LEVEL 9: SACRED LAKE
Secrets: none*
(NOTE: The Temple of Karnak, Great Hypostyle Hall and Sacred Lake, are like one big level made up of linked parts. You can go between them as many times as you need to, but twice through each level should be enough if you explore thoroughly. I have included both visits to each level on the same page.)
LAKESIDE: Climb out of the pit and go through the door on the left to an open area. There's a small medipak on a low block in plain sight-perfect Lara-bait to distract her from the hungry crocodile that crawls in from the left. The dark area to the right harbors 2 bats. Another crocodile comes out of the pool when you explore a bit.
(NOTE: The crawlspace in the southeast corner leads to a SMALL POOL WITH TWO OBELISKS ON AN ISLAND in the center. There are a few pick-ups and scorpions there, but you're missing some items you need to use in that area. I recommend waiting until later to explore to save yourself a trip.)
Take a swim in the lake. Climb out on the broad, sandy ledge on the west side and kill 2 more crocodiles. Note the closed gate on the building in the middle of the pool. You'll need to open that. Walk around to the north side and go through the doorway of greenish stone. There are 2 bats lurking inside. Drop through the opening in the floor at the back (north) side.
(NOTE: The other openings will either drop Lara onto a series ramps and deposit her in a pool at the bottom of the room below, or break her bones outright. If you end up in the pool, either reload an earlier save, or follow the underwater passage back to the lake and try again.)
TWO CLIMBING POLES: Walk down to the lowest step and face the striped pole. Step off the edge and slide down the slope (don't jump) to land at the base of the longer pole. Climb up to about the level of the horizontal stripe carved into the wall. Turn Lara so her back is toward the base of the second pole. Then press Jump to back flip and land there. Climb up the second pole and back flip onto the small ledge. Go through the crawlspace to a room. Pull the chain.
Cut scene: The gate back at the building in the middle of the SACRED LAKE opens, releasing a pair of crocodiles.
Return through the crawlspace to the ledge above the pole. Take a standing jump from the edge of the ledge to grab the pole. Press back/down while holding Action to slide down the pole. Take another standing jump from the base of the shorter pole to grab the longer pole. Slide down. Drop into the square hole to the left to land in the water below. Grab a small medipak from the bottom. Swim out to the pool and get some flares from the bottom before following the underwater passage back to the LAKE. Remember, there are 2 crocodiles on the loose now, so quickly swim to a ledge where you can climb out of the water and kill them.
BUILDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LAKE: Swim in through the now open gate. Climb onto the ledges to get a small medipak and 2 boxes of shotgun shells. Then look for an underwater lever beneath the overhang between the two ledges. Position Lara below it and press Action to make her pull it. This opens the square trapdoor on the bottom of the pool nearby.
UNDERWATER PASSAGEWAY AND MIRROR ROOM: Swim down through the trapdoor. When you come to the square door, position Lara in front of the gray square at the center and press Action to make her open the door. Go back for air. (NOTE: The next area requires some skillful swimming, so you might want to save your game here just in case. It's easy to get disoriented and drown the first time or three.)
Swim down through the trapdoor again, then through the open door. Continue along the passage as it turns left, swim through a narrow gap, continue forward, then turn right. Swim through a section of the passage with very uneven walls. Then swim up and left as the passage slopes up. (Up to this point you're just following the passage the only way you can, but there are a lot of short dead ends and places where the jutting rocks impede your progress.) Now you're faced with a choice of swimming forward and straight up to the MIRROR ROOM, or right and up to a small room where you can surface. Choose the right path. Breathe deeply and pick up the large medipak on the bottom. Swim down and forward through the passage. When you reach the first corner, swim up and to the right to the MIRROR ROOM.
There's an opening in the ceiling on the left side (when facing the mirror), but it is cleverly camouflaged. (Oh, those crafty Egyptian architects!) However, the mirror image of the room clearly reveals the opening (as in this screenshot). Get your bearings from the mirror, then roll and swim up to the ceiling to the opening.
Climb out of the water onto the ledge and follow the passage to a room with a SECOND CANOPIC JAR on a pedestal. Grab the 2 sets of Uzi clips on the floor, along with the jar.
Cut scene: We see a gate open down in the room in the middle of the SACRED LAKE.
