The Great Wall
The Great Wall of China is the opening level of Tomb Raider II. The Great Wall itself is seen in the opening FMV of the game, when the warrior monks hide the Dagger of Xian within a location inside the Great Wall. (Later in the game, we learn that this is in fact the Temple of Xian.) The Great Wall level serves as a prelude to the rest of the game, as at the end of this level, Lara learns that Marco Bartoli is after the Dagger too, which sends her on her worldwide quests which make up the rest of the game.
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Summary
The level begins with a short FMV sequence in which Lara jumps out from a helicopter and lands next to the Great Wall. From there, Lara has to find her way on to the Wall itslef, past two watchtowers and down into the caves beneath the wall itself. On the way she runs into several animal enemies, including tigers, spiders and ravens. She also has the opportunity of going up against 2 T-Rexes living at bottom of a chasm beneath the Wall.
The level ends with Lara encountering a sealed door with a strange symbol on it. As she nears it, a cutscene begins. Lara is attacked by a thug, whom she fights off. She tries to get some information from him, but he commits suicide. Lara then turns to a computer lying nearby to look up the name mentioned by the man, Marco Bartoli, for whom she finds an address in Venice.
The Great Wall in Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Lara also passes by the Great Wall on her journey through China, this time on a motorbike side by side with Terry Sheridan (played by Gerard Butler), who is following a road next to the wall. Lara (played by Angelina Jolie) then makes a jump with the bike, from the wall to the road.
Links
Notes
The Great Wall of China is one of the greatest engineering feats of human history. At first a series of walls built by local kings to keep out invaders (at various times, the Xiongnu, the Huns and the Mongols) it was strengthened and consolidated into one continuous wall by the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi; but only at the cost of countless human lives. It is both symbolic and defensive in that not only was it the metaphorical and physical divide between China and barbarians, it was also played a crucial role in the defence of the Empire from Northern invaders up until the very end of Imperial China.
The portion of the Great Wall visited by Lara probably dates to the Ming Dynasty as earlier dynasties built their wall with rammed earth rather than stone.
Enemies
Links
External Links
Walkthrough for The Great Wall on TombRaiderChronicles.com
Galleries
Scene from the opening FMV
First area within the level.
Lara's transport leaving.
Scenery next to the Great Wall.
The zipline across the cavern.
End of the level.
