LEVEL 2: TEMPLE OF THE CAT
Kills: 42 Items: 63 (including 7 keys) Secrets: 4
(NOTE: One of the regular pick-ups in this level will be the UZIS if you didn't find them in the previous level.)
HALLWAY WITH RAMP & ALCOVES: Turn around and use the switch to open the trapdoor. Drop down and retrieve the 2 sets of magnum clips from the alcoves. Proceed up the ramp to the openings on the right. Inside are three cages with a mummy and 2 small medipaks inside. The switch opens all three doors. When you pick up the medipaks the mummy awakens. When it is dead, flip the switch back to its up position to open the gold door near the bottom of the ramp. Another mummy lurks inside. Kill it from the doorway and enter the hallway. This is SECRET #1. Go to the top of the passageway but watch your back—2 panthers attack from behind when you reach the goodies. When they're dead, pick up 4 sets of magnum clips.
(NOTE: As you're picking up the clips you may notice some more magnum clips floating inside the wall to the right. This screenshot shows the spot. Thanks to Barry O. and Scott C. for pointing them out.)
OUTSIDE NEAR THE PYRAMID: Go back up the first ramp to the desert above. Follow the path to the right. At the bend, jump through the gap between the rocks into a small hollow where you'll find 2 boxes of shells. Jump back through the gap and continue along the path. Two mummies are lurking about the pyramid. Jump up on the carved block on the left to kill them from safety. (If you jump up on the pyramid, you may run into a panther as well.)
Pick up more shotgun shells on the low block near the greenish rock outcropping. Off to the left (north) is an area with several boulders perched above. The first boulder (perched on the eastern slope) rolls as you pass in front of it. In the northeast corner is a depression behind the rocks with a box of shotgun shells. The second boulder, above this corner, only rolls when you jump to the slope next to the shells, so you can avoid it if you like. There are two boulders at the top of the north slope. One rolls as you run past it along the base of the slope. The other comes down when you pick up one of the 2 boxes of shells. The last boulder, on the western slope, rolls when you pick up the last box of shells. Note that this boulder will roll through the other one, so even if you have triggered that boulder first, you still need to jump out of the way.
POOL WITH TIMED DOOR: Go around to the right (west) side of the pyramid, where you'll see a movable carved stone block and some paw prints heading down a path. Move the block and find some shotgun shells underneath. Then follow the path to a small pool. Jump in, pull the underwater lever below and to the right of the ledge (left if facing the ledge). This opens a door at the other end of the pool, releasing a crocodile. Quickly climb out on the ledge to kill it. Pull the lever again to open the door. It is timed to close in a few moments, so swim through quickly. Retrieve the 1st ORNATE KEY from the bottom (doing so reopens the door), swim up to take a breath if necessary, and then swim back to the pool. Climb out on the ledge and return to the pyramid.
Climb up to the first tier of the pyramid and kill a panther (if you didn't earlier). Another panther emerges when you reach the fourth tier. (It's triggered when Lara passes over the movable block set into the side of the pyramid.) At the top, near the fence, are a small medipak and shotgun shells. (If you jump up on the pedestal near the cat statue, you get a stunning wide-angle view of the place.) The two corner blocks below the pedestal move. Pull the left block out to the side, then push it out of the way so you can pull the other block out. Behind the second block is an opening. Safety-drop down into a room where you'll find a large medipak. The switch opens the nearby door. In the next room is the 2nd ORNATE KEY. Climb up and out, taking some shotgun shells from one of the window openings before dropping down to the ground.
(NOTE: If you're playing the PC version of the game and want to get up on top of the pyramid and the building with the decorated columns, you can download and Jeff Reid's patched savegames. The fifth and sixth saves in the group for level 2 put Lara in these otherwise unreachable spots. For help with savegame and .zip files see my help page.)
