TOMB OF HYDRA (Demo)

Level by Nicholas Bryfogle

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth

There are three posted video walks, one by kapil4417037, one by Steven3517, and one by Saki Croft

Begin by sliding down an aqueduct. Pick up the uzi ammo at your feet, face the W opening above you and stand jump at an angle to grab it. Pull up, hop down, turn right and shoot a snake coiled in the corridor. Run past it and pull down the wall switch to open the trap door where you slid down. Return to the opening where you pulled up, face right and jump onto the slope so you slide down backwards. Grab the edge, pull up and take a rolling back flip onto the facing slope. Slide, grab and climb down the long ladder. Release at the bottom and you'll drop down into a sewer system where you'll be greeted by a crocodile. Quickly swim to the other side and pull out onto a flat spot where you can kill it.

Turn around, hop up to a dry corridor and down the other side to attract another crocodile. Light a flare to detect the nearby pushblock, push it once N and get up on it so you can jump SE to grab the sloped pillar. Pull up and look N to shoot a huge rat. Jump S for shotgun ammo and flares, then take a running jump N to grab the ledge where the rat was. Run forward, stand jump over the slope, slide and jump forward for SECRET #1. Pick up the shotgun ammo and the GOLD COINS, drop down into the water below where you shot the first croc and look for the nearby uzi ammo.

Pull out at the flat spot, continue past the pushblock and find an opening at the far left corner. Jump up the slope, pull up higher, continue in like fashion and you'll slide down into a corridor guarded by a crocodile. Locate the side opening and slide down for uzi ammo and a large medipack. Jump back out and head N. Hop past the opening into a parallel corridor and shoot another crocodile. Continue to a waterfall and a floor hole in which a snake is lurking. Go down the E side corridor to encounter two huge rats in the next room, go around to the back of the column and pull up into an alcove.

Pull up higher left, go around to shoot a snake on the next ledge and hop over there for a large medipack. Return to the first ledge, hop down S in front of a pushblock and push it once to disturb a rat in the revealed room. Push the block once more, go around to push it into the E alcove and find another pushblock right beside you. Pull this one to reveal a wall switch and pull it down. Return to the ledge, drop down to the lower return and go back W to the snake hole. Take a running jump over the hole to a flat spot on the waterfall. Make your way up the slope, climbing as necessary until you reach the top.

Just past the opening (that wall switch must have opened the gate here) are side holes containing flares and shotgun ammo.  Hop over the ramp at the very top and slide down near an alcove with a wall switch that opens a nearby gate. Go up the N ramp, climb a block, pull up onto the slope and slide down a short distance before jumping off to grab the ladder. Climb up and enter a crawl space for SECRET #2. Grab the uzi ammo, the GOLD COINS and the UZIS, climb back down the ladder, release and slide down to drop to a lower passage.

Locate the nearby water hole for flares and continue around the corner to pull up N. Step on the breaktile in the alcove ahead and hop back before it shatters. Safety drop onto a ledge. You can hear crocodiles scurrying about down below, but don't drop down further. Instead, hop over to a crawl space near the NW corner and follow it around a couple of corners to the end. Time the rotating blades so you can stand up and pull out. Hop down the other side to find a wall switch that opens a gate somewhere. Go back, hop into the trench when the blades move away, crouch and crawl back the other way. Drop down lower to engage three crocodiles, then find the pushblock in the column against the E wall. Push it aside to reveal an opening, go inside and shoot a giant rat. Collect the large medipack, 2 x uzi ammo and small medipack (strangely, not a secret), exit and locate the opened gate in the N wall.

Safety drop into some shallow water and pull out onto the nearby ledge. Hop up S and pull down the wall switch to lift a gate in front of you. Go there, enter the next area and stand jump to grab the opening ahead. Pull up and jump to the next opening. Pull down the wall switch to hear a door opening. Look NW to see a ladder, but don't try to reach it from here. Hop down E onto a closed trap door, hop up NW into the alcove next to the wall switch alcove and jump W to grab the ladder. Climb the ladder to the opened door, pull up and run quickly past the startled snake before turning around to kill it.

