BACKSTORY: Our intrepid heroine, Lara Croft, always on the lookout for a new challenge, comes across some information that leads her to Melnikov Island, part of the Aleutian chain in the Bering Sea. These clues—a faded photograph showing an Inuit whale hunter holding what looks like an ancient gold mask; a newspaper clipping from 1945 describing the conflict over gold discovered in Alaska; and a secret Russian blueprint of what looks like a fortified mining base—are shown in the game's intro screen. Naturally Lara's interest is in the artifact, rumored to be the famed Golden Mask of Tornarsuk. According to legend, the mask is a "greater spirit," an object that bestows the power of reanimation on its wearer.
In this first level, Lara drops from a helicopter onto an island in the Bering Sea, only to discover that treasure hunters have arrived here before her. These mercenaries are part of an organization known only by the acronym A.V.A.L.A.N.C.H.E. (Your guess is as good as mine as to what the initials stand for.) Now Lara must outwit and outfight her rivals in order to find a way into the heart of the old complex. (From Stella’s website)
01.01 - Sovjet sign on a barrel
01.02 - Russian text on a block
I translate it as GRUPPU. According to google it translate as “the group”. I don’t know if this is accurate.
I translate it as UGROZA! Found an interesting link on wikipedia. It translate as “Menace”
Ugroza (Russian: Угроза, meaning "menace") is a precision-guided weapons system developed by the Russian Federation.[citation needed] It is an upgrade for standard Russian "dumb" rockets, including the S-5, S-8, and S-13 rockets.[1][2] The system upgrades the "dumb" rockets with laser guidance, very significantly increasing their accuracy. It requires a laser target designator, from either an airborne or land based source, to "paint" a target. Circular error probable (CEP) is about 0.8 to 1.8 m,[1] while maximum ranges of rockets varies from the rockets used 1.5–8 km.[1] Ugroza allows rockets to be ripple-fired up to 7 at a time.
Lara is looking at the sky. The green light is aurora borealis or the northern light.
01.05 - more Cyrillic texts.
This one is mirrored. It’s original is this:
Tbl Zavpech is what I read. But if you know what it is, please let me know.
СССР (Союз Советских Социалистических Республик) is a Russian abbreviation for the Soviet Union or Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
And the hammer and sickle sign, explained here.
01.07 - More Russian texts
I love the view. In game the lightning goes on and off. You land on a platform between the two balls, if you grab the Large medikit then the two balls falls and break the ice.
