THE GREAT DISCOVERY - PART 1

Level by Dennis De Grande

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth, assisted by Steven3517's video walk

Begin with a slide down to a passage. If you're quick enough you can jump off the slope to grab an opening and pull up for a large medipack. Drop back down and follow around to an outdoor area during a steady rain. Draw your pistols, hop out of the passage to trigger a flyby through the area and walk forward to engage the charging tiger. Go where it came from, pass a tree with a ladder to your right and jump into the river. Loop around left into the N opening and follow to an underwater lever that lifts a gate somewhere.

Return to the river, pull out E onto the ledge for a small medipack and follow the river channel W and then S to a waterfall. Swim into the opening on either side of the central slope for another small medipack. Run N a short distance along the riverbank where the water is shallow and loop around left to find an alcove to the right of the waterfall. Enter, pull up right for the SHOTGUN and shotgun ammo, get back down and run N along the left side of the river, passing a large opening, until you reach a wall. Turn left, hop into the NW alcove, then down into a hole and crawl S to a floor lever that lifts another gate somewhere.

Return to the riverbank, run back S to a block near the water's edge, get up on it and take a running jump S to grab a tree limb. Pull up, turn left and jump E to the next tree. Go around to the E side and pick up the flares, take a running jump and grab to the S tree and go to the end of the SE branch. Jump into the S wall opening and shoot two arachnids (hard to say whether they're spiders or scorpions). Time your way past the flame blower and take the KEY OF GANUSHI PART 2 from the plinth as another gate lifts somewhere.

Return to the previous tree and safety drop from the N end into the river where the water is deeper. Swim over to the W side, wade out and enter that large opening you noted earlier. Hop over the tree limb, grab the shotgun ammo on the nearby block and drop down from the W opening into another river area. Shoot the advancing tiger and native before making your way up to the NE corner to find a pushblock. Pull the block once, go around it and enter the crawl space for SECRET #1. Take the shotgun ammo as your reward and get down to the ledge near the water.

Go past a closed gate in the N wall and find a small medipack in the next alcove. Continue along the ledge to the waterfall in the W wall. You can jump or pull in on the left side for your real prize, the REVOLVER. Jump into the water, swim SE and pull out onto the jutting ledge. Hop up SE to the wall for a hard-to-see small medipack. Swim toward the N end and pull up W into an alcove between the two columns. Pull up higher W and even higher N to the upper ledges. Hang from the N side, shimmy right past the obstruction and pull up in the NE corner.

Turn around and jump S to grab the jutting tree limb near the pushblock. Pull up, turn around and jump into the higher N opening to find a floor lever that opens a large door next to a waterfall. Get down into the water, swim S and pull out in front of the opened door. Go inside past a closed gate and climb the wall ladder. Back flip near the top and follow the passage over a floor hole to the opening at the other end. Take a running jump NW over a slope to land on a ledge. Jump W to the next two ledges and enter the wall opening next to the waterfall for uzi ammo.   

Return to the floor hole noted earlier and pull up W into the disguised crawl space. Drop down the other side into a snake pit. Push the floor lever to open a door somewhere, exit E to a familiar passage and jump into the river. Swim over to the NW corner and pull out where a door has opened. Enter and turn left to find a water hole. Jump in, swim down and S (N leads to a dead end), pause for a small medipack in the windowsill at the corner, return for air and swim back S and W into an open area. Turn right into the NE opening and follow around the corner and up to a room with the UZIS and uzi ammo (you may wish to return for them in just a moment, depending on your air supply). Pull the underwater lever in the W alcove, flip turn and return to the open area, swim across SE to where a gate opened and follow to a shaft leading upward.

Surface, pull out W and note the closed door to your right. Jump up to grab the ceiling and monkey swing over the deep trench. Drop down and run forward to pick up THE HAND OF MABU BASHA(1 of 4). Watch the cut scene of the area where it's to be placed and monkey swing back across the trench. Drop into the water and swim to the open area, continue NE and into the N passage, surface and pull out E. Return to the river ledge, turn left and follow to the NE corner where another door has opened. Hop down and follow the passage down to a crawl space. Go through and pull up E into a higher passage where the rain is falling through the vines.

Pull out onto a outdoor ledge and walk as far N as you can. Hop N over the gap and take a running jump NE to a ledge jutting from the opposite wall. You can probably hear the snarling tiger by now, and if you're patient you can target and kill it from up here. Jump up NE to the flowering plant (shimmy there if necessary), hang from the edge to find a climbing surface, climb down as far as you can, release and grab the crawl space below and enter for SECRET #2. A large medipack is all you get for this one. Back out of the crawl space, release and slide to the ground. Kill the tiger if you didn't already and look around to see that this is the place you saw in the earlier cut scene.

