LEVEL 4: OPERA HOUSE
Kills: 47 Items: 25 (29)* plus 2 keys, relay box, circuit board and 3 secrets
(*Under found items, the number in parentheses shows total including extra items granted for finding all three secrets.)
You begin the level on a platform behind a huge wooden crate swinging back and forth on a rope. There's an armed goon on patrol on the dock below. You can try and take him out from here or wait til you get to the other side of the canal. Dive into the water below. If you've already killed that gunman, grab the auto pistol clips he's carrying, then swim to the far left corner. If you haven't killed him yet, swim FAST and remember to come back later for those clips. Climb up the ladder to the first landing. Now turn and pull up onto the ledge above. (Get that bad guy now if you didn't before.) Throw the switch here, which opens a trap door not far away.
Do a running jump to the white ledge on the opposite side of the water. Do a running jump and grab the edge of the platform where you started the level. Shimmy to the right to avoid the swinging box and pull up. Do a running jump across the canal into the open trapdoor, taking care to avoid that crate. (I did it from the far left side of the platform, angled slightly to the right to get the proper angle.)
Two nasty fellows with clubs are posted in here, so take care of them. Then take the small med-pack from one of them, along with the ORNATE KEY they were guarding. The exit door at the top of the stairs opened automatically when the second nasty fellow entered, so go out that way. Return again to the ledge where you entered the level.
This time, take a running jump to the small flat area on the tiled roof to the right (your right if you're facing the trapdoor you just jumped into). From there, jump forward onto the slanted roof, slide and grab the edge, then drop to the flat square below. Turn around and slide backward down the slope, grabbing the edge. Traverse left until you're in front of the window. Now release the Action button and quickly press it again to drop and grab the windowsill below. Pull up.
Shoot out the window and enter the room, walking over the glass shards. (Glass is like spikes; if you run instead of walk over it you're history.) Head to the left and climb the ladder. Unlock the door at the end of the hallway with the key you "liberated." Follow the passage beyond and climb the next ladder to the roof.
The next area, what remains of a huge, decaying roof, is similar to the collapsing tiles you've encountered before. It's a loooong way down but crossing really isn't as hard as it looks. Just remember to keep moving. Line Lara up with the area that has a gap, three wood squares, another gap, two more wood squares and another gap. Walk to the edge, then do a standing jump to the first wood area. Immediately start running. Do a running jump off this wood area onto the next, then a running jump to grab the edge on the far side and pull up.
Turn right and go to the wood square, pull up, and continue until you reach an opening on the right. There's a thug with a gun below, and another baddie with a bat and two dobermans rushes you as soon as you hit the floor. My advice for these is to kill the first guy from the doorway, jump from there onto the dome, then get the other guy and the dogs. Two more guys with guns come out when you start exploring, so get rid of them too. If you don't stay on the dome, at least be very careful not to accidentally jump into the trenches on two sides of the structure; these are lined with broken glass. Now go and pick up the booty: shotgun shells, auto pistol clips and two med-packs, small and large.
You'll notice the gold dragon down in one of the trenches. Ignore it for now. There'll be a safe way to get it later on. The opening in the corner to the left of where you came in is also a glass-lined trap. Avoid it.
Head for the opening in the far left corner with the swinging crate. To make the jump without getting clobbered, you'll need to set it up pretty precisely. You want to be facing the box so it's swinging toward and away from you, but you don't want to be right in front of it. Instead, stand on the edge of the dome, on the closest flat square that's just to the left of the box. Walk right up to the edge and sidestep as far left as you can. Take one hop back, then run, jump, grab the ledge and pull up next to the box. Jump down into the dark area below, where you'll find a button. Push it to open the trap door out on the roof.
Two thugs, one with a club, one with a gun, come charging out when it opens, so climb up and shoot them from above. One has shotgun shells and flares.
You can now drop down into the lighting booth of the abandoned opera house. Here you'll find two switches. The one on the right doesn't work because it's missing a circuit, which you'll need to find. The left one opens the gate so you can get in.
Before we go further, note that the opera house has 4 levels, not including the basement, lighting booth and roof. To keep things concise, I am calling the ground floor where the stage is Level 1, and so on up to level 4, where you'll start exploring.
Descend and go across the dark area to the right. There's a boulder trap that is sprung when you walk down the slope. I'd set it off now, since you'll need to come back here later and by then you may have forgotten about it. Once you hear the boulders rolling, get over to the right and you'll be safe. Now push the button here to close the gate you just opened so you can get into the main auditorium. Jump up and grab the ladder, then climb up and into the doorway.
