DARK SKIES 3 and 4: INCANTATIONS/SUBVERSION

Levels by Justin

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth


INCANTATIONS

Step out of the transporter beam and turn to the switch near the left side of the east wall. Pull the switch to open a timed door behind you. Immediately back flip with a reverse roll and sprint around the obstacle ahead and through the doorway before the door slams shut again.

Run through the short tunnel but stop short of the open walkway ahead. Tiptoe forward to the edge of the walkway and look down, if you wish, to try and glimpse the bottom of the impossibly steep shaft. Then turn to the left and run along the walkway, taking a right just past the torch. Continue into the tunnel and turn left to run up the stairs, noting a closed door to your left as you dash by. Draw weapons and shoot an SAS guard who steps out from the left at the top of the first flight of stairs. Stop long enough to claim his MP-5, then continue up the stairs, taking two more lefts and a right.

In the room at the top of the stairs, shoot out the wall plate straight ahead. Step into the alcove and reach over the horizontal bar to pick up the WEAPONS CARD. Hop back three times and turn to the right. You'll see a section of the wall ahead of you that differs from the rest. It's actually a moveable block, so pull it out one time, then go to either side and push it away from the entrance to the elevator shaft.

Walk to the edge of the shaft, take a standing jump and grab, and climb down to the bottom of the shaft. Turn left and pull the switch to raise a grill that barred the way into a tunnel higher up in the shaft.

Turn back to the right, then jump up and grab the wall of the shaft. Climb almost all the way to the top, stopping when Lara's hands are on the third horizontal bar down from the top. In this position you should be able to see the open doorway behind and slightly above you. Back flip into the doorway and turn around. Take a right at the end of the short tunnel and mind the steam duct. Take a right just beyond it, then two lefts, and throw the switch on the left wall of the alcove. Retrace your steps and go east at the intersection, past another steam duct. Crawl under the grill ahead.

When Lara can stand up in the next room, she'll see a conveyor belt ahead and she'll hear the maniacal ravings of an unseen foe behind the closed door on the left. Use the Weapons Card to open the door, then hop back and draw weapons. Enter the room ahead and take out a translucent minotaur demigod before he has a chance to throw his blue lightning at you.

Against the east and south walls of this room are double-panel doors that can be opened as follows: Stand directly in front of them, take one step back and press the action key. After removing all available goodies (spare UZIS and MP-5, together with extra ammo for each one),  go to the northwest corner and locate a blue sphere swinging high up in a green alcove. Combine the Desert Eagle and the Laser Sight. (This walkthrough assumes you either started this level using a savegame from City Ruins, the previous level in this series, or are using the bundled Dark Skies download, allowing you to begin with all the weapons and other items you'd accumulated along the way.) Shoot the swinging blue ball to lower the nearby block in the central structure. Step right up and claim the SUBVERSION CARD.

Exit this room (noting the two wall receptacles on the way out), stop to grab the uzi ammo near the other end of the conveyor belt, and duck back into the crawl space. Make your way back to the elevator shaft, jump and grab the far surface, and climb back down to the bottom. Then jump and grab so that Lara gets set with her hands on the second horizontal bar, and back flip into the lower tunnel. Turn to the right and run back down the stairs. Near the bottom, notice that the previously closed door to your right is now open. Step inside the alcove for SECRET #1 and pick up the grenade gun ammo. Reverse roll and finish descending the stairs. Continue around the walkway surrounding the deep shaft and run into the tunnel on the other side. Stop just before you arrive at the steps and draw weapons.

A giant translucent scorpion will scuttle down the stairs toward you, so shoot it quickly before it can sting you and thus sap your life force. Then, with weapons still at ready, start walking up the stairs. At the next to last step, turn halfway to the left and locate another translucent minotaur demigod strutting in an alcove across the room. From this vantage point you can kill him before he has the opportunity to spray you with blue lightning.

There are no more enemies in this room, so you can holster your weapons. Look around, by all means, but all you'll find are a bunch of closed doors you can't access yet.

