TR Survivalist's Guide: Advanced Tips and Tricks (release 5)

Hello and Welcome to the section that deals with the basic control, know-how and interesting tid-bits concerning Lara and playing the game. This isn't a walkthrough and I wouldn't exactly call it a strategy guide either. It's really more designed for new-comers to the game or those of you who find it difficult to play. If at any point while you're reading this you think to yourself, "hey this is all pretty self-explanatory" that's probably because you have played all of the games a hundred times, you've found all the secrets, you've seen all the ways Lara can die and you can probably recite the entire script from one or two or all of them. If this is the case, then you have no need to continue reading because you are already a master of the game. ;-) (Callan Francais)

We apologise for the unorderly structure of this whole document, but this is really hard to organise, because due to the nature of this document, it's fairly dynamic, subject to change with different ideas of people being thrown in. As you'll notice when scrolling through this text, there's a lot that has to be filled in, if you're game and have any contributions, please write in ((the link's at the bottom of the page) It'll get filled in bit by bit by the way). Anyway, enough of the introductory twaddle, let's get on with it, I hope you find at least some of this useful! (anarchist tomato)

Note on fonts:
Normal text is nothing special.
Bold text will announce which button to push.
Text in italics will either be instructions on where to go next or used for stressing a point.

© GULLIBLE 2001

You may copy parts from this provided you say where it came from and provide a link.

Table of Contents

General Combat Tips
Environmental Tips
Miscellaneous Tips
Enemy Guide
Trap Guide
Differences Between the PC and Console Version
Useless But Fun Stuff
Contact Me

General Combat Tips

Jinking

Jump left then right then left then right etc. By continually jumping sideways you can avoid most animals in all of the games and still take them down with repeated firing. It can get a little confusing if you are in a confined space because the camera may keep switching to different angles. Just make sure that you are facing the target whilst firing and Lara will handle the rest. There are some enemies that this technique won't necessarily work for. Tall enemies such as the Atlantian Warriors in TR1 and the Anubian Guards in TR4 can still hit you in the air and they are also very fast.
Callan Francais

Ambushes

When entering a new room, always be ready for battle. Listen out for the sounds of an attacker. If the action music starts up when you walk into a dark cavern, or any cavern for that matter, you can be sure that you are about to be attacked. During an attack it's always beneficial to get to higher ground. Look around for ledges that you can stand on and shoot down at enemies. That way you can get them but they can't get you.

This is especially effective against bad guys like wolves and crocodiles and most ground based enemies that can't jump. For taller enemies like the T-rex, it's best to try and get behind them by rolling, that way they have to turn around again to bite you. The front of large enemies is the most dangerous place to be because thats where they can do the most damage. Always try to keep them moving and turning around to face you, the more time they spend tracking you, the less time they have to attack you and of course it gives you more time to riddle them full of holes.
Callan Francais

Aim Lock

I'm not sure if this is a bug in the game or not, because it's been through the entire series, but let me tell you, it certainly gives you a great advantage! When you're firing at an enemy that is taking a fair while to kill and it's ducking under and behind things, simply keep holding onto Action and Lara will keep tracking the enemy, even if it's behind something! This gives you clues ot its whereabouts and also gives you the advantage of being able ot fire at it as soon as it comes out of its hiding place.
anarchist tomato

Shadow Luring

When there are enemies below your current platform that haven't been alerted, you can set them off by doing a safety drop from a platform, but don't let go of the platform. The shadow of Lara will be on the ground below, this will alert the enemies and they will even attack the shadow! This can be used to your advatage, so that you can shoot at them from above.
anarchist tomato