INSIDE THE PYRAMID: Cross over the top of the pyramid to the opposite corner, above the pool where you killed the crocodile. Use the two keys to open the big doors. (NOTE: The passageways leading into the pyramid are laid out fairly simply, but since it's dark, I've included the diagram at right to make navigating easier. Turning up the brightness on your monitor can also help.) Inside the door to the left is a switch that turns on the light; don't use it yet. First, go to the right, guns drawn. You'll meet a panther on the way. Continue until you come to a lighted area with a large medipak. This is SECRET #2. Turning the lights on closes this door and it doesn't open again.
Now, if you like, go back and switch on the light, or just proceed to the next lighted room. The trapdoor in the floor is opened with a switch in an alcove just beyond the entrance to the room. Safety-drop down onto a block above a floor full of openings.
Below are a catwalk (literally) and a pool. To kill the prowling panther easily from above, follow the passageway, jumping over the holes, until you come to a pair of switches. Shoot the cat through the wide opening near the left switch. Flip the left switch, then the right one, then drop down into the water below and swim through the doors you just opened. (These are timed to close after a little while, but once you get your bearings, there's plenty of time to get through. If you don't make it through in time, you can climb back up to the switches through one of the openings in the ceiling near the wall and try again.)
POOL WITH CROCODILES: A pair of crocodiles wait in the next underwater room. There's a small opening in the ceiling just past the large doors. Climb out here to shoot them and pick up 2 small medipaks in the alcoves on either side and a 3rd ORNATE KEY. Stand up near the cat statue for a glimpse of the next room. Then continue underwater to get there. Pick up 2 sets of magnum clips from underwater alcoves, then climb out of the pool at the southwest corner.
ROOM WITH TIERED LEDGES AND RUNNING CAT MOTIFS: Pick up the 4th ORNATE KEY on the low step with the cat face. Kill the panther that charges. There are magnum clips underneath the movable block on the second tier. And a 5th ORNATE KEY is on another step above. It comes with another panther. The 6th and 7th ORNATE KEYS are on stone steps on either side of the barred arched window. 2 more panthers guard these, one above each. They won't climb down from the top tier, so you can easily shoot them from below. Since you used two keys to get into the pyramid, you should now have 5 ORNATE KEYS. Use the 5 keys in the locks on the top level, north side. This opens the door in the room to the left of the locks.
SIDE ROOM WITH SPIKES: Enter and drop down onto a flat block, then drop down again. Jump over the spikes to the alcoves and pick up shotgun shells and a small medipak. From the alcove where you found the medipak, take a standing jump to grab the horizontal crevice. Traverse to the left, pull up and slide down into a short passageway with a switch in a raised alcove. (Alternately, take a running jump from the flat area in the middle to the opening at the top of the short ramp. From there go forward and left to the switch alcove.) Use the switch to open the gold door in the room above. To exit, hop down from the switch alcove and go right. Climb up on the ledge, slide down the short ramp and jump over the spikes to land on the ledge ahead. Turn around, jump to the ledge on the left and climb to the room above.
UNDERWATER ROOMS: (NOTE: Since it's easy to get disoriented here, I've included the diagram at left. It doesn't include all the barred windows, just the walls, openings and other major features. The blue square designated 'hole' is where you jump into the water from the room above.) Jump into the water and swim down through a small opening on the left. Pick up the Uzi clips and get ready to meet a crocodile. You can get air at the top of this room, but you can't get out of the water. So swim back to the small opening where you started, climb out and shoot it. (NOTE: This will take some time, and you may need to jump into the water several times to get the croc's attention. If you don't care about getting all the kills, you can just avoid the croc while you finish exploring here.)
Jump back in the water. Swim down and through the opening on the left again. Swim through the room where you found the clips earlier and out through a second opening in the far left (northeast) corner. Turn right and swim along to another room with more Uzi clips on the floor. Grab them and return to the room where you got the first set of clips for air. Swim back down through the opening in the northeast corner. This time, turn left and swim along to a corner where you must turn right. Just ahead on the left you'll see a lever on the left wall. Pull this to open the next gold door in the room above. Return to the opening in the ceiling and climb out. Enter the next room.
