_________________________________________________________________________
| |
| San Francisco Rush 2049 FAQ |
| for the Nintendo 64 system |
| |
| Version 3.0 - 07.21.2003 |
| |
| Written by Jordan Stopciati (superstar64) |
| (
[email protected]) |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
All names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners.
This document is copyright (C) 2000-2003 Jordan Stopciati.
==================================================
Updates
==================================================
July 21, 2003 - Version 3.0 - A frustration and a half. I was originally
thinking of writing this guide in PDF form with graphical maps, but I
scrapped that idea and what should be the final update for the foreseeable
future is in the text format. I do, however, plan to develop a track map
guide (for all circuits, stunt and battle mode included) within a little
while. The big change in this version is a rearrangement of information,
plus a few additions of switches and shortcuts.
October 12, 2002 - Version 2.0 - I never thought this day would come but
I've finally got this FAQ completed to my satisfaction! *dances* Yup, all
the stunt coins are finally up, and in my opinion, this is a done deal. The
final version will be coming soon with a slight rearrangement of sections
and maybe some slight modifications to the descriptions.
July 10, 2002 - Version 1.6 - Not too many additions in this version. I
added the silver stunt coins for Stunt 1, and hopefully that'll be the
beginning of more to come. Also a new section entitled "Switches" where I
take a look at the switch locations and what exactly they do. Final version
will hopefully have all stunt coins and be organized a little bit more
neatly.
December 31, 2001 - Version 1.5 - First version completed, track 6's
shortcuts are included, among other things. In version 2.0 (and hopefully
that will be the final version), I'll have the stunt coins and possibly a
high score section put up. I can't believe it's taken me so long to get
this completed, however, I've been extremely busy with not much time to get
much stuff done. Also a few of the formatting changes to make headings,
etc. easier to read, in addition to an addition of part descriptions, car
reviews, and ASCII art track maps and descriptions.
March 21, 2001 - Version 0.99.5 - Track 5's shortcuts are done, and now for
a version 1 all I need to do is just do Track 6's shortcuts. I was also
notified of a TYPO in this document (gasp, shock... horror!) It turns out
that in "Rush 2049 from A to Z", I put down "Unlock in SFR in Rush 2..."
when I meant "Unlike in SFR and Rush 2...". Thanks to an e-mailer for
notifying me of this error. Also another question.
February 24, 2001 - Version 0.99 - You'd probably think that I'd be done
version 1 by now, but I have completed the descriptions for battle courses
3 to 8 - but shortcuts are yet to be completed. I do have a tip submission,
though.
February 13, 2001 - Version 0.98 - Happy premature Valentine's Day.
Descriptions for battle courses 3 to 8 and shortcuts for tracks 5 and 6 are
missing, but that's because I'm in a hurry to get this online. They will
appear in version 1, which should be coming within the next couple of
weeks.
--------------------------------------------------
Planned Updates / Version Credits
--------------------------------------------------
No planned major updates; what I would really like to do is create a Zip
file with maps for all 18 tracks, as the text format is shamefully
inappropriate for creating graphics files. If that materialises, I'll
include cross-references from here.
I'm anxious to know the meaning of the switch on track 4 backwards; it's
the one nestled at the top of the quarterpipe. If you know the meaning of
it, e-mail me, please!
And since I don't want to propogate this guide with e-mail contributions
that I've received in the last little while that have assisted in the
revision of this guide, here they are, dating back from January 2003. The
e-mails may have been condensed slightly.
"I know it's a bit late but if you're still wandering about the switch
under the bridge on the left side in track 2 (after the lake) this is what
it does. It opens a trap door on the right side of the small right track
under the bridge with the train (before the windmill). It's a small ramp
that goes down to the place with the red disco ball and the rats (the
cavern shortcut the normal way, next to the other lake)."
-- JimBob (Dimitrios)
"Anyway... what I'd like to point out is the auto-abort message in your
cheats section. 'Auto-Abort (no idea)' or something like that. What auto
abort does is make you automatically abort when you're completely stopped
for a few seconds. This option I presume makes it so that you don't
automatically abort after a few seconds, but I can be wrong, as I didn't
try out the cheat myself."
-- Aquatakat
"On your Rush 2049 Walkthrough, when you were defining some of the cheat
meanings, beside Auto Abort you put "No Idea". The meaning of Auto Abort is
to turn on and off the annoying reappearance of your car back on the track
if you were exploring a shortcut or something for too long."
-- Aero96
Thanks guys, I _really_ wanted to know about the auto-abort thing.
==================================================
Table of Contents
==================================================
Updates
Table of Contents
00. Legal Notices
01. Game Introduction
02. Rush Setup
Controls
Menu Setup
03. Under the Hood
The Cars
Car Parts
04. Race Mode
Introduction
General Suggestions
Track 1 - Marina
Track 2 - Haight
Track 3 - Civic
Track 4 - Metro
Track 5 - Mission
Track 6 - Presidio
05. Stunt Mode
Introduction
General Suggestions
Stunt 1
Stunt 2
Stunt 3
Stunt 4
06. Battle Mode
Introduction
Weapons
General Suggestions
Arenas
07. Obstacle Mode
Introduction
Walkthrough
08. Cheats and Secrets
New Items
Codes
09. Questions
10. Closing Notes
==================================================
00. Legal Notices
==================================================
First of all, under no circumstances can I be held responsible for any of
the following unsolicited or solicited events:
- Damaged Rush 2049 game
- Damaged game(s)
- Damaged Nintendo 64 system
- Damaged system(s)
- Damaged reputation
- Damaged wall(s) or house(s)
- Damaged computer(s)
- Damaged privilege(s)
- Damaged body part(s)
- Damaged city(ies), state(s)/province(s), country(ies), etc.
- Damaged...etc.
..that seem to be the source from this FAQ/Walkthrough. I don't intend to
wound everyone within a fifty-mile or eighty-kilometer radius, or farther.
The whole point of writing this document is to help people who have no idea
how to beat this game. So if something happens to you because of its use,
sorry, I take no responsibility.
NO PLAGIARISM. I personally detest it. In a perfect world, we'd all work
our share for every cent of the money we get. Unfortunately, that is just a
fantasy, and there are some people out there who are just too lazy to do
their own stuff. This guide is over 44,000 words - which EASILY rivals any
paperback novel - and a person takes only two minutes to copy and paste all
of it into whatever he has to do, and then gives him/herself credit for it?
Give me a break! I will take every step I can to stop that sort of thing.
This can easily be prevented. If you wish to use ANY of my material in a
competing work, at least give me credit for it and we'll all be happy. If I
find out that you are plagiarizing from me, you will come face to face with
me looking like Hannibal Lecter very quickly.
Finally, if you wish to use my FAQ on a web site you must get permission
from me, and that means sending me an e-mail. In addition, you must host
the FAQ on your website without any advertisements promoting any products.
No linking. Should I ever create an HTML version or create a site where the
FAQ is available for linking, sure, why not. But right now that isn't
happening. If I do approve it, you can use it. As a final note, please
update the FAQ on your own, I don't send them out.
This FAQ may be made available on the following web sites:
- www.gamefaqs.com
- www.cheatcodes.com
That concludes the legal notices.
--------------------------------------------------
Document Information
--------------------------------------------------
Program used: UltraEdit 32 v10.00c
Margins: 75 characters
File size: 247077 bytes
4749 lines
44,019 words
==================================================
01. Game Introduction
==================================================
If you've never, ever, ever played any Rush game before, regardless of
whether it be from the arcades or on any console system, relax, that's why
this section is here to ease you into the game play of Rush 2049 and what
it's all about.
Rush is a game series that began with the coming of San Francisco Rush:
Extreme Racing released back in 1996, for the arcade. Most notable about
the game was the high speeds and the extreme lack of gravity. Whenever cars
went off any of the notably steep San Francisco hills, you knew, because
you would go flying ridiculous distances. Of course, the accidents that
come from getting airtime along with all of the other computer players came
naturally. Whenever your car flips over, it explodes, plain and simple. It
was a far cry from any racing sim.
The Rush series got a couple of more sequels. Rush: The Rock was released
in 1997, and some people can argue that it is the game that the N64 port of
SFR was based upon. Rush 2, yet another sequel, was released in 1998 for
the Nintendo 64, with seven new tracks scattered all across the United
States, and, for the first time, including a stunt track where players were
encouraged to let their cars go wild in order to earn as many points as
possible.
But ultimately, Rush is all about street tracks with huge jumps, insane
speeds, wild shortcuts, and explosions of nuclear proportions. And then
Rush 2049 came along. Just when we thought that the streets could finally
be cleared, everything goes insane again on the San Francisco streets. But
luckily, it's not in our generation.
Rush 2049 continues to push the envelope - set almost 50 years in the
future (I just realized something - what am I going to do when 2049 rolls
around and this guide is still up?) with 18 tracks, 13 cars, and plenty of
improvements to the game over anything that has been done before, including
an improved Stunt Mode with four spankin' new tracks. Don't forget Battle
Mode, another addition to the game which requires players to drive around
one of eight arenas with various weapons trying to turn other cars into
scrap metal.
Trust me, you will have a lot of fun not just soaring over the streets, but
also with a couple of ways to prolong your experience as long as possible.
Eight gold and eight silver coins have been hidden on each of the tracks in
the game (excluding the Battle Mode arenas). You'll have to tap in to all
of your skills to pick up the 160 coins in the game. As you continue
collecting coins, you'll be rewarded with new cars. Keep your eyes open for
shortcuts on the tracks. Some of them can even by opened by switches that
will turn from red to green hidden in various places.
A bonus feature that fits in well with the futuristic theme of the game is
wings. If you press the Z button in the air, you can change your flight
path if you are flipping or rolling in the air. This is a nice feature to
correct some of your more erratic jumps, but the benefits of wings are
really shown in stunt mode where they can be used to rack up insane points.
There's only one final difference from Rush to all other games: arrow
strips scattered all over the tracks. If you put your wheels on them you
will be taken up to 200 MPH quickly in the direction that the strip is
facing. If you hit a strip going in the opposite direction, however, you'll
slow down, stop, and head backwards pretty quickly - not good for your
chances of winning the race.
==================================================
02. Rush Setup
==================================================
--------------------------------------------------
Controls
--------------------------------------------------
The following control configurations are taken from the default scheme. You
have the ability to assign buttons to your liking.
With the Control Stick, you can turn your car to the left or right to
various degrees. If you have the wings activated (see below), you can
control the lateral or vertical (flip, roll) rotation of your vehicle while
it is in the air.
Hold the A button to accelerate, and stay on it as long as possible.
If you need to scrub off the speed, tap or hold the B button to slow down a
bit. (Why would you want the brakes in a racing game, anyway?)
If you're flying through the air, press and hold the Z button to bring out
the wings from underneath your vehicle. You'll get a little bit more lift
than you normally would, and you can also control the roll and flip motions
of your vehicle. You can't use wings in Battle Mode, so in that mode you
can fire your weapon with the Z button.
If you end up in trouble and need to quickly return to the track, press
C-Up to be lifted back to the track and get going again. If Death Mode is
on, you can't "abort", as this mode is called. In Battle Mode, you can't
resuurect yourself by using C-Up, so this button is used to discard a
weapon.
Press C-Down to downshift by one gear if you're using a manual
transmission.
After you've come to a stop, press C-left to activate reverse gear so you
can drive backwards.
The L button changes the camera angle from which you view you car. You can
choose between a helicopter view, a tail view, a bumper cam, or a hood cam
(much like the other Rush games)
Press the R button to upshift by one gear if you're using a manual
transmission.
Pressing right on the control pad honks your horn, which really doesn't do
anything except give you a funny sound which depends on the car that you
are using.
--------------------------------------------------
Menu Setup
--------------------------------------------------
There are thousands upon thousands of ways that you can customize your Rush
experience to the fullest. I've listed them here to state what sort of
impact changing these options have on your game.
Main Menu
~~~~~~~~~~~
Players: Select from 1 to 4 players that will be playing Rush 2049. This is
If you don't have four controllers plugged in, the game will gray out the
appropriate numbers so that you can't select any of those options.
Records: Select this option to enter the records area. This records the
mileage racked up on certain tracks, best lap times, races completed, and
so on. You can also view general statistics for your player registered on
the Controller Pak.
Options: Control the options in the game. Most of these options will affect
what you see in the race mode.
Audio: Control your audio setup.
Video: Control your video setup.
Options Menu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Player Arrows: In ghost mode or any multiplayer mode, player arrows mark
the location of another player or ghost car, which gives you the
opportunity to precisely see where your rivals are. As the arrow gets more
opaque, the indicated player is getting closer to you. If you don't need to
know where the other player is, then turn this feature off.
Track Map: The track map is located on the right side of the screen and is
only shown in any racing mode. It shows your location on the track and
other players (indicated by gray squares or coloured circles) if there are
any. If you don't need it, turn it off and you'll be completely blank
concerning your location on the track. Good luck.
Radar: The radar is located on the left side of the screen and is only
shown in any racing mode. It shows where other computer or human players
are behind you on the race track - you are indicated by a mark towards the
top of the screen that always remains stationary. To blind yourself to
approaching players, turn this option off.
Time Elapsed: This is shown below the track map and indicates how much time
has passed since the race started. This is usually a pretty useful option,
but you never know, you may not need it. If you don't, you can turn this
option off.
Time Remaining: Unlike previous Rush games, there are no "checkpoints"
placed along the race track to keep the pace quick. In Ghost Mode and Stunt
Mode only, you'll be given a certain amount of time to complete your run.
Once the timer reaches zero, your game is over. If you turn this off, the
timer will still count down and you'll still receive audio cues (at 30
seconds and every second from 5 respectively).
Tachometer: If you have a manual transmission on your car, this bar keeps
track of the RPM your car's engine is running at. If you turn this off, you
will have to listen to your engine to decide when to upshift. If you decide
to keep it on, upshift once the tachometer reaches the red zone.
Speedometer: This will show you your car's current speed. Most of the time
you'd want to know how fast you're going right now, but if you aren't one
of those people you can turn this option off and determine your speed by
how fast everything is whizzing by you.
Odometer: This option is shown below the speedometer and shows the distance
you have travelled so far IN THIS RACE, not in the whole game or for the
car. It can be turned either on or off.
Place: This is shown in the top right corner of the screen and shows both
your current position in the race and the lap that you're currently running
out of the number of laps in the race. The place shows your ranking out of
all the cars - try to get to first as soon as possible.
Gearshift: If you have a manual transmission on your car, this display
shows what gear your car is currently running in reverse, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or
4th, indicated by GEAR and then, respectively, R, 1, 2, 3, and 4. This
should be used in conjunction with the tachometer. This option won't be
here anyway if you have an automatic transmission on your car.
Metric: This shows what measurement system you will use in the game. You
can use imperial (miles, MPH) or metric (kilometers, KPH). Either one will
do. Personally, I prefer MPH just because of the ease in describing it here
to (most likely) people in the United States who use MPH as well.
Wrong Way: If you've made a wrong turn, and you're now driving the wrong
way on the track, a message of "Wrong Way" will appear on the screen. If
this is turned off you won't get any notification. (You should be able to
figure out that something's wrong if you're coming across lighted arrows in
the opposite direction...)
Coins: There are silver and gold coins in the tracks. This display shows
how many coins have been collected out of 8 silver coins and 8 gold coins
on that track. Turn this display off to get no idea of those figures. They
aren't even critical to your victory in the race anyway.
Audio Setup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Music Volume: This option allows you to select a number from 0 to 10. The
higher the number, the louder the volume. Selecting "0" will mute the
music.
Sound Volume: This option allows you to select a number from 0 to 10. The
higher the number, the louder the volume. Selecting "0" will mute the sound
effects, announcer, engine sounds, explosions, and so on.
Music - When you select a particular song in this list, that song will play
for every track. Selecting "Default" will play the music that usually plays
for each track.
- Default (this plays the default music for every track)
- Bassy (Track 1, Battle 1 background music)
- Garage (Track 2, Battle 2 background music)
- Night (Track 4, Battle 4 background music)
- Seventies (Track 3, Battle 3 background music)
- Trancey (Track 5, Battle 5 background music)
- Title (Title screen, menu music)
- Credits (End of game music)
- Retro (Track 6, Battle 6 background music)
- Stunted (Stunt 1, Stunt 2, Battle 7, Obstacle background music)
- Flier (Stunt 3, Stunt 4, Battle 8 background music)
- Battle1
- Battle2
Speakers - Select between Stereo (two-speaker TVs) or Mono (one-speaker
TVs). Most new TVs are stereo televisions. Make sure to select the correct
setting, otherwise you may not hear all the sounds.
Video Setup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Horizontal Position, Vertical Position: These control where the picture on
your screen is located. Negative settings move to the left and up
respectively, and positive settings move the picture to the right and down
respectively. Take note that some older televisions with rounded displays
still block out some of the picture.
Restore: Resets the Horizontal Position and the Vertical Position settings
back to the default settings - 0 and 0.
Below these options you'll find a colour bar and a grayscale bar. If all of
the shades in the grayscale bar are not visible - black does not grade
completely to white from left to right - adjust the contrast so it looks
correct. If the red, green, and blue colours bleed, turn down the
brightness. These settings are just here so that you don't end up getting a
headache looking at the screen.
Player Menu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just Play: Select this option if you're not concerned with settings and you
just want to go racing. The only disadvantage to this option is that your
scores will not be saved. When the system is turned off your game progress
will be lost.
Controls: This option will appear next to the "Just Play" option and any
player selections available. Use it to customize which buttons you will use
to control your vehicle. I personally prefer the default setting, but
change it to your preference.
Controller Pak: Select which Pak you want to recall the player data from.
This is useful if you don't have your own Controller Pak but you want to
recall your statistics on another Pak. If a Controller Pak is not plugged
in to that controller or the controller is simply not plugged in, the game
will inform you.
Create Player: If you have a Controller Pak plugged in and selected, you
can create a game file for yourself. Select this option, type in your
player name, then select "End". The file will be created for you and will
remain there until deleted. All your game progress will be stored there.
Delete Player: If there is at least one player on a Controller Pak this
option will appear. Select it, select the player you want to delete, then
confirm it to delete that player's statistics and the player itself
permanently. This will also free 9 out of 123 pages on the Controller Pak.
*player name*: Select a player to enter the respective game file. You will
enter the Mode Selection Menu like in the Just Play option, with all the
player's statistics and unlocked goodies intact.
Mode Selection Menu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Single Race: This racing mode is for one or two players - just a
straight-out racing mode. Select your track, then your car, and then go
racing. There really isn't that much to it, is there? Oh, and you can
customize a whole load of other stuff, too.
Practice: This mode is available for one or two players. All you have to do
is just explore a track to its fullest - you can get as much practice time
as you want to find coins, just get acquainted with the track, or whatever.
It's up to you, don't ask me what you should be doing.
Ghost Race: This is a mode for one player only. You're alone on the track
with three laps separating you from the finish line. Complete the course in
the time allotted to save a ghost. From there, you can go back to the
track, but this time the "ghost" will be out there on the track following
the exact route that you just drove. Ghosts will not be saved after you
turn the system off - only the times that you record will remain. Oh, and
you can't use wings!
Circuit: So, you think you're good enough to take your skills out onto a
championship race? Well, sure. There are four circuits for you to challenge
five CPU rivals. Your objective is simple: be the one on top at the end of
the races to be the champion.
Beginner Circuit - 8 races - tracks 1 - 4
Intermediate Circuit - 10 races - tracks 1 - 5
Advanced Circuit - 12 races - tracks 1 - 6 (Expansion Pak only)
Extreme Circuit* - 20 races - tracks 1 - 5 (all configurations)
Extreme Circuit - 24 races - tracks 1 - 6 (all configurations)
* This circuit is only available if you do not have the Expansion Pak. You
will move directly up to here from the Intermediate Circuit if that is the
case.
It's interesting to note that in the Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced
circuits, you'll run all the tracks in order forwards, then all the tracks
in order backwards. In Extreme circuits, a random combination will be
chosen, so no two Extreme circuits are the same. There are
620,448,401,733,239,439,360,000 (!) different combinations of circuits when
you have the Expansion Pak.
After every race, you score points for your finishing position. The point
system is set up as follows:
1st Place - 10 points
2nd Place - 7 points
3rd Place - 5 points
4th Place - 3 points
5th Place - 2 points
6th Place - 1 point
Points are scored cumulatively through each of the races. The player who
scores the most points is the winner. You don't necessarily have to win all
of the races to do this - you just have to finish with the most points, but
sure, you should still win as many races as you can.
Stunt: The objective of Stunt Mode (one of the few modes in the game that
allows up to four players to play) is simple: pull off the wild tricks that
incorporate several different unique elements to score points. The wilder
all those tricks are, the more points you get. Just make sure to land on
all four wheels instead of upside-down to actually score the points!
Obstacle: This mode requires you to tap into all of your Rush skills to
navigate a course with several different rooms. If you fail to complete a
room you have to start all over from the beginning of that room. You only
have five minutes to get to the finish line, so don't waste a second!
Battle: A two to four player death match mode. Pick up weapons that have
been scattered around all of the tracks and blow up your rivals. You'll
score one point for killing a player. Reach the point goal first to be the
winner - easy as pie.
Track Selection Menu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Track: You can select from six tracks in Race Mode, four in Stunt Mode, and
eight in Battle Mode. However, most of them aren't available when you start
the game - you'll have to achieve some goals if you want to open up all 19
tracks in the game in all of the modes. Sound intimidating? It is.
Laps: If you want to extend or shorten the race, select this option. You
can choose anything from a short one-lap sprint to an eight-lap marathon -
it's up to you. If you select a longer race, you'll have more time to catch
up to the rest of the pack should you drop off the pace at one point or
another.
Backwards: If this mode is turned on, you'll race the track in the opposite
direction. You don't need to run it in reverse gear - you just have to race
it the other way. The track will be the same for the most part, with only a
couple of exceptions on tracks 1 and 6.
Mirror: This option can be turned on or off. If mirror mode is turned on,
the track's layout is inverted - for example, if you once had a left-hand
turn ahead, it will become a right-hand turn.
Fog: One of the more distinctive elements of San Francisco is the fog that
obscures everything very close to you. However, you can play around with
the weather a little and control the fog settings between four different
densities if you so desire. However, take caution - it becomes more and
more difficult to see upcoming turns and objects as you change this setting
to higher and higher levels.
Wind: The further right this meter is set, the harder the wind will blow.
Wind has a big effect on where your car flies after you catch air, and does
have the capability to blow you off course. Watch out!
Drones: You can have zero to five drones - or CPU players - out on the
track with you during a race. It's a self-explanatory setting, what more do
I really need to explain? Well, except for the fact that it could get
harder depending on how many CPU players are out there on the track with
you...
Difficulty: You can select between several difficulty settings for the CPU
players. The higher the difficulty setting, the harder it is for you to
beat the computer (well, duh!) As the difficulty increases CPU players will
be grouped together in a much more compact form on the track, have higher
engine power, and may just take shortcuts. It's not easy to beat them.
Handicap: If you go to race mode with two players this option will appear.
Set this mode to one of two "handicap" settings. The handicap gives the
trailing player a slightly higher speed, giving them the opportunity to lap
faster and potentially catch up to the leaders. A good setting to activate
while playing with the incompetent.
Deaths: They say cats have nine lives. In this mode, you will not. When
Death Mode is turned on, if you crash and blow up, whether it be by rolling
over, hitting another car, or whatever, you are eliminated from the race
right away. Of course, this also applies to the CPU cars. Your finishing
position will be credited to you as the last driver still running in the
race (so if two other CPU cars have blown up before you die, you'll get
fourth place).
Minutes: In Stunt Mode, select how long you want your run to be, from 1 to
20 minutes in one-minute increments. The longer your time, the more
opportunities you'll have to score points. Therefore, you will have a
larger score. Five minutes is the default setting.
