___ ___ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___ / \ / \ | \ | \ | | \ / \ | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-----| |____/ |____/ |---- |____/ |-----| | | | | \ | \ | | \ | | \___/ | | | \ | \ |____ | \ | | ____ ___ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ | \ / \ | | | | | \ / | | | \ | | | | | | | | | | | \___ | | | | | |____/ | | | | | |---- |____/ \ | | | | |---- | | | | | | | | \ | | | | | | | \___/ \_/ \_/ |____ | \ ____/ |___ | |____/ |____ =============================================================================== Table of Contents =============================================================================== [INTRO] Introduction and Review [MODES] Modes of Play [CONTR] Controls [STRAT] Strategies [VERSN] Version History [COPYR] Copyright [CONTC] Contact Information Navigation tip: Press Ctrl and F to bring down a search bar. Then type in the name of the section you're looking for - like [VERSN] for the Version History. =============================================================================== Introduction and Review [INTRO] =============================================================================== Wow. It's been three months since I last wrote a new guide. That's the longest hiatus I've taken for guide-writing in two or three years. While it's true that I've been cutting back on producing guides for older games, I still intend to continue putting out new content for the time being. And this time, my content covers a really obscure racing game for the Game Boy Advance. Carrera Power Slide is an auto racing game where you control toy cars that run on an electric track. Really. If you've never played with anything like that before (I have), you hold a little gun, and when you hold down on the trigger, your car will go, thanks to the electric impulses. You can't always go at full speed, though, or you'll spin out (and possibly damage your car or scare any dogs, cats, or humans in the vicinity). These things are pretty fun, although the one I used didn't always work properly. Anyway, Carrera Power Slide tries to translate that action into a video game format. Usually you're racing against three computer-controlled cars on one of 48 different tracks. You can also design your own courses. While it sounds fun, and it is sometimes, the game is plagued by problems that make it a bit less enjoyable. For one thing, hit detection is poor. Whenever another car spins out, and you make the slightest contact with it (even if it's just a slight touch at slow speed), you'll crash too. The same is also true for the various obstacles (like spiders) that frequently wander onto the track. Not only are these creatures almost impossible to avoid, especially with faster cars, the collision detection is iffy, and there's no sense of depth at all. You'll see what I mean when you're six inches behind a bird's wing and crash out. Another problem is you're playing with just one button. That certainly keeps it simple, but the real toy tracks use an analog trigger that makes it much easier to adjust your speed in the curves. Here, you have to drastically let off the gas before turns, and tap the button during the corner. This, however, isn't a huge issue. In championship mode, the courses gradually become tougher and MUCH longer as you progress. There are many (48) of them, and that's certainly nothing to complain about. Another plus is you can upgrade your cars and buy new ones. Game graphics aren't amazing, but they get the job done. The toy grandstands and household artifacts (coffee mugs, TV remotes, and even Raggedy Anne) are a nice touch. The theme song is rather perky, but doesn't provide anything memorable. No music is played in-game. Sound effects aren't too special, and often you hear other cars crashing even if you're on the opposite side of the track. Play control is easy to learn, but an analog joystick would've made the game easier to play. As for challenge, this is a game you can easily beat in a weekend, despite the abundance of tracks to play on. With perfect driving, you can finish many races several minutes ahead of your competitors, but you're going to take some crashes while you're getting used to the game. This isn't a game you're likely to pick up again and again (at least in single-player mode), but it might be worth a replay if you like racing games. Also, the season mode is much harder on the second playthrough. Overall, this isn't a spectacular game, but since you can surely get it for a low price (if you can find it), it's worth a try. =============================================================================== Modes of Play [MODES] =============================================================================== Here's an overview of each of the games you can play. Season: The most exciting part of the game, Season mode lets you run a series of races, earning prize money and unlocking new tracks, cars, and upgrades along the way. You can play it again after you've won the championship, and it'll be more difficult on the second playthrough. Quick Race: A single event against the computer at any unlocked track using any car you own. You can change the number of laps in the race under the Options menu. Time Attack: Essentially a practice mode, Time Attack puts you on the course by yourself with the car and track of your choice. You can also choose the slot in the track in which you run (it doesn't really matter). Create Track: This enables you to create up to four tracks of your own for use in modes other than Season. Tracks can be as big as 150 pieces in size. Press A to add a new section of track, B to remove the last piece of track, and L and R to cycle between the different pieces. Definitely worth trying. Multiplayer: Race against