Find the nearby statue and push it to the other end of the shallow trench. The gate to your right opens, allowing access to a wall switch that opens the nearby trap door. Return to the opening with the dead snake, take a running jump to land on the ledge below and stand jump SE past the opened trap door into the water below. Swim past a closed door to your left, and the next door opens as you approach. Pull the underwater lever to open the door you passed and go there to find SECRET #3, GOLD COINS but nothing else. Swim up the shaft here, surface and pull out at the opened gate.

You may be able to target and shoot a rat on the ledge a bit SE. In any event, jump up SW to the ledge and continue with a standing jump SW onto a broken column. Hop S to the next column, jump down SW with grab for a large medipack and grenades, shoot the snake on the neighboring column and make your way E and NE to the column where you see the small medipack. Hop back to the SW column, safety drop facing W and shoot two crocodiles in the water. Hop down and wade a bit W for shotgun ammo, and there may be another crocodile stuck in a wall off to your right.

Wade E in the other direction past a waterfall and then NE until you can pull up onto a broken column and shoot as many as four crocodiles in the deeper water. If you like, you can find a small medipack near the E wall next to the deeper water. Save your game before jumping into the deeper water, because the current here will keep you from surfacing and pulling back out. Face W, get into the deeper water and grab the flares in the NW corner. Swim into the N opening, go down the floor hole and pull the underwater lever in the W alcove. Swim through the W opening and the next door opens upon your approach. Turn right, pull the next underwater lever to open a third door, swim there and up the shaft to surface for air.

Step out and wade around a bit until you hit an annoying fixed camera and a crocodile attacks. Pull up on the low block against the N wall, jump SE to grab the next block and pull up. Stand jump SE (no grab) to the next higher block and take a running jump E to grab the gap in the column. The fixed camera goes away here. For a secret, pull up, save your game and stand at the lower edge facing NE. Stand jump onto the breaktile, turn quickly left and stand jump NW onto a breaktile at the entrance to SECRET #4. Shoot the obligatory crocodile and pick up GOLD COINS, shotgun ammo and a large medipack.

Safety drop into the water and grab the nearby skeleton by the head. Pull it away from the CROWBAR but don't try to walk over the skeleton or you'll get caught in its collision. Walk around the column to pick up the implement and wade W to the fixed camera field and climb the blocks once again. When you reach the gap in the broken column, take a running jump E to grab the next broken column gap. Shimmy right around the corner, drop down and note for later more breaktiles in the immediate vicinity. For now, jump S from the end of the ledge into the opening, climb over the pushblock and pull it two times. Climb over it again and push it over the edge onto a ledge below. Drop down after it and push it two times N so that it drops onto a trigger tile and opens a gate somewhere.

Look down E, note the closed door and keyhole and hop down to the W side. Get down into the water and wade SW. Just past the waterfall, look next to one of the nearby columns for shotgun ammo and continue wading to the W wall and from there toward the N wall. You'll probably be assaulted by a crocodile along the way. When you reach the ladder in the W wall, mount it and climb up to the alcove with the dead snake. Turn around and take a running jump E down to the ledge below. Make your toward the S end of this area as you did earlier, jumping from column top to column to until you reach the one near the NE corner that formerly bore a small medipack (refer four paragraphs up). Take a running jump E from there to grab the jutting ledge and pull up. Stand jump SE with grab to land on a lower ledge and take a running jump SE just to the right of that fence. Immediately jump up the slope to your right as a snake falls down from the ceiling.

Go past the opened gate, hop down and shoot two rats. Open the crowbar gate in the fenced corridor, go through and take a running jump NW between the slope and the gate to land on a column top for a small medipack. Take a standing jump NW with grab to land in the column niche below, then take another running jump SW to land on the ledge where you'll encounter another fixed camera. Shoot the rat charging in from your left and go past the column on your right to find a wall switch that opens a remote gate you can't reach from here.

Go to the other end of this ledge, stand with your back to the wall and hop down E onto a block, continue with a running jump E to grab the next block, pull up and hop forward with weapons drawn to kill the rat waiting in the passage. Pull down the wall switch at the end of the passage to open the gate next to the first wall switch. For a pickup, go back and hang from the edge, shimmy left and pull up into the alcove for flares. You could now retrace your steps to the first wall switch if you wished, but for a secret continue as described below.

