DOWNHILL DOMINATION: DEMO GUIDE
by
Wolf Feather/Jamie Stafford
[email protected]
Initial Version Completed: August 5, 2003
Version 1.1 Completed: August 5, 2003
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CONTENTS
Spacing and Length
Permissions
Introduction
Controller Layout
Race Modes
Tips
Contact
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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 appropriate font setting by making sure the numbers
and letters below line up:
1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012
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PERMISSIONS
This guide may ONLY be posted on FeatherGuides, GameFAQs.com,
and IGN.com
Permission is granted to download and print one copy for
personal use.
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INTRODUCTION
Those familiar with my writing history know that a game
outside the auto racing genre rarely grabs my attention...
and this would be no different, except for the fact that I
received a demo disc in the mail from Sony. So I tried it,
hoping that it might by SSX or SSX Tricky, but on bikes.
Downhill Domination certainly tries to be a biking version of
the SSX franchise, but falls well short. Still, for a short
period of time, Downhill Domination is definitely
entertaining, but - based solely upon the demo version -
seems to lack the longevity of any of the SSX games to date.
What the demo version of Downhill Domination offers is a
single locale (Mt. Midoule, pronounced 'mih-doo-lee') in
Italy, with three types of racing on various parts of the
mountain. Only two players are available in the demo version
of the game: Cosmo (British) and Mai (Japanese). Including
the player, up to eight competitors appear in a race.
Depending on race performance, the player will earn money to
acquire new or upgraded items, sponsorships, etc. - but
actually acquiring these elements is not available in the
demo version of the game. Single-player and two-player
Multiplayer modes are available, but the full-version game
will allow up to four players simultaneously.
Like the ever-popular SSX series, the players and competitors
tend to make a lot of comments - and Mai does indeed chatter
a lot in Japanese, making her character more believable.
There is also music playing almost constantly throughout the
game. A Training Mode exists, so that the player can learn
some of the many tricks available in the game; tricks can be
Superstyled and Comboed to attain even more points and money.
And, of course, there is 'combat,' meaning that the player
can take swings (or kicks, or whatever) at nearby
competitors, scoring bonus money for each competitor
successfully knocked to the ground >:-)
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CONTROLLER LAYOUT
There is only the default controller layout available in the
demo version of Downhill Domination. The entire Options
section is unavailable from the game's main menu, although it
is indeed shown.
D-pad and L3 stick: These are used for directional control.
R3 stick: This is used for combat; kicks and
punches are handled automatically by the
CPU.
Shoulder buttons: Used singly or in combination, these are
the buttons used to perform tricks.
While some tricks are taught to the
player in Training Mode, there are others
available by experimenting during races.
Triangle button: This will Superstyle (tweak) a trick for
more points.
Square button: This allows the player to engage in
combat, and is an alternative to pressing
the R3 stick to the left.
Circle button: This allows the player to engage in
combat, and is an alternative to pressing
the R3 stick to the right.
X button: This is essentially the 'accelerator.'
Pressing and holding this button will
allow the player's character to pedal the
bike, while pressing twice and THEN
holding the X button will cause the
player's character to sprint (pedal twice
as fast). However, sprinting is only
available if the adrenaline meter (the
five green circles in the lower-right
corner of the screen) have at least one
circle activated - more activated circles
equals more adrenaline.
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RACE MODES
There are three race modes available in Downhill Domination:
FR, MX, and TD. Each operates somewhat differently.
FR: With eight total competitors, this is essentially a run
from the very top of the mountain to the very bottom. To
some extent, the player can select alternate paths, but
boundaries are clearly delineated, and the player is
reset if the boundaries are crossed. There are numerous
jumps and obstacles along this lengthy run. For this
demo version of the game, the player can anticipate
approximately five minutes to complete a race in FR mode.
The most unusual element, however, is that there are
spectators actually walking about IN the raceway, so the
player must be constantly aware of them - hitting a
spectator will slow the player's character, and can
possibly cause a crash.
MX: This is a much shorter run, well under two minutes to
complete in the demo version of the game. The idea here
is to attain as many points as possible for tricks
completed, AND finish in first place. The best places to
complete tricks are the areas with numerous consecutive
ramps - located near the end of the venue in the demo
version of the game.
TD: TD is a technical descent of the mountain. The raceway
is generally quite narrow, and there are numerous
obstacles - trees, rocks, tight single-file turns, etc.
Simply staying ON the bike is the main key to victory in
a TD race. In the demo version of the game, the TD race
will take more than three minutes to complete.
In a Career, the player competes in all three race formats on
a given mountain. A certain number of credits must be
obtained (the number received depends upon the finishing
position in each race) in order to advance to the next race
format on a different area of the same mountain.
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TIPS
Without question, the player should definitely select a
character, and go directly to Training Mode. This
interactive learning mode will introduce the player to many
concepts in the game, as well as present a number of tricks.
Many more tricks are available in the game; these can be
discovered through experimentation in races.
Wild animals sometimes appear in the raceway. Like the
spectators, they can create wrecks... or at least slow the
player's character.
The player should spend plenty of time exploring, as there
are numerous shortcuts and alternate routes. Some shortcuts
are simply not 'visible' due to a high lip or a sheer
dropoff, but they can be faster routes than remaining on the
main path(s).
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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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