Rome. Despite the emphasis on a Catholic Church connection in this level, there is no indication that Lara is wandering about inside the Vatican. Long time players of Tomb Raider will note the resemblance of Rome to the Venice of Tomb Raider 2 (though there's less water!).

In the FMV to introduce the location, Lara is dressed up to the nines to attend an opera performance. However, not all is as it seems. Lara is really attempting to buy the Mercury Stone from Larson and Pierre (from Tomb Raider 1). In their turn, these two characters intend to relieve Lara of her cash while keeping the stone for themselves.

Lara manages to turn the tables on the two goons and uses the Opera House stage to make a spectacular escape. Still dressed in her evening gown, she grabs a motorbike and zooms off into the city, chased by Larson and Pierre in a car. Tragically, their car isn't as acrobat as Lara is on her bike and they crash. Lara walks off, presumably to get changed....

Lara begins the level in a backstreet and a few steps down you'll find a door on the left marked 'Backstage' leading to the backstage area of the opera house. This is the Training Level and is dealt with here. It's worthwhile completing, even if you don't need training, since there's several pickups and one secret.

Further down the street, Lara emerges in a tiny square with a couple of passages and small doorways. These all lead to a dead end, with a gated area down some steps on the left and a balcony area high on the right. After looking around, leave this area and turn left down the narrow street with the lamps above. Continue to an open courtyard with a fountain.

Just as she reaches this spot, Lara will be attacked by a vicious doberman and you'll get your first chance to use those pistols! Note the locked gate and keyhole on the left side of the courtyard and follow the narrow alley on the right (beside the red and white striped awning), which leads past a barred opening to a panel with a carved face.

Reach into the niche carved into the face to operate a mechanism that opens a gate elsewhere in the level. Return to the fountain, turn left into the alley with the lamps and follow it back to the tiny courtyard that seemed to be a dead end. The gate you just opened is the one down the steps under the hanging greenery. Go down there and use another niche mechanism. A flock of bats flies out and there's nothing you can do about them until they fly off - just run around a bit outside...

The mechanism that the bats were sleeping on raises a block outside. Climb onto it and then jump to grab the balcony edge and haul up. Turn around at the top and take a diagonal jump from the left hand archway to the cement ledge on the left. Pick up the small medikit and return to the balcony. Go up the ramp to a small room with red furniture and continue on to a balcony above the fountain.

Go straight across and drop into the hallway ahead. Shoot the window on the right out and pick up the revolver bullets on the sill. You're now above another courtyard with washing hanging out to dry. Turn Lara around and drop off the sill, catching hold of the edge to dangle over the courtyard. This should attrect the attention of another doberman, allowing you to climb back onto the sill and shoot it from safety.

Go back into the hallway and follow it to some stairs leading down. Shoot out two more windows as you pass by. There's a small medikit on one sill and the other window leads to the next area, but don't go through yet. At the bottom of the stairs, push open the blue double doors at the right hand end of the courtyard. Another doberman rushes out to attack Lara. Kill it and then go through the doors and retrieve a large medikit and wideshot shells.

Go through the doorway on the other side of the courtyard and follow the hallway to a switch. Pull this to open a gate leading back to the courtyard with the fountain. Return to the courtyard and go up the stairs to the windows you shot out. Jump across the alley to the neighbouring house and take the first left. The camera is unfriendly here and tracks away from Lara. Halfway up the wooden ramp is a step that you have to climb up - tricky to see from the unusual angle.

At the top of the ramp you'll find a Golden Key and a doberman will start barking nearby. Ignore it for now and retrace your steps down the ramp. Go left at the end and continue until a cut scene starts, showing a panoramic view of the fountain courtyard.

Jump over the railing onto the red and white awning below. Pick up some flares and wait for that doberman you can hear barking to walk into view. Kill it before dropping to the ground and going over to the locked gate. Use the Golden Key to open the gate and enter the courtyard behind it cautiously.

Larson is waiting for Lara on the balcony up to the left and opens fire when he sees her. Let him have a taste of his own medecine with your pistols for a while and he'll run off eventually. Pick up a small medikit in the alcove on the right and then go through the doorway below where Larson was shooting at you from. Go left down the ramp to a room with boxes and find a Garden Key (a star shaped token, really) on one of the boxes.

