The Rose, the Witch and the Godfather

Back to Basics 2010

Level by Isis

There are 5 secrets

The level begins with Lara sliding down a passage into a courtyard with a pool and then a flyby begins and ends showing a door on the upper level. Note where this door is as later you will open it on a timed switch. First explore the lower level of the courtyard, picking up flares on the ledge in the corner and shotgun ammo in the pool. Also note the receptacle on the E wall which is where you will put the Fliorenti Rose much later. As you walk around the pool, Lara will look at one of the palm trees. To get to the higher level you will need to climb this tree. Stand in front of the tree and press ctrl and Lara will grab the tree (don’t jump and grab the tree as she will climb up in mid-air!). Pull up 6 times and then turn her ¼ turn to the right (until her back is to the pillar in the middle of the pool). Jump back from the tree and land on this pillar. Jump to the second pillar (N) and then to the ledge where there is a fence and some plants. With Lara’s back to the pool, to the right there is a door which will need a crowbar to open so you need to find the crowbar which is to the left of where you now stand. So turn and jump NW to the adjacent roof. At the back of this roof you will see a small pit and the crowbar on the other side. Pick up the crowbar and immediately either take a step forward or jump back as a rolling ball will come down from the roof above. Once the rolling ball has settled in the pit, jump back over it to the roof.

At this point you may want to find the route to the timed door mentioned above. From where you are now, turn right (S) and jump to the next roof and then across the corner to the passage on the S side. Follow the path around the back and then the ledge until you can drop down and see the door to the right. Once you know this route, return to the ledge with the plants and continue to the NE corner ledge where there is a ladder to the crowbar door. Open the door, save your game and pull the switch. You will see a camera shot of the other door opening. Go down the ladder and make your way around the ledges and roofs to the door. Although it is not very tightly timed, you cannot waste any time. A few seconds can be saved if you can jump straight from the plant ledge and land on the roof where the crowbar was without having to grab the edge and pull up.

Once through the timed door on the other side, try to keep to the right as you slide down the passage, jumping over the blade. At the end jump to the sloped roof opposite, immediately jump again to another sloped pillar below (try to land slightly on the right side of that pillar) and then jump again, bending as much to the left as possible until you land onto a flat ledge. If you miss the ledge and fall in the water you can either reload or make your way back to the courtyard and try again (but you won’t need to do the timed run again as the door is now permanently open). If you choose to try again you can get some flares in the water first, swim E to where a single gondola is floating and grab the flares at the bottom of the canal. Then swim W to the far end of the canal, climb on to the ledge and make your way along the passage. *Shoot (or run past) two rats, climb up into another room, pull the lever to open the nearby door, climb the ladder, shoot the window and you are back in the courtyard. You need to climb the tree again to get up to the roofs, but no need to pull the switch and do the timed run again as the door to the sloped passage is now permanently open. Slide down the passage again and try for the slopes and ledge as described above.

When you make it to the correct ledge a flyby will start, first showing two doors on the left, then upwards (watch for a large medipack as it flies past a window - this will be the second secret you can get), on to where you will ride the deathslide, then back down to a wall switch which opens the doors you saw at the beginning.

Turn Lara to face NW and jump to the ledge there, step up to the next ledge and look to the right (NE). You will see horizontal iron bars in the wood – there is a shimmy crack in the wall here. Jump and grab to shimmy left to the ladder. Once on the ladder, move left around the corner, then up to another ledge. You could step onto this ledge to get to the deathslide but for the first secret go up further just slightly past the edge of the roof. Move as far to the left as possible and then drop and grab so that Lara is hanging from the edge of the roof (no longer with her feet on the ladder). Then shimmy left until you can’t go any further and drop into a hole on the roof. This is the first secret (shotgun and ammo). From the hole jump S and land on a flat roof. You will hear a trapdoor opening on the side of the wall as you look back towards the deathslide area. Jump to this trapdoor and then left to the ledge with the deathslide. Ride the deathslide down to the switch and open the doors. To reach the doors, jump to the ledge opposite (don’t try to grab this ledge or she will fall in the water, just do a running jump and land on the edge). Then turn back facing S and jump to the doors, here you can press ctrl and if she misses the ledge she will grab the ladder in front.