Points: In battle mode, select the number of points you want to play to -
from 5 to 50 in five-point increments. The higher you set this number, the
longer the match will take. On average it takes about one minute to score a
point, so take it from there.
Negative Points: There's an option to shake things up a little in Battle
Mode. If you happen to crash and burn by rolling over (yes, just rolling
over, no crashing hard into walls), you will lose one point (unless you
have zero, in which case you remain at zero.) This mode ensures fair play
and a different strategy, since nobody can commit seppuku just to get away
from a pursuer.
Car Selection Menu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
See the "Under the Hood" section for more information. You have only one
other option available, in Battle Mode:
Teams - In Battle Mode, you can select the colour of your car by also
selecting your team (red, blue, yellow, or green). By selecting the same
colour as another player you will "team up" with them. Your strategy can
change drastically with teamwork, especially when two or three players are
forced to gang up on one.
==================================================
03. Under the Hood
==================================================
--------------------------------------------------
The Cars
--------------------------------------------------
There are 13 cars in San Francisco Rush 2049, but only six of them are
available when you hit the ignition. You'll have to collect coins lying and
levitating in the streets if you want to see these cool vehicles. So here
they are. They're all the same in stats, assuming that they have the same
parts on them, but they don't quite handle the same. Try them all out to
see which one fits you the best.
NOTE: All these opinions are very subjective, and basically I rated them
based on MY personal preference when it comes to racing. You really can't
get a specialized opinion unless you take each one of these cars out and
give them all a try - then you can pick the one that suits you the best. A
car which I say sucks may work absolutely perfectly for you. Who knows?
Give them all a try and come to your own conclusion. If you want to give
your own opinion, e-mail me at
[email protected] with YOUR personal
opinions of all the cars in Rush 2049 and I might put your opinion here.
The Significance of Handling
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If the car is too loose, you won't be able to make your turns well and will
probably need to slow down in order to get the optimum line. If it's too
tight it'll be easier for your car to spin sideways while taking turns.
Formula 1
~~~~~~~~~~~
My rating: 4 / 5
Handling: -1
Real-life vehicle: A Formula 1, CART, or IRL car. The most notable
exception is the glass shield on top of the cockpit similar to sports cars.
Most present-day open-wheel racers don't have that.
It's easy to remain in control with the Formula 1 even when you put it on
Extreme handling. However, it's not difficult to put a wheel onto the grass
with it, and if you happen to do something like that, say goodbye to your
chances of winning the race because it is very easy to spin out.
Rocket ZX
~~~~~~~~~~~
My rating: 3 / 5
Handling: +1
Real-life vehicle: As if you'll ever see anything like THIS on the streets.
Looks like it could be a futuristic version of a dragster, though.
This car also looks a lot better than it handles. It has flames coming off
the back of it but it really has tight turning. The car wants to seemingly
"turn twice" - what I mean by this is that when you point the car in a
certain direction it turns in the direction, goes back to the center, and
then turns in that direction again. In the ensuing moments when you aren't
"in control" you can crash. Proceed with caution with this car.
Magnum
~~~~~~~~
My rating: 4 / 5
Handling: 0
Real-life vehicle: Another futuristic one that doesn't really have any
resemblance to any 2002-spec vehicle.
I say this car looks very ugly. Okay, yes, it is. Despite its heavy weight
and difficulty to control with wings, it is actually a fast car. Handling
is respectable to say the least, so at least give it a test drive before
you put any real judgement to it, and then go from there.
Super GT
~~~~~~~~~~
My rating: 3 / 5
Handling: -0.5
Real-life vehicle: The rear end somewhat reminds me of a Mitsubishi, but
it's a really blocky vehicle. Not exactly the kind of vehicle you would see
racing...
The Super GT has a tendency to understeer just a bit. I like its smoothness
in turning, but it does have a weakness: it's hard to make turns with it
without going into the wall. Not to mention its excess weight makes it
difficult to handle when you're in Stunt Mode, for example. I would
definitely not recommend this one.
Bruiser
~~~~~~~~~
My rating: 3.5 / 5
Handling: +1
Real-life vehicle: 70's vehicle, that's for sure. Not sure exactly what the
make would be but it's definitely a 70's model, no doubt about that.
This isn't the best car that you'll find, but it does have some merit to
save itself. The steering is tight, with no risk that you'll go into the
wall, and it's an awesome vehicle to go with in Stunt Mode. Its major
problem is engine weight, so you may need to use the wings a lot to save
yourself from flipping end over end.
8-Ball
~~~~~~~~
My rating: 5 / 5
Handling: +0.5
Real-life vehicle: Looks a bit like a slightly modified version of the
Ferrari F50 (I'm just looking at aesthetics here and the front end looks
very similar).
This is the best of the six cars that you begin the game with. The steering
is just tight enough to get around the curves safely but not totally on the
edge, and the relative ease of using the wings makes it a great choice for
Stunt Mode. I would recommend this vehicle all the way up until you start
unlocking some of the new vehicles, as I will explain below...
Venom
~~~~~~~
My rating: 2.5 / 5
Handling: +2
-~-~ Hidden Vehicle ~-~-
Real-life vehicle: Tough one. I'd have to say it looks like a Lamb-
orghini, probably closer to the Countach, even though the front end is
indicative of the Diablo. Paint it in black and it seems like the
Batmobile.
The Venom's steering is probably the tightest in the game, but this is the
feature which really brings it down. Because of the steering, it's
extremely easy to spin out even when you have radial tires on the vehicle.
Handling is a big problem, so you may very well have to stay at advanced
handling and a standard frame while you upgrade all of your other cars to
higher stages. This is a good vehicle for a very sophisticated track like
track 6, but otherwise it just sucks.
Crusher
~~~~~~~~~
My rating: 3.5 / 5
Handling: +2
-~-~ Hidden Vehicle ~-~-
Real-life vehicle: Well, you couldn't make it much easier. Dodge Ram or
Chevy Silverado in all likelihood. Geez, pickups really don't change much
in 50 years, do they?
Just a piece of advice if you use this car: don't use the tail cam, you'll
never be able to see down the track. Anyway, the weight at the front of the
Crusher is more than the weight at the back, so when you don't use your
wings the nose will want to dip down significantly. This isn't a good thing
in Ghost Mode. However, this is probably one of the vehicles that is best
at escaping crashes - it'll just roll over when you're upside- down in all
likelihood. Pick it for track 6 because of the tight handling.
Euro LX
~~~~~~~~~
My rating: 4 / 5
Handling: -1
-~-~ Hidden Vehicle ~-~-
Real-life vehicle: Looks like an updated version of a Chevrolet Monte
Carlo. You never know, hey, it could be a European model too. Doesn't bear
a great resemblance to a certain vehicle.
The Euro feels a little bit "heavy". Aesthetically or performance-wise,
it's not one of my favourite cars. The steering is pretty loose on the
vehicle, loose enough that it's difficult to get yourself around the turns
smoothly. For stunt mode, it's not the best car to use either. Just doesn't
feel good to me.
Locust LX
~~~~~~~~~~~
My rating: 5 / 5
Handling: +1
-~-~ Hidden Vehicle ~-~-
Real-life vehicle - Looks a lot like the Dodge Viper, except with a much
shorter wheelbase.
This has to be the best car in the game, one I have utilized for Race Mode
for a very, very, very long time. The turning is sensitive, but you never
seem to lose control with it. The relatively light weight also makes it a
great choice for Stunt Mode to get some high-flying stunts in. Once you
unlock this vehicle, I recommend you stay with it as long as you can until
you get sick of it...then change the paint scheme! =)
GX-2
~~~~~~
My rating: 4 / 5
Handling: -0.5
-~-~ Hidden Vehicle ~-~-
Real-life vehicle: Beats me...almost looks like a crossover between a Honda
Civic and a Neon.
It's a pretty small car and unappreciated vehicle, but it actually packs a
lot of punch. The GX-2 is light and reasonably nimble (al- though it
understeers just a little bit.) While it may not be the most beautiful
model in the game, it certainly does its job well. At least give it a test
drive. I personally don't like it, but don't let that stop you.
Mini XS
~~~~~~~~~
My rating: 4.5 / 5
Handling: +0.5
-~-~ Hidden Vehicle ~-~-
Real-life vehicle: Almost certainly a cross between a Ford Focus and,
well...yeah, you probably were waiting for me to say it, a Mini. Not sure
exactly what the model is, though.
This is the smallest vehicle in the game - and with it, comes a lot of
mobility. It's a great choice for Race Mode because of its pure speed
thanks to a very small curb weight. It's also effective for Stunt mode
because of the ease in utilizing wings. You'll be able to fit this baby
anywhere it suits you. Literally.
Panther
~~~~~~~~~
SS64's rating: 4 / 5
Handling: 0
-~-~ Hidden Vehicle ~-~-
Real-Life Vehicle: A McLaren F1 - the specs have been toned down just a bit
obviously! =D
This vehicle is reasonable, but hey, it takes 160 coins to unlock it. The
handling on the Panther is pretty good, not to mention it just looks
extremely cool. But personally, I think are better vehicles available for
you to use. It's probably the fourth or fifth best vehicle out there, but
hey, it's not exactly the best reward for collecting every last coin in the
game. I was expecting one of those uber-cars! =P
Subjective Rankings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Locust LX
2. Mini XS
3. 8-Ball
4. Panther
5. Magnum
6. Bruiser
7. Formula 1
8. GX-2
9. Euro LX
10. Crusher
11. Super GT
12. Rocket ZX
13. Venom
--------------------------------------------------
Car Parts
--------------------------------------------------
All your cars start out at roughly the same statistics: about 30%
acceleration and top speed, and moderate strength and handling. You can
modify these statistics but you will need to race to get the upgrades you
need. As the game's odometer reaches various milestones you will receive
various upgrades that you can apply to all of your cars. I've prepared the
following chart to indicate when you earn them.
Mileage Part Earned
--------------------------------------------------
100 All Terrain tires
150 Light Alloy frame
200 Sport Auto transmission, Sport Manual transmission
250 5.0 Litre High Performance V6 engine
300 Slick tires
400 Standard Alloy frame
500 Pro Auto transmission, Pro Manual transmission, Turbo 400
engine
600 Off Road tires
700 Heavy Alloy frame
800 7.0 Litre V8 engine
1200 6.5 Litre High Performance V8 engine, Pro Slick tires
1600 Turbo 500 engine
2000 8.0 Litre V10 engine
I'll now provide a little blurb about each part that you can change. At the
end of section are the respective parts, ranked in order OF THE EXTRA SPEED
THEY GIVE YOU, from slowest to fastest.
Transmission
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three types of transmissions (or gearboxes) are available to you in Rush
2049 - regular, sport, and pro. Battle transmissions are also available in
Battle Mode, but that won't involve any shifting on your part.
Each transmission type (excluding Battle) has two options: Manual &
Automatic. Just to distinguish between the two, you do not have to switch
gears with Automatic transmissions. With Manual transmissions you'll have
to do that in case you didn't know the difference. But I'm sure hoping you
do... *shiver*
If you're not used to manual transmissions, or you just haven't used them
before, well, Rush 2049 is a good game to get started with if you're trying
to learn how. Rush is an arcade racer, so there's not much to shifting in
this game: at the start, upshift as the RPM meter reaches the maximum.
Piece of cake. On most tracks, you'll say in top gear (4th) for the
majority of the race. For the most part, you won't need to downshift except
on slow corners. More on shifting later.
1. Automatic ---------------------- 0 miles
2. Manual ------------------------- 0 miles
3. Sport Automatic -------------- 200 miles
4. Sport Manual ----------------- 200 miles
5. Pro Automatic ---------------- 500 miles
6. Pro Manual ------------------- 500 miles
Handling
~~~~~~~~~~
You get three types of handling at the beginning of the game that you keep
for the remainder of the game: Normal, Advanced, and Extreme. Basically,
they range in order of their "on-the-edge" factor. Normal is the safest
type of handling, however it's more difficult to make turns with it. It
gets more and more risky but gives you more control as you move up the
handling levels. Extreme is the most intense type of handling, but in the
hands of a pro it works extremely well.
1. Normal ------------------------- 0 miles
2. Advanced ----------------------- 0 miles
3. Extreme ------------------------ 0 miles
Engine
~~~~~~~~
There are three classifications of engine in the game: HP (high
performance), turbocharged, and aspirated. At the beginning of the game,
you have one of each. There is really no difference between them all at the
beginning, but as you move up the scale, they get more and more powerful.
In total, there are nine engines available to you once you finish
upgrading, gradually increasing in power. Sure, the top engine may take you
up to the highest speed possible, but there is one caveat: weight.
Needless to say, as you keep on stepping up the engine power, the front end
of the vehicle gets more heavy because of the increased capacity of the
engine. This isn't a problem in most regular racing modes, but when you go
into Ghost Mode, this becomes a problem, since you can't use your wings to
compensate. So, it's your call on that one...
1. 3.2L HP V6 --------------------- 0 miles
1. Turbo 350 ---------------------- 0 miles
1. 5.0L V8 ------------------------ 0 miles
4. 5.0L HP V6 ------------------- 250 miles
5. Turbo 400 -------------------- 500 miles
6. 7.0L V8 ---------------------- 800 miles
7. 6.5L HP V8 ------------------ 1200 miles
8. Turbo 500 ------------------- 1600 miles
9. 8.0L V10 -------------------- 2000 miles
Frames
~~~~~~~~
At the beginning of the game you get three types of "regular" frames to
start your racing career: light, standard, and heavy. They have their
advantages, but they have their very obvious disadvantages as well. Because
of the weight of a light frame, it takes weight off your car's gross weight
and improves acceleration and top speed. The disadvantage, however, is that
it's easier to get pushed around. On a rather neutral scale, you'll fly
higher, which could be a bad thing or a good thing depending on the
circumstances.
On the flip side of the scale, heavy frames are slower, result in less
airtime, but are stronger. You'll also receive alloy frames during the
game, which have the same weight as their regular counterparts, and provide
a little bit more speed, too.
1. Heavy -------------------------- 0 miles
2. Heavy Alloy ------------------ 700 miles
3. Standard ----------------------- 0 miles
4. Standard Alloy --------------- 400 miles
5. Light -------------------------- 0 miles
6. Light Alloy ------------------ 150 miles
Tires
~~~~~~~
At the beginning of Rush 2049 you have just one type of tire that you can
use. Tires come on two scales: racing and exploring (I'll just title them
that) and have two different options for each scale that vary in
usefulness.
Those first tires that you can use are radials - a "halfway house" that has
decent traction off the road and good speed on the road. As you start
racing, you pick up the two tire options that you receive.
There are two types of on-road compounds: slicks and pro slicks. Both of
these are faster than the regular radials, but it's very difficult to
remain in control with them. In addition, if you do so much as put a wheel
on the grass, you'll spin out and have a hard time getting back on the
road. The tendencies of slicks are much more exaggerated with pro slicks,
where staying in control is extremely difficult. Be careful of the
exaggerated steering, and make sure to push the stick just a little bit
when you turn, instead of full out.
On the other hand, there are off-road compounds - the all-terrain and
off-road. These are slower on the road - much slower - but they serve well
if you're just willing to explore the tracks on the dirt and grass that
most of them have. You won't spend so much time spinning around on the
dirt, and that's basically all you're gonna get from these types of tires.
These are good in Practice Mode or for the shortcutting purists.
1. Off-Road --------------------- 600 miles
2. All-Terrain ------------------ 100 miles
3. Radials ------------------------ 0 miles
4. Slicks ----------------------- 300 miles
5. Pro Slicks ------------------ 1200 miles
Wings
~~~~~~~
Wings are "the new kid on the block" in the Rush series - whenever you
become airborne, you can bring out the wings and control your flight.
Before you even do this sort of thing, though, you get to control what type
of wings you want. Small wings give you less airtime and allow slower
rotation, and large wings will produce more airtime and more rotation.
Which can be a good or a bad thing, it depends on what track you're racing
on and what your needs are.
There is one other wing selection, but it's only available in Stunt Mode.
Stunt wings have much superior rotation capability to either the small or
large wings, and give you much more air - therefore, they help to increase
stunt scores as well.
Color
~~~~~~~
Well, there's nothing to this setting. You can select between two or three
different colours for your vehicle if you don't particularly like the
default colour scheme. I really won't give any suggestions here, since this
one's all you. Play around with the schemes and try to find a colour
combination you appreciate. Now we're getting somewhere!
Rims
~~~~~~
Yet another setting that really doesn't have any effect on the per-
formance of your vehicle - the rims. You probably won't be able to see much
of them during the race (and hopefully not if you do, you've spun
sideways), but it still looks good when you just want to admire your
vehicle in the garage.
==================================================
04. Race Mode
==================================================
--------------------------------------------------
Introduction
--------------------------------------------------
Race Mode - the one for all of those purists that probably made Rush what
it is now. Unlike previous Rush games you don't need to dash to each
checkpoint placed on the track - you just have to get around the tracks in
one of the racing modes provided: Single Race, Circuit, or Ghost Mode. The
strategies that I've provided apply to all of the modes on each track. Just
search down to the track you want and you will get all of the information
you want to beat that circuit.
As a little note, the track maps indicated in this guide are not very
accurate and do not divulge the locations of any shortcuts. As it stands
now, I do have track maps for a few of the circuits, but not all - they
should be released in the near future.
Each track has the following sections, in order:
- Track strategy
- Forward shortcuts
- Backward shortcuts
- Forward switches
- Backward switches
- Silver coins
- Gold coins
--------------------------------------------------
General Suggestions
--------------------------------------------------
These tips can be applied to pretty much all of the tracks that you play in
this mode. These strategies, are more important than any strategy specific
to the tracks.
- Several of the circuits have moving objects, but most are only activated
if the Expansion Pak is being used. Track 1 has a cable car going across
the street after you cross Lombard. Track 3 has jets flying over the track
as you make the big jump, and Track 4 has cable cars all around most of the
streets on the circuit. Let's make the following clear: it's harder to get
around the tracks with the Expansion Pak. However, all of these objects are
banished in Ghost Mode.
- Run through the tracks in practice mode before you go out to a serious
race. It's a great idea to scan the sides of the tracks for anything
suspicious (such as gaps in the barriers around the circuit), then on the
next lap try to get to that location in order to reveal what's there. Lucky
for you, though, I've included shortcuts in this guide.
- Explosions cause a major loss of time. There are only three ways that
they can occur:
- Flipping over. This is most common when you hit a jump the wrong way
and the car wants to rotate to the left or right. The easiest way to
correct this is to either press C-Up, cut your losses and resurrect
yourself back on the track, or if it's less serious, try to use the wings
to save yourself.
- Hitting walls. If you hit a wall at high speed straight on, your car
will explode. It's very important to make sure that you take the turns
properly to ensure that this does not happen.
- Hitting/getting hit by other cars. If you hit a burning shell, or if
you're stopped in the middle of the track and another car rams into you,
you explode. Watch the radar or observe the track ahead of you for cars
that have just exploded, then quickly drive around them. CPU cars usually
explode when the bullet train is waiting when you run onto the road
parallel to its tracks on track 4.
- Standard fans, unite. Far and away, manual transmissions give you
superior acceleration and top speed. In race mode, it's very, very simple:
upshift when the marker hits the red area, and keep on doing that until you
reach 4th gear. From there, you'll probably stay in that gear for the rest
of the race. However, if your speed drops below about 120 MPH or so, get
back to third and then shift up again at the appropriate time. It's not
frequent for your speed to drop below that level unless you explode and are
resurrected or have to take an extremely sharp turn.
- Cornering in Rush 2049 isn't a real problem, but these are city streets.
The turns in this game come in two subtle categories: fast and slow. Both
require their own finesse. In fast corners, all you really have to do is
stay on the gas and turn. However, you want to make sure you're not
carrying too much speed through the corner so that you run off onto the
grass beyond or into the wall. Hitting a wall isn't a major problem, but if
you're on slicks or anything like that and you get onto the dirt, that will
hurt you a lot. Stay to the inside of the corner, then gradually move back
to the outside as it ends.
Then, there are the sharper turns. These almost certainly require a
downshift at some point in the race. When you do encounter these - which,
for definition purposes, are right-angled turns or sharper of 90 degrees or
more - you'll have to tap the brakes. Yes, you heard me right, tap them.
Don't just hold on to the brakes, since you'll spin out. Downshift if
necessary, use the inside of the turn and carry as much speed as you can
through the apex, and then accelerate out. This is the fastest way of
getting through turns, but can be rather hard. Eventually it'll become
second nature though.
- Two cheats can help you win in races: Super Speed and Suicide Mode. Super
Speed boosts your acceleration in fourth gear so that you don't top out
once you reach 180 MPH, and you can easily reach well over 200 MPH. Suicide
Mode causes cars that touch to immediately blow up, so combined with death
mode, this means that cars that touch are immediately eliminated. Both can
increase your chances of winning significantly if turned on. Check the
codes section for more info.
- Do not under any circumstances turn before a jump! The car will start to
spin in that direction once you get into the air, and from this point,
there are two possibilities:
- If the jump doesn't have you in the air for too long, the car won't be
pointing forwards, but as you land, your car will start skidding.
Eventually, it probably should correct itself within a few tenths of a
second, but your speed will be decreased.
- If the jump has you in the air for a medium amount of time, the car
will rotate a little bit more, and the car will skid more once you land.
The car may just slow down and stop, or, just as possibly, it may spin
around and you may be heading towards the wall skidding with the car
pointed in the wrong direction.
--------------------------------------------------
Track 1 - Marina
--------------------------------------------------
Strategy
~~~~~~~~~~
_
_/ |
_/ |
_/ |4
_/ |
_/ |
| |
3 \__________|__________
2 \__________| 1
5 S
1. From the beginning of the race, get to the right on the track, and then
as the corner begins, get to the bottom of the banked track. The turn will
seem to eventually end, but there's another turn that may catch you out
that isn't banked. Be careful not to fly into the wall as you speed up the
straightaway.
2. Assuming that you have a good amount of speed built up (which you
should), the jump over Lombard really shouldn't cause you too much grief.
All you really have to worry about is a cable car that may be slowly moving
across your path as you hit the ground. Stay on the gas and don't stop now.
By the way, if you're travelling backwards, you will go onto a sideroad
parallel to the Lombard straight.
3. This turn can be the most deceiving on the course. At the end of the
long Lombard Street straight, you will reach a short right-hand turn.
There's a sidewalk to the right, which can easily be used as a guide for
which line to use. This short stretch of the Embarcadero ends with another
short right-hand turn onto long Market Street.
4. One of the final straights on the course is a downhill run where you
will be getting air a couple of times (but not much of it). Keep your car
pointed straight as you gradually pick up speed. This is a great
opportunity to pass some cars in the final laps of a race!
5. The final turn on the track, if taken properly, can give you a nice
"slingshot" effect onto the start/finish straight. As you turn in, get to
the bottom of the banked turn, then gradually let your car move to the
outside. Because the track moves downhill at the end of the turn, the
outside has more of a slope and will boost your speed up to around 200 MPH
as you start the next lap.
Shortcuts - Forward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. At the beginning of the track, keep to the left until you spot a
sidewalk that leads into a tunnel that has been partially blocked off by
traffic cones. Head down the sidewalk and into the building. You will speed
through a banked turn and out onto the Lombard Street straight. Watch out
not to get caught up too much in the grass. This isn't the greatest
shortcut, but it saves a bit of time.
2a. After you make the big jump over Lombard Street, take the first small
right turn but turn HARD to the right. You'll see a dirt path blocked off
by traffic cones just to the right of the track. Hit the switch to the
right of this pathway, then jump through the subway tunnel and towards the
lighted arrows. Start turning right onto a ramp, make the jump while
staying to the left, then follow the path through a tunnel, around a loop,
and back onto the main track. Make sure to turn hard to the right as you
leave the loop.
2b. This shortcut is almost the same as shortcut 2a, except once you jump
into the subway tunnel, make a hard right turn and continue driving for a
little while on the subway tracks (watch out for subway trains that could
give you a hard time). Once you reach the next station, turn hard to the
right between the pillars and follow the lighted arrows that you see. Head
up the ramp and turn right as you come out to rejoin the main track.
