Unlike Lara's first two adventures, the game play in Tomb Raider III is non-linear, both in the style of play within the levels and in the order in which you choose to play the levels.
Tomb Raider III contains 5 separate worlds which link together. After completing the first adventure, the following three may be played in any order, before the fifth level brings the game to its conclusion.
India is the first location, after completing this level, the player can choose any of the three mid-game areas: Area 51, South Pacific or London and play them in any order, gaining certain advantages or disadvantages depending on the levels they chose to play first. The game concludes with Antarctica.