THE GOLDEN SKULL

 

Levels by Osvaldo

 

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth (see also Doggett D. McDogg's video walk for Level 1 and for Level 2)

 

 

Level 1: EL TEMPLE SECRETO (The Secret Temple)

 

Slide down and run forward into a small room. Shoot the vases in the corners for a small medipack and to reveal a wall switch. Pulling down the latter attracts a ninja at the opening from which you arrived and also opens a central trap door.  Climb down the ladder and enter a larger but darker hub room with a flame-protected floor lever.  Two of the corner vases here hide shotgun ammo and flares. Go down the N passage and time the spike traps past a closed door until you reach a hole in the floor. Hang, drop and grab the crawl space. Pull up inside and follow to a torch and a ladder. Climb the latter (ladder, get it) and pull up into a higher passage. Shoot a scorpion and pull down the wall switch to hear the sound of a door opening below.

 

Drop down W into the previous spike passage and go back to the opened E doorway.  Follow the passage and turn right into the N passage (at the end of the E passage is a closed door).  Follow past a spike-trapped alcove (there's uzi ammo inside if you wish to brave the spikes) and come to two vases. Shoot them for a large medipack before the corkscrews descend upon you. Continue past more spikes to a plinth with the HAND OF SIRIUS.  When you pick it up the SE door opens, the same one you saw from the other side.  Go back W and turn right past the spikes at the intersection.  Back in the hub room, engage a ninja and enter the S passage.

 

Run past a closed door and jump a bit right onto the slope so that you slide down backwards.  Grab at the bottom and simply hang there above the flame blower until the trap door begins to rise, then pull up so that you can come to rest on a stable surface. Jump up to grab the ledge above and pull up into a narrow passage. Turn right and pull up left to face a ladder and a higher passage to your right. Ignore the ladder for now and follow the passage past a closed door and a mummy to reach a lava trap. Grab the crack left and shimmy right over the lava to pull up into a crawl space.  Follow until you can stand up.  Turn left and take a running jump to the platform in the lava. Turn right and hop into the alcove. Pull down the wall switch to open a door elsewhere.

 

Jump back the way you came and use the crawl space to return to the crack in the wall and shimmy left to where the mummy is waiting for you.  Drop down, reverse roll and hop past the mummy into the S opening separating the lava streams. Jump SW onto a flame tile, and if you're quick enough you can jump NW to the next tile before the flames ignite. Continue hopping from tile to tile until you reach the ledge in the NE corner.  Pull down the wall switch to open another door and go back the way you came. You can see the opened door ahead in the E wall.  Jump there to find a floor lever.  Push it to open still another door. Go back to the passage being guarded by the mummy and turn left past the opened door to find the HAND OF ORION on a plinth.

 

For a secret, go back to the lava area and jump the tiles as you did before.  But this time, when you reach the end of the third tile (the longer one) you step on a now-activated trigger tile that opens a trap door in the floor of the hub room.  Go back, run past the mummy and find the ladder you ignored earlier. Climb up into a higher passage, turn right at the wall and find an assassin waiting for you in the hub room.  After dealing with him, drop down past the opened trap and enter the short dark N passage for SECRET #1.  Pick up the grenade gun ammo, large medipack and 2 x shotgun ammo.

 

Pull back out and go to the pillars flanking the flame-protected floor lever. Insert the Star of Sirius and Star of Orion in their receptacles to turn off the flames.  Push the floor lever to open a large door. Shoot a ninja on your way out and take his uzi ammo. Exit E and climb the ladder at the end of the passage. Pull up past an opened trap door into the room above and go out through the opened S doorway.

 

In the room with many ledges, turn left and jump the lower ledges until you reach an opening in the S wall. Follow the passage to a pit.  There are blocks inside, so go down and drop into the SE hole.  Pull up W into the dark crawl space and follow to a dark room. Shoot the nearby vase for flares and time your way past the flame blowers to a N wall switch. Pull down the switch to open a door elsewhere and go back S past the flame blowers. Return to the pit and pull out N. A ninja is waiting for you.  Monkey swing S across the pit and find the door you opened.

