SEARCH IN VENICE

Level by Malte Linder

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth (with thanks to José for finding the first and third secrets)

You begin in an open-air courtyard under a blue sky with a textual admonition to "reach the statute of Seth." Okay, let's get started. Run forward and throw the wall switch in the SE corner to open the door behind you in the NW corner. Go on through the passage into a wide alley and make a hairpin turn to your right. Enter the building via the passage and come to a room with a lazily circling ceiling fan. Continue through the room into the next room, make a horseshoe turn to the right around the bookcase and locate the pole in the long alcove. Climb the pole, turn around and back flip to the room above.

Here you have several choices. Go to the W room. Just to the right of the entrance there is a wall switch; pull it to open the large doors in the starting room. Shoot the nearby window, drop to the street and go back there through the SW opening. To the back of the Jeep you can pick up SECRET #1: the SHOTGUN. Return to the upper room. Go out onto the balcony through the N opening and pick up the small medipack. Return and go into the W room once more. Shoot out the window across the alley and vault up into the windowsill. Take a running jump and grab across the alley to the far window, pull up and step down into the next room. Make a hairpin turn to the left, go down the ramp and enter the next room N. A cut scene reveals the nearby key, so turn to your left and take the IGNITION KEY from the small credenza next to the desk. Reverse roll, draw your pistols and run to the other side of the room. Shoot the dog that bolts out from the room to your right, then turn around and run back up the ramp to the second story area.

Turn right at the top and go to the next room via the E opening. Turn left and enter a sparse room with square tiles on the floor, walls and ceiling. Shoot the lock to open the door in the NW corner and go inside. Climb the pole and back flip into the dark room above. Pick up the flares near the E wall and go over to the credenza in the NE corner for the GARAGE KEY. Climb down the pole to the room below and return to the room with the ramp and the window you shot out earlier. Vault up into the windowsill and take a running jump and grab to the other side. Pull up and step down into the room ahead. Turn left and run to the far E room. Turn left and shoot out this window as well.

Vault up into the windowsill, take a running jump and grab to the other side, pull up and slide down onto the closed trap door. Step forward and throw the wall switch in the corner to open the trap door. Safety drop or descend the ladder into the garage, whichever you prefer. Use the key to open the garage door, then get into the Jeep and drive it out of the garage.

Turn slightly to your left and enter the alley, and drive over the slope that was too steep for you to negotiate on foot. Continue until you reach a closed door, then park the Jeep at an angle and get out. Climb the nearby ladder to the top, pull up and shoot out the window ahead. An alarm starts ringing, bringing two goons running. One carries a club, the other a firearm. Shoot them both and pick up the small medipack one of them drops. Enter the next room S, turn right into the room with the piano and turn right again into a room with a pole.

Slide down the pole into a not-so-private bathroom and go N into a larger room with a roaring fire. Take the small medipack from the S credenza and look to your right for another pole. Slide down into a dark area and light a flare. Locate the switch in the N wall and throw it to open the door to your right. Turn to your left and throw the wall switch in the NW corner to open a trap door elsewhere. Go to the next room through the N opening and note the receptacle in the NE window with the Jeep parked just outside. Shoot the barrier in the SW corner and go inside to find the trap door in the floor that you opened just now.

Drop down into the darkened library and note the skeletons of a couple of patrons that had too many overdue books. Take the YELLOW CHIP from the credenza next to the skeleton in the SW corner, and you'll release the vengeful librarian (here dressed as a Knight). As he approaches slowly to check the status of your library card, run around him and climb back up through the ceiling hole into the room above. Return to that room where you saw the receptacle in the window and insert the Yellow Chip to open the door in front of the Jeep outside.

Go through the S doorway to the next room, through the next opening to your right and back up the pole, back flip to the upper room and run past the fireplace into the bathroom, and up the pole. Back flip to the upper level, make your way through the rooms and back to the window where you first entered this area, and climb down the ladder to the alley where the Jeep awaits you. Hop over the Jeep in preparation for getting inside, and a flyby will take you through the canal area beyond.

On second thought, it looks like the Jeep won't be going anywhere, although you could drive it onto the wooden island if you really wanted to. Instead, jump into the water and swim over to the N area via the connecting passage. Pull up quickly into the alley on the other side, as two goons are shooting at you from the balconies above on either side of you. Step forward to get away from their line of fire and turn left. Shoot out the windows and step inside the room. Locate the pole next to the stereo and climb up. Back flip to the room above and go into the connecting room. Shoot the frisky dog and take the CROWBAR from the nearby credenza. Go out onto the balcony and you can see the crowbar door on the other balcony across the courtyard.

