Firstly a Youtube link for those who want it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcGKxQSxd6I

This is a glitchless single segment run of Tomb Raider 2. Like my recent Tomb Raider 1 run I feel I've owed this run for a while, as my old TR2 SDA run was unbelivably outdated; this run being over an hour faster despite being an SS says it all. This run is also faster than the current non-SDA segmented glitchless record of 1:49:56 .

I've made various attempts over the years to redo my run but they never went anywhere beyond finding tricks and planning. After my TR1 run went so well I decided it was finally time. I wasn't planning to go SS at first though (especially as I perceived TR2 as the hardest of the originals to SS, although I'm not sure that's the case now I've done it), however, I was getting tired of having to have everything go absolutely perfect in segmented runs, and watching TimmyAkmed and Michi do glitched SS runs of the game inspired me to go for a glitchless SS to try something different.

Tomb Raider 2 has multiple exes (essentially patch versions) that all function differently as far as glitches and similar goes. This is mostly meaningless to an glitchless run, but the default exe provided by things like GOG and Steam have a bug where you stumble if you jump in tight areas. Due to that I use an older exe version that doesn't have this problem.

Like TR1 executing the actual run was pretty quick and only took a couple of weeks of attempts, however, counting all the tries I've made over the years and invididual level runs I've done this has technically been in planning for years.

Thanks to everyone on TombRunner for many of the discoveries in this run, especially TimmyAkmed and Michi for inspiring me to make this an SS and xXApelaumXx for providing the exe file I use, the SDA staff, and also all the other people not on Tomb Runner who have made discoveries for the game over the years.

The glitchless category in TR2 is defined by http://www.tombrunner.net/ and the TR community in general as banning various moves that involve exploiting the engine to cut off large parts of the game, the main things relevant to TR2 that I don't use are:

Cornerbug and Flicker Motion: There are many (emphasis) ways to embed into corners in the original five TR games, the way the engine works means you "teleport" to the top of the block it is being used on (although not always; sometimes what happens is more arbitrary and random, like triggering certain things before you are supposed to). Flicker motion is a special cornerbug that allows motion while "stuck" in a ceiling.

Dive Bug: By swan diving perfectly at the transition between a wall and floor (mostly) you can fall effectively infinite distances without dying.

Fence Bug, Block and Crack bug: Certain textures seams can be jumped through, allowing you to essentially go through some walls and corners.

Stairs Bug: By using a certain exe and jumping at the transition between steps on a staircase you can do a form of cornerbug.

One thing I do exploit at times is trigger skipping, where avoiding certain triggers (sometimes just by jumping over them) allows you to not trigger enemies or other events, this isn't banned in general (because it would lead to an obvious slippery slope of what triggers are "required"), but variants that involve crack bugs to go through corners to skip triggers are.

Here's a few of the general techniques I use throughout (along with various other cancels and optimised movements):

Walk-run jump: By walking before doing a running jump you can do one in about half the distance it normally takes.

Weapon Drawing: There's a slight acceleration on Lara's turning before she reaches full speed, drawing pistols instantly sets that speed to full, and I try and always draw guns on turns. It also has the bonus of cancelling camera views. Sometimes you have a wait a couple of frames for it to work so I don't get the boost every time.

Wall bounce: An odd relation to weapon drawing in a way; if you hit a wall at an angle (the angle determines how extreme the "bounce" is) then Lara turns much more tightly; this frequently makes it much easier to line up things, and also allows for things such as run-jump courses that would be impossible without it.

Ceiling hit: By hitting a ceiling mid-jump the distance you can fall without stumbling is increased, I use this at a lot of places and it works with both standing and running jumps.

Longest jump: Backing up and jumping off a ledge isn't actually the biggest distance you can get off a ledge, by using a specific slow setup, or using surrounding geometry (optimally) it's possible to jump off a ledge further than you normally would, which allows you to grab things that would normally be out of reach.

Expanded Grab: By grabbing at the very last frame or two (although some are a little more forgiving) before Lara puts her arms in the air on a fall you go further than you normally would, which, as with the longest jump, allows you to reach things that would normally be unreachable.

