PARALLEL UNIVERSE (UNIVERSO PARALLELO)

Level by Franky

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth

Lara appears to have stepped out of a warp gate guarded by two Anubis statues.  Two alien demigods attack when you start to advance.  Stay away from the small glass structures, as they're disguised land mines. Approach the helicopter near a corner of the central structure that's surrounded by a lava moat to trigger some on-screen dialog.  There's mention of something toward the West, which doesn't help you much because there's no compass in this game. You can see an electrified artifact ahead and to your right.  The gray steps leading up to it are safe, but the surrounding area is a death trap.  Take the SEGRETO (a cat statue) from the plinth for SECRET #1 and go back quickly as four purple beasts attack.  They're very hard to kill, but they will eventually succumb.  On the back side of this smaller structure is a strange contraption that appears to be a vehicle of some kind, but you can't operate it yet.  If the looping music is starting to annoy you, just mute the sound.

Go to the corner of the central structure nearest the front of the adjacent structure and face the moat to the right of the flame blower.  Side flip right and jump off the sloped rock to grab the first tier of the central structure.  Shimmy left past the flame blower and pull up near the next corner.  Jump to grab the second tier and shimmy right until you can pull up near the corner. Pull up to the third tier and shimmy left to the next flat spot.  Pull up to the last tier, shimmy left around the corner to a ladder and climb down to the bottom.  Turn around and pull down the timed wall switch to trigger a fixed camera.  Climb quickly back up the ladder, reverse roll at the top and drop/grab down the ladder on the other side past the timed trap door.    

You're at a four-way intersection.  Since there's no compass, it's not easy to tell you where to go from here.  Using the ladder in the shaft as a frame of reference (facing it, that is),  turn left and follow that passage to a cat statue and SECRET #2.  Go back, straight across at the intersection and find another plinth with explosive arrows.  Go back, right at the insection for flares.  Finally, go back, straight across at the intersection for a large medipack. The trap door is open again, so climb back up the ladder.  There's a force field now preventing you from climbing down the ladder on the other side, so turn around and hop over the opening.  Get back down via the same flat spots you used to get up here.

Once down, go to that strange contraption you saw earlier.  It's now operable, so get inside and follow the gray walkway surrounding the central structure until you reach a steep ramp.  Drive up the ramp and note the dialog that appears on your screen. Drive across and down the other side to a green lake.  Your vehicle has served its purpose, so dismount and leave it. The lake looks deadly, but it's not.  Swim across while trying to dodge the fireballs being hurled at you by the sea creatures.  When you pull up on the other side you find that you need two globe artifacts to open the large doors, so jump back in the water. Locate four spires sticking out of the water and swim down the long central shaft. At the bottom you come to another four-way intersection.  There's no clear frame of reference here, but force fields prevent you from entering three of the passages, so enter the one you can and follow to another intersection.  There's nothing in the passage to your right.  Straight ahead is a jackal tile with an overhead ceiling lever to pull.  In the third passage is another jackal tile with another overhead ceiling lever.

Return to the first intersection and find that the force fields have been removed from the two side passages.  Take the one on your right, and at the end you can either go left or swim up a shaft.  Turn left first, swim over a jackal tile and up to pull down the overhead ceiling lever.  This removes the last force field.  Swim back, turn left at the intersection and swim up to follow the shaft to a dark room. Pull out, shoot the alien and search the plinths for 3 x normal arrows and the CROSSBOW.  Swim back down to the main intersection, swim straight across where you see a patch of blue and get air as needed.  Follow the passage to a shaft that leads you up to another dark room.  Pull out, shoot another alien and search the plinths for a large medipack, flares, a cat statue for SECRET #3 and the HAND OF ORION.  Swim back to the main intersection, turn left and follow the shaft up to the last dark room.  Pull out, engage the inevitable alien and take from the plinths another cat statue for SECRET #4, the HAND OF SIRIUS, a small medipack and the LASER SIGHT.  Swim back to the main intersection and up the long shaft to the green lake where a large barracuda is waiting.  Pull up onto the ledge and place the Hands in the outstretched hands to open the large doors.

The crystals here aren't deadly, so don't worry about them as you make your way down the ramp. You start hearing and feeling an ominous rumbling, but continue until you slide down a short distance.  Stop there, turn around, move to your left as much as possible and step back a couple of times to trigger a trio of boulders.  It's easier to avoid them when you're facing them.  When the danger is past, continue down the ramp until you reach a steep slope.  Jump to the right side, slide down and jump off at the last instant with grab to land safely across the gap. Turn right and save your game before sliding down the long slope.  Jump just before you reach the bottom and run forward and to your right to evade the pursuing boulder. Follow the winding translucent passage until you reach an intersection. Take a left (if you continue forward you run into a dead end) and another quick left and follow to a closed door.  Go back to the dead end, and now you can proceed further until you come to a reach-in switch.  When you go back, the passage leading to the closed door is now blocked, so continue backtracking until you come to another dead end.  Turn around, go back and now the passage leading to the closed door is open again.  What's more, that door is now open as well.

Your way is blocked by a boulder, so simply shoot it.  Follow to a slope that leads down to deadly lava.  Slide down amidst flashing lights with two boulders falling down ahead of you.  At the bottom, jump to grab a crawl space and quickly pull inside to avoid a pursuing third boulder.   When you can stand up, follow to a closed door and turn around to find a ladder in a ceiling shaft.  Climb up to an upper room (no alien in this one) and grab from the plinths a cat statue for SECRET #5, another LASER SIGHT, a large medipack and the REVOLVER with some spare revolver ammo. Climb down the ladder and the door is now open.