ROOM WITH PRESSURE-PAD DOOR & MUMMIES: This room has pressure pads decorated with pharaoh faces on the floor. Step on both and the doors open. There are 2 mummies beyond, which much be dispatched. When the coast is clear, enter. Flip the 2 switches to move the boulder blocking the next doorway and open the other corner door back in the ROOM WITH TIERED LEDGES AND RUNNING CAT MOTIFS. Go to the doorway that was previously blocked by the boulder. Take a running jump from the doorway to the alcove with the small medipak. This awakens the hibernating crocodile, which you can then shoot with pistols from the safety of the alcove. When it's dead, hop down and pick up the shotgun shells and magnum clips.
Exit through the doorway at the end of this room, climb the blocks and follow the passage to an opening where you can drop into the pool in the ROOM WITH TIERED LEDGES AND RUNNING CAT MOTIFS. Climb the ledges to the southwest corner room (to the left of the barred window).
RAMP WITH MUMMIES IN ALCOVES: Pick up the Uzi clips from the pedestal. (NOTE: This will be the UZIS themselves if you didn't get them in the previous level.) There are 8 mummies in the alcoves flanking the ramp. These animate when you reach various points in the room. Take your time exploring, keep your ears open for their telltale groaning, and you won't have to fight more than two at once. You can pick up the goodies on the ledges near the mummies before or after killing them. In all there are 4 sets of Uzi clips and a small medipak.
Head down the ramp to the sandy area and take the left path. The first 2 mummies awaken. You can stay up on the flat spot with the large medipak in the back left corner, or climb up on one of the blocks on each side of the opening to the sandy area, and the mummies will not be able to reach Lara. 2 more mummies awaken when you pick up the Uzi clips in the opposite corner. Another 2 mummies animate when you approach the switch on the other side of the sandy area. The seventh mummy awakens when you flip the switch. This opens the gold door near the platform where you found the Uzis.
BRIGHTLY LIT ROOM WITH WIDE STAIRWAY: Go through the gold door and up the stairs, but watch your back: this is when the eighth mummy wakes up. After killing it, go to the top of the stairs. Walk to the right corner. Be careful it's a long drop to the floor below. To land on the flat block below the corner, take two steps back from the point then do a standing jump (or just run off the corner but take care not to keep running once Lara lands). From there, drop to the next lower block, then take another standing jump to the ledge across the gap. Jump to the small ledge ahead on the left, and from there to the yellow block with the decorative border and Uzi clips on top. Turn to face the wall and grab the horizontal crevice. Traverse to the left until you can pull up. Climb up onto the ledge with the cat statue.
ROOM WITH SWITCH BEHIND CAT STATUE: Enter the room behind the cat statue. When you do, a golden bridge extends from the ledge behind you to the top of the stairs. Use the switch to open the gold door in the room at the foot of the stairs. Exit the switch room, but ignore the bridge and take a detour for a secret.
Climb down off the ledge on the right side (the way you came), drop and hang from the edge, traverse along the crevice to the right and drop onto the ledge where you got the Uzi clips earlier. Safety-drop off the left side of the block (left when facing the crevice) to land on a flat spot far below. (Lara will lose about a quarter of her health on this drop.)
SECRET ROOM & DEADLY SANDS AREA: Avoid the spikes and the deadly sand out in the brightly lit area. Instead enter the room on the left to find SECRET #3, Uzi clips and a large medipak. The ramp leads back to the top, but watch out for the boulders. Run up the ramp to trigger the first boulder. Then, to avoid it, run through the small, triangular opening on the left. Do the same for the second, ducking into the alcove about two-thirds of the way up the ramp on the left. Continue up the ramp and turn left into a hallway with stairs. A panther appears on the ledge above on the left and runs down the stairs. You should have plenty of time to shoot it before it reaches Lara. When it's dead, climb onto the ledge and pick up the shells and small medipak in the alcoves. The bars in the other alcoves are now open so head for the one at the far end of the hallway and go through to emerge at the base of the stairs. Turn right and continue to the gold door you just opened.
