Tomb Raider Legend Level 2 - PERU: RETURN TO PARAÍSO

Back at Croft Manor, Zip tells Lara what he's learned about James Rutland.  After considering what they know so far, Lara decides Peru is the next logical destination.  She asks Zip to arrange a meeting with Anaya in Paraíso.  (This cinematic is titled "Returning Home".)

In a separate cut scene ("Unwelcome in Paraíso"), the locals scatter as Lara arrives in town.  Over the headset Zip directs Lara to meet Anaya at the statue in the marketplace.

STREETS OF PARAÍSO: Just beyond CHECKPOINT 1, Lara can play a little soccer with the abandoned ball.  (Press E/Triangle/Y to kick.) The sparring dummy offers an opportunity for target practice.  Just don't waste your expendable ammo unless you plan to save and reload the game.

Before your rendezvous, pick up a secret: Enter the first alley after the starting point (on the right if Lara's back is toward the big wooden doors).  Follow the alley around to the left.  Climb the low shed roof to get on top of the house.  Go to the edge of the roof above the street and grapple swing across to the next house.  Drop down into the alley behind the house to get a bronze reward (1/8).  Lara won't grab onto the roofs, so move the crate up against the low fence and climb over it to the street.

Head left toward the village square, crossing CHECKPOINT 2 on the way.  Anaya and her yellow Jeep are visible from a distance.

In a cut scene ("Rendezvous with Anaya") Lara greets her old friend (who apparently shares the same plastic surgeon), but they're only able to reminisce briefly before a truck full of mercenaries roars into the square.  Lara tells Anaya to get going and she'll catch up.

PARAÍSO TOWN SQUARE: When the cut scene ends, Lara is standing on the wide steps of the big building (town hall? church?) with armed men closing in.  Take cover.  The area below the steps on the left is one good hiding place.  Then pick off the first 4 mercenaries one or two at a time.  Press E (Triangle/Y) when the environmental hazard icon appears to shoot the explosive objects (i.e., the truck's gas tank, the barrel of fuel on the wheeled cart and the propane tank on the other side of the square) to blow them up, killing any nearby bad guys.  Just remember, enemies can do the same to Lara, so don't stand right next to any of these.

When you've killed the first group, 4 more mercenaries emerge from the building with the menswear posters (on the left side of the square when facing the big building with the wide steps).  Use the columns, crates and other scenery for cover as you run around scooping up dropped ammo and health packs.  Take out the second group of mercenaries as you do.  When they're dead, a sniper comes out onto the balcony of the building diagonally opposite the truck.  Stay under cover until you can get below him.  Then move into range and take him out with the rifle.  Heal and pick up any goodies you didn't get before.

Climb onto the market stall near the truck and jump from there to grab the nearby roof; pull up.  Head to the other side of the roof and use the horizontal bars to swing across to the next building, where you'll find a bronze reward (2/8).  Drop to the ground or grab the diagonal cable and slide down.

Cross the square to the building nearest the flagpole and go around behind it to find another bronze reward (3/8) near the menswear signs.  Return to the flagpole, climb it and jump onto the balcony.  Kick down the door (E/Triangle/Y), enter and pick up a silver reward (1/2).  Go back outside and move to the edge of the balcony across from the building where the sniper was.  Use the magnetic grapple to swing across.  The sniper drops a health pack, a grenade and a SHOTGUN.  (I recommend sticking with the rifle, but it's up to you.)

There's another mercenary inside the room from which the sniper emerged.  He drops the same items (SHOTGUN or ammo, grenade and health pack), and there are several grenades on the table.  This room also contains CHECKPOINT 3.

NOTE: Lara can carry up to 4 grenades.  To throw one, aim with the mouse and then press K (R2/RB) to toss.  (If you have a 3-button mouse, you might assign this control to the middle mouse button.) Remember that enemies can also throw grenades at Lara.  Dodge like mad when one comes her way.

MORE PARAÍSO STREETS: Move to the other door but don't rush out.  There's another group of 5 mercenaries in the next street.  If you kept the rifle, you can shoot the soldier on the balcony just ahead from inside this room.  You may be able to pick off another one or two from the doorway.  If not, run out onto the roof to the far, back corner.  That way the neighboring building shields Lara from the two shooters farther down the street (one on the ground, one above), while allowing you to target the one on the roof across the street and the one below.  There are also several explosive objects down in the street (two on the near side, one across the road).  Take advantage of them if you can.

After defeating the first group of mercenaries, either grapple swing across the road to the roof of the next building or climb down, pick up the various dropped health packs, ammo and grenades and then climb the wooden ladder leading to the window.  (NOTE: Another ASSAULT RIFLE is available here instead of ammo if you took the shotgun in the previous area.)