Enter the room and shoot the dog which attacks from the passage on the left. (Note: once you are halfway across this room, a platform rises in the water outside so if you were to fall back into the canal now you can climb back in without returning to the courtyard again).

Before proceeding down the passage on the left, turn back to the canal, jump N across to the ledge in front of the window you saw earlier in the flyby and grab the second secret (large medipack and Glock ammo). Jump back to the room where you killed the dog and go over to the wire fence at the back. Lara will look at the two boxes of TNT explosives. If she can ignite those, it will break down the wall and she can enter the library! So go to the passage where the dog came from and at the bottom (note the keyhole on the wall) turn left and along to the end where she can jump up and pull down a ceiling trapdoor.

Once through the trapdoor, go into the next room where there is a table with a white table cloth and a plant in the corner, then turn right. A gunman is waiting for Lara so shoot him and grab the Glock 17 gun he leaves behind. In one corner of that room is a monitor on a table. Look at the white tiles on the floor and you will see one is slightly different to the others. Pull the monitor table onto this tile and the painting on the wall will open. Get the lasersight and Glock ammo, then find the wheel switch on the left of the fireplace. Turn the switch to turn off the fire, pick up one of the pieces of wood (torch) and then turn the wheel again to switch the fire back on to light the torch (or if you’re feeling lazy, just hit ctrl and Lara will light the torch in the fireplace even though the fire isn’t burning!).

Return to the room with the white table and plant, leave the lit torch there and turn right down some stairs to a kitchen. In one corner is a cupboard which you can open with the crowbar. Pick up the wine bottle and return to the room with the white table. Shoot the window in this room and standing on the window ledge look up and you will see a bell. Either use the shotgun if you have it to shoot the bell or combine the Glock gun with the lasersight and shoot it to open the doors across the water. Before entering those doors, drop down into the water and swim under the house on the right to find a large medipack. Swim back and go through the open doors, shoot the baddy on the stairs and carry on up to the room above. At the end of the room is the Godfather’s heart behind a glass panel. Break the glass, grab the heart and head back down the stairs as two blue ghosts attack. Shoot the dog which has now appeared, then make for the water outside to drown the ghosts.

Jump back into the window, shoot the gunman who appears in that room and pick up the cellar key he drops. Find your torch and head back down through the trapdoor to the keyhole you saw earlier. Use the cellar key and go through the door opened on the right of the keyhole to the cellar but then as the rats appear from the wall turn back and go up the stairs to where the TNT boxes are. Return to the cellar and the rats are gone.

Go over to the element receptacle in the corner and SAVE YOUR GAME. (This is important as if you use the wine and die before lighting it, the wine disappears and is no longer in your inventory. However, if this does happen, you can return ONCE to the kitchen and find a second bottle of wine which has now appeared in the cupboard – but no more after that.)

Pour the wine into the receptacle and light it with the burning torch (be careful not to stand too close as you light the wine or Lara will burn). The flames will ignite the TNT boxes above, causing them to explode. This leaves a gaping hole in the wall and breaks open the wire fencing.

Throw away your torch (as you won’t need it anymore) and return to the room above. Go through the still smouldering boxes and up the stairs to enter the library. To the right are two wooden doors which require two “librarian” keys to open, to the left in a corner is a small medipack. Also, note the chandelier at the back of the room with a ladder against it. You will use that later but first head down the stairs to stir up two ghosts. Once they are on Lara’s tail, go back up the stairs and turn left at the top, then left again, along to the end of that dark passage. There are windows on the right. The last one at the end is breakable so shoot that and drop down into the water below to destroy the ghosts.

Swim to the surface and look around. At the W end of this room is a passage to leading to the motorbike. At the E end is a doorway. You have to get the bike across the pool and through this doorway. To do this you need to raise the four platforms in the pool. You also need to find the oxide canister and pipe for the bike which will come in handy later.

