Tomb Raider 3 (also Lost Artefact) 1.2
It's become apparent of late that there seriously needs to be a guide that
expands on the basic/advanced moves of the series due to the explanations
not being particularly good at times, or people not owning
sound cards, therefore not being able to hear instructions at all!
For those of you that have read my previous TR guide, you'll find a lot of information
is repeated in here. Please bear with us, as we have to treat everyone as if they're playing
TR for the first time and it's quite hard to write this sort of thing from scratch. Anyway, read on!
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
Button Reference
New Moves and Features
Title Menu
Basic Movement
Assault Course
Moves That Aren't Covered in the Assault Course/Advanced Moves
Inventory Use
Inventory/Items/Options
Hotkey Reference
Note to PC Users
Note to Playstation Users
Contact Me
Button Reference
PC and Mac
Note to Mac users: Replace Alt with Command or Apple.
| Movement | Arrow Keys | Walk | Shift |
| Action | Ctrl | Sidestep | Shift (and a direction) |
| Jump | Alt | Sprint | / (forward slash) |
| Draw Weapon | Space | Roll | End |
| Look | Keypad 0 (Ins) | Inventory | Esc |
| Draw/Throw Flare | , (comma) | Crouch | . (full-stop) |
Playstation
| Movement | Directional Buttons | Walk | R1 |
| Action | X | Sidestep (also Walk) | R1 (and left/right) |
| Jump | Square | Sprint | R2 |
| Draw Weapon | Triangle | Roll | Circle |
| Look | L1 | Inventory | Select |
| Draw/Throw Flare | Select + R1 | Crouch | L2 |
| Pause | Start |
New Moves and Features
3D Overhaul!
If you've played TR2 and read my guide for it, you'd know that it included the option to
carry around a light source (ie. a firing pistol) and affect the environment's lighting around
you. Well this is taken up a great deal in TR3 (not so much for the Playstation though, but
what are you going to do, they're just crappy Playstations after all!) with the entire 3D
acceleration side of things redone.
For both platforms, you can now experience snow, gunsmoke and various other weather effects.
The best change though is definitely the re-vamped dynamic lighting, it's gorgeous (PC and Mac only)!
To quote a mate, "they've really got their 3DFX thing happening!", well I don't endorse
monopolising the 3D industry by promoting a singular company, but you get the idea.
If you've got a PC or Mac with a decent 3D accelerator in it, stand near some fire and
turn Lara around on the spot, it's just plain pretty! For you grotty little Playstation owners,
what we get to see here is a really nice peach/amber/reddish colour being shed on Lara that
isn't restricted to one place. When Lara turns, the light and colour are spread to another
part of her body while shadow overrides the previous areas that were inhabited with light.
This was the first real step towards turning the ageing Tomb Raider engine in to something
respectable in comparison to the rest of the industry. For the first time, TR looked more
realistic than it ever did and you could actually tell the difference between 16 and 32 bit colour!
This did have quite a noticeable effect on the performance of the game however, with all platforms
experiencing 'joltiness', a general drop in framerate in quite a few situations. Ho-hum, never
mind, it still looks nice and it's playable!
Non-Linear Gameplay
This was a valiant attempt, with unfortunately ordinary execution of a new playing style.
For those of you that haven't got the foggiest idea of what I'm talking about, I think that
I'd better explain myself. There are two types of gameplay in the world, 'Linear' and 'Non-Linear'.
Linear gameplay follows a strict script where the game is on rails, one level after another.
TR1 and 2 were linear, there was only one way that you could progress through the levels
which does make things quite easy for the programmers. Other examples are arcade machines,
Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, that sort of thing.
Non-Linear gameplay follows a different ideal, it encourages, nay, forces a player to
choose their own path and order of doing things. A good example would be most role playing
games, usually you have a big world in which you can explore and do tasks in any order that
you desire. At the time that this game was made, the gaming industry in general was moving
toward non-linear based gameplay in a hope to bring some originality to some ageing genres.
Core were set to adopt the same ideal and based TR3 around choosing which 'bit in the middle'
you wanted to do first. Lara starts off in India and then once you've completed that, you have
a choice between London, the Pacific Islands and Nevada. The weapons and ammo in the levels
are organised in a manner to account for any playing order that the player may then choose.
The problem here is that it's such a hard task that it wasn't executed especially well.
For anyone playing, do Nevada first, I didn't and consequently made the game extremely hard at
the end! The problem here is that it's very hard to account for every order of choice
and they did cock it up, weapon wise.