Friendly Foes

It may be hard to get used to it at first, but from TR2 onwards, not everything is an enemy. An example is the monks in Tibet, if you don't shoot them, they'll down your real enemies (the kind with uzis) for you, but they will turn on you if you open fire on them. If you're on PC/Mac, you have the option to save where ever you like, so it can certainly be worth your while testing out if the people are friendly by putting your weapons away and running up to them. If you find that nothing happens, then they're friendly, you should remember what they look like, as generally anyone who looks like them will be friendly. If on the other hand, you find that Lara's body is being cut through by a dirty, great big spear, then you can safely bet that they weren't friendly! It's a good thing you just saved then, unless you're a Playstation owning peasant, hah! Who'd own a console, eh? ;p
anarchist tomato

Poisoning

TR3 and onwards has the gameplay element of poisoning, when poisoned, you have to use a medkit, or else Lara will just keep losing health. The best way to avoid this is of course to avoid any creatures that can poison you, by a few metres or so. Once you are acutally poisoned though, don't use a medkit until the proper time, if you are going to use a small medkit, then wait until your bar is halfway down before using it. If you're going to use a large medkit, then wait until your health is nearly empty. The reason for this is that you can spend the time before using it in combat, if you're going to use a medkit, why waste it? You can down several poisoned creatures with no worries about poison until you use the medkit, or down a few that can hurt you by normal means before that line gets to the critical point.
anarchist tomato

Environmental Tips

Finding Secrets

Keep a lookout for spots in the terrain that look out of place. Doors, trapdoors, hidden switches and objects of interest always stand out from their surroundings. The difference is not always obvious, a gold plated door at the end of a moss covered corridor is clearly a sign that you were meant to pass through that door, duh, but sometimes a door or hidden switch can be the same colour as its background which, from a distance can make it very difficult to spot.

That's why it's important to take your time to explore the stages as you progress through the game, search and discover everything that you can on the way. You are an explorer remember, a Tomb Raider, not a fortune hunter or a mindless grave robber. You have entered these tombs to unfold their mysteries and lay bare the truths concerning their design and purpose.That hidden switch that you can't see may be the only way out of the room you're in. The door or switch might be slightly darker or lighter than the section of wall beside it. There might be vegetation around it as camouflage.

The best way to check if there is anything behind a wall that you think might be a door is actually to use one the game's glitches. Stand directly in front of the suspected door at about a 45 degree angle and using the look button, look all the way left or all the way right and jiggle the view up and down. If there is a room or passage behind the wall you should be able to see it through the exposed section of wall that the camera is stuck in. If after attempting this for a while all you see is black behind the wall then there is no hidden room or passage.
Callan Francais

Compass Usage

In TR 1 and 4, you can use a compass. Particularly those of you that have bad navigation skills and get thrown off by the moving camera angles, the compass can be used to figure out which direction you're facing in rooms that have disorienting setup, like the Tomb of Qualopec in TR1, or many underwater puzzles in the series, especially TR4. While Lara is underwater, looking at the compass won't chew up any oxygen, so tak ethe time to figure out your bearings and things should become a fair bit easier.
Callan Francais and anarchist tomato

Miscellaneous Tips

Enemy Guide

Tomb Raider 1 (and Unfinished Business)

Bats

As far as ammo goes, you should only use the pistols on bats, they take next to nothing to kill 'em, so it's not worth using something more powerful. If you use something like the shotgun, it will be very ineffective, due to it using buckshot instead of bullets, so it spreads out before it can reach the bat.
anarchist tomato

Wolves

The two best weapons for these are the shotgun and the pistols, it isn't really worth a shotty cartridge though, so just stick to the pistols. As far as the pistols go though, they aren't very effective, so you'll have to get quite tricky with the wolves. Do lots jinking like it says in Callan's paragraph in the Combat Tips section. Wolves can pounce, move rather quiclky and travel in packs quite often, so this will be great practice for later on in the game.
anarchist tomato

Raptors

I would recommend back-flipping whilst shooting these things as they lunge at you, and try to bite chunks of meat off you.
fascist banana

T-Rex

There is only one of these in the game, and like the raptors, keep back-flipping whilst shooting it, and it should die after a while. If you run out of room, try to jump far to the side of it, and shoot it. The key is to keep your distance from it.
fascist banana

