LEVEL 5: VALLEY OF THE KINGS
Updated: 11/23/19(†)
Kills: 12 Items: 15 plus Ignition Key Secrets: 3*
NOTE: One of the regular pick-ups will be the SHOTGUN if you didn't find it in an earlier level.
Cut Scene: As the traitorous guide crosses the open area in front of the ruins, we glimpse some ammo lying on the sand and two vehicles off to one side.
BUG NOTE: If you activate the all-weapons cheat, do not use grenades or explosive arrows in this first area. Doing so may prevent you from obtaining the IGNITION KEY. When you fight the first group of enemies with explosives, either the key doesn't drop, or some of the enemies don't appear at all, including the one who is supposed to drop the key. If you must have extra firepower to beat these guys, choose the Uzis or revolver instead.
OPEN AREA OUTSIDE BURIAL CHAMBER: Enter the open area with weapons ready. Seven blue-robed mercenaries emerge from various hiding places and close in on Lara. Pick them off one by one. You can use the stone blocks and alcoves for cover, but I found it easier (and less wasteful of ammo and medipacks) to run right up to each enemy, shooting with pistols or shotgun. Two shotgun blasts at close range will take out each man. If you're using pistols, run at the target while firing, run past him, roll, and finish him off from behind. One possible sequence is shown in a series of screenshots.
When you kill the enemy carrying the IGNITION KEY, there's another brief cutscene, in which the guide crosses the clearing and approaches the vehicles.
When all the enemies are dead, scour the ground for dropped items: 3 sets of Uzi ammo (the one you saw in the first cutscene plus two dropped by enemies), 2 small medipacks, 1 large medipack, and the IGNITION KEY for the Jeep. (screenshots)
Inside the raised alcove in the southeast corner (i.e., to the right of the level entrance when facing it) is SECRET #1 (19/70): the SHOTGUN and 2 boxes of normal shotgun ammo. Note that these are three separate pick-ups, so you'll need to press Action three times to get them all. If you already have the shotgun, the last pick-up will register as more shotgun shells. When you have everything, hop back down to the open area. (screenshots)
SECRET #2 (20/70) is on the wide ledge above the entrance from the BURIAL CHAMBERS. To get there, start by approaching the dark alcove in the northeast corner (i.e., to the left of the level entrance). Climb onto the ledge in front of the alcove, but don't climb inside. Instead take a standing jump to grab the higher ledge on the right. Pull up and then climb onto the next higher ledge directly ahead. Pick up the goodies: 2 boxes of shotgun shells, a small medipack, and Uzi ammo. Either climb back down the way you came or step out onto the greenish slope beside the level entrance and slide down to the ground. (screenshots)
'CAR CHASE' THROUGH CAVES AND CANYONS: When you're ready to move on, approach the driver's side of the JEEP and press Action. (screenshot) Select the IGNITION KEY from inventory and press Action again to use it. Lara gets in and starts the engine. Meanwhile, the not-so-helpful guide begins throwing grenades from the gray Land Rover in front of you. This isn't exactly a car chase, since the guide stops to wait for you if you get out of your Jeep to explore. But you can pretend if you want to. ;-)
NOTES ON VEHICLES AND CONTROLS: Several players have pointed out that both vehicles are, in fact, Land Rovers and not Jeeps. They do indeed resemble Land Rovers and have the green oval Land Rover emblem on their radiator grilles. And of course the Land Rover is as British as Lara Croft herself. Here I refer to the blue Rover that Lara drives as a "Jeep" because that is how it is listed in the game's instruction manual, and using both terms helps people find these pages in a web search.
The basic vehicle controls are fairly simple, but they're a little different from the TR2 and TR3 controls. Check the TR4 Controls page for details.
Get in/Accelerate = Action or X
Steer = Left/Right
Brake = Jump or Square
Reverse = Tap Sprint/Dash to change gears then hold Action
Forward (after reversing) = Tap Walk to change gears then hold Action
On PS1 press R1/R2 to change gears
Climb out = Jump + Left or Circle
You may notice as you drive along, that certain parts of the rock wall open into passageways after the enemy vehicle passes. These openings enable you to backtrack the entire length of the level on foot if necessary. However, you must have the Jeep to get up the hill at the end of the level. So it's best to drive the whole distance, stopping as needed to explore.
Follow the Land Rover through the caves. You'll go up a short slope, around to the left, down longer slope, and up another. At the top of that slope, you'll emerge into a sunny, open area. Follow the Land Rover around to the right and run over 2 blue-robed gunmen. (screenshots) Or, if you prefer, you can get out of the Jeep and approach the enemies on foot. Once you've taken care of them, get back in the Jeep and continue northward, still following the Land Rover. The road leads down and around to the left. The tunnel widens here, then narrows again as you start up the next hill.
