Follow this link for official manual in PDF format.
Follow this link for Mipo's Seamless Controller Setup for Original Tomb Raider Games, using JoyToKey.
Follow this link for a Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness Logitech Profiler Game Profile created by CrimsonBlitz and posted on the Steam community forum.
Customizing Controls: The PC and Macintosh controls are customizable. Choose 'Controls' from the Options menu. Select the type of controller you're using and press Enter. Use up/down arrows to highlight the control you want to change, press Enter and then press the desired control. Press Escape to exit the menu.
NOTE: In order to remap certain keys, and to prevent the game from crashing when certain keys are remapped, Windows PC users will need to download and install the v42 and v52 patches. These are available on my AOD Downloads page.)
The PlayStation 2 manual states that the controls can be customized, but unfortunately this is not true. The manual is wrong; the PS2 controls cannot be changed.
If you prefer, you can assign the PC or Mac controls so they're similar to those in the other TR games. However, you may find you have problems with the camera not pointing correctly at certain points.
Mouse Look/Camera Control: On the PC and Macintosh, mouse control is now available for steering and limited camera control. You can also assign functions like Jump and Action to the mouse buttons. If you want to use it, enable mouse control from the Controls menu. On the PS2, the right analog stick is used for camera control. See the Look function and Jumping in AOD, below.
Lara vs. Kurtis: The controls are essentially the same for Lara and Kurtis, the other playable character. Any differences are noted in the walkthrough sections pertaining to Kurtis.
Macintosh Controls: Most Mac controls are the same as for the Windows PC. Differences are color coded in green in the table below.
MOVE/FUNCTION |
CONTROLS (PC/Mac/PS2) |
DESCRIPTION/NOTES |
Movement |
Cursor Keys/Left Analog Stick |
Use the direction keys/buttons to move Lara forward and back or to turn left and right. Running is the default speed. On the PS2, push the left analog stick in a direction to run. Push it only partway to walk. Lara can still step off edges unless the Walk button is held (below). |
Walk |
Shift/L1 |
Tap Walk to toggle between running and walking modes. When walking, you'll see the walk icon at the bottom right of the screen. In walk mode, Lara will not step off an edge. |
Sidestep |
Shift/L1 |
Hold Walk and use the left/right keys or left analog stick to sidestep. |
Vault |
Up Arrow/Forward on left analog stick |
Approach a box, low fence, wall, window ledge, etc. Release the key/stick and then press Up/Forward again and Lara will climb onto or over the object. Watch out on ledges with low railings. If you don't have Walk mode activated, Lara may vault over the edge. |
Jump |
Alt/Option/Circle |
Jump straight up. Use with cursor keys or left analog stick to jump forward, left, right, back. (See Jumping in AOD, below.) |
Short Hop |
Shift + Alt/L1 + Circle |
For a shorter forward hop, hold Walk and tap Jump. This can be useful when Lara needs to make a shorter jump so as not to fall off the opposite side of a ledge. |
Action |
Ctrl/X |
Fire weapon if Lara is holding one. (Note that Lara will fire faster if you tap the button than if you hold it down.) Fight hand to hand. Tap once to punch, twice for one-two punch, press firmly to kick. Open door, activate switch, pick up item, pull/push object, etc. When an item can be used or picked up, the glowing hand icon will appear at the bottom right of the screen. Safety drop/grab (See Climbing & Grabbing, below.) Hug wall (See Stealth Mode, below.) |
Roll/Reverse |
End/Square |
Lara drops to the ground and comes up facing the opposite direction. |
Reverse Dismount |
0 (on number pad) + Alt 0 (on number pad) + Option R2 + Circle |
When Lara is hanging from a wall or ledge, press Look along with Jump and she'll dismount facing away from the wall. Not strictly necessary but could save a little time. |
Draw/Holster Weapon |
Space/R1 |
(See AOD Menus & Inventory, below, for more info.) |
Target |
End/Square |
When a weapon is drawn, Lara will automatically target any enemy nearby. When there are multiple enemies, tap the End key or Square button to switch targets. (Since this is the same key as Roll, Lara cannot roll while holding a weapon.) |
Cycle Weapons |
[ and ] |
To cycle through available weapons press the square bracket keys on the keyboard. [ and ] cycle through the available selection in opposite directions. |
Push/pull object |
Ctrl + Up/Down X + Forward/Back on Left Analog Stick |
If an object can be moved, the hand icon will light up when Lara approaches it. Hold Action/X and use Up/Down cursor key or left analog stick to push/pull the object. |
Look/Camera |
0 (on number pad)/R2 |
This is the same key as Sprint (below). Press and hold it while standing still. Then use the cursor keys or mouse on the PC/Mac or the right analog stick on the PS2 to move the camera and see from Lara's point of view. NOTE TO LAPTOP USERS: On most laptops, which have no numeric keypad, you'll need to reassign the Look/Sprint key in order for it to work. |
Sprint |
0 (on number pad)/R2 |
When running press Sprint (same key as Look) for extra speed. This only works after Lara has gained the Sprint upgrade. (See Ability Upgrades, below. Laptop users, see note under Look, above.) |
