/// SSX Tricky for Playstation 2 \\\ // by Paul "Corkscrew" Ward \\ / Email - crkscrew13@hotmail.com \ "This is gonna be very, very interesting..." - Created: December 02, 2001 - Last Updated: December 10, 2001 - Version 1.2 ------------ CONTENTS ------------ I. Disclaimer and contact information II. Introduction to the game III. Track Information IV. Characters V. How to get started VI. Track-specific tips VII. General tips VIII. Questions answered IX. Version History X. Credits ************************************** I. DISCLAIMER and CONTACT INFORMATION ************************************** This FAQ for SSX Tricky was created to hopefully help out other players in mastering this tough game. I'm not doing it for money or personal glory; I like this game, and I want to help others who do as well. As such, this guide is for personal use only. You may not profit from it in any way, especially by selling it or using it on a pay website or in a gaming magazine, unless you obtain my permission first. As creator of this FAQ, I retain sole rights to its use and placement on the Internet. Basically, you can download it and print it out all you want for your own use, but don't go putting it up on your website unless you ask first. In addition, if you're going to write your own FAQ or guide or whatever, you must obtain my permission first if you plan to use any information contained herein. Give credit where credit's due, ya know? If you want to get ahold of me, just email me at crkscrew13@hotmail.com. Questions and corrections regarding the FAQ are welcome. Inflammatory email about what a bonehead I am or the like isn't. Try to put some sort of reference to this FAQ in the subject line, so I don't mistake your email for junk mail. At present time, the following websites are authorized to post this FAQ for general consumption: GameFAQs - www.gamefaqs.com PSX Codez - www.psxcodez.com Neoseeker - www.neoseeker.com ************************************** II. INTRODUCTION TO THE GAME ************************************** The original SSX game was a launch title for the Playstation 2 a year ago, and was one of the first really big games for it. I didn't own a PS2 at the time, but a lot of the discussion about the system's graphical capabilities as they were being shown so far centered around SSX. In addition, the game was also mad fun, and incredibly addictive. Now, about a year later, the sequel has been released, and it has improved in almost every department. There are two new courses that fit right in, the old courses have been reworked and improved, and in some cases, made even bigger. The graphics have improved a great deal. There are a lot more characters, and those characters are now voiced by some pretty famous actors and personalities. There has even been the addition of Ubertricks, which do a great job of giving all the characters a unique aspect they lacked in the original game. Even with all of this, though, the game has retained its core, being a very addictive, very fun game that can suck up hours of your time (speaking from personal experience here). Oh yeah, and check out the DVD Content section of the game too. Lots to see there, and it's a new trend for PS2 games that, hopefully, we'll see more of in the future. ************************************** III. TRACK INFORMATION ************************************** In this section, I'll detail just the basic info about each track. Personal tips and suggestions come later. Also, the info below applies to Race mode. There are lots of extra jumps, rails and such in Showoff mode, plus the presence of Snowflakes. Garibaldi - This track replaced Snowdream from the original game as the beginners' track, and I think it's a lot better to get started on. Lots of opportunities for big jumps and huge tricks, including Ubertricks. There are some alternate routes in here, a couple involving VERY long rail rides on high tension wires. One route skips most of the course later on, jumping back and forth over an ice river. Snowdream - Reworked a whole lot from the original, this track is barely recognizable now. Lots more (in my opinion) opportunities for jumps, though other than the final huge one, which remains from the original game, there aren't many real big ones. There should be getting enough height however, for some basic Ubertricks. Not much in the way of alternate routes, but there is one most of the way through that twists back and forth across the main route and joins back up right before the big jump near the end. Elysium Alps - This is one long track. Lots and lots of downhill in the beginning, including some very big jumps that can quickly get your boost way up and give you opportunities for Ubers, followed by a tricky middle part without many jumps, and then a few