BEHIND GOLD DOOR - ROOMS WITH GREENERY: Note the gold trapdoors in the ceiling of this room. For now, take the passageway at the back right corner. You'll meet a crocodile on the way. Where the passage opens into a room with palm trees, there's a small medipak in an alcove to the right. Continue to a room with a pool. When you approach the large medipak another crocodile appears. A third croc lurks in the pool. Kill it and use the underwater lever to open the two gold trapdoors back in the first palm-tree room. Follow the passageway back there. Kill the panther and climb through either of the trapdoors into the room above.
Stepping on the pharaoh face at the center opens the nearby trap door. Drop down and pick up a small medipak and shells. The next door opens when you approach.
HALLWAY WITH THREE DOORS FLANKED BY SWITCHES: There are 6 switches in all; each pair opens one of the 3 doors. The door in the center has skulls above it. Open this door first, but don't go in; it's a trap.
NOTE: If you're after the thrill of accomplishment, it is possible to get through this room. Here's how: Enter and climb to the second from the highest step. Then position Lara at the back left corner of that step facing down the steps. Back flip to the top step, and the stairs turn into a slide. The 2 mummies also animate. Press and hold Jump and Left, and Lara will slide and jump to land on the block on the left. (Alternately, do the same series of moves from the back right corner of the step, jumping to the right to land on the right ledge.) Kill the mummy on this side, backing into the corner to keep from being knocked off the ledge. Kill the second mummy from the safety of this ledge. Take a running jump back to the doorway to exit. Note that killing these 2 mummies doesn't alter the total kills, since the 2 mummies you would encounter on the blue balcony around the huge cat sphinx later on do not appear.
There are also some changes in the terrain there after killing these 2 mummies in the trap room: On the blue balcony level, Lara can go right into the room near the steps going up, without having to circle all the way around, and the cat statue's tongue will already be extended.
(Special thanks to Theresa Jenne for tips on surviving this trap and Ivans Chou for clarifying the terrain changes that occur further on in the level and the total kills count. Visit Ivans's Tomb Raiders Traveler's Guide site, http://trinity.westhost.com/tomb/, for further tips and tricks you can use in these levels.)
SECRET ROOM WITH TIMED DOOR & MOVABLE BLOCKS: Stand near the doorway below the skull motifs. Stepping into the doorway opens a fourth door at the left (north) end of the hallway. It's timed, so back into the doorway between the switches, then run/jump down the hallway to get through the door before it closes.
Behind the timed door is a series of rooms with movable blocks. It's a rather complex series of maneuvers to arrange the blocks in order to get into each of the three rooms beyond the first. I have included diagrams (below) to illustrate. Each of the movable blocks is referred to by a letter. The various stages of the arranging are numbered 1-8. I've tried to make the description useful without the diagram, but having a visual aid certainly does help.
(1) When you enter the door, there's a movable block (A) directly in front of you. Push it forward once, then go around the side of it and push it again (2). Behind the first block is a switch, which opens the exit door. You don't need to use it yet. Next to the first block is another movable block (B). Pull it once, then go around to the other side and push it into the doorway (3). In order to unblock the doorway so you can get out later, you'll need to move the first block (A) into the corner on the opposite side of the switch by pulling it once, going around it and pushing it once. Now, you can pull the other block (B) out of the doorway and push it into the corner next to the first block (4). Moving the second block opens up another room, which also has a movable block in it (C), (4). Face the block so there are open squares on either side. Pull it once into the middle of the room, then go around to the right side and push it once (5). This opens up a passageway with another block (D) in it (5). Pull this block 3 times, then go around to the opposite side and push it against the wall (6). Now move the previous block (C) against the opposite wall, by pulling it once to position it in front of the other block (D), then going behind it and pushing it again (7). This opens up enough space to move the next block (E), which is in the room beyond (7). Pull this block once to get it out of the corner, then go around to the side and pull it 4 times to bring it through the doorway into the second room. Go around to the left and push it against the wall next to the other block (C), (8). There is one more block (F) in the opening to the final room (8). Pull this block out twice in order to get into the doorway behind it. This is SECRET #4: small and large medipaks, shotgun shells and Uzi clips. Return to the first room (with blocks A and B) and use the switch to open the door so you can exit.
