AN ICY CHRISTMAS

 

Level by October

 

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth (assisted by TombRaiderCZ's video walk )

 

 

 

Begin in front of Lara's mansion with your back to the closed front gate.  No weapons, no enemies.  Run W along the walkway and turn right in front of the mansion.  Run N all the way to the hedge and turn left.  The gate is closed, but you can crawl underneath it.  On the other side, run past the inviting den and look left in the weeds for the BACK DOOR KEY.  Face the wall E here and jump up to activate the high jumpswitch.  A gate opens somewhere indoors.

 

Go back, crawl under the gate and run S all the way past the front door of the mansion to a small hut.  Look for a TORCH near the stacked pile of wood and pick it up (for some reason it doesn't show up in your inventory).  Go back to the front entrance of the mansion and find two small side rooms.  Enter the one on  your right (N) and drop your torch for a moment.  Pull the crate out of the room and push it aside.  Re-enter the side room and pull up the floor trap door.  Retrieve your torch and take it downstairs with you.

 

Turn left at the closed gate and see a source of light ahead.  Indeed, it's a flame you can use to ignite your torch.  Go back the way you came, up the stairs and back outdoors.  Turn left and locate a pile of wood NE.  Set it aflame to melt the surrounding ice.  Pick up the BASEMENT KEY and a BROKEN CUP PIECE.  Leave your torch here and return to the front entrance of the mansion.  This time enter the one on your left (S) and crawl up onto the crate in the corner for a large medipack

 

Nothing more to do in here, so go over to the N side room and back down the stairs.  Go to the candle where you lit your torch and use the Basement Key to open the nearby gate.  Enter and search the soup shelves on your left for another BROKEN CUP piece.  Go ahead and combine the pieces now to form the CHRISTMAS CUP (you'll be in too big a hurry to do it when the need to use it arises).  Run toward the NW corner of the basement and pull up onto the planks.  There's a row of wine casks against the W wall.  Pull out the one on the right and push it aside onto the crate.  Enter the alcove and pull down the wall switch.  Hop down into the NW corner and find a moveable crate E.  Pull it back, get around it (you can't climb on it) and enter the corridor it was concealing.

 

Go up the ramp and pull out W.  As you run forward an on-screen message reminds you that it's cold outside and you need some hot chocolate.  Note the map of the maze on the nearby easel and climb the vines on the S wall.  Drop down the other side of the wall to find yourself at the rear of Lara's mansion.  Your cold meter is running down, so quickly head SE and use the Back Door Key to gain entrance to the kitchen.  It's no warmer inside, however, so stand in front of the coffee maker to your left and insert your Christmas Cup for a nice hot mug of chocolate.  Reverse roll and search the shelves next to the refrigerator for the FRONT DOOR KEY.

 

Go back outside and search the nearby frozen fountain (N) side for a map that shows up in your inventory as LOAD.  Examine it for the following clues: right, left, right, left five times, right and WIN!  There's also a secret to obtain.  Remember all this for later.  Run NW to a closed gate and open it with the nearby wall switch.  The entrance to the maze is still closed, so backtrack all the way through the basement, exit SE to the long corridor and up the stairs to the front entrance, and use the Front Door Key in the S side room to open the front door.

 

Enter the mansion at last and admire the gigantic Christmas tree.  Run around it to the right and pull down the W wall switch to open the white doors leading to the kitchen.  No need to go there now, however, so turn around and run up the winding staircase to the landing overlooking the front yard.  Turn left and enter the N library.  Go all the way to the N wall and find the gate you opened earlier.  Go down the stairs and drop down into the den that you saw from outside earlier.  Go behind the dark crates in the SW corner and pick up the SECRET GIFT.   

 

Stand facing S near the fireplace and jump up to grab the bottom of the stairs.  Pull up and run up to the library.  Exit S and run all the way across to a hallway where you see a keyhole.  Turn right and follow the hallway to a closed door W.  Open it and enter a bathroom.  Hop up to the left of the tub and pick up a large medipack.  Exit the bathroom and go E along the hallway.  Turn left at the keyhole and go down the winding staircase to the main floor.

 

Run N past the oddly-situated dining room table and enter the training gymnasium.  Turn left and run onto the blue platform.  Take a standing jump N to grab the top of the pillar.  Keeping the action key depressed, tap the jump key to make Lara jump and grab the upper platform.  Pull up and hop over E.  Face S, hop back and grab the edge, and shimmy left past the gap and pull up at the other end.  Stand at the SE corner and face the first of a series of sloped pillars.  It's not as easy at it looks, so I'd save here if I were you.  Take a standing jump to the first slope and slide-jump three times (the last time from near the top of the slope) to grab the N ledge.  Pull up and run to the E wall.  Turn left, hop back and grab the edge, and shimmy left along an invisible (at first) crack in the wall.

