CATACOMBS OF ROME 2

Level by Samu

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth. Video walks have also been provided by DoggettTV, by Steven3517 and by kapil4417037.

Note that you begin with the SHOTGUN already in your inventory. Run through the dark passage into a room with empty jars and a wall switch in the NE alcove that opens the door in the SE alcove. Shoot the larger jug in the SW alcove for flares. Follow the NE passage around to a ledge overlooking a room riddled with spears and take a running jump S to grab a crack in the wall. Ledge jump up to grab a higher crack, shimmy right around the corner past the wall torch below you, ledge jump up to grab a still higher crack and ledge jump back to grab a jutting ledge.

Pull up, go through the E opening and follow the inner passage past a brief fixed camera until you hear the tell-tale sound of approaching baby spiders. Turn right into the E side passage, pull down the wall switch to open the door to your left, hang from the opening and save your game for a platforming exercise. Release to drop onto a slope, slide and jump onto a breaktile. Quickly veer left onto the adjacent breaktile and take a running jump SE into the wall opening before you fall to your death among the spears.

Follow around the corner, shoot another baby spider, pick up more flares next to the skeleton and face your next task. You need to get past a spear-filled trench with snapping teeth doors at the other end, so turn around, hang from the edge and ledge jump up to grab a higher opening. Pull up, turn around and stand jump forward to grab the grated ceiling. Monkey swing toward the teeth doors, release to drop onto a breaktile and either reverse roll or run forward past the teeth doors. Slide down into the next room, shoot three baby spiders and hop onto the sepulchre. Jump W to grab the opening between the rails, pull up onto a balcony for shotgun ammo and take a running jump back across the room to grab the E balcony. Pull up, run through the passage ahead to the next balcony and jump across to grab the final W balcony.

Pull up and run forward into a new room with more empty jars. Save your game in front of the timed wall switch in the N alcove. You have 20 seconds to reverse roll, run into the S passage and make your way past four sets of teeth doors (jumping over spear pits between the first and second ones) until you reach the timed door around the corner past the fourth set. Save again when you get past the timed door before it closes. Shoot the larger jug for a small medipack and continue over a floor trap door into the S room to find the KEY on the central plinth. When you pick it up you hear the sound of that trap door opening, so return to the connecting passage and drop down between two of the earlier teeth door traps.

Time a running jump E past the teeth doors and return to the room with the timed wall switch. Exit E to the room with four balconies, safety drop to the floor and open the N door with the Key. Go on through to a stairway leading down to a partially flooded area. Go down the rights and jump into the water on the right (S) side to find a floor hole. Swim down and follow the passage as it winds down to a circular blade trap. Get past it, pause for a large medipack next to the skeleton and swim past N two more circular blade traps. Continue until you can surface and pull out into a dark passage. 

Follow to the next room and shoot three baby spiders. Search the SW alcove for flares and find a timed wall switch in the SE. You'd best save before pulling it down. Loop around left while hitting the look key (or wait for the timer to cycle once before saving, so you won't be bothered by the cut scene) and run through the middle S opening where timed structures have been raised in the water. Take a running jump well before you reach the end of the ledge (just as you're coming out of the shadows) to land on the first structure, take a running jump onto the second one, stand jump to a third one followed by a running jump from the middle of this structure so you'll land on the near edge of the fourth one. A midair correction may help you with a running jump to the fifth and final structure followed by a running jump to grab the S ledge.

Pull up, save your progress and go past the opened door that soon closes behind you. Climb up and take a TORCH from the pile in the barred window to your left. Continue along the passage past a flame that's too high to reach until you come to a ledge overlooking a partially flooded room. You need to get across to the other side, with the torch, but you can't do both at the same time. Take a running jump across the room while drawing your pistols so that the torch propels forward and lands inside the N opening. You'll drop down into the shallow water, and to get out wade over toward the SW corner, jump up to grab the crack in the W wall and ledge jump back to grab the ledge you jumped from. Pull up, hop E to grab the crack in that wall, shimmy left around two corners and pull up onto the jutting ledge across the room.

Retrieve your torch, go around to find a wall switch and pull it down to open a door leading to a large room featuring Poseidon statues. Turn left, run W along the pathway and jump over onto the stairs leading out of the water below. Continue W up more stairs and come to a smaller room where you can light the torch. Do so and return to the room with the Poseidon statues. Go down the stairs and wade into the water (as opposed to jumping into it, which would cause you to lose your torch). Paddle your way left between the first and second columns toward an opening in the N wall. Go up the ramp and light the bowl to your left to open the door ahead. Go on in and pick up the SECRET SKULL for SECRET #1.

Leave with your torch, paddle back to the stairs and walk up to the top. Jump SE or NE and make your way to the center of the room. Light the bowl and the nearby N door opens. Go there and follow the passage around to a balcony. Jump across E to the jutting ledge and grab the nearby shotgun ammo. Take a long running jump NE and light the bowl in the N alcove to open a door down below. Toss the torch over the railing, drop down after it and take it with you past the opened N doorway. Follow the passage until you see an onscreen admonition to save your game. Do so and drop the torch so you can acquire 5 x shotgun ammo, a hint of the battle that awaits you.