It's also very hard too, as when you start a section,
there's no way for the game to know what order you're playing in, so it can either be very hard
or very easy.
Basically, think of three sections made up of four levels with each getting progressively
harder. Once you've completed a section and gone onto another, you've moved from very hard
to quite easy which is a nasty change, I'm sure you'll agree!
Never mind, it does make the game very interesting though, as Core have gone out of their
way for innovation's sake. It does make the game off putting to any novice players due to
the inherint difficulty that accompanies its playing style, but it does give the game
a breath of fresh air!
Crouching
I think that lots of people have been wanting this for a long time, it's very frustrating
to find that you can't proceed in the same direction, even though there's a gap, because
apparently Lara didn't learn to crawl as a child!
Anyway, finally she can fit into small spaces which makes the game feel... right I suppose.
It also introduces another move at the same time, climbing from a ledge while crouching,
so yes, definitely one of the more logical additions!
Sprinting
Not as major as crouching, but major none-the-less, this will make all those tense fans happy.
You know the kind, they're on a timed door and going mental because Lara's running as if
she's on an early morning jog! So, fairly logical as well, I think that Core were 'filling
in the gaps' of the previous games as it were. For anyone who may be excited about the
prospect of sprinting, read the next bit!
Sprinting Dive
Right, this is just Core being flash gits I reckon, this is one of the coolest things that
I've seen in the TR series! Basically, you hit Jump while sprinting and Lara does a really
cool sprinting dive that Dr. Jones would be proud of! There's a few timed doors that force
you to utilise this and believe me, timed doors have never been so classy!
Monkey Swing
This is an interesting addition, as it takes the ladder concept to another level entirely.
Lara jumps up and grabs onto bars above her and then climbs forwards. She can steer left
and right too, which makes the ladder element of TR pretty much complete. It allows for
Lara to climb over massive areas of level and for Core to show off some cool camera angles too
(rather like the flying fox in TR2)!
New Vehicles
The new vehicles in this are a kayak, a minecart, an inflatable boat, an underwater propulsion
unit and a quad bike (although the combination of "quad" and "bike" is a bit of an anomaly
of terms!). I won't tell you what situations they're used in, or otherwsie I'd give something
away, but there'll be an explanation of the controls later on in the "Moves not Covered" section.
New Weapons
Anyone who's watched "Snatch" (the next movie after "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels")
will be just itching to try out the Desert Eagle, it's just plain cool! None of this running
around and dodging the enemy twaddle, just point the gun and buka! You can down that mofo
arse right 'ere.... uh, sorry about that.
The MP5 is like the M-16 in TR2 but it sounds a lot meaner, it's brilliant on a beefy
set of speakers when you just let that lead fly, nice thoomp-thoomp-thoomp sound! So yeah,
it's pretty much the same as the M-16 in terms of usage, but ahhh, it's just so loveable!
The rocket launcher is just plain nasty, definitely for very large things! You probably
won't use this very often, but it's just plain fun to watch!
New Enemies
As usual, there's another assortment of nasty people and this one's got some cool stuff like
security guards and Russian (I think) blokes who are guarding something (goodness knows what)!
I have to say that anyone who liked "The Lost World" in TR1 will like the Pacific Islands section
indeed (hint-hint). Look, this is just plain original and there's plenty of stuff, but let me just
say that this has got the coolest end-game boss I've seen and the cutscene at the start
is right freaky, you'll love it!
Secret Level
Hmmm, can't say anything here except that it's called "All Hallows". In order to get to
it, you need to find every secret in the game. You can cheat to get there, but for any of
you scum that are thinking about it, sod off, I'm not telling you how!
Bike Track (Lara's Home)
For those of you that like to stuff around in Lara's home (and let's face it, who doesn't?),
there's a cool bike track for you to try Lara's quad bike out on. You'll need to get the
key to get into it and it's in the former hedge maze (from TR2), but that's about all the
info I want to dispose (the bike track's in there, not the key).
What's that you say? You want a hint? Oh very well, you grotty little peasant, try 'researching'
a book on it in the library just past the music room....
Title Menu
First this'll pop up before anything. I'll take you through each of the options.
Game (Passport)
Load Game
(only if played previously)
This does what it sounds, if you've never played the game, this option won't come up.
New Game
This starts an entirely new game, starting at level 1 of course. Note that this
doesn't include training (which is called "Lara's Home" in this), so don't start a
new game before doing Lara's Home, or otherwise you won't know what to do.