2c. If you missed the previous shortcut altogether, don't worry, you'll
find another entrance. Once you reach Market Street - the long straight up
on the top left side of the track map - look on the right side of the
street for a subway tunnel with two lighted arrows that point downwards.
Swerve to the right and drive in between the two lighted arrows to enter
the subway tunnel. Turn right and return to the track where shortcut 2b
came out.
3. If you missed shortcut 2a and 2b, you can take this shortcut that
doesn't save nearly as much time, but it's good enough to get you a bit. As
you come onto Market Street, stay to the left and go through an arch on the
left side of the main road. You will go onto a transparent ramp, catch just
a little bit of air, then fly down the other side close to the tunnel.
4. As you exit Market Street to enter the next long straight, stay to the
right and just slow down a little. Hit the switch that you find on the
sidewalk to the right. To the left farther down the course, you'll find a
wall that has opened up and revealed a transparent tube inside. Head over
to the left side, enter the tunnel and take a drive through it. It's not a
bad idea to stay on the left side then swerve to the right, then head down
to the center. You'll fly out onto the finishing straight.
Shortcuts - Backward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Just after the first turn, check to the right for a downhill slope that
heads into the tunnel. Turn to the right and go into this tunnel. Follow
the lighted arrows that you find onto the subway tracks on the other side
of the station, and then drive on the track until you reach another
station. Turn left, go up the ramp, and fly out on the Embarcadero. This
happens to be shortcut 2b when you are going forwards.
2. As you come onto Market Street, stay to the left and look for a switch
to the left. Run over it, then look for a blue and white ramp that's just a
bit forward and to the left from your current position. Run over it and you
will find yourself on a rooftop which then goes through a tunnel. You'll
fall out of this area. Now make a REALLY hard left and you will be heading
towards Lombard.
3. As you enter the Market Street straight, look to the right for a ramp.
Put your wheels onto it and you will travel up the ramp, catch a little
air, and then fly down the other side. Make a hard left turn to get onto
the track once again once you touch down. This is shortcut 3 when you're
going forwards.
4. After the Lombard Street section, you'll see a building to the right as
you head down to the final turn with a ramp going inside the building. Go
onto the ramp (slow down a bit because you do not want to lose control),
then speed through the banked section here. As you leave the course, stay
on the sidewalk, but angle just a bit to the left as you return to the
track. This is shortcut 1 on the forward track.
5. As you approach the start/finish line look for a switch in the parking
lot on your left. Run over the switch, then after you cross the line look
for a hole on your right in the stone wall. Cross the grass and head into
the transparent tube. Steer to the left and then the right of the tube as
you go through it, then aim just a bit to the left as you leave the
shortcut. This is shortcut 4 for track 1, except in reverse.
Switches - Forward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Take note that temporary-effect switches - ones that revert back to their
original state - are marked with a T, while permanent-effect switches are
marked with a P in this guide.)
(P) 1. Just after the Lombard Street jump, turn right once the track curves
slightly to the right. Cut through the warning cones on the right and
you'll find the switch. While green, the switch moves the portable toilet
at the exit of this part of the course so you can leave the area at speed
without blowing up or losing time. It also exposes a great shortcut.
(P) 2. After leaving Market Street and making the 135 degree right turn, to
the right as you go downhill, you will see another switch. While the light
is green, this will open up a circular tunnel down the hill that also
happens to be a shortcut.
Switches - Backward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(T) 1. As you head down Market Street just after the 135-degree turn, look
to your left to find a switch straight ahead next to the outdoor elevators.
When green, this switch will bring down a chain link fence in front of a
jump. If you have enough speed while taking the jump you will be able to
reach a platform higher up.
(P) 2. On the start/finish straight, just before you reach the line there
is a switch in the parking lot to your left. If you run over this switch,
you'll open up a tunnel in the stone ledge to the left farther down the
straight.
Silver Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. At the beginning of the race, stay to the left of the track. You should
see a road that leads to the Palace of Fine Arts (as indicated by a sign on
the right side of the road.) Stay to the left until you can drive down onto
the sidewalk area. You will see a tunnel seemingly blocked off by green
pylons. Plow through them and drive through the shortcut. You will find a
silver coin about halfway through.
2. Rejoin the track after you've collected silver coin 1 and stay to the
right of the track this time. At the first intersection after the Slim Jim
gas station, you will find an office building to your right. Go off the
main road and shatter the glass window that separates you from the inside
of the building. On the right you'll see a raised pond with a couple of
trees and a silver coin. Drive up there and get it (Well, guess we'll have
to change the water...)
3. It doesn't matter if you took or missed the office building, just keep
going full speed anyway. Speed through the tunnel, then stop. Once you
reach the traffic light intersection by the Rush City Diner, turn right and
the coin will be at the intersection straight ahead at the back side of the
restaurant.
4. Continue along the track along the right side. You should see a dirt
path leading to another road blocked by pylons. Drive over the red switch
on the right, then enter the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) subway tunnel.
Go straight until you're nearly at the wall, then turn right and go up the
ramp. You will hit the coin as you leave the ground and head onto the
shortcut (if you didn't hit the switch you will just crash into an outdoor
toilet).
5. Follow the path that is just ahead of you after you earn silver coin 4.
Once you leave the loop and return to the main track. Turn around and
follow the left side of the road. Before you reach the tunnel, turn around
again and stay to the right. On the right side of the track you'll see a
façade. There's a silver coin in there.
6. Drive back to the exit of the tunnel and look for a switch on the right
as you drive down the straight. Don't run over the switch. Look to the left
for a staircase. Drive up the staircase to find a silver coin in the small
entrance straight ahead of you. Not that difficult.
7. Turn around once again and drive through the tunnel while staying to the
left side. As you leave the tunnel turn onto the bricks on the left side.
There are some entrances to a building with some outdoor elevators. Hidden
inside one of those entrances is a silver coin for you to pick up.
8. This is the final silver coin. Turn around one final time and drive to
the start/finish. Keep to the right. Past the "Palace of Fine Arts" highway
sign, you will find some low buildings. Turn onto the side road that goes
off the right side. Follow it right to the end, then turn left. Go behind
the buildings to find that final silver coin.
Gold Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. At the first intersection past the Slim Jim gas station, enter the
office building and break the glass. Proceed down the hallway at around 30
to 35 miles per hour. Once the road ends, you will fall into a gold coin.
It doesn't matter if you are upright, just as long as you are traveling at
the right speed.
2. Try to navigate Lombard going uphill as best as you can, then drive down
the long straightaway. Turn around, and then burn it down the straightaway
as fast as possible. As you reach the Lombard jump turn a bit to the left
and try to retrieve the gold coin on the ledge to your left. 140 MPH is the
best speed to be at for this level.
3. After the Rush City Diner (you can see it if you look to the right and
you're going slow, it's on a neon sign), look to the right for a dirt path.
Drive down it. You can hit the switch if you want but it doesn't matter. As
soon as you enter the subway tunnel, stop at the tracks and turn left.
You'll see a tunnel where the trains seem to vanish into darkness, but in
this tunnel - immediately before you hit an invisible wall - is a gold
coin.
4. There are two ways to get this coin. You can head into the subway by
taking the route you took to get to gold coin 3 and then heading down the
subway track to the right. At the next station turn right and drive over to
another track to the right to pick up a gold coin over there. You can also
start from the beginning of the track, turn around, and check for a subway
tunnel to the right. Then drive down and turn left for the coin. Both
methods are acceptable.
5. Enter the subway shortcut and hit the switch. Now, follow the route
described in silver coin 4. Follow the shortcut and keep on driving. Before
you hit the loop you will run right through a gold coin that's hard to
miss.
6. After the Market Street straight, keep on driving. But after the tunnel,
stop and turn around. Drive through the tunnel while staying to the left,
then once the tunnel ends move over to the bricks on the left. At high
speed, head up the left side of the blue and white ramp and fly through the
air, then land on the deck up there for your prize. If you miss it, just
turn around and pick the coin up if you overshot. (If you had too little
speed, you'll probably blow up.)
7. Turn around once again and keep to the right as you head down the final
straight before the start/finish line. Hit the switch that you find on the
sidewalks to the right. Now, get to the left and you will see a glass
tunnel that has just opened up. Keep to the bottom of the pipe once you
enter it. You'll stumble upon a right-left combination that immediately
precedes a gold coin on the floor of the tunnel. All you really have to do
is stay upright.
8. Almost at the end of the course - just before the start/finish line -
you will find a building to your left with some openings. Two of them are
fenced off, but the last one isn't. And try taking a few guesses to what's
in there. Hint: it starts with "g", ends in "d", and has an "ol" in the
middle.
--------------------------------------------------
Track 2 - Haight
--------------------------------------------------
Strategy
~~~~~~~~~~
4 __---________
/ |
_/ 3 \
___/ |
/ |
5 | 2 |
\ |
\__ |
--------_______ /
6 S 1 \/
1. This long set of curves just after the start/finish line gives the savvy
driver a good chance to build up some speed. Cut across the sidewalk at the
beginning of the race, then stay to the center of the race track for this
first section. At the end of this area the road will slope downhill and to
the left. Tap the brakes a little to make sure that your car remains on the
road, since you can and will lose time on the grass outside which is very
easy to drive into. Then steer into the next straight.
2. As you leave that long, sharp turn, you'll come onto a road with a
divided median. On both sides of the median are green arrow strips: one on
the right side, one on the left side. Take the one on the right pointing
forwards, which will boost your speed to in excess of 200 MPH very easily,
and quite possibly even more if your car is upgraded.
3. Don't be afraid to cut corners a little in Rush 2049. This really works
if your alternate route is pavement. You'll see a telephone booth and a
striped arch in this section of the course. Steer to the right of the
telephone booth, then simply dash through and return to the main course.
You don't need to be a fair player and follow the "official" course around
the arch and phone booth. Follow the gentle curve to the left down to the
next part of the course.
4. As this freeway ends you'll see arrow lights warning of a sharp turn
ahead. It's a pretty sharp turn, so it's not a bad idea to use all of the
inside and try to hit the wall while your car is parallel to it. You won't
lose as much speed, and even better, you'll probably gain it all back on
the downhill slope that comes immediately after this section ends. Be
careful, though. If you cut the corner a bit too much, your car will be
destabilized and will probably want to flip when it hits the wall.
5. After you leave the exit ramp there's a gentle left turn, and then a
blue-lit tunnel. There really isn't much of a trick to the tunnel itself,
but at the end, you'll find a sharp turn to the left. Try to use all of the
inside of the turn, and tap the brakes just a little bit if necessary. Or,
just stay on the gas and use the outside wall as braking room. Either way,
pretty soon you'll be at the final part of the course...
6. Interestingly enough, as you approach the start/finish line the straight
is bordered by two gigantic lava lamps as you head towards it at around 170
MPH. Here's another instance where you have to cut corners: get onto the
grass and go for that small space in between the lava lamp to the left and
the buildings. It definitely requires a little practice, but it saves a bit
of time. If you're not willing to take the risk, go to the outside to
complete the lap.
Shortcuts - Forward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1a. This is the best shortcut on Track 2. After the first turn, drive down
the sidewalk on the right side of the road. Just after the sidewalk turns
to the left, you'll see a switch on the right side of the path. Hit it to
raise a ramp in front of you. Jump to the other side of the street where
you'll hit a building ledge, and take the ramp at the end of the street to
cross over to a ledge on the other side. There's yet another ramp on this
ledge with tire marks on it - follow them. You'll drive through the path of
a windmill (oh, yeah, it's moving), over some arrow strips, and into the
tunnel. Drive through it to land on a sideroad. Follow it onto a dirt path
around the lake and you'll be dropped off back on the main road.
1b. There is an alternative to this shortcut: if you missed the ramp that
had tire marks on it, go onto the dirt path to the right. Don't hit the
switch embedded against the wall. As you follow the path you will jump over
the main road, over some arrows, and onto a dirt path with a wall to the
left. This path gradually turns to the left. After a few seconds you'll
find yourself on the shortcut 1a sideroad - follow it and you will return
to the main track.
2a. After the exit to shortcuts 1a and 1b, keep driving. You'll see a red
switch to the right, and some red lights on the left side. Hit this switch,
and then turn HARD to the left between the wall and the first set of
lights. You'll crash through a glass wall and onto a short arrow strip. At
around 150 MPH you'll land on another arrow strip and will shoot up to 200+
MPH before returning to the main track. Warning: if your speed is any
higher you'll crash into a wall.
2b. If you couldn't get to 2b, then turn left between the first and second
set of red lights. Ignore the warning cones and go through. You'll fly over
the track and back to the main road (just make sure that you turn a little
bit to the left to make sure you get there).
3a. After the previous two shortcuts, there is the tunnel and two sideroads
standing parallel to the main track. Take the one to the right. Speed up
and stay to the right. Follow the top of this building to a parking garage,
then keep on driving until you see some warning cones on your left. Drive
through them to return to the track just before the start/finish line.
3b. At the tunnel where shortcut 3a was, take the left sideroad in- stead.
Speed up and you'll reach a platform much like shortcut 3a. Keep on going
straight (you may want to slow down just a little bit while on the
platform) and eventually you will get dropped off in the same area where
shortcut 3a came out.
3c. Take either shortcut 3a or 3b, it doesn't matter. However, stay on the
side closest to the main track as you go up the sideroad. You will end up
on a parkway. Take one of the three options that you have to get out of
here - a tunnel, or a couple of ramps to the left and right. It really
doesn't make a difference. Stay in control as you jump down several parking
lots to return to the track just before the start/finish line.
Shortcuts - Backward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. At the beginning of the race, just after the lava lamps make a sharp
turn to the right onto the dirt paths that you'll find there. Head up the
dirt path, then go through any one of the available paths that you can find
until you reach a freeway. Remain on the left or right side of the freeway,
then go onto one of the two sideroads and return to the main track just
after the tunnel. This is shortcut 3 on track 2 forwards, you just run it
in reverse.
2. After exiting the tunnel, the road curves slightly downhill. The
official course then turns left onto an exit ramp. Straight ahead of your
vehicle, however, is a large ramp. Hit it at high speed (about 150 MPH is
pretty good), and follow the dirt path into a circular tunnel. Follow the
green lights strategically placed around this area to get through it safely
(make sure not to crash when you're running on the top). When you return to
the bottom, you'll fly out onto yet another dirt path, and finally back out
onto the main track.
3a. This is basically the same as shortcut 1b, except followed in reverse.
After you reach the lake to the right of the racetrack go onto the dirt
path that goes around it. This dirt path will soon turn to a long sideroad
which you should follow and just hit the gas on. At the end of this paved
sideroad you'll reach another dirt path. Do NOT hit the switch that you
find on this dirt road. You'll jump over the main track, onto a platform,
then back to the main circuit.
3b. You have an alternative to shortcut 3a. Follow the instructions for
shortcut 3a, except hit the switch on the left and get to the right of the
road. Interestingly, you will find a ramp that dips down into a pond. As
you exit the underground dirt road, hit the green arrow strip and let
yourself fly back onto the road. This is basically the shortcut as shortcut
1a, except in reverse.
Switches - Forward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forward
(T) 1. Just after the starting line, you'll see a sidewalk. Follow it down
past a left turn to find a switch sitting on the right side of this path.
When you run over the switch, a ramp right in front of you will be raised,
which allows you to jump to another building ledge.
(T) 2. If you were to jump up the ramp, up to a platform on the other side
of the road, and then back to the other side, you would find a switch
situated on the right wall. While green, the switch pulls out a wall that
will block off a shortcut straight in front of you (over the arrow signs).
After a few seconds, the wall will recede.
(T) 3. Just before reaching the exit ramp on the far side of the circuit
there is a switch on the right side of the road. Once you hit this switch
you will see a sign labelled "RockNRoll" move down, revealing a façade with
glassed-off walls. You can speed through this section easily.
(T) 4. Just before the tunnel, take the side road that branches off to the
right. Jump up onto the building by staying to the right side and move over
to the right side of this building to find a switch. When green, this
switch will block off sections of the path you are heading towards by some
narrow blocks. It's almost impossible to get in without blowing up.
Backwards
(T) 1. As you approach the lake, take the sideroad around the track. Just
as you're about halfway through the paved section of the shortcut you'll
see a switch up against the wall to the left. This reveals a ramp down to
an underground shortcut on the right side of the road, over the gap from
tarmac to dirt.
(T) 2. Follow the path that I described above, and you'll eventually
stumble across a switch on the left side of the path. When green, this
switch pulls out a wall that will block your exit if you don't get out of
the shortcut fast enough.
Silver Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Head down the sidewalk that appears after the first right-left turn (to
the right). Follow it, and you will see a switch on the right of the
sidewalk. You have to hit it. When you do, a ramp will rise up, now hit it
and let it take you to another platform on the left side of the track.
There will be another ramp straight ahead: hit it. Go on it, then hit the
brakes once you hit the ground again so that you come to a dead stop. You
should see a ramp with two tire treads on it. Accelerate again and head up
the ramp at about 125 MPH (follow the tire treads!). You'll head up to
another platform and hopefully fly through the silver coin. If not, you can
always go onto the narrow platform and get it from there. If you have the
Expansion Pak, watch for the spinning windmill blades.
2. Head down the divided road with the green arrow strips, but once you
reach the end, slow down considerably and turn to the left. You will be
heading up a side road. Once you reach the end, make another left turn and
you will see the silver coin just sitting there waiting to be picked up.
3. This is an extremely easy coin to get if you're responsible enough to
get it. Go down the exit ramp after the freeway that starts after the
striped arches. Once you reach the tunnel, turn around and start driving in
the opposite direction, except you'll see a ramp next to the narrow exit
ramp. Go up it at high speed and you'll be driving into a pipe. If you
follow and drive on the green flashing lights, you'll conveniently drive
right into the coin. Alternatively, you can just drive up to the top of the
pipe and drop down onto the coin.
4. After getting silver coin 3, follow the flashing lights out of the
tunnel. Once you get out of there, stop and turn around. Drive to the right
of the tunnel exit slowly, and then just drive up the near-vertical grass
face. If you're going fast enough, you'll drive into a silver coin that is
hidden up there. Surprised?
5. At the end of the dirt path you will see some cones that seem to
blocking your exit. Go through them SLOWLY and you will be next to the main
course in a secret area that you can't access from the road. Off to the
side from the exit is a silver coin that you can just drive over to. Make
sure not to get stuck in the raised ground that is scattered around this
area. If it so happens that you get in trouble, just abort and try again
from silver coin 3.
6. These next three coins are all found in the same area - before the
start/finish line. You will see one silver coin in the air preceding the
final straight on the course. You can only get this coin by hitting the
lava lamp to the left at about 20 to 30 MPH or so. You should fly backwards
and into the coin. This isn't very easy to get, so adjust your angle and
velocity if you can't get it the first time.
7. Just before the start/finish line there are two dirt paths - one
branching out from the other - next to a tunnel. Drive to the start/finish
line, then turn around and drive backwards. Turn onto the left path and
then catch some air (remember, you need a lot of speed.) There is a silver
coin on top of an lighted arrow sign straight ahead of you. If all goes
well, you should land right on top of it so you can pick it up.
8. The final silver coin in this level can only be reached by just about
the same process as silver coin 7. Take the dirt path to the right at high
speed, following the path exactly. The silver coin is on top of a tunnel on
a grass surface. It really isn't that hard to reach the coin if you have
enough speed, and if you hit the trees, use the wings to situate yourself
so you're "riding" this blatantly obvious polygon all the way down to the
ground.
Gold Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. This is one of two gold coins on track 2 that is extremely hard to get,
but luckily these two coins are found together. At the beginning of the
race, start normally, then watch for a sidewalk on the right side of the
track just after the first right-left hairpin. Follow the sidewalk, then
watch for a path going downhill on your left. Follow it down below the main
course. Drive your car up to the crack in the wall at the end, and you'll
find that your car will not fit through. But, unfortunately, there are not
one, but two gold coins behind that wall. Back up to that bar behind you,
then accelerate and get the car up onto the bar so that it's riding on two
wheels on its side. If you're lucky, you'll be able to squeeze the car
through that gap so that you can pick up those coins. This is one tough
coin to get, so if you pick it up, kudos to you. From there all you have to
do is pick up that coin near the entrance.
2. After entering that room with gold coin 1, you'll see the second gold
coin in another part of the room - just drive over and pick up the moolah!
You obviously won't be able to get out of this room, so just blow up or
press C-up to return to the main track. Trust me, these have to be the most
rewarding coins that can be earned in Rush 2049.
3. This one is pretty easy with enough competence. Continue to lap the
track until you reach the striped arch. Watch for a red switch on the right
as you keep driving. Run over it and then go between the wall and the first
set of the red lights on the left. Smash the glass and head towards the
arrow speed. Make sure you scrub off a bit of speed, though, so that you're
travelling at around 150 MPH. Once you hit the arrow strip, aim towards
that second platform that is straight ahead, with another arrow strip. Try
to aim to the left as your speed shoots up to as much as 240 miles per hour
(not an easy task), and as you go off the platform you will net a gold
coin.
4. After earning gold coin 3, drive off the platform and drive down the
track until reaching the tunnel. Turn around and get as much speed as you
can on the run down the ramp straight in front of you. Take the ramp so
that you reach a tunnel. Go in and follow the green lights (this is where
silver coins 3, 4, and 5 were). Once you return to the ground you have two
choices:
- Hit the gas, and if you're lucky you will hit the gold coin next to the
fence corner once you leave the tunnel. The thing is, you will probably
blow up. Hence the rather appropriate "OUCH" graffiti where the coin is.
- Slow down and land on the ground safely, then look around for a grass
ramp near the coin. Take it to boost yourself up to where the coin is. This
is a much safer bet.
5. This one can be a little bit tough. Towards the end of the lap, look to
the left for two dirt paths, one jutting out from the other. Head back
behind the lava lamps to the start/finish straight and then accelerate
towards the paths. Go onto the dirt path to the left, but just stay a
little bit to the left of this path as well. If you have enough speed, you
will fly onto the second floor of the parking building. There is a gold
coin on this floor, so look around and pick it up.
6. This coin is really a piece of cake. Just past the two dirt paths I
described earlier, there is a tunnel. Head down the dirt path and stay in
the left lane. You'll hit a 180-degree loop and then a ramp (with a few
ramp fragments around it). It will send you flying in the air and then into
the gold coin.
7. Wasn't that cool? Want to try it again? Then go down the tunnel again
after picking up gold coin 6. However, keep your speed to about 80 to 85
miles per hour, and you'll hit that loop once again. Once you get air, flip
your car upright using the wings and land safely on the ground. On the left
side of this area, there is a small opening that is very difficult to find
because of its uniformity, but just drive along the wall and you will
probably find it. If you follow the path down, you'll find a secret area
(WOW!) full of green and red arrow strips and ramps. There are two coins in
this area. When you enter, turn right and head over to the other side of
the arena where there are three arrow strips: two green strips, and one red
one. Align your car so you are facing a dark area (which is, incidentally,
a tunnel) on the other side of the room. Accelerate onto the green strip
that aligns you with that tunnel, and prepare for a wild ride. You'll hit a
couple of more green arrows (don't steer), then align yourself with the
tunnel and fly down. If you had enough speed - which you should with enough
engine power - you will fly down the tunnel and hopefully into the gold
coin.
8. This one, in all likelihood, should come automatically but it does
involve a little bit of luck. After you go for gold coin 7, there is a
green arrow strip ready to shoot you out. Even if you missed, let it take
you anyway. Once you come out of this tunnel, you will go flying through
the air and hopefully into another gold coin in your path. This is pretty
easy to get, but if you miss you have to follow the steps for gold coin 7
all over again.
