Tomb Raider the Angel of Darkness LEVEL 13: THE HALL OF SEASONS
You enter the main room through a short hallway with four receptacles decorated with paintings and stone carvings. Each carving represents one of the four traditional (Western) elements: Fire, Air, Earth and Water. You'll be finding four crystals to place in these receptacles.
MAIN ROOM/ELEMENT BUTTONS and L GATES: There's another undead knight lurking in here. If you keep moving, you won't have to bother stunning him with your shotgun.
This high-domed room has a mosaic depicting the western zodiac inlaid on the floor. At the center of this mosaic are four buttons with the same element symbols you saw in the hall. Step on one of the buttons to open one of the four sets of three doors around the perimeter of the room. Beyond each of the doors is a trapdoor with a lever. For each set of doors, one of the three levers opens the way to a new area; the others drop Lara through the floor, into trap-filled basement. (See the separate 'Basement of Doom' walkthrough.) I recommend avoiding the 'Basement of Doom' until the very end of the level. Then you only have to pass through it once.
It's easy enough to tell which lever is the correct one if you look closely. It's the one with the greenish trapdoor (the others are dark brown) and the same element symbol as the button that opened the doors.
(NOTE: There are two separate sets of symbols—one set above the outer doors, the other inside above the trapdoors. The symbol above the trapdoor is the one that matters here.)
You can complete each of the four side levels in any order. Step on one of the element buttons, run to the three open doors and choose the one with the green trapdoor and matching element sign. Pull the lever to open the inner gate and go through to enter the new area. The links below lead to the walkthroughs for each level:
WHEN YOU HAVE ALL FOUR ELEMENT CRYSTALS: Return to the short hallway where you entered this level. Place the four crystals in the receptacles to unlock a door on the floor below.
To get there, step on the button with the Earth symbol to open three of the doors. Go through and pull one of the 'wrong' levers to fall through the trapdoor. Slide down the ramp to the 'Basement of Doom.' Then make your way around to the door you just unlocked. (Refer to the separate 'Basement of Doom' walkthrough if you need help navigating or want the location of all the pick-ups.)
(NOTE: If you are following this walkthrough and have not yet explored the basement, you should use the Earth entrance to get an extra ammo pick-up. If you have already been down that way, choose the Fire or Air door, as they come in closer to the door you just unlocked.)
Once you've located the door with the four locks in the 'Basement of Doom,' go through it and descend the spiral stairs to a small room with a lever. Pull it to close one gate and open the other. Go through and down more stairs.
HUGE FURNACE-LIKE MACHINE: From the entrance, follow the wooden walkway to the left. Turn the valve near the air sign to supply one of the elements the machine needs to work.
Turn around and follow the walkway back toward the entrance. Before you reach it, turn toward the center of the room and take a running jump to the greenish circular platform surrounding the machine at the middle level. (You'll see the fire valve here, but it is covered by a cage and can't be turned yet.) Walk around to the other side of the machine and find a chain running up toward one of the V-shaped wooden supports on the outer wall. (The chain is transparent and a bit hard to see in my game.) Jump up to grab the chain and traverse to the other end. Drop on a ledge. Go left and climb the ladder. Turn the valve near the water sign, to let water into the boiler.
From the air valve, climb back down the ladder and traverse back to the center along the chain. Walk around the green, circular platform to the left. Take a running jump to the small wooden platform across the gap. Here there's a ladder leading up and another ladder, in a dark alcove, leading down. Climb the ladder leading up and dismount on the right. Turn the valve near the earth sign to fuel the furnace.
From the earth valve, climb back down the ladder. Go right to the dark alcove and jump to grab the ladder. Climb down to the ledge below. (Or safety drop through the hole, skipping the ladder.) If you don't care about an ammo pick-up below, just grab onto the chain overhead and traverse across to the center platform.
To get the ammo, safety drop off the ledge to the floor. There's another undead knight roaming around down here, so either knock him off the edge with your shotgun or just avoid him. Find a clip for the Viper on the cement floor to the left of one of the big black things holding the support chains. Climb the ladder to get back up to the middle platform near the machine.
Locate the valve near the fire sign on one side of the green, circular platform. Once you have used the air, water and earth valves, the cage over the fire valve opens and you can turn it. When you do, the machine roars to life and is revealed to be a giant, pre-Renaissance Cuisinart.
To avoid the deadly blades, step back from the valve and safety drop to the ground. Turn around on the spot (there are blades to the left and right) and move away from the center of the room. Head left toward the ladder and climb up. At the top, go forward and climb the next ladder. The stairs to the exit are close by. Go up, pull the lever to operate the gates, then continue up the spiral stairs to the 'Basement of Doom.'
Work your way past the traps to get to the elevator on the other side of the circle. It's about the same distance either way.
If you followed this walkthrough and intend to make only one visit to the basement, go to the right to get all the pick-ups. Pass the elevator and continue to the next side hallway to get some ammo. Then backtrack to the elevator. Take the elevator back up to the main room. (If you need help with this area, see the separate 'Basement of Doom' walkthrough.)
