USA RACER - PlayStation FAQ by J Woodrow Version 1.1 - 24/04/2002 _________________________________________________________________________ ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| | ||||||||||||| |||||' '||| | HHHHHHH ||||||||||||| HHHHHHH ||| nHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHkn || | HHHHHHH ||||||||||||| HHHHHHH || nHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHn | | HHHHHHH ||||||||||||| HHHHHHH | HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH | | HHHHHHH ||||||||||||| HHHHHHH | HHHHHHHH _ _ _ _ _ _ HHHHHHH | | HHHHHHH ||||||||||||| HHHHHHH | HHHHHHHH | | HHHHHHH ||||||||||||| HHHHHHH | HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHn '| | HHHHHHH ||||||||||||| HHHHHHH | THHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHn | HHHHHHH ||||||||||||| HHHHHHH || 7HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH | HHHHHHH ||||||||||| HHHHHHH | _ __ _ __ __ 7HHHHHHHH | HHHHHHHL .fHHHHHHH | HHHHHHHL )HHHHHHD | 7HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHF | HHHHHHHHhnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnJHHHHHHHY | 7HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHF || THHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHF || "HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHF" |||| 7HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHF . ||||!. .|||||||| ,|| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| | '||||| |||||| '| | ' | 88888888888 ||| o8888o |||| ,8888888888o | 88888888888 | 88888888888 | 88 888 || 888 888 ||| 888 888 888 || 888 888 | 88888888888 || 888 888 || 888 ||||| | 8888888888 || 88888888888 | 88 888 888888888888 888 888 888 | 88 888 | 88 |||| 888 o88 |||||| 88o "888888888' | 88888888888 | 88 ||||| 888 ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| _________________________________________________________________________ T H E U L T I M A T E R A C E T H R O U G H T H E U S A ! _________________________________________________________________________ USA RACER - PLAYSTATION Released: March 2002 Developers: Davilex Publisher: - [This game was released as 'US Racer' in North America] _________________________________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S _______________ INTRODUCTION PLAYING THE GAME Race type: TIME TRIAL New York Yosemite Los Angeles Race type: SINGLE RACE Race type: TOURNAMENT 1 PARK TRIAL ---------- Yosemite (2) Grand Canyon [win City License] 2 CITY TRIAL ---------- Los Angeles (2) New York (2) Chicago Las Vegas [win US Racer License] 3 US RACE ------- Chicago (2) Yosemite (3) Los Angeles (3) Grand Canyon (2) [unlock Miami] Miami Las Vegas (2) New York (3) [unlock Washington DC] Washington DC _________________________________________________________________________ I N T R O D U C T I O N _______________________ We open on an Arizona desert scene reminiscent of Dryfield in Parasite Eve II. Tumbleweed drifts across an arid cactus patch and the camera pans over creaking wind-vanes to an abandoned homestead where a Park Patrol Deputy dozes in the shade of a wooden porch, staking out the nearby highway. He doesn't know what is about to hit him... Streaking down that highway are "6 typical US Racers; 'Pops' from Utah, 'The Duke' from Texas, 'The Bolt' from New York, 'Slam D' from Chicago, 'Holl E' from California and 'Suave' from Miami". Crazy names; Crazy Guys. (And Girl.) We are led to believe that these are part of a clandestine group who race illegally across the United States for cash and glory. Now you can join them - if you can prove your worth. From New York to LA by way of Chicago, Miami, Las Vegas and Washington DC, you must fight off your rivals to claim those city streets as your own, and there is still time in between to take in the scenery as you battle through Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. "Let America be your racecourse!" _________________________________________________________________________ P L A Y I N G T H E G A M E _____________________________ The language selection screen provides a big clue that the developers of this game are from Holland, and they have made a bold attempt to capture the flavour of each of six big cities of the US contrasted with the wide- open spaces of two National Parks. Davilex have had success with budget titles like London Racer (in the UK), A2 Racer (Benelux), Autobahn Raser (German territories), Paris-Marseilles Racing (France), and Europe Racer (EU) for both PlayStation and PC platforms. These games featured nearly photo-realistic backdrops to create an impressive 'naturalistic' racing environment, but the developers have decided to go for a less literal and therefore more inventive and sometimes even quite fantastic racing experience for USA Racer. For sure, the cities all feature their respective familiar landmarks such as The Statue of Liberty in New York, and the Hollywood sign in the hills above Los Angeles, but they are no more than tokens in the artistic background. This game has less in common with authentic driving games like Metropolis Street Racer or Driver (or even any of those earlier Davilex titles), than non-realistic racing games like Mario Cart or Micro Machines. Just like those games, USA Racer makes a virtue of depicting a fantasy environment, and it is no less fun to play for all that. So let's play! [You will need a Memory Card with two free slots if you wish to save your progress. The game plays just fine on PS2, but you cannot Save.] _________________________________________________________________ | | Main menu |_________________________________________________________________ | |------------------------- ||||||||||||||||||||| Race |------------------------- | Highscores |------------------------- | Options |------------------------- At the Main menu choose 'Race'. You don't have any 'Highscores' yet and the 'Options' shouldn't trouble you for the moment. _________________________________________________________________ | | Race menu |_________________________________________________________________ | |------------------------- | Single race |------------------------- |||||||||||||| Time trial |------------------------- | Tournament |------------------------- Start with 'Time trial' as this will give you plenty of practice to get to know the first couple of tracks. You will have no opponents and there is no traffic to distract you. _________________________________________________________________________ Race Type: T I M E T R I A L _________________________________________________________________________ You first need to select which Racer you want to compete as. As mentioned earlier, there are 6 colourful characters to choose from: ______________________________________________________________________ | | | Character selection | |______________________________________________________________________| '----------------------------------------------------------------------' | "POPS" - an old-timer Farmer from Utah. (That sounds like a | | Limerick coming on...) He drives a pick-up full of Moonshine. | | | |----------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | "JACK SADLER" - A Texas Oil Baron. He drives a 4x4 complete with bull| | horns. We've only just started and the cliche meter is in the Red! | | | |----------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | "TONY CORLEON" - A New York Cabdriver, driving a New York Cab. | | | |----------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | "HOLL E" - Her CV says 'Actress'. (Model, Actress... Whatever.) | | A California Girl with a catalytically-converted car. Probably. | | | |----------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | "RICKY MORALES" - A 'Businessman' from Florida. He starts out in an | | Orange sports car. A little bit like something out of Miami Vice... | | | |----------------------------------------------------------------------| | "TYRONE O'NEAL" - A Truck driver. Drives a Truck. | | | ====================================================================== All of these characters have a second bigger/badder vehicle waiting to be unlocked. Scroll through and catch a glimpse of them. There are some stylish Sports cars and a '50's 'Caddy' look-alike and even a Stretch Limo and Wow! Look at the size of that truck!! I bet that's a lot of fun to drive... Well that's up to you! It is a good idea to try the same track using each of these vehicles for a direct comparison, to find which one suits you best. There is a surprisingly wide difference between them, although they all fall into one of two groups - sluggish but easy to handle and strong, or fast, twitchy and fragile. They all tend to look like remote-controlled model cars on occasion. If you have a dual-shock pad you get a lovely 'kick' when you pump some Nitro. 'Time trial' allows you to choose between three tracks. The only Park track available in Time trial mode is Yosemite; Grand Canyon for the moment is locked. The City tracks available at first are New York or Los Angeles. Damage can be set to On/Off which won't make much difference on this first run as there is nobody trying to bash you and you aren't going to spend TOO much time crashing into walls... _________________________________________________________________________ N E W Y O R K ______________ South Street Wall Street Broadway Central Park 5th Avenue Park Avenue Grand Central Station East River Driveway (FDR Dr.) Brooklyn Bridge Statue of Liberty The Big Apple is the first offering on the menu, so it is as good a place as any to start. You will have 4 laps of a twisty street circuit taking in some of the city's most famous landmarks. The controls are very simple, and in fact you'll probably only need Left and Right, and X to accelerate. As on most driving games it seems, the brake is SQUARE. But who needs it? You will notice straight away that your car is very 'twitchy' and will deform in an unrealistic manner as you swing left and right. This is your clue that we are not playing Gran Turismo here. As you motor off down the city streets you will come soon enough to a row of Green 'wrench' icons right there in the middle of the road. Drive straight through them and you see REPAIR! onscreen. Not a very difficult concept to understand, so head straight for these if you start to pick up damage along the way in your races. Similarly, there are pale Blue chevrons which declare NITRO! and these give you an impressive speed boost when you tap R2. It is very useful for powering through a tight turn, so that you gain control quickly should you oversteer into a wall. Look out for any handy jumps, as not only are these fun to try anyway but you can often leap clear over your rivals when it is time to race, and sometimes you will see a bonus hanging there in mid-air as well. The course is simple enough, and the upcoming turns are usually shown by concrete dividers with large Red arrows. Kind of hard to miss... There is a novel idea in the inclusion of snippets of FM Radio, tailored to the particular track you are on; Cruise Moosic for LA and Latino for Miami and right now: funky Dance and inane chatter from WIZZ 102.3 FM for New York. There are weather forecasts and traffic reports and later even phone-ins and interviews, all mixed in seamlessly. It certainly adds a lot of character to the game. These snippets are a bit on the short side though, and because they are repeated over and over it can become a little irritating... I don't know how often you can stand to be told by "The WIIIIIZZZ Kid" that there is a tenth of a calorie in licking a stamp! There are many nice touches in the city environment, from blue Mail boxes and phone booths to green street signs, all of which and more can be scattered in your path, and while you are about it you can do a 'Cool Hand Luke' job on all those parking meters! Look at the tv screens on Broadway and also notice the lovely artwork on neon signs