--------------------------------------------------
Track 3 - Civic
--------------------------------------------------
Strategy
~~~~~~~~~~
_
6 / |
__/ |
/ |
5 / | 7
| |
| |
______/ 4 |
/ | S
| __/ 1
3 | |
\___________/ 2
1. At the beginning of the course the track turns slightly to the left
before going into two difficult banked turns. They're not that difficult,
but you should stay to the bottom of the track to avoid spinning out.
Pretty easy, you really shouldn't be messing up on the run to section two.
2. As the course turns right onto the main expressway, you will see a
narrow sidewalk to the right. What you should do in this case is get onto
the sidewalk, then as you get onto the main road, drive up onto the blue
lights and try not to move up all the way to the top of the bank. An
alternative, of course, is to go through the gas station and onto the
sideroad on the left that will result in minimal time loss.
3. When you leave the expressway, you'll encounter two 90-degree turns to
the right. These are both pretty easy, and will easily give you an
opportunity to build up to over 200 MPH (assuming the car is upgraded
completely). Watch out for the next section, however, as this is the most
difficult part of the course...
4. It's a simple left-hand turn. Easy enough. There are only a few
problems: if you move a bit too much to the inside curve, your car will
suddenly start to understeer and will fly into the outside wall. From
there, the car starts flipping and you are officially screwed over. Once
you get through here, however, you'll encounter a quick patch of dirt that
will slow you down a bit, but not by much. Then you'll head uphill...
5. Cheap shots, unite. To the right on this section of the course, there's
a huge mountain. To the left, there's an embankment with no guardrail. (Oh,
COME ON! Don't you know what I'm trying to say!?) In case you can't figure
it out, you can push someone to the left and not only gain a place, but
ensure that in a championship race, they don't get very many points, if
they get any at all. Take this opportunity quickly, because it ends very
quickly.
6. At the far end of the course, there is a huge jump that is immediately
followed by a hairpin of almost 180 degrees. If you're in danger of missing
the turn (and it can happen if you have too much speed on the jump), it's
not a bad idea to scrub off some speed!
7. The final straight has a few minor jumps, but just enough for you to
build up the speed to sneak by any computer players. On the final lap, if
you're going for first place, you might be able to squeeze by and win the
race - especially in the air when using the wings. I've managed to squeeze
a few out on this final straight! (It would certainly be nice to see CPU
finishing times so we can see how close those finishes really are!)
Shortcuts - Forward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1a. Once you get onto the long straightaway, take the right service road,
and follow it. Turn right onto a ramp with a switch on it. Hit the switch
and you will go flying through the air, and in between a building and its
roof (you made the roof go up when you hit the switch). You will land on a
side road, now follow it. Now, go flying through the air and into what
looks like a blue force field. It does not work very well, obviously,
because you will go flying inside a building. Go out the other side and
into shortcut 2b.
1b. If you missed shortcut 1a you can get another opportunity to take off
some time. When you see the small ramp (next to the ramp you went off with
the switch on it in shortcut 1a), go onto it. You will go onto a blue and
black-lit banked track. Follow it and you will come out next to some yellow
and black pillars, which are next to the main track.
2a. Back on the main track you will go through a tunnel with a red light
blinking when you enter. As soon as you exit, turn left and you will go
onto a side road that goes gradually uphill. Follow it and you will jump
over the main track and return to the sideroad. Keep on following the
sideroad and you will jump over the main track once again. Soon you will
reach a huge satellite dish, from here you can turn right into shortcut 4a
or 4b or keep going. Keep going and you will eventually drive back onto the
main track.
2b. Just after the entrance to shortcut 2a, there is a pale yellow-lit
tunnel. Enter it and follow. At the end there is a jump, and you will go
flying over the main track into the middle of shortcut 2a. Read above for
more information..
3. After the road turns to dirt turn right onto the mountain slope. Drive
up it, then once you reach the summit go into the hole, and drop down into
the shortcut (this is a BIG time-saver if you get this right.) You will
drive through a tunnel then into this open, but rather secret, area. You
will be driving through a windmill, then make a jump, then hit the switch
to open up the wall with small cracks in it. Then, you will go through
another windmill. Keep following the path. You will start going uphill then
go flying through the air and past the start/finish line!
4a. From shortcut 2a, once you reach the huge satellite dish, turn right
into the tunnel. Keep on following the road. Pretty soon you will reach a
fork where you can go right or left. Go left, the right shortcut is
shortcut 4b. Follow the path and you will be past the large jump, just
before the final turn.
4b. Go onto shortcut 4a. At the fork, turn right. You will hit a "pressure
point" and the road will drop, revealing a secret path. At the end of it,
you will go flying through the air. Be careful not to angle too far left at
the exit, you will hit a building if you do. Also be careful of the jets
flying over. They are pretty good fliers, but it's not nearly as fun to
watch when you're about to collide with them. You will go flying through
the air and hopefully onto the main track.
5. As you head down onto the final straight, keep to the left until you see
an arrow strip ramp. Go up on it. You should go flying through the air and
onto a glass ramp. Follow it and it will dump you off (conveniently) on
shortcut 6.
6. At the end of the track, turn right into the space between the two
pillars to the right of the main road. Or, just get dumped off after
shortcut 5. Go up the hill past the bridge and go flying through the air to
skip two whole turns and land on the long straight where shortcuts 1a and
1b are.
Shortcuts - Backward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. At the beginning of the race, turn right to enter it and go into the
tunnel. The only difference is that there's a jump getting you onto the
next road. You will probably be getting big air when you come out of the
mountain. This is shortcut 3, except in reverse.
2. This shortcut is just after the sharp turn before the big jump. Enter
the tunnel to reach a shortcut. At the end, just go onto the arrow strip to
your left to fly over the track and get a landing that could be anywhere on
the circuit, including a great distance from your landing point. See
shortcut 4a except follow it in reverse.
3a. The entrance to this shortcut just after the big hill - stay to the
right of the road and you will enter the shortcut where you will have to
leap over the main track a couple of times on a sideroad. See shortcut 2a
except follow it in reverse.
3b. Turn right at the dirt path and then you will enter the shortcut, which
is a well-lit tunnel sloping downhill. When you exit, if you're traveling
fast enough you will go into shortcut 4. This is the same as shortcut 2b
forwards, except in reverse.
4. The only way to enter this shortcut is to successfully exit shortcut 3b.
You will go flying across some buildings and a banked road to the left. At
the end of the shortcut will be a switch - hit it to raise the roof so that
you can drive on it, then jump back onto the main track. This is shortcut
1a forwards, except in reverse.
5. Just after the yellow and black pillars on the left side of the track,
you will see shortcut 5. This is the same as shortcut 1b for track 3 normal
except you are following it in reverse. You will come out at roughly the
point where shortcut 4 comes out.
6. See shortcut 6 forwards, except follow it in reverse. The entrance is
just after you get off the long straightaway before the start/finish line.
Follow the dirt path up the hill and go flying into the air. With enough
practice you can go onto shortcut 5 from track 3 normal as well. Drop off
the glass ramp (making sure not to flip your car in the interim) to head
back onto the track.
Switches - Forward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(T) 1. Almost at the end of the long straightaway at the beginning of the
course (it's best to be on the right sideroad), look to the right for a
ramp with a switch. When the switch is hit, it will raise the roof of the
building in front of you, allowing you to jump up onto its roof at speed
and move on into a shortcut.
(P) 2. When you enter the tunnel at the top of the mountain after the dirt
patch and drive down the shortcut for a while, you will see a switch in the
middle of the road. Drive over it to bring up the wall with small cracks
straight ahead on the track to drive through without fear of combustion and
evasive manouevers.
Switches - Backward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(P) 1. just after the start/finish line, turn right and drive down the
pathway near the main track. Drive for a few seconds, and then you will see
a switch in the middle of the road. When green, the switch pulls up the
wall in front of you for easy passage.
(T) 2. At the dirt patch approximately halfway through the track, turn
right to go into a tunnel. Follow the indirect path that jumps across
several buildings and you will eventually go onto a narrow, banked road. At
the end of it there is a switch nestled up against the wall on the left.
Run over it to move up the roof in front of you so you can drive through
without crashing hard.
Silver Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. A few seconds after the beginning of the race (driving forwards), you
will pass a bridge with blue barriers on both sides. At either end of the
bridge, go off the track and you will see that you can drive down to a dirt
path below. Below the bridge, there is a silver coin. Go down the steep
slope, then head towards the underpass to get it.
2. Keep on going, and you will eventually make two banked turns. Once you
reach the main road, you will see two access roads - one on the right side
and one on the left side. Take the access road to the right and look for a
white building on a downhill slope. There will be a silver coin in the
first opening for your enjoyment. Bite it to make sure that it's real and
then move on.-
3. This one is easy enough to get if you know where to look. Going over the
main road there is a rather narrow bridge (obviously intended for
pedestrians), but it's fenced off on either side. Get on the bridge by
going onto a ramp at the end of the blue-lit expressway, near a switch.
Turn around and you will be on the bridge. There is no risk of falling off,
Follow it over the main road, then on the other side, after you turn right,
there will be a silver coin.
4. After you make a right turn following this section of the course, you
will see three yellow and black pillars rising up from the ground on the
side of the road. Turn right and drive over into this open area that the
pillars precede. Turn right again once you reach the end of the road. You
will find a silver coin in a gap between the wall and a building.
5. Start driving down the track until you reach the huge jump with the jets
that fly over the track. Turn around and face the huge satellite that you
will almost certainly see. Now, accelerate again. You want to aim yourself
between the main road and the side road off to the right. There is a "jump"
there that takes you up to a ledge on the satellite tower (it is difficult
but if you did it correctly you should have landed on a ledge). Search this
ledge to find the silver coin.
6. About halfway through the turn after the large jump, make a right and go
up onto the grass. (You can get to gold coin 4 this way.) You will see a
little grass ramp that goes between two buildings. Just drive slowly up and
then go down. Once the building to your right ends, you will find the
silver coin.
7. At the final straight before the end of the course, there is a building
with the title "San Francisco Conservatory of Music". But put down your
instrument and look for an opening in the building. Drive through it, then
look to the left and you will see the silver coin, which will be added to
your score (pardon the pun).
8. On the right side of the road you should see a silver coin just out of
your reach, because it is blocked off by the barrier at the edge of the
road. But at the right there is a rather narrow, but conspicuous, side
road. Follow it and turn right once you reach a barrier. You should find
the silver coin after you reach the yellow and black-lit barriers and turn
right once again. In such a cramped space as this, you should hear the
cha-ching without even looking.
Gold Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. At the two access roads described in silver coin 2, towards the end
there is a ramp with a switch on it to your right. Go up at high speed and
hit it. You should be able to land on a road which is above the blue and
black-lit shortcut. Keep your speed to around 100 MPH and you will go
through a transparent blue barrier. Slow down to around 10 MPH or so, then
come out the other side. Use your wings to straighten yourself out to avoid
landing belly-up, then land on a roof. Somewhere on that ledge there should
be a gold coin.
2. This gold coin is after the tunnel with the flashing red light. Look for
a side road branching off to the left. Once you do see it, go up, and look
for three trees to the left of the road. Go between the top two, then drive
your car up and onto a roof through using a little grass lump. Now, on the
right there is a space between the buildings - drive in there, then turn
left. There is a gold coin cleverly hidden there.
3. This is a trial-and-error type of coin. It's difficult to get but easy
enough to see. As you speed towards the huge satellite, you will see a gold
coin hanging in mid-air. Here's how to get it: just after the side road
that you take to get to gold coin 1, there is a yellow tunnel. Go down it,
and once you get out you will go flying through the air and onto this side
road. (You can also keep following the side road in gold coin 1). Keep on
following it and it will go over the main path. To the right you will see a
secret path. Follow it, and take the left fork. Now, turn around, and you
should see a green arrow strip to your left as you accelerate. So give
yourself room to turn that way. If you're right with the accuracy, you will
net yourself another gold coin as you fly through the air.
4. This gold coin is really tough to get. After the big jump, at around the
halfway part of the next turn, turn onto the grass. Now, go slow. This is
actually a ramp that doesn't work all the time, but it's the only way to
get to your destination. If the angles are all correct, and you start
angling to your right towards the crest, you should be able to get onto a
roof with a gold coin on it.
5. The main road will start to go downhill. Head onto the shoulder of the
road (i.e. be as close as possible to the wall.) Soon, you will see a
tunnel with two arrows pointing towards it on the right, preceded by a
ledge that remains flat on the downhill road. Follow that tunnel, but don't
go too fast. At the end, you will land on some buildings. Stop, then just
go slow and you will land on another rooftop, which has a gold coin on it.
6. To the left of the main road there is a green arrow strip. Hit it at
around 90 to 100 MPH or so, and try to angle a bit to the right, not dead
center. If you have the right speed and the right angle, you will get a
gold coin on a bridge that goes over the main road.
7. Follow the same steps as in gold coin 7, except be exactly right on
target (dead center) and have a lot more speed. If that's done right, you
will land on this transparent glass road. Follow it and gain speed. Once
you get off, you will land on this dirt road, and once you go off the crest
of the bridge there, you will go flying through the air to net yourself a
gold coin.
8. At the start/finish line turn around to the left and follow the
underground tunnel. Try not to fall off the edge of this road. Go by the
fan, and be careful through the cracks in the concrete block. Now follow
the road and pretty soon you should, for sure, see a gold coin on your
screen on a rather small ledge. Drive onto the dirt to get it. If you want,
you can also go up the steep hill by the side road in gold coins 1 and 2.
It has three pillars rising up from the ground, they are blue and white.
Let yourself drop down once you reach the top (there is a hole) but align
yourself with the wings. Go through the fan and then once the road is about
to drop off onto another one, slow down and fall onto the dirt (just don't
slip any more than you need to. You'll find the gold coin on a ledge
waiting to be deposited in your bank account.
--------------------------------------------------
Track 4 - Metro
--------------------------------------------------
Strategy
~~~~~~~~~~
______________ _______
/ \__/ | 5
/ 6 |
/ |
/ |
/ |
| |
| _________ |
\ | 2 | |
\ | | |
\ 7 __ | | |
\__/ \ \____ | | 4
| | | |
\ | | |
8 \ | | 3 |
\ 1 | | |
\ | | |
S \ | | |
\___/ \_____/
1. The first turn on the track is a hard 135-degree turn (which luckily
should not be difficult considering the lack of speed off the line) then
it's the big one! Whether you're going forwards or backwards on the track,
this is a pretty dangerous jump. because you'll be landing quite close to
the next turn and will have to pull the steering wheel full lock if you
want to get around that turn. Ease up on the throttle as you approach the
crest of the hill and slow down to about 110 MPH. Then, you should go down
the other side and be able to take the turn safely.
2. This is a pretty simple section - three right turns in quick succession
to one another. There's really no problem, except for the final one where
the track will open up slightly to the inside. If it so drives your fancy,
you can cut through here and return to the main track shortly later, having
gained a rather mediocre, but counting nonetheless, amount of time.
3. Track 4, it seems, is all about jumps at first, and here's the proof. In
this area there is a huge jump immediately following a downhill run that
will take you to a 180-degree turn in which you will have to drift up onto
a quarterpipe. The trick to this jump is simply that the road is very
narrow, not to mention buildings on the right that may send you spiralling
out of control if you hit them. Once you land, immediately turn left and
drift around the turn, using the advertising hoardings to line you up
properly for the long Fillmore straight.
4. This long straight up Fillmore is really going to give you the
opportunity to speed past a few cars. But as you head into the plaza area,
as you take the big jump, watch out for the side roads on the left and
right. They can make good shortcuts if you hit them right. They make good
explosives if you hit them wrong.
5. After you hit some of the highest speeds of the lap on Fillmore you'll
have to turn left. It's a very sharp left, and you should probably tap the
brakes to slow down (don't slam on the brakes, the car will just spin),
then steer through the curve and don't be afraid to cut the corner a
little. If you hit the far wall too hard you might possibly flip, and it
may happen to a few CPU cars.
6. You'll reach another long straight as you exit the rather twisty tunnel.
Unfortunately, it runs parallel to a subway train. They keep on stopping at
different stations, but as you go onto this road, you can drift up onto the
quarterpipe if you have the space to do so. On the other hand, if the
subway train is right at the entrance to this route, it is going to get
dangerous with the rather ignorant CPU cars potentially crashing into the
train and jeopardizing your safety. Avoid the burning shells by slowing
down a bit.
7. While you ride along the Embarcadero, you'll see a gentle left turn.
Behind this turn is a sharper left turn that will force you to slow down
greatly. Take the earlier route. The CPU cars take advantage of this all
the time, and you should as well if you do not want to be passed (unless
you have an enormous lead and just want to go sightseeing).
8. When you head onto the start/finish straight be careful for three
things: a building on your right as you enter it, the cable car moving up
and down the street as you go down it, and the left-hand turn after the
start/finish line as you exit it. All can catch you out quite easily, so
make sure you have the B button and the control stick ready for some
evasive action if you need it.
Shortcuts - Forward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1a. Just after the big jump and the left turn, right away you can make a
right turn onto a side road. It's about halfway down the straight so look
out for it on the right side. Take this two-lane sideroad back to the main
track and turn right again. Make sure you make it worth your while.
1b. If you miss shortcut 1a, you can take another sideroad just a little
farther down that straight. Follow the same instructions as in shortcut 2a;
Both are handy ways to shave off a bit of time.
2a. At the end of the California St. straight (the last straight before the
big jump), you will see a blue building to your right, with a gap. Enter
it, and then you can go back onto the main road, saving a little bit of
time by not having to slow down for the blatantly obvious corner ahead.
2b. You can continue your off-road excursion by going into the tunnel that
slopes downwards slightly to your right. Once the tunnel ends, you will be
dropped off right at the jump. Make sure to stay to the left to avoid
crashing into a building and disrupting the lives of night-shift workers.
3a. After the advertising quarterpipe section, start going up the hill,
aiming slightly to the left or right as you go off the jump. Once you get
some air you will land on some sideroads. Depending on which sideroad
you're on, quickly turn left or right as the two roads merge. Then, hit the
switch in the center of the road and allow yourself to go flying through
the air. At the end of the straight there is a small opening just behind a
warning cone. If you get through, you'll go into a secret area. Make a left
turn and then turn left or right for a loop. Go in between the two bullet
trains when you come out and hit another switch, then look for a door
opening straight ahead of you. Regretfully, this shortcut is rather
ineffective.
3b. If you miss shortcut 3a, at the intersection of Duboce and Fillmore
(according to the signs on the traffic lights), just stay slightly to the
right of the tunnel. You will go into a narrow train track tunnel and there
will be a fork only a couple of seconds. Rapidly turn left or right and
then turn left or right again at another fork. Start turning left and you
will come out (gulp) on the bullet train track. Just hope that there isn't
anything there, as your reflexes will be sorely tested to an impossible
degree if that is the case.
4. As you go down the road parallel to the bullet train track, you will see
some pillars. At the second one, turn left and you will see a vertical
road. Speed up this road as fast as you can, then once you approach the
crest, slow down, then align yourself for the sharp decline down which is
basically a mirror of the rather harrowing climb you just experienced. This
downhill run will increase your speed greatly. At the bottom, turn left to
get back onto the main track, or alternatively, speed through the tunnel
straight ahead and avoid the building "legs" that appear upon your exit.
5. This is an alternate path, really. Just before the rather sharp turn
towards the end of the course, you can turn left and go through a parking
lot and shave off a little time. It's not nearly as hard to turn through
this corner, and the computer-controlled drones will use this shortcut,
too.
6. At around the point where shortcut 5 is, hit the switch to the right.
The "Cheps" sign will move down exposing a secret path. Enter it to go
around a vertical loop and skip a few turns of the track, and end up on the
start/finish straight.
Shortcuts - Backward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. After the start/finish straight, aim a little bit to the left after the
first turn and hit the switch right next to the pillars (past the warning
cones that block your path from the first turn) and the "Cheps" sign will
open right in front of you. Tear through the loop to return to the main
track. This is shortcut 6, except followed in reverse.
2. Only a couple of turns into the course just after the quarterpipe,
you'll notice a vertical road. Take it as fast as possible, then slow down
near the crest and let yourself speed down the other side. Watch for the
pillars as you return to the circuit. See shortcut 4, except in reverse.
3. This is the same as shortcut 5 forwards - except you'll see the rather
"less sharp" turn to the right this time around. You probably should make a
rather sharp turn when you come out, though - otherwise you'll go flying
into the fence.
4a. At the end of the bullet train road, watch for an opening at the end of
the train track. Gradually turn right, then get through the two quick forks
before making a quick right turn to return to the circuit just before the
sharp right turn at Fillmore. This is shortcut 3b forwards, run in the
opposite direction.
4b. To the left of the opening to shortcut 4a you should see yet another
opening in the wall. Speed down to the bottom of this area, cross the loop,
and speed through the narrow concrete-lined street back to the main road At
least you can get a lot of speed once you come out at the Duboce and
Fillmore intersection. This is shortcut 3a forwards, run the other way.
5. After the advertising quarterpipe, start going up the hill and aim
towards the left towards a blue-lit tunnel. As you exit the tunnel, you'll
get a slight amount of air, then keep on going a bit to the left to return
to the circuit. Just look for the hole in the building after you hit the
grass. See shortcuts 2a and 2b for Track 4.
6a. Just past the cathedral on the left-hand side, look for a two-lane
sideroad. Turn onto it, then follow it down and make a hard left turn to
return to the circuit. This is shortcut 1a forwards, run in reverse.
6b. A little bit farther down the road from shortcut 6a you'll notice
another two-lane sideroad. The directions are the same. This is shortcut 1b
forwards.
Switches - Forward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(P) 1. While heading up Fillmore, jump to the left or right as you go off a
rather large jump to reach one of two sideroads. When they merge together,
continue driving straight to encounter a switch in the middle of the road.
At the end of the road, drop down to the main track and then go straight
ahead to see that a narrow passage has been revealed at the intersection,
just behind a warning cone.
(T) 2. Go through the passage mentioned in switch 1 and go through the loop
that you'll see after going through this pathway. Between the two bullet
trains after this loop is another switch. Hit it to open up the exit wall
in the quarterpipe and give yourself a means of returning to the track.
(P) 3. At the end of another straightaway, you'll see a switch to the right
on a large sidewalk with palm trees, as close as possible to the fence. Hit
the switch to move down the "Cheps" sign in front of you and reveal a
shortcut.
Switches - Backward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(P) 1. At the end of the start/finish straight, cut through the warning
cones marking the first corner to find a switch dangerously close to some
building legs. Hit it to open up the "Cheps" sign hiding the garage right
in front of you.
(?) 2. At the top of a quarterpipe with the bullet train, you'll see a
switch nestled in between a station and the wall. (I'm unsure of the
meaning of this switch. E-mail me!)
Silver Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. From the start/finish line, stay on the main road until you reach a
cathedral to your right (there is a yellow-lit building right after it).
Drive your car right up to the trees by the cathedral, then drive your car
through a rather narrow space between the building and the trees. In the
second and last space to your left before hitting a wall, there is a silver
coin.
2. At the next straightaway, while heading downhill to the large jump you
will see that there is a sloping wall to your right along with some
streetlights. Just before the intersection and the sharp drop down, stop at
the final streetlight and turn right. You will see a gap between two
buildings, and a silver coin at the end of this gap.
3. This is easy enough to execute if you pay rather careful attention. From
silver coin 2, go down the hill and make the turn that consists of a
quarter pipe full of advertising. Now, head uphill and make sure that you
are aimed a little bit to the right or left. If you're lined up correctly,
you will land on some sideroads above the main road. Slow down a bit and
prepare for the two sideroads to merge. Once the two sideroads merge
together, there will be a glass bridge on the left side of the road, so
keep to the left wall. At the end of the bridge, you will get dropped off
on some raised earth with a building slightly to the left. Go behind the
building on the left side and the silver coin is there.
4. After the tunnel area, you should make a couple of more turns then you
should be driving parallel to the bullet train tracks. Drive along the left
side of the road until you spot the very first sideroad. Turn sharply to
the left, then turn right into a small alcove and drive behind the pillar
you see to score yourself a coin.