CLIMBING TO THE TOP OF THE MAIN ROOM: Back in the room with the zodiac mosaic, you'll find four huge pillars moving up and down. (The knight is still hanging around. Undead are nothing if not persistent.) Run up to the lowest pillar. Jump up to grab the edge when it's at its lowest point; pull up. Walk to the edge and then jump to the next higher pillar when the two pillars are closest in height. Repeat the process for the third and fourth pillars. Once you're on the highest pillar, face the center, walk to the edge and jump up to grab the metal ring when the pillar is highest. Pull up.
(NOTE: I encountered a bug here where Lara would not grab the metal ledge. Saving and reloading fixed it.)
One of the spokes leading out from the metal ring is flat on top. Walk along it to the edge and vault over the railing. Now you're aiming for the stairs on the other side of the room. A fence blocks your path, so you'll have to go around the long way. Undead knights burst out of the two brownish alcoves when you run past. It's easy enough to avoid the one near the fence, but you'll have to pass the other to get to the stairs. You can shoot the knight(s) to subdue them, use the shotgun to knock them over the edge, or just run away.
Go up the stairs. Two more undead knights guard this circular walkway. Again, you can knock them off the edge with the shotgun or just avoid them and go on. (Also, any knights you left on the level below will eventually make their way up the stairs.) Run around the perimeter to a section of climbable wall. Climb up and right to a small ledge with a lever. Pull it to open a gate below, near the stairs where you came up.
(NOTE: The ceiling here is climbable but Lara isn't strong enough to make it across...yet.)
Climb back down/left to the walkway and follow it around the perimeter to the door you just opened. Go through, pick up V-Packer shells and push the uneven section of wall to get an upper-body strength upgrade. Pick up the large medipak on the floor and return to the walkway around the main room.
Run around to the left to get back to the climbable wall. Climb up/right to the lever. Save your game. This time climb the wall and keep going straight up toward the ceiling. (Now Lara has the upper-body strength to make it all the way.) Just keep holding Forward and Lara will do the rest. When she turns to face out over the room, traverse forward/left to the small ledge. Drop here to regain your strength and save your game.
Walk to the edge of the ledge so the center of the room is on Lara's left. Jump up to grab the ceiling and traverse forward, arcing around to the left, and staying as close as possible to the left edge. (If you swing too far right, Lara won't have enough strength to make the climb.) At the edge of the ceiling, just keep holding Forward, and Lara will swing around and start climbing the curved roof. Continue to the top and, when your grip power is almost gone, move left a bit to land on a ledge. Now you're in the top of the dome. The gate opens as you approach. Follow the hall to another gate and continue up the stairs.
Cut scene: Lara enters a tomb and reads the inscription on the crypt. "Ultra vigilis umbram, ecce veritas." (Through the spirit of the keeper, behold the truth.) In this case, the truth hurts.
RED GHOST/BROTHER OBSCURA: The goal is to grab the First Obscura Painting from the hands of the statue that's holding it, but the ghostly guardian is not going to give up his treasure easily. If he so much as touches Lara, her health drains away. To further complicate the process, the painting moves randomly from statue to statue. (It glows blue so you can tell where it is.) Also, you can't take the painting unless the ghost is stunned. If you try, the painting will just move to another statue. So you'll need to shoot at the ghost until it stops moving, which only lasts for a few seconds. During that brief window you must run to the blue light and grab the painting.
I found this section extremely frustrating even using the tips provided by players who had beaten it. It took me quite a while to do it, but here's what finally worked for me:
The ghost can't harm Lara (much) while she's crouching, so immediately duck and start crawling around for the pick-ups. You'll find a large medipak, 2 boxes of V-Packer shells and the V-PACKER SHOTGUN (if you don't already have it) along one edge of the room and 2 more boxes of shells on the other side.
Now figure out which of the standing statues has the blue light. Crawl toward it but don't get too close or the painting will move to a different statue. Once you're in position, save your game. When the ghost moves away, stand up, draw the shotgun and crouch down again. (Here is a screenshot of Lara in the spot that worked for me.)
Shoot at the ghost when it swoops toward you. Don't bother to turn around, just wait for it to come back for another pass, and then shoot some more. Eventually it will be stunned. If you get lucky, it will stop behind Lara. It only pauses for a few seconds, so quickly holster your gun (otherwise Lara can't run straight) and run toward the statue. As soon as you see the Hand icon, press Action to grab the painting. Then crouch again.
(NOTE: If you just can't do it, you can download my savegame. For detailed download instructions, see here. Extract the file to C:\Program Files\Eidos Interactive\TRAOD\SaveGame, where C: is your hard drive. It will appear as 'The Hall of Seasons 14/7/2003 1:45:50' on your Load Game screen.)
EXITING THE RUINS: Crawl or run to the exit. Run downstairs to the now-flooded hallway. Slosh to the end of the hall. When you get there, more water pours in. Swim up through the opening in the ceiling and make for the top of the cave. Swim up toward the light and aim for the flat spot, which is the underside of a ledge where you'll find bandages.
(NOTE: You're now in the Tomb of the Ancients level again, though I've included this pick-up in the totals for the Hall of Seasons.)
After a few deep breaths, swim down again, aiming for the hole in the rock wall above the small, green ledge. (This is where you entered the level at the beginning.) Swim through the tunnel and upward.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG: You're back in this level for a moment. Use the crate to climb over the fence. Head for the metal doors on the right to enter the next level, Galleries Under Siege.
Copyright © 2003 - 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. Special thanks to Andrew, Duncan and Colin for tips on defeating the guardian in this level. 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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