in bar windows everywhere. Wouldn't you like a tall frosty one right now? You should have seen enough of the city streets by the time your four laps are over, so let's head across the country in a matter of minutes and check out the West Coast - Via Yosemite. _________________________________________________________________________ Y O S E M I T E _______________ Yosemite Chapel Yosemite Falls Half Dome El Capitan Curry village "KOLD 104 FM - 'Chill' Radio! It IS a beautiful day today... one of those days that makes you wanna quit your job, buy a fast car and CRUISE cross country..." And what a contrast to the city Yosemite is; lovely country trails winding through the trees and greenery with occasional glimpses of granite mountain landmarks such as El capitan and the half Dome. Just around the first bend is a Sierra Redwood grove, where you even get to drive through a Giant Sequoia. Is that the Wawona Tunnel Tree I wonder? Notice straight away that this is a very different racing environment from the city. You can attack the grassy slopes and fly through the air to cut corners, and so you should try every stunt you can manage to come up with while you have the road to yourself. Just as in New York, there are plenty of pick-ups, and they will be in the same places when you start to race properly, so practice the optimum line to sweep up whatever you need. Don't just store that Nitro - use it! Experiment with dabs of R2 so that you get used to the sudden bursts of speed and watch how fast your Nitro meter falls so that you can judge how much you need to get you to the next batch. It will make all the difference as far as winning or losing goes later on... When you get to the road tunnel you will know that is nearly the end of the lap, so save a boost of Nitro to ease past your opponents when you find yourself in a race here. After your four laps are over, it is time to hit the Coast. _________________________________________________________________________ L O S A N G E L E S ____________________ Griffith Observatory Sunset Strip Hollywood Boulevard Mann's Chinese Theater Beverly Hills Rodeo Drive Santa Monica "Again another bright and sunny day with temperatures reaching into the mid '70's and cooling down to the upper '60's this evening..." Ahhh LA. We love it! (Encore Radio KLAP one-oh-oh brings you the sounds.) Start off in the Hollywood Hills and twist your way down the rocky track past the Griffith Observatory and that famous sign (looking suspiciously small though), and through the backlot of a film studio. And why not - this is Hollywood! Try to ignore the 'seaming' going on in the roadway - I don't think it is supposed to be the San Andreas fault... Just as in New York, there are trash cans, newspaper stands, mail boxes, lamp-posts and - oh yes! - more parking meters, all of which and more can be gleefully demolished as you skate around the corners and speed along the sunny boulevards. Try to work out the best line for cutting those sharp turns and judging how much Nitro you need for the long stretches. When it comes time to race here, the streets are a little more congested! Zip past the skatepark and beachfront apartments of Santa Monica Boulevard and line up a leap off the ramp (almost like Crazy Taxi), into the storm drain. Have some fun scaling the verts, "Grease" style! There are plenty of pick-ups down here, and you can really give it the gun in the race proper. The tunnel signals the end of the lap. When you have made a few circuits of Los Angeles and become thoroughly used to handling all the different cars, wait for the loading screen and this time choose 'Single race' and let's get started. _________________________________________________________________________ Race Type: S I N G L E R A C E _________________________________________________________________________ Once again you must choose your preferred character (or more importantly their set of wheels), so by now you should know which one suits you. Let's see how it stands up to a buffeting... This is who you'll be up against: _____________________________________________________________________ | | | Character selection / Opponents | |_____________________________________________________________________| |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4 3 2 1 | | | | Pops v The Duke The Bolt Holl E | | Jack Sadler v The Bolt Holl E Suave | | Tony Corleon v Holl E Suave Slam D | | Holl E v Suave Slam D Pops | | Ricky Morales v Slam D Pops The Duke | | Tyrone O'Neal v Pops The Duke The Bolt | | | ===================================================================== You next set the type of Race you want. You choose whether to go over 2,3 or 4 laps, with a Difficulty level of 'Easy' 'Normal' or 'Hard'. Damage can be On or Off, and the Police can also be set to On or Off. It's not much fun without them though, is it? It is good to see that the other cars behave in an individual and nearly realistic manner - they will crash and spin out and seem to fight fair even if they are a little less than predictable. Depending which level you choose (Easy, Normal or Hard) they will show varying degrees of aggression, but overall they are easy to cope with. Listen for the rasps of their engines coming up behind you to give you some warning that you are coming within rammable range. (You have R1 for the rear-view mirror, but the pace is usually hectic, so don't rely on it.) On the 'Hard' setting it becomes a Bash-fest. Everybody will be out to get you - not only the cops and your racing rivals, but buses and taxis and every other car will go out of its way to 'accidentally' cut you off or block you. The others seem to be having just as hard a time of it, and they will happily sabotage each other, so there is no need to feel you are being picked on. Pretty soon the track will be scattered with smoking wreckage. Keep an eye on the damage meter. You will know you are in trouble when your car starts to resemble Leno's