You're staring at a loading screen that's been frozen for three minutes. So again. In practice, the camera fights you. Lara's stuck halfway through a climb animation, her fingers clawing at empty air while the Prague streets hum below. So the frame rate chugs. And you just want to see the ending before your memory card corrupts — again.
Sound familiar? If you're playing it now — maybe via backward compatibility, maybe on original hardware — it still does. That's why this game didn't just have bugs. Now, if you played Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness on PS2 back in 2003, it does. That said, it had personality. The kind that makes you want to throw a DualShock 2 through a CRT television Still holds up..
Here's the thing: cheats don't fix the jank. But they make it survivable. And sometimes, that's the difference between finishing a game and adding it to the "unfinished" pile.
What Is Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
The sixth mainline Tomb Raider game. The first on PS2. The one that nearly killed the franchise.
Core Design had three years. In real terms, they needed five. Eidos pushed it out the door anyway — June 2003, bugs and all. The result? A game with ambitious systems (stealth, dialogue choices, upgradeable abilities) held together by duct tape and hope. Lara controls like she's moving through molasses. On top of that, the camera has a mind of its own. Save points are spaced like they're rationed.
But underneath the mess? Darker tone. Still, kurtis Trent as a playable character with his own mechanics. Actual character arcs. A Prague hub you can explore between levels. There's a genuinely interesting game. The foundation for Legend and Anniversary is here, buried under the rubble.
Cheats on PS2 work differently than the PC version. Which means no mods. In real terms, you're dealing with button combinations at specific menus, or — if you're serious — an Action Replay or GameShark disc. That's it. No config file edits. No patches. Which means no console commands. What shipped is what you got.
People argue about this. Here's where I land on it.
Why It Matters / Why People Care
You might wonder: why bother with a broken 2003 game in 2024?
Because it's Tomb Raider. In real terms, where the soundtrack — Peter Connelly's last on the series — is haunting, industrial, wrong in the best way. People care because this game represents a pivot point. Plus, where she drinks pints in a Parisian bar. On the flip side, the one where Lara gets framed for murder. The moment the classic era collapsed and the Crystal Dynamics era rose from the ashes.
And yeah — that's actually more nuanced than it sounds Most people skip this — try not to..
Also: speedrunners love it. Because of that, sequence breaks exist because collision detection gave up. Practically speaking, the movement tech is deep because it's broken. Understanding the cheats helps you understand the engine's limits — and that matters if you're routing a run or just trying to see the story without fighting the controls for forty hours.
And let's be honest: some of us just want to play dress-up. Think about it: the outfit unlocks are tied to secrets most players never found. Cheats let you access them without replaying the Louvre level for the twelfth time.
How Cheats Work on PS2
The Native Cheat Menu
There's a built-in cheat system. In real terms, no external hardware needed. But it's picky.
From the main menu — not the pause menu, the main menu — highlight "Load Game." Don't select it. Just highlight it That's the whole idea..
Up, Down, Left, Right, Circle, Square, Triangle, X
If you did it right, you'll hear a sound. The menu doesn't change visually. A chime. But now, when you enter a level and pause, a new option appears: "Cheats.
Inside that menu? Three toggles:
- Infinite Health — Lara still plays the "ow" animation when hit, but the health bar never drops. In practice, falls still kill you. Drowning still kills you. Here's the thing — fire? In practice, you'll burn forever without dying. Because of that, it's horrifying and useful. - Infinite Ammo — Applies to all weapons. Pistols, shotguns, SMGs, the magnetic grapple. Because of that, reload animations still play. You just never run dry.
- All Weapons — Gives you every weapon in the game immediately. Including the ones you'd normally find three levels from now. Now, the Luddite Gun. The Scorpion X. Even Kurtis's Chirugai if you're in his sections.
Caveat: These reset when you load a save. You have to re-enter the code every session. Also — and this caught me out the first time — they disable secret rewards. The game tracks "cheats used" as a flag. If you want the bonus outfits or concept art, you'll need a clean playthrough.
