AFTERLIFE (PART 1) - UNDERGROUND

Level by Johny Ptacek

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth

After the opening FMV featuring Lara and Von Croy, hearkening back to the early days of TR IV: The Last Revelation, find yourself rising groggily from deep within the pyramid.  You have no weapons or other accessories save binoculars. Locate the old pistol ammo in the NE corner and exit E to trigger a rather unnecessary cut scene. Loop left around the debris for more old pistol ammo. Stay away from the E opening, which is a sand trap. Go S through the large opening and turn left to find 2 x old pistol ammo. You are probably becoming annoyed by this time with Lara's unchanging comment each time she finds something.  You may also have guessed that it would be prudent to conserve your ammo in this game.

Run W along the corridor and follow around the corners, passing an opening to your left.  A bit further on is a door to your right that you can open. Do so to release a giggling ghost who apparently means you no harm. Watch her walk through the N wall and stand in the darkness near that spot, slightly to the right, and pick up 2 x old pistol ammo. Enter the small S room with the revolving pillar of light surrounding the statue.  Pull back the skeleton and hop forward to pick up the OLD PISTOL. For fun, vault up onto the pedestal and give the statue a kiss.  The effect is the same as using a medipack (you'll note there are none in your inventory).

Exit this room, turn left and then right into the room you bypassed earlier. Shoot the central coffin and pick up the BONUS WEAPON: TR6, which as yet has no ammo. Go up the W steps, turn left and shoot the containers in the corner for old pistol ammo. Open the nearby chest for a BLUE GEM.  The containers in two of the other corners of this room are empty, so you needn't waste valuable rounds shooting them. However, you'll find old pistol ammo under the containers in the NE corner, and there's another chest in the SE corner containing old pistol ammo. Go up the E steps into an upper room, look into the left alcove for old pistol ammo and the right alcove for flares (here called torches). Step out into the E opening to lure a host of bats.  I didn't count them, but they require an inordinate amount of ammo to kill, so let them get close and make sure they're targeted before you fire.

Enter the now bat-free E room and find old pistol ammo in the near left corner and more old pistol ammo midway along the N and S walls. Continue E up the ramp. The jars and pots to your right and left can be shot, but they're all empty. However, you'll find old pistol ammo in the near right and left corners.  Continue up, and when the ramp levels out you can shoot the larger pot in the next-to-last alcove on your right for old pistol ammo.  Shoot the jars and pots in the last alcove on your left for more old pistol ammo (or maybe it's scorpion x ammo, if you check your inventory you'll find you've picked up some along the way). Pull down the wall switch to open the gate and trigger a flyby through the large room ahead.

Enter and run left toward the N wall.  The flaming pots are harmless.  At the wall pick up old pistol ammo and go back S about halfway. Turn right and go up the W stairs. Loop around left at the top and open the doors to trigger several sets of teeth doors in the passage ahead. Time your way past them, pausing for scorpion x ammo along the way, and emerge around the corner onto an upper ledge encircling the large room.  You could continue around into the companion side passage and bypass the teeth doors there, but this is apparently not the way intended by the builder.  So go back through the teeth doors, loop around right and open the doors in the other (NE) corner.  Another ghost is released, but this one weeps and wails and doesn't giggle.  After the second set of teeth doors, you'll find a skeleton that covers scorpion x ammo (good thing it's not something really important), but in my game Lara would not grab its head and pull it back, and when I kept trying the teeth doors disappeared.

Go E to the upper ledge, turn right and find a chest in the SW corner that contains ancient medicine (apparently a medipack). Nearby behind the column is scorpion x ammo. Go back N and find old pistol ammo behind the last column. Stand on the outstretched right palm of the anubis statue. Lara expresses her opinion that the jump across can be made, but it's not easy, so save your game first.  It helps to press the jump key at the very last instant. When you make the grab E and pull up, save your game again, as you're about to be attacked by an ahmet.  It can't be killed with your old pistols, so don't waste precious bullets trying.  Evade it as best you can while running to the chest in the SE corner for the SCORPION X PISTOLS.  Fortunately, the ahmet is vulnerable to scorpion x ammo, but if you didn't get the skeleton ammo pickup in the teeth door passage you don't have enough ammo (it took me 156 rounds), so at some point during the battle you'll need to grab the scorpion x ammo behind the pillar near the chest to give you the necessary total of 160 rounds. 