Exit Game
Quits back to Windows or Mac OS, depending on what machine you own (not on Playstation).
Lara's Home (Polaroid)
This is the training area where Lara explains all of the controls for you. Do this
before starting the game, or I'll have your guts for garters!
Sound (Discman)
Let's you turn the sound effects and music up/down.
Controls
Right, this is split into two parts, Default Keys and User Keys.
With the default ones, you can't change 'em, they're the keys that Core have set out
for you automatically. If you're not happy with the standard controls, hit Right
to go to the User Keys menu.
In order to change the keys, hit Down to select which task you wish to change
and hit Enter to select it. The next button you press will be assigned to that
task. Hit Esc to exit this menu.
Detail Levels (Glasses)
Alright, I'll admit it, I don't know what all of these options do! So what I'll do is explain
the options that I do know which should be adequate until I go off and research them.
Resolution
Right, this is the option that most people will be fiddling with and if you don't know what
it is, then I'd best tell you quickly! Resolution defines how sharp, or alternatively,
how blocky the picture is. The higher the resolution, the sharper and less blocky the image
is. It does come at a price though, the higher your resolution is, the slower the game runs.
As you can tell, people play with these options to no end, as the idea is to find the
right balance between speed and quality. For those of you without 3D cards, turn it down
from 640*480! A resolution of 400*300 or 512*384 is good for software rendering.
Filter
This is an interesting option indeed, as it makes your picture look nicer by reducing the
sharpness of the image. If this makes about as much sense to you as a caffeine addict on
one of those terrible American "chick shows", then I'll go into greater detail.
You know how older actresses like the camera to be slightly out of focus, due to it hiding
lines and wrinkles? Well this follows the same principal and I can tell you, if the Playstation
could've done this, the graphics on its games mightn't have been quite as horrible!
Gamma
This is brightness control, do your lovely monitor a favour and use this instead of turning
the monitor's brightness up. It'll extend its lifetime a little.
Okay, go into Lara's Home so that I can explain the next part!
Basic Movement (Assault Course)
Okay, Lara will be standing there doing nothing much at all, so while you're not doing
anything, I might as well get the extreme basics out of the way.
Basic Movement
Use the Movement Keys (Up, Down, Left and Right) to make Lara run forwards,
take a big step backwards and turn left or right.
Jumping
Now that you've got that sorted, try jumping by hitting, funnily enough, the Jump
key (see the key reference if you don't know which it is). You'll find that
Lara will go directly upwards, which probably isn't very useful, hence the need
for directional jumping!
Sideways Jumping
To perform one of these, simply press the Jump and the Sideways
key (either left or right) at nearly the same time (hit Jump first though).
You shouldn't have any problems with pushing them simultaneously, but the game's
designed around using a slight delay between the two buttons.
Lara will now jump left or right (obviously). Right... onto the next bit then.
Forwards/Backwards Jumping
Do the same as "Sideways Jumping" but hit either the Forwards or
Backwards key instead. Right, now that that's done let's move on!
To get to Lara's gym, run forwards from where you started and go through the door on
the left. Turn left again and go around the corner, now go down the stairs and then turn
to face the general direction that you just came from. You'll see two arches on the ground
floor, go through the one on the right.
Walking and Looking
Walking
Make your way to the angled slope with the "1" written on it.
Lara doesn't actually run everywhere, if she did, you'd run into a lot of
nasty traps in the actual game! In order to walk, hold down the Walk
button and use the direction keys.
Walk up to the white line.
You'll find that you can't actually go off of the edge if you're holding
Walk, even if you try and make her do it. Note that you should let go
of Forwards before Walk, otherwise Lara will keep going forwards
and this could lead you to a big fall in the actual game.
Looking
While you're on the platform, try using the Look button. In order to
look about, use the direction keys. Have a wee play with it and then move onto
the next... uhh, bit, with "2" written on it (by now you get the idea yeah?).
Mid-Air Grabs
Now that you're at 2, walk to the white line in order to prepare to do a mid-air
grab. In order to achieve it, first jump forwards, now let go of Jump
and hold Action. Lara will now be holding onto the ledge for
as long as you hold Action.
In order to climb up, tap Forwards and Lara will get on top of the block.
If you wanted to drop off, just let go of Action. Right, onto 3 then!