Draw the shotgun and take a running jump N down to the central platform. Three skeletons awaken, so blast them over the edge while doing your best to conserve your valuable shotgun ammo. At that point three more skeletons awaken and a fire wraith arrives on the scene for additional harassment. What's more, you learn to your horror that you can't save and reload during the battle, so deal with the skeletons while avoiding being set aflame. When the last skeleton is gone, the N door opens, so run into the next room (noting that the save feature has been restored), grab the ANCIENT DISK from the raised slab and beat a hasty retreat with the fire wraith in hot pursuit.

Take a running jump from the S edge of the platform and grab the opening, pull up and run through the winding passage until you reach the room with the timed underwater structures where you can jump into the water and rid yourself of the wraith. Swim W to the stairs and go up to the Poseidon statues. Find the vacant receptacle for the Ancient Disk on a column near the E end of the room and use it to open the nearby door. Go down the stairs to a landing and face a deep pit with breaktiles in the far SE corner.

Save your game, take a running jump onto the nearest breaktile and veer left to jump off from the end of the leftmost breaktile to grab another breaktile jutting from the W wall ahead. Save in a different slot while pulling up, run forward and jump NE with a right curve to land on the near edge of the next breaktile, continue with a running jump E onto the right side of the next breaktile, quickly turn right and stand jump S toward the next breaktile. If you're lucky you'll grab it instead of landing on it, enabling you to save again while you're pulling up. From here it's fairly easy to take a running jump S to the final breaktile and from there a standing jump onto the ledge ahead. 

Go around past the closed door and the empty jugs to steps leading down to a new area. Pause for flares near the foot of the steps and proceed S for a remote camera shot of the winding staircases ahead. Go down W and S to the next landing for shotgun ammo, return and go up the winding steps all the way to the top landing. Go through the W opening into the next room, note the alcove receptacles and return to the landing. Stand jump NE to land on the steps below and go up clockwise for a large medipack. Return and go down the stairs until you trigger a fixed camera. Enter the S side room and shoot the jug in the W alcove for the KEY. Go back up the steps and into the N side room. Save your game in front of the timed wall switch in the E alcove.

Pull down the switch, exit this room, turn left and take a running jump SE with grab to land on the stairway below. Reverse roll and dash down the steps to the bottom landing with the timed E door. I was never able to get there in time after numerous efforts, but Ryan has come to my rescue with a savegame. Go toward the S opening and teeth doors will activate. When you get past the second set, turn around in front of the third set and save your game. Hop back twice to trigger a boulder and get quickly past all three sets of teeth doors and run to the right or left in the room with the timed door.

Get past the teeth doors a third time and continue up into the next room to find another ANCIENT DISC on the central plinth. On the back side of the plinth is a TORCH for you to carry back past the teeth doors. Light the torch on the wall torch and go past the timed W door which has re-opened. Go up the winding stairs and turn left at the first landing into the S passage. Go around and light the bowl to open the door. In the next room is a raised slab with a SECRET SKULL for SECRET #2. Leave the torch here, return to the staircase and go up to the next landing. Turn left into the W opening and stay left to find a receptacle for the Key. Use it to open the door and step into a dark passage as the door closes behind you.

In the next room, pull the cage two times from the SW opening and go around it into the next room. Continue around into still another room and step on the central trigger tile to open the E door. Pull the cage toward you, go around to the right and push it once so you can go back around and use the cage to pull down the E wall switch to lift one of the gates behind you. Hop down, move the cage around the trigger tile to the SW opening and push it two times S. Go around to the left and pull the cage one time E. Go around one last time, jump up to grab the top of the cage and ledge jump back to grab a higher ledge.

Pull up and grab the small medipack to your right. Head N through the passage and drop down into the room below. Pick up the flares and pull down the wall switch in the N alcove to open the door behind you and lift a nearby gate. Exit S, turn right to find the opened gate and proceed into the W room to awaken two baby spiders. Take another ANCIENT DISC from the central plinth and a screen shot shows a door opening. Exit E through a couple of rooms, enter the dark passage past a spider web and follow around to the spiral staircase area.

Go all the way up the stairs and turn left (W) at the top landing. Go to the alcove receptacles you noted earlier and place the Ancient Discs to open the door at the top of the W steps. Enter the next area as the door closes behind you and turn the corner for an onscreen message advising you to save your game. Pick up 5 x shotgun ammo just in front of the S opening and slide down to face an attack by a quintet of flaming skeletons. Blast them into the spear pit, and when all have been vanquished your save function will be restored. 

Go into the S alcove and take the GOLDEN ARTIFACT from the plinth, unleashing a fire wraith. Reverse roll and run past the opened E door. Save before you go around the corner and slide down onto a breaktile. Stand jump onto the next breaktile, get past the teeth doors and run along a row of breaktiles through the opening to your left, jump to another breaktile, get past another set of teeth doors and you're safe for now (although the action music heralds another hazard just ahead). If you're quick enough you can loop around through the passage before the first two flame blowers are activated.

Face the third flame blower, hop back and forth to avoid the fire wraith until the flames subside and you can run around into a room guarded by two awakened skeletons. Blast them into the spear pit, jump over it and find two wall switches, one NW and the other SW. Pull them both down to open the W doors, jump there and slide down the exact center of the slope (taking advantage of the higher ceiling), jumping with precision over two spear pits and falling into a pool of wraith-extinguishing water as Lara's theme music plays. Swim down and into the N passage as the current draws you forward to end the level.