First dive back down and find an underwater switch on the wall. Pull it to trigger a rope above, then grab the nitrous oxide canister in the alcove at the W end of the pool. Picking this up raises the platform nearest the exit door.

Swim to the surface, climb out onto the ledge in the NW corner of the pool and climb up the ladder to the ledge above. Turn back to face the pool. On the right is the passage to the motorbike, but leave that for the moment and turn to the left and take a running jump NE up to the roof where a crate is swinging on a rope. Dodge the crate and jump to the rope hanging from a wooden beam. Turn Lara to face E and you will see a wooden ledge and double doors (with another swinging crate in front). You need to get to this ledge and it can be a little tricky, but persevere as it is doable. Aim Lara slightly to the left of the swinging crate and try to get as high a swing as possible and jump as she finishes the swing (at its highest). Provided you miss the crate you should land on the ledge. Once on the ledge, pick up the Glock ammo on the right and then push open the double doors, use the crowbar to prise off the pipe on the wall (this raises the platform nearest the bike room) and then return to the ledge and shoot the two bats which appear.

Before diving back down, do a running jump SE to the window ledge to grab the large medipack. From here you can either dive back into the water or jump back to the ledge, then shimmy along the roof on the opposite side, past the swinging crate and pull up to where you jumped to the rope. You can now jump down to the second platform which has risen up and from here jump to the doorway in the grey wall opposite. Pull the chain switch there to raise the remaining two platforms and return to the pool area and make your way to the passage on the left where the motorbike is waiting. As you enter that room a gunman and dog attack Lara, kill them and head up to the bike. You can combine the oxide and pipe and fix it to the bike now, but you won’t need the extra power for the drive across the platforms (in fact I find it easier without trying to use the booster key to get across here). You will need it later, though. So drive back to the pool area and, keeping as straight as possible, ride the bike across the platforms to the doorway at the end of the canal. Take an immediate right turn up the steep passage where the curtain doors will rise at the end. You are now back in the library, near the wooden doors which need two keys.

Leave the bike here and make your way to the back of the library to the lowered chandelier with the ladder you spotted earlier. Jump onto the chandelier and climb the chain so that you can backflip into the open doorway on the N side. Go right until you come to an opening where you can jump up onto the row of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Walk to the middle of the room on the chandeliers and jump W to the small ledge. Pull the switch to raise a platform below, then jump over the railing to land on the lowered chandelier on the right. Make your way round the back of the bookshelves to the platform you just raised and climb on to this. You can now jump and grab the underneath of the chandeliers to monkeyswing across to the doorway opposite. Here there is a table, jump onto the table and up onto the bookcase on the right to claim the first key. This lowers yet another platform in the floor round the corner. This allows Lara to return to the lower level, so drop down the hole to the floor below and make your way back down the main stairs to the ground floor.

At the back of this level, opposite the main stairs, is another staircase leading downwards. You will find the second key down here, but first you can find 3 secrets on the ground floor level. With your back to the main staircase turn left and run round behind the book cases until you see a trapdoor in the floor. Note where this is, as it is on a timed switch. Go back to the main staircase where you were before and go right, behind some more book cases and search for a button switch on the wall. Press the switch and you will see the trapdoor open. Run back the way you came until you reach the trapdoor. This is secret 3 (two small medipacks and Glock ammo). Grab the goodies and climb out, then look for a wooden crowbar door in this area which is very nearby. If you can’t see it, try lighting a flare. Open this door for secret 4 (small medipack and flares), but don’t leave just yet. Look at the wooden panel at the back of this room, it is also a crowbar door. Unlock it for secret 5 (shotgun ammo and large medipack).