Running Jumps
Walk to the white line, firstly. The reason why you'd want to use a running jump
is simply because it allows for greater distance to be achieved than a normal
standing jump. In this case, it'll allow you to make the same jump as before
but not need to grab on.
Anyway, you probably want to actually do one, right? Tap Backwards
once, now hold Forwards and a small amount of time after (about 1/4 to 1/2
a second), hit Jump. Now trust me on this, Lara will not jump until
she's at the very edge! If all went well, Lara should be standing on the block
that you were previously aiming at. If not, read the sodding instructions more closely!
Running Jump and Mid-Air Grab
Go to 4 and, as last time, walk to the white line. Now this is what's known as
a 'really big jump' in Tomb Raider, in which you'll need to utilise a running jump
and a mid-air grab. Note the distance betwen the start and end pillar,
quite a distance change innit? Right, do exactly as before with the running jump,
but add a mid-air grab at the end of it. If all wasn't successful, re-read the instructions
and try to figure out what's gone wrong. Right, onto 5 then!
Shimmying and Safety Drops
Shimmying
Run up to the top of the little slope and grab on to the nook by hitting Action
and Forwards. You'll find that Lara didn't go all of the way up, because
the space is too small for Lara to climb into, what you'll need to do is shimmy
sideways.
While still holding Action, hold Right and Lara will start
shimmying sideways. Keep going until there's an open space for Lara to climb onto.
Now that you're there, tap Forwards and Lara will climb on (like with crates etc.).
Now that you're up here, it's time to practise safety drops!
Safety Drops
While facing towards the wall, tap Backwards and immediately afterwards,
hold Action and Lara will grab onto the wall. Now let go of Action
to drop down. Safety drops can save you from a nasty fall and help to retain health
on long drops, so use 'em!
Crawling
Run up to the angled plate with the "6" on it and face the wall. Climb up into the space
and then turn right. Hold down the Crouch button and then move forwards. You can
try crawling out of the end if you like, Lara will stand up on her own accord once you've
let go of Crawl.
I'd try climbing out whilst crawling though, in which case you'll want to be in the crawl
space. Go back into there and then turn to face the wall. Back out until Lara's as far back
as she can go and then hit Backwards and Action. Note that if you jump up and
grab onto the ledge of a crawl sapce, hitting Action and Forwards will make
Lara climb into the crawl space automatically.
Now make sure that you've exited the crawl space and then move onto 7, which should
have a tall, yellow section of bars.
Climbing and Monkey Bars
Climbing
Run up to the yellow bars and make sure that you're squarely aligned with them and making contact.
Now hit Jump and then hold Action. Lara will now be holding onto the bars for
as long as you hold down Action. As you can see, this isn't very useful by itself,
so you'll probably want to move somewhere!
Now keep holding Action and Forwards and Lara will grab onto
the bars with her feet and arms. Try moving with the Direction Keys and you'll notice that Lara
will shimmy sideways when you hit Left or Right, and Forwards and Backwards
will make you go up and down on the netting. Now climb onto the top for the next bit (Lara
will climb on as if it were a standard block).
Monkey Bars
Now that you're up at the top, have a look around and you'll notice the monkey bars over
head and another tall structure made of bars at the end. Align yourself with the other structure
because that's where we're going. Hit the Jump button and almost immediately press
and hold the Action button. Lara will now have grabbed onto the bars and is ready to move
about. Forwards will make Lara move along the bars, Left and Right will
steer her direction along the bars.
Now make sure that you're still holding Action, or else you'll have a rather bruised
Lara as a result (she'll let go)! Make your way to the other end of the bars and let go of
Action once you're above the next structure. Now that you've done that, it's time
to get down and move onto the next part. Do a safety drop (like at section 5) over the ledge
and wait for Lara to grab onto the bars. Now hold Down and wait for Lara to make her
way down (note that it's okay to let go from a safe height).
Now make your way to the bit on the floor marked with a 7.
Sprinting and Diving Roles
Sprinting in TR3 and onwards is handled by the Sprint button (funnily enough).
In this next section, we'll make Lara run along the blue strip and do a rolling dive once
she reaches the white line. Note that sprinting can only be done in short bursts of time
and there's a meter to show how much longer you can sprint for. When the meter runs out,
Lara will just return to normal pace again.
Right, now to actually do it. Start moving forwards and then hold down the Sprint
button. Lara's pace will rapidly increase, now just before she hits the white line, hit
the Jump button and Lara will do a really f*cking cool dive that Indiana Jones himself
would be proud of! This is certainly one of my favourites of the moves, it's just so cool!