chin and smoke starts pouring out. Just run over as many Green pick-ups as you can from time to time and you should be OK. There doesn't seem to be much advantage in using the Nitro when you are being buffeted or blocked by an opponent - they just seem to stay with you. I suggest you use it like a jockey's whip, and give your car a whiff of gas whenever you crash, just to remind it to 'get it together' and head back in the right direction. Then just give it short bursts to stay up with the pack. You are in trouble if you have a 'thirsty' car (such as The Duke's) and you waste it too soon when there is a sprint for the line, so always keep one in the chamber. Once again, the only tracks available are New York, Yosemite and Los Angeles, so your earlier practice should pay off. Now it is time for the Real Thing! _________________________________________________________________________ Race Type: T O U R N A M E N T _________________________________________________________________________ For the Time trial and Single races, you just get started straight away, but when it comes time to start the Tournament you can give your vehicle the once-over in the garage before each race. To begin with you have a budget of precisely $0. Oh dear. You need to earn some cash in order to upgrade. At first the difference will be barely noticeable, but the more cash you can round up, the more work you can afford to have done, and eventually all the cars become quite meaty. A better idea if you have only a little cash in the bank is to max. out the 'Nitro', which will give you an important boost off the start line in the next round. As you contest each round you will certainly sustain damage, which needs to be repaired if your vehicle crossed the line in a very bad state. You will soon have almost too much money, so don't hold back on the garage bills. A fun idea is the facility to change the colour of your Motor - just scroll down until 'Color' is highlighted, then move the slider back and forth. That is quite impressive! Of course there is only one colour a New York taxi should be, but it is definitely an improvement to make Ricky's Sports job a lovely deep Italian Red, and Holl E should have a Pink car I think. Try giving the same paint job to 'Slam D'- I wonder what he thinks of that? You can have any colour you want, even if it's black. You must complete certain Trials to prove you are good enough to compete with the Big Boys (and Girl). First there is a run through Yosemite for the Park Trial, which will unlock the Grand Canyon track only when you complete it. If your combined results are then good enough (a first and a third or two seconds should do it), you will earn a City License. Complete the first four City tracks with enough points and you are awarded a full US Racer License. The comparison with the likes of the Mario Racing games is inevitable when you see the manner of your progress through USA Racer. You need to collect Cash which is represented by dollar icons in various colours for different amounts, which you simply drive over to collect (you don't have to be spot-on). There are also the two now familiar types of 'Power-ups', namely "Nitro" and "Repair", each in two strengths: Small and Big. As before, small ones are scattered liberally along the courses but the larger ones are usually a little less accessible, and so you may need to temporarily sacrifice your racing position to collect them. Remember that short dabs of Nitro work best, as once you have a head of steam, you don't increase speed further and it will just be wasted. You'll get the idea very quickly. There is a complication in that the traffic often seems to loiter right in front of the goodies you need to collect, so you will need to do some twisty driving or aggressive shoving (with the inevitable damage that leads to) to claim your rewards. If there is too much chaos around your target, it may be better to mark the spot and claim it next lap when traffic should have cleared. You should take the time to explore all the 'off-line' areas; they like to make you work for the big pick-ups. Look to see if there are areas reached by a leap off a slope that will land you back on the track with a bonus snagged on the way (especially on the National Park tracks). The Big money is often quite difficult to spot as you flash by; after a couple of tries you should remember where they are placed, and be able to align yourself properly on the next lap. Once you collect the money it is safely banked, but you will soon notice that the Power-ups return to be collected again in the same place on every lap. Handy. There are sometimes shortcuts and diversions you can take, so you must decide: Nitro or Bucks? Repair or Big Bucks? The Big Bucks are usually placed a little off the racing line, so you will need to build up a good lead if you want to take the risk of diverting to bag it. If you see a $1000 pick-up sitting temptingly off-line, you have to ask yourself, "Do I need the cash now or will it cost me a place on the podium?" You get 10 points for the Win, 8 for Second and 6 for Third. Last place is for Losers! _________________________________________________________________________ 1: P A R K T R I A L __________________ _________________________________________________________________ | | Tournaments |_________________________________________________________________ | |----------------------- Park Trial |||||||||||| Park Trial |----------------------- Rewarded Track: | City Trial Grand Canyon |----------------------- | US Race |----------------------- | | Your driving skills will first be thoroughly tested. In 2 tracks | through America's most famous national parks you must prove you | can handle your car like a pro. | ------------------------------------------------------------------ _________________________________________________________________________ Y O S E M I T E (2) _______________ Cash available: $7500 Straight away there is