big ones at the end for good measure. Lots of alternate routes here, some viable, some not. I can't even run the whole initial one without dropping back on to the main track. A couple later on in the race provide a very good way to catch up or put some distance between you and the other racers. The middle, high road in particular, while full of tough jumps, is infinitely preferrable to the low road, an ice packed twisting course that will have you on your backside more often than not. The halfpiple section also returns from the original, and is much easier to get through now. Mesablanca - Probably my least favorite track, this course is set up primarily for lots of speed. There are a few big jumps at the beginning, but lots of this course is spent in sharp turns. Following a good race line is key here, as it is very easy to run the wrong way through a turn and slow yourself way down. There is one major alternate route to speak of directly after the bridge, but it's rather tough and doesn't seem all that much faster than the regular route. Merqury City Meltdown - Lots of major differences from the old version here, including a lot more obstructions to run into, and many more crossing paths and alternate routes. I haven't explored this stage very thoroughly at all, so I don't know about any of the alternate routes yet. Expect this in future update. The highway jumps provide a lot of opportunities to get ahead of the competition, as the computer seems to have trouble with them on all levels. Tokyo Megaplex - What a mess... it took me many tries to get the gold on this stage, as the racing pack always seems to stay bunched up. It is very hard to get far ahead. Lots of halfpipe routes and rails above, and many tunnels below. There isn't really a preferred line through this course; just stay on your board as much as possible, as falls can throw you from first to last very quickly. Avoid air vents in race mode as much as possible. Aloha Ice Jam - A very tough course with a lot of twists and turns, as well as many jumps that, if missed, will reset your boarder, costing you precious time. Low ceilings can also cost you spots. I haven't had a chance to explore the enclosed upper tunnel in the middle of the race, but it sure looks preferrable to the twisting ice paths below. Alaska - The other new addition (besides Garibaldi) from the old game, this track is incredibly difficult. Lots of deceiving jumps, bumpy spots, and ice will keep you on your toes. A lot of your time will be spent in very sharp ice turns at high speed, making it very easy to crash and lose time. The final jump is probably the biggest in SSX Tricky, and requires a lot of speed to hit right; if you don't, it can cost you the race. Untracked - This one is unlocked when a medal is won in Race mode on all the other courses, and is only for Freeride mode. Basically, just have fun on this course, and show off for your friends. I prefer the Untracked course in the original game, though... this one doesn't seem to have as many major jumps. Probably just need to run it some more, though. Pipedream - Full of rails, pools, halfpipes, and big jumps, this track is a tricker's dream. Available only for Freeride or Showoff, this track is unlocked when you complete all the Showoff events with a medal for the first time. A lot more crowded than the original Pipedream, this one also is a lot more fun, at least as far as I'm concerned. If you're good enough with rails (and have enough Boost), you can almost ride your way uphill to the beginning of the track. ************************************** IV. CHARACTERS ************************************** This section goes over the basics of each character, adding a few of my own comments for good measure. :) Eddie Wachowski Nationality: American Rider Style: Freestyle Friend: Elise Enemy: Moby Voiced by: David Arquette Comments: My most used character. Gotta love the fro. Elise Riggs Nationality: Canadian Rider Style: BX Friend: Eddie Enemy: Marisol Voiced by: Lucy Liu Comments: Schwing! A very balanced rider to start out with. Marisol Diez Delgado Nationality: Venezuela Rider Style: Alpine Friend: Seeiah Enemy: Elise Voiced by: Patricia Valesquez Comments: Very fast, but not very stable at the outset. Seeiah Owens Nationality: American Rider Style: Freestyle Friend: Marisol Enemy: Luther Voiced by: Macy Gray Comments: Haven't done much with her, but she's a good trickster. Luther-Dwayne Grady Nationality: American Rider Style: BX Friend: JP Enemy: Mac Voiced by: Oliver Platt Comments: Mullet man. Incredibly stable, but not much else. Jean-Paul "JP" Arsenault Nationality: French Rider Style: Freestyle Friend: Luther Enemy: Brodi Voiced by: ??? Comments: Uh, he's French? Freestyler, so good at tricks to start. Zoe Payne Nationality: American Rider Style: BX Friend: Moby Enemy: JP Voiced by: Bif Naked Comments: Another balanced rider to start. Check out the facepaint. Moby Jones Nationality: British Rider Style: BX Friend: Zoe Enemy: JP Voiced by: Nick Malaperiman (EA Sports Product Mgr.) Comments: BX, so he's balanced too. Mackenzie "Mac" Fraser Nationality: American Rider Style: Freestyle Friend: Kaori Enemy: Moby Voiced by: DJ Precise (aka Ryan Wall) Comments: Skateboarder as well. Big on tricks. Kaori Nishidake Nationality: Japanese Rider Style: Freestyle Friend: Brodi Enemy: Psymon Voiced by: ??? Comments: She's BACK! Almost annoying cute. Big trick potential. Psymon Stark Nationality: Canadian Rider Style: BX Friend: Zoe?? Enemy: Kaori Voiced by: Jim Rose Comments Has a thing for Zoe. No friends. Balanced stats. Broderick "Brodi" Ford Nationality: American Rider Style: Alpine Friend: Eddie Enemy: Luther Voiced by: Billy Zane Comments: Wacky Zen spiritual surfer guy. Big on speed, low on tricks. My starting character was Eddie, but any of the 4 initially available characters (Mac, Moby, Eddie, and Elise) are pretty decent choices. Mac and Eddie are more trick-based, while Moby and Elise are balanced (BX) type boarders, so they'll be faster. Go with whatever you feel more comfortable doing... racing fast, or pulling insane tricks. ************************************** V. HOW TO GET STARTED ************************************** This section isn't intended to be a walkthrough for the game, nor an end-all, be-all on even the right path to take. It's basically just some tips and suggestions based on a bit of trial and error with what seems to work best for me. You may find that your skill level dictates a different course. First things first, your best bet is to take whichever character you're comfortable starting out with, and head for the Freeride section. Check out the slopes available to you at the outset. Even if you're an experienced SSX player, Tricky has changed things around enough to warrant a few first looks before you jump into a Race or Showoff competition. For Showoff, try out a few Single runs before heading to the World Circuit, to get a good feel for where important jumps and rails are going to be turning up. After you've looked around a bit, concentrate on your Trickbook. Each character has a book of 30 tricks, split into 6 chapters of 5 tricks each. In addition to unlocking additional outfits for your characters, they will also teach you the limits of your character as well as the different jumps on a particular course. This is an especially good place to start if you're a first time SSX player with this game. Tricks are a very important part of the game, and while you can get away initially with just mashing direction and grab buttons and hoping for the best, eventually you'll need a plan of attack. As a bonus, once you've polished off your entire trickbook, you'll unlock your character's Uberboard. This board is by far the best board in terms of adding to your stats, and will help immensely once you start into the World Circuit. Once your trickbook is taken care of, head for the World Circuit if you feel you're ready. Start off by tackling Garibaldi in both Race and Showoff modes. They're fairly easy to complete, and each time you win a Gold Medal, you'll get six bonus points to distribute among your four character stats, along with a new board (which you shouldn't need, if you've got the Uberboard) and a rise in ranking. Next, Snowdream. The Race and Showoff here are both fairly easy, so you should be able to get a Gold pretty quickly here in both. Six more bonus points per event, plus another new board, a rise in ranking, and the unlocking of the next stage, Elysium Alps. Now comes the tough part. The Race event at Elysium Alps is harder, but can be won with determination. The Showoff event, however, has pretty high levels for Bronze, Silver and Gold, and it may take you a few tries to get all the way up there. If you can't get more than a Bronze in Showoff after much trying, leave it for now and come back when you have higher stats. At this point, there's no right way to procede. You'll be unlocking new characters left and right, which you may prefer to go with as opposed to one of the starting four. If so, you still should work towards completing the Trick Book for your preferred character before you do anything else, as the benefit of the Uberboard is huge. At most, you may need to run one Race or Showoff event to pick up some bonus character points in the Tricks stat before you can complete the Trick Book, but most characters, with work, can do it right off the bat. Needless to say, there's a lot to do here, and a lot of characters AND tracks to master, so take your time and enjoy it. -- An Alternate Method -- Brad Fowler (trptdork@hotmail.com) wrote in to me and pointed out that he has some different ideas on how to go about getting started with this game. While I feel that my "walkthrough" above is still good, his holds better for first- time players and those who are in this game to have fun with leveling up the characters. Mine is written from the point of view of someone who spent a lot of time mastering the original SSX game, and wants to get the process over with quickly in Tricky. So, with his permission, I've included his words verbatim to give you an alternate plan of attack when getting started. I'd like to thank you for putting forth a great FAQ on , imho, one of the best , and to quote you, most "addictive", series of games to come out for ANY platform, PC included! The info was sorely needed as I have found few (if any!) other resources regarding this game, besides mere previews, on the web. Now, down to business! While all of the data that you gave were helpful and correct as far as the layouts and alternate routes go, as far as I could tell, I do disagree with the "plan of attack" that you prescribed for starting out! I believe it to be much more advantageous to start out with the training section, and once comfy, move right into the races. Most races are VERY winnable (especially the earlier ones....Garibaldi, Snow Dream, for example) with a stock boarder. EA Sports BIG has done...once again....an excellent job of giving the player a good choice right off the bat of varied styles of characters to choose from that should make either a veteran or a newbie feel comfortable with the game from the get go. If you start the game out on the Free Ride section, as you suggest, you may learn a bit as far as technique goes, as well as gaining the Uber Board, but you will lose the feeling of competition that you get from the AI that is built into the game (as well as take away that nice fuzzy feeling of being rewarded with a new board/outfit after completing the next challenge!). EA went to great lengths (I'm sure) to build that into the old game and improve upon it in the sequel, so why negate it! Also, going through the race section first will more than amply build up your boarder as well as clear some (if not all) of the trick book before taking on the Showoff mode, which is, again in my humble opinion, a much harder scenario, as you have to be faster, more stable, and have better edging skills to grab some of the added rails and other shortcuts that make that mode the logical next step in the game. I believe following the route you talked about would take away from the experience of learning the limit of what each character is capable of and therefore limit the gaming experience. I do applaud you on your efforts and appreciate them, and I hope that these paragraphs were helpful. ************************************** VI. TRACK-SPECIFIC TIPS ************************************** This section will house some tips from me on each course on the SSX circuit. Each track will have seperate Race and Showoff tips, as your plan of action can vary drastically between the two. Reader-submitted tips will also go here, with appropriate credit given, so if you have something to add, don't hesitate to email me, and if it's a good tip, I'll throw it in with your name for all to see. Garibaldi - Race: This course is fairly straightforward, so the most you'll need to do is follow the course as it's laid out, and you'll be set. The tracks are pretty wide, so you shouldn't need to engage in much foul play, but knockdowns are great for your Boost meter, so go for one if you feel you can get it. The first major jump should be used to build up as much Boost as possible, along with the little lip right before the ice turns. The competition here is pretty easy to beat, so if you want to go for the Super Boost (hit six Ubertricks in one race), you can crush everyone rather spectacularly. The alternate route at the beginning (the high tension wires) can get you a quick jump on the competition, providing you have the skill to stay on them. The later alternate route is very good for avoiding other riders, and seems to gain you quite a bit of time, assuming you avoid falling into the river. To find this route, look for the second blue SSX sign to the left after the crossing route jumps in the center of the course. It'll be next to an observation tower. Showoff: Tips shouldn't be necessary here, because if you've practiced (and completed your trick book), you should be able to blow away the Gold Medal requirement. But, if you're looking for assistance, go for the numerous high tension wire setups (such as to the right directly after the start, though a set of the yellow barriers). If you can ride those for quite a while, and finish them off