 

Follow to a new room and shoot the scorpion. Note the marked spike traps and find a disguised wall switch on the left side of the SW pillar.  Pull it down to open a trap door and locate the ladder in the NE corner of this room. Climb up past the opened trap door and find the SHOTGUN on a plinth.  Go past it and grab the grenade gun ammo at the far end of the ledge. Go back just past the plinth and jump W to the next ledge.  Note the closed N door and take a running jump and grab to the short S ledge. Pull up and jump into the SW opening. Run past the closed door and stop just around the corner as spikes are activated. When the first set springs up, start running and don't stop until you're past the last set.  In the next room you'll find revolver ammo and a floor lever.

 

Push the lever to open two doors, one near and one far.  Exit NE and side flip past the activated blade hoops.  Turn right at the wall and jump to the ledge in the next room. Safety drop from the E end and go to the opened door in the S wall. Pull out the statue and move it laboriously onto the marked tile near the SW corner, being mindful of the latent spikes. Then move the statue to the other side of the raised platform, onto the marked tile near the NE corner.  This triggers the spikes protecting the third and final marked tile against the N wall. Move the statue there and a door above you opens.

 

Climb the NE ladder and loop around to jump W to the ledge and the opened door. Go S into the next room past a mummy and pull down the wall switch to raise a platform. Go back and safety drop from the ledge (not over a spike trap) to the floor below (or jump back to the ladder and climb down). Exit SE and follow the passage and shoot the assassin who is foolishly monkeyswinging toward you. He drops a small medipack.  Get across the pit and continue N to the room with many ledges.

 

Jump the ledges in a counterclockwise direction to the N opening and see the raised platform E. Use it to continue around the room to a ladder. Climb up, run forward to the opening and follow the passage to a blade hoop. Side flip past it and shoot two scorpions in the next room. One of the large vases against the N wall hides grenade gun ammo and shotgun ammo. Use the NE ladder to back flip to the ledge. Jump with grab to the S opening and pull up to find a wall switch that raises a platform in this room.  Jump back to the previous ledge and time a jump SW to the safe tile between two flame blowers.  Jump slightly NW with grab to the ledge beyond the pillar.  Pull up and wait for the flames above to subside before climbing onto the adjacent block.  Jump quickly S to the upper ledge and run to the far end. Turn left, jump to the ladder and time the steam blower as you climb.  Pull up and jump N to the next ledge. Get past the flame blower and jump W to the raised platform. Continue to the E ledge and push the floor lever to open a door down below.

 

Make your way back down to the floor and shoot the waiting assassin. Pick up the small medipack and go to the opened NW doorway. Push the floor lever inside to lower a trap door next to a ladder. Go back to the NE ladder and use it to reach the ledges once again. Make your way over to the SW opening and shoot the waiting ninja on the way there.  Pick up his shotgun ammo, enter the passage, side flip past the blade hoop and continue to the room with many ledges, one level higher than before. Jump around to the NE corner, climb the block and jump up even higher.  Continue around to the ladder with the lowered trap door. Climb to the uppermost level and enter the central structure.

 

The vase on the ledge is empty, so drop down through the floor hole, pick up the small medipack S and go down N past two mummies and a blade hoop to a ladder. Jump to grab the ladder and climb down to a room where a demigod is waiting. He drops the HAND OF ORION when he dies. Place it in the receptacle in the S alcove to lower the trap door below the E ladder. Climb down and shoot two scorpions. The SW vase hides shotgun ammo. Hop into the W alcove and pull down the wall switch to open a door in a previous room. Don't jump into the SE water hole if you want the next secret, or you'll jump prematurely to the next level.  Instead, make your way back up both ladders, past the blade hoop and mummies up to the room with the sarcophagus, through the room with many ledges to the W passage, and finally to the room with the flame blowers.

