General GameFAQ/Walkthrough
Written by Twirl
E-mail at emunalysis@yahoo.com
Date 26.07.2003
Version 1.2
This Game Guide is available at its homepage Emunalysis
at http://emunalysis.cjb.net
And Gamefaqs
at http://www.gamefaqs.com
Contents:
=========
1. Introduction
2. General Game Information
-What is Need for Speed 2 SE?
-How is NFS2SE different compared to NFS2?
-How good is this game?
-What sort of computer do I need to play NFS2 SE?
-About the 3dfx mode.
-The old http://www.nfs2.com
3. Stuff from the Menu
3.1. Game Setup
3.2. Location, Car Select
3.3. Options
4. Car Information
4.1. General Rundown
4.2. Summary Table
5. Driving the Line
5.1. Car Settings
5.2. The Cockpit
5.3. Driving the Line
5.4. Other Driving Techniques
5.5. General Race Tips
5.6. Music
6. Track Information
6.1. General Walkthrough with Maps
6.2. Summary Table
7. Race Type
7.1. Tournament
7.2. Knockout
8. Extra Analysis
9. Easter Eggs
10. FAQ about this GameFAQ
11. Outro
12. Version History
13. Credits
14. Legal Stuff
1. Introduction
================
Welcome to my Need for Speed 2 Special Edition Game Guide!
This GameFAQ/Game Guide is for those of you who are relatively new to the game.
If you have been playing this game for quite a while, then there isn’t much new
here. But of course, feel free to read through it if you want!
In this Game Guide, I just basically talk about the game in as many ways as I
can.
So what makes this particular NFS GameFAQ different to the others?
Well, I tried to cover every aspect of the game in as much detail as possible.
Even the simplest or little things I go on and on about in case you don’t
understand anything. However, I don’t go on about pointless things like secret
areas in the tracks, which I happen to think are bugs anyway.
What makes me different from all the other NFS fans? Well I’ve been playing all
the NFS games with alot of interest since the first NFS came out. So you can
pretty much call me an NFS veteran who has raced many many many races, in all
the cars and all the tracks. You can also think of me as a dedicated NFS fan
who is always willing to be involved in the series and will go that extra
distance for his GameFAQ audience!
However, I don’t claim to be an NFS expert. So don’t go e-mailing me a load of
crap if you don’t like what I say. I’m giving you my free information for
crying out load!
So now that you know a bit about me, I can finally get back on topic and
outline what is in this GameFAQ. Firstly in Section 2 I go over general things
about the game. Section 3 will go over the menu if you are either lost or new
to the game. Section 4 will go over all the cars, kind of like my own separate
showcase. Section 5 and onwards will finally start to talk about how to play
this game. Section 6 will go over all the tracks and this even includes maps!
Section 7 will go over the various ways of playing this game. Section 8 Extra
Analysis is like an Appendix at the back of a Non Fiction book, stuff that
you’ll either cringe to know about or want to have a peek at for interests
sake. Section 9 will give away Easter Eggs. No, not chocolate eggs! Easter Eggs
formally known as cheat-codes. Section 10 is a FAQ about this GameFAQ for those
of you with a wary eye.
And from Section 11 onwards I start to say goodbye in a sense that you’ve read
this whole GameFAQ top to bottom and have come to an end.
One more thing. If you find anything wrong with this GameFAQ whether it be a
spelling or grammatical error, or something wrong with the information I have
provided or anything else, anything at all, then please e-mail me at
emunalysis@yahoo.com, so I can make changes on the next update.
Enjoy the drive!
2. General Game Information
============================
What is Need for Speed 2 Special Edition?
------------------------------------------
According to my own count, it is the forth game in the Need for Speed series.
Need for Speed
Need for Speed SE
Need for Speed II
Need for Speed II SE
Need for Speed III Hot Pursuit
Need for Speed Porsche Unleashed
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit II
Need for Speed *and so on*
In case you are new to the game or the entire series, the Need for Speed series
is basically a collection of games where you get to drive super sports cars and
race against other super sports cars on a selection of tracks. Some real
tracks, some made up tracks.
In NFS or NFS SE, you get to play the bad guy by trying to outrun cops in the
open road with civilian traffic. These cops seem 100% biased torwards you,
because they never ever want to catch your opponent.
In NFS2 or NFS2 SE, the emphasise shifts to faster and more expensive cars,
racing on closed race tracks around the world that funnily enough have civilian
traffic that endlessly go round and round the same route. You aren’t the bad
guy this time, because there are no cops that want to give you tickets.
Then in NFS III Hot Pursuit, the emphasise shifts back to you playing a bad guy
trying to outrun cops. But this time you are a very bad guy because you can
have something like 4 or 5 cop cars after you. The cops have even got a bit
smarter by parking their cars in the middle of the roads in an effort to block
you and if that doesn’t work, they’ll go for the extreme in the form of road
spikes. The cops will even go that little bit further by bringing out their
super cop cars if their ordinary bomb cop cars gas out. However, the cops
aren’t actually all that smart, in fact they are quite dumb because they pull
you over even when you are well under the speed limit.
OK, I’m drifting off the topic here.
NFS2 SE is a different version of NFS2, which leads onto. . .
How is Need for Speed 2 Special Edition Different Compared to Need for Speed 2?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The positives:
-3 extra cars: Ferrari 355F1, Ford Mustang Mach 3 and ItalDesign Nazca C2.
-3 new bonus cars to unlock in tournament.
-1 extra track, the Last Resort.
-Each car has its own set of colours, even black which was unavailable in
NFS2.
-Some new cheat codes.
-An extra racing style, Wild.
-Able to drive tracks backwards and mirrored
-Personal statistics.
-Slightly improved graphics in software mode.
-3dfx Support. (more info about that below)
-A black McLaren!
-Maybe a few other things, but they ain’t that important
The negatives:
-You can race against up to 7 cars, rather than 11 in NFS2 in a single race. I
think this is the biggest letdown. It is always a lot more fun racing against
more cars. It may not seem like a lot to you, but to me it is enough to
question whether or not this game is better than NFS2.
-You can’t choose any colour car you want anymore!
-No in-car view on 3dfx mode, I wonder why?
-The same bonus track to unlock in Knockout.
How Good is This Game?
----------------------
Back in 1997, the reviews for NFS2 SE were generally pretty good. Review scores
ranged from around 70%-90%. It wasn’t the best driving game back then compared
to other simulation games like TOCA Touring Cars or Colin McRae Rally.
The main things I liked about this game were the amount of flash sports cars
you can play around with and the awesome music. I think that there should have
been a few open road tracks like in NFS with cops to make it an even better
game altogether.
But all in all, to me this is an excellent driving game and will remain that
way no matter how far we go into the future. A classic.
What sort of computer do I need to play NFS2 SE?
------------------------------------------------
You’ll need a decent Pentium computer with at least 90Mhz, 16MB RAM, about 15MB
free hard drive space and a Quad Speed CD-ROM drive.
However, in order for the game to run properly, a Pentium 166Mhz MMX with 32MB
RAM and about 100MB free space would do the job fine.
About the 3dfx Mode
-------------------
The biggest change going from NFS2 to NFS2 SE was the all-new 3dfx support.
The 3dfx graphics mode is only for 3dfx video cards. So if you either have a
computer with an ordinary 2D video card or some other 3D video card, then you
will only have the game running in the ordinary software mode like NFS2.
However, you can install what’s called a “Glide Wrapper” and get the game’s
3dfx mode working for other 3D video cards like a GeForce with an nVidia
chipset.
You can download a Glide Wrapper at http://www.glideunderground.com.
Note that it won’t run the 3dfx mode all perfect, because in the game there
will be a whole bunch of graphical glitches like funny car textures and grey
ingame graphics floating over the horizon.
How Good is the 3dfx Mode?
--------------------------
From what I’ve seen, the 3dfx mode isn’t all that good, at least compared to
today’s games.
This is why:
-All the tracks look dark and foggy forcing you to set the brightness level to
14 and your monitor brightness and contrast to full to see things clearer. Your
vision isn’t seriously impaired, but only in certain parts of the game: inside
the volcano on Last Resort and the snow on Mystic Peaks.
-It rains on the Proving Grounds and Pacific Spirit all the time. You get
flying bees splattering onto your screen in the Outback, this especially
obstructs your view if a group of them splatter in the middle of your screen.
The snow sections of the Mystics Peaks snow very heavily. This is a nice little
extra thing to have, but not when you’re taking the game seriously in
tournament or knockout. There should have been someway to turn this off.
In the ordinary software mode, you can tell that the graphics have been
slightly improved from NFS2. The roads have more of a texture to them and the
surroundings don’t look as crappy.
Personally I would just stick to the software mode, because everything looks
more colourful making it easier to see things, plus you don’t have things
falling down the sky like in 3dfx.
The Old http://www.nfs2.com
----------------------------
http://www.nfs2.com was the game’s official website. When NFS3 came in, EA
opened it’s official Need for Speed series website http://www.needforspeed.com.
http://www.nfs2.com was moved to that site under EA’s NFS Heritage section.
That NFS Heritage section still remains, but without NFS2 and NFS.
I think it was taken down around 2000. In case you are interested to know what
was in it because you’ve never been in it before then you are in some luck
because I happen to remember a wee bit.
To be honest there was hardly anything. Back in 1997 internet was still
relatively new and official websites were quite crap. Anyway, as much as I can
remember the official website was like this:
Upon entering you get the big NFS2 logo in the middle of the browser. A menu
bar is at the bottom of the screen. There was a section listing the game’s
features with minimum and recommended system requirements. There was a section
on the cars, which included a few brief sentences about the car, some car stats
and a nice flash picture of it. People freely and happily ripped these flash
pictures off the site to put into their own websites that remain around the net
to this day. There was also a section with screenshots from the game, a lot
like the ones on the box. And that’s really all I remember. I think there was a
section on the tracks with some comments and pictures on it.
