LEVEL 17: RX-TECH MINES
Kills: 17 Items: 23, plus a CROWBAR, BATTERY, and WINCH STARTER Save/power-up crystals: 5 Secrets: 3*
*The number of kills varies depending on the actions of your enemies (the mutants) and allies (the white-suited guys with flamethrowers). There are also several places where you can avoid confrontations and continue on.
Objectives: Get into the heart of the mines to the mine car junction. Ride each of the three cars through different areas of the mines. In one area you'll get a crowbar, which will help you get a battery. In another, you'll find a winch starter. Use the battery and winch starter in the third area to fire up the winch. This will enable you to get to the excavation site and exit to the Lost City of Tinnos.
Climb out of the elevator shaft and crawl along until you can stand. Now you're in a square hallway with three automatic doors. If you keep walking you'll go around in circles forever. Instead, refer to the diagram at right. As you exit the first crawlspace, you see a closed door on your right. Head to the left. When you step on the area of floor marked 1X in the diagram, you'll hear a door closing elsewhere—that's the third door (D3). Walk to the corner and turn left. As you step forward (to 2x), the door ahead (D2) will open. Go forward and round the next corner. When you step forward (to 3x), the door ahead (D3) opens. In the process it covers up the second crawlspace on the right wall. When you pass the door (and step on 4x) the door at the start (D1) opens. Go around the corner, forward down the long hall with no doors, and around the next corner. Now you're back at the start. (The door on the left, D1, is covering the first crawlspace.) Walk forward a few steps (to 1X). You'll hear the third door (D3) close again. TURN AROUND and go back down the hallway the other way. When you reach the next door (D3), it will be closed, allowing you to access crawlspace #2.
Crawl through, following the duct down to a hole. Back out and climb down the ladder to the bottom. Get the MP5 clips and press the button to open the door. Watch through the window as the guy with the flamethrower puts a couple of mutants out of their misery, or go out and assist. (NOTE: You'll meet a few more of these white-suited guys as you go along. If you don't harm them, they won't mess with you.)
Follow the snowy tunnel to the JUNCTION where several mine car tracks converge. Note the padlocked door at the left end of the walkway. You'll be back later with something to open it. There's a mutant lurking below in the far left corner. You can go down and kill him now, or wait. Just watch out for that poisonous breath.
Climb up to the control room on the far left. Enter and run to the left. Roll and take out the mutant lurking on the other side of the doorway. The button in the doorway turns on the lights.
Climb onto the roof at the doorway. Cross to the back right, turn around, crouch and drop back to grab the edge. Traverse a little way to the right to a ladder on the back of the building. Position Lara's feet at the bottom edge of the building and jump/twist to grab the sill of the crawlspace behind. (NOTE: If you're having trouble with the jump from the ladder, try climbing all the way down so Lara's hands are on the very bottom rung of the ladder. Then tap the Forward key to climb just until her feet come up onto the bottom rung. Now try the jump/twist—that's Jump + Roll + Action.)
Pull up and crawl in to get SECRET #1—a small medipak and grenades. (NOTE: The closed door here leads to SECRET #2. The button that opens it is elsewhere.) Safety-drop to the ground and kill that mutant if you didn't earlier.
Now it's time to take a little ride. The controls for the MINE CARS are simple, but using them effectively may take a little practice. You can ride either the lower or middle level car first, but the upper level should be done last. I've put the middle level first, since it's a bit easier than the lower level.
MIDDLE LEVEL MINE CAR: Get in and ride without braking past the first gap in the tracks. Brake (Jump) on the next downhill run to slow your approach to the curve before the bridge. Brake on the slope after the bridge then take the next curve without braking in order to clear the gap beyond. Swing the wrench (Action) to hit the switch. This will stop the car at the platform ahead. (NOTE: The items you see off to the left on your way down the track are SECRET #2. You will get them later.)
Get out and allow the flamethrower guy to kill the mutant. Get the save/power-up crystal and carefully run past (or crawl under) the drills through the door. There's a hole in the snowbank at the back left containing flares. Enter the short hallway opposite. Slide backwards down the ramp and grab the edge. Drop to the block below. Be careful not to fall into the deep chasm.
The tunnel near the dark block houses a big, nasty mutant but no goodies. You can avoid it if you like.
Safety-drop down onto the snowy walkway below on the left (when facing the chasm). Go to the other end of the walkway. Jump to the angled block, slide back, grab the edge and drop to the ledge below. There's a mutant inside the opening above. He doesn't have any goodies, so you can skip this area if you like. Or crawl in, shoot him from the opening and back out.