Grab Cancel: An expanded grab variant that only works in TR1 and 2; if you are doing a jump at a distance where Lara would do a large stumble but not take damage, grabbing at the last few frames turns it in a small stumble that can be cancelled with a standing jump. It tends to be little more forgiving in TR2 than TR1, and I can pull most of them off in an SS. The flare cancel mostly obsoletes this but I want to save flares at certain parts.

Swing cancel: When you grab a ledge you can quickly let go and grab again to save either a few frames, or several seconds if Lara swings after a grab. I try and use this where ever possible, although as this is an SS I don't use it all the time. It's also very risky at some points, as if you grab too far left or right on a ledge Lara can just let go without regrabbing, so I intentionally avoid it at times.

Flare Cancel: By throwing a flare as you land from a jump that would stumble you the animation cancels out the stumble and lets you keep moving, I use this all the time, and the time saved quickly cancels out the time spent picking up flares.

Menu Buffering: When you open and close the inventory there's a couple of frames before you can open it again; this can be used to fine-tune difficult jumps or time things that otherwise require frame-perfect precision (if you have a good start point). The trade-off is that time runs in the menu, so you lose around three seconds every time you open it.

Now a small crash course on movement. Running jumps are the fastest method of movement in TR2, but it's a lot more complicated than that at times and the optimal movement depends a lot on the geometry and space available. Rolling is also slightly faster than normal running, which is exploited at things like end-level points and drop-offs. Also swimming is faster than normal walking but slower than running jumps, so I stay out of water where possible when the latter can be done. Pushing blocks is faster than pulling them. Turning manually is faster than rolling (especially underwater) Also, grabbing in the air covers more ground if the fall is a certain distance, and less if a fall is short/equal height to where you jumped from.

See www.Tombrunner.net for more information on the techniques and glitches in TR runs.

You might notice some stuttering at times, which I couldn't seem to get rid of, so I just had to go with it.

I list the level end time and the approximate time the level starts in the run videos.

The Great Wall: Level End Time: 3:27 Video Start Time: 0:08: There's some difficult stuff for the first level here, although that's in part because I use more difficult routes as it's the start of the run. The starting sequence in particular is quite easy to get wrong. When jumping into the water the optimal position to jump from lands you straight in the key alcove, but I got the second-best outcome where I can go in slightly after landing. There's some degree of luck with the combination of Spiders, Birds and Tigers as it's possible to be killed at the end if you take enough damage, but it's very rarely an issue. I got caught up on a couple of enemies but my time was above-average in the end, as I usually end up around 3:30.

Venice: Level End Time: 3:42 Video Start Time: 3:37: The Dogs are a major annoyance throughout Venice as they apparently have some sort of micro-nuclear device built into their teeth and do far more damage than anything else here, so killing them is top priority as they can end a run in no time. Sticking left on the way to the building is intentional as it increases the chance Lara will target the Dog over the Pole Guy. The curve jump was initially a major run killer, but after some more testing I found a better method that's far more reliable. I planned not to grab to the awning, as it seemed very easy while practicing, but attempting a direct jump was probably where most of my runs failed initially, so I decided it wasn't worth it in the end (outside of a last-ditch way to recover a bad run). Getting the boat is faster than swimming, and the second half is pretty straightforward. Swimming under the door skips activating the timer on the exit. Despite some mistakes-especially getting out of the boat at the exit door switch-this is actually one of the best Venice times I've managed and I normally come closer to 3:50 (although I have got below 3:40 before). xXApelaumXx showed a new route for the end after the run was done, but it would only save a few seconds.

Bartoli's Hideout: Level End Time 5:07: Video Start Time: 7:20 : If you hold roll as the level starts you can start moving a bit faster. I have to kill Rats on purpose here, as if too many enemies are active they start flickering out and don't attack until you get close; this is normally an advantage as it gets them out the way, but I want enemies to chase me at the start. After crossing to the second building I use the Shotgun for the only time in the run, as this seems to be the best use of the ammo I have. The Chandelier room can be dangerous as the aggressiveness of the Gunman varies a lot and one mistake is the end of the run, but it's not much trouble with some care. You can jump directly to the painting key, but I could find no reliable way to do it in an SS, so I take the longer way that's ~ten seconds slower. With some luck you only have to use one large medikit in this level, but using two didn't matter in the end. This might be the best time I've ever managed for this level, and just about everything went well except for the damage taken.