Before you jump down into the room, notice the huge sandbag dangling from the ceiling in front of you. You'll encounter a number of these. When you walk under them, they fall down and squish you, so take care. That in mind, hop down and take care of the thug with the gun who comes in from the left. Take his small med-pack then head in the direction he came from. The double doors don't open yet, so follow the hallway. Kill the 2 dobermans that attack. Take note of the elevator shaft on the right. There's a switch, but the panel nearby is missing a relay box, which you'll have to locate.
Return to where you came in, now head to the right. The double doors open and a thug with a gun and 2 dogs rush out. Kill them. From the area where they came in, turn and look across the open auditorium. You'll see a guard patrolling on level 3. You can shoot him from here.
Hang and drop through the opening to the level below. If you drop down on the edge of the opening closest to the open room, you'll hear a click as a door opens below and a thug with a club and 2 more dogs enter. (If you drop down another way, they won't come out until you reach the ground level.) Shoot them from above. This could take a few minutes, but you may get to see this cult goon's nifty walking-on-water trick, so it'll be well worth it.
Now drop down to ground level. Take the goon's large med-pack. Notice the decaying brick area in the back wall. This is a boulder trap which is set off when you pass in front of it. Again, you may want to trip them now to avoid accidents later. If you want you can go in the door where the guy and dogs came out, but there's nothing in there but another nasty boulder trap.
Use the low steps at the back of the room to get up to level 2. Jump across the gaps to the side closest to the stage. To get from here up to level 3, you can go to the edge where there's an opening above and a bit of floor above and ahead of you. Do a standing jump and grab this edge. Pull up, turn around and jump over to the area where the guard's body is (provided you killed him earlier). Take the 2 sets of auto pistol clips he's got.
You may notice the doors and keyhole at the back end of this level, so add one key to your "wish list." For now, go to the opening to the right of where you just pulled up. Jump down into the water and climb out on the first step, killing a rat. Turn around and do a standing jump and grab the ledge across the water and above. Kill another rat here. Turn around again and look up. There's a guard with a gun on the floor above with a dog and 2 rats. You may be able to shoot at him from here. You'll get a clearer shot by jumping up and down, but take care not to jump off the ledge. Also, you may have quite a long wait for him to pass by, so you'll probably want to just get up there and get it over with.
Follow the hallway to the windows. Shoot them out then hang and drop into the dressing room below. Throw the switch to open one of the doors. Slide forward down the ventilation duct, jumping at the last minute to grab the ledge above and avoid being chopped to bits by the huge fan. Take the ORNATE KEY. Climb to the uppermost brick ledge. Stand facing the fan below. Side jump onto the sloped surface, jump forward, grab the ledge in front of you and pull up. Kill the rat before proceeding along the duct.
When you come to an intersection, jump forward taking care not to jump into the fan. Now turn around, walk to the edge and back flip onto the ledge above and behind. Again, walk to the edge and back flip up and you'll clear the second fan. Before continuing down the passage, do a standing jump and grab the edge of the dark alcove above. Pull up and retrieve SECRET #1, the Jade Dragon.
Return to the ledge from which you jumped and continue to a small room with a moveable crate. Pull it once. Flip the switch behind it to open a door back into the dressing room. Now pull the box once away from the wall, and push it through the opening into the dressing room until it's up against the low step. Climb up to the window ledge where you'll find another crate. Shoot out the windows. Push the second crate through the broken window on top of the other crate. Now you can climb up the stacked crates to the room above. Kill the guard with the club who's waiting for you up there.
Return to the main auditorium, swim across the flooded orchestra pit and use the underwater block to climb up onto the stage. A doberman runs out from the door on the left to meet you. Take care of him and the bad guy who starts shooting at you from the audience area. Also be careful of the two falling sandbags. The shooter isn't carrying any goodies, but cross the water anyway. This will draw out another thug with a gun, who'll emerge from the door on the left of the stage. Kill him and take his Uzi clips.
Enter the door on the left of the stage and flip the switch to open a gate above the right door. Note the bright object in the water below. You'll get to it in a few minutes. Now, head for the door at the other end of the stage. Two goons with clubs come out when you approach. One has a large med-pack. Enter the room they came from. Along the two side walls are dangling sandbags that need to be brought down before you can proceed safely.
Now return to the doorway and pull up onto the ledge where you just opened the gate. Head for the left side of the platform, avoiding the glass shards. Turn and face the lowest point of the crevice in the brick wall. Do a running jump to grab this crack, then traverse to the left until you can pull up. Flip the switch here to lower the drawbridge and cue the ominous music. Drop to the floor, return to the doorway and pull up to the platform with the broken glass again.
