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. |
Contents
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 her, 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, on a more critic tense, Tomb Raider III introduces Code Disks, laser-activated turret guns, carefully bypassing dangerous energy beams, and navigating through 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 a particular artifact, it might as well be called City Raider.
These modern locations were removed in the next game in the series; The Last Revelation, which was designed as a resurrection of the original Tomb Raider.
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 location of the non-linear section , Lara goes to Antarctica for the climax of the game.
- 1 - Jungle
- 2 - Temple Ruins
- 3 - River Ganges
- 4 - Caves of Kaliya
- 1 - Nevada Desert
- 2 - High Security Compound
- 3 - Area 51
- 1 - Coastal Village
- 2 - Crash Site
- 3 - Madubu Gorge
- 4 - Temple of Puna
- 1 - Thames Wharf
- 2 - Aldwych
- 3 - Lud's Gate
- 4 - City
- 1 - Antarctica
- 2 - RX-Tech Mines
- 3 - Lost City of Tinnos
- 4 - Meteorite Cavern (Main Boss Level)
Bonus Level
|
Bonus Level: All Hallows If the player collects at least 59 out of the total 60 secrets in the game (Note - secrets are irregularly numbered in each level), then they can access the secret bonus level after the Meteorite Cavern level. Completing this level successfully will allow the player to play the game again with unlimited ammo, unlike the previous game, when simply finishing the game once can grant this option. All Hallows was meant to be set between Thames Wharf and Aldwych. It is set in a cathedral like area, perhaps explaining the useless Cathedral Key found as a secret at the end of Thames Wharf. |
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. Each artifact, no matter what it's individual power, can mutate an living being to a certain extent, but for pure evolution, all four must be collected and put in their respective places in the Meteorite Cavern. The Artifact name, power (if known) and location is written in the table below:
| width="250" Template:Descline | Artifact | width="200" 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 power |
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 and to expel it in deadly, super-charged blasts. |
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 and their leader (The Puna) in some South Pacific islands. |
Additional Information:
|
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. The individual powers of this artifact are also unknown.
Story
The following account is completely from the opening sequence.
The Meteorite
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 an Antarctica island, 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 island area of tropical Antarctica became inhabited by Polynesians, early humans. There, they discovered the meteor, and the 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.
Antarctica slowly descended towards the South Pole form its current, warmer tropical area. Because of this, tropical life was slowly wiped out, so the food the Polynesians descendants lived on grew thinner and thinner. This lack of sustenance caused them to flee Antarctica, and they left the four meteoric artifacts deep inside a constructed meteorite cavern, far below the Antarctica surface.
It is here, when all four artifacts are combined, that any living thing can be radically evolved.
.jpg)