Opera House: Level End Time: 3:00 Video Start Time: 12:30: The amount of damage you take at the start area is very random; sometimes the Gunman shoots you a bunch and others times he doesn't shoot at all. I was relatively lucky this time. I got unlucky with the fall to the key and the Pole Guy shoved me out the way, but I recovered fast. At the walk through the broken glass you can use a medikit and just run through, but saving medikits is more important in the end, so I only do that if I'm already near death. Unfortunately I got unlucky with the boss at the end and had to use health anyway, so in retrospect I probably should have run through the glass. three minutes is a very average time for this level.

Offshore Rig: Level End Time: 6:53 Video Start Time: 15:33: Getting the guard to break the glass can be random, but I found that waiting where I do works just about every time. Unfortuntely the fight with them after was pretty messy. When getting the Auto-pistols the Pole Guys can get stuck climbing on beds and allow for an easy multi-pickup, I didn't try for that as it seems very random for me, but in this run I got super-lucky and two got stuck anyway. I messed up the Red Keycard fight a bit too as Lara missed the enemy once. When entering the room after using the Red Keycard the enemies act in a very predictable way that lets me wipe them out like this every time. I managed the semi-hard jump to the pushblock, which helped make up for any earlier mistakes here. The grab across the water pit is one of the major tricks in the run, as it saves several minutes, but it requires a longest jump+expanded grab at frame perfect timings to work. thankfully I found a menu-buffering method that was quite reliable for me, and it turned out to not be much of an issue. I was also lucky to not have to use health on this level. This is another above-average time, so I guess my play later made up for the bad fights at the start.

Diving Area: Level End Time: 8:29 Video Start Time: 22:31: Not getting pulled into the fan after using the switch can be dangerous, but it's mostly just going left straight after you turn right. The super-long ladder is an irritant, but it actually comes at a nice time as it's a way to cool off after doing the trick at the end of Offshore Rig and prepare for the rest. After getting the Blue Keycard I mess up the jump to the corridor but I recover it quickly. In the circular corridors the Dogs should rush you but one or two love to get lost and make you waste time hunting them, unfortunately I had to do so this time and lost time going to the other side of the room. Before the flame traps, I was supposed to kill the Pole Guy over the other enemy for a double pickup but the Hoover was on at the time so I miscounted my shots (it's surprising how well this level went with the amount of distractions I had during it). At the flame traps I pick up the M16, which is my main weapon in the run; it has the highest DPS in the game, long range and is very ammo efficient. The only downside is that's it's cumbersome, which isn't an issue with good positioning. I thought the curve at the end would be the hardest jump in the whole run, but, like the Offshore Rig jump, it turned out to not be that much of a problem with the proper technique; I got it wrong once here but it went perfect the second time (it would have probably worked the first time if I had remembered to hold roll).

40 Fathoms: Level End Time: 4:58 Video Start Time: 31:04: At the start swim you can avoid getting air and just use a large medikit at the end of the swim, however I wasn't sure how much health I would need so I decided to play it safe and not do that. I seem to mess this level up a lot in attempts, and unfortunately I did a little this time. I failed a very easy jump twice and lost about 15-20 seconds to that. In the final rubble rooms I also failed the semi-difficult jump straight to a switch alcove and had to do it a slower way, I also messed up some other small things there. The end room is very luck based, and sometimes the Shotgun guy goes full-auto and you need multiple medikits, I got lucky this time. I recovered from the mistakes well enough but this level could easily be 20-30 seconds faster, and it's the one level run in this I'd outright call mediocre to bad.

Wreck of the Maria Dora: Level End Time: 5:49 Video Start Time: 36:05: I use the sounds+animations to time the roll-off of the collaspsing tiles and minimise forced damage at the start. How I act after pulling out the water to multiple enemies depends on where the Wrench guy is; optimally I can just stand at the entrance and mow all three enemies down, but unfortunately I got unlucky here and had to rush in to not get shoved back into the water. I was able to wipe them out quickly anyway though. If you fall on the pushblock at the right position you can move it over the fires without catching on fire at all, which makes you take much less damage on the burner tiles. At the later water segment I'm very careful to avoid the Sharks as they take around half your health or more per-bite, and I want to save health for the end due to some Shotgunner luck and the fact it lets me bulldoze through the Eels and Barracudas without having to waste time dodging. Despite the bad luck in the main fight I think this is the best time I've ever had for this level.

