BRAVO AIR RACE: GAME GUIDE

by

Jamie Stafford/Wolf Feather
[email protected]




Initial Version Completed: January 26, 2003
FINAL VERSION Completed:   February 16, 2003

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CONTENTS
Spacing and Length
Permissions
Introduction
Rules
Circuits
General Tips
Contact Information

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SPACING AND LENGTH
For optimum readability, this driving guide should be
viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier.
Check for font setting by making sure the numbers and letters
below line up:

1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

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PERMISSIONS
This guide may ONLY be posted on FeatherGuides, GameFAQs.com,
PSXCodez.com, F1Gamers, Cheatcc.com, Absolute-
PlayStation.com, InsidePS2Games.com, RedCoupe, gamesover.com,
CheatPlanet.com, The Cheat Empire, a2zweblinks.com, Gameguru,
GameReactors.com, cheatingplanet.com, vgstrategies.com,
CheatHeaven, IGN, hellzgate, Games Domain, RobsGaming.com,
ps2fantasy.com, and neoseeker.com.

Permission is granted to download and print one copy of this
game guide for personal use.

Remember:  Plagiarism in ANY form is NOT tolerated!!!!!

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INTRODUCTION
Bravo Air Race is a VERY short airplane-racing game: twelve
airplanes and only four circuits means that players will
likely not be spending a lot of time with Bravo Air Race.
However, this game is definite a fun occasional diversion
from other games, so it is definitely well worth keeping in
the game collection to play from time to time, especially
when one wants a 'fast, quick, simple' game to play or one
does not have a lot of time to get into a long race, a role-
playing game, etc.

Unfortunately, however, Bravo Air Race suffers somewhat
significantly from a 'lack' of circuits.  With only four
circuits presented in Bravo Air Race, there is really not a
lot available to 'explore' - especially since the game's
circuits are VERY 'linear,' with NO room for diverging off
the flight line to better explore an area.  Some of the
circuits do have one or two (very) minor shortcuts, and all
four of the game's circuits also have a few power-ups
available, but that is the extent of the circuits' features.
However, the environments of the four circuits are quite
compelling - perhaps not entirely realistic, but definitely
quite compelling nonetheless.

The graphics in Bravo Air Race are highly reminiscent of the
early Tomb Raider games - especially the beginning of Tomb
Raider II (in China) when flying through the caves at the
Mountain circuit - in terms of how the textures are rendered
and presented.  However, the sounds are even better than the
early Tomb Raider games, although it is rather intriguing
that when participating in a race, all eleven competitors
have the EXACT same voice when they make comments over the
radio!!!!!

Overall, Bravo Air Race is an interesting game... for a very,
very, VERY short period of time; for most players, the
novelty of the game will wear away in about an hour, or
perhaps even less.  Except perhaps for the youngest of
gamers, there is virtually no replay value.  This game is
fun, however, and thus can be very nice to return to on
occasion (perhaps every two or three weeks) for a quick run
through the game.  As such, Bravo Air Race is definitely a
nice game to keep in one's gaming collection despite the lack
of routine gameplay; in other words, this will definitely not
see nearly as much use as, say, Gran Turismo 2 or Final
Fantasy X.

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RULES
There are a few rules to keep in mind while racing in Bravo
Air Race:

1.) Hitting anything just slightly will slow the airplane's
   progress.  Hitting anything head-on will destroy the
   airplane.  Hitting other airplanes (except in Time
   Attack Mode, as the player is alone on the circuit)
   could potentially slow both airplanes.
2.) In ALL gameplay modes, the player must complete three
   laps of each circuit before the countdown timer expires.
   The countdown timer will be raised by a preset value each
   time the player flies through a Checkpoint.  The timer
   can also be raised by two seconds for successfully
   completing a barrel roll maneuver (using any of the
   shoulder buttons on the controller).
3.) Obviously, once the race or Time Attack Mode has begun,
   the ground is no longer a 'safe' place, as the airplane
   cannot land during gameplay.  Similarly, there is a
   'ceiling' to the game.  While going above this 'ceiling'
   will not damage the airplane, the CPU will momentarily
   seize control, slow the aircraft, and bring it back
   within the available flying lane.  Note that on some
   circuits, there APPEARS to be plenty of room to swing
   wide of the actual flying lane, but this area is treated
   as a 'ceiling' as well.  These 'ceilings' are considered
   as Course Outs by the CPU.
4.) The flying lane is indicated by a continuous series of
   semi-transparent blue 'bubbles' floating in the air.
   There are also various signs indicating corners, as well
   as where the circuit changes significantly in elevation,
   and where the circuit narrows.
5.) Bravo Air Race includes three power-up icons.  Each is a
   semi-transparent 'bubble' with a letter on it:
   a.) D: Attaining this icon is not advised, as the
       player's airplane will experience a sudden, momentary
       loss of speed.  This is the equivalent of severe
       braking in an auto racing game.
   b.) S: Flying through this 'bubble' will give the
       player's aircraft a momentary boost in speed.  This
       is similar to engaging the turbo on a car.
   c.) T: Grabbing this power-up will add five seconds to
       the countdown timer.
6.) As mentioned above, successfully executing a barrel roll
   (using any of the shoulder buttons on the controller)
   will add two seconds to the countdown timer.  However,
   there are a few issues to remember here:
   a.) At the beginning of a race, the player will have
       ample time to execute a barrel roll before crossing
       the Start/Finish Line to officially begin the first
       lap.  However, any barrel rolls completed or begun
       during this time will not award any time on the
       countdown timer, as it does not officially start
       until the first lap officially begins.
   b.) Hitting anything - even the highly-forgiving branches
       of trees - while executing the barrel roll will
       invalidate that attempt to add time to the countdown
       timer.
   c.) For the purposes of attaining the extra two seconds
       on the countdown timer, any Course Outs (i.e.,
       'ceilings') while performing a barrel roll are
       treated as collisions.  If a barrel roll is in
       progress during a Course Out, the CPU will seize
       control and first attempt to right the aircraft
       before bringing it back into the flying lane.

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CIRCUITS
There are four circuits in Bravo Air Race, each using a
different type of environment.  Interestingly, all feature a
highly enthusiastic crowd of spectators, whether
participating in a race or taking on Time Attack Mode.

Mountain
  This circuit is designated 'easy,' but that will still
  greatly depend upon the chosen airplane's maneuvering
  capabilities.  The circuit takes place primarily between
  mountain peaks, but there are rocky tunnels and a
  mountaintop city to challenge competitors.  The corners
  are not very tight, and the horizontal flight path is
  somewhat wide compared to the other circuits.

South City
  Despite the name of this circuit, it is not a 100% urban
  venue.  It is also best to NOT use the roadway below as a
  guide, as there are times when the roadway diverges from
  the flying lane; any attempts to follow the roadway in
  these cases will result in a Course Out.  South City has
  plenty of bridges as well as 'cut-outs' in some buildings
  to keep players challenged.  It is VERY easy to
  inadvertently perform a Course Out at the first major drop
  in elevation, shortly after leaving South City itself.
     While the waterway section is rather straightforward
  and somewhat wide, there is not too much of a vertical
  flying area here, so it is quite easy to create a Course
  Out or to hit the river below.  After passing through a
  tunnel, the flight lane emerges over a beach, and
  eventually rejoins the roadway and returns to South City
  itself.  However, once in the city, there are still many
  challenges before completing a lap of this circuit.