3. Stuff from the Menu
=======================
Here I will go over everything in the menu. It’s just for people who haven’t
played the game before or in case there is something you don’t know. When the
game passes it’s fancy intro videos, you’ll be presented with NFS2’s sleek
looking menu. It looks like this:
Game Setup
Location
Player 1
Player 2
Opponents
Options
RACE
Exit
Note that you can push left and right on your keyboard or any other game
control device to scroll through Game Setup, Location, Player 1/2, and
Opponents, with the status of the game shown along the right side of the
screen.
3.1 Game Setup
===============
Game Type: 1 Player, Split Screen, Modem, Serial or Network
I can’t go through anything about Serial or Network because I haven’t tried
those out before. As for modem, it is quite straight-forward.
One person calls, the other answers and once you’re connected, you’re off.
Race Type: Single, Tournament or Knockout
*Information on Game & Race Type are in Section 7. Game Modes
Catch-up:
This gets activated when you play split screen racing. What happens is the
player who is behind the other gets a speed increase, but not as the
speedometer suggests. Say when the leading player is going at about 100 mph at
some point and the other player would be going faster than that even when the
speedometer is at 90 mph.
I did a little test on the Proving Grounds with two McLaren F1s. I got one to
finish the race with about 50 secs on the 2nd lap. Then I got the other one to
go round twice and it got about 40 secs on the 2nd lap. That looks like a 20%
decrease in time. I don’t know whether it’s the case of the furtherer behind
you are the faster you go, so I’m guessing the player behind would be going
between 1-20% faster.
Backwards: Drive the track going backwards. Do this if you are bored of doing
the tracks the normal way round.
Mirrored: Left is right, right is left. Do this if you are bored of the same
old turns.
Turning both backwards and mirrored on nearly makes the track completely
different, something you’d do if you were bored to death of the game.
Turning backwards on would yield different lap times.
Style:
------
Here you select what sort of physics model you want to play in the game.
You can choose from:
Simulation:
Here the cars will usually act like they do in real life. Not exactly
realistically but enough for you not to say “what the hell is going on here?”.
Turning and braking will cause the car to understeer rather than drift or
power-slide. Turning and hand-braking at the same time will cause the car to
skid sideways quite fast and this is quite hard to keep control of. If you use
the handbrake properly, you can pull off power-slides.
Arcade:
Here the cars will accelerate a lot faster than in simulation and also reach
their top speeds in about the half the time. The cars also turn a lot better,
probably twice as good as they would in simulation. Handbrake turns don’t skid
you sideways. Instead they seem to make you power-slide sideways on all 4
wheels rather than just the 2 rear wheels while you’re still moving forward and
when this does happen, I don’t know how to stop this without hitting something.
It’s quite strange really. This is to make the game more fun I guess. It is
also easier to go airborne when you hit something especially oncoming cars.
Wild:
I can’t really tell too much difference between wild and arcade. What I have
observed is that the acceleration, handling and braking are similar. Handbrake
turns are easiest to control here. You are able to power-slide through corners
without too much effort unlike simulation or arcade mode. I also think that
hitting other cars seems to cause more mayhem, hence the style “wild”.
3.2. Location and Car Select
=============================
Location
========
Here you select the track you want to race.
This is greyed out in knockout.
Laps: pick from 2, 4 or 8 laps.
Track Info:
-----------
You won’t get as much information here as you did in NFS. There will be a thick
yellow line of the track along with how long it is and how hard it is. Wait for
the track’s logo on the top left to spin twice and you’ll hear a voice over on
the track.
Track Records:
--------------
This lists the top ten times for each track for 2, 4 and 8 laps. The car and
whether they are driven in simulation, arcade or wild is shown. The lap record
is at the bottom of the screen. Initially for each track there will be these
funny made-up names with made-up times, which are certainly all quite beatable.
If you decide to clear the records, then everything will be wiped out for that
track only, including the stuff that was initially there.
Personal Statistics:
--------------------
This gives you line graphs of: number of fatal crashes, best lap time, total
time and top speed on your previous outings. Changing the car, track or number
of laps will all change the graph. This is really of any use if you have been
playing the game for a very long time otherwise you won’t get very good graphs,
just ones with very short ranged y-axes. Quite a handy thing for keeping track
of your lap times especially if you are the type of person who is always
persistent on shaving milliseconds off your best times.
Car Select
==========
Player 1 / Player 2
===================
Here you select your car. In single race you can select any car you want. In
tournament and knockout, you will be restricted to a class set of 4 cars
depending on the track you’re going to race.
Transmission:
Select from Automatic or Manual.
Colour:
Select the colour of your car. Depending on which car you have chosen, this
will range from 5 to 9 colours, except for the Ford Indigo which only has red.
Graph:
Get a quick glance at how good the car is under acceleration, top speed,
braking and handling. I have made a full analysis of this under 8. Extra
Analysis.
Settings:
Be your own mechanic and change the settings of your car the way you see fit.
More information on this is under 5.1. Car Settings.
Showcase:
Get the full low down on all 12 cars. Information includes General,
Performance, Transmission Type and Mechanical. Under history, you get little
history lesson on the car and it’s manufacturer with a timeline of past models.
Note there are only 7 of these rather than 12, because the game only has 7 car
manufacturers.
The slideshows are quite nice to look at, each car will have 7 or 8 pictures.
Select video to see the car in real life action. Although some of them like the
Ford GT90 just sit there in the showroom for you to drool over! The Isdera
Commendatore 112i is the only car with no video.
Opponent
========
Now that you’ve picked your car and learnt all about it, you will want to race
against a few others. This is a racing game isn’t it?
Car: Pick which car(s) you want to race against. Picking Class A,B or C will
automatically set the number to Full Grid.
Number: Select from None, One or Full Grid, which is against 7 other cars.
Skill: Select Beginner if you are starting out. This will become too easy once
you’ve got the hang of the game. Select Advanced for more of a challenge. This
too soon does become too easy after you’ve REALLY got the hang of the game!
Traffic: This will put a few civilian cars in the way, not too many, about as
much as a quiet Sunday afternoon in a local neighbourhood. You can only have
one opponent to race against with this turned on. This is not available on the
Proving Grounds. You would normally switch this on if you aren’t racing
seriously. I only play with traffic on to make big crash accidents. A fun thing
to do is to try and knock buses and trucks over!
3.3. Options
=============
Speedometer: Select from mph or kph.
Personal Stats: When this is turned off, none of the stats will be recorded and
will grey out the Personal Stats feature under Location.
Credits: If you are really bored, then take a look at this. The people that
appear on that list don’t get the credit they deserve mainly because you’re
unlikely to know any of them!
Audio
-----
Here you change the volume of the menu music, racing music and sound effects.
Only of any use if you have speakers with no volume knob like I had once.
Interactive Music: With this turned on, the track will play with either one of
it’s rock or techno tunes, but the music will change according to where you are
on the track to suit the race situation.
Racing Tune: With interactive music turned off, you can select from having the
track’s default music, random music from the 16 scores or individually pick
which one you want.
Engine Sounds: I never knew what this was, because I cannot tell the difference
between Optimal or Standard racing sounds. So if you have a slow computer, just
switch it to Standard and try to psychologically think you’ll get a frame rate
increase.
Audio/Audio Quality: Select from Stereo or Mono / 16 bit or 8 bit
Controls
--------
Setup: You are almost certain to visit this place at least once. There are a
few keys you can’t use: L/R Shift, L/R Control, L/R Alt, all function keys,
Print Screen, Scroll Lock, Pause and Caps Lock. However, you can assign
controls to the Shift Keys, like !, @, ? & ~. I find that quite funny seeing
they are harder to access.
You can mix keyboard controls with gamepad, joystick and steering wheel
controls.
More information on the actual controls, they are under 5.2. The Controls.
Steering Sensitivity:
For Steering Wheels of course. Set how far your steering wheel turns before it
is a full turn in the game. Select from Full, Three Quarters, Half or a
Quarter. I can honestly say that playing NFS2 with a steering wheel isn’t as
fun an experience as it would seem. You’re most likely to be better off with a
game-pad, both fun and performance wise.
Force Feedback: No idea about this. I can imagine it being a pain in the butt
if you’re trying to win a Knockout tournament though.
Load/Save
---------
You know, this place seems very hidden. Putting it under Options is quite
cheeky given that Loading and Saving things aren’t really Options. It actually
took me a while to figure out that you come here to view your replays!
Anyways, here you can save, load or delete tournaments. For replays you can
view your most recent outing and save it, or delete saved replays.
Graphics
--------
You are most likely to come here more often if you had a slow computer like me
to tinker around a bit.
Window Size (Software Mode):
Choose from Full, Medium or Small. If you have something below a Pentium
133mhz, Medium or Small will drastically improve the frame-rate.
Image Quality (Software Mode):
Choose from High, Medium, Interlaced, Low or Low Interlaced.
Interlaced puts inactive dark lines through the screen to improve the frame-
rate. It actually isn’t too bad.
Setting the image quality on high is too slow for anything below a Pentium
150mhz with 32 RAM.
Car Detail (3dfx Mode):
Car detail here means putting that extra shiny gloss onto the cars. If its
turned off then the cars will just look like they do in Software Mode.
Brightness (3dfx Mode):
This ranges from 1-14. It is defaulted to 6. I would suggest putting this on 14
seeing everything is so dam dark.
View Distance: Choose from Far, Medium or Close. Selecting Close won’t affect
your vision. In fact when I played with this on, I was so busy trying to race I
never noticed anything.