Living Quarters: Level End Time: 5:42 Video Start Time: 42:00: I had wasted too much Auto-pistol ammo earlier and didn't have enough for the enemies near the start, but I had enough M16 ammo for it to not matter, unfortunately the shotgunner decided to take ages to come for me and I had to wait for the barrel trap. The giant Black Eel in the middle water segment does insane damage and is basically instant death in this run, so I use a roll to set me up to dodge it easily. I messed up both jumps on the way to the big sloped room, but it didn't matter much as I consider their success optional anyway. I'm careful to kill the Shotgunners in the last part as they can kill you very easily. The last jump can get nasty fast if you mess it up, but my positioning worked out perfectly this time and I got it right first time.

The Deck: Level End Time: 6:37 Video Start Time: 47:56: Killing the two start enemies is important as the Flamethrower will probably kill you later otherwise, and you're also dead if you mess the first jump up at all. I get the first jump wrong once but I do it again quick enough for it to not matter much. On the way up to the top there's a chance a Shotgunner will start damaging you, which is bad as it forces you to use a medikit for the forced-damage fall, but I got lucky this time. After getting the key and climbing back to the main Deck area there's some luck involved as multiple Shotgunners can chase you around. It went pretty well this time. In the room after using the key the collasping tiles are bugged and don't make a sound, so you have to be more careful with them than usual. I jump to the pool on the way down as there's a Flamethrower around and the pool lets me safely work out where he is. Getting the Grenade Launcher was a relatively late tactic, but it completely breaks the Dragon fight and also speeds up a couple of other kills (and saves getting a bunch of ammo for other weapons in the process).

Tibetan Foothills: Level End Time: 7:32 Video Start Time: 54:38: At the start I somersault right as it's faster than falling into the start area, I also managed to pull off a frame-perfect grab cancel, which is nice. TimmyAkmed and Michi can both do the jump at the two Eagles on the fly, but I found that incredibly dangerous so I take a slower method, and also wipe out the two Eagles as they are an annoyance later (and outright dangerous if your health is too low). The Snowmobile seems to be the one true random element of the run outside of enemy luck; sometimes it just goes completely crazy and there's nothing you can do, but you can usually minimise that with some care. These stream videos provide some good examples of when you can't:
http://www.twitch.tv/mman235/c/3058672
http://www.twitch.tv/mman235/c/3064139
I got ridiculously unlucky with a Leopard on the way back, but it worked out as I only used one small medikit in the end anyway (which is expected). At the hut I intentionally take my time as you can dodge all three guards with minimal damage if you lure them near the hut. The Black Snowmobile acts very predictably if you position right. The sideflip at the block skips spawning some enemies. The final jump looks dangerous but it's not very hard.

Barkhang Monastery: Level End Time: 15:09 Video Start Time: 1:02:29: The longest level by far, but not too much trouble outside of a certain section. A secret to the Monks; only the blue enemies can damage them, this makes sense as the Uzi enemies would completely annihilate them if they could do damage. Due to that I only focus on blue enemies when I have to kill and Monks are around. Jumping over the boulder isn't hard to do, and failing usually isn't very damaging anyway as long as you go over. You can jump over the second too but it's much more risky. Going through traps in darkness looks risky but it's simple with the right moves. I wasn't planning to pick up the Uzi's at first, but they have their uses and the pickup is essentially a free medikit too so I eventually decided that getting them is a good idea if I can (there's some luck involved in where the enemy dies).