Safety drop into the water, wade to the short block on your left, pull up and shoot two crocodiles. Jump down into the deep water and swim into the NW opening, being mindful of the rotating blade. Follow to a door that opens automatically and pick up the GOLD COINS for SECRET #5. Don't continue ahead, for you'll just return to the earlier pool with the strong current. Flip turn, swim back past the rotating blade, surface and pull out W. Wade to the SW block, pull up and save your game, as Lara's mobility on this block has been artificially restricted. Stand at the middle of the block, turn slightly left to face SW and side flip left to land on the adjacent block. You can now jump normally up to the W ledge and return to the wall switch where the second gate opened.

Jump up the slope and pull down the wall switch to lift another gate somewhere. Turn around, slide back down the slope, and just past the column take a running jump NE onto the previous column to break the fixed camera. Jump the next columns to the crowbar gate and exit E to the ledge with the dead snake (assuming you killed it earlier). Continue E but don't jump over the slope ahead. Instead, jump NE onto the ledge against the wall and find the opened gate up to your right. As you enter another snake drops down from the ceiling into the floor hole. Hop over it and face the E slope. Slide and jump to the short ledge. Don't safety drop from the other side but simply run off the edge to activate teeth doors below. Grab the GOLD KEY at your feet, time your way past the teeth doors and come to a spike pit.

Jump onto the slope ahead and jump off to land on the ledge above. Return the way you came past the opened gate. Safety drop from the N end of the ledge (so you won't land in the deep water with the strong current) and wade N to pull out near the keyhole you noted earlier. Open the door with the Gold Key and follow the passage to a floor hole. Turn around at the edge, hop back and slide down a slope. Grab at the bottom and safety drop onto a breaktile. You'll land in the room below with an unavoidable loss of health. You can see a closed door and a wall switch that's beyond your reach. Light a flare to detect the essential pushblock and move it underneath the wall switch so you can climb up and pull it down to open, not the SW door but a floor trap door against the E wall.

For the next secret, move the pushblock into the NE alcove. It looks just like the other alcoves, but it has an unmarked trigger tile that opens the SW door. Go there and jump over two spike pits for a small medipack and GOLD COINS for SECRET #6. Return, drop down the opened trap door into a lower area and light another flare to detect the pushblock in the S wall. Pull it two times to reveal an opening and enter the small room for SECRET #7. Collect the SHOTGUN, 2 x shotgun ammo, flares, GOLD COINS, small medipack and 2 x large medipack, leave the room and go around to open the crowbar gate.

Run along the ledge to trigger heroic music that doesn't signal any approaching danger or need to hurry, jump into the water and swim across to the SW corner. Pull out on the low end of the ramp and make your way around clockwise with jumps as appropriate, pausing along the way for the RUSTY KEY (the pushblock there is for later) and flares. Pull down the wall switch near the NE corner to hear two different door-opening sounds. Jump into the water, swim back to the SW ramp and pull out. From the end of the ramp, hop up into the opening in the W wall. Open the door with the Rusty Key and climb the ladder to an upper area.

Draw your shotgun and prepare to do battle with two giant warriors. Use the columns as protection from the deadly flaming bolts issuing from their swords. When both are dead, pick up the DRAIN KEY dropped by one of them and search the room for shotgun ammo (on the grate near the SE corner). In the two pools are flares, 2 x small medipack and more shotgun ammo. Light a flare to locate the pushblock in the central SW column. Push it to the S wall and into the SW alcove, where you can use it to climb up in front of a closed door. Hop NW into the opening and use the Drain Key to lift the nearby gate. Pull up to find a wall switch that gives you no visual or aural cues as to what may have just happened (but the previous pool room has now been drained).

Hop back down and jump to grab the E ledge. Pull up, make a couple of jumps to the far E ledge, shoot a rat and pick up the small medipack NE. Hop to the ledge against the E wall for a large medipack, shoot a second rat and safety drop to the floor. Climb down the ladder in the SE floor hole, go to the opening overlooking the now-drained pool and hop down right onto the ramp. Safety drop to the floor, shoot a crocodile and find the wall switch near the NE corner. Pull it down to open a nearby door and find another wall switch inside the arch connected to the E wall that opens another door. Go to the opened NE door and you hear sound of a door closing when you enter.