Exit this room and head down the stairs. Halfway down the short tunnel, turn to the right and shoot out the wall plate. Enter the adjacent tunnel and shoot out another wall plate at the other end. Safety drop into the lower room, where the slowly whirling propeller is making all that racket, and sidestep to the left. Throw the wall switch to lower a block beside you, and you'll see a still shot of the room upstairs you just left. Turn to the right, climb up onto the block, and turn left to climb back into the tunnel. Return to the previous room and make your way to the southeast corner next to the blue-tinted area. Step into the alcove with the reddish wall plate and you'll see a still shot of the propeller below, which has now stopped turning. Exit this room and return to the room with the propeller.

Drop down to the raised block and walk all the way forward to the edge. Side step to the right corner and angle Lara slightly to the right. Take a running jump and grab to the wall just past the horizontal tubing. Climb up just beyond the grill, shift right and drop down into the alcove in the west wall. Turn right and shoot out two wall plates blocking your way. Enter the next room, turn left and shoot the SAS guard lurking in the corner. Run over to the alcove where he fell and take his MP-5 ammo.

Hop back a few times and look around. You're in a room with three colored switches (red on the left, green on the right, and blue behind you) and a yellow alcove. Throw the green switch first, then the red one. A block will rise silently behind you to fill the yellow alcove. Climb up on the ledge, turn to the right and pull the moveable block from the NW corner three times. That's as far as you can go right now, because there's a hole in the SW corner of the room.

Jump down off the ledge and throw the blue switch, which lowers the block in the yellow alcove. Then throw the red switch to raise a block which fills the hole in the SW corner. Climb back up onto the ledge on the right side of the block and push it two times into the SW corner. Then go to the left side and pull it one time.

Jump down off the ledge once more and pull the red switch, then the green switch, and a block will be raised in the SE corner. Climb up onto the ledge and push/pull the block into the SE corner. A new area is now opened up in the floor to your left.

Drop down into the new area and get adjusted to the crackling thunder and spooky lighting. Ignite a flare if you're scared of the dark. Enter the new area and turn right at the intersection. Zig to the right, draw weapons, then continue to the end of the tunnel and turn right, alerting a giant translucent scorpion. Kill it and continue up the ramp. Take a large medi-pack from the pedestal shaped like an open hand in the alcove to the right, then turn left and continue south up the ramp to the next room. Turn left and continue up the ramp, vaulting up into the tunnel ahead. At the end of the tunnel, turn right and take a standing jump and grab across the hole. Pull up and run forward to the right and up the ramp. Draw weapons and kill a giant translucent scorpion that's alerted by your activity.

Continue up the ramp, turn to the right and take another right into an alcove for three stashes of uzi ammo. Then reverse roll, take a right upon exiting the alcove, and throw the wall switch. Now make your way back to the hole you jumped across earlier, take a standing jump and grab to the other side, pull up and turn left. At the end of the ledge take an angled standing jump to the adjacent alcove. Turn right, vault up onto the short ramp and step forward to claim a small medi-pack.

Reverse roll and drop down to the area below. You'll see a green alcove in the area to your right, opened when you threw the switch upstairs. Step into the alcove for a cut scene showing the door leading to Subversion swinging open.

Reverse roll, take a left upon exiting the alcove and zig to the right down the ramp. At the bottom take a left, go past the first opening to your right, zig to the right and run past the tunnel to your left into what seems to be a solid wall. Actually it's a disguised portal into SECRET #2, where you can fumble about blindly and pick up the M-16 Rifle and a supply of ammo.

Reverse roll, run out of the secret area and back the way you came. Take a left near the end of the tunnel, then a quick right, and zig to the right once more to face the doorway you just opened. Enter it cautiously as the wind swirls about you, and light a flare to gain an impression of the sheer drop to either side of the narrow walkway. Then enter the transporter room ahead and pull down the wall switch to pay a visit to Subversion.

 

SUBVERSION

Walk ahead into the tunnel and find your way barred by a closed door. However, you have the Subversion Card, so prepare to use it in the slot to your right. However, if Lara has a full bladder she should be warned that the alien that will screech and pounce at her from the portal the instant the door opens will probably cause her to have an embarrassing accident. So draw weapons and flip turn to the right as soon as you use the access card. Shoot that confounded lizard.

