LEVEL 12: THAMES WHARF
Kills: 26 Items: 30, plus 2 keys Save/power-up crystals: 8 Secrets: 5*
*Note that one of the pick-ups here will be the SHOTGUN if you didn't get it in the previous level. Be sure to find all the secrets so you can access the bonus level at the end of the game.
Objectives: Make your way across the rooftops and alleyways to the level's end in a bell tower. First you'll need to enter the building opposite to get the key to the flue room. There's a pair of buttons you need to press in the right sequence in order to raise a scaffold, enabling you to get to the flue room. Another button inside this room opens up a path to the next area, containing three large water tanks. Fill and empty the tanks in the proper sequence, opening underwater hatches as you go, to reach the last area—the roofs near the bell tower. Pick up a few useful items there and locate the exit.
NOTE: There are several shortcuts through this level. I will probably include them in an updated version of this walkthrough. But, for now, I've described the long route for readers who want to cover everything.
You begin on a ledge high above street level. Before jumping across to the next building, take a detour for a secret.
ACROSS THE CRANE and BACK: At the place where the bridge meets the ledge you're on, take a running jump over the angled roof. (Set up this jump with one step and one hop back from the base of the roof.) In the low area behind, you'll find shotgun shells and a save/power-up crystal. Backtrack and use the corner block to climb out onto the brown metal ledge. Cross the roof and jump onto the crane. Walk down the arm and drop down onto the dangling gray block. Position Lara at the middle of the block, facing the crane body. Walk off the edge to land on the roof below, taking a small amount of damage. Slide down the roof, grab the edge, and let go to land in an alcove clear of barbed wire. Walk through the barbed wire and follow the hallway to SECRET #1—a rocket and small medipak guarded by 2 rats.
(Alternately, jump from the gray block dangling from the crane to the nearest ledge—on the right if Lara's back is to the body of the crane. Climb down the yellowish grating and drop to the cement ledge below. Take a standing jump from the MIDDLE of the ledge to the alcove below, so as not to slide into the barbed wire.)
Exit the hallway and climb out of the barbed wire onto the block at the left corner. Climb onto the ledge above, then up the yellow grating ladder. Jump over to the dangling block then climb onto the arm of the crane. Turn around and take a running jump through the break in the railing diagonally to the right, to land on a ledge. Jump to the small, square ledge ahead. Pull up and slide into the area where you found the shells and save crystal. Again, climb up the block onto the metal ledge. Turn around and jump to grab the top of the wall on the right. Traverse to the left until you're behind the ledge where you started. Pull up and slide onto that ledge.
ALLEYS AND BUILDINGS NEAR THE START OF THE LEVEL: Go to the right end of the ledge. Hop down onto the square grate below, then down to the angled roof. Grab the end, pull up and back flip onto the ledge behind. Kill a crow that makes a fuss. Throw the switch to raise a green trapdoor on the outside of the building across the way.
Now cross over. You're probably keen on using the zip line, so go that way now since you won't be able to later on. Use the overhead grating to traverse to the next ledge where the handle is. Ride the zip line down to the roof, let go and press Action again to grab the roof as you slide back. Release and grab the crevice below. Traverse to the right, pull up onto the green trapdoor, and kill the guy with the gun. Pick up the small medipak he drops.
Enter the room beyond. Jump to the first ledge, but watch out for the breakaway tiles on the far side. You may be able to kill 2 rats on the far ledge from here before taking a running jump over to it. Follow the hallway, subdue the man at the end and take his FLUE ROOM KEY.
Return to the ledge with the dead rats, drop and hang from the edge, then let go and grab the ledge below. Pull up and press the button to open a trapdoor near the entrance. Drop to the ledge below to get some harpoons. Safety-drop to the ground and pick up a small medipak in the rubble from the broken tile, plus some flares in one corner and a save/power-up crystal in another. Use the button to open the trapdoor above the ladder and climb up. From the top ledge, jump to grab the horizontal crevice on the left. Traverse to the right, drop to the ledge and jump to grab the ledge at the entrance.
