LLB ADVENT CALENDAR 2020: GOLDEN MEMORIES

Level by Astraf

Walkthrough by Treeble

As the level begins, hop across the rocky pillars in the narrow river to get to the opposite end, getting a pack of flares along the way. After the long jump towards the cave in the back, pull yourself up and gun down the eager leopard that rushes forth from an opening behind some grenades.

For now, head through the narrow tunnel to the right. Pick more flares along the way and be aware of a boulder that will drop in the very middle of the room. While not a particularly menacing trap, it can still kill you while it's wobbling into place. Hop into the pathway behind it and slide backwards to safely land on a ledge in a dark crevice. Light a flare to spot the crawlspace and claim the UZIS plus ammo inside. Crawl back out, jump to the higher ledge with a small medipack, and use the edge of the slope to shimmy all the way to the opposite end. Get the shotgun shells near the icy barrier and use the slope to reach a platform immediately above.

Jump over the slope to the left for a small plateau where a roaming leopard is hoarding a small medipack and flares, but also make a mental note of the gate with a mask receptacle. We'll return later, so, for now, get back on that previous platform and drop to a lower level of the cave on the other side, where two mercenaries await. Loot their bodies for uzi clips and the HUT KEY, then drop into the water and let the current take you back to the start of the level.

While underwater, take this chance to retrieve the scattered supplies on top of the several underwater crates. When you're done, swim towards the SW corner of the lake and pull yourself out on a flat rocky spot near the snowy edge of the South hill, just South of the rocky pillars in the water. From there, work your way upwards to the extreme SW corner to locate a hole housing SECRET #1, the GOLDEN COINS. Drop back into the water and again do the long jump to the cave entrance again, but, this time, take the wide opening straight ahead.

Another pair of snowy boulders will drop, easily avoided if you run up close to the left hand wall. Climb the middle layer of the icy wall to the top, giving yourself some room to backflip with a midair roll to grab the ledge behind. On the overhang, get some shotgun shells as an eagle takes its time to swoop in. Through the opening on the right hand side, you can retrieve more ammo and a large medipack, but don't slide down to the gold block (if you do, just follow the exit pathway and climb up the icy wall North again).

Loop around the rocky overhang and kill another leopard as you gather more supplies. On the other end of this tunnel you come to a small military installation with a parked black van. Use the Hut Key on the building to the right and go in. Get the shotgun shells and small medipack on the ledges by the fences, and go upstairs to find the SHOTGUN lying between two pieces of furniture and, more importantly, the TIBETAN MASK on a pedestal. You can shatter the boxes for more ammo, and then climb up to the beams above to silence the pesky spiders, as well as gather a couple more rounds of ammo.

Go back downstairs and pull the crates in the corner close to where you found the medipack to reveal a hidden passage behind them, as well as some grenades. Follow this path to its end and pull up through the hole in the end. At the top, immediately turn left and jump over the slope to find more ammo in a hole, then slide down on the other side to come face to face with another mercenary. Take his SNOW MOBILE KEY and drop through the large hole nearby to land near the locked gate we saw earlier, except we now have the needed mask to open it.

Just past the gate, locate a crawlspace high up on the right hand wall and pull in to find the M16 ASSAULT RIFLE and some ammo clips. Work your way down the crimson rock tunnel, minding the spike pits, until a camera fly-by takes over and showcases a cave with flowing gold. Be careful, as the flowing gold is quite deadly. Carefully hop over the safe spots and find a TORCH in the center, right next to the burning torch hanging off the edge. Light it up and throw it down to the bottom of the cave. If you want, you can go for another three sets of M16 clips on a ledge opposite the entrance, otherwise climb down the ladder to the bottom of the cave.

Ignore your burning torch for now and explore the dark corners of this room for some supplies. When you're ready, run up to the giant gong and press the Action button to push it, revealing a hidden room behind the stream of gold from where a giant guardian comes out. After spraying it full of bullets, claim his precious GOLDEN MASK, then grab your burning torch and light up the two torches around the pedestal to drop a rope from the ceiling. (The torch has no further use in this level.)

Climb the ladder and use the rope to swing to the narrow platform above the gong, where you can collect the SECRET #2, GOLDEN BARS, then drop down to the bottom of the cave and again use the ladder to retrace your steps all the way you came from, hopping over the spike pits to the ladder leading you back to the dark crevice.

Again loop around the wall to the left to drop to the lower level of the cave and let the river current take you back, then work your way to that cave entrance. You can now take the tunnel leading left and place the Golden Mask on the gold block to redirect the river into the dark crevice, but we're not ready to go there just yet, so once again climb the icy ladder North to land on the overhang and go to the buildings near the black van.

Use the Snow Mobile Key to open the small garage, get the shotgun shells and shoot the grate protecting the crawlspace behind the door. Crawl into the next building, shoot the mercenary inside and get the supplies scattered around the room. Climb to the upper floor and locate the lever on a balcony to open a door outside, then get back down and open the small back exit door.

Another mercenary is roaming free outside, and behind some crates you'll find the door you've just opened but you'll notice it's too steep to walk in — let's find a way to get that snowmobile over here. From the crates, jump to the gap in the wall and crawl to an overhang above the van and deal with the incoming eagle.

Let's take a quick detour. From the overhang, grab the edge of the rocky slope just ahead of you and shimmy around the corners until you are touching the rocky wall on the other side, then backflip to land on a triangular ledge. Go through the tunnel and you'll hear Lara's soothing theme. Gather the uzi clips and carefully walk towards the edge, staying close to the icy mound on the right hand side. Turn around, so that you're facing the tunnel you came from, and side flip left to the icy mound, grabbing the edge as you slide backwards, then shimmy all the way left to a flat spot. Climb up and spot a hole in the mound: jump into it and the GRENADE LAUNCHER is yours. Pull yourself out and retrace your steps to the black van.

Let's take the snowmobile for a spin. Head to the right, through the tunnel, and loop around the rocky overhang. Speed upwards the slopes heading North to clear the gap above the icy ladder and land on the other side. Carefully ride around the spiralling path as you work your way down, minding a snow boulder (it will not kill you if you're riding, but better safe than sorry). At the bottom, dismount for a minute to retrieve several supplies, then ride the snowmobile down the slope and through the open door behind the crates.

You arrive to an engine room of sorts. Kill the mercenary, who drops our sought-after ANCIENT KEY, and pick up the large medipack by the window. The lever near the engine opens the front door in the nearby building. (You can leave the snowmobile behind anytime now). Go through that building, and run past the van again. Head right, through the tunnel, but drop through the small hole near the two crates for a shortcut, then jump into the passage leading to the dark crevice.

The river has now flooded it, so swim to the bottom of the shaft to find an entrance. Push open the ornate doors and use the Ancient Key to get rid of the icy barrier. Before claiming the prize, walk straight through the face in the wall behind the pedestal to find SECRET #3, the GOLDEN SKULL. Once you get your grubby hands on the GOLDEN DRAGON, the area immediately floods, so swim through the tunnel to emerge near the black van.

A camera cut shows three mercenaries kindly opening the exit door, right ahead of you. They won't let you pass freely, but, once they're done for, you're home free.

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Thank you, Astraf, and Happy Holidays to all of us.