5. By the bullet train tracks, to the left there are several pillars.
Between two blue buildings there is a road going straight up. Yep -
straight up. Just drive up it. If you're using a manual transmission, you
might want to take it in first or second gear. As you approach the crest,
slow down, then stop once you reach the top, where the road becomes flat.
Carefully drive over to a long ledge on your right by sticking as close to
the wall as possible, which you should see has the silver coin on it.
6. Return to the bullet train sideroad where you were just a moment ago,
and drive down towards the end of the road. Check out the second parking
lot to your right, which should be just after the left turn marked by
warning cones. There should be a silver coin waiting just by a building to
the right from the entrance.
7. Stay to the left side of the road and look for an opening in there. Turn
left, turn left again, then turn right, and right again. With these turns
you should have gone right to the end of this area. There should be a
silver coin waiting in between two of the buildings.
8. Go back to the road and look for a switch to the right just by the
fence. The "Cheps" sign straight ahead of you will move down exposing a
secret path. Enter it to find out that this secret path is really a glass
loop, so continue at speed. Somewhere towards the top you should run
through the silver coin.
Gold Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. At the beginning of the race, make the sharp turn, and go up the hill on
the left side of the road. But as you approach the crest, align yourself a
bit to the right. You should land on top of some buildings on the right
side of the road and you should find a gold coin next to one of them. This
was one of the coins that I just found by accident - and a bit of erratic
driving. *snicker*
2. This coin may be rather difficult to make if your car's acceleration is
poor. Go a little farther down the course - preferably past the turn
following the big jump. Accelerate through the corner and align yourself
dead centre on the road. You should fly into the coin. If you don't get it,
you should at least notice it and be able to adjust your speed for another
attempt.
3. Drive down to the end of the long straightaway at Fillmore at the far
end of the course and then turn around once you reach the 90 degree left
turn. There's nothing to this: remain right in the center of the road and
hope that you have enough speed to get the gold coin as you fly off a jump
while heading towards the advertisement hoardings.
4. The next five coins will all be found in the same region of the course,
so lucky for you, you won't have to do too much driving. While on the
bullet train sideroad, look between two pillars for a road going almost
straight up. If you have enough speed, you should easily get some air,
start falling to earth, and snatch the coin that's hanging in mid-air on
the other side.
5. Once you land from gold coin 4, head up this vertical road once again,
but this time slow down once you reach the top, and then stop once the road
flattens. Go onto the ledge that you should see adjacent to the road. Drive
off of this ledge at the far end, not on the edge leading back to the
vertical road. You should be falling into a halfpipe. Use your wings to
align yourself with the contours of the pipe, then allow yourself to roll
to the bottom. There is a gold coin there. Read on for more money.
6. Drive off the edge of the halfpipe as slowly as possible, perhaps at
roughly 30 to 40 MPH. You should be falling onto a rooftop which has a gold
coin on it as well. So long as you don't have too much speed, it should not
be difficult to land on this rooftop, and you can use the wings to assist
you in your descent. There is yet another gold coin on this ledge. Keep on
reading.
7. From gold coin 6, look for a break in the fence on this rooftop. Your
mission, should you choose to accept it, is to drive off of this ledge at
around 40 to 50 miles per hour. The trick is to land on the second floor of
a red building below. If you do land safely (with wings, it should be
rather easy), look for a gap in the building structure that you should have
seen during your free-fall. The gold coin is in that gap.
8. Drive up the vertical road just one more time - because this has to be
the coolest way to get to a gold coin. Stop once you reach the top and go
to the ledge that you used to drop down onto gold coin 5. Reverse right to
the wall, then accelerate, while aiming just a little bit left of the
halfpipe. (If this isn't the best view you'll ever seen in your life, I
don't know what is.) Your car should return to earth on a skyscraper with a
fenced-off roof: and guess what this roof is holding? None other than a
gold coin, which undoubtedly goes into my mind as one of the most rewarding
coins in the game.
--------------------------------------------------
Track 5 - Mission
--------------------------------------------------
Strategy
~~~~~~~~~~
__
__________________/ \________
--/ 6 \
/ \
/ / 7
/ 5 /
| /
| /
\ /
\ |
\ |
-- \ 8
\__ \
\__ \
\ |
-- |
\ 4 |
_____/ |
/ |
\__________________________| 9
3 2 S
|________| 1
1. I've boxed off a section of the track to indicate a certain part of the
start/finish straight. This section is a rather hazardous bridge with a
rather sudden elevation change on both sides. Its highest point - the
finish line - is also an opportunity for the unlucky to go flying, and with
inaccuracy, fly into a slightly narrower section of the bridge that results
in explosions, or over the bridge and into the water. Both will cost you
time, so keep to the straight and narrow on every single lap.
2. At this point in the circuit the track is split into two separate roads
on the right and left. While travelling in the forward direction, take the
right path, as it's less hazardous (the left one has a building with
pillars on the far left side, which, by experience, is very easy to get
tangled in). As you head down this route, stay as close as possible to the
building on the inside so you can have a smooth merge when the roads
combine. The track narrows rather conspicuously with a wall right there
prepared to ruin your whole lap.
3. Where the "3" is on this ASCII map, the road rises by the smallest
degree, but it's enough to give you air. If you take this upcoming turn at
maximum speed, you can't gain traction fast enough after hitting the
ground. Once you do regain traction, you've already flown off onto the
grass, which is rather hard to recover from. If you have put slicks or pro
slicks on your car, your recovery will become that much more difficult.
4. Halfway through this corner you may notice the car get a little bit
loose with a small elevation change. It's not enough to let your car become
airborne, but it is enough to get you possibly into the outside wall. Of
course, that doesn't hurt you. But coming up next is a switch that will
bring out a corkscrew. If you slam into it, you die. Moreover, you never
know when a computer player will just get a couple of wheels up onto that
switch. Therefore, get back to the inside (left) as soon as possible so if
you or someone else runs over the switch, you have an escape route. You
will then have a rather large jump and have the option of taking the lower
circuit or a rather higher sideroad.
5. Every time the track changes direction in this section there is an
elevation change. I guarantee it. At first, the track curves right and
uphill. But then, the circuit starts to slip downhill. This downhill
section is the most difficult, as the chances of you getting into the wall
are very high (you may very well have to ride the outside barriers right
down to the bottom of this section!). After the final turn of this section,
there's a big jump that brings you to the lake area. It wouldn't hurt to
slow down to prepare for it. You won't get much time to steer after you
land.
6. There are two jumps here that, if you were running a motocross race, you
could just jump up the first and jump down the second. Unfortunately, it's
not that easy here. Even at low speeds, the jumps will send you flying
great distances. At high speeds, you can multiply that challenge several
times over. As if that wasn't fun enough, there is a kink in the circuit
that you will probably not be able to land on after you hit the jumps. The
circuit winds left and right but you'll probably have to stick to the grass
for a little while (not very easy with slick tires). If this is the case,
and it probably will be, try to take the straightest route back to the
road.
7. The road begins to close up again but the turns are still rather
sweeping and should not pose any problems. The course does wrap around a
lake so make sure that you don't accidentally drive straight ahead into the
water. It is not that easy to recover from it. Basically, this is a rather
easy drive, with no elevation changes.
8. The easy drive ends when you hit a certain kink that may get you screwed
up. The official course goes 90 degrees left and then 90 degrees right, but
you can cut across some walkways to avoid having to turn so much. This
doesn't sound like much of a problem, but there are some buildings right
near the racing line. So you want to shave them off as little as you can to
get the straightest line through the corner. In addition, you can get
tangled up in a pillar that juts out onto the road a bit before
accelerating uphill.
9. Stay on the left side of the track as you head up the hill as the right
side of the circuit unexpectedly terminates in a wall. The left side drops
downhill and sends you flying. Slow down to roughly 150 miles per hour and
cut across the grass, making sure not to let your car spin out before
rejoining the track just before the bridge.
Shortcuts - Forward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. As you come down the hill after you start the race, look for a small
ramp to the right just before the fork. Take it and aim slightly right as
you are launched into the air. You will land on a rooftop, now aim between
the two walls straight ahead of you. You'll catch air again and fly down a
ramp onto a side road (make sure to stay to the right to avoid crashing
into a wall). You will be heading towards a gallery building. Hit the
switch and go in between the white ramps into the tunnel that the switch
has opened, then return to the main track.
2. At the big jump after the 2nd turn, aim slightly to the right (making
sure that you have a great deal of speed). Once you a see a tunnel off to
the right immediately preceded by some grass, enter it. Zip through the
tunnel that gradually moves downhill and to the right through some puddles.
You have several options after you come out: aim towards the ramps on the
right and fly through the air back onto the main track. Or, you can keep
going straight through the water and go back onto the main track that way.
Or, move on to shortcut 3...
3. After passing through shortcut 2, hit the narrow ramp slightly to your
right and you will land on an elevated road. Hit the switch in the center
of the road and immediately move to the right through the aquarium dome.
You should come back out on the main track after a short excursion through
the aquarium walls. Aim slightly to the right as you come out; you'll smash
into a wall if you don't.
4. If you took shortcut 3, you can count this one out. After the turn that
takes you off the Lake Merced road, aim to the right just before a
green-tinted glass wall. You will go onto a side road, heading towards a
halfpipe. Head toward it and then as you start going onto the halfpipe turn
left so that you make a complete revolution. If you turned correctly, you
should come out the other end. You now have two choices: go back down to
the main road on the right side, or go onto shortcut 5...
5. After exitting shortcut 4, turn left and drive into a building after the
road goes over the track. You will take a jump over a sideroad. Turn
slightly left, aiming towards the rather small doorway straight ahead of
you, and skip the chicane.
6. This is a rather tricky shortcut that requires a lot of good driving. On
the first lap, drive through shortcut 4 and hit the switch at the top of
the pipe. On your next tour around the track, intentionally skip the ramp
and turn just a bit to the left while avoiding the left turn. You will see
a narrow ramp bordered by two walls just before the lake. Should you
successfully navigate it without crashing, you will fly into a green-lit
tunnel. Follow the green arrows at the bottom of the tunnel into a parking
lot, then turn a bit to the right right into a warehouse. Climb up and then
fly out the window - you'll end up at the final turn!
Shortcuts - Backward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. From the beginning of the circuit, make the left turn and then slow down
to roughly 80 to 100 MPH. Watch for a building on the right side of the
track to appear, then dive through the window. As you leave the building,
turn slightly to the right to go into a parking lot - then turn slightly to
the left to go into a tunnel. Allow the car to move up to the top where the
shortcut has a flat banking, then fly out of the tunnel back to the main
track. This is shortcut 6 forwards taken in reverse.
2. As you enter the chicane, you will see a small gap in the building
straight ahead. Follow the rather obvious path across the road into a
halfpipe. Aim slightly to the left and you should come out on another
sideroad. Make a quick right turn just before the wall at the end of the
road to return to the track. See shortcuts 4 and 5.
3. Just after the chicane with brick run-off, aim to the left of the track
to encounter a ramp heading up towards a halfpipe. As you enter the
halfpipe, turn slightly left so that you run across the top of the pipe and
through a switch. Make a lap of the circuit, then the next time you come
around the circuit, after the chicane, stay to the right of the track
looking for a tunnel. Drive through it at high speed, take the two ledges
that you find. Hit the switch on the last one while staying just slightly
to the right. Your car will fly into an aquarium and promptly return to the
track after a few seconds flying through some water.
4. As you approach the big lake, go off the road and aim between the trees
on the right side of the track and the pillar holding up the bridge. You
will go through the lake, gaining speed all the time. Aim towards a tunnel
on the left side of the lake, and then fly through it (this is shortcut 2,
except in reverse). Slow down as you exit before turning right and back
onto the track to make sure you don't fly into the wall.
5. See shortcut 1 except follow it in reverse - the entrance is seen going
into a building as you exit the second-last turn on the course, the one
just after the rather large jump. Turn left through this rather narrow,
banked tunnel. When you come out of it, hit the switch and drive towards
the path where the pendulum is gradually rising up. Drive through it
quickly before you get struck down. Fly out and over the rooftop towards
the boat, then head onto shortcut 5, or bail out by turning right quickly.
6. At high speed, at the fork, turn left and then turn left again near the
warning lights telling you to turn right at the end of the fork. At the end
of the road you will fly onto the boat, then onto one of two parking lots
depending on your speed at the time. Regardless of which one you land on,
turn sharply left to get back onto the road.
Switches - Forward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(P) 1. Go off the main track at the end of the fork section, turn right and
then left, and head towards a gallery building. Just before you enter, hit
the switch in the middle of this open section, which will open up a tunnel
between the two paths for you to return to the circuit.
(T) 2. As you exit the second turn just before the rather large jump, there
is a switch on the left side of the road just brushing the grass. Hit it to
bring out a corkscrew immediately after the switch on the right side of the
road that can potentially destroy all cars in the race.
(P) 3. Just after the big jump over the secondary road, follow the tunnel
immediately following a dirt road on the right. You'll drive onto a ramp
and jump onto this road above the main circuit. There is a switch straight
ahead that opens a door into the aquarium on the right, thereby giving you
a means of returning to the circuit.
(P) 4. Drive onto the other side of the green wall about two-thirds through
the course to encounter a pipe. Turn slightly left as you enter it. At the
top of the pipe, you'll see a switch. The next time you come around this
will reveal a narrow ramp just before the lake around the pipe area.
Switches - Backward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(P) 1. On the pipe section of the course (accessed by a ramp to the left
following a chicane), at the top of the pipe there is a switch. The next
time you come around the course, move to the right to encounter a tunnel,
which will now be open.
(P) 2. In the first turn after the chicane, dive into the green-lit tunnel
on the right side of the road and take the banked ledge. Jump to another
one and you will notice another switch. This switch opens up the aquarium
just a little bit to the right after jumping off the ramp straight ahead.
(T) 3. Just before the drop down to the final two turns on the track (in
the overpass section), there is a switch on the right side of the road. Hit
it to bring out the corkscrew at the bottom of the hill on the left, which
has the power to destroy the whole field.
(T) 4. If you enter the tunnel on the left-hand side of the road with the
yellow and black lighting (just before the final corner), at the exit there
is a switch. Hit the switch to bring up a pendulum blocking your only exit
route. It comes down after only a few seconds!
Silver Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. After you start the race, get to the right onto the ramp just before the
fork, and angle to the right as you go off the ramp so that you land on a
rooftop. Look in the indentations to your right - the silver coin will be
found in the last one.
2. As the two "forked" roads merge back together, turn right until you hit
the first sideroad, and then left. You should start driving down the road
and towards what appears to be a gallery building. There should be a switch
straight ahead, which you do not have to hit. Slow down and go up either of
the silver ramps on either side, then turn right or left (depending on what
ramp you took) to get the silver coin on top.
3. After getting silver coin 2, preferably abort and put yourself back on
the track by pressing the C-Up button. Now, continue down the track
normally before a rather huge jump over a sideroad above the main track.
After the jump ends and you're back on the road and solid ground, look for
the first intersection after a dirt path to your right. Turn right, then
look to the left and there is a silver coin in the second building gap just
before the wall.
4. Continue driving down the track until you reach Lake Merced Boulevard
(the road that winds by the lake). Go off the road and look to your right.
There is a rather grand house in front of you and between two of its
pillars, near the front door, there is a silver coin. (You have to wonder,
whose house is this?)
5. Drive around the circuit, but just before you reach the green glass
structure to your right, stop. Turn right into the side road, and drive
into the tiny space that you will find there. Turn left and drive right
against the wall on the left. As you continue on, you will end up in this
long, thin gap. If you go far enough, you will score yourself a silver
coin. (This was silver coin 48 for me.)
6. Go in the tiny space between the two buildings like you did in silver
coin 5, except stay straight when you enter. Explore this area, staying to
the left of the aquarium and white building on the far side of this secret
area. After you pass these two structures, you should see a silver coin in
the open.
7. There are two ways to get this coin. After the left-right chicane that
you must cut across the stones to get through, look for a space on the left
between two buildings, then look for an entrance in the right. Beside the
first piece of cargo to the left is a silver coin. Alternatively, you can
go to nearly the start/finish and start driving back. Go through the
window, brake at the soonest opportunity, and collect the coin. Both ways
are acceptable, although method #1 will be easier.
8. Almost assuredly, the curious individuals will find this coin. Once you
reach the traffic light intersection near the building where silver coin 7
is, turn right (instead of left, where the main track will run). Turn left
onto an uphill parking lot to encounter a silver coin and a rather nice
view of the harbor.
Gold Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. After the fork section of the course, stop just before the first true
turn on the circuit. Turn around and look to your right and you should see
a green arrow strip going inside a building. The trick is to approach it in
first gear, then drive onto the arrow strip while holding the brake. As if
that wasn't hard enough, you must try to swerve sideways to the left,
perpendicular to the walls on both sides, and moreover, try to stop on a
narrow bridge. This will certainly take more than one attempt to complete
and can be very frustrating. But if you're lucky (hey, it happened to me,
why can't it happen to you?), you will stop on the narrow bridge. Drive
across the bridge carefully to get a gold coin on the other side.
2. Continue down the road until you reach the first large jump, but slow
down to about 100 miles per hour. Stay to the left, but start aiming to the
right as you approach the crest. If you aim correctly, you'll end up on a
rooftop below the advertising boards and above the long arrow strip. Lucky
for you, that was the hard part. Turn around and drive in the opposite
direction at a reasonable speed, and you should fall onto a building ledge
with a gold coin on it.
3. After the big jump, slow down and look to the right. You should see a
dirt road, follow it into a tunnel. Just keep on following it - there's no
gold coin in here but it leads to one. At the exit, get to the right onto
the dirt road away from the water, and hit the narrow ramp to the left at
around 150 MPH. You'll go flying through the air onto another roadway above
the course. Keep on going, while avoiding the miniature bullet trains.
Speed is insignificant, all that matters is that you stay right in the
center of the road. There is a gold coin straight ahead that you're almost
guaranteed to run through. If you don't have time to stop after you hit it,
you can just keep going and eventually you will be placed back on the track
as you end up outside the environment boundaries.
4. Keep on driving on the track until you see a curved ledge to your left.
Take note of it, but keep driving until you reach the chicane. Turn around
and start driving back the way you came. At the first right turn you
encounter, get to the paved shoulder on the right and go into the green
tunnel. If you're going fast enough (around 100 MPH), you'll fly onto the
curved ledge described earlier. Continue driving on the ledge and you'll
fly onto yet another ledge which will taper uphill. As you approach the
top, start angling towards the right. You will go flying through the air
and onto a building rooftop which is most likely a helicopter landing pad.
(A circle with an H inside, isn't that logical?). There is a gold coin on
this roof. (This was the final gold coin that I found in Race Mode.)
5. Approximately two-thirds through the course, keep an eye out for a green
structure on the right. Keep to the right side of the road, go on the other
side of the green wall, and you will be going up a pathway. Stay on the
right side of the track (so close that you're almost scraping the wall)
until you reach a halfpipe straight ahead. Let it flip you over. You will
go flying through the air (flip yourself upright again with the wings) and
land on a narrow ledge. On this ledge is the gold coin.
6. Follow the steps for gold coin 6 except stay to the left in the halfpipe
area. Turn left and around the full pipe, then back down. Now, come out on
the other side. There are two paths ahead: one takes you towards the left
and one takes you down towards the main road. Take the one to the left.
Just before you enter the building straight ahead, allow yourself to drop
down, then search the building ledge for a gold coin.
7. Just before the left-right chicane, you will notice a fenced-off parking
lot holding a gold coin, but you can't get there normally. Turn the
backwards setting on, turn around, and drive to the end of the "fork"
section of the track (take the right fork). Turn around again and stay to
the left of the yellow and black lighting at the end of the fork. Try to
time it so that you launch off the grass onto a cargo ship, which is moving
from left to right in the river. Should you successfully get on board, let
the ship take you to a pier on the far side of the course. Drive off the
ship there and look for a gap between two buildings. Turn left, then turn
right, then right again, and you will be in that fenced off area where the
gold coin is.
8. Drive to the point where the two roads merge together (with the forwards
setting on). Turn around and stay to the left of the yellow and black
lighting. Jump on the ship (which is static this time around) and keep
going so that you launch off the ship and into a parking lot. When you do
land on the parking lot, STOP. Turn left and drive into the tunnel that has
arrow signs on the floor. Stay to the right and aim to the left. Once you
launch out of the tunnel, make sure you're aimed towards an arrow strip on
the left. Resistance is futile, so let the strip boost your speed. Once you
land on a rooftop, stop or try to steer into the sign on the far side,
which will do a good job of stopping an out-of-control car. Now, turn
around and look for a bridge going to another rooftop - the gold coin is on
that bridge.
--------------------------------------------------
Track 6 - Presidio
--------------------------------------------------
Strategy
~~~~~~~~~~
____
_/ 5 \
__\ _/
| |
6 _______/ |
| |
| |
| |
_/ | 4
__/ |
| 7 |
| |
\_ __|
\___ | 3
8 \_______ \__
9 \____|
\F /
\ |
| |
\| 2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
/
/ 1
My apologies for the lack of accuracy. ASCII only allows you to do so
much...
1. You start the race here, but you don't finish it here. The track begins
in a tunnel and then goes into the forest before moving right along the
Golden Gate Bridge in a start that is very reminiscent of track 1 in the
original Rush. By the time you reach point 2, upgraded cars should be at
around 200 MPH. (By the way, don't bother turning around looking for coins
at the wall at the start...you won't find any.)
2. You will hit an intersection right here, marked off by rather unusual
structures that make the transition rather nerve-wracking. One of the paths
will be blocked off by lighted arrows showing you in the right direction,
but the other will be open. If you are racing this track forwards, the
right path will be open. If you are racing the track backwards, the left
path will be open. Remember this and line up, otherwise you will get
involved in a wreck, especially in foggy conditions. On the forward
circuit, you'll be in a tunnel in a short time, and out of it in an even
shorter time.
3. The first real forested section on the circuit is, thankfully, the
easiest one you will encounter, with reasonably banked turns and swooping
curves that aren't that difficult to master if you're half the driver that
you think you are. Fourth gear, no question about it.
4. The first city section really does not have any challenges related to
turning (it's just a straight blast through the city), but hazards such as
bullet trains will make it difficult enough to have a clean run through the
first city section (if you run into them, your life will become rather
frustrating). Not to mention the tracks that they race around the city all
day on. An uphill climb and a downhill run is the basic profile of this
section, so use the wings to ensure your wheels match the contours of the
road.
5. This section of Track 6 is so difficult that I recommend that you
actually shift down to 3rd gear to take these corners if you made the
decision to use a manual transmission. These turns are absolutely brutish,
tight, and the elevation changes don't help matters in any way. If you get
up onto the lights marking the way around the circuit, you can basically
say goodbye your car. When you see the long right turn ahead of you, you
can shift back up to 4th for the next city section. Try to stay off the
grass, and remain in control at all times, and the lower speed induced by
third gear will assist you with the driving. As a final note, frame rates
can become real nasty in here, which can be a distraction.
6. When you come back into the city you already have a challenge. Slow down
at the top of the hill when you enter the urban area. This move seems
self-destructive to your chances of winning, but so is your car blowing up
once you hit that retaining wall at high speed. If you lift off the crest
of the hill flat-out, you won't have time to turn before that wall comes
up. Ease off instead and cut through the gas station at the left to save
yourself some time and pent-up frustration.
7. Once you exit the previous section, you'll have to be prepared for a
gradual increase in elevation combined with a right turn. This continues
all the way up to a sharp left-hand bend that borders on the edge of a
blind curve. You will have to ease off the gas in order to get through.
Failing to slow down will almost certainly result in an accident before
accelerating uphill once again.
8. On this rather massive jump, you will most likely have to take a leap of
faith twice. On the first jump, crank your steering wheel a bit to the
left, as it is very likely that you will land right in the middle of a
gentle left-hand turn. The track then drops out from underneath you again
to a lesser extent. It's possible to take both of these jumps in one leap
with enough speed, but don't stretch it if you can't, as it is very easy to
flip and have an accident in this curve.