Note for later the central pool and nearby receptacles, wander a bit N to flush out a snake if you want to get rid of it now, then go to the large tree and find the ladder in its E face. Jump to grab it, climb up and pull into the gap. Hang from the S side and shimmy right around the corner (for some strange reason Lara won't go around this corner if she starts shimmying directly from the ladder). Drop onto a limb and find the nearby flares. Safety drop to the ground and go N where you may have encountered the snake. Follow to the wall and hop down into the floor hole. Drop down again and arrive at what looks at first glance like a bear's den.

Find the ramp leading downward near the wall torch and as you walk down a door slams shut behind you, barring any escape. Go around the corner and time your way past two spike traps. Stand at the top of the slope around the next corner and save your game. You can actually walk down a bit and trigger the action music before anything happens. Sprint down the rest of the way as you're being chased by the inevitable boulder and take refuge in the opening to your right. Push the floor lever to open the exit gate, jump over the hole the boulder fell into and draw your favorite weapon to deal with two snakes.

Pick up the TORCH in the second alcove to your right, light it with the flame in the last alcove to your right, go around and light three wall torches in the other alcoves to lift the N gate, note the crawl space in one of the alcoves and pick up the small medipack in the alcove where you lighted your torch. Go into the next room and deal with the native. Activate the middle jump switch, as the other two are flame-protected, and find the pushblock in the SW corner. Move it under the wall torches in the W and E walls so you can light them both.

Use the pushblock to pull up onto the S ledge, go to the SW corner and pull up into the opening. Go around right (left is a closed door) to trigger a flyby through the area ahead. First of all, hop down to the ledge right above the water's surface and rid the pool of the snakes swimming about below. Pull back up and step on the dragon disc to extinguish the flames on the nearest column. You know the drill from other levels. Jump the column tops quickly as the flames go out one by one, until you make it across the water to the W ledge. Step on the raised dragon disc to open a gate, jump into the SE alcove for a small medipack, hop into the water and swim back E. Pull out and repeat the jumps across the column tops. But this time, when you reach the third column, take a running jump N to grab the alcove slightly to your right.

Activate the jump switch, hop back into the water and swim to the opened SW gate for SECRET #3. Grab the GRENADE GUN, swim back E, pull out and exit this area. The door ahead is still closed, so turn left and drop down through the floor hole to the ledge below. Run E through the passage, jump to grab the crack in the wall and shimmy left around the corner when the flames go down, drop past the corner and immediately side flip left into the water hole to douse the inevitable flames. Pull out, invest a medipack and shoot a couple of arachnids. Make your way along the passage and be aware that two of the spike traps are still active. There are also dart traps to crawl under. Go around the corner, jump the floor hole and deal with the snake that's there in the next room to greet you.

Pull the E pushblock onto the dragon disc, get up on it and jump to grab the upper surrounding ledge. Pull up and find a floor lever in the SW corner that turns off the flame blowers in the room with three jump switches. Drop down to the room below, exit W and brave all those traps once again. Turn left at the now-dormant flame blower and jump W with grab into the passage ahead. Return to a familiar room, drop down from the ledge and activate the jump switches on the right and left to open the upper S gate. Use the pushblock to get back up there and enter for THE HAND OF MABU BASHA (2 of 4). When you pick it up an underwater trap door opens.

Drop back down to the room below, and for a secret grab your torch wherever you dropped it earlier and bring it with you through the S passage. Jump over the floor hole and go up the ramp to trigger another boulder. This one is slower than the first one, giving you ample time to take refuge in the passage with the floor lever. Continue up the ramp, time your way past two spike traps and emerge in what I said earlier resembled a bear's den. Follow to a wall sconce that you can light with your torch to open the nearby gate.

Enter the crawl space, draw a weapon when you can stand up and meet a snake that comes from around the corner. Go where it came from for SECRET #4 and pick up a spare REVOLVER at the end of the passage. Return to the bear's den and leave your torch behind, as you no longer need it. Go around to the lighted wall sconce and look in the S wall for an opening you can pull up into. Run forward, pull up higher two more times and find yourself back in the rain forest. Run straight forward S until you come to the glade with the receptacles and central pool. Jump into the water to find the lowered trap door you saw in the cut scene.

Swim down and E to an underwater lever. Pull it to open the gate to your right and return for air if you feel it necessary. Otherwise, swim past the gate and follow the passage to a shaft leading upward. Surface, pull out into a small room and activate the S jump switch to open the adjacent gate. Follow the passage to an alcove with revolver ammo and a shallow hole with shotgun ammo, then continue to a room with flares and a pushblock. Facing S, pull the block once, go around left and engage two snakes in the corridor ahead.