Enter the next room and the door closes behind you.  Ahead are more closed doors, and overhead there's a jump switch that's too high for you to reach.  Go toward the closed doors.  The wall to the right, with a wall torch and the figure of an Egyptian maiden, is climbable.  Climb to the ceiling (the flame won't hurt you) and transfer by keeping the up arrow key depressed.  Turn around, monkey swing forward and to the right, following the red tiles, until you reach the timed jump lever.  Release and activate it to open the doors briefly, reverse roll and run quickly through the open doorway. 

In the Queen's Room you need to negotiate the descending boulders while dodging an assortment of wraiths.  At the top of the stairs is Queen Demigod.  Behind the throne is a bird statue to deal with any wraiths that don't destroy each other. When all is quiet, shoot all four boulders (your aim is drawn to them as if they were live enemies). The blocks at the bottom of the stairs cannot be moved. Pull out the blocks from the walls of the lower landing (slightly funky animation getting started) and drop down into the revealed holes for 2 x large medipack.  Pull out one of the blocks from the higher landing and drop down to find a moving spike column.  Stand in front of it, wait until it starts moving away from you and simply take a running jump through it on its way back without taking any damage.  Save before each attempt, as it's not a sure thing. Do the same with the next spike column and turn the corner to enter a room with the CHIAVE DELLA VITA (Key to Life).  Unless you're in the room with the blue-tinted ceiling (if you are, see below), the tiles on either side of the plinth are deadly.  However, the tiles on either side next to the entrance are safe. On one side you can climb up to a higher passage for a large medipack and a cat statue for SECRET #6 (thanks, vimmers).  On the other side there are flares at the end of the upper passage. Return through the spike columns, climb back out and pull out the block on the other side of the stairway (after moving the first block out of the way).  Drop down, go through the spike columns as described above and take the second CHIAVE DELLA VITA from the plinth.  If you're in the blue room, go past the plinth to your right (no deadly tiles here) and climb up into a passage for flares and a large medipack. 

Return to the Queen's Room, go up the stairs and place the Ankhs in the receptacles beneath the wall torches to open the doors.  As you step into a mirror room the doors close behind you.  Go to your right and pick up the large medipack near the corner.  Stand facing opposite the pole, step back a few steps and press the action key to take a cat statue that for some reason is not credited as SECRET #7.  There's a small medipack near the opposite corner across the room.  I had to stand jump from a distance to grab the pole.  Climb up and back flip into an upper room.  The plinths are empty, but there's a wall switch that opens the small door below.  Drop down, enter and pull up to the Fire Room.

Take a running jump to the right corner of the paired slopes ahead and immediately jump off to grab the climbable pillar.  Climb to the top as two wraiths chase each other without seeming to bother you.  Pick up CARD ONE and jump to the next pillar for CARD TWO.  Turn left and save before attempting the next sequence.  Jump to grab the sloped pillar, climb up and slide down the other side.  Allow Lara to drop to the facing slope and jump off at the bottom to land on the next slope. Jump the next three slopes in succession and grab the climbable wall near the corner.  There's an apparent opening above you, but if you try to climb directly up to it you'll fall to your death.  Instead, climb as necessary until you're in the middle of the strip separating the two rows of block tiles, and shift right all the way to the far wall.  Climb up near the ceiling and shift left toward the opening.  When you reach it, climb down until Lara's hands are the same level as the lower edge of the opening, shift left and pull up inside.  Run forward through the passage to a frozen area with more dueling wraiths.  Just around the corner to your left is a receptacle for Card One.  A force field keeps you from going into the area beyond.

Go the other way and come to a diving rig protected by lasers.  Jump into the freezing water and swim quickly along the channel past R2D2 (who fires at you) until you reach a narrow ice ledge onto which you can pull out safely.  Jump across toward the receptacle you can see and insert Card Two to deactivate the lasers protecting the passage.  Proceed to an open area guarded by an unlikely pair of Anubis statutes at the entrance and run across to an alien outpost.  Read the on-screen dialog and run toward and into that central structure with all the computer screens.  You'll need to deal with at least three aliens here.  Pull the wall switch to open one of the trap doors outside.  Go there and climb down the shaft (on the side opposite the open trap door) and pick up the hard-to-see CARD TWO.  Pull down the wall switch to open the next trap door and climb back out. Shoot another alien.  These guys are hard to kill, so do your best to alert only one at a time, if any.  Climb down the next opening, pick up CARD ONE and pull down the wall switch.

Climb out, note the nearby receptacles and climb down the next opening (make sure you're opposite the trap door).  Pick up CARD THREE and pull down the wall switch.  Get out, climb down the last opening and pick up CARD FOUR.  There's no wall switch here, so climb out and insert the Cards in the four receptacles to open the door between them. The next door opens automatically and allows entry into an alien command center.  Shoot four aliens while avoiding the fire of R2D2.  Go through the middle of the opening opposite the entrance, avoiding the lasers on either side. You could run straight forward into the stargate now and end the level, but if you wish to prolong play a bit, turn left where you see a mechanical picker upper.  Find the crawl space in the far corner and enter it. Follow the winding starry tunnel to a row of numbered wall switches.  If you pull down the first three nothing seems to happen.  When you pull down the #4 switch the door to your left opens to release another alien.  I couldn't find anything else to do, so run past the waiting helicopter into the stargate to end the level.    

Missed one secret.