Duck/Crawl |
1 (on number pad)/ Triangle |
Hold to crouch and use cursor keys or left analog stick to crawl. NOTE TO LAPTOP USERS: On most laptops, which have no numeric keypad, you'll need to reassign the Duck key in order for it to work. |
Commando Crawl |
1 (on number pad) + Enter/ Triangle + L2 |
Lara can also do a ground-hugging commando crawl to get through lower openings. Start with the regular crawl. Then press Enter/L2 to go into stealth mode. Then use the cursor keys or left analog stick to move. (See Stealth Mode, below. Laptop users, see note under Duck/Crawl, above.) |
Stealth |
Enter/Return/L2 |
Press to enter stealth mode. Press again to return to normal mode. (See Stealth Mode, below.) |
Swimming |
Various |
On the surface, use cursor keys/left stick to swim in different directions. Press Jump to dive below the surface and cursor keys/left stick to move around. Swim to an edge and press Action to climb out of the water. |
Swan Dive |
0 (on number pad) + Alt + Up/ |
Lara can swan dive as in previous games. Hold Look then press Jump + Up. |
Quick Save/Load |
F5/F9 |
These are convenient PC shortcut keys for saving your game and loading your last save. (Note that the game manual incorrectly gives F6 as the quick load key.) WARNING: I found these a bit buggy. Sometimes F5 didn't actually save the game and sometimes pressing F9 loaded the wrong save. If you use these keys, you should also periodically save the game using the menu option. As always, save in a new slot each time just in case. |
AOD MENUS & INVENTORY
Press Escape (PC/Mac) or Start (PS2) to pause the game and go to the Options Menu. From here you can save your game; load a saved game; adjust some audio; video and control options, or quit the game. The PS2 also has an option to turn subtitles on or off. (The PS2 manual also lists a rumble option, but this was not included in the actual game.) Use cursor keys (PC/Mac) or left analog stick (PS2) to rotate the menu, Enter/X to select the current option and Escape/Triangle to go back to the previous screen or back to the game.
Press Tab/Select to pause the game and view your inventory. Use cursor keys/D-pad to rotate the menu between Health items, Weapons, Other items and Von Croy's Notebook. Press Enter to select one of those categories, then cursor keys/D-pad again to check out each of your goodies. To use an item, press Enter. Press Escape or Tab/Triangle to go back to the previous screen or back to the game. (There is more info on each type of item and the notebook below.)
HEALTH
Lara's health bar is displayed at the top left of the screen (in red). If she's injured, the health bar is depleted. To heal her, find and use health items like bandages, health pills, medi packs, etc. Each type of item restores a different amount of health. Look in the Health section of your inventory to see what each item does. To use an item, select it in inventory and press Enter/X. Conserve health by using only the amount of healing you need.
If Lara is poisoned, the health bar will flash green, and Lara will lose health until the poison is treated with a health item. The walkthrough includes tips for dealing with specific situations.
WEAPONS & AMMO
Lara begins the adventure with no weapons. As you explore, you will pick up weapons and ammunition. Once you have found a gun and the appropriate ammo, press Tab/Select to enter inventory. Use the direction keys/buttons/D-Pad to select Weapons and press Enter. Use cursor keys/D-Pad to select the gun you want. You'll see an Ammo option if more than one type of ammunition is available. Use cursor keys/D-Pad and Enter/X to load the ammo you want, then Enter/X again to equip the gun. In game, press Space/R1 to draw/holster the equipped gun.
The game provides a number of opportunities to pick up each weapon. If you pick up what looks like a gun that you already have, you will actually receive ammo for that gun instead. This happens so often that I haven't bothered to note it every time in the walkthrough.
ITEMS
This section of your inventory holds the other items Lara collects—keys, documents, artifacts, etc. Most items function as keys to unlock certain areas or activate other items. A few are valuable items Lara can use to buy equipment she'll need. At the beginning of the game, Lara will also find some money. The number of Euros she's collected is displayed at the top left of the inventory screen. In most cases items are used automatically when Lara activates the door/object in question. Sometimes you need to use or examine them on the inventory screen. The walkthrough provides additional details about all items.
VON CROY'S NOTEBOOK
This is obtained early in the game. Once Lara has it, you can access it by choosing Notebook on the inventory screen. It contains Werner Von Croy's jottings, as well as clues Lara picks up as you go along in the game. Press Enter/X to open it, cursor keys/D-Pad to flip the pages and Escape/Triangle to close it. Note that new entries appear at the BEGINNING of the notebook, not the end. So turn pages to the left to see Lara's notes, to the right to see the entries Von Croy made before Lara got the book. During game-play, the notebook icon appears at the bottom right of the screen whenever a new entry is added. If you're stuck, check the notebook.