Lions

These things are a very potent enemy. I would only recommend using the shotgun against these things.If you have to use the pistols, keep your distance from it.
fascist banana

Apes

A shot or two from the shotgun should finish these guys off. If using the pistols, keep back-flipping whilst shooting them.
fascist banana

Crocodiles

If on dry land, use the shotgun (one or two shots should do the trick). If shooting a swimming one, us pistols to conserve ammo.
fascist banana

Rats

These are annoying little things. Only use the pistols against these things, they don't take much to snuff it. They do swim, so you can shoot them that way. On a dry platform they'll just about always get a nip of your ankle.
fascist banana

Centaur

These horsemen fire at you, so don't stand still. I recommend using the uzis or the magnums, as they have a fairly rapid rate of fire. You have to dodge their fire, so keep flipping from side to side, and you should be able to avoid it.
fascist banana

Panthers

These are a lot like the lions, except faster. Use magnums or the shotgun only, and do not get too close to them.
fascist banana

Mummies

These guys jump around everywhere, and do a fair bit of damage, so use the shotgun if they are near, and use uzis or magnums otherwise.
fascist banana

Atlantean Dogs?

These guys are pretty damn mean. Really a combination of enemies, these guys are fast moving, can jump around a bit, fire at you, and as you would expect, have teeth that give a deadly chomp. Kill these guys as quickly as you can, using the uzis or the shotgun.
fascist banana

Flying Atlanteans

These guys fly around and fire at you, I would recommend using the magnums against them, the shotgun if they get close to you.
fascist banana

Tomb Raider 2 (and Golden Mask)

Tigers

The best way to kill tigers is to try and get above them, so that they can't get on your terrain, then you can let fire on them with your pistols with no worries. You won't always be able to do so though, tigers are fairly quick, so you probably won't have enough speed to simply jump backwards to escape them, you'll have to get tricky and try jumping to the side whilst firing.
Jay and anarchist tomato

Eagles

Eagles aren't too much of a hassle, they don't take too much to kill and they won't move too quickly. Use your pistols on them and jump from side to side a lot and you should be right.
Jay and anarchist tomato

Spiders

Spiders tend to be hidden in areas where it's hard to see them, and they can do a fair bit of damage when they're in packs. as they're only small, the only good weapon for them are the pistols.they won't move too far and you'll be in tight spaces, so the best tactic is to fire on them when they're moving towards you, and just before they reach you, roll. This will throw them off and give you that last second or two that you need to kill them.
Jay and anarchist tomato

Doberman

Bat Wielding Thugs

Obviously these guys can't hurt you when they're at a distance, so you can't allow them to get close, as a way of balancing out their inability to hurt you at middle/long range, their close range hits are PAINFUL. Keep moving, running and then rolling, or jumping backwards and side to side, whatever you can handle, just keep them away from you. They're kind of tough, but don't take too many bullets, so you won't have to keep up the heat for too long.
anarchist tomato

Auto-Pistol Thugs

These fellers take off a fair amount of health, so they should be top of your list of priorities on the first few levels. In order to kill them, you can either use up a shotty cartridge (which is a fair loss for such a case) or the pistols or automatic pistols. Now run up very closely to them, when they're facing you, roll and keep firing. They'll have to turn around, before they've fully turned around, roll again. This way you'll take off all of their health and sustain minimal damage.
anarchist tomato

Rats

Snipers

Super Tough Thug (twin pistol)

Rig Guards

Rig Workers

Scuba Divers

The only weapon you can use underwater is the harpoon gun, which doesn't do too much damage anyway, so what I recommend doing is climbing out of the water (if you can) and getting your pistols out and killing him that way. Keep holding down Action to stay locked on him, then when he swims back out of hiding you can spring him immediately. If you're unable to get out of the water, then you're stuck with the harpoon gun. :-(
anachist tomato

