Realms Of The Haunting Revisited

Interactive Adventure by GREMLIN

A solution by Lu Richardson

 

The Product:

I recently rediscovered this ten-year old game and was amazed at how excellent it was.  Of course the film sequences are badly acted, the story is very confusing to say the least and nobody is prepared to give you any information that makes any sense – but *OH* the actual game!  That was a real joy.  There are puzzles to solve and battles to fight.  A haunted house with a vengeance.  Great stuff!

Also, to my surprise, it works with Windows XP.  You just go to the DOS prompt and install the game from the CD, then you choose the best resolution for you.  Movement, though, is with the arrow keys of the keypad – the ordinary arrow keys won’t work.

Also to my surprise, this great game is still for sale.  I found 14 in www.tugz.com and I dare say e-bay will have some.  So if you are reading this out of curiosity, don’t miss this classic.  It really is superb – and probably very cheap.

Finally, I found my old solution and realized that some changes are necessary.  For instance, there are 48 health potions to be found in the game (that I know of) and I didn’t need a single one!  If you are patient and play with cunning, you won’t either.  That is most satisfying.

 

General tips:

I know you don't need to be told to swing the old cursor around to see what there is in each room, so I won't. However, I would like to say that you should use the End key to see what's on the floor, because otherwise you'll miss lots of items.

By the way, when you see open boxes on the floor and look inside to get the ammo they usually contain, look at them from all angles.  A high side can hide their contents.

During your first steps around the house, and once you have the colt, don't waste ammunition shooting at windows and mirrors:  you are going to need it.

As always, examine every item you pick up at the first opportunity. Sometimes certain objects contain other items.

I presume you'll be playing in Easy Mode, i. e., you click on something and, if you are carrying the right article, the right thing will happen. Later on, this is particularly handy for opening doors in a hurry if you've got half the population of monsters, and their friends and relations, at your heels. That's not exactly the moment you would choose to rummage around your pockets to find the correct key. Of course, if you are trying to solve a puzzle, this helpful option doesn't work: you have to pick the right item to put in the right place.

This is a tough game, and if you want to stay alive it is a good idea to do a "dry run" of a few rooms at a time so that you can learn the lay of the land, as it were. You can't afford to get badly hurt.  Also, you can't hang around looking for items too long, as in some rooms nasties appear and they'll be on top of you while you are busy staring at the floor. So, you see, if you've done a dry run and know exactly where everything is, you can be in and out in a jiffy.

Sometimes you get attacked from all sides, so you'll have to work out ways of getting away with a minimum of damage. Save every time you have a successful run.


Combat:

As to combat, don't rush into rooms but rather walk cautiously in and wait a few seconds to see if something nasty materializes; get out and then you can kill it from the doorway at a safe distance. Keep away from the monsters whenever possible, running around and walking backwards if necessary.  

One important thing to remember is that most monsters can't go through doors (the men in black can get in through double doors, but not if one panel is shut) so, stand where the door can't shut because you are in the way, and keep blasting. If they come too close, you can always retreat, shut the door and open it again later. Stairs are good, too: sometimes you can stay at the foot, or half way up, and do a lot of damage without getting hurt since most monsters that hurl missiles can’t use stairs.

Another thing to remember is that monsters which chuck stuff at you must be facing you square on, so you can exploit this by making them turn corners to get at you and frying them before they can face you.

If the opposition is too much for you, RUN!


Weapons:

Keep an eye on your colt if you are using it: when it runs out of bullets you have to reload and you can be cut to ribbons while you are doing that. Back away while you are reloading; obviously, it is not a good idea to be caught in a corner on those occasions.

It’s as well to be sure to place all the weapons you want to use on the top five boxes of the inventory so that you can choose one quickly pressing 2, 3 etc.  Also, towards the end of the game, make sure you are left with four boxes of ammo for the shotgun and a magazine for the colt.

Avoid at all costs fighting at close quarters; in fact, given enough speed and room you can run past some monsters without getting hurt. 

Use the colt when you are beyond the reach of the nasties and the shotgun when you are out in the open.  Later on you get “rechargeable” weapons which take a while to recharge – then it is best to use them one after the other to save on ammo. Most of them are only effective when fully charged.

To tell you the truth, I found that, no matter how sophisticated the weapons got as I went along, they still didn't do all that much damage. At times, it is important to find out which weapon does the most harm to certain monsters.

You will gather from all this that this game is not a straight forward shoot 'em up - you will depend heavily on strategy to stay out of trouble.

SAVE A LOT.  Fortunately, you can save your game at the beginning of each chapter and use the F9 option for saving when you attempt a dangerous task and also when you succeed, or the F10 option to go back, if you fail; but don't use this option in the middle of a puzzle, since it won't work.  Unfortunately, there are only 9 slots and 20 chapters, so it would be a good idea to copy the first 9 saved games on a floppy or a directory you've created, so that you can overwrite the old ones.

OK, if you are ready, here we go.



CHAPTER I: Shadows

Watch the Intro. I know there is a walkthrough in the manual, but here is a better one. In the dark room at the start, look at everything that can be examined, even the paintings. Look out of the windows. There is a small table with some ammo (get it) and a book you don’t really need. Look at it, though.

Step out towards the light, but turn right along the corridor to have a look. Here are some more doors which cannot be opened yet.

Go into the lit room and pick up the ammo on the table by the window. You'll notice a note is typing itself in the typewriter. Get the note and everything on the table. Read all the notes and examine everything you've found so far.

Now open one of the doors and walk to the right to see what there is. Turn around and walk towards the window. Note the footprints and the decapitated rat on the floor. You can close the window, if you like. Personally, I'd bolt it AND bar it.

Go up the stairs and click on the candles to light them. Go on up the stairs to see what there is and come back here. Go to the end of the corridor and examine the painting. Light one candle and then walk across to the other - light it and glue yourself to the wall till the fireball trap is triggered (it blows the window at the other end of the corridor). Get the key and unlock the door in this corridor. Go in and watch.


CHAPTER II: Signs and Portents

When the video clip is over, find the light switch by the door and turn it on (always do this in every room of the house).  Pick up everything on the table and read the letters. You won't need the three masks, but you can take them if you like. Get the rusty sword if you like, take the shield by the fireplace and also the letter on the floor by the shield. Read all the letters. Click on the gramophone and again to turn it off. Click on the face of the clock and keep clicking till you reach 6 o’clock: the door will open. This will mean something to you later on.

Pick up all the statuettes. Go to the sarcophagus and click on each indentation on the floor around it to place the statuettes on them. You'll notice you are going to need two more.

Now click on a book in the bookcase to the right of the picture and it will swing open. Save and ready your gun. Don't rush in - advance slowly and start blasting away the moment you see the nasty. Don't waste ammo:  by the way, the closer you are to the monsters the more damage you do but it is, of course, riskier.

Continue to a room with a fence, where you can see some lava: step into it, wait a few seconds and dispose of the nasty. There will be a cave-in behind you, but don't let it worry you. You've got worse problems than that. Have a quick look at the square hollow by the shields to the right of the entrance. Go on.

At the room with the water a nasty will come out of the pool - shoot it. Pick up the ammo at the bottom of the stairs, go up them and down again going near the pool – another nasty will come out of the water, shoot him while walking away from him and up the stairs because you will be reloading as you do so.  Once you’ve got rid of him, go on down the other stairs.

In the corridor you will meet with yet another monster, just shoot it as you back away.

Moving on, you'll come to a chamber with a pentagram on the floor. To your left, a locked door; beyond that, a passage going off to the left. To your right, at the end of the wall, a cupboard and a passage going off to the right. In front of you, slightly to the right, a couple of boxes containing ammo.