Swimming
Now that you've done the gym room... thing, it's time to go for your first
swim. Make your way through the nearby door and towards the pool.
Right, jump in! You'll now be underwater in the centre of the pool, try using
the movement keys and see what they do. You'll notice that Lara's moved with
basic pilot controls (ie. Up pitches forwards and vice-versa), except
that Left/Right turn her instead of making her pitch sideways like an aeroplane
would. Also, note the blue bar on the side? It's an oxygen bar, yes, Lara will drown
when this runs out!
Hit Jump and you'll find that Lara will start to swim forwards, swim towards
the surface. Once you reach the surface, Lara will break through and start treading
water on the surface (your oxygen bar will replenish too). Forwards will make
her swim forwards (and the opposite for backwards, obviously) and Left/Right
will make her turn on the spot. To go back under, simply hit Jump again.
If you want to get out, simply swim to the edge of the pool and hit Action and
Forwards.
Assault Course
To get to the assault course, go through the front door of the mansion.
Now turn left and run past all of the bits of hedge on the ground and the fountain. Once
you reach a really big green hedge (the maze in TR2, the secret bike track in TR3), go left
and into the alley. Now simply follow the narrow alley along all of the way and you'll emerge
at the assault course.
For those of you that have played TR2, you'll recognise this assault course, which looks
the same at the first glance but is noticeably different upon closer inspection. As you can
tell, it's been modified a bit to cater for new moves in TR3, but it's the basically the same
idea. You'll want to do the assault course because there's some moves here that aren't covered
in Lara's gym (plus it can be fun to beat your own previous time).
To start off, Do a running jump from the first platform.
The next platform requires a running jump and a grab, now onto water wading.
Water Wading
Run forwards and slide down the slope into the water.
Try moving around, quite slow, innit? Anyway, try jumping and you'll find that you can only
jump upwards as the heaviness of the water is impeding Lara's movement. To get out of water
generally, you simply go up to the nearest bit of land and climb onto it. We don't want to do
that just yet though, because we want to climb the net in front of us!
Climb up the nets and get ready for the next bit. Walk onto the darkly coloured square
and position Lara so that she's standing in the centre of the square. Now make sure that Lara
is facing towards the tall structure in front of her (fairly squarely too) and you should
be ready for the next bit.
Sideways and Backwards Jumping
Now to have a go! In order to get some practice, we'll also throw in a backwards jump here too.
Jump forwards, then right, then forwards, jump backwards, then forwards again, left and and forwards.
If you find yourself falling off during that, try correcting your steering first.
Pretty neat, huh? Remember that your sideways and backwards jumps are there, as they come in great handy when
you're fighting animals that charge at you and you'll obviously want to avoid them. Next!
Slide, Jump and Grab
You'll utilise this move a fair few times, later on in the game. If you stuff it up, then you'll just end up in the water
below and can still get out, but try to do it properly anyway.
Right, let's do it then! Run forwards over the slope and you'll start sliding. Now, just before you reach the edge,
jump and then grab onto the netting and climb up and to the right, then onto the available platform.
This may take a fair few attempts to get right, so if you're planning
to do the training again sometime, this is one of the best areas to practise on.
Now jump up and climb along the monkey bars and let go once you're above the slope.
You'll slide into the water from here,
swim through
the centre of the structure in front of you and forwards and up, onto the bit of land in front of two nets (Lara will
stand up by herself).
Climb up one of the side nets and up onto the centre of the platform.
When Lara goes into the centre, she'll take her feet off of the netting to allow her to go sideways. Once you're there,
hit Forwards to get onto the platform.
Flying Fox
This bit's the best part of the course, walk up to the edge of the platform and then hold Action. Lara will now
grab onto the flying fox's handle and start going down it. Keep holding onto Action (as this makes you hold on) until
you get above/past the dark blue platform below. Now you'll land in a pool of water, climb out for the next bit.
Once you're out of the water, run on into the decline in the ground and crawl under this
weird obstruction with vegetation over it.
Picking Up Objects
To pick up objects, make sure that you're above the object (so crawl there!) and hit the
Action button. Lara will pick up the object (in this case, it's the pistols) and it'll
be accessible from the inventory.
Crawl out and run onwards for a few metres and get ready for the next bit: Shooting.
Shooting
Simply hit Draw Weapon to get your guns out and hit it again to put 'em
away. To actually shoot, hold Action while your guns are drawn. Note that
in order to grab onto anything, you have to have your weapons put away first.