Using the same grapple point, you can also swing to the small balcony where the first soldier was, to get his items, but if you're already well stocked, there's no need.  The climbable drainpipe near that balcony is for getting back up onto the roof where you started; you can't jump from the pipe to the balcony.  Once you're in the upper room of the building across the street, pick up any dropped ammo, grenades and health packs (if you're still able to carry any more).

Advancing along the street beyond this room, whether you go along the rooftop or on the street itself, triggers the appearance of yet more mercenaries.  If you go cautiously, retreating into areas you've already covered, you can draw them out a few at a time so you're not overwhelmed.

First move out onto the balcony and take out the soldier waiting there (or shoot him from the street below).  Two more materialize as you approach—one near the vendor's stall, the other behind the barrels blocking the alley.  They appear whether Lara is on the roof or at street level, and they toss grenades as well as shoot.

When you advance toward the T in the street, another squad of mercenaries appears around the corner to the left, and reinforcements arrive in a truck with a mounted gun.  There are a few different ways of dealing with these guys.  Take out the gunner on the truck first, wither with conventional weapons or by pressing Interact when you see the environmental hazard icon to blow up the propane tank on the ground to the left of the truck, knocking down the telephone pole and frying the gunner with the electrical transformer.  Then deal with the other 2 mercenaries guarding the truck.  If necessary, retreat along the street or into the room at balcony level, depending on your strategy.

After dealing with the soldiers near the truck, pick up any ammo, grenades or health packs you need.  Then take care of the last 3 mercenaries near the end of the road.  Climb on the truck and use the big gun to blast them.  (Press E/Triangle/Y to grab onto the gun, then shoot as usual.) Or, advance cautiously and use your own weapons.

Don't go near the motorcycle yet.  First, backtrack along the street with the barrels and vendor's stall, to the house with multi-colored posters plastered on it.  Go behind that house and to the right to get another bronze reward (4/8).  Now heal fully, pick up anything else you need and approach the motorcycle.

A cut scene ("Any Bike Will Do") ensues, in which Zip tells Lara that Anaya is being chased by mercenaries.  Lara says she's on her way and hops on the bike.

MOTORCYCLE CHASE: First some general notes.  To control the motorcycle, use the same direction keys (stick) as for running to accelerate (Up), brake (Down) and steer left or right.  Speed is important.  If you go too slowly, time runs out and Anaya is caught.  Game over.  But Lara takes damage if she hits solid obstacles going too fast, so you need to balance speed and caution—or have really good reflexes.

Look out for red health packs in the road and drive over them to pick them up.  Heal and shoot with pistols as usual, except G (right stick button) is used to switch targets instead of the mouse/right stick.  (Using the mouse too much actually causes problems in the PC version.  The camera doesn't respond when Lara is riding, so you can accidentally move it to an odd angle, making it impossible to see ahead.) Shoot environmental hazards with Interact (E/Triangle/Y), as usual.  (I'm not sure why there are propane tanks scattered across the countryside.  Maybe some campers got sick of all the traffic and moved on, leaving their barbecue stuff behind.)

CHECKPOINT 4 is at the start of the chase sequence.  There are a few mercenaries on cycles early on and lots more as you near the end of the ride.  Most of the other hazards are just rocks and such in the road.  The wooden crates won't damage Lara, but they make it harder to steer, so avoid them if possible.

Some specific hazards to note: Not far from the first CHECKPOINT, there's a wooden ramp on the right followed by two heavy wooden barricades.  Take the ramp to jump the first and then press Interact to blow up the propane tank to destroy the second barricade.  Otherwise, Lara will take damage running through them.

Just after CHECKPOINT 5, you reach a burning bridge with huge gaps in places.  Steer around the flaming holes and accelerate up the ramps to jump the gaps between sections of bridge.  Beyond the bridge, you'll encounter larger groups of mercenaries on bikes, some with bigger guns.  Rather than waste time hanging back and trying to shoot all of them, I found it worked to just concentrate on moving ahead as fast as possible without crashing, picking up health packs when possible, and only shooting at enemies and hazards that happened to come in range.

Before long, you reach CHECKPOINT 6.  There's a health pack just ahead on the right, then a brief stretch of nothing before you come up on the trucks chasing Anaya.  As you overtake the trucks, steer to the left, to avoid the crates the first truck drops in your way.  Pass the last truck in the group and move into the right lane to avoid more crates dropped from the truck on the left.  Then move in behind the left truck and shoot the 2 mercenaries in back.  After they die, the truck's tailgate extends and you can drive on board.