Move across the room and turn your back on the wall. As soon as you reach down to pick up the ammo, you'll hear a noise. Look up, and shoot the monster, running around if necessary.  Get the ammo from the boxes.

Go to the cupboard and pick up the ball and the ammo below, on the floor. Go to the door and click on the indentation; the ball will be placed automatically in it and the door will open. Walk in, wait till the nasty materialises and shoot at it, backing off if necessary.  You’ll probably need to reload while doing this, so let the door shut and open it again when you are ready.

Having killed the monster inside, go in, pick up all the ammo by the armchair and the scroll on the table. Look at this scroll - it's a map of the Mausoleum and you will recognize at the top the chamber with the pool and also the room you are in just now. Examine the rest of the map and note "regardez" (in case you did German at school instead of French, it means "look"). "What's on the other side of the door?", at the bottom of the map, doesn't sound good to me. At any rate, you'll be able to consult it whenever you want to know where you are.

OK, on the other piece of furniture you'll find a healing potion and a piece of paper. Have a look at it. Save and open the door by clicking on the ball and then on the indentation again.

Change to run mode ON. Turn left and go through the passage. As soon as the nasty appears turn around and run back into the room, past the other monster. Retreating through the first corridor, you should be able to kill both nasties without getting hurt.

Now it's safe to go through the passage.  Get OFF run mode and save. Go along the corridor, down the stairs and turn right immediately you can to enter the room.  Walk around clinging to the right hand side wall, don’t worry about the three nasties which pop up from the floor, just follow the wall right around, past the other monster and up the stairs. Turn around and start shooting at anyone who shows; let them follow you up the stairs while you shoot.  If you’ve done this right you should be able to kill all four without getting hurt.

Once it is safe, go in and pick up the shotgun, the ammo and the two healing potions. Don't use the potions unless you absolutely must. Back to the room with the pentagram - this time, follow the passage by the cupboard.

Careful. Peek around corners. If you hear a clanking noise, wait till it dies down, then go around the corner and blast the monster robot with the shotgun while it's walking away from you. There are three in this section, keep your distance; you must blow these monsters completely away, i.e., don't let them lay about on the ground.

Next, you step into a room above of some stairs. There is a door on the left, let's go through it. There is a triangular dais in the middle and, near the entrance there is door A, next to it door B and, behind the sarcophagus, a secret door C. Pull the lever of door A and go through. Go along the corridor. You will see a door in the corridor in front of you - there are also three guards and you should try to clear them before you do anything else. Wait till the first passes by and go after it. Go right around shooting all the guards around the corridor; if they get too close, run. While going around you will see a corridor to a blind alley which leads to two guards and nothing else: don’t bother them and they’ll not bother you.

OK, go back to the door you first saw when you came in. Go in and search the boxes for ammo. When you've done, pull the lever you'll see by the bars and be ready to open the door and run to the left and straight into the open door. Turn to your left and shoot the nasty. Run to the other end of the room and take the key on the wall. Face the door and be prepared to shoot another guard. Start picking up ammo from the boxes.  Don’t miss the one with the tall sides – walk around it to see what it contains.

Go to the door and open it. Inch forward till you hear a message which spells trouble.  From the doorway, shoot the robot ahead of you and then turn to your right and shoot the other one, backing away from him if necessary. 

When you've done go back to the room with the triangular dais. Let's go through door B, but before you do change to run mode ON and save. Run in till you see a room with a golden circle in the distance, in and to your right, click on the circle with the hand near the teleporter, run to the other side of the room and click on the other two circles, then run to a short passage to the left of the teleporter section and press the last of the circles to your right. DO NOT pick a fight with the robots. When you press the last circle, they'll collapse. Blast them away. You should be able to do all this without getting hurt.

Now step up over the teleporter and click on the wall to read the message, then back off onto it and you'll be teleported to a hall with two huge statues.  Advance to the one you are facing, to the right of it and behind the columns, up against the wall. Click on the statue and choose the option of speaking the words. Turn to your left and, from the relative safety of the columns, shoot the two nasties which will turn up – or you can shoot your nearest one and run away from the other and shoot it dead.

You will have noticed that the statue has disappeared and that there is a new opening.  Ignore it for now and step boldly through the wooden door to the left of it.  If you had managed to get away with no damage till now you’ll take quite a lot – don’t worry, you’ll soon be healed.  Pick up the potion behind you and advance to the top of the stairs – shoot the guy who’ll come up, go down the stairs a bit and you’ll see another one coming at you.  When you’ve shot this one, run to the left of the room, turn and shoot the last one.  Go through the door with the bars (you have to click on it several times), collect the ammo and go on up the stairs.  A wall will open in front of you.

Look to your right and you will see a strange doorway.  Go in and sit on the throne – watch.  Leave this room and down some stairs. Turn to your right and blast the robot.  Enter the two sets of wooden doors here to get some ammo.  Out.

Continue towards the portcullis you will see at the end and turn right.  Read what it says on the door (if you can), enter, go right to the opposite corner and turn around – shoot the guy who will come at you and then pick up the ammo.  Out.

Ignore the portcullis for now and go down the stairs. Go across the hall to the door with the keyhole and open it. Go in and follow the corridor till you come to a large room. Change to run mode ON and go to your left, then ahead to the little wooden bridge – when you see the bad guys popping up ahead of you, turn around and run past the other nasty behind you.  Shoot at them while backing away till you get all three.  Now go to the room across the little bridge and collect the potions.

Go back to the foot of the stairs through which you came in, get out of run mode, and go ahead and up the stairs to your right (make sure you don’t fall in the water), advance to the altar (watch) and collect the artefact and the recharging staff.  At the end of this episode you’ll be facing the stairs.  Get out of here and go to the door behind the statue which sunk through the floor.

Before you go in and up the stairs, be sure to be in run mode ON and that you are using the shotgun.  Save.

As you enter the room you get into another video. It doesn't matter which lines you choose. Watch. As soon as the clip is over, run to your left and go around shooting the skeletons while trying to avoid them.  If you take too much damage, reload and try again – you should be able to do it without your health bar turning red.

Now you can go to the door with the missing something and click on the hollow.  In.  Search carefully behind and around the tombs, either side of the corridor, till you come to the water.

Next, take one side of the water and then the other, searching still (there is a statuette to be found), but avoiding the altar at the top. Save half way through so that you make no mistakes. When you've searched everywhere, go to the other end of the water, opposite and away from the altar, so that you are facing it square on. Save. Run to it. Watch the video.  Be quick, turn around and pick up the potions on the altar, turn around again and run for the exit avoiding the skeletons.

Run all the way to the hall and go ahead and through the door under the arch to your right, up the stairs and click on the portcullis and the next wall to emerge in the room with the dais.  Head for the way out and as you go through, two nasties will appear.  Go back in and use the staff on them, then the colt until the staff is replenished and so on.  When you are able to leave, go all the way back to the lava room, kill the next nasty and click on the square recess by the shields to open a secret door. Go through. When you reach the library, you'll meet Rebecca who then joins you. Just watch the video.


CHAPTER III: Keeper of Time

At the library, go right through your entire inventory to get Rebecca’s angle. From here on, take time to discuss new things and people with her.  I won’t remind you, just remember when you have a peaceful minute to do so.  OK?  Let’s go on.

Don't put the statuette you are carrying on one of the indentations - you are going to need it. Go out of the door and look to your left, because a nasty is about to materialize.  Pop back in and deal with it.

Go downstairs. As soon as you step on a certain part of the corridor, two nasties will pop up from nowhere, one of them behind you: so open the second door to your right in this corridor and pop in to kill them safely.

