THE NIGHT BEFORE CARNIVAL

Back to Basics 2010

Level by Kat

Walkthrough by eRIC

There are 3 secrets to find in the level. The 3rd is obtained only if you have found the first two.


THE CITY

You start in a room with nothing to do except to shoot the left window. Go down safely to the ground below, the best way is to aim a jump into a hole of water where a small medipack is. Now you can visit this portion of Venice. There is a central building where a golden key is required to enter. If we do the exploration of the whole area clockwise, we can notice at ground or canal level: a closed door on a wharf South, then another closed door on a wharf at the West end, and a closed door on a platform in the East and where you can pick up shotgun ammo.

Still in the North but Underwater, there is a closed door below this platform, and on the right of it, an underwater corridor with a closed door and before that closed door, a hole where you can swim up to a room where a key lock is there for a yellow key to come; this room leads to a balcony with shotgun ammo. Jump into the water and to the next wharf ahead to pick up again shotgun ammo.

Now, go to the wharf South where the closed door is. Then turn around and look North-East to see an orange block. Go there with a running jump, then still N-E, pull the Jump Switch in the wall East with a standing jump. This opens the door at the utmost Western wharf of the city. Swim there and enter the house, minding the trapped spikes hole after the entrance. Kill a rat and jump on the table in the opposite corner. Pull up in the room above; in the window alcove South, pick up the
Yellow Key. A burst of danger music plays: kill the black Gunman who is coming and pick up the small medipack he was carrying. Go down and exit this house, minding the spikes hole.

Now dive and swim East , North and East again, until the North-East corner of the city, and into the opening North, swim up to the room and use the yellow key to open the wooden door here. Endure a swarm of bats and enter a corridor with swinging spiked bags. In the left alcove of the first swinging bag is a wall lever. Pulling it opens the door in the water in the underwater corridor where you just came from. You can return to the previous room and go to the underwater corridor for the first secret. After the underwater corridor you emerge into a room with the
FIRST SECRET: a ROSE JEWEL and Shotgun ammo . Return to the swinging spiked balls corridor. You avoid the second one by passing a corner to the right. Beware after that, don’t go forward, but turn again right to avoid being killed by falling debris. Ahead are popping spikes on a slanted block, go first to the right in an empty room with a balcony. On the left of the balcony is a button that opens a door above where the spikes are. Return and place Lara near the wall and just before the low wooden tile before the slanted block with spikes. Face South but slightly to the right to time a running jump in diagonal on the right of that slanted block and immediately jump to grab the edge of the higher room. Pull up and go left to find the opened door.

You are overlooking the courtyard at the start of the level. Now your goal is to make a long curved jump to the right to the red awning West. Some people on the forum said that it is possible to make this curved jump without grabbing (Lara should land on the red awning), others said that the method is to make this jump with grab. The method that worked for me is the second one (with grabbing). It takes a few tries so to know what is the best position for Lara’s start position to make this jump. Eventually Lara succeeded, grabbing the middle of the red awning.

Once there, jump to the next awning South and shoot the window. Enter the building. Go to the left to walk on the first collapsible tile and jump back. Then you can go down safely in the room below. Kill a black Gunman and a dog, and to the next room where a ladder is, and a button opening the exit door to the city.

[ Note: Although it is not absolutely necessary, it is suitable that this door is opened in case you fail the next action to come and have no savegames, so as to not have to come back inside this house by the long way you have just come.]

TIMED DOOR AND SEWERS

Climb the ladder and go to the balcony. Ahead, across the city, you can see a door on the platform North. That door is your next objective, but that door is timed. In the corner of the room is a wall lever. A camera shows the opening of the door, you can get rid of it by pressing the ‘look’ key. Quickly make a roll, and run to the right along the wall, when you are at the hole in the floor continue to run against the wall and turn right to the balcony (Lara does not fall into the hole, this method is better than to jump over the hole so as to not lose time) and jump ahead into the canal and swim straight to the platform where the timed door is. After you have passed the door, pull up into an alcove to the right and turn a wheel which opens an underwater door below the platform and the gondola. Dive there, picking up flares on your way. Swim in the underwater corridors, until finding a hole going down, then an underwater switch opening a door nearby. Swim in, and straight to the end to find a air hole where Lara can breathe. Turn back and dive again to the bottom and to your right is an opening, continue swimming and next you’ll find a high opening on a wall to the right, swim in, and you will soon be at the top of stacked submerged rooms.