with a trick, you're on your way to huge points. As for the rest of the course... well, build your boost, and do an Ubertrick off of almost every jump. Snowdream and most of the rest - Coming soon! Alaska - Race: Land a high points trick right out of the gate... you'll need a lot of boost on this course, so get it as quickly as possible. A knockdown here will also help, and is farily easy to obtain, as the pack should be right on your tail. The main thing to remember through this first section is to stay away from the walls. You can easily drop from first to last because of one wrong move that puts you into one of the sharp jutting sections of wall. After the first few turns, there should be an inside bank of a turn that forms a small hill. You can get decent air off of this turn, so pull a quick Uber. There should be a few more spots in the early ice turns where you can pull a quick Uber if you're careful. If you're not comfortable with those, just try to keep the correct line through turns so as to stay out of the walls, and stay with the pack. Once you've cross the ice river for the first time, SLOW DOWN through the next turns. The turn to parallel the ice river is very sharp, so you've got to brake a bit and take it easy. Don't worry about losing spots, as most of the other racers will probably take the turn too fast and land right in the river, so you should remain competitive. Take the next couple jumps easy, and pass through the first checkpoint. Grab the Speed Boost if you can, and power your way down the hills upcoming. There isn't much you can do in terms of tricks through here, so just try to stay on your board. Once you hit the bottom, turn hard left. After the next right turn, you might as well just head into the bumpy ice field... it may not seem so, but it's faster than the snow covered routes to the sides. Head into the left side opening ahead, and try and pull another Uber off of the turn banking straight ahead of you. If you're doing well, you should be in amongst the pack here, so a Knockdown will help too. After making your way through the turns here, get a decent trick or quick Uber off the jump out of the cave, and head into a series of hairpin ice turns. The first one will probably launch you, and may even crash you, but it will do the same to most of the other racers. For this section, just stay on your toes, score a Knockdown or two to keep your Boost up, and continue on until the jump to the W-shaped halfpipes. Either side leads to a vertical 180 turn, so just stay on whichever side you land (probably the left), and swing hard through the 180 turn and down. Round the next curve, and you'll hit the next checkpoint. A big jump here, which gives the opportunity for at least one, if not two quick Ubers, followed by a hard brake to keep from riding up the wall, and after a short tunnel, you'll come back out to more open area. Try to stay on the center path, which can be a lot quicker and less crowded. You'll also have the opportunity for an Uber or three here, which ideally will get you to the six you need for Super Boost. Bear right after the big jumps, and hopefully get the Speed Boost (if you need it), and head through the next turn towards some more caves. Keep to the right path, which is faster, and stay sharp through the sharp cave turns until you get to the bumpy section. Here, it's best to just stay straight and boost your way through, although you could try swinging back and forth across the path, riding the walls. Head through both of these parts, and grab a quick Uber off the next jump, if you need it. Pick up another Speed Boost, and bust on through the next checkpoint. Uber off the first jump, if it's required, and from there on, speed straight ahead as fast as you can. You'll pass below a big set of fans, which pushes you upward towards the massive final jump. When you reach it, just Boost straight ahead without jumping, and you should be pushed far enough to land on the upper section below. The Trick Boost there should be unnecessary... just speed straight ahead down the hill and to the finish line. There aren't any really good (and obvious) shortcuts on this track that I've found, so the main line on the track seems to be the most direct and fastest. If you've got some other suggestions as to shortcuts that would speed things up, I'll be happy to add them if you email me. Showoff: I'm doing this one because I just beat it, so it's still fresh in my mind. First off, you need to do some sort of spin/flip right out of the gate, along with a 2 or 3 button grab, while hitting the yellow snowflake. Aim for the first rail.. it make take you a few tries to not only get on, but to stay on through the two breaks that follow. After this, you should have full boost. Next, Ubertrick off of the