TOMB RAIDER - EPISODE 1

 

Level by God Horus (Jesse)

 

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth

 

 

The level begins with a little background information accompanied by a well rendered voice-over from Lara.  You'll continue to hear from her throughout the level.  You're then taken to dark, cramped quarters shared with a mummy.  Run past it and enter the N crawl space.  Drop down the other end and pick up ammo for Reye's Gun.  Go back to where the mummy waits and shoot the E door.  Enter (the mummy won't follow) and go right to pick up a quiver of explosive arrows.

 

Face N and run past a gauntlet of rolling boulders.  It's not difficult.  On the other side take the SKULL from the plinth.  Either run back past the boulders or shoot the panels (wasting two valuable rounds in the process) and get back via the side passage.  In the mummy room, insert the Skull in the W receptacle to open the door to your left.  The mummy here won't follow you into the next room, but three more mummies are waiting for you there.  Since you're already carrying Lara's Bow, your best strategy is to equip it with the explosive arrows, wait for the three mummies to congregate in the same area, and blow them away with the investment of two arrows.  There's a spike-trapped passage E and a mural in the W wall with a missing piece.   Looks like we need to find some other way to proceed.

 

Jump into the water and pick up a first aid spray (large medipack).  Pull the underwater lever in the E wall to open a trap door in the floor of the mummy room.  Pull out of the water and return to the mummy room.  If you drop down the shaft to the bottom, you'll die.  Stand at the W edge of the shaft, facing the skull receptacle, hop back and wait for Lara to clear the edge before hitting the action key.  You'll glide down onto the ledge below.  Shoot the bell-like contraption in front of you, which lowers a trap door beneath you.  Use the same glide maneuver to get to the next lower ledge and shoot the bell there to open a door in the underwater area below.

 

Now drop down into the water and swim right through the opened door into the N passage.  Pull out and pick up the DUAL PISTOLS for SECRET #1.  Unfortunately, you can't use the pistols, possibly because no ammo comes with them.  Jump back to the water, exit this area and find that you can choose between two paths, one leading N and one leading S.  For no particular reason, I chose to do the S route first.

 

Pull out and approach the handle W lying on the floor.  Lara observes that it's broken, so she will have to open the gate manually.  If you now choose to go up the stairs (where the doors open upon your approach) and proceed in that direction (as I did initially), you will end the level prematurely and thereby miss a huge portion of the gameplay

 

Instead, go halfway up the stairs and climb the vine ladder to your left.  In the upper room, pick up the Reye's handgun ammo and kill two mummies with a couple of explosive arrows.  Observe the closed W door and the snake head receptacle.  Shoot the S grate and step inside the alcove for a TORCH.  Drop it down the hole and climb down after it.  Light it with the nearby flame (Lara needs to be standing in a certain position against the wall and at a slight angle).  I could find nothing to do with it here, so I left it here (just to be on the safe side) and went back up for a second torch that I could carry with me to the next area. 

 

The E gate lever is operable, so use it to open the gate, then pick up your lighted torch and slide down on your bottom into a dank underground area.   Your torch will be helpful for light here, so carry it with you as you explore.  There's a closed door S, an apparent rising block tile NE, and a water hole E.  Take a running jump SE to a higher ledge and hop up into the S passage.  Go around the corner to a lava room. 

 

Jump to the platform ahead and note the closed gate and nearby jumpswitch to your right.  Take a running jump NW to the next platform and from there hop into the W alcove (using the action key so you won't bump your head).  Pull down the wall switch to open that gate back in the previous room.   Go back the way you came and pick up the DYNAMITE on the lower ledge on your way out of this room. 

 

In the rainy dark cave, hop down through the open S doorway and find a pushable block N.  Pull it back once to wreak havoc in the room above you.  Pull out to find that substantial changes have taken place there.  Among other things you can now access that N passage near the NE corner.  Go there to find flares and a large medipack NE and handgun ammo on the ledge.

 

Hopefully you have your torch with you.  If not, retrieve it.  Hop onto the short W block and jump onto the higher N pillar.   Hop onto the W platform and take a running jump to the SE platform.  Hop into the S alcove and light the wall torch.  A door opens behind you in the N wall, so go there and take a running jump from the platform to the opening.  A hellhound awaits inside, so kill it before going across the bridge for the WINDING KEY.   On the way back you see something down below in the SE corner, so hop down there for more handgun ammo.  Jump up to grab the bridge and return to the rainy room S.

 

Hop down and jump into the E water hole.  Swim to a dark room and kill two mummies.  Insert the dynamite in the device next to the water hole and hop back.  You're probably not going to be quick enough, and Lara ostensibly dies, but all of a sudden camera control is restored and you're back in business.  Needless to say, the topography of the room has changed.  The obelisk has toppled, enabling you to pull the block away from the SW corner.  Move the block onto the lighter N tile and pull down the nearby wall switch to raise it. 

 

Use the NE block to access the upper N ledge and move the raised block onto the marked tile.  A cut scene informs you that a ledge has appeared beneath the jumpswitch in the lava room.  Swim back there and access the upper SE passage.   In the lava room, activate the jumpswitch to open the gate.  Hop up into the transporter, which carries you back to the rolling boulder room.  The boulders are still active, by the way.  Get past them to the mummy room.  Kill the mummy there if you wish.  You still don't have what you need to navigate the S swimming pool room, so drop down through the hole in the floor into the water. 