PIT WITH SPIKES AND ROCK BRIDGE ABOVE: As you emerge from the tunnel, you'll come to an open area with a deep pit spanning the entire width of the canyon. The Land Rover will keep to the left, using the ramp to jump across the pit. You should stay close to the right wall here, ride up the slope and then left across the narrow rock bridge, running over another mercenary in the process. If you want all the secrets, stop the Jeep here and get out. The Land Rover waits below and continues to poop out grenades. Just ignore it for now. The guide will get bored after a while and drive off. (screenshots)
Look out over the edge in the direction you came from (east). Notice that the deep pit lined with spikes also has climbable walls. That's where you're headed next. Follow the rocky ledge along the left side of the canyon on foot (i.e., the same rocky ledge you just drove up). At the bottom of the slope, turn right and approach the pit. Walk to the edge. Turn around, hold Action, and hop back to drop and grab the edge. Climb down a bit, then over to the right, and up again until Lara is hanging just below the narrow, rectangular opening beneath the jutting stone ledge. To climb inside, position Lara's hands on the bottom edge of the opening, briefly release Action to let go and force Lara to lose her foothold. Then quickly press Action again to re-grab the opening and immediately press Duck/Crouch and Forward/Up to pull up into the crawlspace. The chime then sounds for SECRET #3 (21/70). (screenshots)
NOTE: If you can't do this button-pressing sequence fast enough, an alternative is described on the page with the screenshots.
Once you manage to get Lara into the opening, turn around and crawl backwards toward the opposite edge. Hold Action and tap Back/Down to drop and hang from the edge. Then release Action to drop to the floor. Don't worry; it's safe. Turn around, light a flare, and head up the slope to find the goodies: a small medipack and a box of (4) super grenades. Unless you cheated you won't have the GRENADE GUN (LAUNCHER) yet, but now you have something to look forward to. (screenshots)
Return to the opening and climb inside. Turn around and crawl backwards toward the edge. Then hold Action and tap Back/Down to hang from the edge. Climb to the left then upward until you can pull up onto the rim of the pit. Head back up the ramp on the left side of the canyon to reach the top of the rock bridge and the Jeep. (screenshots)
NOTE: It's possible to climb down to the bottom of the pit, sliding to the ground in the middle where there are no spikes. But in order to get out, you'll need to walk through the spikes to reach the climbable wall on the west side. Unlike the previous games, walking through spikes does injure Lara. Since there's nothing of interest at the bottom of the pit, it's not worth the effort.
Get back into the Jeep and follow the stone ramp down the left side of the canyon. At the bottom, turn right and proceed through the tunnel. (screenshot) At the top, you'll catch up to the Land Rover. Follow it around to the right and run over another mercenary. (screenshots) Then, as you exit this cave, turn sharply to the right to avoid falling off the edge into the deep canyon. Continue carefully along the narrow stone bridges and ledges, following the Land Rover. (screenshot) At the end of the rock ledge, run over another gunman and continue into the tunnel. (screenshot) If you take damage from gunfire but still have a little health left, don't bother using a medipack, since Lara's health will be restored when the next level starts.
Follow the tunnel down a slope then up another into the next level.
NOTE: If you left the Jeep behind and reached the end of the level on foot, you'll discover it's not possible to climb the last steep hill without a vehicle. Don't worry; you can backtrack through the tunnels to find the Jeep—even if it's all the way back at the start. You can also go back on foot if you missed any secrets. For details, see this page with screenshots.
*NOTE ON SECRETS: There are 70 secrets in the entire game. These are marked "(x/70)" in this walkthrough. To check your progress in-game, press Pause (P on keyboard, Start on PlayStation or Dreamcast controller) then choose Statistics. At the end of this level, you should have 21/70.
†UPDATE HISTORY: 9/19/00 - Another mysterious update. Details have unfortunately been lost in the sands of time.
5/5/19 - First major update since this walkthrough was created in 1999. This revision includes many new screenshots as well as various other corrections and clarifications.
11/23/19 - Updated PS1 Jeep controls, thanks to info from Lijo.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Special thanks to the participants in the alt.games.tombraider newsgroup and the old tombraiders.com forum, without whom parts of this walkthrough could not have been written. Thanks also to CMB1988, Edd, George G., Harry C., James Bond, Jean-Michel, Jens V., Onox, Ruud, Simon M., and VermilionNeko, who contributed tips or corrections for this level.
FYI: The Theban Mapping Project has more info on the Valley of the Kings at thebanmappingproject.com.
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