The rooftops area after getting the gemstone has some luck involved with the fight; sometimes the Monks die easily and you have to kill everything yourself. I got lucky this time and the Monks wiped the enemies out for me. The big curve off the high ledge is a major trick in the run; due to a trigger skip it saves around three minutes, but it's very risky as it's death if you fail. I eventually found an angle and menu buffering method that is very reliable. The guantlet of traps soon after is the other very dangerous part of this level, as you have little time to wait for the swinging bags before the flame comes but on, and it seems that just tanking some damage is the safest method. Due to the rooftops jump the water room is already drained and I save several minutes by avoiding the second gemstone and lots of backtracking. There's quite a bit of enemy flickering going on the later stages of this level due to so much stuff being spawned. At the final jump over the rails I managed another frame-perfect grab cancel.

Catacombs of the Talion: Level End Time: 5:53 Video Start Time: 1:17:40: There's quite a bit of enemy luck here due to the Uzi enemies, but it worked out well this time. Yeti's are also a bit random; their attacks are unpredictable, sometimes they miss every time and other times they pummel you. I only have to evade a couple of Yeti though. I botched the setup for the jump off the first ladder a bit but recovered quickly enough. The first Mask room seems very dangerous to me with all the enemies around and this is the safest method I found. After using the Mask I intentionally head straight for the boulders as it skips spawning some Leopards. In the next room I jump to a slope to skip spawning more Leopards (the only set in that area that aren't a problem later). In the dark cage room the amount of Yeti's that go free is very random; sometimes only one or two free themselves and, rarely, all four get out, unfortunately the latter happened in this case. I never expected the curve jump to the molten pot holder to be possible in SS, but after finding ways to make stuff like the Barkhang jump much easier I started experimenting and found a method that worked almost every time.

Ice Palace: Level End Time: 3:57 Video Start Time: 1:23:38: This level is where the Uzis are helpful; they aren't needed for the bells but they make it much more likely you will hit them. The bells ended up going pretty much perfectly. I have to jump to the block with the Mask on it despite not picking it up because it opens a door. I messed up the drop to the Gong Hammer a bit by taking too much time to reach the ice, but didn't lose much time. The method I use for the boss is very easy, fast and safe, and is probably the fastest glitchless method. Due to the timed ending of the level I suicide at the end yet I'm alive in the next level; I guess that's technically a glitch but it's done purely for entertainment and doesn't affect the run at all.

Temple of Xian: Level End Time: 4:55 Video Start Time: 1:27:36: The curve jump that skips most of this level is technically a very dangerous moment, but I've done it so many times now it's second nature to me, and I find the right angle straight away here. The Uzis get some more use too; I could use the Auto-pistols but the Uzis are better and I have the ammo so I may as well use it. The rest of this level is straightforward; some stuff looks dangerous but it pretty much all of it has a very reliable method. At the spike platform shimmying left on the ladder is faster than walking at the bottom, but sometimes Lara won't grab if you're too far right so I use the safer method.

Floating Islands: Level End Time: 8:15 Video Start Time: 1:32:44 This level has the most changes from the segmented glitchless route; there are a couple of jumps which save 10-20 seconds that are very difficult and/or need lots of luck that there's no simple way to do. I also use safe strategies for the platforming here as the faster methods aren't worth the risk at this point. I mess up the jump to the trapdoor at the start, but get very lucky as the enemy completely misses me and lets me climb up; if it had started shoving me around it could have got nasty. After leaving the room I jump to the high ledge as the fall off the island can be easily ruined by enemies and this lures them out the way a bit and buys me time to do it. At the drop into the cage room with the Spearmen I miss the first trigger and waste a few seconds running to the one on the other side of the room. Backflipping with the M16 is surprisingly effective, and isn't much slower than using the Uzi's in this fight. After killing the Ninja (I use a flare to be sure of his position because he likes to move a lot) I check my health supplies as it's very important for the end, luckily I had plenty left. While climbing the last ladder I'm far too conservative with health and almost die, but I thankfully get just out of the Spearmen's range.

The Dragon's Lair: Level End Time: 1:48 Video Start Time: 1:41:03: Killing the first enemy is important to minimise the burst damage in the Ninja room; it looks dangerous but there's no chance of getting insta-killed as long as I don't need to be cagey with medikits. Sometimes an enemy can run over the item after you Grenade the guy with the plaque, but it all worked out this time. The Grenade Launcher allows for a very easy and cheap Dragon kill. On the way out it's possible to stumble and be killed by the falling ceiling, the route I take makes the chance pretty much zero, but I throw a Flare on the biggest leap just to be sure.