Head west down the tunnel and search the cabinets in the alcoves on either side for a generous suppy of ammo.  Continue along the tunnel, take a left, follow the direction sign and be prepared to reverse roll and take out another alien that jumps at you from behind. Continue to the end of the tunnel with weapons still at the ready. Shoot an SAS guard who's awaiting you in the room ahead. You'll hear a whirring sound and you'll see bad guys pacing about in the rooms to the right and left ahead. Venture a little further into the room to alert another giant translucent scorpion. After killing it you'll discover the source of that whirring noise: a giant flying bug. Shoot it, then turn to the windows ahead and kill an SAS guard in the room to the left and a translucent minotaur demigod in the room to the right.

There are several closed doors in this room as well, but you'll find an opening and some stairs in the west wall. Go down the stairs and turn right to run down a short tunnel. Take a left at the intersection, then the first right and zig around, continuing to the right, to spook another alien in an adjoining room that we'll call the upper gray room. Kill it before it can get its bearings and charge out at you.

Turn around and run down the tunnel toward the west, leading to an upper blue room and yet another alien. Draw weapons and hop back, shooting liberally until the lizard is dead. Then continue into the blue room and turn left to enter an adjacent room. Lara's attention is drawn to the green alcove in the far right corner.

What you need to do next is tedious, but not too difficult. Turn around, run back through the blue run, turn right and run down the hall and zig left into the gray room. At the middle of the back wall is a moveable block. Pull it out as far as you can. Then turn to the right and run back in a counterclockwise direction down the stairs and all the way around, past a lower gray room into a lower blue room and. . .there's an alcove in the west wall with a block in front of it, barring your further progress. And this block isn't moveable. What to do? Turn around, run back to the moveable block and turn left into the tunnel leading to the upper blue room. Two squares before the end of this tunnel, turn to your right and pull up into an alcove. Walk forward and throw the wall switch to lower the block down in the lower blue room. Run back there, climb up into the gray room and run forward. Push the block in the middle of the west wall one time. Then reverse roll and run around in a clockwise direction back to the south face of the block. Pull it once into the tunnel leading to the upper blue room. Then turn around and run in a clockwise direction through the room with the green alcove and the upper blue room and back to the moveable block. Pull and push it as necessary until it rests in the green alcove. A block will lower in the north wall of the upper gray room, so make your way back there.

Draw weapons and step forward to spook another alien. Dispose of it, then locate a moveable block in the far end of the right wall. Pull it out twice to reveal another green alcove, then run around and pull the block south seven times until it's in the middle of the adjacent room. Then make your way back to the upper passage in the tunnel leading to the upper blue room, climb up and push the wall switch back up to raise the block in the lower blue room. Return to the block and push it east two times into the alcove. Reverse roll and run in a counterclockwise direction back toward the lower blue room, noting that another green alcove has appeared in the anteroom. Reverse roll and return to the upper tunnel passage once more. Pull the switch down to lower the block in the lower blue room, then run back there and pull the moveable block out once. Run all the way around in a clockwise direction to the upper gray room, drop down into the lower blue room and push the block once. Now reverse roll, climb back up into the gray room and run back in a counterclockwise direction back to the lower blue room. Pull the block three times, then run around to the left side and push it two times into the green alcove. A block will lower in a room behind you, so reverse roll, climb up the stairs and run forward, zigging to the left to enter the room with the new area opened up in the left wall.

Run forward into the next room and scamper up onto the purplish platform. Immediately turn back to the right to see that a door has opened into a green alcove. It's on a timer, so run and jump quickly into the alcove for SECRET #3. Pick up a large medi-pack and a couple of varieties of grenade gun ammo. Reverse roll and exit this alcove.

Return to the purplish platform and pull the switch on the far wall, which lowers a block in the central structure of the large room above. It also awakens a translucent minotaur demigod in the dark NE corner behind you and to the left. He begins hurling blue lightning at you immediately, so make a flip turn to the left, drawing weapons as you do so. Reverse roll as you hit the floor and dispose of him, then run back across the room and pick up a large medi-pack on the ledge next to the green alcove.

