THE COLOSSEUM

Level by Dennis de Grande

Walkthrough by José

STARTING AREA

Start by sliding down a wide ramp, quickly jump to your right and jump again through the hole in the ceiling to grab an edge and get the REVOLVER and revolver ammo; drop down and at the end of the slide, light a flare and go through the crawlspace to your right to find the SECRET #1: the SHOTGUN. Go back out to a room with a deep pit. Jump with grab to the opening to your right and search the dark openings to find a small medipack and revolver ammo. Go out of this room and climb up the ladder in the NW corner (note the closed door with the receptacle, for later).

ROOM WITH CENTRAL STATUE

In the room with the statue, climb the N window sill to get a small medipack and search the E opening for revolver ammo; now climb the ladder in the NE corner (only marked on the upper side of the wall) and take a curved running jump SW to grab the small ladder on the S wall, shimmy right, climb and hoist up, press the button to open a door below and go back there. Advance through the corridor and pick up another shotgun and 2 X shotgun shells, jumping over the deadly trapdoor on your way.

THE CROWBAR

In the next room shoot the lion and run around until the horde of bats disappear; the button on the statue opens a door and a floor trapdoor; lets go through this hole first. The rocky pillar is climbable so safely climb down to the bottom and go through the crawlspace, drop into the first hole (the second hole is a trap) and continue crawling to find a pool room. Jump into the water, climb the SW ledge and jump to the S opening to get a small medipack and shotgun shells. Go back, jump into the pool again and this time climb the SE ledge to pull a jumpswitch which will open a door in the W wall of this room; go there and pick up the CROWBAR. Go all the way back to the room where you shot the lion minutes ago.

CORRIDOR WITH STATUES

Now go through the W open door, run up the ramp and the next door opens as you approach. Shoot two gladiators and pick up the GATE KEY one of them drops. There are several statues with buttons in this corridor, but some of them are fire traps, press only the buttons on the two statues with the red carpets behind and the one on the last statue in the right side (NW) to open a trapdoor at the top of the ladder in the S wall. Climb up this ladder, go right at the T-junction and locate another ladder to your left in the corridor with the ceiling hole; climb up to the top and in this new room move the statues onto the marked tiles with the squares (very next to them) to open the bars door and get the BLUE GEM. Go back to the corridor with the statues and use the key to open the big W gates.

HYDRAS COURTYARD

Continue and at the top of the wide stairs find yourself into a big courtyard; pick up the large medipack, 4 X shotgun shells and the flares in the SE corner; climb the ledge near the SE corner, grab the crack, shimmy right and inside this opening press the button to open an UW door. Back to the courtyard, jump into the E pool to find the open door and the SECRET #2: the UZIS. Now pull the crowbar switch near the SW corner to raise a block in the NE corner, climb this block and pull the chain at the end of the passage to open a grate near the entrance, back into the courtyard, shoot three lions and climb the ladder you saw in the camera shot (to the right of the entrance), jump back onto the ledge behind, take a running jump to the E ledge and go around the corner to pull a chain which opens a door below in a corner of the courtyard. Climb the ledge to your right and take a running jump SW to the niche with the SECRET #3: the LASERSIGHT and a small medipack; jump to grab the ladder and down to the main courtyard.

FIRST GOLDY STAR

It’s time to go through the open door in the NW corner; a bunch of bats attack, pick up the small medipack, drop into the next room and shoot three lions. There are buttons in the W wall to open the doors but when you push them, only the SW door opens. Go inside, shoot a lion and pick up the shotgun shells and 2 X grenade ammo, press the button in the central niche to open a door in the previous room.

For a secret: go to the NW corner of this area and jump to grab a monkeyswing, swing S and E (from the very right side to turn E) to a crawlspace where you’ll find the SECRET #4: the GRENADE GUN. Go back down.

Go back and find the open door in the NW corner, go inside and time the chains and the fires to cross to the other side; beware of the spikes and use the crowbar to pry the first GOLDY STAR and get a camera shot of the main courtyard showing the hydras getting alive.

SECOND GOLDY STAR

[NOTE] When you get back to the courtyard, save your game because I think there’s a bug here. If you fight against the hydras and save in between and reload a savegame, the final UW gate will never open (at least in my case), so try to defeat the hydras in one shot without save or reload. [End Note]

Go all the way back there and shoot the hydras (you already know, when they are with the fire in mouth and the head in the upper position). Once you get it jump into the W pool, turn right at the junction and go out of the water. Pry the second GOLDY STAR and pull the floor lever to open a door somewhere. Swim back to the main courtyard, take the S passage down the wide stairs, through the corridor with many statues and through the SE opening to the room with the floor open trapdoor. Continue through the E passage to the room with the statue in its center. Go left (N) and drop into the hole back in the first rooms of this level; use the Blue Gem to open the door.

THE TEETH PIECE

Run straight ahead to the N opening and drop into the hole, press the button to open a trapdoor somewhere and go back to the main passage. Continue and after the brief flyby showing a trident, climb the ladder in the corner, advance and turn left at the junction, run up the stairs and shoot two lions; drop into the hole with the trapdoor you opened moments ago and pick up the large medipack at the end of the next corridor, continue and you are now in the room with the skeleton the flyby showed moments ago.

Here, climb up the W ladder and cross two tightropes to pull a crowbar switch at the end and open doors below; safely drop to the floor and pick up the TEETH PIECE; the skeleton awakes so blast it with a grenade and time the fires in the corridor to go back to a room you’ve already visited. Go E and S but don’t go up the ramp, instead go through the crawlspace behind the vase in the corner to a room where you can use the stars to open the big gates.

ROOM WITH THE ROPE

In this room move the statue in the SE corner onto the patterned tile, climb the nearby ladder to the top and use the rope to swing to the NE platform, pull the jumpswitch to open a door below and use the crack to shimmy to the NW platform, pull the chain to open a door somewhere and safely drop to the floor. If you want another pair of uzis go out of this room (S) and locate the open door in the S wall. Back to the previous room, press the button in the NW niche to open the big grate, continue and use the trident to open the next grate.

TIMED RUN

From the protruding ledge take a running jump N-NW to grab the edge of the sloped block, hoist up, slide and jump onto the ledge with the jumpswitch; shoot the bats, pull the timed jumpswitch and quickly take a standing jump to the small ledge around the corner, jump to the sloped rocks, grab the edge and shimmy right until you can stand up (slope below) crawl under the low ceiling and cross the open door; continue up the ramp (another door closes behind you) and the last door will open for you. In the room with the scroll don’t try to pick it up, it’s a fake; when you approach a trapdoor will open and you’ll fall into a small pool below.

LAST BLUE GEM

Go out of the water, pick up the small medipack and continue through the S passage, hopping into the hole on your left for the SECRET #5, the CROSSBOW and 2 X crossbow arrows; in the next room shoot the skeletons and climb the NE rocks to find a corridor blocked by spikes. I couldn’t find a way to retract them so simply sprint fast through them losing some health. Climb the ladder, jump back near the top and go through the crawlspace, jump to the small ledge to your left and take a running jump to grab the crack in the S wall, shimmy right and around the corner, go inside the crawlspace and in the next room pick up the BLUE GEM. Back to the crawlspace, drop from the other side losing some health and use it to open the big grate. Advance to finish the level.

September – 30 - 2020