Traverse along the crevice to the left and drop to grab the crevice below. Traverse back to the right. Drop to the ledge below and, if you like, kill the mutant below. Jump to grab the crevice above and traverse back to the left. Pull up, crawl through and kill the mutant on the other side.
In the next area, you'll meet another flamethrower guy and 3 mutants lurking in various places around the room. Your friend may help you kill the mutants, but don't count on him. Get the CROWBAR from the top of the monkey bars and the rocket at the bottom of the pool.
If you're going for all the secrets, you'll need to do some climbing. See the small, rectangular opening high on the wall? That's where you're headed. Find the low snow ramp against the wall below and to the right of the opening. Walk to the top of the ramp, stand at the left side and grab the nearly invisible horizontal crevice in the ice wall. (Press Action + Forward to grab it, no need to jump.) Traverse to the left and pull up into the crawlspace. Press the button there to open the door back at the first secret area, enabling you to access SECRET#2 when you return.
Drop down and scope out the exit: It's the high opening with the black area inside. You can't reach it from below, so you'll have to make your way over to it on top of the snow banks. Climb onto the pile just to the right of the entrance. Take a series of running jumps from heap to heap clockwise around the cave until you reach the one below the door. (NOTE: Don't forget you can adjust Lara's angle in the air with the Left/Right keys. This comes in handy when you have to line up a jump at an odd angle in order to have enough running space for takeoff.)
Climb the ladder to the ledge on the left. Crawl up the passage under the first 3 drills. Run past the fourth drill. Go around the first crushing machine. Climb the ladder, then use careful timing to run past the next 2 crushers. Climb up on the left to an area with a flashing light. Keep climbing and kill the mutant at the top. Safety-drop down to the tracks and follow them back to the mine car.
Get in and ride on, around an S curve and up a hill. Don't brake on the hill, but as soon as the car leaves the tracks to cross the gap, brake hard. Then immediately swing the wrench to hit the switch. This will make the car go right at the fork. (If you miss the switch and go forward, you'll crash.) Don't brake again until after the car goes over the next gap. Brake on the curves and duck under the 3 girders. Soon you'll be back at the JUNCTION.
LOWER LEVEL MINE CAR: Get in and go. Duck as you pass under the 2 girders, then immediately stand and swing the wrench to hit the switch. Duck under the next girder, but don't brake until after clearing the gap. You'll curve around to the left. Duck under 2 more girders then get out when the car stops. Get the save/power-up crystal nearby.
Go into the hallway perpendicular to the track and press the button to open the door. Follow this passage and slide down the ramp into a room with steam coming up from the floor. A big mutant comes out of the side passage at the left end. Kill it, then follow this dark, twisting passageway until you come to a crawlspace on the right. Crawl under to the area below the steamy room and pick up shotgun shells and a rocket. Now there's another big mutant running around out there. Crawl out and kill it. Then continue along the twisty passage to a room on the other side of the fence from the steamy room.
Climb the ladder to the top. There are 2 buttons in the hallway here: The first opens the exit back to the track. The second opens another door. Go through that door and follow the hallway to a crawlspace. Crawl through and drop down into a room with a window. A big mutant rushes in from outside. Kill it. Collect the small medipak and Uzi clips the mutant drops, and the Desert Eagle clips near the door. Then go outside. Jump into the pool and retrieve the WINCH STARTER from the bottom. Warm up, then swim down again for some more Desert Eagle clips bundled with some flares.
Go back to the door below the crawlspace where you entered this area. Press the button and kill the big mutant that charges out. Go to the end of the hallway and press the button to open the door there. Jump the gap where you climbed the ladder and go through the door on the left to return to the mine car.
(NOTE: If you missed secrets #1 and #2, it's possible to get them from here, provided you've already picked up the CROWBAR and used the button in the crowbar area on the MIDDLE LEVEL MINE CAR path. If you haven't pressed this button to open the door between secrets #1 and #2, the steep snowbanks will prevent you from leaving the secret area if you go there now. Also, you MUST explore explore the rest of the lower level first. If you leave here without the WINCH STARTER, you won't be able to finish the level. To get to the secrets, go to the right side of the elevated track. There's a flat, triangular area of snow below. A carefully set up running jump along the seam on the right side of the triangular flat area, as in this screenshot, will land Lara on the tracks above. Follow the tracks to the left and across the bridge to the secret area. Pick up the items for SECRET #2 and kill the mutant. Go through the doorway in the far right corner. Pick up SECRET #1 if you didn't get it earlier. Then safety-drop down to the ground in the JUNCTION area. Pick up the walkthrough below at the **.)