Leave this room the same way you entered it, turn right at the adjoining room and turn right again at the tunnel leading down to this area. Run back up the stairs into the larger room above, and run around the central structure and enter it from the other side. Climb the far wall and pull up. Ahead and to either side are walkways. The one ahead leads to a closed door, while the ones on either side are open.

Let's take the north path first. Turn Lara to the right and take a standing jump onto the walkway. Run just inside the tunnel and stop abruptly. You'll see ahead of you three pendulums with razor-sharp crescent blades a la Edgar Allan Poe. Only the first is now active, but once you cross its path and step on the safe block beyond, you'll activate the next one, and so on. Time your way across each segment of the gauntlet and run up the short flight of steps to a dead end.

If you linger a spell you can enjoy the gutteral ravings of a translucent minotaur demigod somewhere above you. He won't show himself, so go ahead and pull up into the next area. Draw weapons and run around to the right and take a position on the left side of the pillar in the northeast corner of the room, then reverse roll to take out two giant flying bugs and a minotaur stationed atop the greenish column across the room. After your immediate defensive needs have been met, step forward past the column and turn left to shoot the minotaur tossing blue flame balls at you from the top of the other greenish column in the opposite corner of the room.

After the second minotaur is dead, run to the back of the column the first minotaur was perched on, pull up to the top and pick up the large medi-pack. Turn to the south and take a running jump to the top of the higher blue column. Turn to the east and take a running jump and grab to the next column. Pull up, step forward and claim the SUBVERSION CARD, which also lowers a door in an area elsewhere.

Drop back into the lower tunnel and navigate past the three blades. Go across the walkway back to the central area and safety drop down the shaft. Turn to the west and note the blueish tunnel leading to the new area you've just opened up.

Enter the tunnel and take the first left. Continue down the tunnel, draw weapons and turn right at the bend. A giant translucent scorpion will attack you from the doorway to the left, about the same time you start hearing the discordant song of another minotaur somewhere in this maze. Dispose of the scorpion. There's nothing to do or get in the room it came from, so continue past the doorway to that room and make the first turn to the right. Zig to the left and continue forward, then turn left to step into a small room. Hop back, draw weapons and shoot the giant flying bug from the relative safety of the tunnel.

With weapons still drawn, continue forward into the blueish tunnel leading from the other side of the room. About halfway down, a squawking alien will charge out from the left bend up ahead. Shoot it quickly, then keep those weapons out as you continue down the tunnel from whence came the alien. Take the first right, another quick right and a quick left to face a doorway into a new area. You also discover where that minotaur was lurking, but don't worry about him just yet. Venture into the open chamber and shoot two giant flying bugs that try to swoop down on you.

The minotaur is perched on a column off to your right, so dispose of him and then reverse roll to start a clockwise jaunt around the outer courtyard. There's another minotaur awaiting you atop the column in the southwest corner. After you've dispatched him, there are no more enemies in this area to impede your progress. Your task now is to gain access to the inner part of the courtyard and locate five floor switches to open a door to another area. Continue your clockwise sprint until you near the north wall. Turn to the right and locate an alcove with a trap door. Lift it and drop down into a subterranean area.

Run down the tunnel, taking a right, a left and another left to an open dead end. Shoot the giant flying bug that boldly ventures into the tunnel after you. You'll hear the steps of a patrolling SAS guard, but go ahead and pull up briefly into the upper level to alert a couple more of those bugs. Hop back into the tunnel, draw weapons and shoot the bugs.  Go back a little to claim the uzi ammo near the final bend of the tunnel (if you didn't pick it up on the way in), then climb back up into the upper level and throw the first floor switch to your right. You get a cut scene of a closed door. Turn around and use the block with the torch to climb up out of this area. Be mighty careful, because this and other torches can easily set Lara aflame. Turn to the right, pull up to the next block and draw weapons. Turn to the left and shoot the SAS guard in the central area below.