Home Sweet Home: Level End Time: No Time Given Video Start Time: 1:42:52 You've pretty much got a run if you get here, but there's still a chance of dying here if you take too many risks or mess up heavily. The real final boss is the four Dogs, who are the priority targets. I camp at the garden gate as it lures everything through and prevents you from being attacked from multiple angles. The actual final boss is a joke if you have any health left.

My recording program couldn't record the credits properly, which is why they are jumpy and fast, but it doesn't affect anything and the final stats look/sound fine.

Final Stats:
Time Taken: 01:43:56
Secrets Found: 0 of 48
Kills: 112
Ammo used: 1899
Hits: 1637
Health Packs Used: 18.0
Distance Travelled 18.84km

This run could be improved, but even with much heavier risks and all notable tricks executed perfectly I don't think going below 1:40 is practical for a glitchless SS. Plus, as I covered above, this contains several runs that are amoung the best I've ever got during attempts.

I discovered a way to get around TR2's broken screen recorder support thanks to Hypercam, so I did this rerun simply to submit a MUCH better looking video. Along the way I also discovered a few quirks to the Assault Course, and seem to have sussed it out now (and have edited the tips to reflect that). Thanks to BallofSnow and Nate for helping work out the compression of the run and the Mikeuyama and the rest of the SDA staff for accepting this run, also thanks to FirebrandX and Shin Sato for helping me get this time with the help of their videos.

On the HQ video you might notice some liney crap on Lara (lower video quality helpfully hides them), this is a result of antialiasing, but I decided the visual improvement of having it turned on far outweighed this small problem. There's also a tiny green line in the top left corner (apparently some Hypercam thing), but it's barely noticeable.

Here's a breakdown of the important notes on each part (the things that may not come through on the video. In order obviously):

As long as your start is decently straight it doesn't seem to matter too much (E.G. it doesn't have to look PERFECT) the important part is that it is lined up towards the left/middle for the slope jump setup, of course you'll probably want to get it as straight as possible just to be sure.

The dive at the water also doesn't seem to matter, but as all the record videos I saw did that it's better to be safe :) .

The slope jump had me stuck for awhile, but I got it down good eventually. For optimal time you MUST jump from the top half of the lower block of the slope, though as long as your jumping is constant and you land in the right spot how straight the initial jump is doesn't matter (as shown in the video). The slope jump is still one of the toughest parts though and might take you quite a few attempts to master.

Despite how it may seem, this method of jumping from the bridge to the water is definitely the optimal one (standing jumps, entering the water as soon as possible etc are slower).

When you are swimming aim for the transition between the shallow blocks to start wading the fastest.

The ladder grab MUST be done so Lara's left foot is exactly at (or a few pixels off) the edge, this doesn't just make the climb left faster; it also speeds up the bit where Lara is "shifted" up. If you are visibly off to any degree you may as well forget about 1:03:9 and get back to the start to try again.

The zipline grab is done by angling left a certain way and holding walk at the same time then letting go of walk and pressing grab right as you stop, if you get it right you will instantly grab and not fall off.

You let go of the zipline somewhere around the far edge of the black block on the ground, it's pretty obvious when you get it right as you go flying right through the finish, so you shouldn't really have to press any other button after letting go of the zip but you may as well hold forward throughout to be safe.

This zipline trick has a quirk; the special release never works the first time the mansion is loaded, you have to have used the zipline at least once after loading the level before you can get a 1:03:9 (if you don't you will get a time of around 1:04:5-6, which shows how important it is).

As a final note, there is an annoying bug on the zipline where if you let go at the wrong time and bash your head on the archway action "breaks" and you have to reload the mansion before you can use it again, just a warning (in case you think your buttons just broke or something).

The slope jump, ladder grab and zipline grab are by far the most difficult parts, now I have more experience with it, I would rank the ladder grab as the hardest part, since it has to be so accurate.

So now you can go get it yourself with minimal pain ;) .

I'd like to thank the SDA staff for accepting and hosting this speed run. This is my second run that I've submitted to SDA. The first was a glitched run of TR3. I had never played The Golden Mask until about a year ago, but I'm actually very satisfied with this run.