Now, a lot of doors will be unlocked and I don't suppose it matters in which order you visit them.  As you leave the lit room, the first room you come to across the way contains a green dome. The next one along is locked. The next one is a bedroom: go in, turn around and turn the light on. Find a potion on the mantelpiece and click on the chest.  

Come out of the door through which you came in and try the door which was locked before - it is now open. Look around. Right by the door, on the floor, you'll see a tile of a different colour to the rest. Click on it and the other door will open. Inside you'll find a map of the house.

Go back to the bedroom and cross it to exit through the opposite door. Outside, click on the sword and shield to open the door to the left. Go upstairs and stop at the first landing - there is a door to your right. This appears to be an armoury.   When you enter you see a video clip.  At the end, turn to your right and run out through the door.  Two skeletons will appear and you can get them with the shotgun from the safety of the doorway.  Shoot them when they fall to the ground.  Afterwards, go in, get the map from the top of the bookcase ahead of you and go to the other end of the room to get a whole lot of ammo.  Look at the painting.

Leave and continue up the stairs and through the door.

In this room there is a circular stone, this apparently being the Tower Gate; and we are told we are not properly dressed, so let's leave for now. Go all the way down the stairs and continue to hug the left wall. Open the next door and you'll see some paintings inside. Step smartly back, there is a nasty behind the door - tease him out and let it chase you, for a change. Once you've killed it, go into the picture gallery. At the other end you'll find a helmet. Get it and use it to see a nice video. Look at the map on the wall. Go through the door to the left of the map and you'll be in the dark room in which the game started.  Get the card inside the front door.

Now go to the lit room with the typewriter and take the door to the right. In this room there is a scroll (I hope you are looking at each item as you get it). Go through the next door to a room with a fire. Look around. When the fire flares up, pick up the crystal inside it. Open the door cautiously, you are about to be attacked by two nasties, so be ready to back off.  When you've killed them (again, with the staff and the colt), go back to the room with the typewriter. Take the door to your right and cross the corridor to the room with the green dome.  Click on it.

Watch the video, ask for a key and accept the test. At the end, go to the window and get the masks. Click on the green dome to get back. Watch.


CHAPTER IV: Tales from the Tower

Well, I guess we'd better get ourselves to the Tower Gate, so out of this room, turn left, through the door, through the opposite door, to the left and up the stairs. In the Tower Gate room, stand on the mantle stone and use a mask. Watch.

You meet Raphael, the guardian of the Tower, who talks to you. When he has done, step onto the Tower.  A word of warning here:  it is very easy to fall to your death off the paths.  Get always off the run mode and use End to see where you are treading.  Follow the path and branch either left or right, it doesn't matter. Have a look around. To your right, will see a way stone with a golden rune – use it to heal yourself.  Go through the shimmering gate to the right, find the other way stone with a golden rune and finish healing yourself.

Step on the mantle stone and you will find yourself in a courtyard, where statues whisper at you. You will see three doors, one is boarded up. The one next to it contains nothing but a nasty. Take my advice and leave it alone. The next door along was locked. So I had a search around and I found the key in the round pond (crouch and look down to get it). Unlock the door, go in and pick up the scroll, backing away smartly. This upsets someone and a lot of nasties appear. No sweat. Stand at the open door, press End to look down and just keep blasting at them till they are all dead. No need to step out and get hurt. When the coast is clear, go back to the mantle stone and use the mask. Watch.


CHAPTER V: The Offering

From where you are, keep going left: you'll eventually come to a mantle stone with the rune for Heled/Earth (as well as the camp fire). Stand on it - as you step off, make for the window, turn around and watch the green glowing symbol explode and cause a circle with a hand to appear on the wall (click on it). Go through that door, left, and downstairs. (Don't bother with the stairs to the right, they are blocked). Note the circle on the wall and the pentagram on the floor. Standing on the stairs where you can get a good view, shoot at the circle with the colt. See? A pillar rises from the floor. When it comes down, go through the door to the left of it. Advance the length of this hall, stand on the square recess and turn around. Wait a few seconds and two nasties will drop from above. Kill them and then tilt forward with End and click on the circle to put the statuette on it. The pillar will rise, look up and take the key. When it goes down again, retrieve the statuette and go through the door. (You could go up the stairs before you do, but there is nothing there.)  Run mode ON.

Outside the door, keep going till you see two torn-out doors on the floor. As you go through the archway, you'll hear a noise and three huge demons with axes will appear. Turn around and run to the stairs. You have to lure them onto the pentagram and then shoot the circle, whereupon they get squashed.  Great.  Just run forward till you see them and then double back - they should follow you. When you've crushed all three, go on through the archway and you will see two doors, one of which you cannot reach because of the crates. Open the other one, turn around, switch the light on, turn around and pull the lever. Face the door.

Are you ready? Open the door and run to the stairs, there is another demon after you. Dispose of it as before. You can go back and work your way around the crates to the now accessible door. Go right and through the other door and get the goodies. As you come out, you get attacked again – you know what to do. Go down the stairs to the right, in front of you. Follow the corridor till you come into a cavern. Keep right and you'll meet a Spirit. Watch. Continue to keep right and you'll find a passage. You will come out at the entrance of the caverns.  Stop right there and save.
***
Now, this is a rather difficult section because it is so very dark and you don't have a compass. Examine the map of the caverns and see if that will do you any good. The places you need to get to are the cave marked with the crystal and also the place with the demon (this is the way out).

Ready your staff and your colt.  Walk down the stairs and out till you hear a message.  Turn around and go halfway up the stairs, turn around again and crouch so that you can see under the ceiling of the passage ahead of you.  Those little flying monsters will come to you and you can kill them with the staff and the colt.  Whereas it is true that they regenerate, initially there is way too many out there for you to handle.

When you get tired of killing them, equip the shotgun:  it’s F9 time, pop out and to your left and, if there are still crowds of them, F10.   When there is a manageable number, leave your safe place with your shotgun ready to shoot the monsters while backing away from them and looking out for others coming from other directions.

OK, so let us leave the sanctuary and turn left.  Go along here as far as you can, shoot the guys on the left and the other chap on your right.  Turn to your left and probably two more have regenerated, so shoot them and advance to that platform, go to your right and follow this corridor till you come to the entrance of the cave with the crystal.  Go in shooting and back away from the monsters till you get them all.  Go into the cave and pick up the crystal.  Be prepared for some more monsters when you exit.

Back the way you came but take the first corridor available to the left.  Soon afterwards, on your right, there is a hard-to-detect opening.  You needn’t do this, but it’s fun.  Enter the opening and get rid of the two little devils.  Go to your right around the pool and the teleporter and face it; the entrance to this cave should be on your left.  Save!  In run mode ON, step on it and quickly turn to your left and get to the safety of the entrance to this room where you can turn and shoot the monsters.  There is a health potion on the altar and ammo around the teleporter itself.  If you managed to do this without getting hurt, get on it and back to where you started.  Leave this room and turn right. 

Go along here the only way you can go and look out for a niche on your left which contains boxes of ammo and a blue gem (useless).  From here, first turn right and then take the left fork.    When you come to the demon, walk up to it, watch the video clip, go into the inventory, click on the crystal and then on the demon.  You can now go over the bridge.



CHAPTER VI: Journal of Evil

As you go up the stairs a slab rises and uncovers some stairs, be careful: there is a nasty beast in there - try to shoot it from the bottom of the stairs and dodge the green spells it throws at you. Sometimes it seems to be stuck in one or the other side of the chamber – since you can see it turning, run up then and let it have it, running away again.

