Tomb Raider the Angel of Darkness LEVEL 12: TOMB OF THE ANCIENTS

NOTE: I don't know if it's the spastic controls, my being accustomed to the old control system, or a combination of both, but I found myself struggling with a few of the jumps in this level.  If you're like me, you'll want to save your game frequently, especially before each tricky jump.  I made regular saves whenever I completed a major area and quick saves before and after each tricky jump.  Saving in a slot other than quick save is CRITICAL, in case you accidentally save in a bad spot or want to replay a section because you missed something.

TOP OF THE RUINS: You begin the level by dropping into a rough-hewn, greenish tunnel.  Follow it to the end for a panoramic cut scene.  In this level, there are a few bats that need shooting.  Most are just decorative.

Walk to the edge of the opening, drop and hang from the rim and climb down the rock wall to the small, green ledge below.  Kill a pesky bat.  Walk to the edge and jump to the jutting wooden beam ahead.  Harmless bats fly out of the tunnel ahead.  Jump into the tunnel and follow it to a hole in the floor.  Safety drop onto a beam and from there to the ground.  Follow the tunnel to the broken bridge.

BROKEN BRIDGE: and then take a running jump across the gap to the other side of the bridge.  This is a bit tricky, but it can be done.  Shoot a bat and get the bandages in the room ahead.  Return to the end of the bridge and look out to the right.  Take a carefully angled running jump to grab the small ledge with no gargoyle (between the two ledges that do have gargoyles).  Pull up.

Turn left, walk to the edge of the ledge and take a standing jump to grab the next ledge with the gargoyle.  Lara won't shimmy all the way around, so pull up, drop and hang off the front of the ledge and shimmy around to the far side.  Drop to the sandy ledge below.

Walk to the middle of this ledge, drop and hang from the edge and climb down the rock face to another ledge below.  Grab the climbable wall and climb to the left, all the way around to the back.  Then drop to the ledge below.  From there, jump to the jutting wooden beam.  Pull the lever there to extend a series of ledges.

FIRST SET OF LEDGES: Activate walk mode to keep Lara from falling as you make the jumps.  Take a short hop (Shift + Jump) from the beam to the first ledge.  Take a regular standing jump to the second ledge.  Jump and grab the third (jump from the middle or left side); pull up.  Take a short hop to the fourth and then safety drop onto the fifth, directly below.  Turn around and take a standing jump down to the sixth and, from there, safety drop to the ground.

ON THE GROUND: As far as I know, you can't destroy the undead knight.  (You can disable him for a few seconds by knocking him down with the shotgun, but I found this to be a waste of ammo.) Just run across the floor and crawl into the small well-lit opening.  Use the lever to extend more ledges out in the main room.  Crawl out, run to the left and pull up onto the lowest ledge.

SECOND SET OF LEDGES: Activate walk mode to keep Lara from falling as you make the jumps.  From the first ledge take a standing jump to the second, and another standing jump to the third.  Jump straight up to grab the fourth (at the left end) and pull up.  Jump and grab the fifth ledge at the left end; pull up.  Repeat for the sixth.  Turn around to face the higher ledges.  Jump to grab the seventh at the right end.  Jump straight up to grab the eighth; pull up.  Now take a series of standing jumps (no grab) to the eighth, ninth and tenth ledges.  Walk to the wall and pull up into the alcove.  Use the lever to open the trapdoor in the middle of the room below.

Drop back down onto the tenth ledge.  Using short hops here seems to cause Lara to swerve uncontrollably, instead of jumping in the direction she's facing.  (Argh!) So step back to the back edge of the ledge.  Then take a regular standing jump to get from the tenth ledge to the ninth, and again from the ninth to the eighth.  Use a regular standing jump to get down to the seventh.  Then safety drop to the fifth, directly below.  (No need to jump to the sixth at all.) Jump to the fourth, safety drop to the ledge below and, from there, drop to the floor.

Ignore the knight and run to the open trapdoor.  Drop in.

Follow the tunnel.  At the fork go right and kick the door down for a lower-body strength upgrade.  Enter and get the V-PACKER SHOTGUN and 2 boxes of shells.  Follow the tunnel to the other end and kick down the door.  (If you try this before getting the upgrade, Lara will tell you she's not strong enough.)

TRAP ROOM WITH BEAUTIFUL SHINY FLOOR: Go through the first small room.  When the gate closes behind you, look to the right for a lever.  This opens the gate at the far end of the room.  It's timed to close after about 10 seconds, so you have to hustle to get past the darts and spikes.

Save your game.  Pull the lever.  Turn left and start running.  Keep running and jump just before you reach each set of horizontal spikes.  You may need to try it a couple of times before you get the timing right, but eventually you'll make it through in a smooth series of running jumps.  In the hall beyond the traps, go left.

Here your notebook is updated: "Wrathful sentinels guard the hall within." I don't see any inscription, but apparently Lara knows something we don't.  Continue through a series of doors to the next level.

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