After the ahmet succumbs, search the feet of the statue next to the same column where you found the extra scorpion x ammo.  Stoop to pick up explosive ammo for your bonus weapon:TR6. Now you have to make that jump back W from one anubis statue hand to the next, so save your game before making the attempt. When you get across, go through the passage with the skeleton, since the teeth doors are no longer there, loop around at the end and go downstairs.  In the room below, run across to the E side.  The stairs to your left lead down to a closed gate, but you can go down there now if you like to release an apparition and pick up some scorpion x ammo.

At the closed E gate, locate the receptacle to your left and insert the Blue Gem to open the gate.  Draw your old pistols as you enter, as you need to deal with an army of moaning mummies.  Fortunately, they're easy to kill, requiring only a few rounds apiece. Continue along the passage until you reach a broken bridge. Pause a few seconds and wait for the debris to fall.  There's a ladder at this end of the broken bridge, but the debris is in your way so save before trying to get to the edge.  The easiest way for me was to reverse roll over the debris. Climb down to the cave floor and encounter three giant scorpions.  Run quickly to the NW alley and pull up right.  Run up the ramp and jump E over the gap. Run forward and jump up to grab the crack.  Shimmy right around two corners as the camera angle changes.  Release, slide and jump to a ledge.  Grab the crack here and shimmy right until you can pull up into a crawl space.

Follow around and turn around to drop down into a short passage. Pull up the other side and take a running jump S to grab the side of the bridge. Climb up a bit, shift right and pull up onto the bridge (in my case, right through the fence). Run E into the new room. Halfway down on the right is an opening with a closed gate and old pistol ammo.  On the left is an opening with a closed gate only.  At the E end on the right is a door you can open to one of those kissy statues. On the other side (N) is a door leading to a treasure room of sorts. Vault up onto the raised slab and search the chest for the DESERT EAGLES. Shoot the containers in the corners for 3 x desert eagle ammo.  Pull down the wall switches in the E and W walls to open the gates you noted earlier and to arouse a pair of demigods. Killing them will exhaust most of your desert eagle ammo.

Replenish your health if necessary with a trip to the kissy statue, then enter the opened gate in the N alcove and open the first chest for an ancient medicine and 2 x desert eagle ammo, and the second chest for an ancient medicine and 2 x desert eagle ammo. The pot is empty. Go across to the S alcove, enter the opened gate and shoot the pot for desert eagle ammo. Search the chest for more desert eagle ammo and take the GOLDEN ANKH from the plinth. Leave the ammo in the corner alone, as picking it up will bring debris raining upon your head.  Leave this area and return W to the broken bridge. Turn around at the end and slide down to the cavern floor.  Draw your desert eagles and dispatch those three giant scorpions you awakened earlier.

On the column near the W wall is a climbing surface leading to a familiar broken bridge with the fallen debris.  Climb up on the left side and pull up.  Run back through the mummy passage to the large room with the flaming pots and the statues. Go across the room NW and use the Golden Ankh to open the gate on the W side of the room.  You could, if you wish, open the E gate and proceed, but the order of gameplay would differ from that presented below. Also, for a reason explained later, you're better off starting with the W gate. 

Shoot six jackals that come forth to greet you. In plain sight on the floor are 3 x old pistol ammo. As you venture further W you'll attract the attention of four more jackals. At the W end the path branches around a central column. Continue to a central flaming platform at the far end (ignore the debris-trapped ammo in the alcove to your left). Loop around left and take the ancient medicine from the table. Continue S and around the corner left to the end. Hop between two shelves and find old pistol ammo and desert eagle ammo on the other side.  Go the other way, to the N wall and turn right.  Shoot the container on the table and pick up the desert eagle ammo.  Continue E, hop between the shelves and land on a breaktile. Slide down to an underground area and shoot three jackals.

Light a flare and follow the passage N. Turn right, then left, and a ghost will appear and scare the pee out of you.  Turn right (S) at the junction and right at the next junction for desert eagle ammo and scorpion x ammo around the corner. Continue around the next corner to the E wall, turn right and follow to a skeleton. Pull it back to reveal the second GOLDEN ANKH.  Climb the ladder here to find yourself back in a familiar hallway.  Turn left at the wall and run straight forward into the opposite S passage. Pick up the desert eagle ammo and old pistol ammo at the end and return. Turn left (W) in the main hallway and run to the end. Shoot the container on the table and pick up the GOLDEN HOURGLASS.

Go back E through the jackal rooms and all the way back to the room with the flaming pots and statues. Go around right to the other side and use the Golden Ankh to open the E gate. Search the near left corner for scorpion x ammo, the next alcoves right and left for 2 x desert eagle ammo, and the next alcoves right and left for desert eagle ammo and some much-needed flares.  Continue E down the ramp, and at the bottom hop NW over the debris to the corner and climb the unmarked W ladder into an opening above. Hang from the other side, release and allow Lara to slide down several long slopes. Immediately draw your favorite weapons and deal with three giant scorpions.