BIG WATER ROOM

Swim down to the bottom to an empty room with 3 windows on one side. Swim through the centre of the left window which is broken. You arrive in a big water room, in a corner there is a table on which you can stand to grab monkey swing bars, but that is useless for the moment. In the opposite corner, there is a ladder which is closed by now.

Swim through the hole in the N-E corner, continue swimming until you arrive in a room with fire emitters.

ROOM WITH FIRE EMITTERS

Yes, you have to use the slopes on each side of the room by making jumps to and fro while progressing to the other side by using a lateral arrow key when jumping forward. The timing of the fire emitters is not too tight. To pass the first fire emitter, there is another method :
Making a running jump beyond this first emitter when the fire is off, the trick is to run in a perpendicular way to the room, make a curve and jump, so as to not catch fire by the deadly ground when starting the jump. Anyway, whatever your method is, after the first emitter, progress near the 2nd fire emitter, and continue to make jumps to and fro, progressing to the end.

When you are at the end, you have to make a tight curve into the central opening between the fences, Lara must be high on the slope before making the jump forward with a curve, otherwise she will bump against a fence. Approach the floor lever while avoiding the horizontal fire emitter. This lever opens the trapdoor in the big water room. Return there by using the same method of jumping to and fro the slopes, it is easy to go beyond the first fire emitter with a running jump, then you have only the 2nd emitter to deal with. Note by Moderator: Or, as pointed out by eTux, you can simply monkey swing back across.

BIG WATER ROOM [ UPPER FLOORS ]

Once back in the big water room, climb the ladder where the trapdoor is open and back flip. This is the middle floor of the room. Kill two rats. [On this middle floor, if you’d continue farther you will see that the ground in the corner is slightly elevated, also that there are monkey swing bars and trapdoors in the ceiling, but they are useless for now]. Instead, after killing the rats, go in the opening to the right, go down and pull a switch that closes a trapdoor. Return, and then go down to the lower floor and swim to the opposite corner. Jump on the table and grab the bars, you can now monkey swing to the end, as the trapdoor has been closed, enduring a steam emitter; at the end of the monkey swing go down and find another switch. This switch opens trapdoors at the monkey bars ceiling of the middle floor, and another trapdoor further on you have not seen yet.

Go out and dive, return to the middle floor via the ladder, enter for the second time in the opening to the right and activate that first switch again, which closes the trapdoors at the ceiling bars of that middle floor. Now you can go to the slightly elevated floor in the corner and monkey swing to the end, where you will see a ladder and an open trapdoor leading to the upper floor.

Once there, jump to the white and low block, then grab the bars of the ceiling, follow them by monkey swinging to the opening in a corner. Let drop and grab the opening.

THE VENTS

Crawl and at the end, turn around and grab the edge. SAVE your game: Trap ahead and below. Slide backwards and at the end of the slope, jump backwards to a flat block, before a perpendicular slope that would lead Lara into a deadly fan.

Jump and pull up in the next vent, continue, beware of a rat just before a crawling section. At the end, drop backwards in a small warehouse. Go through the red curtain and pick up the
Golden Key on the central block. A door opens before you. Kill a dog which jumps on you after the corner. You are back in the city.

CITY , CENTRAL BUILDING and SEWERS

Jump ahead from the balcony to the platform at the entrance of the central building, use your newly found Golden Key and enter. To open the trapdoor at the top of the ladders ahead, place the two movable harps on each side to the marked tiles. At the top of the left ladder, jump backwards, then enter by an opening in a small corridor leading to a balcony facing 3 windows South. Shoot one of these, and enter this building by a jump with action over the balustrade. You are inside an empty room with a chimney.

[ Note: after this point, the first secret is not accessible anymore.]

