedestal. Deposit the Golden Skull on it, opening the door to SECRET #3 not far from the bay of wall switches. Keep wandering about the maze until you come to another ornate pedestal, where you'll collect the second UNKNOWN ARTIFACT. After you've accomplished these two things, which shouldn't take more than a few minutes, make your way back to the bay of wall switches. Face the one to the far left, then reverse roll and run down the passageway. You'll wind up at a cage door with a receptacle on either side. Turn right twice and enter the secret area. Pick up the UZIS and two batches of uzi ammo inside.

Leave the secret area and place the Golden Stars in the nearby receptacles with a cage door between them. When the cage door silently lowers, step inside, draw weapons and shoot the jar on the other side of the deep pit. Collect the SHOTGUN, then step around to the front of the pit and face the pole. Take a standing jump and grab to the pole, slide down, and at the bottom you'll find a closed door to the W and an open shaft to the E. Enter the shaft and take a left at the bend. Pick up the shotgun ammo near the end of the tunnel and climb up to the higher level. Turn to the left and take the third UNKNOWN ARTIFACT from the pedestal. Then run across the blue swiss cheese to the S and throw the wall switch.

Climb back down the deep shaft, reverse roll and run down the long tunnel. Take a hairpin turn to the right and climb up the pole. Back flip to the upper level. Return to the maze and locate the bay of wall switches. Working from left to right, throw the switch on the far left. Take a side flip to the right (skipping the second switch) and throw the third switch. Then sidestep to the right and throw the fourth switch. The door to the W in the chamber below, where you slid down the pole earlier, will open and also release a harpy. Make your way back down there, deal with the harpy, then slide down into the next area. Turn left and run to the S wall. Step forward along the wall to the SW corner and take a running jump W across the gap. Step forward, turn right and take a standing jump to the higher flat surface.  Turn around and take a standing jump and grab to the breakledge above. Pull up and step forward into the alcove before the ledge crumbles. Pull the chain and listen for the sound of an opening door.

Reverse roll and jump down out of the alcove. Take a standing jump N to the upper flat surface and slide down the other side to the central spinal cord. Turn left and run W to the end of the spinal cord. Pull up into the alcove and climb up the far wall. About a body length from the top, back flip into the tunnel. Turn around and use the three Unknown Artifacts in the receptacles to open the door to your right.

Vault up into the tunnel, take a hairpin turn to the right at the end, and try to squeeze your way around the ahmet that comes out to greet you. (If you kill it in the tunnel, you won't be able to advance past its smoldering carcass.) Once past it, and after the flyby showing the next room has ended, turn around and deal with the ahmet. Then devote your full attention to this newest area.

Take a running jump across the lava to the central island and take the ATLANTEAN CORE from the pedestal (the blue lightning won't hurt you). This will trigger an earthquake, but do your best to ignore it. Step forward, around the pedestal, and run off the W side into an open area in the lava. In the lower level, face W and sprint down the pathway over the lava. Stop at the closed door at the end and allow the boulder that was chasing you to roll harmlessly into the lava before it reaches you. Reverse roll and run forward until you reach the open tunnel across the lava to your left. Take a standing jump into the tunnel and keep moving forward and to the right, taking refuge in an alcove to avoid the boulder rolling down from ahead.

Step out of the alcove, turn left and take a standing jump back to the pathway. Turn right and enter the now-open W tunnel. Take a left at the intersection and enter another hatchery. Walk out to the end of the ledge and turn to the right. Take a standing jump to the central pathway and a harpy will attack from the area of the egg to your right while the earthquake increases in intensity. Dispose of the harpy, then continue W down the pathway and the door ahead will open as you approach it. A cut scene shows a giant mutant cavorting noisily in a lava jacuzzi. Don't waste time gawking at it, as a horde of locusts will soon fly out to plague Lara.

Enter this new area and stop long enough to collect the UNKNOWN ARTIFACT from the ornate pedestal to your right. Then turn around and run across the room, directly in front of the mutant, timing your run to avoid its fiery breath. Turn to the right just before entering the room ahead, taking refuge behind a fleshy block. (Note the receptacle in this block, which you can't use quite yet.)