In an action-packed cut scene ("Wrecking Crew"), Lara kills the truck driver and jumps into Anaya's Jeep.  Then the two speed away.  Soon they arrive at the old dig site outside Paraíso.  The two talk briefly about the past and closure.  Flashback to the earlier expedition.  As Lara climbs down into the pit after Amanda, the rope breaks.  (The second cut scene is titled "Digging Up the Past".)

FLASHBACK: In this section, you play as a somewhat younger Lara.  (Hey, that outfit looks familiar.) CHECKPOINT 7 is on the platform where you start.  Duck or roll through the low opening below the spikes.  Go forward and slide down a short slope.  Amanda tells you to swing across the sinkhole, so grab the overhead bar and do that.

At the fork in the path, you can go either way.  Go left for now.  A growling sound emanates from within the tunnels.  Then the body of Eva, apparently another comrade, is flung into view.  Amanda screams as rocks tumble from above, blocking the tunnel ahead.

Backtrack along the tunnel and take the right fork this time.  Throw down a flare or two to light the way.  (NOTE: You have unlimited flares, but only two will stay lit at a time.  Use the same button to light and throw flares as you do for grenades.)

Duck under the half-open bars, triggering CHECKPOINT 8.  Lara recognizes the body of another colleague, Sarah.  Push the crate onto the right side of the pressure pad in the floor to activate a half-broken spear trap.  (A nice, realistic touch.  After so many years, you'd expect some decay.) Climb onto the crate and jump to grab the one full-length spear.  Swing around it and jump to grab the ledge ahead.  Get the bronze reward (5/8) in the corner.  Take a running jump to grab the ledge above the huge carved face.  Traverse to the left and then jump to the flat spot (CHECKPOINT 9).

Hop down into the next room to find another body and one friend, Kent, still alive but trapped in a cell.  The spear trap has already been triggered.  Go through on the right side, where the spears have been broken off, and talk to Kent.  He says there's a hole above and urges Lara to get up there and help him escape.

Roll the stone sphere off the pressure pad to reset the spear trap.  Cross the pad on the left side, where the spears are broken, otherwise Lara will get hurt.  Climb onto the ledge in the far corner, turn around and take a running jump to grab the blue rope.  Turn on the rope and swing to the ledge above Kent's cage.  Go through the open door to CHECKPOINT 10.

Drop into the hole to trigger an interactive cut scene ("Demon of the Past").  A monster like something out of Miyazaki grabs Kent and then comes after Lara.  Press the correct keys to run forward and jump when the icon lights up.  If you do, Lara runs down the tunnel and escapes.

After the cut scene, you hear the chime for CHECKPOINT 11 and Lara is standing in a room with two dangling ropes and another decrepit spear trap.  Climb onto the ledge in the corner and push the stone sphere down onto the pressure pad that triggers the trap.  It may just roll onto the pad; if not, climb down and give it another push, then climb back onto the ledge.  Jump to grab the next ledge closer to the trap.  Amanda appears at the barred door.  She runs off as the monster chases her along the passage.  Jump to grab the spear you just extended by triggering the trap.  Swing around it and jump to grab the rope.  Swing on the rope and jump to the ledge ahead.  There's a bronze reward (6/8) just to the right.

Follow the tunnel to a pit lined with spikes.  Use the horizontal bar above to traverse over the pit.

In a cut scene ("Amanda Falls Behind"), Lara meets Amanda near an ornate carved door.  They argue about whether or not to take the stone set into the door, but with the monster rapidly approaching, there's not much time.  Amanda grabs the stone and then, just as the monster charges, it disappears.  The ruins begin to collapse and Amanda is trapped under falling rubble.  As the room starts to fill with water, Lara tries in vain to save her friend.

Back in the present, Lara and Anaya discuss whether or not going back into the ruins is a good idea.  Lara advises her friend to remain on the surface and to contact Zip if there's any trouble.  (This cut scene is titled "Going Back In".)

ENTERING THE RUINS, PRESENT TENSE: This section begins at CHECKPOINT 12.  First pick up a bronze reward (7/8) just ahead, behind some boxes near the base of the winch.  Head toward the low ridge, climb up and locate the last bronze reward (8/8) in the wreckage of the small wooden shed.

Jump into the water and swim down the vertical shaft, forward past two barred openings, then up another vertical shaft to get air.  Once Lara's air meter refills, dive to the bottom of this shaft and swim forward through an opening with broken bars.  Continue until you can swim up another shaft to an air pocket.  Breathe deeply then dive back down.  Go through another small opening and swim forward until you see a circle of stones on the bottom.  Swim up to get air a third time.  Finally, swim down again, then on through a small, semi-circular opening.  (This is CHECKPOINT 13.) Keep swimming forward to a large, flooded chamber where you can surface and breathe.