Climb the ladder to a lifted gate, turn around and jump W to a door you opened earlier. Make your way counterclockwise around the ledges in the next room until you reach the opened door in the S wall near the familiar SW ramp. Go inside to trigger spikes in the floor below and save your game. Take a running jump to trigger teeth doors and make sure you stop dead in your tracks when you land. Turn right and time a hop W to a ledge with a wall switch. With the deafening sound of the teeth doors it's hard to tell what if anything happened. Hop back, continue with a hop to the E ledge and pull down the wall switch for a cryptic cut scene.

Safety drop to a safe spot on the floor and walk through the spikes for a large medipack. Walk around to your right for flares and continue to the next corner for revolver ammo. Continue slowly in the same direction and loop around right to find a wall switch that again provides no discernible cue. Walk around left to the spike-free spot and jump up S to grab the ladder surface. Pull up in front of yet another wall switch, pull it down, reverse roll and time your way past the teeth doors to the N opening. 

Safety drop to the floor below and find the nearby movable statute. A second one is still enclosed in a cage, so move the first one onto a nearby round grate. You hear the faint sound of a door opening. Move the same statue onto a similar grate in the SW corner, then go across the room to the opened door near the NE corner. Climb the ladder to the lifted gate, pull up and loop around right onto that ledge with the fixed camera. Turn left at the end and jump S to break the fixed camera. Go past the opened door and turn left past another opened door to find a wall switch. Again, no clue. Exit, jump back to the ledge with the fixed camera, turn right, exit to the corridor and turn left to find an opened door in the N wall.

Go on through and around the central structure for a large medipack. Note the movable statue ahead, then go back to the W wall and turn around to find two pushblocks in the central structure. Push the one on the right one time E, then push the one on the left one time N to reveal a third pushblock to your right. Pull this one time W, return to the first pushblock and pull it one time W to its original position. Go clockwise over and around the pushblocks into an alcove in the central structure. Push the block to your right (the first pushblock) one time, go to that movable statue NE and push it onto the adjacent round grate. A door opens, so hop over the W pushblock, go around and push the first pushblock one time S, get up on it and jump up W over the slope and past the opened door.

Hop down into a small room and pull down both S wall switches. Go W past the opened door, shoot a rat around the corner and find a pushblock at the end of the passage (you first saw this one much earlier from the other side). Push it two times so that it falls over the edge and safety drop onto it. Hop to the floor and find that the second movable statue against the E wall is now accessible. Move it along the shallow trench onto three separate round grates, each in its turn. When it reaches the second grate you hear the chimes of SECRET #8.  Move the statue onto the third grate on the other side of the column and go to the nearby opened door at the NE corner.

Climb the ladder to the lifted gate, loop around right as you did earlier and jump S from the end of the ledge into the fenced passage. The door to your left is now open, so hop there and enter for 2 x small medipack, flares and GOLD COINS. Go back, hop W to the adjacent ledge, turn left past the opened door and follow around to find the BLOOD DIAMOND in the second passage on the left. Go back, jump N back to the ledge with the fixed camera, exit right and loop around left in the corridor to return to the opened door overlooking the same room. Make your way around counterclockwise as you did earlier, and when you reach the blocks against the W wall climb up to find a ladder in a shaft you may have noticed when you were here before.

However, there's a trap door at the top of the shaft that needs to be removed, so get into the adjacent W opening where you used the Rusty Key earlier, climb the ladder to the warrior room and run straight forward. Climb the blocks, hop into the opening and turn around to find the ladder. Jump to grab it, climb up the long shaft and pull up at the top. As you run forward a cut scene takes over and the door ahead opens upon your approach. You can also hear the sound of a trap door opening (yes, the one at the top of the other shaft). Your work here is done for now, so go back and climb down the ladder, hop down and run across the warrior room, climb down the SE corner ladder and go past the door you opened with the Rusty Key. At the opening, jump left onto the block, face N and jump up to grab the ladder in the shaft.

Climb up past the opened trap door, shoot the waiting crocodile (there was one in my game but not in the video) and pull down the SW wall switch to lift a gate. Climb back down the long ladder and run SW with grab off the block into the wall opening. Climb the next ladder once again, run across the warrior room and climb the SW blocks to the top, turn around and jump to grab the next ladder, and climb up the long shaft. Walk to the opening and jump E to a familiar ledge with the wall switch you pulled long ago. Hop down E to the lower ledge and safety drop into the shallow water below.