Horizon: You can either have this on or off.
4. Car Information
===================
4.1. General Rundown
=====================
For each car in order of it’s overall placing (out of 12) I’ll give some useful
stats worth knowing, how the car rates against the other cars (out of 12) and
some of my personal opinions on the car.
And those stats are worth knowing because you won’t find some of it in the
game.
If you want to know about how I produced the car ratings, then go to 6. Extra
Analysis.
As an indication of how fast the cars are compared to each other, I have
provided typical Proving Grounds times to the nearest 0.1 seconds on simulation
mode.
1. McLaren F1 (Class A)
==============
Engine Specs
48 Valve, V12
6064cc
627bhp @ 7500rpm
Top Speed: 231mph, 372 km/h
0-60: 3.2 secs
0-100: 6.3 secs
Weight: 2509lbs
Available Colours: black, yellow, teal, white, grey, brown
Ratings Against Other Cars:
Acceleration: 3rd
Top Speed: 1st
Handling: 4th
Braking: 1st
Overall: 1st
Clearly this is the best car in the game hands down. It has by far the best top
speed. The Ferrari F50 and Ford GT90 are a little faster going from 0-100mph,
but once you’ve gone over 100mph the McLaren F1 can easily outpace any car.
Handling isn’t the best, but it is still relatively good compared to most of
the other cars.
It is the only car than can do a lap of the Proving Grounds in less than 50
seconds.
So if you really want to win on any track then use this car!
2. Ferrari F50 (Class A)
===============
Engine Specs:
60 Valve, V12
4700cc
513bhp @ 8500rpm
Top Speed: 202 mph, 325 km/h
0-60: 3.7 secs
0-100: 6.0 secs
Weight: 3080lbs
Available Colours: red, yellow, teal, black, white
Ratings Against Other Cars:
Acceleration: 1st
Top Speed: 5th
Handling: 5th
Braking: 5th
Overall: 2nd
Believe it or not, 0-100 in 6 seconds, that’s pretty darn fast for a road car.
Overall consistency earns this car a firm 2nd best. It’s only letdown, which is
very minor is it’s 202 mph top speed which is overshadowed by the Class B cars
Isdera 112i and Jaguar XJ220. Having the best acceleration in the game comes at
a price. Because the car revs up real quickly, it has a slight tendency to
oversteer after crashing into things while still accelerating.
However, the F50 can still be handled very well by a beginner. But with an
experienced driver behind the wheel, the F50 can be very hard to beat.
3. Ford GT90 (Class A)
=============
Engine Specs:
48 Valve, V12 Quad Turbo
5927cc
720bhp @ 6300rpm
Top Speed: 220 mph, 354 km/h
0-60: 3.1 secs
0-100: 6.2 secs
Weight: 3200lbs
Available Colours: white, red, grey, black, yellow, blue
Ratings Against Other Cars:
Acceleration: 2nd
Top Speed: 2nd
Handling: 7th
Braking: 11th
Overall: 3rd
This car is a complete monster! It kinda looks like the Nazca C2, but all
beefed up.
It uses some sort of “modular technology” to fuse 2 separate engines together.
This results in the car having the most horse-power in the game of 720bhp. Now
that is a heck of alot of power. And that sort of power makes this is the
fastest car going from 0-60 mph and needing 4 exhaust pipes to handle it all!
It’s top speed of 220mph makes it the only car to give the McLaren F1 a decent
one on one race on the Proving Grounds and the Outback. So why is it 3rd best?
Because of it’s handling. This car does not pin to the ground under high speeds
without accelerating. So if you turn without accelerating under high-speed, the
car will slide forcing you to counter steer. This of course allows you to
power-slide more easily although it won’t improve your time. Highly recommended
for the experienced driver.
Ratings Against Other Cars:
Acceleration: 7th
Top Speed: 6th
Handling: 2nd
Braking: 3rd
Overall: 4th
I would have to call this the best all-round performer in the game. Although
its acceleration and top-speed are about average, the strength lies in it’s
superb handling. Being extremely lightweight makes the car able to sweep
around corners like a charm. The brakes are very good too, but you won’t need
to be using them as much as most other cars seeing you can accelerate through
many of the turns. This is definitely the best car for beginners without too
much of a compromise in speed.
5. Ford Indigo (Class B)
===============
Engine Specs:
48 Valve, V12
5935cc
435bhp @ 6100rpm
Top Speed: 180 mph, 290 km/h
0-60: 3.9 secs (est)
0-100: 6.9 secs (est)
Ratings Against Other Cars:
Acceleration: 6th
Top Speed: 10th
Handling: 1st
Braking: 2nd
Overall: 5th
This was a bonus car that you had to unlock in NFS2. Somehow I feel that this
is kind of like an outsider car from the rest of the pack. Firstly because it
doesn’t look like a road car, more like a big super kart. And secondly you
can’t change the colour of it!
Besides all that, this car is quite similar to the Lotus GT1. The acceleration
is above average and the top speed is not so great. But like the Lotus GT1,
it’s ultra light weight of 2300lbs gives this car the best handling with
excellent braking, making it the easiest to drive.
Weight: 2293lbs
Available Colours: grey, dark red, blue, yellow, purple, white, black
Ratings Against Other Cars:
Acceleration: 8th
Top Speed: 7th
Handling: 3rd
Braking: 7th
Overall: 6th
An overall rating of 6th (according to me) makes this the most average car in
the game. Performance is reliable all around. Decent acceleration, decent top-
speed, and decent braking. Weighing in at a feather-like 2293lbs makes this the
lightest car in the game, giving it very fine handling. You can’t really go
wrong with this car, unless of course you’re racing against faster cars on the
Proving Grounds or the Outback. Yet another good car for beginners. And in my
opinion, the flashiest car in the game.
Ratings Against Other Cars:
Acceleration: 4th
Top Speed: 3rd
Handling: 12th
Braking: 10th
Overall: 7th
If I was to give this car one word descriptions, then they would be: rock,
brick, stump and beast. Being the 2nd heaviest car at 3241lbs makes this car
handle like a huge rock. You can barely keep it on the road at high speeds and
you’ll have a hard time trying to slow it down to take a corner efficiently.
You’ll even struggle to keep this car in place on the Proving Grounds. This is
made up for with well above average top-speed and acceleration. Like the Ford
GT90, this car is best left for experienced drivers.
Ratings Against Other Cars:
Acceleration: 5th
Top Speed: 4th
Handling: 11th
Braking: 12th
Overall: 8th
This car is very evenly matched against the Jaguar XJ220. The acceleration, top
speed and braking are about the same as the Jaguar, but it handles slightly
better. Not bad for a hand built car! This is the heaviest car in the game at
3256lbs, which explains why it has the worst braking in the game. Overall this
car is able to race closely against all the other cars on any track making it a
solid performer.
Weight: 2844lbs
Available Colours: yellow, brown, dark violet, black, light grey
Ratings Against Other Cars:
Acceleration: 11th
Top Speed: 9th
Handling: 6th
Braking: 4th
Overall: 9th
A lot like its big brother Nazca C2, but with a little less grunt. A 0-100 time
of 10.9 secs suggests this car has the slowest acceleration, however when you
are playing the game it appears to be quicker than the 355F1 with a 0-100 time
of 10.5 secs. So don’t let that fool you. The top-speed may be a little on the
slow side, but the car handles nice & smoothly with very good brakes. So when
you’ve got the speed going you can even give cars like the Jaguar XJ220 a good
race on the Intermediate tracks, just like in the introduction video, which is
why I think the Cala is the best overall Class C car.
I’m not so sure about the engine sounds of the car, I think it sounds more like
a moped. Don’t you?
10. Ford Mustang Mach III (Class C)
==========================
Engine Specs:
V8 Super Charged
4600cc
450bhp @ 5500rpm
Ratings Against Other Cars:
Acceleration: 9th
Top Speed: 11th
Handling: 8th
Braking: 9th
Overall: 10th
The car’s showcase states the top-speed as being 180+mph and after trying it
out on the Proving Grounds, the car’s top speed looks very set on just 180mph.
There is a major problem with this car; like the Ford GT90 it has hardly any
downforce and that’s easily seen by the shape of the car. If you try to turn
without accelerating, then the car turns into a slippery sliding soap. It just
doesn’t stick to the ground!
In order to drive this car properly, you really need to brake before entering
corners and accelerate out of them. It has the best acceleration of the Class C
cars, so if you can manage to drive it properly, it can quite easily beat Class
C opposition and even give Class B cars a good race.
11. Ferrari 355F1 (Class C)
==================
Engine Specs:
40 Valve, V8
3496cc
375bhp @ 8250rpm
Top Speed: 183 mph, 296 km/h
0-60: 4.4 secs
0-100: 10.5 secs
Weight: 2976lbs
Available Colours: red, yellow, black, dark blue, white
Ratings Against Other Cars:
Acceleration: 12th
Top Speed: 8th
Handling: 9th
Braking: 8th
Overall: 11th
The 355F1, a very toned down version of its big brother F50 with below average
acceleration, top-speed, handling and braking. It has the best top speed of the
Class C cars. Despite the game showing its 0-100 time as being 10.5 secs, which
is not the slowest, this car does appear to have the slowest acceleration in
actual gameplay. So that along with poor handling and braking lets this car
down against Class A & B opposition. A Formula-1 steering wheel, but not so
much Formula-1 performance.
Ratings Against Other Cars:
Acceleration: 10th
Top Speed: 12th
Handling: 10th
Braking: 6th
Overall: 12th
The Esprit V8 gets an overall placing of 12th mainly due to its top speed being
substantially lower than the rest of the pack. It will also yield the slowest
lap times out of the other cars for all tracks.