Pull the skeleton away from 2 x scorpion x ammo and locate two conjoined skeletons near the NE corner. Pull both back to reveal desert eagle ammo and old pistol ammo.  Climb the E ladder in the same corner, pull up, toss any flare you may be carrying and take a running jump slightly SW to grab a crack in the wall.  Shimmy right to a ladder, climb up a bit and shift left, resume climbing up and take a rolling back flip from the middle of the ladder, one rung below the very top corner, to grab a platform.  Pull up, hop over the debris, turn right, save and take a running jump and grab E to the next ledge.  Don't pull up, but shimmy right around two corners and pull up at the far corner onto a flat surface.  Turn right and take a running jump and grab S to the opening. Pull up, crawl through and emerge in an area strewn with jars and pots.  The near ones in the anteroom are all empty, but in the larger room you'll find 2 x desert eagle ammo, old pistol ammo and flares hidden by the fragile containers.  Pull back the skeleton for flares and old pistol ammo.

You can drop into the shallow pit and shoot the sarcophagus, but it reveals nothing. Stand close to the S opening and jump forward to slide down a long slope. Light a flare and follow the underground passage to a nest of mummies.  As a matter of strategy, you may wish to run past them until you reach an intersection, then wait for them to gather so you can shoot them in a bunch. After the wailing stops (which means you got them all), explore this maze-like area thoroughly, using a number of flares in the process.  I'm terrible at directions, but I found a GOLDEN ANKH at one end and a giant scorpion and a GOLDEN HOURGLASS another end.  From the hourglass, go back, turn left at the wall and go straight W past all side passages to the W wall where you can see a ladder.  In case you missed it, the Golden Ankh is around the corner to your right as you face the ladder, but if you have followed this walkthrough throughout you will have no need for it.  Supplemental Note: When I replayed this section to bypass the mummies and conserve ammo for the final boss battle, the Golden Ankh wasn't there.  Apparently you must kill some or all of the mummies before it will appear.

Climb the ladder and slide down the other side to the cave where you found the three giant scorpions earlier.  Run across the room to that ladder in the W column you've used once already, and climb up the left side to the broken bridge.  Follow the passage back to the large room with the flaming pots and large statues.  Run across the room and up the W stairs. Loop around right at the top and go through the skeleton passage to the ledge overlooking the large room.  Turn left and jump the gap E once more (save first, remember), from hand to hand.  Go to the seated statues, near where you did battle with the ahmet, and offer each one a Golden Hourglass. Gates open at the top of the E stairs, so go up.

Enter either gate and continue upstairs to a fixed camera.  Find the desert eagle ammo at the first landing and go up the next flight of stairs.  You'll meet up with Seth.  If he touches you, you're dead meat.  Use all the weaponry at your disposal, dancing to and fro to avoid his embrace and his lightning bolts.  If you've conserved your ammo wisely, you should have enough to dispatch him, albeit with some effort.  The only ammo pickup in the battle area is desert eagle ammo in the SW alcove.  When Seth is finally vanquished, he leaves behind a GOLDEN HOURGLASS, which is placed in the lap of the NE statue in the anteroom near the stairs. This opens a crawl space grill way back in the W wall near the NW corner.  Crawl through the tight space to a room with a ladder in the W wall near the NW corner.  Stand there while debris falls down to your left, then climb the ladder to find another tight crawl space. Follow this one to an opening, lower Lara down the other side and drop to a lower room.

Turn around and step forward as more debris falls from the ceiling. Pick up the AMULET OF HORUS and locate the high crawl space in the W wall.  Pull up into it and the gate ahead lifts automatically. Stand up and slide down several slopes to land on a breaktile. The fall to the room below will cost you a substantial amount of health, but at this point it doesn't really matter. The walls are shaking as if more debris is about to fall, and so it is.  Make your way N along the passage, keeping to the right or left as the debris rains down with each little bit of progress.  The last part of the passage is debris-free, but the earthquake doesn't stop. When you reach the N wall, turn left but don't enter the next area. Wait for the huge slab to fall, then proceed around it.  Stay in the middle to avoid the traps ahead, and when you reach the ledge, pull up to face a sacophagus.  Shoot a lone bat, then enter the W opening, turn right and go up the ramp to trigger a concluding (and impressive) cut scene.