Follow the hall back to the MIRROR ROOM. Then swim along the underwater passageway, first down and to the right, then following the passageway's twists and turns, all the way back to the LAKE.
Swim down through the other opening in the bottom of the pool, through the gate you just opened. The current will carry Lara along to the next level.
Continue with the walkthrough for TEMPLE OF KARNAK (second time).
Secrets: 1*
You return to this level for the second time after completing the TEMPLE OF KARNAK (second time).
SMALL POOL WITH TWO OBELISKS ON AN ISLAND: There are 3 scorpions lurking about the pool, so stay alert. (NOTE: Even if you explored here during your first time through this level, there will still be one scorpion.) There's a box of shotgun shells on the bottom of the pool and a small medipak in an underwater alcove on the opposite side of the pool from the shells.
If you haven't been to this area before and want all the pick-ups, go into the hole in the northeast corner and through the crawlspace back toward the SACRED LAKE. In the hallway you'll find some flares. (If this is your first time through, there will also be a scorpion here in the hallway.) Get them then come back to the small pool.
Combine the SUN DISK and SUN GODDESS to make the SUN TALISMAN, and use this at the short, pointy object between the obelisks. (NOTE: If you are missing the SUN DISK or SUN GODDESS, you'll need to go back for whichever you don't have. See the note at the bottom of the page.)
Cut scene: Electricity crackles between the obelisks and the golden ovals above each doorway. The Sun Talisman rises into the air between the obelisks, and the four doors around the pool open.
(BUG NOTE: Some players have reported a game crash at the above cut scene. For some possible fixes, see the below.)
The NORTH DOOR contains a crawlspace with a small medipak. The EAST DOOR is a dead end. The SOUTH DOOR leads to a pole. Take a diagonal standing jump from the doorway to grab the pole. (Use the Look button to make sure Lara is lined up precisely before jumping.) Climb not quite to the top and turn so Lara's back is toward the ledge. Back flip to land there and pick up the flares. Take a standing jump from the edge of the ledge to grab the pole. Slide down. Pick up Uzi clips on the bottom of the pool. There are also items in the two underwater passages below the base of the pole. On one side you'll find a box of shotgun shells. On the other, wideshot shells and a small medipak. Near the medipak is a square door. Position Lara at the middle of the door facing the gray panel. Press Action and she'll open the door. Swim through two narrow openings to find a secret (30/70): a room with three pedestals displaying wideshot shells, a large medipak and explosive arrows.
Return to the pole, climb back up and once again back flip onto the small ledge. From there, take a running jump to the doorway. Head back out to the POOL WITH TWO OBELISKS.
Last, go through the WEST DOOR to a ROOM WITH HUGE PILLARS. On the left side is a raised alcove containing shotgun shells, Uzi clips and a small medipak.
In the middle of the room is an angled square block. Climb on top of it. (One corner is low enough to reach when standing on the floor.) Jump up to grab the handholds on the ceiling and start traversing toward the opening high on the far wall. A couple of bats fly out. As soon as you hear squeaking, drop to the floor, kill them, then climb up and traverse across again. (NOTE: Lara will take a little damage when she drops, but not as much as swinging all the way across the room while bats are biting her.)
When you reach the opening, make sure you traverse forward until Lara is right up against the wall. Release the Action key briefly then press it again to grab the edge of the opening. Crawl in and go up the ramp. At the top there are two crawlspaces. The one on the left contains Uzi clips. The one on the right leads to the room above.
Take a running jump across the wide gap to grab the ledge. Pull up, cross the ledge, and drop down into the next room, watching out for the openings in the floor. You are now in the upper level of the ROOM WITH HUGE PILLARS. Turn left and take another running jump to grab the edge of the opening with the sloped, pink ledge. Pull up and kill 2 bats. Hop down into the room beyond. Then safety drop down into the room below. (NOTE: You can avoid taking damage by dropping onto the ledge in the corner.)
Pick up flares and the UZIS (or Uzi clips if you already have the guns) from the pedestals in the room off to the side, then exit the building. Cross the sandy area and approach the door between the two statues of Set to end the level.
After the movie, Lara begins in the next level, TOMB OF SEMERKHET.
FMV sequence: Having opened the door using the AMULET OF HORUS, Lara enters the tomb cautiously. She peers ahead into the darkness, noticing a wall decoration perhaps depicting a priest of Anubis, the jackal-headed god of embalming, standing over a mummy. (Note the four canopic jars on the shelf below the body.)