It has the exact same engine specifications as it’s older brother GT1, but
being 727lbs heavier than the GT1 slows it way down. So that’s why I tend to
think of this car as being very overweight. The braking is quite good, giving
it an edge on the Mediterraneo and the Mystic Peaks.
4.2. Summary Table
===================
The table below neatly compacts the essential stuff you would want to know
about the 12 cars in order of overall ranking. Unlike above, I have included
the length of the car in inches for a size visualisation.
5. Driving the Line
====================
5.1. Car Settings
==================
Now that you’ve picked your super sport car and a desired location to have a
spin around in, you need to set-up your car to suit your own preferences and
track conditions.
You set your car up under Settings when you are choosing your car. This is not
available in Tournament or Knockout mode.
The four things you can set up are Front Downforce, Rear Downforce, Brake Bias
and Gear Ratios. All four of these are defaulted to Stock.
Front Downforce and Rear Downforce
----------------------------------
This is how much you want to pin the car down to the ground.
On the Stock setting, the Front & Rear Downforce are set to low.
Medium is the next highest up and High is the most downforce.
Basically the more downforce you have, the better your car can turn, but with a
sacrifice in overall speed. Having more downforce at the rear prevents
oversteering.
Setting the downforce here is most useful on twisty tracks, especially the
Mystic Peaks.
Brake Bias
----------
You decide whether you want more brake power to the front or rear of your car.
This is actually more of a big deal in rallying. I haven’t noticed that big a
difference between changing the Brake Bias in this game seeing you normally use
the handbrake to powerslide.
Basically setting the Brake Bias to the Rear makes the car tend to oversteer
under braking and setting the Brake Bias to the Front makes the car tend to
understeer under braking.
Gear Ratios
-----------
Leaving the car on Stock will allow the car to attain it’s normal top speed,
provided that Front & Rear Downforce are left alone.
Setting the Gear Ratio to Tall will slightly increase acceleration without too
much of a sacrifice in top speed. Setting it to Short will increase the
acceleration even more, but with a pretty big drop in top speed.
Like the Downforce, setting your Gear Ratios is more useful on twisty tracks.
5.2. The Cockpit
=================
Set your Controls up under Options, Controls, Setup.
NFS2 SE has very typical controls for a racing game.
Below are all the Controls with their default keys.
Pause Game - Escape
Steer Left/Right - [<-] / [->] Left & Right Arrows
Accelerate - [/\] Up Arrow
Brake - [\/] Down Arrow
Shift Gears Up/Down – [A] / [Z]
Cycle Through
Camera Views - [C]
Look Behind - [B]
Horn - [H]
Below are the Ingame Function Key Commands. Very handy to have indeed, but only
when you’re not turning!
5.3. Driving the Line
======================
We all know how to drive a car in a video game at least. We accelerate to get
the car moving. Put on the brakes if we think we’re going too fast. Tap left or
right to turn. But we don’t all know about driving lines. If you have played
Gran Turismo 1,2 or 3 and got all the licences then you must have taken driving
lines to get through at least some of it. If you have done something like that,
then you don’t need to worry about this section at all, so you should move on
to the next sections 5.4. Other Driving Techniques or 5.5. General Race Tips.
Or if you don’t care about being a clean driver and just want to be a wreck-
less, power-sliding, barrier-scrapping maniac, then by all means move onto the
next sections as well.
Driving lines are going through all types of corners in such a way that you
minimise the distance required to go through a corner while at the same time
you maximise the speed and time it takes you to get through it. NFS2 SE may be
more of an arcade racer, but driving lines apply to all driving games alike.
You don’t necessarily need to follow driving lines, but racing with a driving
line is the proper way to race. And if you make a habit of driving lines, they
will become natural to you, making you a better video game driver altogether.
Most of the tracks in NFS2 SE don’t have many tight narrow corners. In case you
haven’t noticed, nearly all of the roads in this game are really wide. So wide
in fact that it makes it easier to apply driving lines. So when I say “tight
corner”, I really mean a corner that gradually goes around 90 degrees or more
on a narrow road, not sharply.
Below I will show you the way you can drive through three types of corners. Not
the only way, just a good way you can do it:
- Ordinary Corners
- Gentle S-Bends
- Switch-Backs
An Ordinary Corner
------------------
In my own terms, an ordinary corner is a corner that’s not too flat and not too
sharp. In other words, any old corner. If you think your car is at an
appropriate speed to go through a corner, then common-sense suggests that you
hug around the corner, staying to the inside of it as you go around.
But of course in a game such as this, you will very often have to negotiate
corners at high speeds. The basic thing here is to come braking into the corner
wide, then accelerating right through. The wider you take the corner, the
faster you can accelerate through it.
The diagrams below pretty much sum it all up:
MMM a MMM
MMM a MM
MMM a MM
MM a MMM
MMM a MM
MM a MMM
MM a MMM
MM a MMM
MM a MMM
MM a MM
MM a MMM
MM a MMM
M a MMM
M a MM
M a MM
M a MM
M a M
M a MM
M a M
M a M
M a M
M a M
M a M
M a M
M a M
M b M
M b M
M b M
M b M
M b M
M b M b- Brake
M b M a- Accelerate
M b M
M b M
M b M
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMM *******************************
MMM *******
M *****
M ****
M ***
M ***
M ** MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
M *** MMMMM
M *** MM
M ** M
M ** M
M ** MM Follow the *s.
M * M
M * M
M * M
M * M
M * M
M * M
M * M
M * M
M* M
M* M
M* M
M* M
M* M
M* M
M* M
M* M
M* M
M* M
M* M
M* M
M* M
M* M
Gentle S-Bends
--------------
An S-Bend is something like a left turn followed by a right turn followed by
another left turn, vice versa. Technically it is strictly more like a shape of
an S or in race car driving terms, it’s called a chicane. But I won’t get too
technical here, so I’ll just refer to them as gentle S-bends.
There are plenty of these gentle S-bends in this game, particularly on long
straights.
When beginning drivers go through these sort of bends in video games, they tend
to follow the road left and right without realising they are travelling a
greater distance than they should be.
Remember that:
//=========================================================================\
|| The closest distance between two points will always be a straight line. ||
|| ._____________________________________________________________________. ||
\=========================================================================//
So what I am trying to say is how some gentle bends that go left and right
after another can be driven through without steering at all.
The diagram below sums it all up. The * is the line to drive.
MM * MMM
MM * MM
MM * MM
MM * MM
MM * M
M * M
MM * M
M * M
MM * M
M * M
M * MM
M * M
M * M
M * M
MM * M
MM * M
M * M
M * M
M * M
M * M
MM * M
M * MM
M * M
M * M
M * MM
M * M
M * M
M * MM
MM * MM
MM * MM
MM * MM
MM * MM
Switch-Backs
------------
These are type of corners where you go sharply around 180 degrees. These are
the main feature of North Country. The best way to go through switch-backs is
to enter it wide, go into the inside of the curve, then exit wide; all that in
a nice round curve. Control your speed while going around so you don’t run off
to the outside of the curve. It is quite similar to doing a less sharp curve.
The diagram below will explain it better:
MMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMM MMMMMMM
MMMM MMMM
MMM MMM
MMM MM
aMM MM
MM MM
M MM
M ************ MM
M ***** MMMMMMM ***** MM
M ***** MMMMM MMMM ***** M
M **** MMM MMM **** M
M ** M M ** MM
M ** M MM ** M
M ** M M ** M
M ** M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
M * M M * M
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
5.4. Other Driving Techniques
==============================
The following driving techniques are just based on common sense. So if you’re
familiar with driving games, don’t bother reading this part.
Driving Around Long 180+ Corners
--------------------------------
What I mean by long 180+ corners are the long round ones that go around 180
degrees or more. There are heaps of these in the game.
I have never personally had a “proper” way to go around these.
What I do suggest is to enter them on the outside lane not going too fast,
drive your way into the inside lane then work your way around controlling your
speed so you don’t hit the sides.
Controlling your Speed Through Turns
------------------------------------
You can go around a lot of corners or bends without braking into them or while
you’re going through them. The problem is, you might hit the outside of the
track or run into barriers. Controlling your speed around turns (as I call it
anyway) is going around a corner without using the brakes, but by pushing your
foot on the accelerator or releasing it whenever it feels comfortable. What you
do is when you’re turning and you feel that you’re heading into the outside of
a corner, you let go of the accelerator until the car angles away from the
outside, then immediately stick the accelerator back on to maintain speed.
Of course, you’re supposed to be on a driving line while you’re doing all this.
But some of you will be too lazy to, and will just act upon natural instinct.
Power-sliding
-------------
Power-sliding is turning without your wheels gripping to the road, just sliding
through like they always do in the movies. They don’t really improve your lap
times in this game, they are just for fun. To power-slide in this game, you
turn and hold down on the handbrake at the same time. The Ford GT90 and Mustang
Mach3 can do this without using the handbrake. Both these cars have poor
downforce, meaning you are forced to power-slide when not accelerating at high
speeds. In Simulation mode, they are quite hard to pull off properly, because
turning the wheel with the handbrake on just slides the car side on rather than
sliding sideways and going forwards at the same time.
Power-sliding is very easy to do in Wild and Arcade mode and they can be quite
helpful around certain corners.
Quick Turnaround
----------------
Sometimes when you screwed yourself up, you might end up facing the wrong
direction of the track on a narrow road. Now in real life, you might do a 3-
Point turn making use of the reverse gear. But a better way in this game is to
turn using the handbrake. Like it says on the box: “bootleg” turns, so make use
of it!