When you've killed it, advance and you'll see moving platforms. Press End so that you are looking down, and work your way across (save every time you succeed).

At the other end, a slab will rise:  go through.  Follow the corridor and go down the stairs – there will be a cave-in behind you.  Look down and to the right of the foot of the stairs and get the ammo by the rubble.  To your right, two more magazines in the rubble against the wall.

Find the stairs going up to your left and go through the broken door.  Go across the room to turn the light on, equip the staff, go through the other door, turn left to turn the light on and right to blast the creature coming towards you.  Back inside the room, open the door and blast the creature every time you get a glimpse but don’t let it get too close.  When you’ve killed it, step outside and get the ammo from the crate on the floor.  Turn left and go through the door.

Turn around and switch the light on.  There is a potion on the bookcase, a map and, by the other door, a paper and a magnifying glass for which I found no use.  Read the mural if you can.

Go through the new door  and turn right to turn the light on, crouch and get the staff from under the bed.  This staff does not recharge and you *must* keep it for the end of the game.  Again, read the mural, note the locker and get the two potions from the open suitcase.  If you go through the next door you'll see a mantel stone which isn't working.

Use the other door.  Open the door opposite and walk in looking towards your left and you’ll see an ape-like creature coming at you, so blast it and back off into the corridor.  You know what to do.  Once it is dead, go in and get the two potions from the crates to your left.  Out and turn right to go up the stairs.

 Advance with caution because you will meet with another one of those ape creatures coming down the stairs.  Blast it while backing off.  Once it is dead, go on up the stairs again but don’t leave them altogether at the top because there is another creature roaming around – shoot at it when you see it to attract its attention, then back off down the stairs while shooting.

When you’ve killed it, go into the room with the flickering light and look to your right to see another creature (in fact, there are two:  let us hope the other one hasn’t seen you yet).  Get its attention, proceed as before and, finally, get the last one.

When this room is clear, open the door but remain where you are:  soon enough you will see one of those swishing creatures coming towards you – blast it and shut the door in his face.  Using the usual tactics, get rid of it.

Go through the door, turn right and you will see a switch on the wall: turn the light on and go up a short flight of stairs into an observatory. Look around and take everything on the table. Go back to the bedroom.

In the bedroom, examine everything you've just taken. You'll find a key inside the Journal (read it). Use it on the locker to get the last statuette. Go out and through the opposite door, and find the broken door through which you entered this section – read the mural before you go. Go down the stairs and turn left. Be ready for another one of those gorilla things. If you need to, back off up the stairs and get behind the broken door for safety.  When you've killed it, down the stairs, left, advance to the lit square and click on the breastplate. Watch. At the end of the video, be prepared to move quickly and deal with a few nasties – run up the stairs for safety. When you have cleared the area, go to the lit recess where the breastplate was and you'll find a couple of potions. Turn right and you'll see a small wooden door.

Enter and look to your left: you'll see a silhouette of the staff. Click on it twice and the mantle stone will rise. Step on it and we are through to the library.


CHAPTER VII: Beyond the Gate

Place
the two statuettes in the remaining indentations and the sarcophagus will open. A word of caution here – somehow, you always get hurt going down the ladder.  I’ve tried walking down (not running) while turning around and I once managed not to lose health.  However, trying this is too time-consuming so I was content to lose just half a green segment.

At any rate, go down the ladder and along the corridor till you come to a gigantic clock. Look at the walls around it. Find the double stairs and go up. Use the End key to look down and see the controls for the clock hands. Click on them till you set them to six o'clock (as you saw in the Library). Now press Home and click on the circle with the hand on the wall behind you. This will open the door at the other end of the hall.

Equip the shield and go through: go up the stairs and follow the corridor till you get to a place where you can hear water. Equip the staff.  Go left, blast the two headed creature and get the chalice. Click on the waterspout to fill it. You might as well dispose of the other creature in the room opposite – but you don’t need the chalice there.  Leave and turn right. Go along here and down the stairs till you stop on the circular mosaic. Watch.

Coming down the stairs you will have noticed that there are two doors either side of the mosaic.  If you were to open the one on the right, you’d find the Dragon sword and at the next meeting on the mosaic the game would be over.

So turn left and advance to the door. Throw the chalice of water (it should be equipped like a weapon) at the door and it will open. Get the dagger. Watch. With the dagger equipped, go back to the mosaic. Watch and note what Belial is wearing, i.e., a white coat and a stethoscope around his neck.  At the dialogue, use the first option.


CHAPTER VIII: The Mark of the Beast

At the end of the video turn left (the other room contains nothing now, so don't bother) and go to the archway. Look at the lock. Turn around and go back to the stairs.

Save before you go up – run up and shoot the man in black immediately he appears. You should be able to do this without getting hurt.  You’ll see a green demon coming towards you, so go down the stairs and stand at the bottom.

Arrange your weapons in the inventory so you can quickly use the staff and the dagger when they are fully charged and the colt while you wait.  Soon enough the demon will reach the top of the stairs but won’t be able to blast you.  As soon as it turns its back, run up and hit him with whatever you’ve got and rush back down. In this way, you’ll be able to dispose of it without getting hurt.

Go along the corridor till you reach a square block.  It’s worth your while to wait here while your weapons recharge.  Look to your left to see the corner of the wall – you will be using this corner soon.  When you are ready, save and walk around the block on the right – note the corner in the wall to the right of the entrance.  You’ll be using this one too.  Be sure to have the dagger ready.

As you enter the corridor another man in black will materialize – you should be able to blast him quickly without getting hurt.  Again, wait while the dagger recharges.  Equip the staff and go cautious down the stairs – look to your left and blast the demon, then rush up the stairs, turn left and tuck yourself in the corner, equip the dagger and face the entrance.  Eventually the demon will come in, shoot it and run left to the other corner I told you about.  Be sure you can see both ends of the block from here.  As soon as the monster appears, shoot and run to the other corner.  Keep doing this till you kill it. 

Let your weapons recharge, equip the staff and go down the stairs and this time look to your right – attract the demon’s attention as before (you might have to wait till it comes down the stairs).  You know the rest.

Should both demons come at you at once, run to the stairs in the mosaic room and deal with them as before.

Now go back to the library; pause and save at the end of the bridge, equip your fully charged dagger and walk in – a man in black will materialize but you can easily blast him away.

Once there, save before you leave the library by the door. As you turn right and get to the end of the corridor, there will be two monsters waiting from you, one coming from upstairs, the other coming from downstairs. Hug the right wall and deal first with the one from downstairs. Draw him into the corridor, shooting as you go, then ran past him, down the stairs and along the corridor shooting. If necessary, run around him again and keep moving and shooting along the corridor.  Get the guy upstairs using the same tactics of hit and run.

Go into the room with the typewriter and, from there, to the hall. Before you enter it, though, equip the fully charged dagger, head towards the green glyph and blast the man in black which will appear.

Go through this door and along the corridor to another door.  Open it and advance to the center of the room and rush back to the door.  Deal with this monster from the other side.  When you’ve finished, enter the room again and light the first candle slightly to your left and go round clockwise lighting the others:  before you light the last one, go and open the door through which you came in.  Light the candle, watch the video and rush out.  Kill the monster from the doorway and grab the statue it is carrying.

In, go through the door on your left, up the stairs and empty the locker, down the stairs, through the other door, through the door opposite, down the stairs to your left, get the ammo from the locker (you don’t need the die).

Up the stairs, through the door on the left, door opposite, door to the left and you’ve reached the dinning room.  Look around and note the other door, plus the magazines in the corner opposite to it.  Get them, jump on the table, pick up the two green potions and when you pick up the brown one, two monsters will appear.  Go through the other door and from its safety, kill them.