 

Drop down onto the blue platform, face NW and take a running jump to grab the crack in the white pillar.  Shimmy left past the greenery until you can drop down onto a ledge.   There are monkey bars overhead, but you can't reach them from here.  Get back onto the crack and keep the action key depressed while tapping the down arrow.  Lara will turn around and jump to grab the monkey bars.  Monkey swing along the track a long distance until you can release and drop down past a balcony into a sitting area.  Take the BEDROOM KEY from the computer station and pull the fake Christmas tree away from the corner as far as you can.  Go around and push it into the SE corner.   Looks better there, no?  Whether you accomplished anything productive, however, is anyone's guess at this point.

 

Hop over the balcony NW onto the raised blue platform (to minimize health loss) and go to the E end of the training area.   Find an alcove in one of the structures and pull up inside for a small medipack. Get down and exit the gymnasium.  Go back up the winding staircase to that SE keyhole.  Insert the Bedroom Key and enter those hallowed quarters.  Go to the small vanity against the W wall near the bed and push it N to reveal a closed safe.  Open it and grab the REVOLVER you find inside. 

 

Go to the foot of Lara's bed, face N and jump up to grab the canopy (you may have to stand at a slight angle).  Pull up and run forward to pick up the CROWBAR.   Get down, exit the bedroom and return downstairs.  Exit the front door of the mansion, turn left into the N side room and go down the stairs.  The gate ahead can be opened with the crowbar, so do so and climb the ladder into what appears to be a storage area.  You can see a wall switch ahead, but first move the fake Christmas tree onto the NW raising tile.  Use the switch to raise the tile and the tree. 

 

Climb back down the ladder, go up the stairs and return to the mansion.  Go up the winding staircase and enter the library N.  You can see the raised Christmas tree as you enter.  Move it painstakingly S just outside the library and onto a pale blue tile next to the W balcony.  A cut scene shows a gate opening somewhere. 

 

Go down the winding staircase, outside the mansion and down the N stairs toward the basement.  The S gate midway down the W corridor is now open, so enter a dark wine cellar and pick up the large medipack in the SE corner.  Light a flare and get to the SW corner to locate a wall switch.  Pull it down to open the outdoor entrance to the maze.  Exit the wine cellar and turn left to go through the basement and into the N gateway through the passage leading to the outdoor alley where the maze is now accessible to you.  Remember those instructions you noted earlier?  You enter from the SE and want to exit W. 

 

Go inside and take the first right.  You go a long way before you have to make any decisions.  When you reach the first clump of weeds, turn right and take another immediate right.  Continue looping around right to another clump of weeds to the right of a bench.  Search the weeds for a second SECRET GIFTThere are a couple of small medipacks in the maze if you wish to risk getting lost searching for them.  Otherwise, follow these instructions to get out as quickly as possible.  Reverse roll and loop around left until you can see to your left the first clump of weeds you encountered (E).  Go the other way (W) and follow a long way to the next intersection.  Go left and follow your nose to the next intersection.  Turn left here (S) and follow until you can look left (E) and see a clump of weeds.  Turn here and continue a long way past a park bench and a potted tree until you reach a long stretch with several openings to your left.  Take the first left and run past a clump of weeds.  Take the first right and run past another clump of weeds.  At the T intersection take a left and drop down the hole into a room.

 

Push the first crate three times N into the passage (but not as far as it will go).  Go back, pull out the second crate and push it two times in the N passage.  Finally, pull out the third crate and push it into the N passage.  The E passageway is now open, so enter, take the first left and go around left into the dark passage for the third SECRET GIFT.  Go back, loop around left and find the SWIMMING POOL KEY in the alcove.  Leave this area and pull up into the maze.  This time you'll find that the builder has provided helpful yellow arrows, so follow them to the exit.  They don't help you find those medipacks mentioned earlier, however, so you're on your own if you want them.

 

Return to the mansion and enter through the kitchen door.  In the main area turn right and enter the swimming pool area.  Run W toward the diving board and insert the Swimming Pool Key to open the gate to your right.  Go around and pull down the wall switch, then turn around and climb the ladder to the high diving board.  Use the ropes to swing across to the N balcony.  Take the LASER SIGHT from the back of the chair and combine it with the revolver.  Jump over the balcony into the water below and pull out.  Find the submerged grate at the shallow end of the pool and shoot it.  Swim into the opening and follow the duct.  Ignore the first crossing to your left and take the first right to find the ATTIC KEY.

 

Reverse roll, swim the other way and stay right for the fourth SECRET GIFT.  Reverse roll, turn left (S) at the intersection, straight to the S wall and right, ignoring all side passages until you emerge in the swimming pool.  Pull out and exit NE.  In the main area go up the winding staircase once more and go S.  Turn right and run down the hallway.  Turn right near the bathroom door and follow the rear balcony area to a closed door and a keyhole.  Insert the Attic Key to gain entrance thereto.  Go up the stairs and use your revolver to shoot the grate in the SE wall.  Pull into the crawl space and, while in a kneeling position, draw your revolver again and shoot the swinging star. 

 

A door opens below, so get down and pull the fake Christmas tree out of the alcove.  Push it aside, enter the alcove and jump over the railing for the fifth SECRET GIFT.  Find the moveable crate against the E wall and pull it two times N.  Vault over the low crate into the space formerly occupied by the larger crate and pull down the wall switch.  Enjoy the concluding flyby to the strains of The First Noel.