a friend (or enemy) using your Game Link cable. Options: Change the volume of music or sound effects, or turn them off entirely, change the number of laps in a Quick Race, turn Creatures (spiders, mice, and birds) on or off, or change the language used in the game. Backup Options: Choose this if you want to delete saved game progress. Carrera Racing: I'm not quite sure what this does, but I think it lets you play with an actual Carrera set using this game and a Game Link cable. E-mail me if you know more. =============================================================================== Controls [CONTR] =============================================================================== Hold A to floor the accelerator, or tap it to go a bit slower. START pauses the game, as usual. Under certain conditions, you can press L to make a pit stop (more on that later). When pitting, use Left and Right on the Control Pad to choose whether to repair damage or refuel. And that's it. =============================================================================== Strategies [STRAT] =============================================================================== These strategies cover every aspect of game play. ------------------------------ Driving the Car ------------------------------ On straightaways, hold down the A button to accelerate at full speed. Just before you reach a corner, release the A button to slow, then tap A through the duration of the corner. If you go too fast, you'll spin out, costing a few seconds and a slight degree of damage to your car. For that reason, it's best to take the turns with care, especially for inexperienced players. Different turns require different degrees of deceleration. You can take a 90- degree turn with just a little loss of speed, while a hairpin will require you to slow dramatically. 270-degree turns, seen on many of the later tracks, are especially tricky. Banked corners, however, are a totally different story; these can always be taken at full speed. Some chicanes and gentler curves can be taken at full speed, but not all; you'll have to drive them for yourself. Loop-the-loops should always be taken with the pedal to the metal. Many tracks cross over themselves. Overpasses are never a problem, but sometimes you'll cross another part of the track. When that happens, it's possible to hit another car going the other direction and crash. Try to watch out for such sections and be prepared to slow if it means you won't slam into an opponent. Often it's easiest to look at the map on the bottom of the screen instead of the road when driving. This way, you'll know exactly what kind of turn is coming up and won't be distracted by the props and distractions around the track. ------------------------------ Obstacles ------------------------------ On some courses, spiders, mice, and yellow birds regularly creep onto certain parts of the track and block the road. Obstacles are difficult to avoid, especially when using faster cars. If you see an obstacle coming, stop in front of it and it'll move slowly off the course. If you hit one, you'll crash (although at least it will move then). Also watch out for other cars that crash and block your lane. If you hit such a vehicle, you'll crash too. You may have to wait for the other car to reset. ------------------------------ Pit Stops ------------------------------ In Carrera Power Slide, there are two reasons to make a pit stop. First, to refuel; if you run out of gas, your car will go very slowly (too slowly to make it over a loop-the-loop, in fact). Second, to repair damage; you car sustains damage every time it crashes, and a damaged car won't go as fast as one that's in pristine condition. To make a pit stop, press the L button when stopped while the Pit In light is flashing. Then highlight the Damage or Fuel gauge, and rapidly press the A and B buttons alternately. You want the Damage gauge to be as low as possible, and Fuel to be high enough to get you until the end of the race. To end your stop, just press L again and drive away. A few tips for pit stops: 1. When the pit light starts flashing, try to hold off on stopping until you reach a place where you have to stop anyway - like waiting for a creature to cross the road, or when you crash. Of course, if you run out of gas, you pretty much have to stop, unless you're almost finished with the final lap of the race. 2. If there aren't many laps left in the race, you don't have to fill the gas gauge up all the way. Just get enough fuel so you know you can finish the race without stopping again. This is a good way to save a couple of seconds. 3. You'll probably never have to pit until you reach the medium-difficulty tracks. However, by Series 12, you may find yourself making three stops per race. 4. Fuel consumption is based on time. You won't conserve fuel by letting off the gas more in turns. ------------------------------ Season Mode ------------------------------ In championship mode, you run a series of twelve four-race series. In each series, you'll be able to choose from any of four courses. You'll be required to finish in a certain place (or higher) in each race to advance to the next series. Fortunately, you have unlimited attempts, so you're not penalized if you finish in last place. Plus, you can rerun races if you want to grind out extra cash. You earn prize money after every race. Your earnings are based on where you finished; not surprisingly, you earn the most money if you win. This money can be used to buy upgrades for cars or to buy new cars. Later races give you better prizes than earlier races. As you progress through the season, the difficulty will gradually increase. Races will grow longer, tracks will be more complex, and the opponents will gain access to more