a decision - left for Nitro/right for Cash? Well, it's an easy $500... There is a trail of petty cash along the road and then another left/right dilemma - 3 small Repair or 2 x $500? Remember there are only two laps, so do the cash collection while you are able. Look to the left past the 3 Nitros on the grass around the next bend to spot an easy $1000 by Yosemite Chapel. Another split route (3 x $200 cash trail or Nitro) then it's over the wooden bridge. As you emerge from the long cave passage there is a Big Nitro bonus clearly on view, but you have to go well off-line to climb up to it. Try to get it only on the first lap so that you have plenty of time to rejoin the pack. Just around the corner from this is a $1000 pick-up, also slightly hidden off-line, so if you have got the first one you may as well carry on over the grassy crest and swoop down to scoop this too. (If you are in a desperate race there is no time for this.) Similarly, there is another Big Nitro hidden in a dip over the grassy bank after the 3 Nitro v Repair straight section that comes shortly afterward. Clamber up the bank (where there is a bush), to cut the corner and you should fall right onto it. Down through the next trail, there are plenty of pick-ups all along the road to replenish your stocks, so instead of collecting the trail of Nitro to the left around the corner by the cabins, go right to collect all that Cash. Also try to grab the 2 x $500 to the left of the tunnel on the first lap and go for the Nitro to the right on the last lap, so that you can power past any remaining challengers in the sprint for the line. Any damage is carried over to the next round, so try to drag yourself over the line in reasonable condition, or face a hefty garage bill. _________________________________________________________________________ G R A N D C A N Y O N ______________________ Cash available: $7500 This should be your first visit to this track, and it is quite different from the others. There are lots of sharp twists and turns, high curved walls and long, long drops. Well, it IS a canyon! The first trick on this section - as on most of the others - is to steer clear of whoever is number 3 ahead of you on the start line - they seem to have been programmed to make your life difficult. 'The Duke' (assuming you are not yet racing as that character) is a certified nutcase. His 'Win at all costs' mentality seems to consist of doing everything possible to block you. You can sell him a dummy at the start by shaping up to take him on one side and then switch quickly to the other. Of course, all the other characters will be trying to do the same thing, with varying degrees of determination. 'Canyon Country' KRAC 91 FM keeps you company. Soon enough there is a tight left hairpin where you will encounter a good deal of traffic chaos more than likely, so stay out of it and just collect whatever you can and leave the rest for the second lap. Now there is that long dizzying drop down to the canyon floor with your rivals battering you all the way. This is like Smuggler's Run! If you can stay between the lighter coloured bands along the bottom of the walls it will go easier. Watch for the wooden bridge - you need to aim between the markers as it isn't easy to see in the dark shadows. Can you launch high enough to bag that $1000 shining high up there on the bend inside the steep cave? (There is a Nitro booster just ahead of it if you need it.) Right after this there is a quick decision to be made, where you see a tempting Big Nitro pick-up glinting in an alcove to the right. You can explore the mines back there, and they are packed with Cash and Nitro; you don't lose too much time if you can manage to just power through. Many times you will even manage to stay out of trouble by going that way and emerge at the head of the chasing pack. _________________________________________________________________ | | | Win License | |_________________________________________________________________| |_________________________________________________________________| | | | | | | Congratulations! You've won your City | | | | License. You may now enter the City Trial. | | | | Good luck! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |____________________________________________| | |__________| | OK | |_________| | |_________________|____|_____________________| | | | _________________________________________________________________________ 2: C I T Y T R I A L __________________ _______________________________________________________________________ | | Tournaments |_______________________________________________________________________ | |----------------------- City Trial | Park Trial |----------------------- Rewarded Tracks: |||||||||||||City Trial Chicago and Las Vegas |----------------------- | US Race Points needed for admittance to City Trial: |----------------------- 15 | | You have crossed the parks successfully. Now you must show that | you're also an excellent driver in dense city traffic. You will be | put to the test in 4 major American cities, like New York, | Los Angeles and Las Vegas. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________________ L O S A N G E L E S (2) ____________________ The first $1000 bonus is tucked away to the right just inside the entrance to the Studio backlot and don't miss the two $500 pick-ups partly disguised among the benches on the left as you exit that area. There is a nice $1000 cash bonus left out on the sidewalk in Beverly Hills as well as the smaller amounts right there in the road. Maybe the streets really are paved with gold? Just down Sunset Strip by the purple "City Eyes" billboard is another $1000 hidden among those roadworks. Surf on over and it's a WIPEOUT!! Don't forget to keep an eye on your damage meter and top it up with whatever is handy, as you will again have to make those choices between Cash or Goodies. I think it is best to focus on the cash first lap around, and then depending on how you are placed in the race, spend the last lap drawing up an advantage with Nitro and just taking whatever is left in your path. Keep a last spurt of rocket-fuel for the sprint to the line as always. _________________________________________________________________________ C H I C A G O _____________ Buckingham Fountain Union Station 'The Loop' Sears Tower Picasso's "Baboon" Marina City Michigan Avenue Bridge McGraw-Hill Building John Hancock Center Navy Pier Magnificent Mile Once you have unlocked a track, your game is automatically Saved and so you can step back (with the Triangle button) and practice in Single Race mode. It will pay off for you to know the courses before you have to race. If you are confident, then this should be Your Kinda Town. Cash available: $5500 "WRAP 97 dot 3 FM - Still no sunny day... awwww. It will stay cloudy. The temperature is in the mid-70's - what's up with that? Anyway, let's heat it up with some GOOD tunes!" Hmmm. Shouldn't they be on the 'K' band? No- wom-SANE? There is a string of $500 pick-ups shortly after the beginning (just under the El), and then the only $1000 pick-up in the Windy City is tucked away beside the Picasso Sculpture on the right a couple of turns later. To make up for the lack of Big cash on this run, there is something better. Just before the end of the lap is a ramp up to Lake Shore Drive. At the foot of this is what looks like an ordinary 'Big Nitro' bonus, but turns out to be an 'INVULNERABLE' pick-up! Your vehicle will glow with a faint pulsing light... This means that for a short time you can go nuts and barge into everybody and everything and not receive any damage!! You may have already missed the other one, slightly hidden on the right as you come around the riverfront on Wacker Drive, so go for that on the next lap and pound your rivals. It's too bad that they don't last very long, but still... _________________________________________________________________________ N E W Y O R K (2) ______________ There is a full $7500 available on your return to New York, and most of it is on view, but you will have your hands full with all the traffic if you are trying to get every cent on the first lap. Don't miss the two $500's in the central area between the benches on Broadway and there are two more slightly disguised among the pot plants on the right a couple of turns later. There is a nice $1000 bonus for getting Big Air off the ramp along Central Park, and there is another Big cash bonus tight on the left side on the turn in front of Grand Central Station - you can get it by losing a little speed as you collect the Small Nitros and then diving between the lamp post on the corner. There is also plenty of cash up on the Expressway (the last $500 bonus is a little tricky to see), which you will need to collect on the first lap, as that is well past the finish line next time around. _________________________________________________________________________ L A S V E G A S ________________ "KRAP 107 FM - Rolling Radio. We ALWAYS play the Lucky Numbers!" Now that you have shown you are able to battle through this far, the tracks become tougher and your opponents more determined to impede you. There are a lot more cops on patrol and most of them seem to be coming your way! Take a tip and try and keep some space between you and the rest of the pack. Particularly tricky is the off-ramp from the access road to the airport - if there is a traffic jam here, hang back or you will be battered by everybody. Even well behind them is better than attempting to jostle your way along those narrow streets, as you will very quickly pick up a lot of damage and there are too few pick-ups on these streets for comfort. You will need to plan a strategy if you are going for the full dollar round-up. Approaching 'The Strip' you will see cash on both sides of the median, so choose one side on your first lap and remember to switch next time around. All the Big Bucks are here, where the famous casinos are (where else?) There are some beautiful effects in this level. The neon shining on the pools and fountains and the glittering lights of The Strip are quite a contrast to the darkness of the desert run past the Hoover Dam - and you can even see the water glinting there. Not too much time to admire the scenery though, as you will face a constant stream of crashing vehicles, before you see the airport looming out of the darkness the second time around, to let you know you are nearly home free. ________________________________________________________________ | | | Win License | |________________________________________________________________| |________________________________________________________________| | | | | | | Fantastic! You've won your US Racer | | | | License. You may now enter the US Race. | | | | Have a great ride! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |__________________________________________| | |__________| | OK | |__________| | |_________________|____|___________________| | | | You have won your US Racer License, so everything except Miami and Washington are now open to you. If you would like to get more practice on those new tracks, step back through the menu to try 'Single Race' again, but if you are ready for it you can now continue straight to the heart of the game - the 'US Race' part of the Tournament! _________________________________________________________________________ 3: U S R A C E ____________ _____________________________________________________________________ | | Tournaments |_____________________________________________________________________ | |----------------------- US Race | Park Trial |----------------------- Rewarded Tracks: | City Trial Miami and Washington |----------------------- ||||||||||||||| US Race Points needed for admittance to US Race: |----------------------- 25 | | | This is the real thing! Now you have to show you're the best driver | of them all, in 8 tracks varieing from Yosemite to Miami. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________________ C H I C A G O (2) _____________ Everything is just as you remember it, but there is a lot more traffic, and all of the drivers are going bonkers. Buses, trucks and taxis all 'accidentally' impede you and there is a constant cacophony of sirens as police cars charge from all directions. [I'm assuming you are playing the 'Hard' game here - come on, USA RACER isn't THAT difficult!] Make the best use of those 'INVINCIBLE' pick-ups. Try to use them to spend some time battering your rivals, because surprisingly often you can knock one or other of them out of the race completely! Just watch your damage meter, because all too soon the charm wears off. _________________________________________________________________________ Y O S E M I T E (3) _______________ Now that you know where it is all stashed, spend the first lap collecting all that cash. Even if you get tangled up making a diversion, the game programmers play fair and you will usually find one or more of the others have crashed out along the way and you still have a whole lap to catch the leader. Only when you have a full sack of cash can you deem it the perfect round. ________________________________________________________________________ L O S A N G E L E S (3) ____________________ Once again the aggression level is upped considerably, and also as expected the general public insist on dawdling by the pick-ups. You should know this course very well by now, so I don't expect you to emerge with anything less than the full $7500. _________________________________________________________________________ G R A N D C A N Y O N (2) ______________________ Only your second visit, and the last with the present character anyway, so I hope you remember where all those pick-ups are. Of course it isn't necessary to collect all the cash, and actually you don't need very much of it at all (if any) because your prize money is enough to afford running repairs before each stage. You can certainly finish the game without purchasing upgrades too; it's just to give you something to do apart from winning. At least this time you can investigate those mines thoroughly, and have some fun bouncing around the steep canyons, just like Tony Hawks. THIS time you'll get that $1000 up that wall... ________________________________________________________________ | | | Progress Tournament | |________________________________________________________________| |________________________________________________________________| | | | | | | You have unlocked Miami for Single Track | | | | and Timetrial-Mode | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |__________________________________________| | |__________| | OK | |__________| | |_________________|____|___________________| | | | _________________________________________________________________________ M I A M I _________ Ocean Drive SoBe Alton Road Julia Tuttle Causeway NW 22nd Avenue Granada Blvd S. Bayshore Drive Brickell Avenue Airlines Arena Bayside Marketplace This is your first and only visit to the Sunshine State, so maybe take a (Spring) break from all that crashing and shoving and take a cruise around Miami in Time trial mode. Perhaps nowhere else looks so strange without people on the sidewalks, because that is what sunny Miami Beach is all about. The developers have certainly captured the essence of the architecture though, with the bright tropical pinks, blues, yellow, purple and green of the gorgeous Deco hotels on Ocean Drive and the rest of the Miami Beach area. Of course there is much more to the city than the beach, and soon you are speeding over the causeway and the designers give just a hint of the depressing mess that is Downtown Miami. Speeding quickly on down Bayshore Drive, we are soon checking out the swanky condo towers of Brickell Avenue and the business district. A nice touch is the Cruise Liner in Biscayne Bay. You can also see yachts from the MacArthur Causeway back to the 'Billion Dollar Sandbar'. By now you should have a taste for the Latin Rhythm of WOOP Radio 98 FM. To business then... As the race starts, notice the first couple of pick-ups are on the beachfront to the right. The first $1000 is on the 'wrong' side of the causeway toll booths, at the end of a trail of cash. There is a Nitro boost on the 'proper' side which you can get on the next lap. Over the causeway and you won't want to hang about in that insalubrious district - it looks a bit dodgy. But there are two $200's on the left around the corner. When you join NW 22nd Avenue, collect the smaller amounts on the left before looking to the right (when that road becomes Granada Avenue) for a $500 bonus, and then the second Big one shortly after it on the sidewalk. You can cross to the opposite left for two $500's, or pick them up on the second lap. The last Big one is again out in the open, on the sidewalk to the left just before the overhead signs for the Airport, along with some small change a little beyond it. There is another $500 pick-up on the grass to the right just before the finish line, and there are other Goodies further along, so sweep that side on your second lap. That should all make a Grand Total of $7500. Not too shabby. I hope amongst all that cash-collecting you managed to stay ahead of the others? Remember it is not vital to win, but you don't want to be coming last. Choose 'Restart' if that soomehow happens. _________________________________________________________________________ L A S V E G A S (2) ________________ Here we are back in the Bright Light City. They do say it always draws you back. [Waddya know... I just 'got' the name of the Radio Station. I thought it was something to do with the music they were playing - or possibly what the DJ was talking.] Everything is sitting right where you remember it, and everybody is just as determined to stop you getting it. Be sure to watch out for that 'Duke' boy - he crazy for sure! You will likely as not pick up a police escort down The Strip, and they seem to like to barge you going through the narrow road at the golf course, but you can easily lose them once you hit the open road of the desert. Don't forget that it is a long drive out past the dam and there are no pick-ups after you leave the golf course until well past the start of the lap. Your best defence when you are out of Nitro is to weave amongst the oncoming traffic, and just hope the faster cars get tangled up. Sometimes when you block them, you get a helpful 'boost' up the backside (at the cost of a little damage). The traffic report lets you know about your progress: "...massive traffic jam in Central Las Vegas, caused by a group of maniac 'Racers' racing through the city. A police pursuit causing several accidents along West Flamingo Road and Eastern Avenue has not yet been successful..." Nice one! (If you have been driving sedately and staying out of trouble, then of course you won't hear this.) It should now be a point of pride to you to collect the full $7500. You could be the first person ever to leave Las Vegas with more money than when they arrived! _________________________________________________________________________ N E W Y O R K (3) ______________ On your final visit to NYC the pick-ups are a little more scarce it seems - or perhaps it is just that the police are more determined to stop you getting them easily. Or it could be the unwelcome arrival of half a hundred bloody great trucks and buses! Those familiar blue and white Transit Authority buses certainly add to the authentic atmosphere, but those can't possibly be genuine New York trucks because they are not covered in graffiti... You can sweep the top of the Expressway at the very start, so that on the next lap you can simply dash through up there if there is a posse on your tail and heavy traffic down below. You may need that Nitro if your rivals are pressing you hard. Don't forget to make that leap off the ramp for one of the three $1000 pick-ups; you will be doing very well if you bag all the cash this time. Do you know why there is a toll of $1.50 coming INTO Manhattan but none going out? Because nobody leaving has that kind of cash. Except you. _________________________________________________________________________ W A S H I N G T O N D C ________________________ Independence Avenue Smithsonian "Castle" Hirschhorn Museum Washington Monument Lincoln Memorial Constitution Avenue Pennsylvania Ave The White House FBI Headquarters National Gallery of Art Capitol Air and Space Museum By the time you get to The Nation's Capital, it seems that the word has gone out to John Q. Public to perform any bone-headed maneouvre to slow your progress. If you have any of the heavy motors, give them plenty back; if not, then try to anticipate which way they'll swerve and do the best you can to keep from taking too much harassment. Perhaps go for a taxi ride first in Time trial mode and listen to the 
Rock sounds of 'Radio Freedom' WIGS 96 FM while you tour DC, and see what 
you can expect in the race.

It is certainly worth a leisurely cruise down the elegant Avenues anyway 
just to admire the sights. There is the Smithsonian and of course The 
White House and it stirs the heart to see the Lincoln Memorial pop up 
complete with Abe looking sternly down. What would he make of all this 
foolishness?

(There is a little programmers' joke at the National Gallery of Art.)

This track is a little different to the others. The wide roads make it 
almost like a Formula One racetrack with added lamp posts and some hot-
dog carts thrown in as well. The course is pretty much a circuit around 
The Mall. 'Road closed'? Not to a certified bona fide electrified Speed 
King like you. Load up the last section of the Tournament and - 
Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

There is a bit more cash to be earned this time, and although it is all 
on view, you may have your hands full fighting off everybody else before 
you can grab it all. There is a wide ramp halfway along Pennsylvania 
Avenue, and if you hit it bang in the middle you will snag all of the 
bonuses; if you miss one then you can pick it up next time. There are 
only two laps, so don't end up with a 7-10 split!

You probably already have more cash than you can spend, so collecting it 
all is just for that sense of achievement when you finally dash across 
the finishing line and it is all over.



  ________________________________________________________________
 |                                                                |
 |  You won the Tournament!                                       |
 |________________________________________________________________|
 |________________________________________________________________|
 |          |                                          |          |
 |          | Fabulous driving! You've really showed   |          |
 |          | who's the true king of the road. You are |          |
 |          | the winner of the US Race! A giant cheque|          |
 |          |  and this cool car are all yours now.    |          |
 |          |                                          |          |
 |          |                                          |          |
 |          |__________________________________________|          |
 |__________|                 | OK |                   |__________|
 |          |_________________|____|___________________|          |
 |                                                                |




Now that you have won the 'cool car' you have only got to do it another 
five times to complete the set! Good Luck, and Drive Carefully...


                    __________________________




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USA RACER - PLAYSTATION

Released: March 2002
Developers: Davilex
Publisher: -

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(c) J Woodrow 2002