(NOTE: If Lara drowns before you get to CHECKPOINT 13, don't forget to pick up the rewards again after the game reloads.)

UNDERWATER CHAMBER: To get out of here, you must first swim down and pull on each of the four blue lights.  This sequence is timed, so you have to work quickly; otherwise the buttons reset and you have to start over.  Swim along the surface until Lara is just above the first light.  (You can start with any of them.) Dive down to the light and press E (Triangle/Y) to use it.  Turn and swim toward the next light.  All the lights are at the same level, so you shouldn't need to move up or down.  Tap Interact (E/Triangle/Y) as you go to make Lara swim faster.  Tap Interact again to activate the second light.  Repeat the same procedure for the third and fourth lights.  You may have time to come up for a quick breath, but it's possible to make it without surfacing.  For me, swimming up then down again was more difficult than just staying level with the lights.

Using the fourth button triggers a cut scene ("Amanda Survived").  Grates open in the floor and the water drains out of the room.  Lara examines the rubble and discovers Amanda's Chuck Taylor high top, without a foot inside.  Perhaps her friend didn't perish after all.

Before leaving this area, pick up the silver reward (2/2) in the side passage just to the left of the semi-circular opening where you entered (i.e., left when facing it).

CHECKPOINT 14 registers at the crumbled remains of the door where Amanda took the stone all those years ago.  Jump through the opening.

Here Lara discovers a carved panel whose inscription tells of an ancient queen, Tanupa, whose history parallels that of King Arthur.  (The cut scene is called "The Queen's Story".)

Go around behind the panel.  The slope here is too steep to climb.  Use the molding on the left to climb up twice.  Then jump back to grab the edge of the ledge behind and pull up.  Once on the ledge, use the magnetic grapple to swing over to the next flat spot.  Climb to the ledge on the right.  Note that Lara can't climb up on the left side of that ledge, where it has crumbled, only on the right where it's intact.  Once on that ledge, to face up the next slope.  You'll need to grapple-swing again, this time by taking a running jump off the ledge and pressing Jump twice in succession to extend the grapple.  Swing to the flat spot at the top of the slope.  Continue to CHECKPOINT 15.

An interactive cut scene shows Lara attempting to cross a crumbling floor over a deep pit.  Press Up, Up and Right when the icons appear on the screen and she will make it across.

STONE SPHERE PUZZLE: Pass CHECKPOINT 16 and enter the next area.  Here you have a stone sphere, 3 pressure pads and three huge statues.  Lara can step on the pads, but it has little effect.  Roll the one available sphere onto the nearest pad to activate one of the statues.  When its "arms" open, ladders are visible, but the broken ends are too high to reach.  Looks like you'll need to find more big balls.  Turn back toward the huge pit.  Along the right wall is a statue holding a second stone sphere.  Use the magnetic grapple to pull it down.  Roll the sphere onto the pressure pad on the right (when facing the statues).  This activates the second large statue, extending two full-length ladders.

Climb either ladder.  Jump sideways to grab the flat ledge at the figure's waist.  Traverse to the center then jump straight up to grab its open mouth, then straight up again to the top of its face.  Traverse back toward the ladder and jump to grab it.  Climb the second section of ladder to the top and from there climb onto the head.  Push the third stone sphere off the edge.  Very carefully climb back down the ladder.  When you reach the bump in the ladder, instead of jumping over to the face, just let go; Lara will grab on again below.  (Or, from the top of the statue, take a running jump over to the center statue and climb down the front of it.) Push the third sphere onto the center pressure pad to complete the puzzle.

Once all three spheres are in position, the third huge statue opens and the small statue between the pressure pads rises, revealing another inscription.  (This cinematic is titled "Viracocha's Staff".)

Climb one of the ladders on the third huge statue.

In the following cut scene ("The Queen's Sword"), Lara enters a small chamber containing a statue of Queen Tanupa, along with a broken ceremonial sword.  Lara tells the guys she's seen another like it in Japan.  That sword was later stolen by Shogo Takamoto, a big man in the Yakuza.  Naturally Lara knows someone who can introduce her to the thief.  The girl does get around.

CHECKPOINT 17 registers after the cut scene.  From the ledge overlooking the room, jump to grab a handhold on the wall to the right.  Jump straight up to grab the ledge and then pull up.  Take a running jump to the ladder on the huge statue to the right.  Climb to the top and cross the head.  Take a running jump to the top of the tall pedestal beyond.  Here you can grab onto a narrow shelf that runs along the entire wall.  Traverse to the left and around the corner.  Continue to the left, above the huge pit, jumping past the two gaps and grabbing onto the shelf beyond.  When Lara is above the flat ledge, climb down to the ledge.