 

Safety drop to the floor and find the opened SW door. Enter a small room for SECRET #2 and take the UZIS, a small medipack and 2 x uzi ammo from the plinth. Shoot the ninja who sneaked up from behind and retrace your steps all the way back to the room you accessed with the Star of Orion.  Now you can jump into the SE water hole, swim down and S to be carried to the next level.

 

 

Level 2: EL TEMPLO DEL CRÁNEO (The Temple of the Skull)

 

Swim forward into the underwater room, pick up the shotgun ammo a bit to your right and continue straight forward to an underwater lever in the SE corner.  Swim left to the SW corner, pull down another underwater lever and surface through the opened trap door.  Pull out E, run forward into the passage and side flip past a blade hoop. In the next large room, shoot the ninja to your left.  The NE vase hides flares, the others are empty. Note the four E wall receptacles. The wall switch on the S column opens the door in the N wall.  Go there and deal with the assassin in the next room.

 

Move the two statutes so that they exchange positions and face each other. A trap door lowers in the SW corner, allowing you to climb a ladder and pull up to a higher passage. Follow around the corner and come to a ledge overlooking the previous room. Time your way past the flame blowers (or shimmy past them) and jump to the E ledge with the bull statue. Enter the crawl space, light a flare if necessary and follow to a small room where you can stand up for SECRET #3.  Quickly pick up the GRENADE GUN, grenade gun ammo and a large medipack and get out of there before the descending corkscrews skewer you.  Return to the previous ledge and enter the S passage. Follow to a room with a flame-protected cartouche and a ninja.

 

One vase is empty, the other hides a scorpion. Climb onto one of the W corner blocks and take a running jump to grab the higher block in the W wall. Pull up and stand jump E to grab the ledge.  Don't pull up here (flames) but shimmy right until you can pull up in front of a wall switch.  A door opens up in the SE corner, but you can't reach it from here.  Hang from the edge and shimmy to the S side of the room. Pull up and jump to the E ledge. Enter through the opened doorway and in the next room jump to the next ledge for uzi ammo. Make your way by jumping ledges to the NW corner and find a receptacle for that flame-protected cartouche in the previous room. Go back to that ledge with the lion statue and jump to it. Find the well-disguised wall switch and pull it down to raise a platform down below to your left.

 

Safety drop to the ledge below and jump to the raised platform against the W wall. Pull down the wall switch to raise another platform. Jump SE back to the previous ledge and exit through the S opening. In the next room use the W blocks to get up to the higher ledge, shimmy left and jump across to the E opening into the next room. The new raised platform is on the N side of the room, on the far side of the N column near the cartouche receptacle.  Go there and pull down the wall switch to lift some gates in a small hub room guarded by a ninja.

 

Safety drop twice to the floor below and exit this room through the S opening.  Follow the passage to the hub room you saw in the cut scene and take care of the ninja.  Pick up his small medipack and go through the opened N gateway past a blade hoop to a lava room.  Jump W to the first tile, then two times N (the flame blower is timed generously) to a tile with grenade gun ammo.  Face slightly NW and position yourself for a running jump to the tile with the wall switch.  Wait for the flames to subside, jump over and pull the wall switch (turns off a flame blower elsewhere) and quickly reverse roll and jump back to the previous ledge.  Continue retracing your steps to the tile against the S wall, turn left and jump W to the next tile.  Look around the corner and stand jump NW to another tile where you see a wall switch. Pull it down (changes a flame blower from constant to intermittent) and make your way back to the tile where you found the grenade gun ammo.

 

The flame blower protecting the next tile E is now intermittent, allowing you to jump over there and to the next tile N.  From there it's an easy hop to the ledge with the floor lever. Push it to turn off the flames protecting the cartouche.  Go back through the long passage past the blade hoop to the hub room and take the W passage left into a room with many ropes. 