ANTEROOM & LARGE ROOM WITH CAT SPHINX: Return to the room with the 6 switches. Depending on your strategy, choose one or the other door under the cat motifs. For all the kills, choose the right door. For 2 fewer kills, the left. If you enter via the right door, 2 mummies attack: One drops from the ceiling above the stairs; the other appears just inside the large room beyond. If you enter via the left door, you don't meet these two.
Go around to the back of the cat sphinx and start up the steps. A third mummy (or first, if you entered this room through the anteroom without mummies) sneaks up from behind. Continue up the steps and push the movable block. Pick up the small medipak. Enter the small room and climb on the block with the cat face. Turn around and grab the gold ledge above. Pull up, turn around again and take a running jump to the gold ledge opposite. From here, take another running jump to grab the light blue ledge across from the cat sphinx. Pull up.
Head to the left and go all the way around the perimeter of the room, killing 2 mummies as you meet them.
(NOTE: If you entered the trapped room with the skull motifs in the previous area and killed the two mummies there, you can go to the right here since there will be nothing blocking your progress. Also, you won't meet the two mummies on this level.)
(SHORTCUT: You can use the corner bug at the tall, carved pillar in the northeast corner to jump directly to the upper level. From the top you'll get a lovely view of the cat sphinx and avoid a lot of tedious jumping. However, you'll also miss one kill—the mummy on the upper level. If you've never used the corner bug or need help, see my useful bugs page at http://tombraiders.net/stella/goodbugs.html. After jumping to the top of the pillar, pick up the walkthrough below at the section "ON TOP OF THE CAT SPHINX.")
Enter the room at the corner, then proceed into the next room. Climb the steps, drop down to the bottom of the next room and pick up some Uzi clips. Then climb to the small opening at the top. From here, you'll get a nice clear shot at that panther on guard in the cat sphinx's mouth.
Jump over to the gold block and from there to the gold walkway. Go to the end, take a running jump to the alcove on the right, then another to the pillar with the small medipak on top. From there, turn left and take a running jump to the next walkway, go to the end of it and take a running jump to grab the top of the pillar and pull up. Jump straight up to grab the edge of the opening above, pull up, and ready weapons to kill the mummy that approaches from the west side of the room over the walkway. When it's dead, follow the walkway over which it came. Climb on top of the higher carved stone pillar (not the platform where the cat statue is). (NOTE: This is the pillar described in the corner bug shortcut above.)
ON TOP OF THE CAT SPHINX: From the pillar, take a running jump to the flat area in front of the cat sphinx's left eye. Pull up and take a step or two forward to draw out the mummy lurking beyond. If you're low on health, or just want to play it safe, you can carefully hop back onto the flat spot in front of the eye and kill the mummy from there. Go to the back of the head and pull the switch to extend the cat's tongue. (Again, if you've killed the 2 mummies in the trap room earlier, the tongue will already be extended.) Slide backwards down the nose and grab the end. Drop to the tongue. (Kill that panther now if you didn't earlier.) Enter the mouth, minding the gap in the floor, and pull the switch to open the gold door opposite. Cross the tongue bridge, go to the edge of the ledge overlooking the desert and step off to end the level.
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