Turn around and go ahead and to your right, through two doors, along here (ignore the opening to your right) and open the door.  Advance slowly and run back through the door when the monster appears.  Kill it and then move back into this hall and stand in front of the double doors.

Step out.  Ahead you will see a chained portcullis.  To the right a green potion and to the left some stairs going up.  Get the potion and climb the stairs.  Open the door but stay where you are:  shoot the monster – when it dies a panel opposite the door opens.  Change to run mode ON, run across, grab the weapon and rush out again.  Down the stairs and, dodging, to the double doors.  Get in quickly and shut both panels.  Sort out your weapons so that you can change from one to the other easily. 

It is important that you get this right because you’ll be using this technique many times.  Try it out till you are comfortable with it.  Save.  Face the door and position yourself a little to the left of the center and at a little distance from it.  Open the doors but click again quickly on the left panel to keep it shut.  Turn slightly right and shoot through the gap at anything you can see.  Let the doors shut if you want, you can always open them again.  You will notice that the gun you’ve just picked up recharges rather quickly, which is useful - though it is no more effective than your other weapons.

Keep this shooting up until you hear no more noise outside.  At this point you can go out and up the stairs and kill the two guys in the weapon room, but you don’t need to do this.

Turn instead to your left and go along here and through the gap on your right, up the stairs and face the door on your left.  Open it, go through and find the light switch.  Go to the other door and place the statue in the niche.  Enter and watch. 

 

CHAPTER IX:  By The Seven Be Bound

As soon as you hear the voice banging on turn around to face the switch and move away from the door so that it can shut.  When you are able to move again, turn the light on, turn around, shoot at the monster and run around shooting it till it is dead.  Pick up everything and examine it. 

Face the door and open it, start shooting at the monsters till they are dead. Out, grab the statue, go through the door to the right, head for the mantle stone and watch a clip.  Back up the stairs, go through the door to your right, turn right, down the steps, turn right and you will see another door which also needs the statue to open it.  Go through and turn around to kill a new monster.

Now turn around again.  If you were to go through the door opposite you would see a sealed door with a green glyph – we’ll be on the other side of it later on.  For now, turn left and go through this door.  Go down, take the first left and follow the dead rats all the way to a pool.  As you come up to a big door you’ll see two doors either side – they appear to be locker rooms and contain nothing, so go through the big door and up the stairs.  Watch.


CHAPTER X: The Key of Tears

At the end of the video, pick up a green crystal (you can only get one). Go behind the altar, look at the painting, turn around and pull the lever to go through the doors to the right.

In, stand on the mantle stone. Before you use the mask, equip the fully charged dagger and turn to face the door, get out of run mode and save.  Use the mask and try to shoot the dragon and then move slightly to get out of the way of  its missile.  This can be done quite safely, so if at first you don’t succeed…

Once you’ve dealt with it, look around.  There are stationary monsters barring your path so take your time blasting them with the gun and the colt.  The one behind you will explode leaving a potion behind, we’ll get that later.  When you’ve cleared this area, go through the shimmering gate and up the stairs to your right – kill the monster across the way.

Continue along and get rid of the other one.  Go through the shimmering gate and follow the path, ignoring the path which branches to the left (this leads to Arqua) and continue until you reach the other shimmering gate.  Go through another shimmering gate and save before you leave.  Ready the dagger. 

Down the stairs, follow the path and turn into corner, get out of the way of the missile and shoot the dragon.  Continue and go left, all around till you get to the mantle stone.  You’ve reached Raquia.  Look for the path and follow it – when you run out, go through the hedges to find another one, keep left, follow it and, on the other side do this again.  Soon you will see some white steps on your left, go up them and along till you reach the entrance to the maze.  Watch another video clip.  Consult the map of the maze and see where everything is.  In.

Keep left to reach the pool with the earplugs. Just pick them up.  Leave the way you came, turn left and take the first opening to your left.  Keep left till you reach the room with the haunch.  Go behind the bench on your right and click on the switch to lower the haunch and grab it.

Leave through the other opening, turn left, take the first opening to your right, ignore another opening to the right and at the end turn left, turn right at the first opening in that direction, ignore both openings either side and take the first right.  You’ve reached the pipes.

Take your time.  First watch what is happening.  Run mode ON, save, leap on the blocks and get the pipes.  You have to time it right because if not you can lose a lot of health – and though you will be automatically healed later on in the game, nevertheless you don’t want to lose too much. 

Anyway, get back to the entrance through which you came in and turn left, ignore the openings at either side of you and at the hedge, turn right.  Apply your left shoulder to the hedge and don’t leave off till you reach the ring.

Now this is rather difficult and you can’t save once you are in the middle of this puzzle, so save before it starts and be patient.  You’ll find yourself in your own private hell.  To improve your chances of moving onto the floating platforms, run mode OFF and press End to look down:  look over the corners of the one you are on, either side, in case you have to go in that direction and move quickly when you get the chance without overshooting the mark.  When you make it to the other side, grab the ring and save before you get back in the same manner.

Go back to the entrance and apply your left shoulder to the hedge, follow through till you see the entrance to the building in front of you.  Stop and equip the haunch as a weapon.  Enter and approach the beast, backing off to one side while you attempt to “shoot” the haunch at it.  When it is almost on top of you, you will succeed. 

Enter the building through the doorway to the left and keep left all the way to the next puzzle.  Save. 

Try this:  with run mode ON, from the doorway aim at the stepped platform to your right and jump on it (you might need several goes to make it).  Turn slightly right and bide your time to jump on the slab which keeps coming and going away from you.  Once on it, turn to your left and be ready to jump onto a walkway.  Go along it (ignore the lever on your right) and step on the slab which will take you to the entrance of the next puzzle, just step on it and turn in to your right.  Look around you and note the indentation on the ground next to the large block.

From the entrance, starting from your left and going clockwise and standing back so that the doors can open:  at the first door, with the musical notes on it, play the pipes.  Go in and get the oil and the spectacles. Move on to the next door with a face on it. For this you need a password, which you don't yet have. Move on to the next door. Look at the statue before you go in and wear the earplugs, i.e., "use" them. Go in and take the key from her necklace.

Go to the next door and open it. Look at the floor: it is ice, best not venture on it yet.

The next door is a library. You automatically use the oil on the hinges, so that the door doesn't make a noise on opening. Use the spectacles and you will see some rays. Jump the two between you and the desk (come right close to them), pick up the scroll, turn around and jump twice again to reach the door. Have a look at the scroll.

Go on to the next door. This is a chapel. Advance to the window and pick up all the gems (you'll have to use Home to get the red one). Now use End to look at the pentagram below. All you do is click on a gem and then on the proper point. R is red, O is orange, Y is yellow, G is green, I is dark blue, B is light blue and V is violet. At the end you get a key.

Next door.  Look at the floor - something peculiar about it. Best not try it yet. Go to the door with the face and say Spirit. Go in and pick up the warm potion from the fire (don't get too close or you'll get burned). Take it to the room with the ice and use it on the floor. Go in and pick up the armlet. Then go to the room with the funny floor, use the armlet and go in. Open the other door, go in and open the locker, get the potion and the gem.

Go and place the gem in the indentation; when the block comes down, stand on it; when it goes up, walk along the glass platform to the corridor in front.