bend in the track that shows up here, maybe throw in a spin or flip too. From here on for a bit, you can choose to take the low road (trick off of some of the bends, maybe get another Uber in) or the high road (rails, with a few snowflakes). After the jump to the track that runs parallel to an ice river, SLOW DOWN through the first turn, or else you slide right across the following left turn and right into the river, killing your Boost. After this, bust on through the first checkpoint. Try to aim and hit the ramp directly afterward so you head for the billboard. If you're lucky, you'll tap off of the billboard and right through an orange snowflake. You should be able to get at least one Uber in here. If you can, hop on a rail here. Otherwise, head down the bumpy slopes, tricking off of some of the bigger drops. Once you get to the bottom, you'll turn left. At the upcoming curve, you might be able to get an Uber off, but you'll have to hurry. Bounce your way across the ice field, avoding obstructions and perhaps tossing off a few spins. Do your own thing through the ice caves that follow. Once you come out, try and hit the left hand rail, and stay on it throughout the entire section of hairpin turns. Take it fairly slow, because it'll be hard to stay on with all the quick changes in direction. You'll pick up a whole lot of points including a few snowflakes. Once the rail breaks, jump and grab the highest snowflake you can, maybe throwing in another Uber. I would recommend against hopping back on the rail, as it is much better to take the regular jump across the gorge that's coming up. The next section is a set of halfpipes shaped like a W. Trick around in here building up points until you've got about 20 seconds left to go, then keep moving down the left halfpipe. Hit an Uber high off of the vertical 180 turn to get the Orange snowflake, and then move on through the next checkpoint. At this jump, try and get as much forward air as you can while hitting an Uber, and grab a Snowflake. At this point, hopefully, you should have Super Boost going. Avoid the rails coming, and head down the middle ice path. Uber off of the upcoming jumps, collecting snowflakes all the while. Take the left path as you enter the upcoming ice caves. This will give you another snowflake/Uber opportunity. Continue through the caves, tricking if you can, and pass through the bumpy straightaways, maybe throwing in a few spins. After passing both, do a quick Uber off of the next jump through an orange snowflake. If you're lucky and get enough air, you might get the red snowflake below too. This brings you to the next checkpoint. At this point, if you don't have between 300-350,000 points, it's going to be very tough to hit the Gold. But buff your points total up by either performing a few big tricks at the jumps here, or riding the rails through some snowflakes. Once you're through this portion, you'll come to a long straightaway with fans blowing you ever upward. At the top, leap and get as much air as you can. Pull off at least two Ubers, or three quick ones, and with luck, you'll hit the red snowflake on the way. If you play your cards right, this jump alone should net you 150-200,000 points. Make sure you land safely, and then coast down to the finish line. Untracked - No Race, no Showoff. Just for Freeriding. Take your time and explore! Pipedream - Race: Can't race here. Why would you want to? Showoff: Uh, have fun, hit tons of rails, throw some time in on the half- pipe or in a pool, etc etc. Just keep an eye on your time. I've had more than few times where I killed the clock screwing around on a halfpipe or (guh) getting stuck in a pool. The giant halfpipe at the end is great for pulling off Uber after Uber, although there aren't a lot of snowflakes there. ************************************** VII. GENERAL TIPS ************************************** Feel free to email me with contradicting tips if you have a better suggestion for something below. I know I'm not always right. :) - Avoid big air and huge tricks in races. While they're impressive to look at, you might get caught doing a big trick while everyone else is doing little ones or just coasting over the jump. You can get very easily left behind this way. Of course, you can try to go for Super Boost (obtained by completing six Ubertricks in one race), which will give you unlimited Boost for the rest of the race, but make sure you don't wipe out trying. - If you find that you're running out of Boost between jumps, try doing some simple 180 and 360 spins as you fly along. It's almost impossible to crash during these, and as long as you don't repeat, you'll get some much needed points and Boost. This will also help keep your meter at Tricky level, assuming you don't start repeating