9. After a rather hairy left-hand turn in which you must ensure that you
don't hit the buildings right at the outside of the turn, you still have a
couple of more problems to contend with. A moderate right-hand turn will
commence your journey back into the forested Presidio before a very easy
and gradual left turn back to the finish. It does get slightly hairy as you
cross the finish line to complete one lap. You'll catch just a little bit
of air, so be sure of yourself as you reenter the tunnel to start your next
lap.
Other notes: Your first lap will be longer in length than your second and
succeeding laps, therefore, your lap time on lap 1 will be slower. In
addition to the small differential with the added time required to
accelerate to racing speed from a standing start at the beginning of the
lap, I wouldn't recommend running a 1 lap race just to set a best time. I
wouldn't recommend it on any course, but especially not on track 6. As a
matter of fact, set the maximum number of laps for a best average, as then
the rather slow lap one time only counts as one lap in eight.
Shortcuts - Forward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1a. Upon your entry into the city for the first time, steer to the left of
the road, towards a tunnel adjacent to the track and headed by some lights.
Head in and drive up the uphill slope, aiming a bit to the right. At the
end, you will go flying WAY over the track, perhaps even over the Slim Jim
advertisement. You should land just on the outskirts just before the right
turn that sends you back into the forest.
1b. This is the same as shortcut 1a, except it's on the right side of the
road. Aim a bit to the left on your exit this time.
2. As you exit the city limits, you'll see a switch on the right side of
the road. Run over it so that the switch is green. As you exit the city and
look to the outside of the track, the guardrail is interrupted in one spot.
Slow down a little and drive through this missing guardrail below the arrow
lights. You will be heading into a green-lit tunnel that winds to the right
and the left. Drive through it while making sure not to scrub off too much
speed. Fly over a puddle of water (which will put an end to your
exploration should you fall in), then re-enter the course in the second
urban area.
3. Should you choose not to use shortcut 2, you have a less effective
alternative route. When you reach the switch, turn right into a building
shell beyond the road. Go straight onto the grass bordered by trees, and
you should see a guardrail opening through which you can get right back
onto the track.
4. As you enter the city limits for the second time, you should see a
switch on the right shoulder. Hit it so it turns green, then stay on the
shoulder and take the jump at high speed (160+ MPH). You should land on a
rather narrow road. Drive on it, then when it ends just keep going. You are
now in a dark tunnel, which has a banked left turn. Stay on the track and
then wait for the road to rise up a little. Fly through the air, over the
track, then burn down the side road between the buildings. Rejoin the track
in style as you make a huge jump off some building tops back onto the
circuit.
5. As you navigate the final left-hand turn before you exit the city limits
towards the end of the circuit, just stray slightly to the left and you
should see a building opening up between the trees and the building walls.
You should drive down onto dirt path with purple lights on each side of it.
Follow this path through a narrow and short tunnel, through a loop, then
into a clearing where the dirt road ends. Slow down to ensure that you do
not spin out on the grassy section. Steer to the right and you should see
another dirt road approaching - stay on it. (At this point you probably
should see your lap time flash at the bottom of the screen.) Before long,
you should rejoin the track just before the tunnel.
Shortcuts - Backward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. This shortcut can easily go wrong on you if used improperly. As the road
goes up the hill as you enter the city for the first time, before the
second right-hand turn, turn right just after the side road. You should go
up onto a grassy area, now keep going straight. Your car will end up on a
glass road. Drive down it, and go through the hole in the wall that you
see. Drive down the tunnel, fly through the air, and rejoin the track.
2. As the road curves downhill to the left, hit the switch on the left
shoulder (easier said than done when you're flying through the air), then
look to the right side of the road for a ramp ahead of you (if you've been
through here before it was blocked off by some lighted arrow signs). Go up
on the ramp, fly through the air, drive onto the raised parking lot, then
smash through the glass wall ahead of you to get back on the track. It's
very easy to make a mistake here so if you do you might as well press C-Up
to get back on course.
3. In the second last turn before the short urban area, you should see the
gap in the fence. That's where you want to go. Cut through the grass and
then through a building shell to end up in a building shell. See shortcut 3
for track 6 forwards.
4. Just before the tunnel that leads you to the next lap, you might see a
gap in the guardrail ads to your right. Duck onto that path, then follow it
onto a dirt road. Fly over the other path below you (this shortcut you are
flying over is shortcut 5 for track 6 forwards), then continue on the
resumed path. You will emerge onto the main track with yet another lap time
just before the first urban section of the track.
Switches - Forward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(P) 1. At the end of the first city section after the downhill run, there
is a switch on the right side of the road. On the outside barrier of the
right turn, there is a gap that can be navigated leading to a metal door. A
green switch opens up this door and reveals an alternative route.
(P) 2. At the beginning of the second city area, there is a switch on the
right side of the road. Flying off the upcoming jump at speed will reveal
an alternate round above the main track. When green, this switch opens up a
door that allows anyone who takes this shortcut to continue on.
Switches - Backward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 (P). While heading down the hill in the city area, turning left all the
time, you'll see a switch on the left shoulder. Hit the switch to open up
an area to the right a little while down the road, which was previously
blocked off by arrow lights
Silver Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Start a race, then drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. Continue to
follow the track until you reach the tunnel, and then prepare to stop.
After exiting the tunnel, slow down and make a U-turn onto the grass so
that you're facing the tunnel you just left. In the corner between the
barriers and the tunnel is a silver coin.
2. Continue to circulate around the track until you'll almost out of the
first city region. There is a switch just before the forest and a building
shell that you can enter, both on the right side of the road. There is a
silver coin in this building shell.
3. As you enter the San Francisco urban area once again, at the first
90-degree left turn, there is a silver coin in what appears to be a gas
station. You can cut through this gas station, so once you reach the turn,
face the station and you should see the silver coin nudged up against a
wall. Collection was never so simple...
4. Turn around and go back to the last turn before you enter the urban
area. Now, stay on the right shoulder of the road, aiming towards the
switch that you find there. Hit the switch and make sure you've got a good
amount of speed - at least 160 MPH should do the trick. You will land on a
rather narrow path that goes straight ahead while the main course turns
left. Go off the end of it for a silver coin - no tricks here. Read on for
more coins.
5. Follow this alternate route and you probably would get coin madness, but
I'm leaving you to read the gold coins on this track if you're really
curious. This shortcut road will begin to slope uphill. Within a couple of
seconds, you will go flying through the air, over the main course, and into
a glass wall. By some palm trees to the right (it should be the second
group that you encounter), there is a silver coin. What a good place to
relax at until crazy drivers pick you up, hmmm?
6. This region is silver coin heaven for track 6. At the big jump mentioned
in the track strategy, slow down and wait for the left turn to come up.
Stop at that point and then make a U-turn, and you should see a grassy
area. Drive onto the grass, keep going and eventually you should be driving
on a transparent road (which has a bit of purple lighting to it). Just keep
on following it. Before the road drops off into a tunnel, you will score a
silver coin in the air.
7. Turn around after retrieving that last coin and drop down to the lower
level without crashing. Then start driving back the way you came towards
the track. Before this path that you're on appears to disappear into
darkness, you will pick up a silver coin.
8. At the final turn before you exit the city area, investigate the
buildings on the right side of the road. They aren't really "stuck
together", so investigate the gaps between them. Between two of these
buildings you will find the last silver coin in Race Mode.
Gold Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Once you enter the first city section, slow down to about 90 to 100
miles per hour, then you should get a gold coin behind the monorail tracks
at the first jump while staying roughly in the center of the road, perhaps
in the passing lane on the right side.
2. At the top of the hill in the first city section, get onto the left side
of the road while travelling at speed. Once the road drops off and starts
to slope downhill, you will go flying through the air and hopefully into
the gold coin. That must be curious for motorists with all those gold coins
levitating above them...
3. Exit this city section, drive through the Presidio and enter the second
city section in the 2nd half of the track. Swerve to the right side of the
road and hit the switch that you find there. While travelling at around 160
MPH, fly off the jump onto an alternative path. Follow this path onto a
dirt road, but continue to follow it. Once the road starts to rise, sway a
bit to the left side of the track. Pretty soon you'll go flying over the
main track and into a gold coin.
4. There are two ways to get this coin, but both of them lead to the same
place. Preferably use my first plan first, then go to the other one if you
missed the opportunity, or crashed while working on the coin.
- After you've gotten gold coin 3, keep going, but try not to get into an
accident in the meantime. Pretty soon you will be able to get to the right
slightly as it begins to open up. Start angling to the right, and fly over
the track. You will go flying over the main track and onto a bridge that is
curved. Start driving around it, and when you get dropped off at the end,
you will have scored a gold coin in the air.
- If you missed this opportunity, there is another chance to get to the
bridge. Press C-up to put yourself back on the track if you're in trouble,
and drive back to the 90-degree left turn that precedes the bridge, then
start driving forwards on the circuit again, staying to the left but aiming
to the right. You will reach a big jump. Pull hard to the right and you
should land on the bridge (you may have a hairy moment, but nine times out
of ten you can recover). Now drive to the end, and collect the coin.
5. At the road below the bridge described in gold coin 4, turn around and
you will see a grassy area. Drive onto it. Drive onto the transparent road
just ahead, then fly into the tunnel that follows immediately afterwards.
Slow down, however, as the tunnel ends shortly. The car will eventually
drop off the edge, so use your wings to straighten yourself out so that you
land with wheels down. You might have fallen right on the gold coin, but if
you didn't, drive around this area and you should find it.
6. This coin requires a lot of trial and error. At the end of the straight
after the big jump, you can drive between a building and the trees just
after the left turn. Follow this dirt path with magenta lights on either
side. You will go through a tunnel that is actually under the main road. At
this point you'll be approaching a loop - continue driving but prepare to
stop. Just after the halfway point, stop completely. You will fall off the
loop (that TOTALLY defies the purpose!) and hopefully into the gold coin.
7. Turn the backwards setting on. Drive through the track normally until
you enter the city. You will make three right turns, then the road will
start dropping downhill. Slow down and look for a switch on the left side
of the circuit. Run over it, then accelerate to about 135 to 140 MPH and
keep it steady around there. If you've already made a lap of Track 6
backwards you may have noticed lighted arrows blocking off a path on the
right side, immediately after the left turn. Those arrows will be gone now.
Go up this path at around 140 MPH or so. You will fly onto a rooftop. Now
stop, if possible. Go off the edge that you were aiming towards when you
entered this area, and there is a gold coin on this ledge.
8. Follow the instructions in gold coin 7 except go faster after you hit
the switch. Go up this path as usual while aiming a bit to the right this
time around, but you should be in an area past where gold coin 7 was once
you go off of it. Look around this area, and you should find the gold coin
on yet another rooftop. If it turns out you fall off one of these buildings
while doing your exploration, you will immediately be put back on the
track.
==================================================
05. Stunt Mode
==================================================
--------------------------------------------------
Introduction
--------------------------------------------------
San Francisco Rush (the original) never had a stunt mode. Rush 2 had one
stunt track and that was pretty much the replayability of it. But now, in
Rush 2049, crazy stunts in the City by the Bay can now be performed in FOUR
new stunt tracks. You have the ability to use wings to control your mad
stunts, the jumps range from the rather typical to the insane, speed pads
allow you to get insane air, and there's a new point system. And that's how
you score more stunt tracks - scoring stunt points, so don't be afraid to
put on a show for the judges.
All stunt tracks have a strategy, silver coin, and gold coin sections in
their individual guides.
Definitions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Flip - The car's nose goes down or up, then the car continues to move in
that direction, so the undercarriage is facing the air. There are
individual categories for forward flips (nose moves down and around) and
backward flips (nose moves up and around). (icon colour: red)
Roll - The car "leans" to the left or right, then continues to follow so
that the car's undercarriage is facing the air and moving around. There are
individual categories for rolls to the right and rolls to the left. (icon
colour: green)
Helicopter spin - The car is spinning around in the air, BUT STAYING
UPRIGHT without rolling or flipping. The direction does not matter. (icon
colour: dark blue)
Twist - The car is executing a combination of rolls, flips, or helicopter
spins so that the car is not spinning cleanly in either of these
directions. (icon colour: orange)
2 wheels - The car is pivoted on two wheels on the left or right side of
the vehicle for an extended period of time, with the other two wheels off
the ground. (icon colour: light blue)
Wheelie - The car is driving on its rear wheels only. (icon colour: light
blue with tilt up to right)
Endo - The car is driving on its front wheels only. Very hard to pull off
regularly. (icon colour: light blue with tilt down to left)
Air time - The car has no contact with the ground while it is in the air.
(icon colour: pink)
Point System
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All flips, rolls, spins, and twists are counted as follows: a 180° rotation
through that appropriate motion counts as one point in that category. So,
say you make a flip forwards, and then flip yourself back upright. That
would count as one forward flip, and one backward flip.
2 wheels, wheelies, and endos are calculated according to how long you
remain in that position. I believe it's roughly 3 points per second that
you remain in the position. For example, if you stay on 2 wheels for two
seconds, that's, at my calculation, 6 two-wheelie points.
Air time stunts are calculated according to how long you stay in the air
for every second beyond five seconds. Eight seconds in the air counts for 3
airtime points.
For each "base point" the following point values are awarded.
Forward flip ..................... 5 points
Backward flip .................... 5 points
Roll left ........................ 5 points
Roll right ....................... 5 points
Helicopter spin .................. 5 points
Twist (multi axis) ............... 3 points
2 wheels ......................... 3 points
Wheelie (up on rear wheels) ...... 5 points
Endo (up on front wheels) ........ 5 points
Air time ......................... 5 points
Partial wings bonus .............. 2x (3x with one icon)
No wings bonus ................... 7x (8x with one icon)
* A partial wings bonus is awarded for any stunt in which the wings are
utilised for three seconds or less. A no wings bonus is awarded for any
stunt in which the wings are used for no period at all.
Triple bonus ..................... 10x
Quad bonus ....................... 20x
Rush bonus ....................... 40x
Super bonus ...................... 60x
Extreme bonus .................... 80x
Super Rush bonus ................. 100x
Extreme Rush bonus ............... 500x
Papyray bonus .................... 1000x
These types of bonuses are awarded depending on how many icons you get
during a stunt. The above list includes bonuses from three to ten icons
(there are a total of ten icons, so they range from easy to hard). The Rush
bonus is five, the Super bonus is six, and so on up to Papyray bonus, which
is a bonus for scoring all ten icons.
Perfect spin bonus ............... 15x
Perfect roll bonus ............... 25x
Perfect flip bonus ............... 25x
"Perfect" bonuses refer to when a rotation - whether it be a roll, flip, or
spin - is executed flawlessly, without incorporating any other rotation in
the stunt at any time.
--------------------------------------------------
General Suggestions
--------------------------------------------------
- The wings, of course, are the greatest factor in Stunt Mode. In terms of
stunts available for you to pull off, it's possible to earn all ten icons
using the wings, with a little bit of luck and a little bit of skill.
Whether you should use the wings or not, though, is dependent on the type
of jump. Jumps which terminate in flat sections should utilize the wings as
much as possible, whereas if you have an unusual end to the jump, it's best
to let yourself just go nuts without the bird's contribution to racing.
- Try not to lose very much time between each of your stunts; you only have
so much available to you, and saving one second can allow you to pull out
one more opportunity before time runs out.
- In the dying seconds of your run (i.e. with five seconds left), just go
off the nearest jump regardless of its structure - once time runs out, your
car is basically powerless (which should be happening while you are
airborne), but any stunt that you were in the process of completing may be
finished with full points awarded. It's worth a shot at least.
- Approaching some of the jumps at full speed while at a certain angle can
result in an explosion, so be slightly offset when going off the jump. This
not only increases the chance of some rotation, but also saves your car
from exploding as well. Hitting some of the jumps in a certain way can help
you pull off a perfect helicopter spin, flip, or roll.
--------------------------------------------------
Stunt 1
--------------------------------------------------
Strategy
~~~~~~~~~~
This is the only stunt track that you begin with at first, with a main
tower in the center of the level and several other pyramid-shaped jumps
around the level. A double-tiered platform holds the majority of the coins.
Around the perimeter of the arena are several orange and blue-lit banked
walls which all you to build up some speed. The jump styles of this level
will allow you to almost exclusively use your wings to score big points. Of
course, this means that wing bonuses will have to be sacrificed, but the
best potential for major stunts is right here, without a doubt. It's a
rather rudimentary layout, but a good opportunity to learn the physics and
requirements of Stunt Mode.
Silver Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Note: Because this track is symmetrical I might have a hard time
describing some of the locations of certain coins.)
1. As you start the level, drive to the left and aim towards the
flat-topped ramp ahead of you. You should catch a glimpse of an arrow pad
on the second floor wrapping around the level. Drive at the ramp in front
of you at around 160 MPH, and try to position yourself so that you hit the
arrow pad up there. If you manage to do that, you should fly right into the
silver coin.
2. After you get silver coin 1 and leave the jump, you should find yourself
at the outside perimeter of the area, with several pyramid-shaped jumps. If
you drive around the level counterclockwise, you will find a silver coin on
the face of one the jumps. The coin is just lying there, what are you
waiting for?
3. Keep driving counterclockwise around the level, preferably on the
outside of the pyramid jumps, looking to the top of the walls on the right
of your screen. After a reasonably long drive, you'll see a silver coin on
top of a wall illuminated with orange light. Drive up the wall to retrieve
the coin.
4. Return to ground level and continue to drive counterclockwise. On
another one of the pyramid ramps, there is a silver coin hanging just above
the pinnacle of the pyramid. This doesn't take too much talent to earn -
drive up the ramp with a speed of about 65 MPH or more and earning the coin
should not be a hard exercise.
5. Keep on driving in the same direction while looking to the top of the
walls on the right. On another wall there is another silver coin. Like
silver coin 3, it's just a matter of driving up and retrieving the coin
once you reach the top.
6. Turn towards the ramp in the middle of the arena and approach it at a
rather slow pace. As you hit the arrow pad, slam on the brakes to slow down
again, then hit a flat ramp at about 30 MPH to get inside a small platform
encased inside the ramp. In this small area, you will find yet another
silver coin. (So that's why they say it's sometimes right underneath your
nose...)
7. This is kind of tough for me to describe, so bear with me. From the
angle which you attacked to get silver coin 1 - or possibly a bit more to
the right around the arena - approach the ramp at slow speed. If you hit it
at around 100 to 110 MPH or so, you should land on a balcony just below the
location of silver coin 1. Drive around this area to find yet another
silver coin.
8. After earning silver coin 7, drop off the edge and face the huge ramp in
the center of the arena once again. You should barely see one last silver
coin on an arrow pad, positioned much like silver coin 1 - follow the same
basic instructions to get it. Just drive at the big ramp and try to aim
towards that arrow pad. From there it's smooth sailing.
Gold Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. After you start the level, turn around and drive clockwise around the
level until you see a coin floating in mid-air. There are two ways to get
it: the first way is to go off one of the pyramid-shaped jumps around the
perimeter of the arena at high speed in order to snatch the coin.
Alternatively, you can drive up the side of the arena, then try to jump off
at high speed (which is no easy feat) to get it. It's possible to earn it
the second way, but you're better off attempting the first method.
2. Continue to drive around the course and you'll stumble across a pillar.
On a ledge just a bit above ground level (but still too high for a car to
mount) there is a gold coin. The most difficult way is to launch yourself
off the large ramp in the centre of the arena, then land on the bottom
ledge before dropping down to the ledge where the coin is. The next easiest
solution is to drive just about to the other side of the arena, then use
the arrow pads and just PART of the big jump to launch the car into the air
and onto the ledge. For the cheaters, use the "Resurrect in Place" code
(see later), and press C-up to move upwards and grab the coin.
3. After picking up gold coin 2, drive over to the other side of the column
and aim towards the large ramp in the center of the arena. (The next few
coins are all earned by driving onto the higher levels around the arena, so
they're very hard to describe). Drive towards the ramp at around 160 MPH
and aim to the left as you go off - between the two arrow pads on the
second floor there is a gold coin. I'd recommend not picking this coin up
until later on, though, as it's a good reference point for the upcoming
coins.
4. Repeat what you just did for gold coin 3, except go just a little bit
slower off the edge of the ramp so that you land on the lower level just
below the ledge where gold coin 3 was. There's a gold coin right on the
inside of this ledge, so drive around this area until you can see its
radiance. Drive off the ramp, pick it up, and we can get going again.
5. Repeat the process once more, except go to the other side of the pillar
and aim towards the side of the ramp which has BOTH a spiked side and a
flat side visible. Once you shoot off of it, have the precise speed so that
you land on the lower level. On the outside of this ledge hanging in the
air, there's another silver coin for you to drop down and retrieve.
6. Head back to roughly the same area, but this time, aim yourself so that
your car is almost on the flat side, but for the most part, your car will
launch off the spiked side of the ramp. Jump off the big ramp so that you
land on the top floor between the two arrow pads. Once you land, look
around the inside of the ledge and jump off between the two pyramid-shaped
jumps on this level, fall off at around 10 MPH or so, and you're a winner,
without a doubt.
7. After you fall off from gold coin 6 you should be facing the large ramp
yet again, assuming that you actually managed to land on all four wheels.
Speed towards the flat side of the ramp and aim just a little bit to the
left. You will be aimed towards a gold coin on one of the arrow pads - and
if you land on that, it shouldn't be too hard to get it from there, as the
arrow pad is your one-way ticket to more money.
8. This is basically the same process as gold coin 7, except this time you
have to aim a little bit to the right instead of to the left. You'll pick
up a gold coin on an arrow strip right next to gold coin 7 - guess what?
You've cleaned house on stunt 1.
--------------------------------------------------
Stunt 2
--------------------------------------------------
Strategy
~~~~~~~~~~
This arena is much like stunt 1 in its design, but slightly more
complicated with plenty of arrow pads and types of jumps available to be
used. Most of the jumps, however, are flat, allowing for stunts with the
wings to be performed. High speeds are critical to pulling off big jumps on
this stunt track, but it can be rather difficult with all the buildings and
minor elevation changes arranged around this track. A couple of rather
large buildings promote extreme altitude and stunts, while some lower lumps
coming from the ground result in a much harder time controlling the stunt
with the wings. A few halfpipes and quarterpipes around the perimeter of
the level round out this arena.
Silver Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. From the beginning of the level, turn right and head down the hill
straight ahead of you. On the other side of the arena, you'll find a bunch
of small jumps with some silver coins levitating above them. Grab the one
hovering at a rather low altitude by going off one of the jumps at a speed
of around 90 to 100 MPH.
2. There's another silver coin in this area, but it's a little bit higher
up than the one you just collected. Follow the same instructions as for the
first coin, except travel a little bit faster off the jump in the region of
130 MPH (or even go off the halfpipe around the perimeter of the level, it
works on occasion) to get the next silver.
3. After picking up these first two silver coins, turn left towards a
structure which has a bar over it. Just over the top of the bar, you'll see
a silver coin. Drive straight while aimed at the silver coin in the air,
hitting the arrow pad at about 150 MPH or so. You'll just barely clear the
bar and pick up the silver.
4. Once you land from that attempt, turn around and aim yourself back at
the same structure you just flew over. Drive at it again, except aim to the
left from your point of view. As you drive over the arrow pad, aim to the
left towards the corner with a silver coin just barely in the air. When you
hit the wall, adjust your wings so that your car rides along the wall to
the corner, where it will remain. You'll drop right into the silver coin.
5. After you pick up silver coin 4, position yourself so the arrow pads are
to your left and right, and you should see a quarterpipe straight ahead of
you. Drive up the quarterpipe very slowly. If you do it correctly you'll
end up on a ledge at the top of it, where you'll find another silver coin
to the left.