 

Your task is daunting for the rope-challenged among us, but not very complicated. You simply jump from one rope to the next until you reach the W ledge. A helpful hint is to climb to the ceiling after each grab, which stabilizes Lara and keeps her from swinging from side to side.  When you get to the ledge, take the HAND OF SIRIUS (1 of 4) from the plinth.  Sorry, there's no easy way back.  You have to use the ropes again, the same way you got here.  Return to the hub room and deal with the waiting ninja.

 

Take the S passage left, jump to the raised platform in the next room, stand at the far edge and save your game. Stand jump to grab the first breaktile, pull up and stand jump to grab the second breaktile, pull up, take one step forward and turn left to jump and grab the slope.  Hang left, pull up and slide/jump to the left side of the next breaktile, curving right to run and jump to the next breaktile and a final diagonal runjump to the S ledge. The gate ahead opens upon your approach and closes again once you enter the room. Shoot all the vases, as they contain goodies and block access to wall switches.  One is empty, the others hide a scorpion, shotgun ammo and the REVOLVER

 

When you take the HAND OF ORION (2 of 4) from the plinth corkscrews start descending, so quickly pull the switches on the W and E walls to open the W gate. Enter and follow the passage past four spike traps to another gate that opens upon your approach.  Take a running jump and grab to the E ledge (note that the platform to your left is now lowered), pull up and return to the hub room.  An assassin arrives just after you do, and he drops revolver ammo when he dies.

 

Now take the E passage and come to a flooded room.  Ignore the ledges for now and jump into the water to find the LASER SIGHT on the near underwater ledge.  Surface, pull out onto a convenient ledge and fit the revolver with the laser sight.  Proceed to shoot all four underwater vases to open the gate in the S wall. Swim inside for SECRET #4 and pick up 2 x grenade gun ammo in the next room.  Exit to the main pool and pull the underwater lever at the SW corner.  Swim across the pool and find a second underwater lever on a column near the NE corner.  Surface, pull out onto the block and see the opened gate.  Enter and go around the corner for the CROWBAR. Exit and jump the ledges to the crowbar switch. Face N and insert the crowbar to open the nearby gate. Enter the small room for the HAND OF SIRIUS (3 of 4).

 

Return to the hub room, shooting two ninjas and an assassin (one of whom leaves behind a small medipack) as you exit the pool room.  In the hub room, take the NE passage back to the room with four receptacles. Go through the N doorway and climb the SW ladder. Follow the passage to the room with many ledges. Get past the flame blowers and exit through the S opening. In the next room take the BA CARTOUCHE from the plinth.  Use the blocks against the W wall to reach the upper ledge in this room. Shimmy left past the flames as before and pull up.  Jump to the E ledge and go into the next room. Jump the ledges to the NW corner and insert the Ba Cartouche in the receptacle to open the gate.

 

Follow the passage past the flame blowers and enter a small room with a plinth bearing the HAND OF ORION (4 of 4). Go back past the flame blowers and meet a ninja. Pick up his UZIS and prepare to greet an assassin.  Make your way down to the floor with a couple of safety drops and place the four Hands in the E wall receptacles. The double doors between them open, so enter the dark passage and follow to a red-tinted room. Shoot the vases for a plethora of goodies: 3 x large medipack, 5 x shotgun ammo and a spare SHOTGUN.

 

Take the eponymous GOLDEN SKULL from the plinth and all doors open.  Prepare to engage five demigods simultaneously. When the carnage is complete, check the area and the side rooms for 2 x uzi ammo and 2 x small medipack in one room; flares, grenade gun ammo, a large medipack and 2 x shotgun ammo in another room; revolver ammo and 3 x shotgun ammo in a third room; and 2 x small medipack in a fourth room.  You should also find a HAND OF SIRIUS dropped by one of the demigods. The fifth room S has a closed gate and two hand receptacles.  Place the Hand of Sirius in the one on the right and more doors open in the other side rooms, releasing five more demigods.  One of these drops the HAND OF ORION.  Go to the S room and place the Hand of Orion in the other receptacle to open the exit gate. Run down the dark passage to end the level. Enjoy the closing credits.