Turn back to the right and safety drop into the west area below. Throw the floor switch in the north alcove and get the same cut scene. Turn to the right and very carefully use the block to pull up to the ramparts. Don't bother exploring the area where you shot the SAS guard, because there's nothing there. Make your way instead to the area near the east wall and safety drop into that area. Throw the switch (same cut scene) and climb back up. Locate the open area near the south wall, safety drop down, throw the switch in the east alcove (same cut scene), and climb back up. Now drop down into the adjacent area near the west wall and throw the fifth and final switch in the south alcove to raise a door elsewhere.

Climb out, jump back down into the outer courtyard and deal with a giant translucent scorpion that scuttles up to greet you. Then exit this area through the door in the east wall.

Retrace your steps in a generally easterly direction and go through the low gray room and into the blueish tunnel beyond. Take the first right in this tunnel, zigging slightly to the left, then back to the right (at this point the flare bug kicked in for me), and locate the now-open doorway. You'll see that you're behind the chain link fence surrounding the non-eventful room you passed by earlier. Go around the bend to the left and locate a trap door. Open it and drop down into the fleshy tunnel below.

Turn to the right and step forward until you see the tunnel making a bend to the left, and you'll notice a distinctive square pad on the floor just beyond the turn. This is actually a timer switch, so run across it and take a quick left, then two rights and a third quick right into an alcove before the block rises to block your way. Then hop back, turn to the right and run forward a short distance to the corner, where you'll locate an open area above that was formerly blocked with a mesh covering. Climb up into the next room and immediately draw weapons while turning around. Kill the giant translucent scorpion quickly, before it has a chance to run around the hole between you and it. Then take the RED KEY from the pedestal.

Drop back down into the fleshy tunnel, pull out at the other end and return to the central structure (again, headed in a generally easterly direction). Climb up the shaft and run down the walkway leading to the south. Enter the long tunnel and draw weapons. Eliminate the translucent minotaur demigod who's tossing blue lightning at you from the tunnel ahead and just beyond the intersection. Turn left at the intersection and kill the minotaur's buddy who's stalking you from the parallel tunnel. Now return to the first tunnel and run down the long stairway headed south. At the bottom, continue into the hidden alcove (marked by the first of several directional signs) and throw the switch inside. Then reverse roll and run back up the stairs.

Turn either to the right or the left at the intersection and then turn again at the torch to run up a blue-lit ramp to the upper level. Once there, enter a corridor leading north and follow the signs: Take a right and enter a short tunnel. Pause to throw the switch at the corner before obeying the left turn sign. At the top of the ramp, take a running jump over the gap and throw the next switch in front of you. Turn left and run along the outer edge of the ledge, avoiding the wall torches, and throw the switch at the other end. Turn around and take a running jump and grab to land in the tunnel ahead. Run forward, pull the switch and turn left. Run down the short ramp, make a hairpin turn to the right and throw the fifth and final switch. You'll see a cut scene of one of those giant cigar cutters, revealing the source of that annoying sound that's been bothering you ever since you entered this area.

Reverse roll, step forward and turn right to exit the upper level. Head down either of the blue-lit ramps and run back down the long flight of stairs headed south. Take a left at the bottom, then another left into the adjacent tunnel past the torch to face one of two giant cigar cutters.  Step up close to it and take a side flip through it when the blades are open.  Draw weapons to deal with the translucent minotaur demigod in the room ahead.

Turn left into the connecting tunnel and take the BLUE KEY from the hand-shaped pedestal. Then draw weapons and continue forward (W) into the next room. Shoot the SAS guard who's attacking from the right corner, then turn left and make your way S past the second giant cigar cutter. Run back up the steps to the north, through the tunnel, and exit this area. Just outside, stop on the metal walkway and turn to the left. Locate an alcove dimly illuminated by a flickering torch, then take a running jump and grab to reach it. Step forward, turn to the right, and use the Red Key in the colorful slot. Now turn to the right and use the adjacent part of the ledge to get as close to the metal walkway as you can. Take an angled running jump and grab (if necessary) to the walkway and pull up.

Go back to the central structure and head down the walkway leading westward through the now-open door. As you enter you'll be warned by the gutteral sounds of the welcoming committee. Draw weapons and stop just before you leave the relative shelter of the tunnel. Your attention will be drawn to two translucent minotaur demigods perched high above on your right and left. Deal with them before proceeding further.