Ride the mine car back to the junction. Duck under the girder, then brake for the curve. Climb the hill, ducking under the girder near the top. Then immediately stand to whack the switch. This will send the car onto the track straight ahead. You'll pick up a save/power-up crystal and return to the JUNCTION. (NOTE: If you miss the switch, you'll take the left fork back to the junction, missing the crystal.)
(**) UPPER LEVEL MINE CAR: Before heading out, use your crowbar to open the door at the end of the walkway near where you entered. Inside you'll find a LEAD ACID BATTERY. And, if you didn't do it earlier, return to SECRET AREA #1. If you followed the walkthrough for the middle level, the inner door will be open. This is SECRET #2. There's a mutant inside, along with a save/power-up crystal, MP5 and Desert Eagle clips. Climb back out the way you came and safety-drop to the ground. Now head up to the upper level mine car.
Ride the mine car up a hill and down the other side. Don't brake for the curve or you won't be able to get up enough speed to jump the gap. Duck under the girders and drills. Continue into a cave where the car will stop.
Pick up the flares on the snowbank ahead to the left. Jump over to the WINCH. Place the battery in the opening on the side. Climb onto the top platform (facing the arm) and use the winch starter to get it going. This will lower the yellow submersible. Now comes the hard part.
(NOTE: Remember to get Lara's health and exposure meters back up to 100% before diving again and to use a medipak as you swim, if necessary, to keep her from freezing to death. Also, you may be able to cheat through this by saving your game underwater and reloading. This resets the exposure meter. Just be sure you don't accidentally save as Lara is about to drown!)
In the pool below the winch platform, there's a single yellow light on the wall. Dive in and swim down toward that light and into the passageway just to the right of it. You can climb out here to get air and warm up.
Now, jump in the water again and swim underneath the submersible where you'll find an opening you can climb into. There's a large medipak inside. Now you're aiming for a small opening between the two lights on the wall below the sub. Swim through that opening, then to the right.
In this small, icy underwater cave, there are two openings in the ceiling: One is a square hole where you can surface and get another large medipak. Head for that opening first. The other opening is a long shaft leading up to the next area. After getting the medipak and warming up, go back into the water and make the long swim up the water-filled shaft. You'll swim through a save/power-up crystal on the way up. At the top, there's a place to surface and a small medipak. From here, climb up to the EXCAVATION SITE.
EXCAVATION SITE: Apparently Willard and his cronies have uncovered more than just a few artifacts. There's a flamethrower guy here, but he's pretty much useless. Kill the mutant inside the passage above the entrance on the right. (Or, just leave him be. There's nothing there.)
Cross the bridge over the deep chasm and kill 2 more mutants—one on each side of the Quonset hut. Go to the far right, past the carved stone heads, to the end where the ledge meets the wall. There's a light mounted above and another ledge down below. Jump to the angled block next to the wall, slide down backwards, grab the edge and drop onto the lower ledge. This is SECRET #3. Inside the dark cave you'll find a large medipak, Desert Eagle clips and grenades.
Return to the cave opening. Take a running jump across the chasm to the small ledge. Turn around and take another running jump across the gap to the small, triangular ledge. Now take a tricky running jump to the next ledge. Set it up carefully so you have enough room to run before jumping. Once on the square ledge, it's another running jump across to the next ledge. Climb into the alcove above, get the grenades, and take a running jump from there to the lower of the two ledges below the bridge.
Climb up onto the bridge. Cross over to the Quonset hut. Take a standing jump from the raised block supporting the bridge to grab the roof of the building above the door. Pull up and walk to the back, where you'll find a small medipak. Return to the front of the building, press the button to open it, and enter to complete the level.
Copyright © 1998-2002 - Stellalune (e-mail stella@tombraiders.net). Special thanks are given to the participants in the alt.games.tombraider newsgroup, without whom some parts of this walkthrough couldn't have been written. Thanks also to Lucio, Andrew, Cujo, Jeff, Stephen D., Bill, Mike B., Lucas and Rachel for their help on this level. Diagrams made with the aid of GraphTablet freeware (http://www.graphtablet.com). Feel free to copy, distribute and quote this walkthrough, but please include this credit line so people can send me their corrections, comments and suggestions. Also, if you'd like to offer this on your own web site, please read and follow the instructions here.
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