LEVEL 33: KHUFU'S QUEEN'S PYRAMIDS
Secrets: 1*
OUTSIDE NEAR BUNKER: When you round the corner after sliding down the face of the GREAT PYRAMID, you meet 2 soldiers fighting a giant scorpion. Another scorpion joins the battle as you approach. If you can help the soldiers without accidentally shooting either of them, they won't attack you. (Remember to tap the Look key to make Lara aim at each of the available targets in turn.) There's no particular reward for saving the soldiers; it's just the right thing to do. :-)
On the south side of this open area is a stone BUNKER. The two ramps at the front each lead down to a door. Go down the ramp to the left door and press Action to open it. Enter and shoot the various wooden crates to get a load of supplies: a small medipak, wideshot shells, Uzi clips, normal grenades, revolver ammo, poisoned arrows and super grenades.
Go back up the ramp, down the ramp on the right and through the other door. The crates on the right are empty. Use the ARMORY KEY to unlock the wrought iron gate. Inside is secret #1 (69/70), crates containing a small armory indeed: normal arrows, a SHOTGUN, UZIS, a CROSSBOW, a GRENADE GUN, shotgun shells and a REVOLVER (or ammo for these if you've got the weapons).
(NOTE: If you saved the soldier from the giant scorpion in the MENKAURE'S PYRAMID level, he will have given Lara the ARMORY KEY. If not, then you will be unable to get this secret.)
When you go back up the ramp, you'll encounter another soldier tussling with another giant scorpion. Help the poor guy if you can.
Then approach the deep pit to the north, between the GREAT PYRAMID and the two smaller pyramids. (NOTE: The sequence of jumps is illustrated in this series of screenshots.) First jump to the small, square ledge on the left (west) side of the pit. Take a running jump angled to the left to land in the space between the two small pyramids. (Don't aim for the small ledge jutting out into the pit; it's too far away, and Lara will fall.) Kill another giant scorpion that charges out of the gap between the pyramids, taking care not to hop back into the pit.
Take a running jump from the jutting ledge across the pit to grab the ledge on the opposite side. From there, take a standing jump to the block ledge on the right (south). Kill the giant beetle that buzzes in, then climb onto the ledge above. Turn right (north) and take a running jump to the small ledge protruding from the sandy side of the pyramid. Don't try to grab or Lara won't make it. Walk to the corner of the ledge (the pit is on Lara's left) and take a standing jump to the next ledge ahead, which is steeply angled but still flat enough for Lara to stand on. Now take a running jump across the pit to grab the protruding ledge on the other side. Pull up and turn right (north). From here you should be able to kill the giant beetle sitting on the rock ledge ahead. Take a running jump to the ledge where the beetle was and get ready to fight the giant scorpion that comes around the corner from between the pyramids. (If you don't kill the beetle first, you have to deal with both at the same time.)
Go to the back of the space between the two small pyramids and you'll find a small medipak. Now locate the movable boulder nearby and push it as far as you can to the west (away from the pit) onto the faint carved bird symbol. This causes a door to open in the small pyramid just to your left. Enter, open the trapdoor and climb down the ladder into KHUFU'S QUEEN'S PYRAMIDS.
THE MAZE: The diagram at right may help you navigate this maze. The layout is fairly simple, but getting through it is complicated by the stone blocks that raise and lower when you step on certain pressure pads in the floor. The result is that each hallway can only be traveled in one direction. In the diagram, each block is marked with an arrow showing the direction you must travel in order to pass the block. The blocks along the path in and out of the maze are numbered in both diagram and text.
In addition, there are small, rectangular niches at various points on the walls (also indicated in the diagram). Some of these contain goodies, but most contain swarms of beetles. If you trigger the beetles, you can either run away or reload a saved game.
Enter the maze and the gate closes behind you. At the first intersection, turn left (east). When you step on the first pressure pad, the block ahead (1) recedes. Kill the black scorpion in the passageway, then advance just as far as the second niche on the right-hand wall. Inside you'll find some Uzi clips. (The first niche contains beetles, so don't reach in.) Don't go any farther, or you'll step on the next pressure pad, raising the block and sealing the passage behind you. Instead, backtrack (westward) to the intersection near the gate.