Continue to a room similar to the previous one, although this one has a deep pit to be avoided. Turn left, pull the pushblock once, hop over the pit and pull the block once again from the other side. Go around left to find another deep pit and a room with another pushblock. Pull this one once, push it aside to reveal a passage and save your game at the top of the slope. Slide down as flame blowers are being activated, jump off at the bottom and immediately stand jump left onto a safe tile. Pull up E onto the ledge and push the floor lever to life the gate. Go in for THE HAND OF MABU BASHA (3 of 4), and once again a gate opens when you pick it up. The flame traps have also been neutralized (but not the spike tiles), so exit N to find that the slope has been converted to blocks that you can climb to get back out to the pushblock area.

Make your way back, being mindful of the deep pits (you don't have to move any blocks to get them out of your way), until you reach the outdoor clearing with the water hole. The N gate is now open, so run straight ahead and follow the passage to an opening with a slope leading down to what look like spike tiles. Which they are, although dormant at present, and It's also a disguised boulder trap. Trigger the boulders by taking a running jump (without sliding) to grab the E ledge somewhat to the left of the closed gate. Pull up, turn left and jump to grab the crack in the N wall. Shimmy left and drop down into the passage as you hear the spikes being activated. Push the floor lever, jump across to the NE corner ledge, hop onto the higher ledge and go across to the S wall. Jump into the S opening, climb up past the dormant spike tiles and the S doors open upon your approach. Enter to find the KEY OF GANUSHI PART 1 on the plinth. You hear the sound of a door opening when you pick it up. Exit via the NW crawl space and drop down through the floor hole to the room with the water hole.

Jump into the water, swim down the shaft, then W, then N, then W again until you reach the next shaft. Surface, pull out and, since you still need one more star artifact, run N to the wall with the floor hole, loop around right and run up the sloped ledge to find a phantom opening in the wall. Go in, enter the crawl space and follow to a T-intersection. Go around right for a small medipack, then the other way until you can stand up. Continue to a room guarded by a snake. Pick up the shotgun ammo and push the floor lever (I got a brief flicker that was probably intended to be a cut scene).  

Exit to the rain forest, run S into the clearing and loop around right to find an opened door. Go inside, climb the vines to an E opening and step out onto the extended ledge. Take a running jump from the end to grab the jutting ledge across the way. Pull up and run forward into the passage to encounter a snake. Go back to the ledge, hang from the S edge near the entrance and drop to activate the jump switch. You hear the sound of a door opening, so  run across to the W wall to the left of the red flowers, loop around right and climb the vines back up to the opening with the jutting ledge. Take another running jump across to grab the next ledge, pull up and run forward to find that the door at the end of the passage is now open.

Enter a roofless room where rain is falling and go to the SW corner alongside a pool. Combine the two parts of the Key of Ganushi and place the completed key in the receptacle to open the S double doors. Before entering, return to the previous room and climb the E ladder to an upper ledge. Grab the uzi ammo in the NW corner and go over to the S section to find a small medipack SE. Go back, climb down the ladder and go through the double doors you opened. Follow around to an intersection, and if you continue forward to the star artifact you see on the floor, it disappears.

No matter. Turn left and pull up N into the opening. Go around to find a jump switch. Activate it, go back down and engage two tigers as you go up the steps. Loop around left to a water hole, jump in and pull the underwater lever in the E wall. Flip turn, swim to the W wall and pull the second underwater lever. Turn right, swim into the N opening and follow to shotgun ammo, revolver ammo and a large medipack. Flip turn, swim back out and loop around left into another N opening. Surface, pull out and run E to trigger a flyby, after which two hammergods come forth to plague you.

Quickly get onto one of the higher ledges on the N and S sides of the room where the vibrations can't reach you and start pumping lead into the hammergods (and not grenades). When both are dead, a cut scene should show a gate opening. If not, reload and resume your battle with nonexplosive ammo. Go into the N room and shoot a tiger (with a grenade if you like). Enter the W gateway after picking up the small medipack and grab the THE HAND OF MABU BASHA (4 of 4), whereupon you're transported to a nearby passage.

Run forward, loop around right and continue N past the opened double doors and the waterfall, go through the NW opening back to the outdoor jutting ledge and safety drop to the ground. Run S to the clearing and place the four Hands in their receptacles. A cut scene shows double doors opening nearby, so go SE where you see the flaming plinths, follow to the S doorway and go on through to end the level.