Tomb Raiders Traveler's Guide: Opera House -- Hints

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	Opera House		Items: 36	Kills: 46
		This huge level gave me plenty of trouble, with an abundance of enemies and traps but very limited space to dodge. Here's some tips to send you on your way.
	Fish in a Barrel	Unfortunately, if you leap before you look, you'll be the fish! At the beginning of this level, before doing anything else, take out that cultist below! Once he's down, you might find this level a great place to try out Lara's forward somersault dive.
	Spinning Your Wheels	There is a switch that you need to throw that leads to a key you need to move on. For some reason, finding that switch was very hard for me. I suggest you look around before climbing all over the place.
	Sprouting Wings	Wondering how to get into that panel you just opened? Well, that swinging crate isn't there just to be a minor hassle, it actually impedes your essential progress in this level.
	The Key is the Window	Once you've managed to obtain the key, you're wondering what to do with it. There's a big stained-glass window that is your answer, but how do you get to it? The answer involves some shimmying, and a safety drop .
	Having a Roof Time	By the looks of the broken wooden roofing, you can tell that it's not going to be healthy for Lara to cross. However she can make it quite easily. Just pick the right place to start and then just haul butt straight across. Once Lara is on the domed roof of the opera house itself, you might find need to get onto the dome, say to pick up a dropped item. You can only get onto the dome by jumping up at the corners. And finally, there are lots of little dark places to go on the roof. Only one of them either essential or safe to visit. Some look harmless, but are actually quite unhealthy to visit. Always look (ie. use a flare) before you leap if you don't know what you're getting yourself into.
	Broken Toys	Once in the opera house, you will find the first of two switches that require some repairs before they perform their intended duties. Don't waste a lot of time playing with them. Move on! Also, be aware that switches aren't the only things that are busted. Rubble can come tumbling down on you and sandbags hanging from old rotting ropes can also crash down on you. Learn to recognize the sound of approaching rubble or the snap of a old rope.
	Pointless?	Okay, gate's open, and you find a button that closes it. What good does the button that closes the gate do for you? Well, it gains you access to the opera house!
	All the World's a Stage	And you can be the actor. It's time for Lara to make her opera debut. Exit stage left to find a switch that opens a gate stage right. The room to the right is fairly straightforward... but it would be a good idea to trip the sandbags before doing anything fancy. Your goal is apparent from the vantage point of the button in the wall that you had to jump to. What does that last button on the highest ledge do? It opens the trapdoor in the stage floor.
	Dark and Wet	Lara has two objectives while in the water under the stage. The first is to obtain a needed item, the second is to get out.
	Going Down	The relay box fixes the elevator, and goes into the panel near the elevator. Now where's that elevator?
	Hey, Hold that Elevator!	Isn't it interesting that they put the switches that control the elevator on the outside of the elevator? At the bottom, it's so far away that you might even miss the ride if you didn't run. Well, it's okay. Let it go.
	Ground Floor	By now, I'm sure you've figured out what the last hint means, I hope. This time, the objectives are similar, to before: obtain one needed item, and then exit. And much like last time, the exit you want isn't the same way you entered by. The use of a flare down here would be most enlightening.
	Opera Fans	A couple of jumps, a couple of grabs, and a couple of enemies, and you should find yourself in the dressing room. With a push of a button, you gain access to the ventilation ducts of the opera house. The first part is a matter of timing. There's an important item to be gotten here. The second part has stumped a lot of people. It's all a matter of which jump you use. The jump you use does not require any grabbing or pulling up. Those that have tried, know that Lara will have her intestines rearranged if she tries that. The jump that worked for me was also jump that is the least intuitive one to use. If you haven't figured it out yet, here's the last hint: Face away from the fan.
	Oh, Crate!	All this for a key, and now you're wondering what this big metal room is all about? Move the crate to find out. A button that opens a door that leads back to the dressing room! That was obvious, eh? Well, something that might not be obvious is the fact that the crate will do you more good in the dressing room than in the ventilation ducts. If only you had a second crate to stack on top of the first crate to get you out of the dressing room.
	Change of Scenery	Now that you have the part that fixes the useless switch in the control room, you have to get back to it. That's where that second key comes in. Leave the dressing room and head up rather than back down, then look for where the key goes. Once the circuit board is in place, it's time for Lara to make an encore performance on stage.
	You're Kidding!	After finally raising the backdrop, you climb your way up and realize that the backdrop is now blocking access to the white ledge that you've been looking at the entire time you've been in the opera house. I mean, you did notice the white ledge high above the stage, didn't you? Well, this obviously means you have to lower the backdrop again, right? So there must be a switch that does that from inside the room with all the crates, right? Yes, you're right. It's hidden behind one of the crates.
	Pow! Oof! Thud!	If you are like most people, the last swinging sandbag will cost you a lot of collisions with the sandbag, a lot of nasty falls and a lot of Medi packs before you figure out the trick. That switch is there to make failure less problematic, so throw it. Let's review what you already know. First of all, it is not a matter of timing. If Lara tries a standing jump from the edge, it's too far and lands her in the path of the sandbag. If Lara tries to jump from further back, she bumps her head on the ceiling and doesn't jump at all. But you have to jump to get across, right? And any direct jump from the edge lands you in the way of the sandbag, right? Is there somewhere Lara can jump to that is far enough but also stops her short of the sandbag? Yes there is. Look to the right.
	My What Big Guns You Have	Here's the home stretch. The last room of the level, and here's this huge guy with not one, but two huge guns! You didn't expect that they'd make it easy for you to get out of here, did you? Well, it's easier than you think. A trick that can be employed here is not to drop to the floor to enter the room full of crates.
	This Way Out	The door to the exit is controlled by a button near the entrance. Clever, eh?