In most cases, you have to access your guns via the inventory or use a shortcut key (PC
and Mac only), but the pistols are a special case as you start off with them. If you've never
drawn a weapon before in the game, just hit Draw Weapon, you don't need to worry about
the inventory.
A note to remember when shooting things is to let go of Action after a few seconds
or else Lara will keep shooting at a dead target. Once you let go of Action Lara will
switch to another available target if another is available.
Right enough of this instructional twaddle, get your guns out and shoot everything
in sight (including the old butler! hahahhaha!), then leg it towards the end with the Pommy flags.
Right, that's it! It's probably worth having another go at it too, as you'll want to practise those moves a lot. I'd recommend exploring the rest
of Lara's home too, as it's got parts in it that are vital to gameplay but aren't covered in the assault course.
Moves That Aren't Covered in the Assault Course/Advanced Moves
Diving
If you're at a pool of water somewhere (if you're not, you might end up killing
Lara!), walk up to the edge of it. Now hold Jump and Walk at the same
time. Neat, huh? You'll need to use this later in the game, it's generally used
for jumping through a narrow gap and landing in water below.
You can also just use it to look flash but you may also be able to cut down on a second
or two in the water for those really tricky bits!
Pushable/Pullable Blocks
This is such an important move, yet Core never seem to put it into the training regime.
Well at least it was in Lara's Home this time! There is a block which can be found in the
attic of her home, it's fairly easy to get to but you may need a flair. Simply exit Lara's
bedroom and run along the platform that has the staircase attached to it. Hit the switch and walk through
the door that's on your left and run through the dark passage and up until you reach the
attic.
Search around for a block on your right (now may be a good time to light a flare, this
process is described later on this section).
Go up to the block and hold
Action for a second or so.
You'll notice that Lara will change her pose, while still holding Action, hit
either Forwards or Backwards to push or pull the block once.
If it doesn't
work the first time, try moving Lara into the centre of it. If you find that Lara keeps
climbing onto the block, it's because you're hitting Forwards before Action.
Make sure that you HOLD Action for a second before hitting Forwards. If this
still doesn't work, then it's not moveable! Look for another block.
Rolling
Rolling is a very useful trick which I'm sure that you'll utilise when you're
fighting someone or something and you're trying to avoid and shoot 'em.
There are two ways of rolling, On the Spot and Running.
To do an "On the Spot", simply hit the Roll button! Note what Lara does
and then try a "Running". To do a "Running", run forwards and while still running
forwards, tap Backwards and Lara will roll again. Got it? Good. :)
Side-stepping
You'll probably use these in order to line yourself up for a jump or other
things that involve correcting where you stand. In order to do it, simply hit
Sidestep and either Left or Right. Easy!
Side-swimming
This is exactly the same as doing a sidestep, except that Lara obviously swims
sideways. This can only be used when you're treading water at the surface though.
Mid-air Rolling
This is a move that HAS to be used to reach a few secrets in the game, so practise it now!
Try jumping forwards, but as soon as you've started jumping, hold Roll. Lara
will do a cool flip if you did it right. If it didn't work, try hitting Roll earlier.
I don't want to give anything away, but I'd suggest trying this after jumping off of a
ladder. You've been told, use it!
Throwing Switches
Right, there's two kinds of this, on land and underwater.
On Land
Simply run up to a switch and hit Action and Lara will throw the switch. For those
of you exploring Lara's Home, there'll be a switch which you can use in order to open the
house's front door. For those of you that are hardcore, there's a secret switch in the house
to get to an area with the racetrack key, have fun figuring it out!
Underwater
This is a little harder, you'll have to swim up to the switch here and align yourself
with it as best as possible. Now hold Action and Lara should do her
thing with no worries. If it's not working, try moving closer.
Flare Usage
I might as well quote Stella here (if you don't know who she is, just go to
www.tombraiders.net/stella and be enlightened!):
Press Draw Flare once to pull out a flare and light it; press again to throw it in the direction Lara's facing. Lara can climb or swim while holding a flare, but she'll drop it when it goes out or she draws weapons. (In TR4, pressing the Space Bar/Triangle makes Lara drop a flare without drawing weapons.
Note that flares can also be drawn out one at a time by using the inventory.
Vehicle Usage
Firstly, I'll give universal instructions which are given below, these will specify things
that pertain to most vehicles. Then I'll put in specific controls for each vehicle.