Flame Thrower Thug

Sharks

Thug with Shotgun

Barracudas

Thugs with a Wrench

Eels

Leopards

Thugs with Uzis/M16s

Thugs on Snowmobiles

Cult Thugs

Monks

These are my favourite characters in the series, you'll notice that the title is purple instead of red, signifying that these guys aren't enemies but they have the potential to be. Now these fellers will only attack you if you attack them, otherwise they are quite useful, as when other enemies break in and start shootin gup the place, they'll help dispose of 'em for ya! If you unfortunately are being attacked however, I'd recommend using the usual weapons for getting rid of people, either something like the uzis or the shotty.
anarchist tomato

Yetis

Biting Fish

Giant Spiders

Flying Warrior

These are long rage enemies, the best way of getting rid of them is the M-16, keep up the heat though, because these guys are very dangerous up close.
anarchist tomato

Stone Guards

Chinese Guard

Knife-Throwing Cult Members

Cult Members

Golden Mask

Guards in White Suits

Yellow Jacketed Mercenary

Armed Snow-Mobiler

Inuit Warriors

Polar Bears

Sasquatches

Tomb Raider 3 (and Lost Artefact)

Monkeys

These little critters aren't always trying to harm Lara.On no, they'd much prefer to steal any objects lying around or even lead you to a certain area, take for example the first monkey you meet. Now if like me you couldn't care less about them-just kill the little buggers at will, in the long run get you more brownie points in the number of kills. Four rounds from the pistols should take care of the little blighters.
Aisling

Tigers

Hmmmm, Tigers can and are a pain in the arse most of the time. Now if you've cheated and played with the all weapons cheat well shame on you!! But if you have, two rounds from a desert eagle should finish 'em off. The best way to avoid being a snack for these baddies is to keep moving whether its backflips or whatever. Never,and I mean never, stay in one spot for too long. Remember: When you move they can't getcha......
Aisling

Cobras

Cobras will tend to be hidden in the bushes on the ground and can be hard to spot, if you think you have spotted one though, try turning Lara a bit so that the camera turns, there's a bit of a bug where the snake doesn't rotate with it. If it is indeed a snake, there's a safe way to set them off, as they won't shift from their spot, but they will strike at you.

Walk up slowly to them and when the snake rouses, immediately stop where you are, the snake won't be able to reach you, but it will keep trying to strike, now get your pistols out so that you don't use ammo. If you got bitten by the snake, be aware that it's poisonous, you'll know because your health bar will turn yellow and start dropping. You'll need to use a medkit to neutralise the poison, before you do though, try and kill anything around first, so that you get the most out of your medkit's worth.
anarchist tomato

Piranhas

These are schools of fish that are usually used as traps, sometimes you can avoid them, and if you can, do so, because they'll eat you in not much time at all! You can't kill these guys, so if you encounter them, you're either meant to keep swimming to avoid them, or it's an area where you shouldn't be and you should look for another route.
anarchist tomato

Living Statues

These are also known as "Shivas". Keep running and jumping to avoid being slashed. Lara can only cause damage when their defence is lowered or from behind. The shotgun won't work unless your getting up close and personal with these guys (or girls-im not too sure on that bit). Yet again, you'd better stick to the pistols for this one.
Aisling

Six Armed Statues

As soon as you enter the same room as these guys climb up onto a ledge as fast as you can. These buggers are clever, they use their swords to block the slugs from Lara's guns, how very inconsiderate of them! If Lara goes out of their target area for too long they "shut down", so Lara will need to reactivate them by jumping back into their target area. The pistols work pretty well or if they are standing close to ya, the shotgun is the perfect weapon!
Aisling

Vultures

Keep your eyes peeled towards the sky. Try and stay at a distance from them. There's no point to using the shotgun, so use the pistols. Keep moving and remember that they can appear anywhere in the sky.
Aisling