Open the door and have a good look. You have to pick your way to the opposite corner to the left without the gems exploding.  Save first.  Crouch (press Z) so that you can see the gems in your path. You must steer a course where you see no gems to your left or right (nor, of course, in front of you!). If you see even a glimpse of a gem either side of you, move slightly till you have a clear space in front. First advance towards the opposite corner to the right, then go along the wall for a bit and at the double doors turn left and advance diagonally, then turn right and advance to the gem in the corner. Pick it up and use it on the ring. Turn around and wait till the gems disappear.  Go to the double door on the left:  it will open, go in. Stand on the pedestal and use the ring. Watch.


CHAPTER XI: Captive Angel

Leave this room. When you get to the bell room, jump across to the steps in front of you and walk down them to the floor (you are allowed to touch it once), move across and to the left to find the stairs out of this room.  Make your way out of the building by keeping right.

At the maze, use the map and work your way out, i.e., keep left at first till you get to the opening with the two lone trees then go ahead to the right to get to the next corridor and turn left into it.  Keep going, ignoring all else, and take the first opening to your right then the first to your left.  Keep going to the end and you’ll get to the exit.

Before you actually leave, change to run mode ON; save and run, dodging, all the way to the mantel stone.  Slow down before you get to it because Rebecca has something to say.

When you get to the Tower, press End to see where you are going and make it to the first shimmering gates. Consult the map, if you like, but no doubt you remember the way back to the Earth mantle stone.

When you come out in the altar room, equip the dagger, save and inch slowly to the stairs down (use End). Stop at the very first and crouch. Hit the James Bond type the moment he appears.  Note the movements of the monster.  The moment he turns your back on you, run past him avoiding the fires, down the stairs, turn and shut the door.

Turn around and there might well be a huge monster ahead (if not, there’ll soon be).  Fortunately he cannot get you unless you walk to the pool, so get rid of him before you do.

Now follow the crunchy ratty road but listen carefully - there are three swishy monsters ahead. You should be able to pick them off by getting behind them as they move away and then backing off into other corridors (stick to the ratty ones). Don't get cornered.

Once you've found your way out and back into the house, you should recognize the way to the library. Go down the sarcophagus and all the way to the lock. As you advance to it, you get a video and the chance to converse with the guy you've just freed. Talk about everything - Rebecca will remember if you need to recall it.


CHAPTER XII: St. Michael's

Go up the stairs behind the lock and to the mantle stone:  go around it so that you are facing the entrance; run mode ON, save before you step on it.  On the other side, run forward and to a double door on your right which has a red rune on it. As you reach it the rune explodes. Get in quick, and shut the door. Turn to face it. To the right, open a little cupboard and get a magical torch. Look down and click on the mat to get a wand.

Now, to save myself the trouble of repeating it till you are sick of it, you must carry the torch in your hand at all times (i.e, if you pick something else up, look at it, and then equip the torch once more). Every time you see a red or green rune, stand well away from it and fire with the wand to dispel it and make a door available. I will warn you when to equip a weapon. So, try the door to the right. It's locked, so try the one on the left instead. This leads to a kitchen. In the fridge, there is a key. You can go out by the door to the left of the fridge. Move towards the foot of the stairs, turn around and blast the runes away. Go to through the door to the left. Clicking on the remote control on the table, the TV starts. Look at it. Have a look around, observing the locked door, and leave.

Go through the door opposite. At the end of a short corridor there is another door. Equip a weapon. Go through, turn to switch the light on. Go down to the landing and, as soon as you hear a roar, turn around and go back up through the door.  From there, kill the monster.  Go down the stairs and to your right.  Dodging through the shelves get rid of another monster; there is one more left, so move across to the other side of the stairs to get it – watch it, they can get at you at the ends of the shelves.

Look around.  Ignore the monster behind bars, only don't get too close. Note the ornate door - a candle opposite it can be lit. Blast the rune and go through to the laboratory. Here you'll find a healing potion and an ornate key (on the floor, by the door). Leave and use the key on the ornate door. Go through and have a look. Leave.  Make sure you're holding the right equipment (wand and torch).

Go all the way to the front door and start up the stairs. Go for the door to the left. Inside, you'll find a wardrobe. Open it, stand back and blast. Go inside and slide the panel. You'll find a cupboard in front of you. Blast the rune you can see, open it and switch the light on. The other cupboard is locked. Leave.

Go to the next door on the left. Do the necessaries and go through to a bathroom. Switch the light on. Before you unlock the other door with the key from the fridge, equip a weapon. Open the door, turn to your left to turn the switch on, then step into the room. As soon as the three nasties appear run out of the door and close it. Let them simmer down for a bit and then open the door and pick them off. If they come too close, shut the door. When you've killed them, go in and get a key from the bedside table. Go back to the wardrobe and unlock the little cupboard. Get the key.

Now you could go to the front door and unlock the locked door. Don't. Instead, go round through the TV room and in through there, turn the light on, advance into the room:  run back through the door. From the TV room door, you can kill them at your leisure; as ever, if they come too close, shut the door. When you've killed them, go in and take the three books from the bookcase. The brown one will explode in your hand and fall on the floor:  this will hurt. Press End to see and pick it up. When you examine it, you'll see it contains a key. Examine the other two books.

Go to the front door. Equip a weapon. The new wand not only blasts glyphs, it’s a very handy weapon which recharges quite quickly.  I’ve already explained how to deal with this situation, so I won’t repeat myself.  When the noise ceases, open the door leaving one panel shut, step outside, advance a little and run back in, shutting the door, because more men in black appear.  You know what to do:  don’t leave off until there is silence outside.

This time it will be safe to go on to the church. Well, relatively safe. Weapon at the ready, step in and step smartly back again - a monster will drop from above. Keep retreating and shooting. When you've killed the beast, examine the floor where he exploded and get the coin.

Go back into the church, put the coin in the collection box and the door will open. Don’t bother with the holy water.  Go right in and examine the window behind the altar. Watch - you end up with two feathers. Walk around the pulpit and get the notebook. Read it.

Try the door of the chapel and it will be locked. Go back to the church door and turn right. Go in through that door. Pick up the tiara in the first stage and go on up to pick up a key in the next stage. Go back to the chapel and unlock the door. Go in and have a look around. Note the painting to your left. Examine the statue, use the tiara on the statue and use the green feather in the slot in front of it.  The painting will open. Get the helm. Watch.


CHAPTER XIII: Sword of the Dragon

Take the two potions from inside the painting. Go to the mantel stone.

When you get to the Tower, consult your map to see how to get to Arqua.  No doubt you remember it’s the branch we didn’t take before.  Go to it and enter the shimmering gate – save.  Equip your wand, your best friend from now on.  Go out the other end but get back in at once.  There is a dragon out there which can actually follow you into the shimmering tunnel.  Leave a couple of bends between you and the exit, face towards it and wait for the dragon.  It will have to turn twice, so blast it before it can come face to face with you.  You can go out now.

Move onto the mantle stone and travel to Arqua.  You’ll lose all your stuff but you get it back later.  Read the paper you get.  Travel along the corridor in front of you and enter the big door on your right.  Walk ahead and turn right into the building.  You are looking for a circular teleporter with red spots.  Step on it.  In the room, get the flint and the cylinder and note the panel which is stuck.

Step outside and note the golden eye on the floor, to your left.  Click on it.  Here, go up and down stairs till you find a blue tile:  click on it to get a magnifying glass.  Walk around some more till you find the golden circle with the eye to get back.

Walk around the fountain to the other side and click on the golden circle with a chalice.  From where you are turn slightly right and look down to see the stairs, go down and to the left, down and up and down to the left to get to the path around this complex:  follow it till you get to a similar opening, up, keep right and climb all the way to the chalice – grab it.  Go back the way you came to find the golden circle (i.e., where you started).