Universal Controls
To climb onto a vehicle, simply run up to the side of it and hit the Action button.
To dismount from the vehicle, hit Roll and either Left or Right.
Steering in most vehicles is handled by Left and Right.
Quad Bike
In order to move forwards (or to use a better term, to Accelerate), hold the Action button.
Reverse is handled by the Jump key.
The Handbrake is assigned to the Sprint key.
In order to use the Turbo function, hold down the Handbrake and while you do that,
hold down the Action button. Allow the engine to keep revving for a few seconds
and then release the Handbrake (while still holding Action) and you'll shoot
off forwards!
Underwater Propulsion Unit
To accelerate, hold down the Jump key.
The Movement Keys will change the current pitch and direction.
To fire harpoons, hit the Action button.
There will be an indicator on your screen that'll show many harpoons are left.
Kayak
The Movement Keys will make the kayak go forawards, backwards and turn left or right.
To do sharp turns, hold down the Walk button, and hit either Left or Right.
This will make Lara dig her paddle into the water to allow for a sharper turn.
Inflatable Boat
To accelerate, hold down the Action key.
To brake (In a boat? Surely not!), hit the Jump button.
Turbo is handled by the Sprint button.
Mine Cart
I have to say, this was a cool idea, I loved it! It's just so cool whizzing around these
tracks and makes for nice gameplay.
The brake in this is handled by the Jump key.
To swing the wrench, hit the Action key.
In order to duck (so you don't take Lara's head off on nasty obstructions), hold the Crouch
key.
If you're wondering what all this wrench business is about, Lara whacks the switches
in order to change the direction of the track. Half Life fans will love that!
Inventory Use
Usage
Firstly, there are three parts to the inventory; the ITEMS, the INVENTORY
and the GAME options. While in game, enter the inventory by hitting the Inventory
button (shock, horror, amaze!). The first menu that you'll be provided with is
the INVENTORY menu. Everything'll be in a circle which can be rotated with
Left or Right.To use an item, hit Action or Enter on it. This can be used for drawing weapons, using
Medi Packs, everything. Hit the Inventory button again if you wish to exit the screen.
If you hit Down, you'll be presented with the GAME screen which
can be used for things like loading/saving games, changing controls, adjusting
the sound volume, etc, etc, etc. Basically everything utilitarian that doesn't actually
have anything to do with the game itself, but affects everything in it and how it
works.
If you hit Up, you'll get the ITEMS menu (although you'll need to hit it
twice if you're in the GAME menu). This contains every trinket or key that
you've picked up. Every time that you hit Action on a key hole, the ITEMS
menu will come up and you can choose which key you want to use.
Inventory/Items/Options
INVENTORY
Pistols
The default weapon and the default item, this is most certainly a weak weapon
but its overwhelmingly major advantage is the fact that it has unlimited ammunition.
This makes them brilliant for setting off traps, firing at enemies at long distance,
etc, etc. If you're in a situation where it's not necessary to use a more powerful
weapon, then use these. It does wonders for ammo conservation!
Shotgun
The second weapon that you'll pick up, this is certainly a devastating weapon.
Ammo for this is fairly scarce and it's only good for close encounters, so save
the shotty ammo for when you're shooting big animals like lions, raptors etc.
Desert Eagles
Don't take the piss Boris!
This is indeed the same weapon and it's a delight to use, if you're looking for a gun
that doesn't impede your movement but is powerful, this is it. The ammo isn't too scarce either,
so you'll probably be reaching for this one a lot. The one, major advantage is that it's
basically a shoot a bloke once, now he's gone, meaty weapon. Save the other weapons and use
this for getting rid of enemies of the homo-sapien variety. A good all round short to medium
range weapon.
Uzis
Found later in the game, these are not the least bit accurate but can spray out
ammo like water from a hose. This is best for bosses generally, where you need
to throw out a lot of ammo at the enemy in a short space of time. I would recommend saving
the ammo for these until you reach a boss or when you're in close quarter situations like in Antarctica.
Harpoon Gun
The only underwater weapon in the game, ammo for this is fairly scarce but you probably won't
find yourself using this weapon very often. This is mainly due to the fact that you can get
out of the water and fire at the enemy below with pistols in a lot of cases, therefore saving ammo.
Don't forget this is here, but don't expect brilliant stopping power though.
MP5
This has good stopping power but a bad reaction time, making this a medium to long range weapon.
