Tomb Raider III Story

Editing Notice This article will develop over a large period of time, and until the base layer of it (a full plot) is completed, I urge anyone not to edit or change it in any way.

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Introduction

The following article will explain in high detail the story-line of the 1998 Tomb Raider III. This page, though, does not include high-detail walkthrough information of each level, that can be found in the tombraidergirl pages, but instead the cutscenes and FMV's seen throughout the game.

A lot has happened since Tomb Raider II. Lara Croft is becoming more and more realistic, in the sense that she now can perform new moves that people would expect from great Lara, such as sprinting, or crouching.

Newer sounds in the game also improve the overall reality. The guns shots actually sound like guns shots now, and Lara makes different footstep noises for the different surfaces she walks on.

For the first time in the series, the usual linear gameplay of Tomb Raider is now nonlinear; After the four India Levels, Lara can choose which of the next three locations she wants to go to, and for every location, Lara has a new, and interesting outfit.

However, Tomb Raider III introduces Code Disks, laser-activated turret guns, navigating over the tops of London and into a derelict subway. The problem? Tomb Raider has now practically lost all of its original Tombs which made the first installment so famous and successful. As Lara, at a certain level, is traversing over the city of London to find an artifact, it might as well be called City Raider.

These modern locations were removed in the next game in the series; The Last Revelation.

Level Map

The following diagrams and captions will show the levels in the game. Nevada, London and the South Pacific can be played in any order. At the end of the third section, Lara goes to Antarctica for the game's climax.

The dense Jungle.

India

• 1 - Jungle
• 2 - Temple Ruins
• 3 - River Ganges
• 4 - Caves of Kaliya

The Nevada Desert.

Nevada

• 1 - Nevada Desert
• 2 - High Security Compound
• 3 - Area 51

The beach by Coastal Village.

South Pacific

• 1 - Coastal Village
• 2 - Crash Site
• 3 - Madubu Gorge
• 4 - Temple of Puna

Thames Wharf in London

London

• 1 - Thames Wharf
• 2 - Aldwych
• 3 - Lud's Gate
• 4 - City

RX-Tech explorer in Antarctica.

Antarctica

• 1 - Antarctica
• 2 - RX-Tech Mines
• 3 - Lost City of Tinnos
• 4 - Meteorite Cavern (Main Boss Level)

London

• Bonus Level - All Hallows

Prelude

The following paragraphs and sections of information will introduce the story of Tomb Raider III through artifacts and the opening FMV sequence.

Artifacts

Tomb Raider III is about collecting four meteoric artifacts from across the globe. The individual object has it's own unique power, but when all four are combined in the Meteorite Cavern deep below Antarctica, they have the power to rapidly accelerate human evolution. The Artifact name, power (if known) and location is written in the table below:

width="250" Template:Descline | Artifact	width="250" Template:Descline | Image	width="250" Template:Descline | Power	width="250" Template:Descline | Location and Owner
Infada Stone		If a person stabs the Infada Stone into their heart (similar to the Dagger of Xian), they then get the power of levitation and to fire beams of compressed atmospherical energy.	Inside the Temple Ruins, India, until Tony stole it, and taken to the Caves of Kaliya.
Element 115		Unknown	Inside an alien UFO, in Area 51, Nevada. It is owned by the US Government.
Eye of Isis		Can stop the bearer from aging, and, similar to the Infada Stone, get the power of compressed atmospherical energy.	Owned by Sophia Leigh, in London.
Ora Dagger		The Ora Dagger allows the controller to summon monsters and beasts, and manipulates and controls electro-particles in the air, and can fire them in a deadly blast of lightning, and use them defensively, as in an electro-shield.	Owned by a cannibalistic tribe in some South Pacific islands. It is used by the Puna.

Ora Dagger and Element 115 Mix-Up An important note is that the Ora Dagger and Element 115 were mixed up during the creation of the game, so in some games, when you complete Nevada, you'll get the Ora Dagger then, and the Element 115 at the end of the South Pacific (though this is just the name; whatever game type the look of the artifact will be the same).

It was revealed in Tomb Raider III: Lost Artifact, the multi-level expansion of Tomb Raider III, that there was a fifth artifact; The Hand of Rathmore. It powers in the Meteorite Cavern are unknown; perhaps only four are needed. Also, the individual powers of this artifact is unknown.

Story

Millions of years ago, after the time of dinosaurs, but before the time of humans, a meteorite survived the high density plunge into Earth's atmosphere. As it survived the deep entry (where temperatures exceed 1500 degrees centigrade), the size of the meteor would be between that of a large car and around the combined sizes of two houses. As the introduction clip shows, the animal inhabitants of a tropical area, actually Antarctica millions of years ago, sensed the meteor coming and were immediately alarmed. A few minutes later, the meteor crashed into a bed of trees, exploding everything around it. Over the next few millions of years, this area of tropical Antarctica became inhabited by Polynesians, early humans. There, they discovered the meteor, and strange, unnatural powers that it possessed. The Polynesians worshiped this rock, and sculpted four objects of different shape and power from it; the Four Meteoric Artifacts.