tricks. - Using Select to reset your rider during a race can kill your Boost meter, but can sometimes be indispensible when you're in a close race. Some falls will have you tumbling for a good 5 seconds, giving the rest of the pack time to get a good lead on you. There is also the existence of a way to exploit the game by using Select at certain spots in a race to jump way ahead, but these points vary, and since I don't feel this is a fair way to run, I'm not going to provide locations. If you're really interested in this, I'm sure you can find other FAQs that will disclose this information. - When working on the Trick Book, if you're doing a trick that requires minimal vertical spin but a whole lot of forward spin (for example, a Misty 720, which requires 360 degrees of vertical spin, but 720 degrees of horizontal spin), start by holding both the up (or down) and side directions on the D-pad, but almost immediately switch to just a side direction. This will keep you from over-spinning vertically. Also, you can use the left analog stick to give yourself one last horizontal push if you come up half a turn short of your goal. - Don't ignore rails in Showoff events. In some cases, using them in conjunction with big tricks is the only way you're going to hit the immensely high point requirements at the later venues. - Speaking of rails, if you're finding your having trouble hitting rails cleanly, try braking (push down on the left analog stick) just before the rail. If you time it right, your boarder will turn the board sideways, allowing you to hit the rail with much more of your board. It is also much easier to control your boarder on the rail when you're sideways. Just make sure you don't slow down too much, or you might not stay on that rail for long. - Yes, you can throw spins and flips and grabs into your Ubertricks. This will inflate your point total per trick that much more. Just make sure you don't try to do too much with one particular jump, or all you'll end up doing is crashing spectacularly. - Your Speed and Tricks stats seem to be the two most important early on. You can get away with a lower Stability and Edging rating for a while, so pump a lot of your Bonus points into the first two. Stability will help later on, though, as you get into courses with more rails and obstacles, and Edging will help on such courses as Alaska and Mesablanca, which have a great deal of sharp turns. - If you can't get all the way to a Gold in Showoff or Race after a few tries, move on to another course or event, and come back later when you've built up your stats a bit. I had a lot of trouble with Tokyo Megaplex in Race mode and Merqury City in Showoff at first, but after I earned points in other Events, I was able to come back and conquer these as well. - Knockdowns are a big part of the Race scene. While you probably won't have very many people liking you, the advantage far outweights the loss. My personal strategy is to Knockdown whoever happens to come near me, even Friends. A full Boost meter is key sometimes, and every so often, a knocked down opponent will take down other racers behind you. Obviously, once you've obtained Super Boost, Knockdowns aren't as big of a deal, but they're still good for thinning out the pack a bit. ************************************** VIII. QUESTIONS ANSWERED ************************************** None yet. First version of the FAQ, ya know. :) ************************************** IX. VERSION HISTORY ************************************** Version 1.2 (December 10, 2001) ------------------------------------ - Added Alaska to Track Tips - Added Untracked to Track Tips (not much to say, though) - Added Pipedream to Track Tips (not much here, either) - Added another General Tip - Included Brad Fowler's alternate walkthrough - File Size: 33.9 KB Version 1.1 (December 04, 2001) ------------------------------------ - Fixed some typographical errors - Updated the General Tips section a bit - Added two sites to the permissions section - File Size: 21.4 KB Version 1.0 (December 02, 2001) ------------------------------------ - Created FAQ, began all sections - Track-Specific Tips: Garibaldi added - File Size: 20.4 KB ************************************** X. CREDITS ************************************** - EA Sports BIG for making such an addictive and fun game. - GameFAQs for providing me with a reason to actually write a FAQ. - Anyone who emails questions, tips or constructive criticism (individuals noted above when their stuff is added to the FAQ) - Sony for making the Playstation 2. - All the sites who carry my FAQ. Being my first, having it on a bunch of different sites is pretty complimentary. - Panthrax, when he plays, for giving me some competition. - You, the reader. Thanks! *** Corkscrew ***