A good instance of usage would be a flying creature of some sort that's approaching from a
distance. For close skirmishes, I'd recommend using the uzis if full-auto is what you're after,
otherwise this weapon will knock 'em for six!
This replaces TR2's M-16, it's pretty much the same except that its ammo is more common
and it sounds meaty. This is good in the same sort of way as the Desert Eagle "Point Five-Oh",
but again, medium to long range!
Rocket Launcher
Ammo for this is very scarce! As you can guess, this is good for something VERY BIG. End
bosses, a rather big dinosaur (trust me) and any time that you want a bit of a laugh on some
poor villager (the evil in me's creeping out I tell ya!), this is good for all of those situations.
This is obviously a very silly weapon in a kind of "Serious Sam" sense and one can't help
wonder how Lara carries it with everything else! Never-the-less, use it when you have to.
Grenade Launcher
This is a weapon designed exclusively for close range devastation and you'll most certainly
want to leave this to boss creatures if you can. This weapon can either be good or bad, depending
on whether you hit your target or not. The problem with it is that the grenades travel slowly
and can only be fired one at a time. The good side is the fact that it explodes when it hits 'em!
If you're going to use this, it's generally a good idea to charge your enemy and fire at them,
aimed at dead centre. Otherwise, it'll miss and just veer off to the side, so you certainly
want to hit it on the first time! A good place for them is when a bunch of enemies are grouped
together in a small, enclosed space, beneath you. This way you can just fire and forget, let the
damage fly!
Small Medi Pack
This will help you regain half of your health. These a more commonly picked up
than large ones, so you may want to use these more often if you can. If you haven't
figured it out yet, use these when you've just been attacked and you're not feeling
very clever!
Large Medi Pack
This will take you back to full health, provided that you haven't died first!
These are much less common than small ones, so save them for emergencies if you can.
Flares
These do exactly what you'd think they do, they light up the dark. Use 'em for both land and water,
but be aware that they run for a limited but decent time. Flares are pretty common throughout the game,
so don't be too stingey with 'em, as there's really no need.
Ammo clips
If you have ammo clips and you can't actually do anything with them, it's because
you don't have the gun to accompany them. Don't worry, they'll load themselves!
Final note on weapons:
I'd recommend using pistols by default until you get
the Desert Eagle or the uzis. Then switch to these and change weapons depending on the circumstances (ie.
uzis for bosses, pistols for triggering things etc.).
ITEMS
About the only advice that I can give here is to warn you that whenever you
hit Action on a keyhole, it won't always come up with the right key. So
If the key doesn't work, try the next one.
OPTION
Game
Load Game
Does what it sounds, the quick key for it is F6.
Save Game
Same again, the quick key is F5.
Exit to Main Menu
Quits out of the current game and goes back to title screen (you may like to save
first).
Controls
See above (Title Menu).
Sound
See above (Title Menu).
Hotkey Reference
1: Pistols
2: Shotgun
3: Desert Eagle
4: Uzis
5: Harpoon Gun
6: MP5
7: Rocket Launcher
8: Grenade Launcher
9: Small Medipack
0: Large Medipack
F1: Reduce Resolution
F2: Increase Resolution
-: Reduce Game Window
+: Increase Game Window
F5: Save Game
F6: Load Game
F7: Perspective Correction Toggle (quicker gameplay but looks odd)
F12: Toggle Between Fullscreen and Windowed Mode
Note to PC Users
The PC doesn't have save crystals, but it does have crystals. I favour Stella's theory where
the game designers may have been thinking of leaving them in or something similar and didn't
remove them from the game. So what do the crystals do? Well you get half your health back!
That's nice, eh? Heheheheheh, who'd own a Playstation?
The Tomb Raider series wasn't designed to run on laptops, as it's designed to use the
numberpad 0 key, which isn't available on laptops. So if you're using a laptop, take the
time to change the key to something availalbe on your laptop's keyboard. Please consult
your manual for how to change the keys.
Note to Playstation Users
You have save crystals again, ahahahaha! That's what you get for owning a lowly console you
grotty little peasants, get a PC (the tomato gets harsh)!
Contact Me
Ahhh, the end of another, three down, three to go!
Let me just say that that was harsh! It's not nice having both the indoor training and an
assault course! The next will be mostly new, as TR4 was changed around a lot, there's no
Lara's Home for starters, it has the training in-game so it'll be more like a walkthrough.
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!
If I've forgotten something or if there's something that you're stuck on or you don't understand, email me at
entombednerds@yahoo.co.uk.
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