Use the switch outside to lower the green trapdoor. Drop to the ledge below. Kill the crow. Now check out the various small openings in the wall—two are accessible from the ledge. Jump up to grab the opening on the right. Traverse to the right to the second and third openings. They contain 2 boxes of shotgun shells, SECRET #2. (NOTE: If you don't already have the SHOTGUN, you'll get it here instead of one of the boxes of shells.) Traverse back to the ledge.
Now crawl into the left opening. Follow the tunnel up to a ledge high above another alley. Across the way you'll note painters' scaffolding. Hop across to the button and press it to uncover another button elsewhere.
Return via the crawlspace to the ledge below the green trapdoor. Drop down onto the steeply angled roof at the left side. Grab the edge and drop onto the crates. Take out the gunman lurking across the way. Then pick up flares, Uzi clips and a save/power-up crystal. Climb the tall stack of crates. Jump to grab the block ledge. Climb the yellow grate up the side of the building, then two more similar ladders to reach the top. Jump over to the ledge where you started.
Climb down to the trapdoor switch as you did earlier. This time, take a running jump across the alley to land on the roof with the small medipak.
Grab the crevice in the wall and traverse to the right. Climb up and take the path to the right. This leads to a gap near the alley with the scaffolding. Jump the gap, go around back and kill a crow. Pick up the large medipak and press the button (this is the one you uncovered earlier) to raise the scaffolding.
Return to the gap above the alley, jump to grab the other side and pull up. From here, take a running jump to the scaffolding. Shoot another crow. Now jump from the scaffolding into the doorway of the FLUE ROOM. Pick up the flares and use the key to get in.
Take the save/power-up crystal and use the button to turn off a burner elsewhere and turn the fire on in here. Time a run past the flames, climb out and take a standing jump back onto the scaffolding. Safety-drop to the metal ledge and return, via the crawlspace, to the other side of the building.
Drop down and climb up the ladders to the starting ledge. Again, jump across to the roof where you got the small medipak and traverse to the right. This time there is a gunman on the right-hand path. Take care of him, then climb onto the higher ledge and follow that path to an opening above a burner (this is the one you turned off in the flue room). Jump over the opening to grab the ledge, pull up and take the shotgun shells. Go to the left, turn around and safety-drop off the angled roof to land on a ledge with a rocket. This is SECRET #3. Climb the ladder, jump to the flat spot above, then jump over the hole to the walkway below.
Now, drop down into the hole. Slide down the ramp to emerge on a small ledge in the alley with the scaffolding. Jump the gap (using Action to land in the doorway) and follow the vent, picking up a save/power-up crystal and large medipak and killing 2 rats on the way.
INDUSTRIAL AREA WITH THREE LARGE WATER TANKS: At the bottom is a control room with an armed guard on duty. When he's out of the way, take a look around. Note the switch and two covered buttons. Down the long hallway are three humongous water tanks. At the start tank #1 (closest to the button room) is half full, and tank #2 (middle) is empty. So, you're unable to get to tank #3, which can only be accessed by swimming across tank #2.
Use the switch to fill tanks #1 and #2. Jump into tank #2, retrieve a small medipak and Uzi clips, and pull the underwater lever to open a hatch in tank #1.
Go back to the switch and use it again to lower the water levels. Jump into tank #1 and swim down through the hatch you just opened. The propellers are moving more slowly now, so you can swim past them into the next room. (If you hadn't pulled the switch, Lara would be shredded.) Climb out of the water, take out the guard, and follow the hallway to the end where you'll find a box of shotgun shells. Kill the 2 rats in the crawlspace and go through it, picking up a small medipak.
In the next room you'll find a robot with live electric cables twirling in front of it. Yes, it is lethal. As you enter, you receive a "vision" of the electrical panel in a nearby alcove. That's a hint. What you must do is trick the robot into shocking the electrical panel.
If you're playing the PSX version, you'll probably want to go to the far right end of the track first to get the save/power-up crystal. (The button there turns on the lights, but it makes no difference whether or not you press it.)
When the robot heads for the end of the room where the save crystal was, go to the opposite end and pull out the movable metal box. Make sure you stand aside when the robot returns. If it touches the box while Lara is touching it, she'll be electrocuted. Move the box down the track until it is at the T intersection of the long path and the crosswise path near the electrical panel. When the robot comes along, it will bump into the box then turn around and drive into the alcove, frying the electrical panel, thus opening one of the button covers above.