This is a run collecting all 12 secrets, while using no glitches or bugs of any kind. The shortcuts used in this run primarily include curve jumps, with the hardest one coming in the first level. There are 4 full levels in this game with 11 total segments. I completed this run on the PC and used FRAPS for recording. If you'd like to see more of my Tomb Raider speed runs, check out RadxxRyan on YouTube. Enjoy the run.

Level 1: The Cold War - Time: 7:34

Jumping over the snowballs at the start is easier than it looks. The crows are extremely annoying in this level but I got very lucky they didn't follow me when I reached the very hard curve jump.

The first save is done in order to focus on perfecting the curve jump. In the ice cavern, you must pick up the large health pack in order to access the very bottom of the room with the 3rd secret. Picking up the secret triggers the gunmen, who can shoot Lara while she climbs the long ladder. I had to keep trying this segment until they decided not to follow me.

The last segment of the level mostly deals with escaping the snowmobile thug. Picking up the large health pack triggers the 2nd bad guy who is holding the Cabin key. You may notice the video freeze for a split second when Lara swims toward the exit. This happens when the in-game music is changing suddenly. You'll notice several more times during the run. Unfortunately, I could not find any fixes for that. But since it happens so quick, it wasn't much of a bother to me.

Level 2: Fool's Gold - Time: 7:19

Upon exiting the water, you'll be ambushed by 3 thugs, 2 dogs and 2 flamethrowers. However, if you first enter through the door on the right, you can re-close the doors and trap most of the enemies there.

Killing the snowmobile thug in the 2nd segment is necessary because of having to backtrack for the 2nd secret. I then take his vehicle to quickly mow down a few enemies and take out another guy on a snowmobile.

In the last segment, you pretty much have to be lucky not to get torched by the flamethrowers since you cannot see where they're positioned. I picked up the shotgun shells at the end because you get 3 boxes of them in one pickup.

Level 3: Furnace of the Gods - Time: 9:47

In the rat room, I move the block to access 3 more boxes of shells, which gave me just enough ammo to defeat the Guardian in Kingdom. At about the 20 minute mark, it looks like Lara just barely touches the deadly molten gold but she doesn't die. Not sure why, but it might be due to Lara springing off the ceiling and the game didn't react in time to "kill" her. I picked up the M16 clips in order to kill a couple leopards in the next level.

Once again, we must deal with more crows. They are even more annoying this time; they will push you off the ledges if you aren't quick enough. And yes, they will follow you almost to the last damn room. Once you flood the room with water, they cannot follow you anymore. And if they get near the water, they just die. Also, if you are lucky and extremely quick, you can flood the room and make one of the gunmen literally drown. Jumping over the rolling blade without taking any damage is very hard; you have to jump just as the blade starts rolling toward you.

Level 4: Kingdom - Time: 7:13 (Manual Timing)

The final time for this level is not given. I got 7:13 by adding up times for the first 3 levels, then subtracting that from the total time displayed in the Final Statistics screen.

First half of this level is fairly easy. Lot of back and forth with the switches and cages, which is unavoidable. I decided to save the game a couple times halfway through because of the curve jump and then the series of careful jumps around the central lava pool.

The large health pack I pick up is needed in order for the door down the hallway, to open. In the room where I pickup the final secret of the game, there are only a few spots where the lava is not deadly, which is why I am careful with the jumps. The jump around the corner at 32:42 is actually not that easy. If Lara bumps into anything there, the Yetis will get a hold of her. The battle with the Final Guardian was perfect.

Final Statistics:

Time Taken: 31:53
Secrets Found: 12 of 12
Kills: 20
Ammo Used: 587
Hits: 403
Health Packs Used: 5.5
Distance Travelled: 5.86km

As a reward for collecting all 12 secrets, the game unlocks the bonus level, Nightmare in Vegas. I've completed a speed run of that level as well, but since it is a bonus level, it is not part of my actual speed run, so you will only be able to view it on my YouTube channel.

A big thank you to all my fellow speed runners. I'm happy to say another run is in the books. Hope you enjoy this run! Until next time...