Now the action comes in fast and furious fashion. Sprint into the open area and turn left at the short flight of steps. Enter a low tunnel, draw weapons, then turn around and roam about this area to eliminate the three giant translucent scorpions and the four giant flying bugs that have been attracted by your activity. Venture back into the open area and take out an SAS guard hiding in a hard-to-see alcove high up on the south wall.

Go back into the SW tunnel and prepare for a timed run. At the first intersection, run forward (to the south), turn right at the bend and go up two more steps before turning to the right again. Take a standing jump up into the alcove before the block slides up to impede your progress. (If you arrive too late or otherwise mess up, just go back to the first intersection and try again.) Throw the floor switch in the low area ahead to lower a block below in the southeast corner of this structure, thereby allowing access to the roof.

Hop back down and head down the tunnel to the south, toward a torch. At the corner, turn right and climb up onto the block and then pull up to the next level. Draw weapons, turn around and take out the minotaur stationed high up on the column in the southeast corner. Now head down the wide walkway to the north and greet a giant scorpion with a volley of gunfire. Continue in the same direction and embark on a minotaur demigod search and destroy mission. First take out the one on the northeast column, then continue around the walkway and dispose of two more posted on the northwest and southwest columns, respectively.

Now that things are finally quiet, go over to the shorter pillar at the northwest corner of this structure. Use the Subversion Card in the slot to raise a barrier in the central structure to your left and alert an SAS guard. Draw weapons and kill him, then vault over the low wall to claim the AIR DUCT CARD he dropped and raise the door to the transporter chamber. Safety drop to the level below and make your way to the northeast corner. Enter the transporter chamber at the end of the west hallway to return to the main room with the walkways, on a ledge directly opposite from the one where you used the Red Key.

Stop to pick up the nearby small medi-pack, then safety drop to the large room below and run across it to enter the open doorway in the east wall. Take three quick turns: a left, a right and a left, then run down the long tunnel toward the east and pull down the switch at the end that takes you back to Incantations.

 

INCANTATIONS (revisited)

Turn to the left and run back down the tunnel, maintaining a generally northerly direction, zigging and turning here and there, until you reach the entrance leading from the room with the colored switches. Turn left, climb out of the tunnel and exit the room above through the tunnel leading to the east. Make your way back down to the room below, then climb up onto the block and into the north tunnel. Turn left and re-enter a familiar room where the first scorpion tried to make your acquaintance. Turn left and head toward the south wall. Use the Blue Key in the colorful wall ornament to open the door to your left.

Lara will now attempt to navigate a subterranean maze. Along the way there are a number of darker panels to shoot. Some will shatter; others won't. Shoot the panel dead ahead to reveal a shaft. Take a standing jump and grab the far wall, then climb down. When Lara's hands reach the second bar from the bottom, back flip into the connecting tunnel. Turn around, run down the ramp and turn right at the bend. The mesh door ahead will open as you approach. Turn around and safety drop into the room below, being careful to avoid the whirling blades. Turn to the right and walk forward, and the door to a crawl space ahead will open.

Pull up into the crawl space in a crouched position. Crawl forward, and when Lara can stand, draw weapons and patrol this area. Make your way around to the left, shooting out the several panels that respond in the desired fashion. When you come to a gap in the floor, turn around and make your way back in the opposite direction. As you make a turn to the left at a bend, note the wall switch near a steam-spouting pipe. Shoot out the panel next to the pipe if you didn't do so earlier, then turn right and continue your exploration of the periphery of this area in a counterclockwise direction. As you turn to head north, past another steam-spitting pipe, you'll spook an alien that needs killin' real bad. Oblige it, then continue on until you reach the floor gap that you saw from the other side.

Holster your weapons and go back all the way around until you reach the wall switch you saw earlier. Position Lara in front of it and get ready for another timed run. What you need to do after throwing the switch, and very quickly at that, is to hit the look button to kill the annoying cut scene of a door opening. Then turn to the right and sprint down the corrider to your right. Turn right again at the bend and drop down into the lower tunnel. Turn right and then left through the opening before the door drops back down with a metallic thud.