At the fountain, fill the chalice with water and use it as a weapon on each door in turn, refilling it as you go.  Enter the rooms, get everything you find and use the magnifying glass on each stuck panel.  The one in the room with the fan is not stuck:  open it and get the scroll.

Go to the room with the panel which says BURN.  Use the magnifying glass on the scroll, use the flint on the cylinder and use these on the scroll.  The panel will open and you get some tinder.  Use the flint and cylinder on the tinder.

Move on to the next room, where the panel says BONG.  Use the bowl on the flask and then the flint and cylinder on them.  The panel opens and you get amber. 

At the next room (GRIND), use the pestle on the mortar and these on the amber.  The panel opens and you get a water pipe.

Now go to the fountain and place the fan on the panel with the cloud, the burning tinder on the panel with the flame, the incense on the panel with the yellow square and the snow on the panel with the double wave. Rebecca will then tell you to combine the offerings. Use the snow on the water pipe, use the amber on the water pipe, use the burning timber on it and then the fan.  Click on the water pipe and then on the water. Watch. You get the Dragon Sword.


CHAPTER XIV: Vengeful Souls

Find the circular teleporter with the white spots in one of the rooms to get back to the first area. Find your way to the mantel stone.

Back at the Tower, go through the shimmering tunnel and you’ll find yourself at the junction.  Though you should go right to get back to Earth, go left instead.  When you get through the shimmering tunnel, have a look.  There are four exploding monsters here, each worth a brown potion.  Watch out for the guy near the mantle stone to your left, he can come for you – but you can retreat into the tunnel and wait till he walks away to shoot him.  You can also walk to this mantle stone to access another monster.  Then there are the ones who march up and down the underpass – get them also, we’ll get their potions in a minute.  When you’ve done your stuff here, go back to the junction and this time go to the Earth mantle stone.  Take time to collect the potions from the underpass.

When you get to the stone and step on it, you get another video clip. Just watch.

THE PRISONER

Nothing much you can do at the moment, so just watch the next clip.


CHAPTER XV: Where the Dead Lie

When you are in charge, take the notices and read them. Leave and have a look at the cells next to yours. The first one contains nothing, but the second one has a nice little cache of goodies plus a map and a Journal.  Look at everything.

Continue and go up the stairs. Before you open the next door, be ready for action. Open it, step into the room and, when the 007 types appear, get back quickly and fight from the safety of the door, closing it whenever they come too close. You might even have to nip in and entice them towards you.

At the end, go through the room and open one panel of the door. As soon as you step out, blokes in black will appear.  Get back in and do your stuff with the double doors.  When the noise dies down, don’t think for a moment this is it.  Save.  In run mode ON, go outside and run straight ahead all the way to the other side to rouse whatever men in black remain and go back inside dodging for all you are worth.  Wait for them to arrive at your door and dispatch them as usual.  Save before you finally leave in case you’ve missed one.

Run ahead all the way till you get to the wall,  turn to your right.  Go towards the fires.  You will note on your left the sealed door we saw in the house from the other side.  Advance to the fires and click on each of them to place one of the Journals.  The columns rise and a door opens to their right.  Go through.  Walk a little way in and watch.


CHAPTER XVI: The Gate

Study the map of the maze, continue along the corridor and enter the tunnel.  Run mode ON and sprint straight ahead, ignoring the monsters, till you reach the entrance to the maze.  Turn immediately right and follow the corridor until, turning left, you’ll see some stone structures.  Go through here all the way to the hedge and go through a little stone arch on your right.  Drop through a gap ahead of you  (you’ll see a brown stack in the middle).  Turn right and kill the monster, go up the stairs and go in through a gap on your left. 

Save before you try this.  Go to your left and look for a gap on the right, where the mantle stone is.  Try and shoot one of the men in black and run around the central square to try it from the other side.  If they try to pursue you, make sure they can’t come face to face with you.

When they are dead and you get to the centre, stand on the mantel stone and use the mask. Turn right around and be prepared for one of those flying dragons – its first shot will hit the four columns ahead of the mantle stone, be ready when it comes round.  OK?

Consult your map and figure out where you are and how to get to the Shaol mantel stone.  Along the way, you will meet some of those exploding monsters which, since they drop healing potions, are well-worth killing, specially from a distance. A bunch of them came at me on the path, so I retreated into the shimmering gate, which they could not enter: I waited till they turned their backs on me, nipped out and shot them. I collected a nice lot of potions like that. At any rate, continue to the stone, which will not work.

Go on till you come to a gap. Shoot the creature on the other side then leap, get his potion and take time to get the other potion we shot for earlier, and enter the shimmering gate: inside, the sword and the shrive. Now you've got them, you can leap back to the mantel stone and this time it will work.

When you get to the other side, go through the gate and talk to the guardian. Because there is only one green crystal, you are on your own when you enter the gate. You turn up on top of a shelf. You have to get down from there, braving a Speedy Gonzalez monster (there are plenty of others). A fully charged dagger seems to kill them off, but run backwards from them while you are shooting and don't let them touch you. Listen for them and be prepared.

At any rate, go around the perimeter of this chamber. You will find four sets of double gates and some brains on the ground. You will also come to a reddish machine. It seems you have to feed it 16 brains before you can escape from here.  Look in front and behind the machine to get two brains – you should have collected five altogether. And now it's a question of going into each opening and searching for brains. I tried to map the place but I gave up.

With your back to the machine, turn left and go to the first double gate and enter the opening on the left.  Keep left.  You’ll find a chamber with a beating heart and a brain.  There is usually one brain on the ground below, but when you go down the stairs to get it watch out for monsters.  There are four such chambers altogether.

Keep left at all times and eventually you will emerge at the main chamber.  Find the machine and go back to the first double gate, enter it through the right opening and turn right at the first opening, turn left, mind the monster and get the brain in a dead end.  From here keep left all the way.

Repeat this formula with the other gates and, if you find yourself at some point in a “crossroad” and need to go left, don’t do so yet.  Go ahead instead to get a brain from a dead end and you can now go to you’re the opening you need to follow.

You should find all 16 brains if you are thorough.

When you've fed them to the machine, the round platform will come down bringing a great big fellow with it.  Keep shooting and running away from him till he is dead.  Click on him to get a scroll.  Now you can go through the green arch.  Watch.  Enter the arch again.

You'll be in another scenario talking to another you on the throne. Turn around and click on the red pillar and talk to the guy. Watch.

Turn to your left; run mod OFF, equip the shotgun, save and go up the stairs shooting the mirror you’ll see at the top.  Turn left and go along here peeking around to your right till you see enough mirror to shoot at and shatter.  If from time to time a bad guy comes out of the mirror because you failed to shatter it, run around him to shoot the mirror and he’ll disappear.  When you come to the first mirror you shattered, go down the stairs and across to another opening.  Shoot the mirror in the distance and advance enough to see the two mirrors on either side of it – shoot them.  Then you have to move laterally to shoot the mirror behind the first one.

At the end, go back to the throne, which will come down, letting you through. Watch.   And, by the way, note that you’ve been completely healed.


CHAPTER XVII: Father of Lies

Go back under the arch.  A lot of puzzles to solve here.  Step up to the circle on the wall, click on it, and a wall will slide behind you, to your left. Throughout this section, save before you attempt a puzzle; try various things till you get it right, then reload and do it correctly. It will help to press End so that you see where you are going. Don't use F9 and F10 to save and reload half way through a puzzle or the whole thing will reset and leave you high and dry.

You might prefer not to look at the solutions, so shut your eyes...