Lara is surprised to see two glowing reddish-yellow eyes glaring from within the cave. Her fingers move toward her pistol, but she hesitates. Then the eyes, apparently not interested in her, turn away
.Before she can decide what to do, she hears a sound in the doorway.
Von Croy: Miss Croft!
Lara turns to see Von Croy's outstretched cane.
Lara (under her breath): Von Croy.
Von Croy: You sound concerned, my dear. Have you misplaced something?
We see the amulet in the receptacle near the door, as well as Von Croy as he speaks.
Lara: Nothing that I shan't be retrieving at a later date, lieber.
Von Croy: You know how I admire your perseverance, but I fear this time you may be taking it to the. . . how would you say. . . maximum?
Lara: Always griping, Werner. If it's the leg that's causing all this resentment, I seem to remember that being down to your affinity with pulling hazardous levers.
Von Croy: Enough of this tedious banter, Miss Croft. It is time for you to realize. . . Miss Croft?
Lara draws and fires at him, and he ducks back behind the doorway.
Von Croy: Now let us review your sprinting skills.
He takes the amulet and the door begins to close. Lara runs for the opening but doesn't make it. She is sealed inside the tomb.
Outside Von Croy tucks the amulet into his pocket, and all hell breaks loose, so to speak. The clouds above begin to churn, and we see the faint outline of the red-eyed creature—Set himself?-overlaid upon one of the Set statues.
NOTE ON MISSING ARTIFACTS: You need both the SUN GODDESS and SUN DISK in order to finish the SACRED LAKE (second time). You can either go back to get whichever piece(s) you're missing, use the level-skip cheat to go to the end of the level, or download a savegame for PC, in which Lara has just used the artifacts. (See the last part of the bug note below for download links.)
If you're missing the SUN GODDESS: First return to the LAKESIDE area by going through the crawlspace in the northeast corner of the area with the SMALL POOL AND TWO OBELISKS (as shown in this screenshot). Once back at the big lake, jump into the water and swim through the gate into the building in the middle of the lake. (If you haven't opened this gate yet, follow the walkthrough for SACRED LAKE first time, above.) Go through the underwater passage from this room back to the TEMPLE OF KARNAK. Follow the walkthrough for TEMPLE OF KARNAK (second time) to get the SUN GODDESS. Then return to the SACRED LAKE through the GREAT HYPOSTYLE HALL level. (Follow the walkthrough if you're not sure how to do this.)
If you're missing the SUN DISK: Go back to the TEMPLE OF KARNAK, as described above, and from there re-enter the GREAT HYPOSTYLE HALL level. (Follow the walkthrough if you're not sure how to do this.) You'll find the SUN DISK in the room with GLOWING PYRAMID AND ROTATING NEEDLES in the GREAT HYPOSTYLE HALL. After taking the artifact, a door opens which leads directly back to the area of the SACRED LAKE where you need to place the two artifacts.
(BUG NOTE: Some PC users have experienced a game crash at the cut scene after Lara uses the SUN TALISMAN. Some possible solutions:
Press Esc or Look to skip the cut scene. Disable bump mapping. To do this, go to the game Setup screen. (Either click 'Setup' on the screen that first pops when you insert the CD-ROM or, from the Windows Start menu, choose Program Files/Core Design/Tomb Raider Last Revelation/Setup). Here you can click to deselect 'bump mapping' (this is one of the graphics settings).
Reduce graphics settings and/or play in windowed mode. Go into Setup (as described above), select 'Software Mode' (under 'Render Options'), select the lowest screen resolution (under 'Output Resolution') and (if your hardware permits) check 'Windowed Mode'. Save these settings and play through the trouble spot. If this works to prevent the crash, you can then save your game, return to your original settings and continue playing.
If none of these work, you can download my savegame for PC, in which Lara has just used the artifacts. Choose patched save (if you installed the TRLR patch) or unpatched save. For help with savegames and .zip files, see here.
*NOTE: There are 70 secrets in the entire game. These are marked "(x/70)" in this walkthrough. To check your progress in-game, press Pause and choose Statistics.
Copyright © 2000 - 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 Ryan for catching one of my numerous left/right mix-ups. 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, kindly ask permission first.
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