Now return to the main ground floor area and go down the smaller stairs right at the back of the room. Follow the passage and you will see a dog sitting at the end in a small room, but ignore him for the moment as a second dog will attack from the left. Kill both dogs and go into the room at the end to pick up a small medipack. Go back to where the second dog appeared and go through to the room at the end. Pick up the shotgun ammo on the right, then go to the doorway opposite. You will see there is a monkeyswing on the ceiling of the next room. Watch it for a while and you will see that parts of it disappear and then reappear. You need to time your movement across this monkeyswing so that Lara is not on a part when it disappears or she will fall. The only parts which stay are the monkeyswing bars at the entrance and exit (opposite) and the fan textured squares. Make your way across the monkeyswing, stopping on the fan squares to wait until the monkeyswing reappears. You can use the look button if the camera angle makes turning Lara difficult.

Once across to the other side, pick up the key at the end of the passage, then continue on (you can’t go back as a block has now risen behind you) until you come to a pool. Do NOT jump into the pool, you will be sucked to whirling blades at the end and die. Instead, jump to the pillar in the middle, then up to the wooden ledge. Kill the rat, then dodge the swinging crate (a sideways jump will do the trick) and go to the right where you can pull a switch to lower a trapdoor in the corner. Time your jump to miss the swinging crate and jump to this trapdoor. If you have trouble making this jump I find the easiest way is to stand so that Lara is aiming for one side of the trapdoor, let’s say the left. Hop back ready to make the run, then wait until the crate has swung completely to the right. Start your running jump now and she should miss the crate and grab the trapdoor.

Climb up from here and use the crowbar to remove the wires on the wall. Return to the wooden ledge, using the same technique as above (or whatever works best for you!) and jump past the swinging crate to where you can use the wires in the box on the wall. This lowers a platform to your right, jump to there and up the now opened passage. The door at the end will open and you are in a small room just off the main area of the library.

You now have both keys to open the door above where you left the motorbike. Use the keys and ride the bike down the stairs. Halfway down is another door with a switch nearby, but this only leads you back to the canal area if you wanted to try for the first two secrets or look for any pickups you might have missed. Otherwise, ignore this door and carry on down until you come to a large cave area where the floor slopes upwards to a large ravine. You will need to use the bike’s booster to get across this. Look to the right of the edge of the ravine and you will see it rises slightly. Aim the motorbike for this area and power up the bike.

Once across, head right and then go carefully left around the small lake there. In front of you will be two slopes. Ignore the one on the left, go up the one on the right but beware, there is a deep pit behind it with spikes, so rev up the bike to reach the doorway at the top. Once through the doorway hit the brakes to slow down, as there is a fairly steep slope down just around the corner. (Note: There is a closed door in this area behind which is a passageway you can access later should you have left the bike behind and Lara cannot climb up any steep slopes to reach it. You can then come back to this place. But it is not necessary to finish the game and mostly can be ignored.) So ride past this door and go carefully down a slope on the right, making sure to hit the ramp at the bottom to jump the water below. You are now in the witch’s lair/godfather’s crypt area. Place the godfather’s heart on the receptacle on his mausoleum to summon the godfather and the witch. With his heart returned to him, the godfather is easy to dispose of. The witch is slightly more difficult, although she is no match for the Glock gun provided you have picked up enough ammo.

Once they are both dead, pick up the Fliorenti Rose the witch has dropped. This will open two curtain doors at the end of this chamber. Climb back on the bike and make your way through these doors, jumping the smaller ravines as you go and running down the several baddies who try to stop you. Eventually you will reach an area where there are two doorways with paths leading upwards, one is a steep slope and the other is stepped (the stepped one is for if you have, for whatever reason, left the bike behind and are now on foot, Lara would not be able to climb the steep slope on the left).

So either ride the bike up the slope or climb the stairs on foot, either way the door at the end of each passage will open as you approach. If you are riding the bike, you will need to leave it here, as you are now back in the passageway which returns you to the courtyard where you began. So go left from the doorways (see * above if you have not been through this area before) and continue round until you reach the window, jump down and a flyby will start, reminding Lara where to place the rose. When the flyby finishes, put the rose back in its rightful place and watch as the witch’s servant ghosts flee the city, leaving it sunny and pleasant again.

THE END