To do this, drive up to around 25mph going the opposite direction, then turn
the car left or right releasing the accelerator and holding down on the
handbrake. The car will quickly spin around the other way. It’s a fun and quick
way of turning around, but more importantly, it works!
Road Signs
----------
A lot of the road signs that you tend to knock down aren’t there just for
pretty decoration you know. A lot of them are actually very good indicators for
when you should start steering into a corner or when to brake. So either make
use of them, or knock em down for fun.
Scrape the Sides
----------------
If you really can’t be bothered going on driving lines or aren’t very good at
it, then it’ll be best if you just scrape the sides. By that I mean
accelerating through the corner without worrying about hitting the outside
barrier. When you do come in contact with the sides, make sure you’re going in
as side on as you can by going into the corner nice and wide with your foot
firmly on the accelerator. Going in sharply will cause you to awkwardly rebound
off the side with a huge lose in speed.
5.5. General Race Tips
=======================
In this section I’ll just give you my general racing tips. They will come in
handy in the game’s Tournament or Knockout modes, especially if you want to
win!
Don’t Rev the Engine Up Hard at the Start!
------------------------------------------
When the green lights come on and the guy says “GO!” that’s when your car moves
into 1st gear allowing you to hit the accelerator. You get off much quicker with
minimal burn out.
The Computer AI can be Smart at Times, but not all the Time
-----------------------------------------------------------
After a high-speed collision with the side of a track, you might rebound then
oversteer facing a wrong direction with a huge speed lose. This gets worse if
there are oncoming opponent cars, they will just ram straight into you causing
you to go into a spectacular spin out. They make no effort to avoid you.
The computer drivers also don’t follow a driving line a lot of the time, making
it easier for you to overtake them.
Quite often when you smash into a computer driver, they will retaliate! They
will stay really close behind you beeping their horn hard-out and try to smash
you back.
A funny incident that happened to me was on the last bend of the Proving
Grounds. Using the Jaguar XJ220, I rammed a Nazca C2 into the right barrier. I
deliberately slowed down and when the Nazca C2 caught up, it didn’t overtake!
It was stuck behind my car, beeping it’s horn! I went into the pitlane very
slowly and the Nazca C2 was still stuck behind me, ramming the rear of my car
and still beeping it’s horn!
Take Em Out!
------------
Never be afraid to play dirty by ramming into opponent cars to take them out,
just as long as you aren’t the one who ends up getting screwed. To spin or tail
opponent cars out from behind, simply just drive hard and fast into the sides
at the rear end. This is quite hard if your car is lighter than the car you’re
trying to spin out. But doing it from behind isn’t the best way. The best way
is when you’re in front. Use the rear of your car to ram into the car behind,
but not full on, somewhere between the car’s bonnet and front wheels. This is a
very effective way of spinning cars out and is very satisfying when it is
achieved. Trust me, it actually is. Go try it for yourself!
Of course, the heavier your car is, the easier it is.
Overtaking
----------
Always try to overtake by taking the inside lane, it is a lot easier. The
car(s) outside you will act as a cushion to prevent you from going wide and
keeping you inside a corner. While you are passing a car, you can always try to
deliberately use the rear of your car to take the other car out as I mentioned
above.
Flying and Jumping
------------------
Throughout the game, there will be many places on the tracks where you can make
very big jumps, some that you have to take and some that are optional. These
jumps look spectacularly fun and all, giving an impression that you’re going
faster than you would be if you stayed on the ground. But really, they simply
just slow you down. So if you’re racing seriously and see places where you can
pretend to be an aeroplane for a few seconds, then forget it! This is a driving
simulator, not a flight simulator!
Always Give Yourself the Landing Space!
---------------------------------------
One of the worse things that you can ever do is go airborne into the side of
the track. If this happens, almost all of the time you’ll go into a mid-air
spin-out finished off with an ungenerous landing. Always give yourself enough
landing space!
Stay out of Trouble
-------------------
Very often, the computer will crash and flip its car. It is really easy to bang
into it while you’re on the move like I always do. Try to stay away from it! I
once lost a Knockout race on the Mystic Peaks, because when a Mustang Mach3
went on a crazy flip around on the bridge, I accidentally knocked it back onto
its feet and ahead of me as well! I never caught up.
Prevent Over Revving
--------------------
What I mean by “over revving” is when your rev counter is up really high while
your wheels are spinning & burning rubber like mad. This happens often after
you’ve bumped something to lose speed. Your car remains fully revved, but your
car’s wheels have gone crazy making you go on a spin out. To prevent this after
you’ve hit something, don’t accelerate all out. Get the car back in line while
tapping the accelerator to get the necessary movement.
Hitting Roadside Objects
------------------------
If you are going to hit roadside objects like boxes or sale stands for whatever
reason it may be, then release the accelerator the moment you hit them to
prevent over revving the car. That way you won’t go on a pointless spinout.
Car Restarts
------------
After you’re flipped your car and it doesn’t flip back onto its wheels, the
game will automatically drop you back onto the track. While all this happens,
don’t accelerate!
Similar to the start of a race, wait until your car to back on ground, into 1st
gear, then accelerate away.
Catch-Up is on
--------------
When you’ve done something stupid, or if a computer driver did something stupid
to you and you find yourself well behind, don’t worry! A bit like in split-
screen racing, the car behind will go faster and also the cars ahead will go
slower. Well, if something stupid happened on the last lap near the end, then
you’re toast unless a computer opponent does something stupid.
5.6. Music
===========
Racing with music on is certainly much more fun, so that way I would much
rather race with music on. However, from my past experience, whenever I turned
the music off, I produce much faster lap times. I don’t know if this is the
case for everyone else, but I suggest you try racing with music on and off to
see if this makes any difference.
Throughout my time with NFS2 SE, like many other people, I have become bored
with the ingame music. Not like its bad or anything, I think it is the best
racing music you can ever get. Simply over time, you just get sick of hearing
the same tunes over and over again, like you do with the game itself. So what I
do is I put on an MP3 playlist of ordinary music before I load up the game, to
listen to while I race. I’ve tried out many songs, some are quite funny to
drive with, some make the game look more intense, and some are just plain ol
irritating.
In fact almost anything you like will do. I tend to stay away from the very
heavy rock stuff, they drive me nuts while I’m racing.
Below I have compiled a list of 20 songs that I highly recommend you try out
while playing the game:
-Achy Breaky Heart, Billy Ray Cyrus
-Dope Nose, Weezer
-Escape, Enrique Eglesias
-Footloose, Kevin Loggins
-Hey Jealousy, Gin Blossoms
-I Get Around, Beach Boys
-It’s My Life, Jon Bon Jovi
-Life Styles of the Rich and Famous, Good Charlotte
-Macho Man, Village People
-Rebel Yell, Billy Idol
-Roam Around the World, B 52’s
-Rocking All Over the World, Status Quo
-Respect, Train
-Start Me Up, Rolling Stones
-The Rock Show, Blink182
-Twistin the Night Away, Rod Stewart
-U Can’t Touch This, MC Hammer
-Wondering, Good Charlotte
-Winner Takes it All, Sammy Hagar
-Word to Me, Sugar Ray
6. Track Information
=====================
6.1. General Walkthrough with Maps
===================================
For each track, I will briefly summarise what it is all about. Then I will give
you a detailed walkthrough taking you step by step through the main parts of
the track. The walkthrough is only for tracks going the normal way around and
not mirrored. But more importantly, the walkthrough only concentrates around
the simulation mode. Each of these steps or parts of the track are lettered
a,b,c,d... and so on. I have also provided ASCII maps of all the tracks. Each
of these maps will be labelled with the appropriate parts of the track I was
talking about namely a,b,c,d... so you know what I am going on about. These
maps are actually taken from the game and some will be rotated to make things
easier for you to see. Note that when I say “fast car” I mean a car that can go
over 200 mph.
I have even gone that little bit further by providing typical lap times of all
the tracks using all the cars (not the bonus ones). They aren’t so much to give
you an idea on how long it’ll take you to do but they are to rank the cars
against the others on how fast they can go around the track. At the beginning
of each track, I have also stated the top 3 cars that give the top 3 lap times.
A “flying lap” is a lap that isn’t a starting lap. All of these lap times are
taken under the following conditions:
-Simulation mode
-Car with default stock settings
-Single Player
-No opponents
-No traffic
They are in no way meant to be accurate.
I will also be using these typical lap times to rank the car’s lap times
against one another under 8. Extra Analysis.
I am not going to go on about these secret areas within some of the tracks,
firstly because I think they aren’t any fun and secondly they are a waste of
time and effort. Not a just a waste of time and effort on your behalf, but a
waste of your lap time! I also happen to think that they’re just bugs in the
game anyway and even if they aren’t, they pretty much damn well look like bugs.
1. Norway - Proving Grounds
============================
Beginner, 3.2 miles / 5.15 kilometres.
Best 3 Cars: McLaren F1, Ford GT90 and Jaguar XJ220
This is the easiest track of the game. There is hardly any skill involved and
isn’t all that fun playing against computer players, because if you have a car
that’s faster or with equal speed, then you know you’re going to win. Even if
you use a Ford GT90 going up against a computer opponent with a McLaren F1, you
will still win a 2 lap race.
General Advice
--------------
First off, playing this track in Simulation mode is a lot more fun than Wild or
Arcade. When you play this on Arcade or Wild, the cars shoot to their top
speeds and get stuck on maximum revs real quickly and the distance between you
and the other player hardly changes. Not my idea of fun.
There are two basic things you need to do on this track:
1. Keep your finger or foot down on the accelerator and not let go.
2. Stay as close to the left as you can on the inner lane throughout the entire
race (given you are playing the normal way round).