powerful cars. Also, you'll face a higher hurdle to qualifying for the next series: In the later rounds, you'll have to win every race instead of being able to qualify with a second-place or third-place finish as you could in the earlier series. If you have trouble winning a particular race, you might need to upgrade your car or buy a new, better vehicle. If you run a second season, it'll be more difficult than the first. Your opponents will all have Formula racers, so they'll have some pretty good cars. The AI will still make mistakes, though. Every season after the first will be exactly like the second season, and every season will have the same ending. Also, you won't unlock anything new after the first season. ------------------------------ New Cars ------------------------------ Early in season mode, the free cars will be more than sufficient for winning races. Pretty soon, however, you'll need to get some better wheels to keep winning. The prize money earned in championships can be used to buy new cars or upgrade ones you already have. A few cars are unlocked automatically at the end of certain series; these models can't be obtained in any other way. To buy a car, choose "Purchase New Car". If you want to switch to a car you already own, select "Change Car". Don't forget you can scroll up or down on the car selection screen to see different models within each class of car. However, the cars within each class are always pretty similar to one another; there may be slight performance differences, but the main difference is color. You never lose cars you've purchased/unlocked. All upgrades are permanent, although you can downgrade any upgrades to anything other than "Stock." Note that the stats for each car on the "Change Car" screen reflect any upgrades you've made to them. There are four bar graphs that indicate the way each car performs. The first one, Top Speed, shows how fast a car can go in a straight line. Acceleration (0-60) tells you how fast a car can get going from a standing start. Grip, the most important stat, represents the car's ability to speed through corners without spinning out. And lastly, Fuel Economy refers to the amount of time a car can go without having to stop to refuel. A longer bar means it will have to stop less frequently. The F-1 Dark Ninja, unlocked upon completing season mode, is the best car in the game. ------------------------------ Upgrading Your Car ------------------------------ To improve a car you own, select "Upgrade Car." There are four parts you can upgrade: Braids: These improve your top speed, provide some boost to acceleration, and hurt your fuel economy slightly. While not too important, it's a good way to make your car peppier without buying expensive engine upgrades. Tyres: Tire upgrades improve your car's grip more than anything else, but they also hurt your fuel economy a bit. Probably the most important upgrade, as a car with poor handling is no fun at all. Motor: Buying new motors will significantly improve your speed and acceleration, while also making your fuel economy proportionately worse. This is your lowest priority for upgrades, as handling is more important than power, and usually you're better off buying a new car anyway instead of upgrading the motor. Plus, these are REALLY expensive. Magnet: This helps your grip while making you have to refuel slightly more frequently. A good buy. Whenever you buy an upgrade, get the best one available. Keep in mind that upgrades for better cars cost more than do upgrades for the earlier ones. =============================================================================== Version History [VERSN] =============================================================================== Date | Version | Size | ---------|---------|------|---------------------------------------------------- 10-28-09 | 0.5 | 11KB | Beat the game and began the guide. 10-29-09 | 1.0 | 17KB | Finished the guide. Uploaded it on November 3. 5- 5-18 | 1.1 | 18KB | Made a few small revisions - tweaked some details | | | and improved guide organization. Thanks tlatham86 | | | for information about running multiple seasons. =============================================================================== Copyright [COPYR] =============================================================================== (c) 2009-2018 VinnyVideo. All rights reserved. All trademarks mentioned in this guide are property of their respective holders. You can post this guide on your Web site as long as you give proper credit to VinnyVideo and you don't change anything I wrote. The latest version of this guide will always be available at GameFAQs and Neoseeker. Don't count on frequent updates, though. =============================================================================== Contact Information [CONTC] =============================================================================== If you have any questions or comments about this guide, feel free to e-mail me at VHamilton002@gmail.com. That's zero-zero-two, by the way. Please follow these guidelines when you e-mail me: * Do include "Carrera Power Slide" in the subject line. * Do send polite suggestions for ways to make this walkthrough better. * Do tell me about any errors or omissions you find in this guide. * Do make a reasonable effort to use decent spelling and grammar so that I can understand what you're trying to say. * Do use patience. I check my messages quite sporadically. * Do not send spam, pornography, flaming, or profanity. Be nice. You can also connect with me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VinnyVideo (Also, say no to tobacco. It's bad for you. You've probably stopped reading by now, and that's OK.) For Thunder Dragon, Retriever II, and everyone at MFGG for being awesome people