Nevada

Rattlesnakes

You can treat these guys like cobras Sometimes they would be sitting out in the open or curled around the bottom of the bushes. Yet again they are poisonious. The pistols work best and help avoid wasting ammo. If you can't see any snakes, listen out for a rattle.
Aisling

Nevada Guards

These are the one type of enemy that Lara can't kill, unless she has found her guns. Usually there will be a switch nearby which will release other convicts who kill the guards for you.
Aisling

Basic Personnel

They may look friendly and have no weapons, but they can pack a mean punch. One shotgun shell at close range will take care of them.
Aisling

Area 51 Prison Guards

"Blow their bloody heads off!". Ok, so maybe that's not totally possible, but shoot loads of holes in them. Keep Lara moving as they may decide to shoot back. Preferably use the desert eagles or the MP5.
Aisling

German Shepherds

"I am not a chew toy", repeat this in your head while shooting these little puppies. Try and always face the dogs, keep jumping and doing flips, as this is a good strategy. A few shots from the pistols should take them out or one shotgun shell at close range.
Aisling

Armed Sentries

The MP5 at long range is the perfect weapon for these guys. Keep flipping and shooting at them and try to avoid being hit. Seconds before they die, some of the sentries may take a last puck shot at Lara so be careful of that.
Aisling

Snipers

Avoid the laser sight of these guys and try and stay out of view. Yet again the best gun for the job is the MP5, which is excellent for long range shooting.
Aisling

Pacific Islands

Crocodiles

Try and stay out of the water unless you have the harpoon gun but even that doesn't work that well. Stand on a ledge near the water's edge and make a little splash with the slugs from the pistols, and as the saying goes, you'll be painting the town red or in this case the water with blood.
Aisling

Tribesmen

Uga Buga! These guys are your basic baddies, they can pack a mean punch, especially the ones carrying clubs. Use the desert eagle or MP5 to finish them off quickly.
Aisling

Blowgun Tribesmen

The best thing to do here is to jump from side to side, as the darts are fairly slow as far as weapons go. When a dart hits Lara, she'll be poisoned, to cure the poison, you'll need to use a medpack. Now you'll find that these guys tend to be bucnhed up, so if Lara gets shot, you'll need to use a medpack anyway, so just run towards them with your guns blazing and try to kill them as quickly as possible so that you get a good use out of the medpack you're about to use.
anarchist tomato

Compsognathus

These guys are disturbingly small, it's like a re-run of Jurassic Park but with Lara. Shoot these little buggers if they start to annoy you, use the pistols to save on other ammo. It doesn't really matter if you kill them as they can't do much harm but killing them will raise your browny killing points.
Aisling

Raptors

These guys are a lot harder to kill than those in TR1, however they do move a lot slower which gives Lara a lot more time to shoot like hell. Use the MP5 or desert eagle for best results. Also, there is normally a ledge nearby on which you can position Lara and shoot them in safety.
Aisling

Poison Breathing Lizards

Do not get in the way of these guys' breath as it acts as a poison. Two shots from the desert eagle takes care of them soundly. There's no point in climbing blocks to get some distance between Lara and them as they can climb (those inconsiderate brats).
Aisling

London

Rats

These guys don't cause much damage to Lara but can be annoying if they get too close. Use the pistols to save on ammo. Back step and keep shooting till the little blighters die.
Aisling

Crows

I'd treat crows as bats in most cases, use the pistols on them and try to keep your distance, anything like the shotgun will be fairly useless on them.
anarchist tomato

Basic Armed Geezers

These guys are similar to the blokes in Nevada. Keep at a distance as they can cause a bit of damage and use the Desert Eagle for fastest results. Never stop moving, always run in circles as it does help them miss ya.
Aisling

Gunmen

Yet again, keep moving, when you move they can't get ya. Use the desert eagle or MP5 for fastest relief.
Aisling

Guards

Gang Members

1 shotgun cartridge at close range or 1 slug from the desert eagle eliminates these guys quickly and easily.
Aisling