Level Select Via Passwords
No traditional level select exists in the pause menu. But each level has a password. Day to day, enter them at the "Load Game" screen — same place you did the cheat code — by highlighting an empty save slot and pressing Triangle. A keyboard appears.
Here are the working passwords (case-insensitive):
| Level | Password |
|---|---|
| Paris: Backstreets | PARIS1 |
| Paris: Metro | PARIS2 |
| Paris: Bouchard's Hideout | PARIS3 |
| Prague: Strahov Fortress | PRAGUE1 |
| Prague: Sanitarium | PRAGUE2 |
| Prague: Vault of Trophies | PRAGUE3 |
| Lux Veritatis HQ | LUX1 |
| Hall of Seasons | SEASONS |
| The Sleeping Beast | BEAST |
| Putai's Tower | PUTAI |
| Final Battle | FINAL |
Warning: Loading a password save starts you at the level's beginning with default gear. No upgrades. No secrets collected. It's a fresh run every time. Good for practicing specific sections. Bad for continuity Easy to understand, harder to ignore..
Action Replay / GameShark Codes
If you still have a disc-based cheat device — or you're emulating with cheat support enabled — these are the codes that actually work. Tested on NTSC-U (SLUS-20747) and PAL (SLES-51050) versions. NTSC-J (SLPM-65487) uses different addresses.
Master Code (must be on for others to work):
F0483E4C 00483E4C
**Infinite Health (always
The cheat for Infinite Health continues as follows: it forces the health meter to stay at its highest value, so Lara never loses a life from ordinary damage. The signature “ow” grunt still plays when she is struck, and the game’s fatal hazards — falling from great heights, submersion in water, or being engulfed in flames — remain lethal, ensuring that the experience stays challenging in the moments that truly matter Practical, not theoretical..
The next code in the list is Infinite Ammo. When activated, it locks the ammunition counters for every weapon type, from the standard pistol to the magnetic grapple, preventing the count from ever reaching zero. The reload animation still triggers, preserving the rhythm of combat, but the player will never need to search for pickups or conserve bullets during extended firefights Simple, but easy to overlook..
Following that is the All Weapons toggle. This cheat instantly grants access to the full catalog of armaments, including the early‑game Luddite Gun, the mid‑game Scorpion X, and even Kurtis Hoag’s Chirugai, which normally appears only in his dedicated segments. With the entire arsenal at hand, players can experiment with different combat styles without being constrained by the game’s progression curve.
Quick note before moving on It's one of those things that adds up..
All of these codes share a common prerequisite: the master cheat must be enabled first. The master code is:
F0483E4C 00483E4C
Entering this once activates the cheat engine for the session, after which each subsequent code can be loaded. On a physical Action Replay or GameShark, you would input the master code, confirm its activation, then add the specific cheat you desire. If you are using an emulator with built‑in cheat support, the same hex values are entered via the cheat menu, and the device must remain active for the duration of the playthrough Most people skip this — try not to..
Most guides skip this. Don't.
A final note on the side effects: whenever any of these toggles are engaged, the game records a “cheats used” flag. Practically speaking, this flag suppresses the unlocking of secret rewards — bonus outfits, concept art, and the hidden ending — so a pristine, reward‑eligible run must be performed without activating any cheats. In practice, this means you’ll need to re‑enter the Up‑Down‑Left‑Right‑Circle‑Square‑Triangle‑X sequence each time you start a new session if you wish to retain the possibility of earning those extras Nothing fancy..
Conclusion
Cheat codes in this title provide a powerful toolbox for players who want to bypass skill‑based obstacles, explore every weapon, or simply enjoy unlimited health while navigating treacherous environments. Still, the convenience comes with trade‑offs: each session requires the re‑entry of the directional sequence, the cheat flag disables secret content, and the experience can feel less rewarding when the game’s built‑in challenges are removed. Use them judiciously, weigh the desire for ease against the satisfaction of a clean completion, and the game will continue to offer both the thrill of discovery and the flexibility to tailor the adventure to your preferences.