Continue straight ahead (west). Stepping on the pressure pad just beyond the intersection makes the block ahead (2) recede. Kill another black scorpion in the passageway. Reach into the first niche on the left for a small medipak. (Skip the second niche, which contains beetles.) Continue, stepping on the next pad which raises the block behind you. Turn the corner to go south. The next pressure pad lowers the block ahead (3), and you'll need to shoot another scorpion. Continue southward to the next intersection. Turn right (west), and follow the passage, lowering and raising a block (4) as you go. When you turn the corner to head south again, you'll see two torches and two niches. Avoid the niches, as both contain beetles. Around the next corner (you'll turn eastward here) you'll step on a pad which lowers the block ahead (5), and you'll encounter another scorpion in the hall beyond.
At the next intersection, turn left (north). The next block (6) will come down, but go just as far as the first niche, where you'll find more Uzi clips. After getting them, backtrack to the south to the intersection you just passed. Continue straight on (southward), lowering and raising another block (7) as you go and killing the scorpion ahead in the passageway. Round the corner to the east. Continue eastward raising yet another block (8) as you go. Skip the two niches (both have beetles inside) and turn right (south) at the next intersection.
GUARDIAN'S ROOM: Ready weapons before stepping on the next pressure pad. When the block ahead (9) comes down you'll be face to face with the hawk-headed guardian in the next room. I recommend using grenades or explosive arrows (about seven should do the trick) and shooting from the doorway. The energy bolts he fires from his staff aren't too powerful if you keep your distance. Also, 3 black scorpions emerge from behind the pillars when you enter the room. Better to deal with them after disposing of the guardian.
Use your CROWBAR to pry the EASTERN SHAFT KEY from the wall with the huge star.
(NOTE: Alternately, you can run into the room, get the key, then run back to the hallway and to the right. Once you get beyond the raising and lowering block, the guardian can't follow. If you choose this path, you might want to get the large medipak in the niche before going into the guardian's room, since you won't have time to get it on the way out.)
Cut scene: Taking the key causes the gate to open back at the entrance to the maze.
Now return through the maze: Exit the guardian's room and turn right (east) at the first intersection. The block (10) lowers as you approach, and you'll need to kill another scorpion at the end of the passage. Reach into the first niche on the left for a large medipak. (Avoid the second niche, which has only beetles.) Turn the corner to head north. When the next block (11) comes down, shoot another scorpion a little farther along the passage. Continue straight (north) through the next intersection, raising yet another block (12) and killing another scorpion as you go. This section of hallway also contains two niches on the left side. The first niche has shotgun shells inside; the second beetles. At the next intersection, turn left (west). Continue, past another block (13) that lowers and raises as you pass.
The next intersection has torches mounted on the walls. Turn right (north) here. Continue through one more lowering and raising block (14) to return to the gate where you entered the maze. Go through the gate (which opened when you took the EASTERN SHAFT KEY) and climb the ladder back to the desert.
SCALING THE GREAT PYRAMID (AGAIN): (NOTE: This sequence is illustrated in this series of screenshots.) Exit the pyramid and head to the right, toward the excavation pit. Take a running jump across the pit (to the east side). You're aiming for the square ledge on the other side a little to the left. Turn left (north) and take a running jump to the next ledge. Take a standing jump up to the next flat block, where you'll need to kill a giant beetle.
Climb up two tiers on the side of the pyramid. Then take a diagonal standing jump to the next flat spot above and to the left. Take another diagonal standing jump to the next flat ledge above and to the left. Wait for the falling blocks to come down before walking to the left side of this ledge. From there, take another diagonal standing jump to the next flat square above and to the left. Kill the 2 giant beetles that fly out of the doorway.
Climb to the doorway and use the GUARD'S KEYS (which should still be in your inventory from previous levels) to open the door. Enter the pyramid to finish the level.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not leave this level without the EASTERN SHAFT KEY. Since taking it opens the exit from the maze, this shouldn't be a problem unless you miss the maze area altogether or use the level-skip cheat. You will need this key, along with the three others you should have collected in previous levels, when you get to the level INSIDE THE GREAT PYRAMID. If you accidentally bypassed the MAZE, follow these directions (with screenshots) to get back there from the entrance to the Great Pyramid.
*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 Graeme, Mike and Cindy 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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