Mongrel Dogs

These little puppies can appear around any corner so watch out. Try and get on a ledge as sometimes it can be hard to get a shot off as they can move faster than Lara. Yet again, use a powerful gun like the desert eagle for a quick solution or use the pistols to avoid wasting ammo.
Aisling

'One of the Damned'

I'm guessing that these guys are Man Utd. fans, and thats why there in such bad moods. Use the shotgun at close range or the MP5 at long range. Avoid getting hit with the clubs as it will give Lara a serious headache.
Aisling

Club Wielding Gang-stars

Frogmen

Antarctica

RX Techie

Shoot to kill with these guys as they won't think twice about shooting you. I suggest that if you have any ammo left in the desert eagle, save it for the end of this level 'cos you'll need it! Use the Uzis or the shotgun, stay at a distance for less damage.
Aisling

Huskies

You can treat these cute little guys as ordinary dogs. In fact the only main difference is that these guys growl a lot more!
Aisling

Mutants

Big, Nasty Mutant

Giant Wasps

Extremely Big and Scary Mutants

The Lost Artefact

Guards

Gene-Slammed German Shepherds

Dog Statues

Highlanders

Gunmen

Tunnel Workers

Pteranodons

Huge Mutant Fish

Sentries

White Tigers

Lizard Mutants

Burly Guys

Heartless Brutes

Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation

Red Scorpion

These little fellers don't hurt too much, they do a small amount of damage. Due to their small size, I'd suggest using pistols, it doesn't take much to kill them. Please read the 'Black Scorpions' section.
anarchist tomato

Red-Eyed Wild Dog

Use the shotgun with normal ammo, great for close range. ;-)
anarchist tomato

Mummies

Black Dogs Wearing Gold Jewellery

If you have the luxury of having a decent amount of cartridges, normal shotty ammo works like wonders on these little twats. If you don't have the option, it's back to jinking and pistols I'm afraid.
anarchist tomato

Knife-Armed Henchmen

Uzi-Armed Henchmen

Black Scorpions

These are as easy to kill as red scorpions, but they have a big advantage, when they sting you, they transmit poison into Lara, which results in a weird and trippy effect on screen which will have some reaching for their spew buckets! So take extra care not to get hit by this lot, when poisoned, you HAVE to use a first aid kit in order to neutralise the poison.
anarchist tomato

Crocodiles

Crocodiles are amphibious and are at their most dangerous when in water. The best place to be is out of the water, the croc will follow onto land. Take out your pistols and jump backwards, the speed of your backwards jumping to its forward movement should prove sufficient to kill it before it harms you.
anarchist tomato

Bats

These bats are basically the same as in TR1, except that Core have found a good use for them, to annoy you whilst you're climbing something. Again, they don't take too many shots to kill, but they can chew away at your health while you're climbing something, so don't hang about.
anarchist tomato

Hired Assassin

This lot are a lot trickier than standard henchmen, you can tell who they are by their black and red clothing. These assassins have a favoured weapon, a weird thing made of blades, which when drawn, blocks gunfire. In terms of weaponry, I'd suggest using either the pistols or the uzis here, something that has a lot bullets but won't really be wasted too much. If you fire at him with his blade drawn, he'll just block the shots, so what you have to do is put your weapon away and he'll do the same. As soon as you've put your weapons away, immediately re-draw them and surprise him with a few seconds of gunfire.
anarchist tomato

Fire Elementals

Now these fellers are small skulls that are orange (hence the fire), the only way to get rid of them is to jump into some water and let it follow you in there, once it gets in the water, it'll be extinguished and die. Now watch out for these critters, because they can knock off heaps of your health, and if they get a good enough shot, set you on fire, so use your sprint button!
anarchist tomato

Ice Elementals

This lot do less damamge than their flaming cousins, but it's a lot harder to get rid of them. In order to kill them, you have to hang around the vicinity of a cross, one it hits the cross, it will blow up. As you can imagine, finding a cross is not so easy, so keep your eyes peeled for one and stay on the move.
anarchist tomato

Bull Guardians

Snipers

Skeletons

Now this was a really clever idea on Core's part, shooting them has no effect, not only that, they can leap at you and carry a sword which can really deal a hard blow. In order to get rid of them, you can use one of two ways, either shoot their head off, or blow them up. In order to shoot their heads off, you should use either the revolver and laser sight, or the crossbow and laser sight with normal ammo.