Staying on the inside, middle or outside does make a difference, even though it
is a bit easier to maintain a higher speed on the outside. The computer is not
good at doing this, which is why you can beat it all the time.
I did a little test with the McLaren F1 and Ford Indigo, by driving both cars
around the track on a flying lap, once sticking to the inside, the other
sticking to the outside.
Inside Outside
McLaren F1 50.28 51.18
Ford Indigo 1:03.78 1:04.69
So as you can see there is about a 0.9 sec difference, just under a second.
a. The Ditches
--------------
Around the two bends there are those ditches to your left. Of course if you
move into them you will slow down and if you come back up from them, you will
slow down again.
However as unrealistic as it is, you can actually have two wheels of your car
in these ditches while you’re going around the bend without the car losing any
speed, just as long the whole car doesn’t fall in. Going around the bends like
this will minimise the distance, hence your lap time.
b. The First Bend
-----------------
The first bend is more tighter than the second bend after the tunnel. The only
car that you might have difficulty getting round the first bend is the Jaguar
XJ220. After doing the first lap, you will be going into the first bend around
213 mph. Note that it is very easy to hit the right barrier near the end of the
bend when it closes in.
c. The Tunnel
-------------
A minor observation I made is how before you enter the tunnel after the first
bend, there is a small downhill section. This boosts you up at about 3-7 mph.
What I found weird is how when you make it near the end of the tunnel, your rpm
drops causing you to lose about 3-10 mph of speed, even when the track looks
relatively straight.
About halfway through the tunnel, watch out for a small part of the concrete
barrier than narrows down on your left. So while in the tunnel, try to stay
right. The computer is really dumb at this part. They always hit that part of
the barrier! And when there are cars just behind it, then sometimes there will
be a mass crash pileup, one that you should not get involved in.
d. The Official NFS2 Pitlane
----------------------------
Don’t bother coming through here if you are racing seriously, you will lose
about 0.1 secs. If you do feel like zooming by, remember not to smash into the
cars parked along there!
Map
---
b. Most easiest to hit right barrier
here, especially with Jag XJ220.
|
|
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2-Player Match-Up
-----------------
This track is most fun in 2 player mode when you’re either playing against each
other with the same car or even better; with evenly matched cars. But in order
for it to be fun, it should be played on Simulation.
Good different car match-ups involve cars with similar top speeds.
Below I have provided typical Proving Grounds times for Simulation. Your times
should be quite similar to them.
Typical Starting Lap Times
--------------------------
1. McLaren F1 – 1:00.00
2. Ford GT90 - 1:02.50
3. Jaguar XJ220 - 1:06.50
4. Ferrari F50 - 1:06.30
5. Isdera 112i - 1:07.20
6. Lotus GT1 - 1:09.60
7. ITD Nazca C2 - 1:11.20
8. Ford Indigo - 1:12.10
9. Mustang Mach 3 – 1:13.60
10. Ferrari 355F1 - 1:15.20
11. ITD Cala - 1:16.20
12. Esprit V8 - 1:16.90
Typical Flying Lap Times
------------------------
1. McLaren F1 – 50.00
2. Ford GT90 - 52.30 +2.3
3. Jaguar XJ220 - 55.00 +5
4. Isdera 112i - 55.40 +5.4 (up 5 to 4)
5. Ferrari F50 - 57.00 +7 (down 4 to 5)
6. Lotus GT1 - 59.00 +9
7. ITD Nazca C2 - 59.30 +9.3
8. Ferrari 355F1 - 1:03.00 +13 (up 10 to 8)
9. Ford Indigo - 1:03.70 +13.7 (down 8 to 9)
10. ITD Cala - 1:03.90 +13.9 (up 11 to 10)
11. Mustang Mach 3 – 1:04.50 +14.5 (down 9 to 11)
12. Esprit V8 - 1:05.50 +15.5
Here are my suggested good match-ups (Catch-up must be turned off!):
Isdera Commentatore 112i vs Ferrari F50 (2 laps)
The F50 would be leading by just under a second at the end of the first lap,
but can it hold off a huge speed burst by the 112i?
Jaguar XJ220 vs Isdera Commentatore 112i
The XJ220 with the slight advantage in speed, but can the 112i capitalise on
the XJ220’s likely mistakes around the bends?
Ford Mustang Mach 3 vs ItalDesign Cala
The Mustang Mach 3 will get a quick head start and will have a hefty lead of
about 2.5 secs at the end of the first lap. Will the Cala’s slight +1mph top
speed advantage allow it to catch up?
Ford Indigo vs Ferrari 355F1 (4 laps)
The Ford Indigo’s far superior acceleration will create quite a big gap of
about 3 secs after the first lap.
Will the 355F1’s +3mph speed advantage be quick enough to make up for lost
time?
Those match-ups are really quite a lot of fun. Some will end in a lot of drama
indeed!
Remember to play it in Simulation with Catch-up turned off!
I wouldn’t bother playing against the computer even on advanced. The computer
opponents are just too dumb here and no matter which car you use from those
above match-ups, you will always win.
2. Australia, Outback
======================
Beginner, 4.7 miles / 7.56 kilometres.
Best 3 Cars: McLaren F1, Ford GT90 and Ferrari F50.
Like the Proving Grounds, this is a high-speed track where the faster cars
would normally win. But it isn’t always easy to win races here if you’re racing
against the A-Class opposition. Those McLarens and Ford GT90s just become a
major pain in the butt to keep behind you.
This track nearly sums up all things Australia. You start off in the Sydney
Harbour Bridge, but this one has a huge concrete barrier on its sides so you
won’t get to see that wonderful scenery! Shortly after you make it through the
bridge, you enter what looks like a seaside apartment area, a gentle 180 left
turn. You then come to a gentle 180 right turn where there is a beach on your
right. In case you haven’t noticed, the Sydney Opera House is situated there.
After that, there is a nice and easy gentle S-Bend that you can go through
straight. You’re now entering Sydney City, a tight right turn followed by a
tight left turn that can be very efficiently taken if you follow a driving
line. From now on you’re in the Australian Outback, the deserts of Australia!
It is mostly straight-forward from here seeing it is just one long straight.
Your great big Australian adventure ends with a pass by an industrial area and
back onto the Harbour Bridge. See? Nearly all things Australia.
I will go through all of that in more detail below.
a. Start at Sydney Harbour Bridge and Seaside Apartments
--------------------------------------------------------
After you have made it through the bridge, you come across a gentle 180 left
bend.
On your first lap, you can either go around it staying as close as you can on
the inside lane or accelerate right through it by scrapping the sides. Of
course, going around it properly is always quicker.
On a flying lap, you are driving through the bridge at near top speed. When the
left bend is within sight it is time to brake like mad and go around the bend.
A good indication of when to brake is straight after you make that big jump
coming out of the bridge if your car is slow or just before the big jump if
your car is fast. And of course you can decide not to brake and accelerate
through the bend by scrapping the side, but be very careful on your approach.
b. Sydney Opera House
---------------------
After than 180 left bend, you will drive through a very gentle S-bend. Try to
drive straight through the S-bend to build up good speed. You will now be
outside the Sydney Opera House that strangely happens to be next to a beach.
Obviously you cut through the beach here. Enter the beach cut-through nice and
sharply. Try to go around as smoothly and with as much speed as you can. Once
you’re out of the beach, there will be another S-bend. Once again, drive
through it nice and straight.
c. Sydney City
--------------
This is a part of the track where races can be won or lost. Drive through it
fast and smoothly and computer opponents shouldn’t be a problem. Hit a barrier
sharply to either lose about 1-2 secs or be overtaken. Going into the City will
be a tight left turn followed by a tight right turn. Just apply the driving
line and you should be fine, but do it fast. A good indication of when to brake
is after or before the road signs depending on how fast your car is.
d. The Outback
--------------
Now you’re onto the desert, a long straight where you go through tunnels, pass
a rural town, make nice long jumps to ruin your car and come across killer
bees!
This part is quite straight-forward, but things can go wrong if you’re using a
fast car.
Expect to make various jumps through here with a car than can go 200mph+. All
cars should make a big jump at the end of the long bending downhill to uphill
section about three quarters the way into the desert. When making these big
jumps, make sure you have enough landing space facing the right way! If you are
jumping slightly sideways, there is a good chance your landing will put you
into an uncontrollable slide. And if you are jumping into the side of the
track, then you know what happens!
Try not to come into contact with any of the cars! A slight knock into another
car at near top speed with jumps all over the place can have the potential for
an immense yet spectacular accident.
Somewhere near the end of the white desert, you may notice a sharp dune/ramp on
the right. This is only for fun and going onto it for the jump is likely to end
up in a funny disaster.
If you are playing in 3dfx mode, then you might know about those bees that
annoyingly hit your screen. On your first lap, these bees will randomly appear
either when you are going down the downhill section after the rural town, or at
the very end of the downhill section when you make the jump. Then they
alternate areas from each lap on. I wish I had a way to turn those darn bees
off! They look more like bird plops don’t you think?
e. The Split Roads
------------------
Near the end of the desert after the second big jump, you will come across rock
barriers that split the road into two twice. The best way through this is by
accelerating all the way, going into the right one in both the first and second
splits seeing this minimises the distance and can improve your time by around a
second. However, taking the right one twice is only possible either if your car
has good handling or doesn’t go 200mph+.
If your car can’t handle going into the right one twice, then the next best you
can do is taking the left one first, then immediately switch to the right one.
Either way, you accelerate right through. Once you’ve made it through that
hectic ordeal, you’re back into town passing an industrial factory area and
onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge again.
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Typical Starting Lap Times
--------------------------
These simulation mode lap times to the nearest second are in no way meant to be
accurate. You should just expect to get close to these times with whichever car
you are using, about plus or minus 2.5 seconds.