6. Turn right and you should see that in one part of the level, there are
two pyramid-shaped jumps: one is green, one is orange. Drive very, very
slowly and precisely up the green one. On top, you'll find the silver coin.
Simple to find, hard to get.
7. Head back to where you started the level and drive up the large ramp
straight ahead, making sure to stop when you get on top. There are some
jumps on the right, much like the ones you went off of to get silver coins
1 and 2. Drive off one of them to reach this ledge straight ahead. Stop
yourself before falling off and turn to the left where you'll find a silver
coin. Alternatively, you can go off either of the arrow strips, aim towards
this ledge, and stop yourself before you fall off the edge.
8. Turn around in the direction of the start point, driving lengthwise
across the ledge - don't stop. As you fall off the edge, you'll pick up
another silver just as you're airborne. Rather simple.
Gold Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. From the beginning of the course, make a rather hard left aiming towards
the wall on the left until you spot a halfpipe indented into the wall.
Drive through the center of the halfpipe while keeping your speed to about
110 to 120 MPH or so, then when you come out, you'll hopefully fall into
the coin. It's important to be going fast enough that you actually make it
through the halfpipe, but not so fast that you miss the coin.
2. This one can be rather hard - if you let it. From the beginning of the
course, turn left slightly and hit the arrow pad ahead of you at about 140
MPH to launch yourself into the air and hopefully into the gold coin
levitating far above the ground. This one could take a little practice to
get, but it can be earned quite easily if all goes well.
3. After getting gold coin 2, return to your starting point and drive down
the slope heading down to the lower level of the arena. Straight ahead of
you there is a ramp with multiple sides. On a couple of the sides, there
are several blue, green, and orange ramps, but the other sides are
completely orange. Drive up this orange side that you're heading towards
(right on the edge) and you'll fly up and get the coin hovering above the
ramp.
4. After gold coin 3, turn left to see a gold coin levitating in between a
halfpipe and a structure right in the middle of the arena. Get some speed
up and head towards the halfpipe. Hit the halfpipe at the highest possible
speed to pick up the gold coin in the air - I personally prefer to start in
the middle of the structure by taking the arrow pads slowly into the center
of the structure. Should you decide to use my method, get some speed, jump
over the arrow pad, then speed towards the halfpipe.
5. After getting gold coin 4 head over to the area where there's a strange
structure with a needle on top. There are two gold coins for the taking
here. Line your car up with the third horizontal dark line from the right
on the halfpipe after you drive towards the structure up against the wall.
Face that line and you should be lined up with the gold coin. Drive at the
halfpipe at a speed of about 100 MPH and you'll fly back and get the coin.
Guaranteed success.
6. The other gold coin in this area is admittedly more difficult. Follow
the same instructions as for gold coin 5, except this time you must have a
higher speed. In addition, from your same starting position as gold coin 5,
you must aim a little bit to the left. If your speed is about 150 MPH or
so, you should be able to get the needed height. All you have to do now is
just line it up properly, and you're the winner of the gold coin on top of
the needle.
7. There are plenty of ways to get this coin, which is just above the
indented halfpipe on the far side of the area. You, unfortunately, can't
just drive into the halfpipe to retrieve it. Drive down into the lowest
part of the arena, then launch yourself off the jump in one of the four
corners of this section that is most closely aligned with the coin. If you
perform this correctly - and it's a matter of trial and error - you'll pick
up the coin. Alternatively, in the corner of this area you'll also find a
halfpipe. Go to the far side of the arena, and drive along the halfpipe,
gradually moving onto it. Aim a little bit to the left as you reach the end
of the halfpipe, and you'll rub against the wall and sail to the coin.
8. This is the hardest coin in this level, so don't feel discouraged if you
keep on missing this one. From where you picked up gold coins 5 and 6, aim
towards the structure in the center of the level. It's made up of four
pillars connected by ramps. There's an orange pyramid jump between you and
your destination. At a reasonably high speed, hit the pyramid jump so that
you're right on the edge between a couple of its faces. If this works,
you'll land on the pillar closest to you on the structure, which holds a
gold coin. (Just make sure you can stop!)
--------------------------------------------------
Stunt 3
--------------------------------------------------
Strategy
~~~~~~~~~~
The circular "Oasis" stunt course really isn't all that linear and has
plenty of strange outcroppings on the jumps. These varied jump types will
make earning big points in a single stunt rather difficult - while there
are the jumps that allow for big air with the wings, those are few and far
between. A couple of raised oasis areas allow for some interesting stunt
combinations if used to great effect, while some very high arena walls can
award some points if you don't flip. The best strategy for this stunt
course is to keep wing use to a minimum to assure maximum points on the
jumps, using the wings only to realign errant car rotation. Luck may be a
bit of a factor on this course, as it is very easy to roll over.
Silver Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. From the beginning of your run, turn around and drive up the rock face
behind you rather slowly. Eventually you'll reach a part of the rock face
that is much flatter than the run up. Turn right to spot a silver coin on
the somewhat banked ledge. Just drive over to get it.
2. Jump off this wall and drive clockwise around the arena. In an oasis
area with grass (no water), you'll see a palm tree with a silver coin
embedded in its branches. While at ground level, drive up the ledge
connecting the ground of the arena to the oasis at about 120 MPH. You'll
fly right into the coin if aimed correctly.
3. Get back down from the oasis and drive clockwise around the perimeter of
the arena. You'll spot an arch going over the floor of the arena almost
immediately. Turn to the right just before the arch, and you'll see you can
drive up to the top of this rock arch. Once you drive up (be careful here),
you'll see a silver coin. This one is easy to grab.
4. After grabbing silver coin 3, continue driving clockwise around the
arena. Once you reach the rock face once again, turn left and you'll see
yet another silver coin on a ledge not far away from where you are. Drive
over and nab it.
5. Turn around and get off the rock face. Continue to drive clockwise
around the level. As you approach another oasis (this one has a waterfall),
you might spot a tree seemingly growing on the rock to the left. Apparently
the rock also supports the growth of silver coins. Drive up the edge where
the oasis wall meets the rock face at about 80 MPH or so to get the coin.
This isn't easy, since if you go too fast your car will go out of control
when you go up the hill.
6. Turn around and look for a rock structure with rather jagged rock sides.
Inside there is a ramp, and on the top edge of this rock there is a silver
coin. Drive in through an entrance, and drive roughly halfway to the ramp
at the far end. Turn to the left and you'll spot the silver coin's rays
just above the edge. Reverse up the other side of the halfpipe to get a bit
more room to accelerate, then drive up the other side of the halfpipe at 40
MPH to grab it.
7. Next to this ramp, there's a rather peculiar rock structure with a
silver coin on top. If you drive around it you'll notice that it has a flat
side and a more concave side. Drive up the concave side making sure your
vehicle is aligned with the deep ruts (the Formula 1 is really good here)
at about 70 MPH to get the coin. Surprise!
8. This one is rather difficult. In the oasis area, you'll spot a coin
hovering in mid-air. You may think you should drive up the sides of the
oasis to get it, but that's not a possibility, since your car will go well
out of control making it impossible for you to fly up and get the coin.
Here's an easier way. Drive back to the area where silver coins 6 and 7
are, and a little bit farther back until you see a four-sided ramp.
Accelerate up to 145 MPH, then hit the four-sided ramp on a flat side to
fly into the air. If all goes right you should get the coin. If you miss
it, you may have to adjust a little, but 145 is the speed to be at.
Gold Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. From the beginning of the level, turn left a bit and you'll see a
rectangular structure (there's a shallow pool inside of it). Drive around
the perimeter of the structure until you see a gold coin. Drive away from
the pool a bit so you're lined up with the edge of the rock on the side
where the gold coin is (shouldn't be hard to figure out). Hit the side of
the ramp straight on at about 95 MPH to fly up and get the gold coin.
2. Continue driving clockwise around the arena and eventually you'll reach
a peculiar jump that kind of looks like a tree trunk. Drive around to the
other side of it so you get a pretty clear view of the coin (the side
closest to the arch nearby) - then drive up at low speed to just barely
touch the coin. But that's still enough to earn it!
3. Continue driving around until you see the long ramp with jagged edges
along either side. There's a silver coin and a gold coin around that ramp.
Get to the outside, closest to all the bumps scattered in the same area,
then aim just a bit to the right of the silver coin on the edge of the
rock. Hit it at about 100 MPH and you should fall into the coin.
4. After landing, drive around to your starting point to get gold coin 3.
You'll see a somewhat erratically-shaped jump (and if you are headed
towards the oasis, there's also a gold coin low in the air). If you go off
the aforementioned jump at about 110 MPH or so, you'll fly straight into
the aurum.
5. Turn around and head back to the ramp you went on to get gold coin 3.
Head inside this rock structure and you'll see a "flat" ramp at the end of
it that won't send you flipping unpredictably. Run off the ramp at about
130 MPH while aiming just a little bit to the left and you should fly into
the gold coin.
6. There are a couple of ways to get this coin high in the air next to the
ramp described in gold coin 5. You can either aim yourself at that ramp on
the outside so that the spikes send you flying back into the coin (pretty
hard). You need to have quite a bit of speed to get this, so keep on
adjusting. Your other solution is to go off one of the ramps in this area
at high speed to get the coin. It's a little bit less difficult but it
might take some time to find the ramp you need to go off of.
7. Head back to the rectangular structure towards the beginning of the
level and try to get inside of it by driving up the side pretty quickly.
Once you land inside the pool, drive around until you are facing the arch.
There's a gold coin in the air - drive off the edge at about 95 MPH facing
it and you'll get the coin.
8. Get on top of the oasis with the pool. You might notice that there is an
arch connected to the oasis. Drive up to the arch, then get up slowly on
top of it. Drive across the arch carefully to get the final gold coin. Just
before you run out of room, you'll find it.
--------------------------------------------------
Stunt 4
--------------------------------------------------
Strategy
~~~~~~~~~~
This is without a doubt, the biggest stunt track in the game, but also the
most difficult. There are plenty of jumps, most of them the "fly and pray"
type where you have basically no control over the flight of your car. There
are a couple that allow you to have control of your car. There's lots of
opportunities to explore, and plenty of different options with the numerous
floors in this arena, so the best suggestion is to use all the resources
available to you. Let yourself go when it comes time to fly, it's possible,
with all the options in this level, to finish one stunt and immediately
stumble into another, resulting in massive points for the two combined
stunts. Watch out for rather narrow quarterpipes around the level.
Silver Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. At the beginning of the race, turn a bit to the left so that you are
facing the left side of the halfpipe. You'll see a few stacked boxes, the
bottom one has a silver coin. Hit the rather low gray quarterpipe ahead of
you at an angle, at around 70 MPH, to fly up to the box on which the silver
coin is.
2. After getting that first coin, head over to the other side of the arena
and look for a gradual slope up to the second level. Head up this slope at
around 140 MPH or so and stay to the right. If all goes well you'll end up
on the top of a halfpipe, with a rather narrow quarterpipe jump in front of
you. Back up as far as you can without falling off, then accelerate towards
the jump at the end. You'll be thrown back and hopefully into the silver
coin just above the halfpipe.
3. Go back up to the area where you got silver coin 2, except this time
turn a little bit to the left once you reach the top. After you reach the
top, turn around and you'll see a silver coin hovering right in mid-air.
Drive off the edge of one of the ramps right there at high speed to get it.
Alternately, you can go off the halfpipe leading up to this area - both of
them are acceptable.
4. Return to the area where silver coins 2 and 3 were one more time. Once
you reach the top, immediately turn around and place yourself just adjacent
to the ramp that you just took to get up here. Fall off the edge of this
platform and land on some boxes - on the lower level is a silver coin.
Because you're basically getting this one blind, it could be hard to get.
But if you land on the wrong box it shouldn't be hard to get where you want
to go.
5. One more time? Okay, I was lying. Head up the ramp to get to the
platform where you're getting this menagerie of coins (It's convenient,
what can I say?). Once you reach the top, turn left, then left again
between two ramps which face each other. There's a bridge in between them.
Drive on it, accelerating all the time until you reach another platform
with its own set of jumps. Slow down a little, then quickly whip left and
right to centre yourself for a quarterpipe coming up. Hit it dead center -
100 MPH or higher will do - to fly up and nab a silver hanging high in the
air. Pull off lots on the stunts on the succeeding airtime that follows.
For what reason, you ask? None. It's just a good opportunity..
6. I know, I know, I know...head up to the platform AGAIN, but this time,
turn left while still at high speed. You'll see a ramp up ahead of you. Use
the ramp to jump over the arena to reach another platform wedged up against
the sides of the arena. Slow down, then drive to the narrow halfpipe on the
left. Once you reach the top you'll get a silver coin.
7. Drive off of this platform, return to the ground floor, and drive all
the way across the arena until you reach the ramp that you went up to get
silver coins 2 - 6. This time, turn around to the other side of the arena
and start speeding towards a quarterpipe right next to a gray stone
building. Hit it at high speed, then once you get off the second
quarterpipe that you hit, flip yourself over with the wings and hit the
third ramp. If all goes well, and you're going fast enough, after you jump
off the third ramp you'll get a silver coin in the air. This is a tricky
one, though, and may require a bit of practice.
8. Once you get back to ground level, head back to the gray structure
that's right next to the quarterpipe you went up to get silver coin 7 a few
minutes ago. On the other side of the gray structure, there's a quarterpipe
with some strange launch structures at the top, but there is a flat
section. Drive up this flat quarterpipe at about 90 MPH. If this goes
properly, you'll land on top of the structure on which you'll find - you
guessed it - a silver coin. An alternative here is to head over to one of
the higher ledges in the arena and drive off at low speed to get to the top
right away.
Gold Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. From the beginning of the circuit, turn left a little and you'll see a
few boxes stacked upon each other. Accelerate towards them and you will see
a gray quarterpipe. Hit this gray ramp at about 125 MPH, and you'll shoot
up towards a gold coin on top of a very unusual-looking needle on top of
the larger halfpipe next to it. This is a hard coin to get, so keep on
trying. Even if you miss, if you land on the halfpipe you can still get a
bit of a reward...
2. Once you land, turn towards the other end of the halfpipe and you will
see a gold coin levitating in mid-air. Just drive towards that coin at high
speed, and you should just barely graze the bottom of it, but that's enough
to pick it up. Just drive all-out and if you end up crashing, so what?
3. After you pick up gold coin 2 you should be in an area with lots of
steel quarterpipes. Turn around and you'll see the exit to this area.
You'll see a brown quarterpipe right on the other, rather far away, side of
the level - accelerate towards it. Hit it straight on to pick up a gold
coin straight up in the air (as a bonus you'll probably end up getting a
lot of flip points in as well - land it, which isn't easy, to pick up a
nice Perfect Flip Bonus of 20 flips or so).
4. After you land from gold coin 3 (...errr...if you land it), head back
over to where you started the level and you'll see a gold coin just above a
green ramp. You'll see a brown bump just in front of it, hit the bump at
about 120 MPH and if all goes well, you should hit the coin. You might miss
it on occasion, but just adjust your angle of attack and it'll come to you
eventually.
5. After picking up gold coin 4, drive back to where you started to pick it
up, except you'll see a gold coin in front of that huge halfpipe where gold
coins 1 and 2 were. Line yourself up with that "line" on the floor, then
hit the halfpipe at around 85 MPH. When you go off the spikes, you should
hit the coin. You can't hit the halfpipe flat-out, so be cautious here and
watch the speedometer until you actually fly off the ramp.
6. Speed, or talent? If you chose speed, you're better off turning the
Super Speed cheat (see codes section) on here, because you'll need all the
acceleration you can get to earn this coin. Drive all the way to the end of
the arena where the halfpipe that you went off to get gold coin 3 is. Then,
turn around and you should see a hole in the wall. Jam the gas and build up
as much speed as you can, then go through the hole, through the tunnel, and
up the ramp. You'll go flying back and into the coin. If you chose talent,
then head up the concrete ramp near this area, and then go off one of the
humps on the second floor to get the gold coin just sitting there.
7. From that ledge that you had to get onto to get gold coin 6, you will
see a ramp to the far left as you turn left onto the ledge from the ramp.
Hit it at about 110 MPH to fall into a gold coin that is levitating above a
narrow bridge above the arena. Angle a little bit to the left if you need
to. Wow, how tempting it can be...
8. This is perhaps the most frustrating gold coin in the game, but at least
it's the final one (which required NUMEROUS attempts on my part!). Drive
all the way to the part of the arena where you landed after picking up gold
coin 2. Then, accelerate at the halfpipe from gold coin 3 - yup, you heard
me right, burn it! Hit the left side of the ramp and you'll go flying up to
another gold coin high in the air. This requires a LOT of practice to get
and there is no room for error, so keep adjusting until you find just the
right balance.
==================================================
06. Battle Mode
==================================================
--------------------------------------------------
Introduction
--------------------------------------------------
And just when we were thinking that beating the stuffing out of other cars
was fun in real life...when do you ever get to mount a gatling gun while in
a demolition derby? The two-to-four player mode has a simple premise: smash
another car, score points. As if that isn't enough, players can choose from
one of eight battle arenas that will serve as great sites for all the
carnage that can occur. Three or four players can also split up into teams
to make the fight that much more interesting.
Rules
~~~~~~~
At the bottom of each player's screen is a life meter. As players get hit
by a weapon, the meter decreases. Once the meter runs out, the respective
car blows and whichever player inflicted the killing blow scores a point.
The first player or team to reach the preset number of points (from 5 to
50) wins the match.
Lying around the tracks are several different weapons which are used by
pressing the Z button after you run over them. There are also some
power-ups that can make you invisible, shield you, or recover your life
meter (all rather handy during an attack). By default, you have a pea
shooter as well.
If negative point mode is on, if a car rolls over and explodes by its own
doing, one point is taken away from that player. If negative point mode is
off, no points are awarded and the car is simply resurrected.
--------------------------------------------------
Weapons
--------------------------------------------------
(Note: For reference purposes I've also indicated the colour that this
weapon gives off when placed on the track.)
Pea shooter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is your default weapon when you have not picked up any other. It is a
good weapon for diversion or harassment, but the power is rather minimal
and the reloading time is also a weakness. You will need to score ten
accurate hits on your target in order to kill them - a more damaging weapon
is almost a requirement in order to survive. Thankfully, however, there is
no limit to the ammunition available to you.
Gatling gun (yellow)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This weapon is somewhat like the pea shooter in its design, but it inflicts
a little bit more damage and has a much better reloading time than the pea
shooter. Accuracy is a prerequisite, as it is difficult to hit your target,
and even if you do, you need about five good shots to take them out. You
have 100 bullets to use before the weapon goes back onto the playing
fields.
Grenade launcher (green)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This weapon is a bit difficult to work with, but it can be very effective
if you are in pursuit of a target steering in a straight line (and
generally those opportunities don't come very frequently.) When you launch
a grenade, it will bounce off the floor and walls about five times before
detonating, or alternatively, it will explode when close enough to a car. A
poor choice in a pursuit situation, but better if timed properly to
coincide with a player driving by. Two good shots out of the 20 available
grenades will result in a kill.
Battering ram (black)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is another tough weapon to use, but very effective if you have a speed
advantage or you're a plain old cheap shot. This is one of the few weapons
that does not require the Z button to fire - you simply need to drive into
another car, and they will explode on contact. If you're not traveling much
faster than your target, you can damage the other car, but fail to cause an
explosion. This weapon is effective for killing a car that is travelling in
the opposite direction as you (in other words...the head-on collision.) You
can use this five times before the weapon is discarded.
Sonic blaster (white)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Find this weapon as soon as you can, because this is a rather desirable
item. Press Z to release a circular shock wave that will make any player in
the immediate vicinity lose part of their life meter without a doubt. The
closer you are to the desired target, the more effective this weapon is,
all the way up to a one-hit one-kill wonder. If playing with negative
points, this weapon is very useful in flipping over other cars and causing
them to lose points. This weapon is best-used while stationary, triggering
it just as other cars are passing by your position on the track. You can
use this item five times.
Land mine (red)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a rather neat weapon to use that requires little more than a
knowledge of where cars are likely to pass by. You can drop three mines -
if anyone other than you runs over them, the land mines will detonate
resulting in an explosion. If you run over your own, the land mine is
immediately picked up, but you can't replace it. This is good to use in
either narrow tunnels where it's difficult to evade the mine, or near
weapon spawning areas. (Note: the player who planted a mine is indicated by
the colour radiating from the mine, which depends on their team colour.)
Guided missile (cyan)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another weapon that should be feared by friend and foe alike. The guided
missile (of which there are three) locks on to the nearest car's path and
if it makes contact, the other car explodes - with one hit! The only
disadvantage to this weapon is that the missiles are relatively slow-moving
and you need a clear shot for them to work properly (otherwise they just
smash into the wall, and that's just a plain old waste). It's best to be
reasonably close to your desired car, especially when attempting to pursue
them.
Plasma cannon (orange)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The cannon shots on this weapon are extremely quick (almost hitting the
target immediately, decreasing the chances of a quick dodge out of the way)
and are excellent for sniping and other means. The reloading time is decent
at least. The only problem, of course, is that it is similar to the gatling
gun in its use. Fortunately, the weapon is stronger and only requires two
good shots to defeat an opponent out of an available twenty.
Rocket launcher (blue)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a poor weapon if I ever saw one. The rockets on this weapon are
unguided, and just barely faster than the guided missile weapon. The
reloading time is horrible, with at least two seconds in between shots
required. You will need two hits to take your opponent out, and have 20
rockets available to shoot.
Invisibility (white eye)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Invisibility, Shield, and Repair icons all move around the arena
randomly after being picked up. When you drive into the Invisibility icon,
you become invisible to all other players for thirty seconds or so
(although they can still see your position and anticipate your reappearance
using the player arrows). The attacks against you will become useless, but
when you use a weapon, you will be visible for a brief moment. Ensure that
you do not become vulnerable when the effect is lifted.
Shield (blue shield)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Shield icon places a spherical barrier around your car which does not
make you invincible, but when someone fires a weapon at you, it will not
inflict nearly as much damage (and in some cases, none at all.) The shield
lasts for approximately 30 seconds. You can use a weapon without any
aftereffects.
Repair (red wrench)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the best thing to pick up if you're in danger of being killed from
a low life meter. The Repair icon refills your life meter immediately. They
are usually difficult to reach and found in rather unusual positions, but
if you're under attack, rush to them as quickly as possible. It's very
frequent for a repair icon to appear where there was an invisibility or
shield icon previously in the round.
--------------------------------------------------
General Suggestions
--------------------------------------------------
- Place your car into "battle trim" - make your car as strong and bulky as
possible, using the heavy frames and so forth when configuring your car.
- It's very easy to be caught out at the beginning of a match with
ineffective or poor weapons. Grab any of these weapons as soon as possible,
or be aware of their whereabouts so you can grab the closest one: sonic
blaster, guided missile, or battering ram. The other five weapons are
better suited to situations in which you are on a team.
- Hiding is a bad idea unless you have deactivated player arrows.
Otherwise, it's great to stick yourself in a rather enclosed space where no
one is likely to come across you. If they do, however, it's best to have a
weapon (such as a gatling gun) handy in order to protect yourself.
- In case you need to go on the defensive and are being chased, try to
remain in the open as much as possible. Diving into closed sections of the
arena will not help your chances and only increase the chance of you being
hit by your pursuer. Try to make as many turns as possible, as going in a
straight line allows for a lot more weapons to hit you.
- When teaming up (namely in two groups of two), it's best to take one of
two roles: either the pursuer or the attacker. The former should be
harassing a main target, while the latter waits around for the two of them
to pass by and then attacks the unfortunate soul, and perhaps attacks the
other person that is either attempting to break up the pursuit and assist,
or anything to that effect.
- If playing with negative points, be rather cautious in your use of the
second floor on certain levels. If you fall off one of those ledges and
land belly-up, one of your points will also go belly-up as well. Moreover,
some parts of the second floor on most levels are generally very narrow, so
that only increases the hazard.