 

This time swim along the N passage.  Pull out at the end and grab the crossbow standard arrows in the SW corner.  Go through the N opening into a new area.  You could use the tightrope to your left to get across to the other side, but it would avail you nothing.  Instead, jump into the water below and find an underwater lever behind the NW ledge.  Pull it to open the door at the other end  of the tightrope.  Climb onto the ledge and use the blocks to jump across SE to the S wall.  Use the ivy ladder to climb back up.  Shimmy right and pull up onto the platform.  Now is the time to use that tightrope. 

 

When you get across, go through the open door and take the MOSAIC TILE from the plinth.  The door ahead opens, so proceed N into a rainy obelisk room.  Some minor explosions reveal handgun ammo.  Jump into the moat and find more handgun ammo and a large medipack.  Pull the E underwater lever to raise a block elsewhere.  Pull out of the water and run to the E wall.  Jump up left of the door and find a wall switch to pull.  Another block is raised.  Slide down and pull down the E wall switch at ground level to open the door.

 

Go inside and find another wall switch to your left.  Pull it down and use the SE stairs to climb to the higher ledge.  Move the W pushblock to the E end (you can shimmy past it).  The lower door E opens, so get down and pick up the CROWBAR.  Return to the obelisk room and run across to the W side.  Pull down the wall switch to open the double doors.  Stand at the edge and jump the two flaming pillars to the other side.  Pry the WALL PIECE off the wall and get back across. 

 

Use the Wall Piece in the N receptacle and step into another transporter.  Yep, you're back in the rolling boulder room.  Get past them again into the mummy room and turn left into the pool room.  Insert the Mosaic Piece where indicated and hop into the passage above when the door opens.  Pause for the handgun ammo and make your way carefully past the three spike bags.  Take the RED GEMSTONE from the plinth and make your way back.  Return to the mummy room and drop down the hole into the water.  Swim S and pull out in front of the stairs.  Go up halfway and climb the ivy ladder to your left.  In the room above, insert the Red Gemstone in the W receptacle to open the door.  Go inside, pick up the handgun ammo and run down the watery passage as a boulder rolls down after you.  Jump out right or left to avoid the boulder, then pull back up and shoot two crocodiles

 

Jump back into the water and pull the SE underwater lever.  Pull out N and grab the handgun ammo.  Enter the next room and do battle with a demigod.  When he's dead, run forward and pull down the N wall switch to open a gate elsewhere.    Go back, swim across the room, pull out into the water passage and run up to the room where you got the torch much earlier.  Climb down and find that the W gate is now open.  Enter and approach what appears to be (but isn't) a water-filled room.  Don't fall in, because if you do you can't get back out.  The wall switch to your left lowers two timed trap doors.  Use one or both to get to the other side.

 

Pick up the large medipack in the passage and continue W to a hole in the floor.  As you hang from the edge you can see something unfriendly down below.  Release while drawing your handgun and eliminate the hellhound.  Carefully jump E onto the NATLA block, turn right and jump up to grab the ceiling.  Monkey swing W until the camera angle changes.  Turn around and release onto a slope so that you slide down backwards.  Grab the edge, pull up and back flip to avoid a spike trap below.

 

Continue sliding down W onto a ledge below.  You can see something on a block below, so simply run off the ledge onto the block for SECRET #2.  Pick up the large medipack and the explosive arrows.  Jump the blocks and kill a hellhound.  The fixed camera angle makes it difficult, but take a running jump E and grab the ladder.  Climb up and back flip to an upper ledge.  Kill another hellhound and walk out to the W edge.  Jump to the facing slope and jump back and forth along the slopes, using the arrow key to bring you left until you can land safely SW.  Pick up the MECHANICAL SCARAB and climb the ladder.  Transfer Lara to the ceiling and follow the monkey bar track to the transformer.

 

You're back in the rolling boulder room.  Get past them as before and turn left at the mummy room into the pool room.  Pull up into the E passage, combine the Key and the Scarab and place the MECHANICAL SCARAB WITH KEY onto the tile at your feet.  Follow into SECRET #3, retrieve the scarab and pick up the large medipack and the flares.  Retreat to the mummy room, drop down the hole into the water and swim S.  Pull out and this time go all the way up the stairs.

 

The doors in front of you will open automatically (if they didn't earlier). Lara expresses some apprehension. As you step onto the threshold to trigger a harmless boulder in the distance, observe the obvious spike traps. If you wish, you can try the riskier course described below. The easy way across, however, is simply to reuse your mechanical beetle to trigger the spikes ahead, then run forward to complete the level.

Don't step onto the darker tile ahead, but reverse roll onto it and get away quickly as two more boulders are released. Squeeze behind the W boulder, facing W. Side flip left. When you land on the adjacent tile it erupts in flames, but if you're flush against the wall you won't be harmed. However, if you land on any portion of the adjacent tile you'll trigger two more boulders, so immediately side step to the right. When all is clear, side flip left again to get between the wall and the second boulder. Save your game, then side flip left one more time. Flames will erupt from the next tile while you're in midair, and you're likely to be set ablaze. Reload and continue until you land safely. Turn slightly to your right and back flip to safety.

Pull up S and approach the luminescent pedestal. When you take the artifact from it, the level ends.