McLaren F1 – 1:35
Ford GT90 - 1:40
Ferrari F50 – 1:42
Jaguar XJ220 – 1:45
Isdera 112i – 1:45
Lotus GT1 – 1:45
ITD Nazca C2 – 1:46
Ford Indigo – 1:49
ITD Cala – 1:53
Ferrari 355F1 – 1:53
Mustang Mach3 – 1:55
Esprit V8 – 1:56
Typical Flying Lap Times
------------------------
McLaren F1 - 1:28
Ford GT90 - 1:32 +4
Ferrari F50 - 1:34 +6
Isdera 112i - 1:35 +7
Lotus GT1 - 1:36 +8
ITD Nazca C2 - 1:36 +8
Jaguar XJ220 - 1:37 +9 (major handling problems!)
Ford Indigo - 1:39 +11
ITD Cala - 1:44 +16
Ferrari 355F1 – 1:44 +16
Mustang Mach3 – 1:46 +18
Esprit V8 - 1:49 +21
The Ferrari F50 happens to be a very good car on this track despite the Jaguar
XJ220 and Isdera 112i having a much higher top-speed. Simply the F50 can handle
those early turns a lot better that more than make up for its top-speed through
the desert.
3. Mexico, Last Resort
=======================
Intermediate, 4.7 miles / 7.56 kilometres
Best 3 Cars: McLaren F1, Ford Indigo, Ferrari F50
This is the new track in NFS2 SE and a worthy addition it is indeed.
To me, this track has the most adventurous setting. It is quite an easy track
to drive on and you can win almost any race against opposition Class cars a
Class ahead of you.
You start off at a seaside holiday resort with a few gentle turns followed by a
few harder ones. Going away from the seaside, you travel through a native
Mexican village zig-zagging your way through multiple gentle S-bends. You then
enter a lush tranquil Mexican jungle with gentle bends, cross a rickety old
bridge, drive through some more vegetation, then literally fly into a volcano!
The trip through the volcano is intense with heaps of twisting, winding turns,
and finished off by literally flying out of it! You make a sharp right turn
after going through a tunnel and finish off by pushing full speed back along
the beach to the seaside holiday resort.
See? A cool track that is bound to be eventfully adventurous.
I will go through the track in more detail below:
a. Seaside Holiday Resort
-------------------------
Start off by going to the right side of the track. The track will bend right
then eventually bend to the left so keep going as straight as possible here.
Now stay on the left side. You will encounter a big right bend followed by a
left bend. Accelerate right through these bends, entering them nice and wide.
The first yellow road sign on the right is a very good indicator on when to
start turning into the right hand bend, as with the hotel sign to your right
for the left hand bend.
b. Local Village
----------------
Here the road-side scenery turns all nice and green. There will be a wide and
sharp right bend going into the village. If necessary, slow down a bit and try
not to scrape the left side of the track. After making the turn, there will be
a load of gentle S-bends down the track, making the road all zig-zaggy. You
will be tempted to zig-zag through the road here, but don’t. You can actually
drive through most of it without steering at all. Find the correct line here,
drive straight through the road and trust yourself that you won’t clip a bank!
As soon as you see that little brown carriage in the middle of the road, that’s
when you have to start turning again. By now, you must have built up a lot of
speed through those S-bends.
c. The Jungle
-------------
You will now be going high speed into the jungle where the road turns to
gravel. You’ll hear birds chirping, feel a light fresh shower drifting down,
with vines hanging above your head. Now is not a time to savour the natural
sights! You’ll head into a tight right turn, so slow right down taking the turn
at about 120-130 mph. Accelerate right through the forest. The bridge will be
after a long left bend, accelerate right through here. Enter the bridge nice
and smoothly. A sharp entrance can literally see you fly right off the bridge
and down into the bottomless chasm! The first turn off the bridge will be a
long and tight 135 degree turn. Try to accelerate through here, taking your
foot off the pedal or braking if necessary.
d. The Volcano
--------------
This is the intense, red hot, right on the edge part of the track! Enter the
cave as straight as you can, because your entrance will be a huge jump! The
road is very narrow here, so keep your car to the middle of the road as much as
you can. Really, try not into bump anything here. Doing so can cost you
anything up to 10 seconds. After you’ve made your landing, brake right down to
100 mph to take the sharp right turn that follows. Now accelerate all out!
After the long downhill left bend, start slowing down. Take the sharp left turn
here at about 80-90mph. You will now see a red hot glow of lava just around the
corner (on 3dfx anyway)! Now it is the time to put on as much speed as
possible, accelerate turning right through the lava part. There is no time to
see the sacred statue, it looks ugly anyway! The road will slope up really high
and eventually become extremely steep causing your car to lose some speed. If
you’ve built up enough speed from before, you can make it to the top of the
hill without too much slowing down. Be prepared to turn left at the top of the
hill. Now you’ll catch a glimpse of sun light at the end of the cave and your
exit will be a big jump!
If you’re on the 3dfx mode, it will be very dark in here, nearly pitch black.
Put the brightness and contrast on your monitor to full to make things easier
to see.
e. Head Back Home
-----------------
Keep an eye out for that big concrete block in the middle of the road. After
passing underneath the short tunnel, slow down if necessary to take the sharp
right turn. It will be very straight-forward and high speed from now on back to
the finish line. Stick to the left side of the road here and try to stay off
the sand. Keep accelerating. While you’re driving through the seaside, you’ll
notice 2 big sand ramps for making very spectacular aerobatic jumps. Those are
only for fun and will only serve to slow you down!
a. Start turning into b. Enter sharp turn wide,
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Typical Starting Lap Times
==========================
These simulation mode lap times to the nearest second are in no way meant to be
accurate. They are meant to a rough ranking guide of the cars on this track. If
you’re racing on this track with no other cars on track, with simulation and
stock car settings, then expect to get close to these times, about plus or
minus 3 seconds.
4. Northern Europe, Northern Country
=====================================
Intermediate, 4.7 miles / 7.56 kilometres
Best 3 Cars: McLaren F1, Ford Indigo, Lotus GT1
I think that this track has the funniest music, the rock theme. However, I also
think that this isn’t the most fun to race on. Races on this track aren’t
normally that close. After stuffing yourself up a few times, it can become very
difficult to get yourself back into contention. You do go really fast at
certain parts of the track, but then again it requires a lot of braking. So in
a few words, I’ll just say that this track isn’t that exciting. Maybe
sometimes, but not all the time.
The track starts with you parked in a highway tunnel. Going down the highway,
you’ll be faced with a few ordinary wide bends before going past “Kinder Welt”,
which looks some sort of children’s toyland type theme park. Here the road will
narrow down to 2 lanes. Once you leave Kinder Welt, the setting changes to an
old country-side forest look, typical of Northern Europe. You’re faced with a
tight right hander, followed by a very sharp left hander before heading into an
old fashion local village. The road rises up high as you leave the village and
then you’ll have to negotiate a few twisting turns and jumps at the same time.
After coming out of a tunnel, the setting slightly changes to an Alpine hilltop
where you get to test your acceleration and braking skills in set of
switchbacks. This winds its way down to an old day medieval setting where you
enter a tunnel that looks like a castle from the outside. The setting in the
tunnel changes to a dark forest, then you’ll head back into the highway tunnel
to the finish line.
I will go through the track in more detail below:
a. The Highway & Kinder Welt
----------------------------
The highway here is very wide, perhaps the widest section of road in the game.
It is 4 lanes wide, 6 lanes if you count the outer footpaths. This part of the
track is very straight forward seeing the road is wide, but you should still
follow the driving line to overtake opponents easier. The very first turn is a
90 degree right hander. On a flying lap, you need to slow down to around under
130mph to go around the turn without hitting the left side of the track.
Accelerate right through the highway. When you’re near the end of the Kinder
Welt theme park, prepare to quickly brake down to 100mph for the tight right
turn, but don’t accelerate right through the turn because a very sharp left
turn follows on immediately. Brake down to 60-70mph before you go into the
corner. Try to keep off the grass on low speeds or else you’ll suffer some
frustrating spinouts! Beginner drivers are likely to just stuff the brake and
scrape their way around these turns, with maybe a few spinouts on the grass.
b. The Old Fashion Village
--------------------------
After you’ve made the right turn into the village, get yourself to the right,
then enter the bridge steering left at about 100mph. Yeah, a nice pleasant site
around here with old houses and shops. Did you notice the waterfall? No time to
play tourist though, straight after the bridge, the road slopes right, rising
up steep leaving the village. If you go full speed up here, you will jump. If
you are going to jump, then do yourself a favour and don’t jump head into the
side! The safest way to exit the village is to keep your speed under 90mph,
preventing the jump. While you’re going through the village, you really must
try to avoid hitting opponent cars. A slight knock into another car can very
much piss you off!
c. Ye Old Country
-----------------
After your brief visit through the village will be a tight right turn to be
taken at around 85-100mph. You will now have to balance your sense of speed
control here, as the road ahead will bend right then left, as well as going up
and down forcing you to make jumps. If you are going to jump, I repeat again;
don’t jump into the sides! The road will keep sloping upwards and when it
finally levels down, you’re into the tunnel with a sharp left turn. Once you’re
in the tunnel slow down to around 100mph to do the corner properly. Following
the driving line will help an awful lot here.
d. Switchbacks down the Countryside
-----------------------------------
I gotta admit, this is one of the most interesting sections of track in the
game, the switchbacks! You will have to do 3 of them down downhill. I found
that the best way to do these is to just follow the driving line. It isn’t
really worth power-sliding into them, seeing the road is quite wide. It also
isn’t worth cutting through the grass, because it’s all jagged making it easy
to flip out.