Now you can choose to go on or take a detour for the gold reward.  To leave now, skip down to the section titled "Toward the Exit".

GOLD REWARD: On the small ledge above the huge pit, turn and line Lara up precisely with the dangling vine.  It may help to tap the key that moves the camera behind Lara (J/L2/LB) and then adjust her angle if necessary.  Jump to grab the vine.  Turn Lara on the vine to face the broken ledge on the opposite side of the pit to the left (i.e., the leftmost of the three ledges).  Climb up the vine until Lara is roughly level with the narrow stone shelf running along the entire wall.  (This corresponds to the shelf you used to climb along this side of the pit.) Swing as high as possible and jump to grab that stone shelf.  If you miss, Lara should still grab the handhold below, allowing you to jump up to grab the narrow shelf.  If she falls onto the ledge, you'll have to jump back to the area with the sphere puzzle or commit suicide and try again from the checkpoint.

Once Lara's got hold of that shelf, climb to the left toward an opening in the wall, jumping across one gap on the way.  Pull up into the doorway.  Enter and go up the ramp to the right.  There you'll find a fourth stone sphere.  Give it a good shove to send it rolling down the ramp and crashing into the room below.

Follow the boulder down the slope and drop onto the ledge below the opening.  From there, take a running jump to the huge statue to the right.  Carefully climb down the ladder.  At the bump halfway down, let go and Lara will grab the lower section of ladder automatically.  Continue to the floor.

Roll the fourth sphere onto the center pad, so there are now two spheres there.  This further raises the pedestal at the center, revealing the gold reward (1/1) inside.

Once you have it, climb back up the middle statue to CHECKPOINT 17 and make your way back around the room and along the narrow ledge to the vine.

NOTE: I'm not sure if it's a bug or just a feature I don't understand, but sometimes CHECKPOINT 17 (on the middle statue) doesn't register a second time.  When that happened to me, CHECKPOINT 16 (on the steps near the edge of the pit) worked fine.  Whichever checkpoint you use, I do recommend saving after getting the gold reward.

TOWARD THE EXIT: Jump to grab the dangling vine.  Turn to face the middle ledge on the opposite side of the huge pit.  Swing and jump to land there.  Lara can hear the voices of the mercenaries below.  Take a running jump to the next small ledge and kill the 2 mercenaries from there.  Slide down the ramp to CHECKPOINT 18 and pick up whatever they drop (health packs, grenades, rifle ammo).

Advance carefully down the passage to the top of the slope.  No need to bother with the grapple points this time.  Just shoot the single mercenary from above, slide down and pick up anything he dropped.  Continue to the hole in the wall and CHECKPOINT 19 (which is technically CHECKPOINT 14 revisited).  Kill the 3 mercenaries in the next room before jumping through the hole.  (It makes good cover.) Again, replenish your supplies with the health packs, grenades, rifle ammo they drop.

NOTE: I haven't tried this, but I assume you can still get the silver reward (2/2) here if you missed it before.

Jump to grab the dangling rope near where the water is trickling in.  Climb to a little below the semi-circular opening.  Swing and jump to it.  (This area looks a bit different now, but it's where you did all that swimming before.) Pass CHECKPOINT 20 (same as CHECKPOINT 13) and follow the tunnel forward and uphill.  Go up the ladder then climb the stone blocks on the left.  Shoot the mercenary before he notices Lara.  Pick up ammo/health as needed and continue to the next dangling rope.  There's a rough ledge halfway up but climb all the way to the top.  Jump off the rope and get ready for a fight.

There's a squad of 10 mercenaries stationed here.  Follow the same tactics you did in Paraíso: Use cover for protection (there's plenty of it); pick up dropped health packs, grenades and ammo as you go; run and dodge, especially when a grenade comes your way.  Also, stay away from the edge of the pit.  Near the end of the fight, Lara contacts Zip and asks him to tell Anaya to hide because someone's coming.  One last mercenary appears on the rim of the excavation.  When you kill him, the final cut scene plays.

In this cinematic ("Artifacts Recovered"), Lara shows Anaya the shoe.  They speculate on why, if Amanda had escaped, she might not have contacted them.  Zip cuts in over the headset to inform Lara that he's set up a meeting with Takamoto at a party being thrown by her old friend Toru Nishimura.

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*NOTE ON REWARDS: Finding rewards (formerly known as "secrets") unlocks various extras in the game.


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