JUMPING IN AOD
If you're used to the controls in the other Tomb Raider games, you'll need to retrain yourself for jumping in this game. The usual technique for setting up jumps doesn't work here, and the Left/Right controls are extremely sensitive, so there's much more room for error and misstep. Still, the basic moves are there.
On the PC: Short forward hop: Hold
Walk and tap Jump (Shift + Alt) On the PlayStation 2: Short forward hop: Hold
Walk and tap Jump (L1 + Circle) IMPORTANT: In the PS2 game, the direction Lara moves when you press the stick changes relative to the camera angle. If the camera is behind Lara, then the directions are as normal—forward on the stick to move forward, left/right to move that way and down to move back. If the camera is not directly behind Lara, pushing the stick will move her in that direction relative to the camera angle. The same holds for jumping in a direction. |
CLIMBING & GRABBING
Unlike the earlier games, once Lara grabs an edge or climbable surface (using Action), you don't need to hold the Action button. Release it and she'll keep hanging until you tap Action again or until her grab power runs out.
The grab bar is displayed in yellow just below the health bar at the top left of the screen. At the start of the game, Lara can hang for about 15 seconds before her grab bar runs out. As she gains upper-body strength, her grab time will increase. Details are below under Ability Upgrades and in the walkthrough.
To climb a ladder, drainpipe or other climbable surface, just approach it. Release the key/stick momentarily and then press Up/forward again. Lara will climb the ladder/pipe if she can. Continue to hold Up/forward to keep climbing straight up. As she climbs, she may pause when you reach a ledge or pipe jutting out to the side. To dismount or climb sideways, just press the appropriate direction key/angle on the stick. If Lara needs to move from a vertical pipe to a horizontal pipe or ledge, you may have to press Up and Left/Right together or press diagonally on the PS2 stick.
To safety drop, Walk Lara to an edge and press Action. She will automatically turn around, drop and hang from the edge. This move is critical to prevent Lara from taking damage when she falls and to get in position for shimmying or traversing along ledges.
To traverse, monkey swing, or climb hand-over-hand along an overhead ledge or cable, first position Lara below it and press Jump to reach it. Lara will grab hold automatically. To move forward/back use the cursor keys or left analog stick while hanging. If an object below blocks Lara's path, press and hold Duck to pull her legs up. She can keep going if you hold Duck while moving forward. Press Action to let go.
You can also make Lara backflip off a ladder/pipe, for a quick dismount if there's nothing dangerous below. Just press Jump while climbing.
SWIMMING
Use the cursor keys or mouse to move Lara on the surface of the water. Hold Walk and press Left/Right or press to one side on the left stick to sidestroke. To dive down, press Action. Press Jump to swim forward and mouse/cursor keys/left stick to steer. To climb out of the water, swim to an edge and press Action.
When swimming underwater Lara's breath bar appears in blue below the health bar. When she runs out of air, she starts to lose health rapidly, then drowns. The walkthrough gives tips for each swimming area.
STEALTH MODE
Press Enter to go into stealth mode. Lara moves at half speed and is undetectable by enemies unless she crosses their line of sight.
While in stealth mode, approach a wall and press Action. Lara hugs the wall. Use cursor keys to move along the wall and peer around corners. Press Action again to move away from the wall.
While in stealth mode, approach an enemy from behind and press Action to knock him to the ground and punch him out.
To return to normal mode, either press Enter again or draw a weapon.
ABILITY UPGRADES
Throughout the game Lara can increase her strength and skills by locating and performing various upgrades. These are things like using a crowbar to gain upper-body strength or pulling a heavy box to gain leg strength. The upgrade icon, a blue lightning-like arrow, appears at the bottom right of the screen whenever Lara gains an attribute upgrade. She'll also say something like, "I feel stronger."
Sometimes you'll come to a point in the game where Lara can't make a necessary jump, open a certain door, etc. She will say something like, "I'm not strong enough to do this." That's an indicator that there's an upgrade nearby. Refer to the walkthrough if you have trouble finding it. After she's gained the upgrade, you'll be able to move on in the game.
Main Controls Page | Angel of Darkness Walkthrough | Main Page
Copyright © 1998- Stellalune. All rights reserved. Feel free to link to this page but do not copy it. To give me your feedback, send email to or visit tombraiders.net. Special thanks to James, Ingrid, Amir, L'Quan and Rayne for help with the Mac and PS2 controls. Thanks to Nick for some of the special moves not listed in the manual, and thanks to RardRaider for nudging me about the cycle weapons keys. Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, and the Tomb Raider logo are trademarks of the Crystal Dynamics group of companies. All rights reserved.