When you shoot their heads off, they'll just wander around aimlessly. In order to blow them up, either use the crossbow with the exploding arrows or the grenade launcher (I favour the arrows). Take good care to avoid these as much as possible, especially when shoting their heads off, as you can seldom take their heads off when they're close up.
anarchist tomato

Mechanical Men

These fellers are very tricky indeed, as they have only one weak point and run at you with an axe, which is right nasty, health wise. In order to kill 'em, jump backwards, away from them, and fire at them, face on. Their weak spot is that green diamond on their chest, if you can constantly hit that, you're dancing.
anarchist tomato

Hammerhead Shark

Ornamented Skeletons

Golden Birds

Beetle Swarms

You can't actually kill beetle swarms, they're an 'avoid only' enemy, they can climb up blocks and stairs and get into many places. In order to get rid of them, sometimes you can get them to be stuck in the centre of a pool, so if you can lure them there, you may get lucky. Occasionally there's a torch available, sometimes you can hold a swarm at bay with the torch thrown on the ground, otherwise you just have to avoid them.

A good way to get over them in tight sections is to do a roll and then immediately do a running jump over the swarm, you'll still lose some health, but you'll certainly receive much less damage. Otherwise, just keep moving, and get ready to use those medpacks.
anarchist tomato

Throne Room Guardians

Snipers (Cairo)

Armed Soldiers

Locust Swarms

Minotaurs

Giant Beetles

These guys are a brilliant candidate for the shotgun, they do a lot of damage if they get close and sting you, so give them a good bit of firepower to deal with. Start off with a few rounds of normal shotgun ammo, but if they're right up close, change to wideshot, don't hold back.
anarchist tomato

Blue-Robed Baddies

Undead Knights

These guys can't be killed, you'll just have to lead them somewhere.......
anarchist tomato

Gigantic Red Scorpions

I'd recommend any of three types of weaponry here, either the grenade launcher/explosive arrows with the crossbow, the shotgun up close with wideshot ammo, or the uzis, depending on how close you are, which you have the most of and which you're comfortable with using. Of course, if you can get above them and onto a platform, fire at them from above with the pistols to save ammo. Bear in mind that these lads are very poisonous and that a sting from them will result to a voyage to trip out city, so keep a decent distance and only use a medpack when it's right down to the midway or bottom line (depending on if you'll use a large or small medpack).
anarchist tomato

Hawk-Headed Guardians

Tomb Raider: Chronicles

Doberman

The dobermans are like any other dog in Tomb Raider, they are generally best killed with the pistols and a bit of jumping around to avoid them, but be aware that these fellers pack in a bigger punch than the previous dogs, so be a bit more wary of how close you get to them.
anarchist tomato

Soldier Statues

Lions

Gladiators

Soldiers

German Shepherds

Snipers

Sailors

Mafia Thugs

Demon Babies

Rats

Bats

They're like any of the other bats throughout the series, use the pistols to kill them, be aware that they may sometimes be placed in areas where you have to climb, so that they can eat away at you while you're still climbing. Just keep moving if they do, in most cases it isn't worth turning back.
anarchist tomato

Monsters

Men In Armoured Suits

Guards

Orange Suited Workers

Soldiers (HQ Building)

