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SPACING AND LENGTH
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INTRODUCTION
At only $9.99 new (in the States), this is not a bad game.
Most likely, players will pick this up out of curiosity, just
like I did ("Why is Hooters allowing its name to be used for
a game!?!?!"). However, Hooters does sponsor USAR Hooters
ProCup stock car racing, seen regularly on Speed Channel (in
the States), so a racing game with the Hooters name really is
not so surprising after all.
"Tacky yet unrefined" certainly describes the game (however,
I cannot speak for the restaurants themselves, as I have
never actually been to a Hooters restaurant). Car control is
a bit sub-par, with cars tending to oversteer perpetually;
for those intimately familiar with games such as EA Sports'
F1 series and the ever-popular Gran Turismo series, the lack
of tuning possibilities can be rather frustrating. However,
the graphics are quite good (at least when played on a
PlayStation2), and the music is fitting and interesting
without getting in the way of player concentration. Adding a
breath of fresh air to the racing genre, cars unlocked during
gameplay can only be used in actual Roadtrips if they are
first Licensed for racing (which uses the Test Course and a
target completion time).
The main part of this game guide provides descriptions of
each of the Roadtrips in the game. There are six Roadtrips
(detailed on pages 12 and 13 of the game manual) broken into
two or more Stages; each Stage is given a brief description
in this guide, so that players will have some idea of what to
expect. Players should anticipate approximately three
minutes to complete each Stage.
==============================================
TIPS
The standard skills of racing apply: brake before cornering,
out-in-out cornering, etc. However, the traffic on the roads
(primarily the non-participant traffic) will often dictate
how you can approach corners, hills, etc. Those with a
PlayStation2 may want to buy/rent/borrow Midnight Club:
Street Racing and/or Tokyo Extreme Racer Zero; these
street/highway racing games introduce traffic on a much
larger scale, and success in either or both of these games
will translate nicely to Hooters Road Trip.
Whenever possible, brake in a straight line before reaching
corners. This will maximize braking ability. Braking while
cornering makes the brakes less effective (especially at high
speeds) and risks to make the car unstable.
When approaching a series of quick-flick corners, try to
straightline them if possible. This will reduce overall time
and lessen the chance of losing car control. Those familiar
with rally-based games should already be familiar with this
tactic.
Definitely get to know the Ft. Lauderdale-Jacksonville Stages
REALLY well, as ALL Roadtrips begin here. Some also end by
running this Stage in reverse.
The opponents do sometimes make mistakes. Keep a watchful
eye on opponents and prepare to take advantage when they
goof. This generally entails ramming another (usually a non-
participant) vehicle, but opponents will occasionally swap
paint, thus slowing both cars.
Some non-participant vehicles seem to ALWAYS create trouble,
weaving around on the road and occasionally making overt
attempts to block your progress. Be especially wary of
taxis; for some reason, they are the most vicious non-
participant vehicles.
TEST TRACK
The four-lane-wide test track is almost perfectly flat, and
there are no others cars (neither opponents nor general
traffic) on the road to create obstacles. The challenge here
is to survive all the twists and turns in the road. It helps
to make use of the telephone poles lining the road to
anticipate corners and distances to corners. Also, stay off
the shoulders, as their dirt will slow the car semi-
significantly.
==============================================
ROADTRIP 1
This Roadtrip has two Stages. Stage 1-1 is from Ft.
Lauderdale to Jacksonville along a twisting, winding highway.
The beginning runs near a beach, and has a short section
where the sand has overrun the highway.
Stage 1-2 is from Jacksonville to Atlanta. This road
features numerous covered bridges (which narrow the road) and
blind corners at the crest of hills. Because of the many
blind corners, use the treeline to judge the angle of the
cornering.
==============================================
ROADTRIP 2
This Roadtrip has three Stages. Stage 2-1 is from Ft.
Lauderdale to Jacksonville along a twisting, winding highway.
The beginning runs near a beach, and has a short section
where the sand has overrun the highway.
Stage 2-2 runs from Jacksonville to Raleigh in the rain.
This Stage features primarily two-lane roadways, with
cobblestone shoulders which will still slow the car semi-
significantly. There are plenty of trees along this route,
including several long canopies of trees that essentially
form a green 'tunnel;' however, these 'tunnels' generally
create blind corners at the tops of hills, so caution is
definitely required here.
Stage 2-3 claims to run from Raleigh to Jacksonville, but
this Stage looks completely like Stage 2-2 with NO sections
that look like Stage 2-1. Oh well..... At least this Stage
is run in the dry.
==============================================
ROADTRIP 3
This Roadtrip has four Stages. Stage 3-1 is from Ft.
Lauderdale to Jacksonville along a twisting, winding highway.
The beginning runs near a beach, and has a short section
where the sand has overrun the highway.
Stage 3-2 runs from Jacksonville to Raleigh in the rain.
This Stage features primarily two-lane roadways, with
cobblestone shoulders which will still slow the car semi-
significantly. There are plenty of trees along this route,
including several long canopies of trees that essentially
form a green 'tunnel;' however, these 'tunnels' generally
create blind corners at the tops of hills, so caution is
definitely required here.
Stage 3-3 claims to run from Raleigh to Jacksonville, but
this Stage looks completely like Stage 3-2 with NO sections
that look like Stage 3-1. Oh well..... At least this Stage
is run in the dry.
Stage 3-4 is the reverse of Stage 3-1.