This time cross the bridge you just lowered. Do a running jump and grab the wooden platform in the far left corner of the room. Pull up, then climb into the alcove above. From here you can shoot the rat on the high platform across the room. When it's dead, do a running jump and grab the edge of this platform. Pull up. Now you'll need to time a jump past the swinging sandbag. One way is to stand to the left of the chain then do a running jump past the bag. Start to run just as the bag reaches its highest point on the left and you should be across the gap before it swings back.
Avoid the second sandbag altogether by jumping to the flat area on the right of it. Enter the passage beyond and flip the switch. This drops a sandbag on the stage which busts open the trapdoor. Slide down the ramp, jumping just before you reach the end to sail through the trapdoor and land in the water below. (Or climb down carefully and jump in.) Once you're in the water there face the ramp you just jumped from to get oriented. Enter the opening on your left, proceed until you can turn left again. On one side of this flooded room is a switch. Flip it to open the exit door above on level 3. On the opposite side of the room, just under the water, is a small opening. Swim through it and follow the narrow tunnel to SECRET #2, the Stone Dragon.
Return to the surface. From here turn left and keep going until you surface in a room with a ladder going up. Pull up out of the water and take the RELAY BOX which is lying here, then climb the ladder to the door you opened a minute ago.
Climb up to level 4 and use the relay box in the circuitry on the wall to repair the elevator. Pull the switch to send it down, then jump diagonally to the ledge with the ladder on the right side of the elevator shaft. Pull up, then walk carefully over the glass shards to retrieve SECRET #3, the Gold Dragon (plus 4 sets of Uzi clips if you've found all the secrets). On the left is an alcove containing a switch; pull this to open the exit doors. Walk to the exit, retrieving the Uzi clips on the floor before you leave.
Return to the elevator shaft and pull the switch to bring the elevator back up. Pull it again, then jump aboard to ride down to the ground floor. When the doors open, run out and take out the 2 thugs with guns ready to ambush you. Take their 2 boxes of shotgun shells.
Now pull the switch to send the elevator up, and jump in the water below. Facing the ladder, swim to the left, left, and left again. Surface and grab the CIRCUIT BOARD you saw earlier from the room off the stage. Return to the elevator shaft opening to get some air, then swim to the left, then right, into a room with many short pillars. On the far right wall is a lever that opens the nearby gate. Pull it and exit. Climb out onto the yellow carpet where you killed the rat earlier.
Climb up to level 3. Now go to the locked doors at the back of the room and use the ornate key to open them. Jump into the doorway. Holding the Action key while jumping will keep you from bumping Lara's head. You'll find yourself in the room below the lighting booth. (If you didn't trip them before, watch out for the rolling boulders.) Push the button to open the gate, then climb into the booth. Place the circuit board in its receptacle and use the switch on the right to raise the scrim on the stage.
A thug with a gun will come out onto the stage to see what's going on. You can take him from up here or move in closer. Go to the stage, killing the dog and the 2 goons with clubs who come out when you get there, and watching out for the falling sandbag to the left of the doorway. Take the shotgun shells and small med-pack from their previous owners before going on.
In the room behind the stage you'll see a few dozen wooden crates, one of which moves. (To save time, walk to the base of the pile under the light and look for the slightly paler crate. It's on the right if you're facing the opening above.) Pull it out and flip the switch behind it to lower the scrim again.
Climb up the boxes, through the opening and onto the white ledge above the stage. A thug with a club comes out to patrol below, so shoot him from here, but be careful of the falling sandbag on the left side of the platform. When he's dead, head to the right over the wood and down into a small room with a hole in the floor. Jump and grab the edge of the opening above the hole. Flip the switch here to open a small door below. You can use this to get back into this room if you miss the following jump.
Suggestion: Rather than try to jump or run past the bag, stand in the alcove with Lara's feet about one step back from the edge and jump diagonally to the slanted edge. You'll slide down to the flat spot out of the bag's way. From here, time a run past the bag, staying to one side.
Below is another room full of crates. Dangle from the ledge then pull up in order to draw out a thug with a gun. You can take him out from up here. Now hang and drop to avoid the swinging crate. When you hit the floor another thug and 2 dobermans appear, so better to take on these challenges a little at a time. When all four are dead, recover 3 pairs of grenades, a small med-pack and some Uzi clips.
Climb up on the low box at the far end of the room. Make your way over the tops of the crates, avoiding the swinging ones, back to the end where you entered. To the right of the entrance is a switch on the wall which opens the exit door. A bad guy with a gun will come out, but you can kill him from up here if you're patient. Take his Uzi clips and head for the exit. You might take a moment to admire the view of Venice at night before sneaking aboard the seaplane and ending the level.
Now comes a cut scene in which Lara overhears Marco Bartoli talking with one of his henchmen. Unfortunately, you and Lara don't get to hear the end of the conversation. Now a short video of the plane landing just before Lara comes to in the next level.
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.