I couldn't find a reliable shortcut, so wade laboriously in a generally counterclockwise direction until you reach the deep area with all the dead crocodiles, continue N over the pavilion where you used the Gold Key (on the other side of the wall), get back in the water and wade NW until you reach the area with the fixed camera. Climb the blocks as you've done several times already, but this time when you reach that third block, take a running jump slightly NW to grab the tallest block. Pull up and stand jump SW down to a lower block, then continue with a running jump SW past the opened gate to a flat spot on the roof of the structure in the next area.

Pull up onto the block ahead, shoot the snake and jump SW with grab down to a ledge with shotgun ammo and another SHOTGUN. Jump back to grab the ledge with the dead snake, pull up and take a running jump NW without grab to land in an alcove with the receptacle for your Blood Diamond. When you insert it a door opens nearby. Safety drop into the water, turn around and wade to the central structure. Pull up inside for GOLD BARS and SECRET #9. Get back to the water, wade NE and climb the blocks for uzi ammo, hop down and pull into the central structure for shotgun ammo and jump down SW toward the lighted square next to a column where you'll find more shotgun ammo.

Wade around to the W side of the central structure where the water is deeper and swim to an underwater lever. Pull it, wade toward the N wall and watch a flame appear in the block ahead. Pull out, run forward to awaken four hydras perched on the columns in the next room and immediately hop back to escape their deadly bolts. 

You know the drill. The hydras are vulnerable only when they're readying another bolt to spit at you, and you know you've made a hit when you hear a yelp and see a splash of red. When each hydra dies it disintegrates into tiny pieces. It takes seemingly forever to kill them all while you're jumping away from their bolts.

When you've finally accomplished this task, go around to the alcove in the SE corner and pull down the wall switch to turn off the flames on the blocks. Search the tops of the blocks for 2 x large medipack, the TEMPLE KEY and 3 x shotgun ammo. From the taller NE block, take a running jump up NE and loop around left to the receptacle for your Temple Key. WARNING: When you insert the key your screen will turn black as you hear the sound of a door opening. Hit the look key, and if you're lucky a normal screen will be restored and you can proceed with no difficulty. If you're not lucky, you may encounter debilitating issues (as in my case) as the screen remains black, so forewarned is forearmed. Assuming you encounter no fatal bugs, go back and safety drop to the floor below.

The opened door is in the N wall, so run down the ramp and slide to drop into a partially submerged room. Grab the large medipack to your left, surface and pull out. Run forward to open the crowbar gate and step into a room with active flames. Jump into the pool ahead, pick up the small medipack in the corner and pull the underwater lever in the floor hole. Swim around to the other corner for GOLD COINS and SECRET #10. Pull out, shoot the knight and go through the opened NE door. Shoot another knight in the next room and move the statue from the S alcove onto the marked tile to open a trap door. Leave the N statue alone. If you move it onto its nearby marked tile, you'll get spiked.

Get on one of the raised slabs, jump to grab the central column and pull up. Climb the W ladder to an upper passage, run forward and take a running jump from the edge to land on a stable surface. Ignore the snake perched on the snout of the dragon statue and time a standing jump SW past the flames onto the ledge jutting from the S wall. Take a running jump to grab the W ledge, pull up and hop NW toward the opening in the W wall. Save your game and go inside to trigger two flame blowers. Wait for them both to subside, then run forward to pull down the wall switch. Reverse roll and run back the other way before the flames return.

Drop down to the floor of the previous room, exit E to the room with the statues, jump to the central column and climb the W ladder once again. This time, when you go through the passage loop around left and pull down the wall switch at the entrance to attract a wraith. There seems to be nothing you can do about it (no bird statue in sight), so hop down NW onto a ledge and go past the opened gate onto a parallel ledge. Run to the W end and take a running jump N down to a lower passage. Find the pushblock to your right, push it once, go around the other side and shoot the snake, continue to the pushblock and pull it once. Go around again and push the block once. Go around one last time and push the block into the E alcove to start some fireworks.

Return to where you jumped down and take a curved running jump SE over the lava to grab the opening in the S wall. Pull up, run forward, turn left and exit through the E doorway into the statue room. Use a raised slab to reach the central column, pull up and climb the W ladder to the upper passage. Run forward, jump down NW to the previous ledge, go past the opened gate to the parallel ledge and take a running jump N across the gap to grab the ledge where blue lightning is now flashing. Pull up and run forward to end the level.