Return to the hallway and go to the left, until you emerge on the balcony where Larson was a few minutes earlier. He's here again, but across the courtyard this time. Plug him with your pistols until he runs off a second time and then tightrope walk across the courtyard to the opposite balcony. Cross this to the other side and drop down into the street below through the gap in the railings.

Use the nearby switch to open a gate leading back to the fountain courtyard but head away from gate towards a wider street with a gated garden off to the right. Go to the left end of the street and through the small, sqare doorway at the end. Follow the hallway on the right, picking up some revolver ammo in a small room on the left along the way. Note the locked wooden door with a small room behind it and then exit back to the alley and continue up the steps.

Pick up the reveolver on the top landing, then turn around and go up the ramp on the right. At the top of the ramp, push open the blue double doors. Beyond them you'll find ourself in a small room with some wine barrels. You'll find the laser sight on the floor to the left and a padlocked gate on the right. Combine the laser sight with the revolver and then shoot the padlock off.

Behind the gate is the second Garden Key. Run in, grab it and then high tail it out of there to try and avoid being too much bitten by the hoard of rats that swarms out. Run away outside, over the edge of the ramp and down the alley back to the wide street. Go to the far end of this street (past the garden gates) and take the opening on the left. In here is another garden gate with two receptacles at either side for the Garden Keys.

Use the keys and a cut scene will treat you to a panoramic view of the garden. The keys actually open the gate in the main street so when control returns head out into the main street, enter the garden and approach the building with the gargoyles.

In a cut scene, Lara puts the Mercury Stone in it's rightful place. A noise behind her alerts her to the presence of Larson and Pierre. They bicker between themselves before leaving the scene.

Go through the doorway in the back right corner, behind the building with the gargoyles. Follow the sloping hallway to the top. You're treated to a panoramic view of a temple with a bell hanging at the top. The bell is important, as you discover when Lara continues to stare at it as you enter the temple area.

The temple has several entrances but the important ones are the three with closed, padded doors. There's one on the upper level in the left wall, one on the upper level in the centre and one at ground level, down a couple of steps. There's a laser sight at the top of the steps under the great bell and some revolver ammo behind the columns to the right. With the revolver and laser sight combined, take aim at the great bell and fire.

When you hit the bell, the door on the left side of the temple opens. Away back in the city, this action also opens the locked wooden door that we noted earlier. Backtrack from the temple area, through the garden and to the right hand end of the street outside. Go up the alley into the side room and through the open wooden door into the little room beyond. Kill the doberman that springs out at you. Pick up the large medikit and Secret #2 - a golden rose from the shelving units. Return through the garden to the temple area.

Climb up to the door on the left and climb up onto the ledge. Take a running jump across the gap to the next building, pressing [action] to lower Lara's trajectory. If you don't, she bangs her head and falls. Alternatively, a standing jump-grab will do the job just as well. A swarm of bats appears as you head towards the carved face at the end of the room. Ignore them and use the mechanism in the niche to open the upper door of the temple. Retrace your steps, jumping across the gap and enter the temple through the door you just opened.

In the room beyond, yoou'll find an alter with two ravens on pedestals. Go through the doorway in the back corner, through the small room beyond and up a couple of steps to find a gate and a switch. Pull the switch to shatter the raven statue, revealing a dove beneath it. Return to the main room and climb onto the plinth supporting the bird statues. Stand near the dove and press [action] to rotate it.

A door opens elsewhere in the level and the battering ramp up above starts swinging. Go through the second doorway at the back of the room and follow the passage up to a ledge near the swinging ram. Turn so that the ram is on Lara's right and drop back off the ledge to grab the edge. Traverse around to the right until you can pull up onto another ledge. Use the switch here to turn the second raven statue into a dove. Safety drop to the floor and head back to the plinth.

Turn the second dove statue to open the third door of the temple, outside at ground level. Exit the temple, but before going down to the third door, return to the first door you opened. Jump across the alley to the room with the carved face niche and pick up a small medikit and Secret #3 - a golden rose - from the two open alcoves. Exit the room and jump back across the gap to the temple.

Go through the third door and pick up the Saturn Stone. Walk back outside to end the level and...