==============================================
ROADTRIP 4
This Roadtrip has three Stages. Stage 4-1 is from Ft.
Lauderdale to Jacksonville along a twisting, winding highway.
The beginning runs near a beach, and has a short section
where the sand has overrun the highway.
Stage 4-2 is from Jacksonville to Atlanta. This road
features numerous covered bridges (which narrow the road) and
blind corners at the crest of hills. Because of the many
blind corners, use the treeline to judge the angle of the
cornering.
Stage 4-3 runs from Atlanta to New Orleans. The road is nice
and wide - a full four lanes - all the way. There are many
hills and valleys, primarily in the first half of the Stage,
and they seemingly ALL have corners at their highest and
lowest points. The scenery really becomes interesting when
the road begins winding through swamp country; here, the road
flattens out.
==============================================
ROADTRIP 5
This Roadtrip has five Stages. Stage 5-1 is from Ft.
Lauderdale to Jacksonville along a twisting, winding highway.
The beginning runs near a beach, and has a short section
where the sand has overrun the highway.
Stage 5-2 is from Jacksonville to Atlanta. This road
features numerous covered bridges (which narrow the road) and
blind corners at the crest of hills. Because of the many
blind corners, use the treeline to judge the angle of the
cornering.
Stage 5-3 runs from Atlanta to New Orleans. The road is nice
and wide - a full four lanes - all the way. There are many
hills and valleys, primarily in the first half of the Stage,
and they seemingly ALL have corners at their highest and
lowest points. The scenery really becomes interesting when
the road begins winding through swamp country; here, the road
flattens out.
Stage 5-4 continues from New Orleans to Corpus Christi. This
road is mostly four lanes, but there are significant areas
which narrow to only two lanes. There are plenty of corners,
with some on hills or in valleys. Those who have lived in
wide, flat areas (the southern Arizona desert or the Great
Plains, for example) will notice that the sky indicates a
heavy rainstorm always ahead... but the road never quite
seems to reach the wet area!!!
Stage 5-5 is the route from Corpus Christi to Phoenix. This
is primarily a two-lane road - with some four-lane sections,
especially through the mini-tunnels - through the
southwestern desert. Note the many saguaro cacti lining the
roadway; this Stage is obviously based upon Arizona roads.
There are some hills, but this Stage is primarily flat, as it
avoids the mountains which do exist in the deserts of New
Mexico and Arizona.
==============================================
ROADTRIP 6
This final Roadtrip has seven Stages. Stage 6-1 is from Ft.
Lauderdale to Jacksonville along a twisting, winding highway.
The beginning runs near a beach, and has a short section
where the sand has overrun the highway.
Stage 6-2 is from Jacksonville to Atlanta. This road
features numerous covered bridges (which narrow the road) and
blind corners at the crest of hills. Because of the many
blind corners, use the treeline to judge the angle of the
cornering.
Stage 6-3 runs from Atlanta to New Orleans. The road is nice
and wide - a full four lanes - all the way. There are many
hills and valleys, primarily in the first half of the Stage,
and they seemingly ALL have corners at their highest and
lowest points. The scenery really becomes interesting when
the road begins winding through swamp country; here, the road
flattens out.
Stage 6-4 continues from New Orleans to Corpus Christi. This
road is mostly four lanes, but there are significant areas
which narrow to only two lanes. There are plenty of corners,
with some on hills or in valleys. Those who have lived in
wide, flat areas (the southern Arizona desert or the Great
Plains, for example) will notice that the sky indicates a
heavy rainstorm always ahead... but the road never quite
seems to reach the wet area!!!
Stage 6-5 is the route from Corpus Christi to Phoenix. This
is primarily a two-lane road - with some four-lane sections,
especially through the mini-tunnels - through the
southwestern desert. Note the many saguaro cacti lining the
roadway; this Stage is obviously based upon Arizona roads.
There are some hills, but this Stage is primarily flat, as it
avoids the mountains which do exist in the deserts of New
Mexico and Arizona.
Running through the Painted Desert from Phoenix to Las Vegas,
the twisty two-lane road of Stage 6-6 has moments of four-
lane ease-of-passing and is also lined with saguaro cacti.
The final Stage of the game, Stage 6-7 is run from Las Vegas
to Santa Monica on an actual highway until arrival in Santa
Monica itself; there are six lanes total, but only the three
lanes headed to Santa Monica are used. Once in Santa Monica
proper, the six-lane highway becomes a four-land road; both
sections are lined with palm trees (especially in Santa
Monica), and the road in Santa Monica itself is bounded by
plenty of sand as well. This is an excellent Stage for high-
speed cars, as there is NO braking required due to the gentle
curves throughout the Stage. Note that there is never any
traffic heading in the opposite direction, so once in Santa
Monica proper, feel free to make use of the FULL road,
especially in entering and exiting corners.
WISH LIST
Here are some things I would like to see should there be
future incarnations of Hooters Road Trip:
1.) Better handling with the D-pad.
2.) Customizable button functions; L2 to look back is really
awkward at best.
3.) Allow players to save progress after each Stage of a
Roadtrip.
4.) Certainly, Hooters exists in places other than the south
and southwestern United States!!! This needs to be reflected
in having some Roadtrips through the northern states and up
and down each coast.
5.) Once a player has completed a particular Roadtrip in a
given mode, that Roadtrip should be selectable everafter.
6.) Why do ALL Roadtrips begin in Jacksonville??? Give us
some variety!!!!!!!!!
CONTACT INFORMATION
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