Swat Team Guys

Cyborgs

You can't kill these guys easily, so they're not killed in the conventional way mostly, because they're made of metal (they're dressed in black suits if you didn't notice). In order to kill them by shooting, it takes a lot of firing and eventually they'll be worn down. This only happens once or twice though, normally it involves trapping the cyborg, so look around for puzzle elements, like water and electricity etc.
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Trap Guide

Boulders

This was taken right out of Indiana Jones, you all know what I'm talking about! If you can, save your game before a boulder part, and then the best way to set it off is to inch forward, step by step towards it, as soon as it starts, immediately Roll and run (sprint if you're playing TR3 and onwards) in the opposite direction. This will give you the timing and co-ordination you need to be able to run towards wherever the diversion in the pathway is.
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Spikesets

When it comes to spikes, if you fall or run through them, you'll die, end of story. If you jump through them, you'll lose a fair amount of health, so the only way to avoid pain is to either avoid 'em, or walk through them. If you walk through spikes, you'll find access to a lot of secrets, but be aware that you may have to jump through them later, so be ready to use those medpacks.
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Differences Between the PC and Console Version

Now I know a lot you are users of one or the other and are wondering the advantages/disadvantages of either platform, so I might as well walk you through it. We'll start out with consoles first.

Consoles

As console owners are very aware of, they don't have to wait for Windows/Mac OS (or Linux if you're hardcore) to load up before playing their games, and they don't have to worry about getting a virus or having the wrong version of Windows to play their games. This is a quality that a hell of a lot of PC users envy, especially when you've just spent two hours playing and suddenly you're presented with a blue screen of death when the bloody programme crashes!

The major disadvantage is that in a lot fo the TR games, you can't save wherever you like, even if you're three metres from a save crystal (yes, that's what they're called, you have to collect one in order to save), you're still dead, back to your last save game point! The other major disadvantage is that the graphics aren't exactly top notch, if you compare the TR series' graphics to the PC version, they look right horrid! Then again, consoles are cheap and plentiful, plus you can hire out the games from your local video store. You're hardly going to spend a few grand on a PC so that Norman can play a few games now, are you?

PCs

If you talk to a PC nerd (like myself!), they'll spill out the advantages of having a PC for hours. Yes, they are expensive, yes, if you are using Windows, they crash a lot, but in the comparison between PCs and consoles, you get what you pay for. Because they have hard disks, it has enormous storage capabilities, which in layman's terms, means that you can save where ever you want. Not only can you save where ever you want, you can also trade savegame files with other players, take screenshots, visit websites for help and walkthroughs and many other things.....

As far as buying a console game goes, once you have a game, if there are bugs in it, you're stuck with it, but with PCs, you can download update patches which'll fix the problem quite often, and if you get stuck in the game with no way of fixing it, you can download a savegame file.

The biggest advantage to the PC versions of games is also getting rapidly more and more popular, mods and level editors. With the release of Tomb Raider: Chronicles, the level editor was also included, which has spawned level making communities all over the net. Hopefully with the release of the latest Tomb Raider game (Angel of Darkness), it'll be modifiable, I've always wanted to see Tomb Raider game modifications. For any level makers out there, jump on an IRC client (like mIRC) and visit #trle on irc.rizenet.org, great community!

Due to the components of PCs being more cutting edge than consoles, the graphics are much better. Not only are they much better, but they're also customisable, so that you can tweak the settings around to run on whatever speed machine you own, the later it is, the better it looks and the smoother it plays.

All in all, if you're after something quick, cheap and fairly reliable, get a console, there's much less mucking about. But if you're a fanatic of a game, get a PC, it may be crashy sometimes and more expensive, but there's so much more you can do!
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Useless But Fun Stuff

Things to try out

Contact Me

Okay, this is a work in progress and we've forgotten many things! If there's something that you're stuck on, want to contribute or you don't understand, email me at entombednerds@yahoo.co.uk. A big thanks to all the following people that contributed and made this all possible: Stella, Callan, Jay (www.larasroom.cjb.net), fascist banana

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