Don't stop to gloat over your quick reflexes, for an alien will immediately charge out upon your arrival. Kill it quickly (although if you can run past it without suffering fatal injuries it somehow mysteriously disappears), then continue down the tunnel past another steam pipe. In the larger east area beyond, shoot out the panel in the right corner, jump and grab the far surface of the shaft, and climb up. When Lara's hands reach the second bar from the top, back flip into a higher tunnel. Hop backwards to drop out of the tunnel and throw the switch to turn off the nearby giant blades. Turn back around, walk past the still blades and use the Air Duct Card in the receptacle across the room. A cut scene shows a door opening elsewhere.

Turn around, navigate past the blades and vault back up into the alcove, then jump and grab the far wall of the shaft. Climb down as far as Lara will go, then release and quickly grab and pull up into a tunnel leading south. Turn right and run up the ramp. Crouch down and crawl when the ceiling gets too low for Lara to run. When Lara can stand, move forward and to the left. Go to the south opening and crawl back through the right side of the space leading to the turning blades. Drop down, turn around and exit this room through the west tunnel in front of the blades.

Turn left at the bend and run up the ramp. At the end, take a standing jump and grab the far wall of the shaft. Climb up, and when Lara's hands are on the second bar from the top, back flip into the tunnel.

Turn around and run back into the room where you shot your first scorpion. Turn left, jump over the torch and run up the steps into the now-open passageway. You'll see a transporter chamber ahead, but you can't get to it quite yet. Don't rush forward toward it, either, as there's a deep gap between you and it.

Halfway down the tunnel, locate a hole in the ceiling and climb up into the greenish area above. Head down the tunnel toward the east and take a left at the intersection. At the end of the tunnel turn right and pull up into a higher level. Step forward and take a right, then pull up to a still higher level. Take a side flip through the giant cigar cutter ahead, then take a left at the floor grate. You'll spook an alien at the blind intersection, so shoot it quickly as it charges out from the left. Then continue around to the left and enter the alcove blocked by a grill. You'll see a still shot of an area below.

Now make your way back to a point near the entrance to this maze-like area (going down a couple of levels). If you turn to the right at the very end, you'll return to the purple-hued area where you pulled up out of the tunnel below. Instead, turn to the left and locate the seemingly bottomless shaft that was opened when you stepped into the alcove. Run off the edge and endure a horrific fall down into a shallow pool below.

Pull up out of the pool and enter the tunnel to the east with weapons drawn. Shoot the alien that steps out to greet you. Continue forward, zigging to the left, and cross the walkway leading to a blue-tinged room. Draw weapons and take out the SAS guard in the area below. Then step down into the room and take the guard's MP-5. You can open the double-panel doors against the east wall (note the nearby receptacle), but there appears to be nothing inside.

Vault up onto the walkway facing toward the north, combine the Desert Eagle and the Laser Sight and shoot the blue ball swinging in the distance to drop protective doors in front of the two machine guns to your right. Then sidestep to the left a bit, if necessary. Jump up and grab the ceiling, and Lara can now safely monkey swing over some barbed wire, zigging to the right at the first machine gun door and then back to the left to pass by the second machine gun door. (Lighting a flare will help keep you on the proper track.) Drop down onto the ledge in the next room, then run down the ramp into another lower room. Take a hairpin turn to the left and find another empty set of double-panel doors, then throw the switch in the west wall. The grate in the greenish maze area below will rise.

Step into the transporter chamber next to the switch. Upon arrival, put your back against the wall and take a running jump (angled slightly to the left) across the deep chamber to the mesh grill in front of the open tunnel. Continue forward, and about halfway down the tunnel you'll come to a hole in the ceiling. Pull up into the greenish maze area. Go east, turn left at the intersection and run to the end of the tunnel. Turn right, pull up into the higher area, follow the tunnel and pull up into the still higher area in front of the giant cigar cutter. Take a side flip through it as before, then make your way around to the left and face the open door to the next room. Go inside the room, make a hairpin turn to the right and climb up two blocks. Turn to the right, pull up onto the next block, turn left and do the same with the next block, and finally turn left and run down the tunnel to an upper level with a connecting bridge and deadly precipitous falls on either side.