Go into the hallway where you entered and climb the grating to get back into the button room. Press the button you just uncovered to fill tank #3. Then kill the guard who arrives on the scene. Use the switch again to refill tank #2 and swim across it to the doorway leading to tank #3.
Swim across tank #3 to the far ledge. Another guard comes out, so you'll have to take care of him. (Try to ignore the alarms. There doesn't seem to be a way to turn them off.) Go inside and use the button to raise the cover on the second button back in the other room. You'll also find this drains tank #3.
(** NOTE: It is possible, using a carefully angled running jump, to land Lara in the small, square, water-filled opening at the bottom of tank #3. However, you won't be able to finish the level. When you reach the next area, the exit will be too far above the water level to reach, as shown in the first of these screenshots. Make sure you follow the instructions below instead.)
Exit the room where the guard came out, climb onto the walkway to the left and go to about the middle. Above you'll see grates on the ceiling that you can use to traverse across the empty pool. Drop to the ledge, kill 2 rats, and get the small medipak and save/power-up crystal. Follow the passageway, pick up a large medipak and drop into tank #2. Swim to the door. Take out another guard in the hallway and go push that last button, on the right above the raised cement area. This opens a hatch in the bottom of tank #3. Swim down through it. Take the harpoons and follow the underwater passage to a lovely flooded edifice.
LOVELY FLOODED EDIFICE: In two of the corners underwater you'll find shotgun shells and a small medipak. Get them and climb out into the doorway. (NOTE: If you find you can't climb out because the water level is too low, as in the first of these screenshots, you'll need to go back to an earlier save, or restart the level. Next time, be sure to flood the third water tank, which also raises the water level in this area. See the note on this above at the **.)
Kill the thug and take his small medipak, plus the save/power-up crystal in the alcove. Jump over the barbed wire to grab the grating. Climb up, walk through more barbed wire and jump to grab the small platform on the side of the crane. Pull up. Turn right and take a running jump to grab the ledge topped with still more barbed wire. Pull up and walk carefully to the right where you can jump up to a flat spot.
CATHEDRAL ROOF and BELL TOWER: Cross the roof and climb up on the other side. Don't go all the way up to the walkway yet. Instead, head to the right. Cross over the peak of the low roof and slide down the back on the right. There's a trench filled with barbed wire, but you'll find a safe spot at the right end where you can safety-drop down. Walk through the wire to pick up some Desert Eagle clips and return the way you came.
When you come around the ledge outside the bell tower area, you'll encounter 2 gunmen you'll need to take out. Now find the movable block at the center (where the four paths converge) and pull it twice. Use it to climb to the shingled ledge above. In a depression behind the ledge, there's a large medipak. Get it, climb out and take a running jump across the gap to a similar depression where you'll find SECRET #4—the CATHEDRAL KEY.
(NOTE: You won't actually use this key, and it will disappear from your inventory, but it counts as a secret toward the bonus level. If you're having difficulty locating it, look at this screenshot. It shows Lara on the ledge above the movable block. The arrow indicates the path of the running jump to where the key is. When you do this jump, be sure to set it up so Lara jumps right at the edge. Her feet will nick the top of the roof on the other side, but holding the Forward key through the entire jump will keep her from sliding back.)
Go back to the walkway outside. In the front corner farthest from the crane, there is a ladder leading down. Climb down, drop down several ledges, and you'll find SECRET #5—a crawlspace containing a large medipak. Climb up the way you came. Follow the walkway to the left and jump down at the break in the railing to end the level.
A cut scene follows: Lara subdues a sniper in the bell tower. When she interrogates him, he says he works for a woman named Sophia Leigh. Lara wants to know who she is and what she does, but the man pleads ignorance. He says he merely kills people for her, as his father and grandfather did before him. Lara asks how old this woman is. The thug says she's in her late 20's or early 30's. Lara is understandably skeptical. Then the guy tells Lara he gets a bonus for some special targets, such as herself.
"I could even retire from you," he says.
"Then you might want to mind. . . the bell," Lara replies, as the ringing bell knocks the man off the tower. She wishes him a "happy retirement," then slides into Aldwych station.
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. The following people also helped on this level: Katie L., Helena, Domino, Fred and Cujo. 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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