RECON LABS: RETURN FOR SOLDIER
Level by Szymon Cupryn
(Emoo)
Walkthrough by Phil
Lambeth
Installation Note:
Only a few of the essential files are provided with the level download. The
other lab2.* files that you'll need in order to play this level are included
with the Recon Labs 1 and 2 download.
As you'll soon
discover, this level is a breeding ground for headaches in more ways than one.
You begin in a devastated lab area with a blaring horn and heroic action music
that doesn't stop until you complete the level. Moreover, there are certain
spots that trigger blinding light flashes that won't recede until you move away
from that spot. Finally, there are some giant enemies with which you'll need to
deal early on. With those warnings, let's get started.
Don't just stand
there; you've triggered the first light flash. Step forward down the ramp, and
you'll emerge in a red-tinged room dotted with wreckage and smoldering fires.
Two sprinklers are working actively on either side of the door. Run forward
into the room and veer over to the left corner to pick up the flares. Then turn
around and note the fuse box mounted high up on the wall in the NE corner.
Being mindful of the
flames, jump up onto the wreckage in the SW corner and hop up onto the block in
front of the opening. Pull up and walk forward down the west tunnel, past the
steam blower, and turn left at the bend. Stop at that point because of the
flame blower straight ahead. Pick up the uzi ammo and the uzis, and immediately
ready the uzis before picking up the large medi-pack. A giant scorpion comes
charging at you from the corridor to the right, so engage it quickly in these
close quarters. After you've vanquished it, claim your medi-pack and carefully
time a run past the flames toward your right.
Make a U-turn to the
right and pick up the laser sight from the corner platform as another
blinding light is triggered. (At least you can see up to this point.) Now head
down the corridor to the south, past an opening with another flame blower to
your left. Continue as the corridor turns, keeping Lara's right shoulder
against the wall. You'll soon come to a raised platform with a closed door just
beyond it. Remember that for later.
Back up and go east,
with the steam blower to your left, toward an intersection bending to the right
(south). Be sure to get your bearings here, for as you approach the right bend
you'll trigger a light flash that will completely blind you. You need to make a
horseshoe turn to the right into a small room, where you'll pick up the crossbow
on a raised platform. You're facing west at this point, so reverse roll and
make a horseshoe turn to the left to return to your beginning point and to
restore your vision.
Now run past the steam
blower to the NE corridor and hop down to the room where you began the level.
Go into the passage formed by the east wall and the central structure, and face
the NE corner. Combine the crossbow and the laser sight, and shoot the
six-sided red gizmo above the fuse box. Go into the opposite passage near the
west wall and pick up the small medi-pack. You can't help but notice the
closed door in the south wall. I never could find a way to open it, but you
don't need to in order to complete the level. If anyone knows the trick, please
let me know. Then return to the opening in the SW corner and go back
inside. Continue all the way back to the SW corner, and you'll find the door
beyond the platform is now open. Go inside and lower Lara down through the hole
into the room below.
Pick up the
much-needed grenade gun nearby and run to the extremities of the ledge
for two stashes of grenade gun ammo. Pick a convenient spot to safety drop to
the next ledge below, and pause to pick up two quivers of crossbow arrows near
the picture window to the west. Locate the stairs leading down into the empty
swimming pool, and locate the switch on the side of the stairs near the NE
corner. Pull it down, then glance at the nice barbecue grill on the other side
of the pool before heading back up the stairs.
The door to the east
is now open, so go inside and up the stairs with grenade gun drawn and take
care of the giant scorpion that greets you in the next room.
You need to be careful of the flashing blue lightning that occasionally erupts
in the walkway surrounding the burning center part, as it will kill Lara upon
contact. Go around to the back, or east wall, and locate the key next to
one of the flames. Pick it up and head over to the north wall to push in the
door there. Pick up the small medi-pack, the grenade gun ammo, and the crossbow
arrows, then use the key in the nearby lock. Ready a strong weapon as you
return to the previous room, as you'll be attacked by a pair of giant
scorpions.
After the danger has been eliminated, go clockwise around the red
walkway and enter the now-open south doorway. Turn right into the offices and
kill another giant scorpion scuttling about nearby. There's nothing else to do
in here, so return to the hallway and splash through the shallow water into the
opening on the other side. Use the crawlspace to traverse the tunnel to your
right. When you emerge next to another water-filled hallway, fully five giant
scorpions are there lying in wait.
Go around to the right and kick in the office door. There's some revolver
ammo on a small piece of furniture in the NW corner. Leave this office, turn
right into the hallway and then take an immediate left into the side passage to
find some stairs. There's some revolver ammo at the bottom of the stairs, but
nothing more. Return to the main hallway and turn left (west) to trigger an
earthquake and another blinding light flash. Open the door at the end of the
hallway. In the next room, locate the opening up in the SW corner of the wall
and pull up inside. Shoot the giant flying bug that attacks you, then continue
down the west corridor. Turn at the bend and zigzag your way past three steam
blowers. Continue until you reach a larger room toward the SE. Shoot two giant
scorpions before entering, then slide down into the room and throw the switch
on the right-hand sloped block.
Reverse roll and run
through the now-open doorway in the NE corner of the room. At the other end of
the passage a fixed camera angle shows a giant scorpion waiting for you on the
other side of the door. Open the door and hop back immediately while drawing a
powerful weapon, and kill the scorpion. Inside the room ahead appears to be a
lock to your left (as you enter), for which you don't have a key. (The level
is about to end, so unless I missed a secret somewhere the lock apparently has
no function. Also, some of the reviews mention a divergent path and a sentry
gun, neither of which I ever encountered. Any insights on these points would be
appreciated.) The only spot in the room where you regain camera control is
in the SW corner. Go there and locate the hole in the ceiling, and pull up into
the duct above.
Run past the steam
blowers and drop down into the hallway on the other side, where you come face
to face with that soldier for whom you've returned, while the ambient music
changes to Lara's pleasant closing theme. As you step forward to greet the
soldier, the level ends.