After catching your breath, turn around and face the opening to the next room. The next sequence needs to be done with precision, so it would be a good idea to save your game at this point. Step into the room and you'll slide down toward a lava trap. Jump and grab the collapsing ledge. Pull up and take one running step, then stop briefly and take a standing jump to grab the sloped pillar ahead just before the ledge disintegrates. (If you try to make the grab by taking a running jump off the ledge, you won't succeed. Trust me.) Pull up, slide forward and jump to the next sloped surface ahead. Keep the jump key depressed and jump off two more slopes. After the third jump, hit the action key and grab the ceiling. The camera view will change at this point. You'll need to swing forward a short distance and turn left at the bend, then monkey swing all the way over to the other side of the lava room. Do all of this without stopping, because for some reason once Lara stops her monkey swing she may not be able to resume it. When you've gone as far as you can go, drop down into a safe area along the W wall of the lava room. Step forward and stand on the blue square in the SW corner, which will rise conveniently and allow access to the tunnel above.

Vault up into the tunnel, turn left and take rolling dives (or side flips) through the two giant cigar cutters. In the dark tunnel ahead, light a flare, take a left at the bend, and run in a northerly direction (pausing to collect the KEYSTONE). Dogleg to the left and step forward into the depression at the end. A collapsing ledge will drop you back to the area where the mutant is holding court. Turn left and run back down to take shelter behind the fleshy block. Insert the Keystone in the receptacle to drop some protective bars directly in front of the mutant, affording some much-needed fire insurance. Run across the room to the receptacle on the E wall, and use the Unknown Artifact to open the door in the SW corner (just on the other side of the fleshy block) while the mutant tries futilely to fry you. Make your way back there, dodging the mutant's fiery breath, and enter the newly-accessible tunnel.

Turn left and run S down a long tunnel, crouching and crawling forward about halfway down to avoid the dart gauntlet. Continue running forward when the coast is clear, doglegging to the left once. At the end of this long tunnel, turn to the right and enter a new area.

Run across the raised structure with a blue dot in the center, and throw the middle wall switch ahead. A door will open to your right. Step inside and ride the platform up. Step forward and to the right, and locate the hole in this upper area. Jump across it and grab the fleshy surface in the N wall, then climb down to the platform and jump to the floor. You can shoot the ornate jar near the exit, but there's nothing inside. Outside, turn to the left and note another ornate jar in a stone shelter across the room. Nothing there either, or in the ornate jar in a stone shelter near the NE corner.

Now note the four closed doors in irregular places in the walls of this room. Note further the pattern of four squares, colored red and blue, above each door. Finally, for purposes of throwing wall switches later on, remember that blue means down and red means up.

Run to the central structure and go through the open door. Hey, what's this? The blue-dot platform doesn't rise this time. Not to worry. Just go around the structure in a clockwise direction and gain access through the doorway you only recently exited from near the SW corner. Make your way back up to the second level and locate the climbable surface on the S face of the pillar. (Use a flare to help you navigate this dark corner if necessary.) Climb up the pillar and back flip onto the third level. Run forward to the bay of four wall switches.

I. DOOR IN W WALL NEAR SW CORNER (blue, red, red, red):

This is actually a timed run exercise, which takes longer to read about than you have time to accomplish it. Light a flare, then stand in front of the far left switch and throw it. Reverse roll and run to the hole in the floor. Drop down and run to the left and drop down the hole in the second level to the platform below. Turn to the left, drop down and hit the floor running. Exit the room and turn to the right and go through the open doorway just outside. Angle toward the jutting block to the left and use it to take a running jump over the gap. Without stopping, jump over the left part (there's a lava trap to the right) of the barrier ahead and keep the jump key depressed to clear the slope beyond. Angle back to the right and run through the open door into the next area just before the door drops with a thud. You can do all this without having to hit the sprint key, but it's a mighty close shave. Step forward to the far side of this room (the door behind you will then re-open) and use the crowbar to pry the first GOLDEN STAR off the wall. Return to the upper bay of wall switches the same way you came. (The ornate vase is empty.)

II. DOOR IN S WALL (red, blue, red, blue):

Raise the switch on the far left, sidestep to the right and lower the second switch, then side flip to the right and lower the fourth switch. Head down to the open door in the S wall (which isn't timed). Run into the tunnel and you'll hear the rumbling warning of a boulder hurtling toward you. If you stay to the far right, the boulder won't kill Lara as it rolls by. Just ahead and to the right is a breakledge. Look down and you'll see a slope descending from right to left. You can simply jump SW over the breakledge to land on a point near the bottom of the slope. When you touch down another boulder behind and above you is triggered, so immediately jump forward across the gap onto another breakledge. Step forward before it collapses onto a safe area.

Continue forward into another lava room with more collapsing ledges, four of them this time. Position Lara in front of the one to the near right. Take a standing jump to it and immediately angle Lara slightly to the left. Then take a side flip to the left to the next ledge, then a running jump ahead to the third ledge, then a side flip to the right to the fourth ledge, and finally a standing jump forward into the safety of the tunnel. Needless to say, all of this needs to be done in one continuous flowing motion to avoid a lava bath.