- Should you decide to use the land mines, it's best to drop them off near
(as mentioned) weapon respawning areas where other drivers will have to be
rather cautious in order to get around them to the weapon they want.
They're also good for attempting to break up pursuit situations if another
player is really on your tail. If they're rather idiotic enough not to
notice that you have land mines, slow down a bit and drop them. Boom.
- Taunting is highly recommended if you are confident that there are no
beer bottles nearby for your opponents in the same room to use on you. =P
--------------------------------------------------
Arenas
--------------------------------------------------
Battle 1
~~~~~~~~~~
A circular battle arena with plenty of relatively minor jumps on each side
of the arena. There is no genuine second floor but there is a risk of
flipping over and crashing (especially important with negative points).
With the number of platforms around the outside of the arena (all looking
out on a relatively open region), sniping or ambushes are all a definite
possibility. The inside is a great place to hide from any potential
problems on the outside of the track.
Battle 2
~~~~~~~~~~
A two-level rectangular battle arena. On two opposite sides of the course
are ramps that let you go up towards the second floor, which has a good
number of weapons, but a rather poor view of the surroundings. The second
floor also helps play for negative points. There are several hidden areas
on this track which are not very frequently travelled, which may work to
your advantage. The numerous walls and relatively enclosed space make
pursuits rather challenging and hiding from a rival a rather simple
exercise.
Battle 3
~~~~~~~~~~
A rectangular (icy) battle arena with two levels and even a quarterpipe in
one area. Like Battle 2, you have ramps that allow you go up to the second
floor. This is a relatively large venue, but it has a great deal of
built-up area to it, allowing sneaky manoeuvers to be a rather easy
proposition. There is only one really open area in the center of the track
(which features two lakes), which also has a habit of housing some of the
repair, invisibility, or shield icons.
Battle 4
~~~~~~~~~~
A circular battle arena with four ramps all leading to a common apex. The
outside of the course is basically clear with the exception of some rather
obstructive buildings, but otherwise it's not unlike Battle 1. Flipping
over is rather difficult in this arena, so negative points will be rare.
Remaining in the central section of the circuit - either the top or bottom
level - increases the opportunity to encounter another player, which could
be a good or bad thing. The center of the arena is also the place where
most of the power-ups regenerate.
Battle 5
~~~~~~~~~~
This is one of three street courses in Battle Mode. The roads on this arena
are arranged in a two by four pattern with one main road at the top of the
arena and onea t the bottom, along with a platform at the bottom of the
road. There are not very many places to hide here, with the possible
exception of some building shells. Don't expect to be able to pull a
surprise on any of your opponents, as they'll be able to see you coming
from a mile away. You may be forced to follow your opponents throughout the
course, as the relative openness of the street arenas discourage any sort
of hiding.
Battle 6
~~~~~~~~~~
The second street course takes place in an industrial complex with roads
and pathways exploding all over the arena. A couple of parking lots, an
underground tunnel which is excellent for hiding purposes, and
opportunities to soar to new heights are basically all the things you need
to know. Most of the perimeter of the arena is very open, while the center
is not, so head over to that area as quickly as possible if you need to go
somewhere in order to dodge some attacks. Because of the complicated nature
of this level, it's rather to stick to a few sections of the arena - don't
fall into that trap.
Battle 7
~~~~~~~~~~
This is, without a doubt, the biggest street course that you will
encounter, set around twilight. The three main roads and four sideroads
border on the edge of highways, making hiding almost impossible. With the
great size of the arena, it's possible to encounter an opponent but take a
long time to catch up to them - by them, they have disappeared somewhere
else. There are plenty of building shells around, but you probably won't be
using them when speeding by at 200 MPH. Try to stay on the offensive all
the time - it's very easy to lose track of where everyone is on such a
massive battleground.
Battle 8
~~~~~~~~~~
This arena goes back to an indoor formula, but it's a rather complicated
one. Each of the two levels has a lot of tunnels, side branches, elevation
changes, precariously high platforms. The arena is rather dark, so it
doesn't hurt to turn up the television brightness. Expect a lot of
showdowns in the more dangerous sections of the track, as the arena doesn't
have enough hiding places, nor is it big enough to produce high speeds.
With all the ledges on this track, negative points may be rather frequently
and a battle here may take a little longer than expected.
==================================================
07. Obstacle Mode
==================================================
--------------------------------------------------
Introduction
--------------------------------------------------
This mode will only be earned once you score one million stunt points. With
its tricky jumps that require everything: exact gauging of speed, precise
use of wings, cornering finesse - it's no wonder that this is one of the
greatest challenges in Rush 2049. If at any time you fail to complete one
of the 18 rooms, you will have to start from the beginning of that room. If
that isn't hard enough, you only have five minutes to complete the whole
course and dash to the finish line!
--------------------------------------------------
Walkthrough
--------------------------------------------------
Room 1 - Swinging spikes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your opening room is a sufficient challenge. Spiked balls swing from left
to right on the circuit, and eight of them are between you and the next
room. Take note of the fact that the speed of the spikes vary. In order,
they are medium, slow, fast, slow, medium, slow, fast, slow, and fast. If
you need to stop, use the parts of the path that have a bit of light
shining of them, there is no danger of you being hit on those areas.
Generally it's a good idea to dash through the first two, then brake just a
bit for the third, speed through the next one, brake a bit, and then
accelerate out.
Room 2 - Slime pit
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's a mess, it probably has rats, it forces you to start all over...well,
that's a sewer for you. As you drive towards the pit you'll notice some
jumps moving up and down, immediately preceded by some dash arrows. Take
the middle jump (it's a good idea to brake, at this point in the run you
may very well encounter it when flat, which will not help you). If you have
good speed off the jump you should not have a problem landing on the other
side. Tap the brakes a little to prepare for the next room as you descend
off the landing pad, making sure that you stay straight.
Room 3 - Opening and closing walls
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is more like a mini-room than an actual room, but it counts as a full
one nonetheless. A group of columns blocking the route move up and down,
potentially revealing an opening and closing others. If you take off from
the slime pit area at full speed, you'll crash from an inability to react.
Ease off a little, as it is not that easy to be crushed, but very easy to
miscalculate the room available to you and smash into a column. Once you
see an opening around the center of this room, go through.
Room 4 - Windmill
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you spent a lot of time attempting to play around with track 3's big
shortcut you should really not have much of a problem with this one. A fan
spins around leaving you decent time between each blade to just speed
through (although you should slow down at the exit). Should you be at risk
of crashing, a slight tap of the brakes or a steering change should be
sufficient to get you through this room.
Room 5 - Moving walls
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The walls here move up and down much like room three, but they are arranged
consecutively preventing you from driving through. Depending on whether you
can get through a doorway or not, stop on the spaces in between the arrows
indicating the path ahead, then go again when there's sufficient space for
your car to squeeze through. (The doorways close on the arrows). After the
fourth or fifth doorway, you should have a sufficient opening in the final
two doorways to speed through the rest of this room and move on to a little
something different.
Room 6 - Tunnel 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a simple right-hand turn in a pipe. As drifting off to the right
side will increase the chances of your car flipping over, drift off to the
left side, accelerating all the time, before moving down to the bottom of
the pipe to prepare for your exit. You can fly off the side if it suits
you, but try not to get too much air and be on the lookout to use your
wings to realign yourself.
Room 7 - Moving floor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The easiest way to get through this room is to get as much speed as
possible while coming out of the tunnel. This room begins with a jump that
sends you flying through the air. You should see that the floor in this
room is being pulled up and down with some chains, and with enough speed,
there is no reason that you should even have to worry about this - simply
land on the other side and move on to the next room, ensuring that you're
aligned roughly in the center of the passageway. Should you not have enough
speed, you may need a little bit of luck in hoping that the floor is not
below the ground!
Room 8 - Falling rocks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Room 8 is rather similar to room 7 but has an additional hazard. On the
approach there is an arrow pad that will boost your speed and send you
flying off a jump over a bottomless pit onto the other side of the track.
Easy enough, except for the fact that falling rocks (that fall roughly
every three seconds) constitute a bit of a hazard in your attempt. If a
rock has just fallen as you make the approach, the crossing should not be
difficult. If you lose control or crash, be warned - this room gets much
more difficult from a standing start, and anything short of flat-out
acceleration will not give you enough speed to cross.
Room 9 - Tunnel 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's another pipe turn, but this time it turns to the left. So, reverse
your strategy and drift off to the right side of the pipe in preparation
for the exit. Lift off so that your car drifts to the floor at the end of
the turn - you will certainly need to be at the bottom in order to ensure
maximum success in the next room.
Room 10 - Rough ground
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The objective of this room is to navigate some rough ground that easily
causes your car to flip over and crash. Forget about trying to navigate
that stuff - why not just fly over it? As you come shooting out of the
tunnel at a speed of at least 140 MPH, hit the first set halfway between
the center of the field and the left wall - this should be a clean jump
over. The second set is certainly more difficult to remain upright on, but
easy to clear. Once you do, should your car be spinning out of control,
it's a good idea to press C-Up to automatically move on to room 11. A
rapidly narrowing ceiling does not help things, but if you can stay upright
after the second ground set, just keep going.
Room 11 - Column rows
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After you clear room 10 you will hit this long straight (with a rather
narrow ceiling, may I add) before reaching some columns with spaces that
are just wide enough for a car to get through. Shift down to second gear in
order to navigate these (even if you bump the pillars, you won't blow up),
making sure to stay to the right side of the track (you'll see why in a
minute). After the first set of columns, just aim a little bit to the left
for the second set, then a bit to the right for the third set.
Room 12 - Tight squeeze
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, on my first attempt at the Obstacle Mode, this was the room that put
paid to any chance of me completing it on my first time out. There are two
lighted arrow paths on the ground, that both lead to narrow passages taking
you up to a jump over the bottomless pit. As you go flying through the air,
you have to use your wings to roll your car about 90 degrees to the right
to fly through a narrow gap through the wall that an upright car will
almost certainly never fit through. This is rather difficult to get on the
first try, but the use of a rather "short" car such as the Venom or Mini XS
will greatly increase your chances of navigating this room. (As if you were
going to use the Crusher in any case...)
Room 13 - Tunnel 3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After completing room 12 you will have to go through yet another tunnel.
This is the exact same as room 6, so read that, it's all the same!
Room 14 - Moving horizontal walls
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once you exit the tunnel you will encounter a rather narrow passageway with
some walls that move out from the actual wall of the room. This room is not
hard to navigate with a little bit less speed (you won't need the speed
when coming up to room 15 anyway). Make sure that you can perform some
rather evasive turning manoeuvers, but stay in the center of the road to
ensure that if the walls do attempt to screw up your run, you don't have to
swerve as far to get out of the way.
Room 15 - Lava jump 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rule of this room is speed. I don't mean a lot of it. I mean your speed
must be absolutely precise in order to master this room - anything more
than necessary and you fly too high, anything too low and you smash into a
hurdle before you even start flying. Approach the arrow strip at roughly 95
miles per hour, then ease off the gas a bit as you fly over the flaming
hurdles. If all goes well you should be able to jump over the lava and
through an opening on the other side. Precision is a virtue, your angle of
attack is not. No, air conditioning is not going to help you here.
Room 16 - Vertical jump up
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The only room that is really more difficult than this is the final room.
The trick to master the vertical jump (and you will encounter a few of them
in the closing stages of this run) is to jump up the lights (make sure
you're aligned straight on!), then use your wings to roll your car 180
degrees in order to flip onto the other set of lights. Then, quickly roll
your car so that it's upright again, which is the way to execute this
without any major speed loss. Regretfully this is one of those things that
has to be seen to be executed well; I can't really provide that.
Room 17 - Tunnel 4 and lava jump 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Because of the extended length of this room (an attempt can take as long as
20 seconds) - it's very critical that you get this right quickly, as if you
make too many attempts you will run out of time, either in this room or in
the next room, which is just as lengthy if not longer. For the fourth (and
thankfully last tunnel), use the same strategy as for room 9, since this is
also a left turn. As you exit the tunnel you will go burning through a
loop. As you exit, you will see an arrow pad and three jumps. Approach it
at around 160 MPH while aiming slightly to the left or right, or at around
150 while aiming dead center. Use your wings judiciously to get some extra
lift if necessary to land in one of the three tunnels on the other side of
the room. If you get too much lift, align your car so that its wheels are
all on the wall, which may give you a chance of landing in the tunnel. If
you fail, you probably won't crash but you certainly will burn.
Room 18 - Vertical jump up/down/up, finish
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the final - and most difficult - room to navigate. After the lava
pit, you will have to drive down a merged passageway at speed before
encountering a vertical jump much like the one in room 16. This time,
however, you may go flying towards yet another vertical jump, this time
flying down. As you go off this jump (you should be aligned properly for
it), flip yourself over again, and then repeat the process all over on the
final vertical jump, which goes up. (Alternatively, should you have
insufficient speed to get to the vertical jump down, land on the rather low
platform below and fall off the far edge. Much easier, just make sure not
to flip over!) If you managed to survive all of this, burn it down the
final straight to the applause of thousands of fans in this stadium. Finish
the obstacle mode in style with a jump through the finish line onto a
platform with the Rush 2049 logo on it. Satisfying? Oooh, yeah.
==================================================
08. Cheats and Secrets
==================================================
--------------------------------------------------
New Items
--------------------------------------------------
When you first hit the ignition, only a small portion of the game is
available to you. You will have to accomplish a lot before you see all the
cars and tracks. Without further ado, here are the requirements.
Race Tracks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Track 5 - Place first, second, or third in the Beginner Circuit.
Track 6 - Place first, second, or third in the Intermediate Circuit.*
* You will require an Expansion Pak, otherwise this track will remain
locked.
Stunt Tracks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stunt 2 - Score 100,000 cumulative points in Stunt Mode.
Stunt 3 - Score 250,000 cumulative points in Stunt Mode.
Stunt 4 - Score 500,000 cumulative points in Stunt Mode.
Battle Tracks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Battle 5 - Score 100 opponent kills in Battle Mode.
Battle 6 - Score 250 opponent kills in Battle Mode.
Battle 7 - Score 500 opponent kills in Battle Mode.
Battle 8 - Score 1,000 opponent kills in Battle Mode.
Other Tracks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Obstacle - Score 1,000,000 cumulative points in Stunt Mode.
Circuits
~~~~~~~~~~
Intermediate Circuit - Place in the top three in the Beginner Circuit.
Advanced Circuit - Place in the top three in the Intermediate Circuit.*
Extreme Circuit - Place in the top three in the Intermediate Circuit.**
Extreme Circuit - Place in the top three in the Advanced Circuit.***
* The Advanced Circuit is not playable without the Expansion Pak.
** This only applies if you do not have a Expansion Pak.
*** This only applies if you do have an Expansion Pak.
Cars
~~~~~~
Venom - Collect all 32 silver coins in Stunt Mode.
Crusher - Collect 16 gold coins in Stunt Mode.
Euro LX - Collect 24 gold coins in Stunt Mode.
Locust LX - Collect all 48 silver coins in Race Mode.
GX-2 - Collect 24 gold coins in Race Mode.
Mini XS - Collect 36 gold coins in Race Mode.
Panther - Collect all the coins in Race Mode and Stunt Mode.
Parts
~~~~~~~
See the "Under the Hood" section above.
--------------------------------------------------
Codes
--------------------------------------------------
Sources: N64 Code Center, Cheat Code Central.
To activate the Cheat Menu, go to the main menu, then press and hold L, R,
C-Up, and C-Right, then press Z. "Cheats" will appear at the bottom of the
screen. Select it and press A to enter the Cheat Menu. To activate a cheat,
select its menu item and then press the respective button sequence to
activate it for use. The cheat menu is deactivated when the N64 is turned
off.
All Cars (unlocks all cars)
1. Tap C-Left three times
2. Tap C-Up three times
3. Tap C-Right three times
4. Tap C-Down three times
5. Hold down L, R, all the C buttons, then press Z
All Parts (unlocks all parts)
1. Hold L and R and press Z
2. Press C-down, C-up, C-left, and C-right in order
3. Hold L and R and press Z
Invincibility (makes you invincible to damage or explosions)
1. Press C-right
2. Tap L, R, R, L
3. Hold C-left and C-down and press Z
Battle Paint Shop (allows you to change color of your car in Battle Mode
like you can in Race and Stunt Mode)
1. Tap Z three times
2. Tap C-down three times
3. Tap C-left three times
4. Tap C-right, C-up, C-left, and C-down in order
Super Speed (boosts your speed)
1. Tap Z
2. Hold L and R and press Z
3. Tap C-down
4. Hold L and R and press C-down
5. Tap C-up three times
Fog Color (changes fog colour)
1. Hold C-up and C-right and press L
2. Hold C-down and C-left and press R
3. Tap C-right, C-left, C-right, and C-left in order
Mass (changes gravity between normal, heavy, and massive - the heavier the
gravity, the less air you will get on jumps)
1. Press R and C-down
2. Press L and C-up
3. Press R and C-left
4. Press L and C-right
Super Tires (gives you speed of slicks and control of off-road tires)
1. Tap Z three times
2. Tap L and R in order
3. Tap C-up twice
4. Tap C-left, C-right, and C-down in order
Brakes (activates/deactivates brakes)
1. Tap C-down twice
2. Hold L and R and press C-up
3. Tap C-up twice
4. Hold L and R and press C-down
Invisible Track (no track seen, but it's still there - some objects still
visible, like coins, switches, transportation)
1. Tap C-right twice
2. Hold L and R and press C-left
3. Tap C-left twice
4. Hold L and R and press C-right
Invisible Car (no car seen, but it's still there)
1. Tap C-up, C-down, C-left, and C-right in order
2. Tap L, R, and Z in order
Frame Scale (0 indicates normal, 1 indicates a flat car, 2 indicates
slightly fatter than normal, 3 is a fat car)
1. Tap C-left twice
2. Hold down L and R and press C-right
Track Orientation (how track is oriented - normal or upside-down - controls
are the same)
1. Hold L and R
2. Press C-right, C-left, C-up, C-down, and Z in order.
Car Collisions (If this option is turned off, when a car is supposed to
collide with another car, they'll go right through each other)
1. Hold L and press Z
2. Hold R and press Z
3. Hold L and press Z
4. Hold R and press Z
Tire Scaling (when you use it, you can set the size of your tires using the
"Tire Size F" and "Tire Size R" selections at the Car Selection screen)
1. Press Z, R, C-down and C-left at the same time
2. Press Z, L, C-right and C-up at the same time
3. Tap Z three times
Car Mines (touch a warning cone, which looks like an orange mine, to turn
into a mine yourself...then you can explode when you touch another car)
1. Hold L and R and press Z
2. Hold C-left and C-down and press Z
3. Hold C-left and C-up and press Z
4. Hold C-up and C-right and press Z
Cone Mines (green warning cones are changed to orange mines - if you touch
one of them, you explode)
1. Press Z and C-down
2. Press L and C-left
3. Press R and C-up
4. Press Z and C-right
Auto Abort (turns off the reapparance of your car on the track when you
spend extensive time performing exploration)
1. Tap C-left, C-up, C-right, and C-down in order
2. Tap Z, L, and R in order
3. Tap Z twice
Resurrect in Place (places you at the point of when you aborted or crashed
- press C-up twice to perform a regular abort back on track)
1. Press Z and C-down
2. Press Z and C-right
3. Press Z and C-up
4. Press Z and C-left
5. Press Z and R
6. Press Z and L
Suicide Mode (all the other cars blow up once they touch each other,
including you)
1. Hold R and press C-right, C-up, C-left, and C-down in order
2. Hold L and press C-down, C-left, C-up, and C-right in order
==================================================
09. Questions
==================================================
Game Questions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q: When was this game released?
A: September 7, 2000 in North America. It was released on November 17 of
the same year in Europe.
Q: What does the Expansion Pak do in Rush 2049?
A: The Expansion Pak adds:
- Music in race mode.
- Enhances the explosions, smoke and dust effects
- More dynamic worlds, moving objects, etc.
- Track 6 is playable.
- Three ghost racers in Ghost Mode, up from one.
- The Advanced Circuit (for 4 circuits total)
Q: What do you think of Rush 2049, personally?
A: I think it's the best Rush yet, but the reason I think it deserves an
8/10 is because you need to have the Expansion Pak and Controller Pak to
really get an opportunity to play the game to its fullest. And it's not
cheap to get them ($150 Cdn. back in November 2000!)
Q: What's the best car?
A: There is no "best car." All the cars are equal in statistics at first.
You should customize what's under the hood if you really want to change
that stuff. If you keep the statistics the same for each car that you have,
they'll all be the same. The only difference is how they handle - and only
you can decide what style is right for you. My personal preference is the
Locust LX, but to each his (or her) own.
Q: Are there any Rush 2049 websites out there?
A: <www.rush2049.com> is the official web site for the game. It covers the
N64 and DC versions, as well as the original arcade version. Run a search
on Google <www.google.com> and you'll get a bunch of Rush 2049 reviews and
stuff, but you might find a few sites as well.
Q: Why are there only five drones (computer players) instead of seven like
in the first two Rush games?
A: Rush 2049 easily takes the award in the graphics department as compared
to the other two games. I guess there had to be a tradeoff made somewhere.
Personally, I'm a bit disappointed that there are two less drones in the
race modes.
Q: Why can't I get Track 6 and the Advanced Circuit?
A: You need to get the Expansion Pak to get Track 6 and the Advanced
Circuit. Once you do get the Expansion Pak, place in the top three in the
Intermediate Circuit to get them.
Q: Where are the keys?
A: They've been replaced by 8 gold and 8 silver coins in each level. Pick
them up in race and stunt tracks to unlock cars.
Personal Questions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q: A/S/L? (Age/sex/location?)
A: Do you have ANYTHING better to ask?
Q: Why do you know so much about Rush 2049? Did you develop the game?
A: Nope. I just kept up on how the game was progressing, that's all. It's
too easy to go onto the Internet or somewhere and find out how the game
you're anxiously awaiting is progressing. I'm personally glad Rush 2049 was
one of the few and proud that made it to Nintendo 64 - I don't know if I
could have taken it if it was cancelled (which was the fate of a few games
I was looking forward to).
==================================================
10. Closing Notes
==================================================
The people who I mention below were very instrumental in this FAQ, whether
they realize it or not. I'd like to give credit to the following
individuals or groups:
- Jordan Player's Rush 2049 FAQ (for some of the coin locations and
odometer information)
- Rush 2049 instruction manual (source of "Rush Options" section)
- The following websites (codes):
- cheatcc.com
- n64cc.com
- The guys who developed Rush 2049, named Midway Games West. This is the
best game in the Rush franchise, hands down! Well done!
- My local game retailer, for supplying the game, PLUS a Controller Pak,
Rumble Pak, AND Expansion Pak. Honourable mention to my dad for shelling
out the $150 Cdn. for it. =D
- Myself, for having the time to write up about 200 KB of information. I
have no life...
- The following people, who submitted some great suggestions.
- Strikeoutdude01 (Obstacle Mode tip)
-
[email protected] (typo notification)
- Aquatakat and Aero96 (explanation of Auto-Abort)
- JimBob (Dimitrios) (track 2 switch meaning)
This document is concluded, and rest assured you will be seeing me again
(well, at least I hope so!). Enjoy Rush 2049, and after reading this, be no
longer in the dark. Or at least a little more in the light. That's it, feel
free to help yourself or others to generous servings of assistance from me.
Feel free to contact me at the following e-mail address:
[email protected]. This e-mail address is open to suggestions for this
guide, useful tips, compliments, questions, or usage requests. Please
abstain from hate mail, disruptive, flaming, or trolling e-mails, questions
to which the answer is clearly stated here, or unnecessarily personal
e-mails, which will all be deleted without response.
Check out my contributor page at GameFAQs.com here:
<
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/3848.html>
Once again, thank you for the read. I can only hope that I have been of
assistance to you, which is ultimately what I do this for.
This document is copyright (C) 2000 - 2003 Jordan Stopciati.
*** END DOCUMENT ***