Take a hairpin turn to the left upon entering this area (on the near, or west side of the bridge) and face the wall switch. The goal is to access the tunnel high up in the west wall, directly overhead. Take a deep breath and prepare yourself for a brutal timed run. According to the author, this can be accomplished as follows: Throw the switch, then take a rolling back flip and sprint across the bridge. Just past the dangling rope in the far tunnel, release the sprint key, jump up onto the sloped mesh surface and take a rolling back flip to grab the rope. Immediately swing forward and drop off the rope onto the platform (grabbing and pulling up if necessary, although the extra time will likely defeat you). Use the extended trap door (before the timer runs out and it falls back down) to take a running jump and grab to the ledge in front of the tunnel in the west wall. If you feel you might die of old age before mastering this sequence, it takes about three seconds to DOZY up to the tunnel.

Anyway, once across, run into the tunnel and zig left to reach an intersection. Turn right and find a switch on the north wall. In case you've haven't figured out the pattern by now, there's another timed run in store for you. Again, the author explains it in this fashion: Throw the switch, reverse roll and run down the tunnel, turning right before the lowered block comes back up to bar your way. Then take an angled jump to the right into the alcove, hopping up rather than pulling up to the block in front of the second wall switch (to save valuable time). Pull down the switch, reverse roll, run down the ramp to the left and jump over the flame trap onto the timed ledge. Jump up and grab and pull up to the next area before the block lowers again. Then run off the ledge, turn to the left and dash forward to enter the next area south before the block in the doorway rises in your face. 

Having mastered this timed sequence by hook or by crook, turn right into a darkened room and claim the YELLOW KEY from the hand-shaped pedestal. Immediately draw weapons and turn around to your right to kill the awakened translucent minotaur demigod in the NE corner who objects to your thievery.

Exit this room, turn left and then right into a green alcove to locate a third wall switch (yep, also timed). Throw it to lower the block in the doorway just past the fire trap to your left (where you first entered this area), then make your way quickly back there and exit this area. Return to the open area with the bridge, turn around and safety drop down to the bridge, and run into the tunnel to the west. Hop down the steps to the room partially protected by a chain-link fence. Make a hairpin turn to the left and enter a newly-opened tunnel into the greenish maze area.

Make your way back to the beginning of this area, past the giant cigar cutter, and drop down through the hole in the floor of the purple-tinted room west. Run down the lower tunnel to the east, and take an immediate left upon entering this now-familiar room. Climb up over the block and drop down into the next area. Turn to the right and use the Yellow Key in the colorful receptacle on the pillar. Reverse roll and run up the newly-accessed ramp until you meet up with another swinging axe. All of you blood-thirsty types should now turn around and climb down the wall into the lower area and exterminate a giant translucent scorpion. Then climb back up (as there's nothing else to do or pick up down there), turn around and wait for the blade to swing by. Then take a standing jump past it to the next ledge. Ditto for the next swinging blade, and the next, until Lara is standing inside a tunnel leading to the next room.

Take care of the giant translucent scorpion, then turn to the right and pillage a couple of varieties of ammo from the double-panel doors. Turn back to the left and and climb the blue-ish stairwell that winds around to the left. Pick up some more ammo along the way. At the top of the stairs you'll come out into a large outdoor area where you'll need to deal with a couple of minotaurs, a giant translucent scorpion and a giant flying bug. Also kill an SAS soldier and pick up the large medi-pack he drops in the courtyard area to the south. Enter the SE lookout tower, pull up to the higher level (you have to be positioned just right to make the grab), kill another SAS soldier and pick up the ammo he drops, then explore the NE tower in a similar manner for more ammo.  Then run up the stairs SW or NW (where the demigods and scorpion were stationed) and walk out to the ledge. There's a bug-zapper device seemingly suspended in space to the east. Take a standing jump to the mesh platform, then step forward into the device.  You'll be teleported to another spot and emerge to face three similar devices at each point of the compass. Where to go next? If you want to play the levels in order, run forward and turn right to step into the east teleporter, where you'll be taken to Dark Skies 5:  The Abyss.