Step into the new room and note the three cages lined up down the middle with a block perched atop each one. To each side is a bay with four alcoves, making a total of eight. First, note that inside two of the alcoves are chains attached to a blue base--the one on the far left against the W wall, and the second from the left against the E wall. Pull both of these to lower two of the three blocks. Now look for those alcoves without chains that have a blue pad in front of the base. You'll find them facing each other, one against the W wall (second from the left) and the other against the E wall (second from the right). Push the two blocks into these alcoves. Now enter the two alcoves with chains that you haven't yet visited (second from the right against the W wall, and all the way to the right against the E wall), and pull them in the order just given. Bug note:  if you pull the E one first, the game will crash for many of you when you try to pull the W one.  If nothing discernible happens at this point (the third block is supposed to be lowered), simply pull one of the two blocks out of its resting place and guide it into the far right alcove against the W wall. Or use the third block, as the case may be. A door will then open in the N wall, allowing you to exit this area.

Head into the tunnel up the stairs, turning right at the bend, and turn to the right about halfway up to see the second GOLDEN STAR in the chamber ahead, flanked by two ornate jars. (Shooting the one on the right gets you a large medi-pack.) Use the crowbar to claim the Golden Star, then reverse roll and exit this room. Turn right at the stairs and continue forward until a bend to the left brings you to a stone shelter overlooking the central room. Safety drop to the floor and make your way back up to the bay of four wall switches via the SW opening.

III. DOOR IN N WALL (blue, red, blue, blue):

Lower the switch on the far left, sidestep to the right and raise the second switch, then sidestep to the right and lower the third switch. (The fourth switch is already down, so leave it there.) Go on down and run all the way around the central room and enter the door in the N wall. This next room is highly reminiscent of the infamous torch room in the Palace Midas level of TR1. Stepping on the blue dot will extinguish, for a short while, the flames atop the four pillars, allowing you to jump from one to another until you finally reach a fifth (and flameless) pillar directly in front of the third GOLDEN STAR. Pry it loose with your crowbar, then simply reverse roll and swim back across the room to the stairs. Pull up, head up the stairs which wind to your right, exit this room and return to the four wall switches.

IV. DOOR IN W WALL NEAR NW CORNER (blue, blue, red, red):

Leave the switch on the far left alone, lower the second switch, raise the third switch and raise the fourth switch. Then make your way down and around to the open doorway near the NW corner. Step forward into the blue-green tunnel and draw weapons. Stay to the left, and as you near the gray area an ahmet will charge out from the bend to the right. Kill it quickly, then continue forward up the tunnel where the ahmet came from and turn right. As you approach the door ahead you'll hear the thud of a closing door, indicating that you've missed out on another timed run. But don't despair. Reverse roll and run back to the entrance of this tunnel. The door behind you will re-open, so turn around and sprint through the opening before the door closes again.

Once inside, you'll see a fleshy central shaft and hear some kind of mechanical contrivance. Look up and you'll see a blade turning noisily in a clockwise direction about a body length above Lara. Wait until the blade passes by, then jump up and grab the pulsating surface. As you climb up, note two alcoves high up in the shaft to your right and left. When the top of Lara's head reaches the floor level of the alcoves, shift around the corner either to the right or the left and back flip into the alcove. Turn around, combine the revolver and the laser sight, and shoot the swinging blue ball to set off a display of blue sparks. Then reverse roll, walk out to the edge of the alcove and take a standing jump and grab to the central shaft. Climb down six "rungs," then shift around two corners to the other side and back flip into the opposite alcove. Turn around and shoot the other swinging blue ball to open a portal on the E wall of the shaft.

Turn around, walk to the edge of the alcove and jump to grab the shaft. Climb down five "rungs" this time, then shift around the corner so that Lara's back is facing E. Back flip into the newly-opened tunnel and turn around. Run to the end of the tunnel and use the crowbar to claim the fourth and final GOLDEN STAR.

Turn to the right and run forward to emerge in a larger area. Run through the archway and stop at the gap ahead. Sidestep all the way to the left and take a running jump and grab to the other side. Pull up and run forward a fairly long distance into the room ahead. To the right and left are alcoves with receptacles. To the right and left of the closed door ahead are two more receptacles. Use your four Golden Stars in each one to open the door. Step forward, slide down the slope and watch the cut scene of a falling boulder as the level ends.