Run towards the chimney, the fire stops and you fall down in a water sewer. Swim under a fence, pull up on the left side to pull a switch, a trapdoor opens. Return in the water, swim under another fence and climb a ladder through the open trapdoor to arrive in a vast and beautiful plaza surrounded by buildings.

PLAZA GARDEN

Kill 2 dogs. Go to the N-W corner, a door opens. Kill a white gunman who gives you the
Glock 17 Revolver. In the little room where he was, notice a receptacle for a Card. Go out and to the centre of the plaza and look up West to see a Bell above the double doors. But you're still missing the laser sight. Go to the South and pull the movable cross once. The trapdoor under which it was resting opens. Go down by the ladder, and in the warehouse below, kill a black gunman and pick up the Code Disk on a crate. Notice a closed door. Climb back up the ladder and use the Code Disk in the little room North-West. That opens the closed door in the warehouse. Return there and enter the new room with a swinging crate. Kill a dog. Pass the swinging crate carefully and at the end retrieve the Laser Sight on a crate. Come back, go up the ladder and go at the centre of the plaza. Shoot the Bell with Revolver + Laser sight. The double doors West open.

BIG HALL

Enter the building into a big hall and kill a white gunman who gives the
Bundle of Keys. In this big hall, if you explore in a clockwise way, you have a closed door to the left side South, a door that you can open with the bundle of keys in the West (this leads to the Elements room), and on the right side North: double doors that you can open by using action on them, and big staircases on the right of them. This area can be raided in a non-linear way, but maybe it is good to go for the shotgun now.

Return towards the entrance of the big hall, on the right side (in the S-E corner) is a switch which opens the door nearby. Kill a dog. Enter by the open door into a small corridor. On the right , pick up the
Shotgun, notice the closed door, then use again the Bundle of Keys to open a small door. You will see a big warehouse with many crates and swinging crates.

BIG HALL: LIBRARY and CROWBAR

Return to the big hall, then N-W to the double doors North to a small corridor. You arrive soon in a library. If you go to the right, you will see a movable object placed on a white tile. Pull it in the East direction unto a different marked tile on the ground, which is in fact a raising block that is not raised yet. Return a bit towards the entrance and notice an alcove in the bookshelves West, hop there, then from the alcove, make a jump with a curve towards the left to grab higher bookshelves.

On the right you see a raised block and a white tile. Go to the left and go down, go through the red curtain, beware of a spike trap hole after the curtain.

Climb the tall ladder, and when Lara is at 4 bars from the top, back flip to grab a ledge behind. Pull up and quickly go to the right to avoid a rolling ball. Before proceeding further where the breakable tiles are, go to the stone corridor where the rolling ball was. At the end enter a crawlspace to get the
SECOND SECRET: a ROSE JEWEL.

Come back and jump to the breakable tiles and into an alcove. Pull a switch, you hear a door opening somewhere. Go down carefully the way you want, pass through the red curtain, then go to the right and hop into the little alcove like before, and make again a standing jump with a little curve on the left like you did before to reach the upper ledge. Pull up and make a roll; if you had not noticed before, you can see a ledge in the South direction and on the right. Make a running jump South with a little curve on the right to reach this ledge and you can see the door you have just opened. Pull the switch there, which has the effect of swapping the position of the two high raising blocks. Return and jump where the movable object is, as it is now raised. Push it once and return to the ledge South-West to pull the switch again so as to swap the raising blocks in their former position. Return where the movable object is, and this time you can place it all the way to the white tile. This opens a door nearby, in fact this door was disguised as a painting in the East wall. To reach it, backtrack a bit and make a standing jump South to the chandelier. And from the chandelier a running jump to the opened door/painting.

When you enter in another part of the Library, you hear spikes popping; look down and you see the
Crowbar. Jump down and pick it up. Now you have to make your way back up. Go towards the popping spikes, and time a jump and go to the left in a safe alcove. Approach the spikes, you see other spikes that have been triggered on the higher block. Place Lara with her left shoulder touching the wall and time this sequence: standing jump forward + lateral jump to the right to land safely on the upper ledge. Go through the opening that is above where the crowbar was and use it to open the next door at the end of the corridor.