Snow Land
  Just beyond the Start/Finish Line, the player must fly up
  over a mountain cliff, between two mountain peaks, and
  then descend.  After this, the flight path is relatively
  easy to follow and not very tricky, although there is a
  snow bridge near the ground.
     Once through the short ice tunnel, the circuit
  descends quickly through a snow tunnel; this descent is
  very difficult to spot due to the vast amount of whiteness
  in the area, so the player can expect to destroy the
  aircraft on the side or roof of the snow tunnel at the
  entry until this section of the circuit is committed to
  memory.
     Shortly beyond the snow tunnel is the Checkpoint.
  Shortly beyond that is a long ice tunnel which
  continually curves from side to side.  Once out of this
  ice tunnel, the flight path follows a river and widens
  significantly; there are a few snow bridges and signs here
  to provide obstacles.  Eventually, the player must fly
  over a cliff and make a quick descent through another
  snow tunnel and rejoin the river.
     Once the raceway leaves the river, the ceiling is VERY
  low, even as the player must fly over obstacles and
  toward another ice cave.  This ice cave is a bit shorter
  than the previous ice cave, but does contain several
  semi-tight corners.  This ice cave opens onto the initial
  runway and the Start/Finish Line.

Canyon
  This is listed as the most difficult circuit in Bravo Air
  Race.  While there are many more twists and turns in this
  circuit and many narrower sections overall compared to the
  other circuits in the game, it is not really 'difficult'
  so long as the player is using a fairly maneuverable
  airplane and has some fast reflexes.
     The opening segment of the circuit has many corners,
  all of which are easy to see and are not really very
  difficult; what may be difficult is that each corner
  quickly flows into the next corner.  The circuit then
  briefly follows a green-colored river, flies through a
  narrow rock tunnel, then comes back out over the river
  into an area which looks like ancient ruins; it is
  imperative to avoid the standing columns and the arches
  over the river in this section.  The final arch is the
  Checkpoint.
     Beyond the Checkpoint, the flight line descends into
  an area deep within the canyon, so almost everything is
  dark due to the shadows here; clear visibility is rare
  in this section, so an excellent memory of the layout of
  this section of the circuit is key to success overall.
  This is fortunately a relatively brief section, as the
  flight line then ascends and follows the green-colored
  river once again.
     After a few easy-to-spot corners, the flight path
  heads directly toward a waterfall.  In a most unrealistic
  section of the circuit, the flight path goes THROUGH the
  waterfall, through a water-filled tunnel in the canyon
  wall, and through a waterfall on the other side to follow
  yet another green-colored river briefly before rejoining
  the ground below.  After several more twists and turns in
  the flight line, the circuit returns to the Start/Finish
  Line.

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GENERAL TIPS
For those unaccustomed to flying games, it is important to
remember that the Up and Down buttons on the D-pad have the
inverse effect upon the movement of the aircraft.  In other
words, pressing the Up button will cause the aircraft to
descend, while pressing the Down button will cause the
airplane to climb in elevation.
  It may help to think of the D-pad's Up and Down buttons as
directly affecting the nose of the plane.  In other words,
pressing the Up button is like placing one's hand on the top
of the nose to force it downward, and vice versa.

The player should never try to fly too high or stray to
either side of the immediate flight line.  Doing such will
result in a Course Out, slowing the player's progress as the
CPU seizes control and returns to player to the flight line.

As a general rule, the player should never attempt to fly
higher than the tallest mountain, building, etc., on either
side of the flight line.  To fly higher than these side
markers risks incurring a Course Out.

The player should look for the word 'Caution' on the screen
when participating in a race (i.e., when not in Time Attack
Mode).  If the word 'Caution' appears, this means that there
is at least one airplane ahead in close proximity to the
player.  This is important to note, as the other aircraft can
often be tricky to see - either due to its coloring compared
to the surroundings, and/or due to shadows or dark tunnels
and caves.

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CONTACT INFORMATION
For questions, rants, raves, comments of appreciation, etc.,
or to be added to my e-mail list for updates to this driving
guide, please contact me at: [email protected]; also, if
you have enjoyed this guide and feel that it has been helpful
to you, I would certainly appreciate a small donation via
PayPal (http://www.paypal.com/) using the above e-mail
address.

To find the latest version of this and all my other
PSX/PS2/DC/Mac game guides, visit FeatherGuides at
http://feathersites.angelcities.com/

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