Checkerboard:  Stand on the third square from the left (brown), and assuming that North is in front of you, go N 3 times, W 2 times, N 2 times and E 3 times. Enter and press the hand. Turn around and go to the edge. With N behind you now, advance S x 2, E x 2, S x 3, W x 1, N x 1, W x 1, S x 1, W x 2, S x 1. OK, go to the next niche on your left.

The stepping stones: You have to get across the room by walking over the stepping stones, which can be moved with the controls on the wall to the right. First try using them to see how the blocks move. Then, facing, as it were, North, imagine that you have 7 spaces going down, which we will call them, N to S, 1 to 7; and then 4 spaces going across, which we will call, W to E, A to D. You need to place blocks in the following spaces: 7A, 6B, 5C, 4B, 3C, 2C, 1B. Then, pressing End to see what you are doing, walk transversally on the blocks and get into the corridor. Press the hand in the circle and return the way you came.

Shooting mirrors: You'll find yourself in a room in which, if you step on the red spots, you get a fireball where it hurts. What you have to do here is to smash four mirrors without getting fried – use the colt for this. You can jump over the red spots ahead or diagonally, or you can walk around them diagonally, though this is more difficult.  Run mode ON and you can save in this puzzle without it resetting (thank goodness!).  If you imagine that the room ahead of you is divided in squares, 7 x 5, and that ahead of you is North, draw yourself a little graph whereby from N to S the 7 squares are 1 to 7, and from West to East, A, B, C, D and E. From outside, jump diagonally to square 7B, then to 6C and then ahead to 4C. If you turn to your left you'll see a mirror coming backwards and forwards. Wait till it moves forwards and shatter it. Next, jump to 3D, 2E and 1D and shoot the mirror; now to 2E, 4E, 6E and 7D; shoot the mirror. Finally, 6C, 4C, 2C and shoot the mirror. It think it’s Ok now to walk about on all squares, but just in case jump along to 1A and go into the corridor here. Jump on the pedestal. Walk to 7E to find the exit. Still keeping left, go on to the next circle/puzzle.

Big guns: What you have to do here is to clear a path for the lower and upper guns so that they can shoot out more mirrors. Go behind the panel with the levers and the button and face the blocks. Supposing the levers were numbered 1 to 7, from left to right, pull 2, 3, 7 and 5; then press the button and the gun will shoot the mirror. Press the button again. Now you've got to clear a path for the upper gun. Pull 2, 6 and 5. Press the button twice.  Next puzzle.

The gems: This is easy. Advance to the contraption and click 30 times on its right side to turn it. Fire (press on the centre) to reveal some gems. Now click on the left side to turn it to the first gem and shoot it. Shoot all the gems and you can leave.

The maze: You'll find a crystal maze which you must enter. Look at all the circles with the hands. Press on the top right hand side one and on the bottom left hand side one. Now walk into the maze and press the other circle with the hand you'll see on a pedestal.

The floating balls: You have to break a mirror by bouncing a shot from ball to ball. You will see some dials in front of you. Taking the red point at the top as 1 and going around clockwise, set the dials as follows: first row, 1, 1, 5, 1; second row, 3, 6, 1, 8; third row, 1, 8, 8, 7. This should do the trick. Press the button twice.  Time to move on.

The kaleidoscope:  Apply your right shoulder to the wall and follow it. If you come across a mirror, keep your right shoulder on it and continue. Eventually you'll come to a circle with a hand. Press it, apply your left shoulder to the wall and go out the way you came.

As you come out to the circle on the wall, this is the last puzzle; move on to the next niche, from where you started the first puzzle.  Face the circle, click on it until it goes dark. Turn around and face the entrance. This I will call 1. Turn left and go on to the next circle – 2, do the same. Now, counting circles and going left, click on circle 4 and, finally, on circle 8. However, before you click on that one, have a look at the corridor leading to the kaleidoscope puzzle: you are going to have to retreat here in a hurry.  So, click at the circle till it goes dark and you'll hear an irritating laugh. Look at the arch in the centre, just long enough to see what's coming and retreat into the corridor in such a way that a narrow slit allows you to shoot a the guy whereas he can't get at you.  Sometimes he goes to another puzzle, so find him and get yourself safe. When you've killed him, click on his body to get a parchment. You can now go through the arch.

You've had it very easy so far, and it's about time the game got a little tougher. Before you go through the arch, save and equip your most effective weapon. I would advise you to save and have a trial run, just so that you know what is there. When you are through the arch, don't hang about. Pick up the potion behind you, run over the bridge and tuck yourself in the corner before a broken wooden portcullis.  With luck, the dragon will go inside the walls and parade in front of you unable to get you, but you can shoot at it diagonally.

Try your hand at this or find a better strategy, but you can get rid of both dragons without getting hurt. 

When you’ve done so, enter the castle grounds - there are a couple of potions along the left wall.  Go along to the building ahead avoiding the central area, find the tree inside and get a potion from in front of it.

Leave and turn left still avoiding the central part.  Go round till you see the tallest stone to your right, between you and the green dome.  Sometimes when you advance towards it you see Rebecca, sometimes not.  I don’t know why.

At any rate, come near the stone and watch.  Basically, if you position yourself correctly behind this stone, Belial’s missiles will hit the stone and not you, whereas you can fire all your weapons at him. Once you've killed him, retrieve the shrive and the sword from the dome and click on it.


CHAPTER XVIII: Threads

Go immediately to the left of the window and turn towards it.  Save.  A dragon will come in and turn towards you, so fry it before he can fry you.  Pick up the two potions here and go down the stairs.  Note the pair of candles before the corridors turns pronouncedly to the right – presently you’ll get behind the candle on the right where you’ll get a clean shot at anything coming around the corner.

But first follow the corridor and stick well to the left – advance into the great cavern till you see a dragon in the distance.  Go back to your candle and wait.  Save.  If you kill the dragon without getting hurt, save again.  There should be more along at any minute, also some small demons:  but if you find you have waited a long while, go to spot and lure more dragons to you.

When you think you’ve finished, save and go to the great cavern.  Check that there are no more dragons/demons in the distance, cross the river and follow the wooden path (don't fall off), go down some wooden stairs and to your left.  Before you climb the stairs ahead be ready to blast a dragon around the corner and get down the stairs quickly before its missile hits you.  There is another dragon, so stand between the wall and the wooden stairs and wait till it comes round the corner.  Get it.

Now climb up the stone stairs again and cross the bridge – you’ll see a monster standing on your way.  Blast away with the gun and whatever else you want till it is dead.  Follow through and get the potion on the floor, to your right.  There are two more stationary monsters ahead so take your time and kill them.

Run mode ON, run through ignoring the dragons coming the other way and reach the mantle stone quickly.


CHAPTER XIX: The Gathering

This is just a video clip, in which you have a choice. Say that time is on your side, and do not kill Florentine. Watch what happens.


CHAPTER XX: The Devil Take the Hindmost...

Save immediately. You are in the courtyard of the house, surrounded by nasties and you must make it as quickly as possible to the entrance hall and out of the front door. Have a trial run to remind yourself of the way - go through the double door in front of you and keep mostly left. I shouldn't hang around to fight with the James Bond look-alikes, there are too many of them.

Equip Florentine’s staff and save before you burst into the entrance hall:  there, the granddaddy of all monsters will materialize.  Find yourself a good defending point. The best spot is the column to the left of the door - wedge yourself in the corner so that the monster can't easily get at you whereas you can certainly shoot at him – if you are lucky you can kill it without using up all of the staff’s charges.  At any rate, when you've destroyed the monster you can go through the front door. Watch.

Make what you like of the ending, but I did tell you to note what Belial was wearing!