BIG HALL : The ELEMENTS

You are at the upper floor of the big hall. If you go to the left there are staircases going down to the lower floor. Let’s go right instead. You can jump over a couple of balustrades to get shotgun ammos. On the other side of this upper floor is a corridor and double doors you can open yourself by pressing the Action key, in the new room there is a red door which is still closed. So get out and enter the corridor. Notice a closed door on the right with a torch on the wall. Continue and to the right is a room with a harp. First, you can place the two Rose Jewels you obtained when finding the two first secrets in their receptacles to open a door to the
THIRD SECRET: small medipack and shotgun ammo.

Now go to the movable harp, which can’t be moved, place Lara in crawl position and make Action to get a
Torch from under the harp. Backtrack and take the staircases to find some fire downstairs in the Elements room. Then up the staircases, then to the corridor South and light the wall torch with yours. The door opens to a room with a Pulley. When pulled , this opens a door at the lower floor.

[ Note : At this point, you should bring the torch downstairs with you and put it safely in the element rooms to retrieve it later on.]

Once downstairs and the torch is in a sure place you will remember, enter by the high door in the South wall, then to the right to the newly opened door. Pick up the
Bag of Sand.

Now it is time to deal with the swinging crates room. Make a roll and go there. Go down to the floor, kill a white gunman and a black gunman. Pick up a big medipack. Now save your game, for the next sequence is timed, although not too tight. Press the button on the wall, which raises a timed trapdoor at the other end of the room. Quickly turn a bit to the left and hop backwards, then hop on the crate, then to the next, run with a curve to the left and jump, passing the first swinging crate, aiming at the right side. Turn left and make a running jump to the next column of crates, then another running jump to the next ledge, while avoiding the swinging crates. Then a final jump to the trapdoor.

Quickly turn around and jump to a hole East. Go down a long ladder, follow a corridor and pick up the
Bottle of Wine. Kill 2 rats and come back, up the ladder, travel through the crates room and exit.

Go ahead towards the room where you picked up the bag of sand earlier. Just before it are two alcoves with a plant on each side. Behind the plant in the left alcove is a wooden door you can open with the crowbar. Follow the corridor and go down to a water room. Pick up the
Code Card.Come back via the ladder, now aim to the big hall and to the staircases, at the upper level again go South and by the double doors. In the room with the closed red door, crawl through the curtain on the right and use the Code Card on the reader. The red door opens. Go there and follow the corridor. Kill a dog and a black gunman in a room below. Go to the other side of that room where a pool is with a closed door inside. Go South to a corridor with plinth blades. Jump over them and pull the wall switch at the end. Return jumping over the blades, the door is now opened in the pool. Dive in, easily avoid 2 underwater blades, and at the end pick up the Waterskin. Return all the way back to the room with the red door, then down at lower level of the big hall, then to the door South and turn right to fill the waterskin in the room where you picked up the Bag of sand earlier.

Now it is time to use these elements. Back into the big hall and to the room West with the 3 element receptacles. Save your game before placing the elements. When all 3 are placed , ignite the Wine with the lighted torch which should be in this room If you have followed the instructions in this walkthrough. The trapdoor opens in the ground.

THE RETURN

Slide, then progress in the corridor, a door opens on approach. Pick up Mask piece 1 on the centre tile. A phantom appears in a corner and starts throwing bolts. Go near it, crawl and shoot at it, to be out of reach from its bolts. When the creature is dead, the exit wooden door opens. Beware of the boulder that will soon roll down! When the path is clear, run up the ramp again and pull up into the next opening. In the next room with shallow water, make a jump to a climbable pillar in a corner with a plinth at the bottom. At the top, grab the bars and monkey swing to the next pillar. In the next corridor, climb the ladder until you reach a plinth blade. Back flip to a slanted block behind you (Lara may lose some health) and grab again the ladder: Lara should have passed the blade, so climb to the top. Press a button, the last door opens on the city, and the level ends.