Back flip over the railing to the courtyard below. Go over to the S side of the facing balcony, where there's a break in the railing, jump up to grab the edge and pull up onto the balcony. Open the door with your crowbar and go inside. Shoot out the window ahead (we'll be coming back here later), then turn right and locate the pole in the next room. Climb up and back flip into the room above, then shoot the lock in the N door to open it.

Go into the next room and pull out the gray block to your right. Push it aside, shoot out the revealed window and take a running jump across to the balcony for SECRET #2. Pick up the two stashes of shotgun ammo and note the goon on the S balcony. However, he's out of range, so just jump over the railing into the water. Going S leads to a dead end, so swim N and around the corner to your left. Duck into the N opening and pull up onto the ledge to your left. Pick up the LIBRARY KEY, note the keyhole to your left (for a different key, I'm afraid) and jump back into the water.

Swim toward the E end of this passage and pull up onto a ledge to your left. Insert the Library Key in the receptacle and step through the opened gate for the EMERGENCY EXIT KEY in front of what are presumably the library doors (which regrettably remained closed at the end). Reverse roll and jump back into the water, and turn left into the opening at the NE corner. Pull up on the N ledge and insert the Emergency Exit Key in the keyhole to your left to open the door.

Get ready for a furious fire fight as a couple of dogs and a couple of goons (one of whom looks like Duke Nukem but acts like a ninja) run to the attack. If you were wondering what the purpose of that block out in the water is, it may be a good idea to use it as a refuge while you pump lead into your enemies. When all is quiet again, jump back over to the hallway and continue up the stairs toward the library. A brief flyby reveals another patrolling Duke Nukem look-alike. Actually, there are a total of four, together with two more dogs, but they get confused if you stay on the stairs and can be easily killed from there. When calm is restored, go all the way behind the bookcases in the N wall; there's an opening there, enter to discover a sort of storage room with many crates. Once inside, go to the right and all the way around to the NW corner in an anticlockwise direction to get SECRET #3: a large medipack.

It's possible that now you'll finally be able to browse through this immense library in peace. Go over to the SE corner. Between the second and third row of bookshelves you'll find a ladder that enables you to reach the top of the shelves. Run over to the W end and jump to the balcony up on the wall. Go inside the study hall and shoot another dog and a goon. Nothing in here, so leave via the SW doorway. Two more goons to kill in the outer courtyard. You can see a key in the window past the fountain, but there's no way to get to it from here. Go to the other side of the courtyard and shoot the lock to open the door in the S wall.

Go inside, turn left and locate the pole in the far corner of the next room. Climb up, back flip to a narrow room above and follow into the piano room. Make a hairpin turn to the right and shoot the dog. Follow the passage to another pole. Back flip into the room above, shoot out the nearby window and brush your teeth before proceeding. Get the shotgun ammo off the credenza in the next room, then vault up into the sill of the window you shot out.

Safety drop to the flat roof below and use the crates on the other side to reach the balcony. Open the crowbar door and go inside. Go across into the next room and get some shotgun ammo from the credenza to your left. Enter the next room through the doorway and alert a quartet of goons and a dog. If you're just tired of the same old enemies, run past them to the pole in the SE corner and slide down into an enemy-free den. Run past the fireplace into the next room where you'll find yet another pole. (Does each paragraph of this walkthrough seem to be reading roughly the same, or is just me?)

Anyway, slide down the pole and step forward to pick up that MUSEUM KEY you saw earlier from outside. Reverse roll, climb back up the pole, back flip to the room above and exit via the E doorway. Turn right in front of the piano and go to the pole in the SE corner. Climb up, back flip to the next higher room and dash past the enemies up there unless you want to take the time to kill them. One of them drops a small medipack if that's any comfort to you.

Go through the W doorway in front of the crates and turn left. Go out to the balcony and jump to the flat roof off to your left. Drop down from there to the courtyard floor and go through the E doorway into the study hall. Go across and exit through the NE doorway to the library balcony. Hop down to the library floor and go down the stairs. Jump into the water, swim into the canal proper and turn right. Pull up onto the W ledge and insert the Museum Key in the keyhole.

Go on down the ramp, and a cut scene will show three Knights awaiting you inside to the left. It therefore seems like a good idea to turn right and follow the ledge until you're a block from the NW corner. Turn to faceS and jump up to grab the ceiling. Monkey swing over toward the crypt (or the statue of Seth, remember?), and when you reach the end and release, the level comes to an unceremonious end.