LEVEL 14: THE ICE PALACE
Kills: 21 Items: 16 (20)* plus Tibetan Mask, Gong Hammer, Talion and 3 secrets
(*Under found items, the number in parentheses shows total including extra items granted for finding all three secrets.)
Shoot the bell to open the door. In the next room are two cages-an empty one on the right and another high on the left that holds 3 yetis. The odd-looking floor tiles are springboards, which will launch Lara up into the air if she steps on them. Many people have difficulty with these springboards at first. For the ones in this level, the trick is to stand behind them, facing the direction you want to go, then run onto the board. Lara will then sail up in the direction she's headed, to land on or grab a ledge high above. If you jump onto the springboard, Lara will just ping-pong up and down until she eventually crashes to the ground.
Stand in front of either of the 2 adjacent springboards, facing the archway with the gates beyond. Run onto the springboard to launch Lara upwards, then grab the angled ledge above. Climb up and go to the left to find 2 sets of Uzi clips on the floor and a switch. Flip the switch to raise the empty cage and lower the yetis' cage, freeing them. Jump down to the floor below on the right side of the switch and kill the yetis as they come up the steps.
Cross the room and retrieve a large med-pack in the far right corner (behind the now raised cage). Go into the cage above and behind the yeti cage, where you'll find another large med-pack. Another yeti charges as you approach the stairs at the back. Kill it then go up the stairs and pull the switch there to raise a platform beyond the bars.
Go back down the stairs and find the moveable block at the back of this cage (across from the opening above the yeti cage). Pull it out to gain access to a large room. SECRET #1, the Gold Dragon, stands on a high platform at the other end of the room. To get across requires a "leap of faith" … la Indiana Jones. Line Lara up with the platform and step out. There's an invisible bridge, which will take you across to the dragon and back.
Return to the main room and go to the springboard opposite the yeti cage on the far left. Above is another bell. Draw pistols, run onto the springboard, shoot the bell at the peak of the jump and slide down the sloped wall ahead. Shooting this bell opens the first of the 2 black gates.
Go to the corridor where the gates are. Face the ledge you just lowered and run onto the springboard to sail up onto the ledge. Turn around and you'll see another bell. Stand facing it and jump in place to shoot it. This will open the second black gate below. Jump down to the angled block on the left, slide, grab and drop to the ground.
Go through the gates you just opened, turn and right and run onto the springboard. As Lara sails up, grab the angled ledge above. Traverse to the right and drop down onto a flat ledge. There's another bell above and sloped ledges ahead and behind. Targeting this last bell is a bit complicated: Face the bell and grab the ledge in front of you. Pull up, back flip to the slope behind and at the same time draw your pistols. Shoot the bell and slide down to the flat ledge. This last bell opens the gate above and to the left.
Grab the sloped ledge below the bell again and traverse to the left. Pull up, back flip onto the slope behind you, then side flip left to land on the flat ledge. Climb the ladder to the ledge above. Climb into the opening and jump across the gap to the floor. Kill the yeti that charges through the other opening, then take the flares.
Note the Stone Dragon behind the barred window. To get it, climb through the opening where the yeti came in. Take a few steps, then turn right. Climb into the dark opening above and continue until you reach the dragon. This is SECRET #1.
Return to the path below. This time, go straight and to the left. When you reach the room, 3 tigers will charge. After you've killed them, take the TIBETAN MASK from the pedestal and go back the way you came. Turn around and this time, go up the ramp to the right. Follow this passageway past a barred window that overlooks the buildings you encountered in the previous level. At the end of the passage, ready weapons, jump down into the room below and kill a yeti.
Light a flare and throw it into the dark room below. You should be able to see and kill the second yeti lurking below. When it's dead, cross the room to pick up a large med-pack then drop down at the middle of the opening nearest the med-pack to avoid the spikes. Take the 2 sets of auto pistol clips from the floor in the far right corner. Climb onto the ledge with the red columns. There's a small med-pack at one end and a switch, which opens the exit door at the other end.
Cross the bridge, turn left and go through an opening in the snow. Jump across the rocks to the left to find a switch. Pull it to spill hot oil from the firepot onto the ice below, melting it so you can get into the water. Jump down via the angled blocks below and to the right of the switch. Kill the 2 tigers that charge in from the cave with the ice wall. Go into that room to pick up 2 boxes of shotgun shells.
Return to the hole in the ice and jump in. Grab the GONG HAMMER and climb out to shoot the 2 biting fish. Once you've taken care of them, jump back in the water and swim under the ice through an opening into the next cavern.
Wade out of the water, avoiding the falling icicles, and kill the 3 yetis waiting here. (Joecitt, one of the "regulars" on the alt.games.tombraider newsgroup, suggested using the harpoon gun to shoot them from the water. Not only is this quite effective, but it's also a great use for all those leftover harpoons. Thanks, Joe!)
When the coast is clear, head for the openings opposite the water. Enter the one on the left, taking care to avoid the falling icicles. When you approach the low ice wall, another yeti charges. Kill it, then go behind the wall and collect 4 pairs of grenades. Return to the cave with the pool and go through the door on the right. As you enter, 2 yetis attack-one from behind and another from the top of the ice steps. Kill both, then take the small med-pack lying on the ground.
Continue to a large, sloped cave with many snowballs at the top of the hill. Walk a few steps into the room to trigger the first wave of snow, and back flip to the safe spot in the doorway. Do this again for a second bunch of snowballs. For the remaining avalanches, you'll need to go farther down the slope to set them off, but you can run to the left wall (facing downhill) for safety.
Jump over the snowballs into the doorway. To cross the first deep chasm, slide backwards down the slope, traverse left, then pull up and back flip into the doorway behind. To cross the next chasm, do a running jump from the doorway to grab the ice ladder opposite. Climb to the opening at the top. Slide backwards down the next icy slope, grab the edge then drop to the ground in front of a huge gong.
Before striking the gong, climb down the ice structure and cross to the far left corner. Do a standing jump to grab the ladder. Climb to the bottom, then drop down on the left. Flip the switch to open the door to the small stone building above. Climb back up, back flipping from the ladder across the gap. Go to the stone building and take SECRET #3, the Jade Dragon (with a bonus of 4 pairs of grenades for finding all 3 secrets).
Climb up to the gong and use the hammer to strike it. This will break the ice windows on either side of the structure below so you can enter and take the TALION. Climb down to the floor for the final battle of the level. When you hit the ground, a huge, wingless eagle monster emerges from the ice doorway on the right. You can tough it out and try not to fall down the deep crevasses on the sides of the platform, or immediately jump up to the left side of the ice building (left if you're facing the gong) and shoot the monster from safety. Once it is dead, the level ends.
In the movie following, Lara emerges from the caves and steals a Jeep from the bad guys' camp. A slippery, snowy car chase ensues, with the pasty Marco Bartoli and his henchmen in hot pursuit of our heroine. Of course she makes a clean getaway and soon returns to the doors of the Xian temple. She uses the Talion to open the puzzle-lock door, and the next level begins.
Copyright © 1998 Stellalune. Special thanks are given to the participants in the alt.games.tombraider newsgroup, without whom some parts of this walk-through couldn't have been written. Feel free to copy, distribute and quote this walk-through, 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.