To get around these switchbacks efficiently, brake down to about 100mph, enter
the switchback wide, accelerate going through the inside of the corner, exit
the switchback wide. Control your speed while you’re going around to follow the
correct driving line. If your car has bad handling, you’ll make use of the run
off space into the grass that there is plenty of on the 2nd switchback. For a
more pictorial view on how to do these switchbacks, goto 5.3. Driving the Line.
e. The Shortcut
---------------
Oohh! Don’t forget about the shortcut! There is a big grass opening after
coming out of the tunnel allowing you to cut right through the 1st switchback,
one of the few proper shortcuts this game has to offer. It is a little tricky
to do though and if pulled off properly, you can save many seconds and even pip
into 1st place. To do it safely, start braking coming out of the bridge. Brake
right down to 30-40mph, then turn right when you get to the 2nd road sign coming
out of the tunnel.
If you enter the grass anymore than 50mph, the car will almost certainly flip.
Carefully steer right to get back onto the road. It is really easy to screw up
by accelerating hard-out on the grass, so take it easy!
f. From Medieval Tunnel to Highway Tunnel
-----------------------------------------
After the 3rd switchback, you’re heading down a long straight that ends with a
sharp 90 degree turn. Slow down to about 100mph before going in. You will have
to be quite careful in the next bit here. It is really easy to spinout, so slow
down but not too much. You will cross a bridge where the road changes to paved
stone. After the bridge is a nice big speed bump. Get onto the left side of the
road before taking the jump to give yourself landing space. Now you’ll be
entering the castle tunnel! The next corner is going to be a sharp right-hander
going into the dark forest. Slow down to about 100mph and take the driving
line. Stay on the inside lane to prevent cars overtaking, because the computer
opponents can do this bit quite fast and a slip up here can cost you a race.
After leaving the dark forest, you can breath a sigh of relief as the cautious
bit is over. You’ll now be back onto the highway tunnel. Just push full speed
here and when you get to the barrier near the end that splits the road in 2,
take the left one to minimise the distance and to take the first corner of the
track more easily. And if you’re just coming last, you better hope that a car
ahead smacks into that concrete barrier! Trust me, it happens very often!
a. Slow down to about 150mph
a. Accelerate all out, easy to turn properly.
to overtake opponent cars |
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Typical Starting Lap Times
==========================
These simulation mode lap times to the nearest second are in no way meant to be
accurate. They are meant to a rough ranking guide of the cars on this track. If
you’re racing on this track with no other cars on track, with simulation and
stock car settings, then expect to get close to these times, about plus or
minus 3 seconds.
*There appears to be a big time gap between the Ferrari F50 and the Nazca C2.
Because you brake alot, this track requires good acceleration mixed with good
handling. Lose either one and you’ll go a lot slower.
5. Canada, Pacific Spirit
==========================
Intermediate, 5 miles / 8.05 kilometres
Best 3 cars: McLaren F1, Lotus GT1, Ford Indigo
I think that this is the best track in the game alongside Mediterraneo.
It has a fair share of long straights for speed and corners without too much
braking involved like in North Country. You can even do the entire track
without lifting your foot off the accelerator and still get decent lap times to
cater for the lazy drivers. Races here are always fast and exciting for all
cars, making it enjoyable for 2-player racing.
You start off in the middle of a typical street shopping area in town. No time
to shop though. Driving up the street, you approach a long 180 degree right
hander. The setting quickly changes to a more natural green setting with trees.
Not long after that, you’re faced with a tight 180 degree left hander. You now
begin to build some speed heading onto a bridge, but you slow down again to go
right around a 360 degree turnaround that is quite tricky to pull off fast and
cleanly. The setting changes yet again with the seaside to your left and a
forest to your right. Here it is full speed ahead. Take a little drive on the
beach if you want, or even a drive through the forest dirt track!
Near the end of the long straight, the speed is subsided a little entering a
canyon. But the intensity soon picks itself up again as you twist and turn at
high speed through the canyon. Coming out of the canyon, you’re onto the
highway back to town. The action doesn’t stop there though. You continue to
push the car full speed through a tunnel, make a sharp right coming out of it
to get back in town, and from then on it’s a test of taking the best driving
line to power your way back to the finish line!
a. From Downtown to Green Surroundings
---------------------------------------
Start off by getting yourself on the left to prepare for the 180 degree right
hander. Some cars can accelerate right through the turn like the Lotus GT1. But
if your car can’t do it, then it doesn’t hurt to scrape the side a little. Not
long after that, you need to brake down to about 100mph to take the tight 180
degree left hander. While you’re going around the turn, the road gets even
tighter, so control your speed here to prevent hitting the right barrier.
Hitting the right barrier at a sharp angle here can awkwardly spin you around
to face the inside of the track and you risk computer drivers crashing into you
like the fool you are. So don’t hit the barrier! You will next make a right
turn onto a bridge, use the road signs as an indicator on when to turn.
b. The Shortcut
---------------
After the first turn of the track, there will be a parking lot up the road to
the left. You can turn left to cut through here, rather than doing the slow 180
degree sharp left hander, one of the few proper shortcuts this game has to
offer. This shortcut isn’t that hard to pull off, but you should do it fast for
it to be worthwhile. Doing the shortcut slowly will either have no effect on
things, or make things worse. It is also very easy to stuff up if you try to do
it too fast. From my past experience, doing this shortcut properly can improve
your lap time by up to 3 seconds.
This is how you do the shortcut properly:
After coming out of the first turn of the track, wait a wee while for the road
to straighten up, then brake down to about 100-120mph. Enter the parking lot
early and wide, but be careful not to clip the barrier in the parking lot. Once
you’re in, accelerate to the right onto the grass. When you’re at the very
right beside the trees, start to exit the grass turning left to get yourself
back onto the road being careful not to cut through the undrivable grass area,
but don’t go too fast on your exit. When you get back onto the road, you should
be doing at least 75mph. Any slower, then you’ve gone too slow. Any faster than
90mph, then you might hit the right barrier on the road causing you to come to
a complete halt. All in all, it depends on what car you have,
If you really don’t like wordy instructions or steps to process through your
head like above, then the diagram below will help an awful lot, the line of
“o”s is the driving line to take:
===============================================================================
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Should be 75-90mph
ooooooooooooo coming back onto
Road oooooooooo the road.
oooo
========================================================oooo===================
There is a grass G ooo G
area here that is G ooo G
not drivable, be G ooo G
careful not to cut G ooo G
through too early. G oo G
G oo G
G oo G
G oo G
G oo G
G o G
G Grass Area oG
G oG
G oG
G oG
G oG
G oG
------------------------o--
C o C
C o C
C Carpark oo C
C oo C
C oo C
C oo C
C oo C
C oo C
C oo C
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC oo C
C oo C
C ooo C
C Carpark oo C
C ooo C
C ooo C
=============================================oooo=============================
oooo
Slow to 100-120mph ooooooo Road
ooooooooooooo
ooooooooooooooooooooooooo
==============================================================================
c. Turnaround to Forest and Beachside
-------------------------------------
Once you’ve come to the downhill section of the bridge, brake down to a
suitable speed that feels comfortable going through the 360 turnaround. Go
around as fast as you can without hitting the left barrier, try to stay in the
middle of the road. Scraping your way around the left barrier won’t hurt too
much, but you should only come into contact with the left barrier once. Anymore
and you’ll lose too much time and speed. Exit the turnaround accelerating full
out and keep on accelerating through the next right turn. If your car has bad
handling, you’ll make use of the runoff space on the sand. Now if you’re racing
seriously, stay on the road! Otherwise, you can take a trip through the beach,
but watch out for the 3 logs laying around. You can even take a trip through
the forest dirt track on your right. You even get to make a huge jump that is
quite hard to land where the ancient settlement is. The dirt track will
eventually reach a dead end, so exit the dirt track when the canyon comes into
sight.
d. Canyon Rush
--------------
By the time you catch sight of the canyon, you’ll be going extremely fast,
maybe a few mph shy of your top speed. The entrance into the canyon is a long
right hander. Slow down to about at least 160mph before heading into the turn
to prevent scraping the rocks. It will depend on how good your car’s handling
is. Like if you have a Jaguar XJ220, you’ll need to slow down to about 140mph.
Now go hard out through the canyon! If you want to play tourist, watch out for
the gas station to your right! Stay aware of sections of road that rise up and
down suddenly causing you to jump. For the McLarenF1, you’ll be forced to use
the brake at least once to avoid flying head into the rocks. The computer
drivers like to flip and crash out through here and at the speeds you’re going,
it’s going to be real easy to get involved. So stay alert for flipping computer
opponent cars around corners.
e. Highway Back to Town
-----------------------
After the canyon, you’ll be on the highway back to town. After that downward
sloping right-hander coming out of the canyon, you’re going to make at least
one jump going up and down through the highway. Start braking the moment you
make the 1st jump. You will enter/jump into the tunnel with a sharp uphill right
turn at the end of the tunnel. You must be going 110mph at the most before you
can go up that turn. Anymore and you’ll risk knocking the barrier to lose time.
Now that turn out of the tunnel is where races are won or lost. I’ve lost many
races just because I was going over 110mph up into the corner.
f. Back in Town
---------------
After the bridge you’re heading down a straight. You might see that monorail
travelling along the background. Heh, don’t bother chasing it, it’s too fast
for yah! This is the part of the track where a driving line comes in handy.
Slow down a bit and start making the turn into the wide right-hander at the
road sign. Coming out of that turn, keep steering right to prepare for the next
turn. Accelerate right through the next left turn if you can, then keep
accelerating into the tunnel. The tunnel is like an S-bend, so try to
accelerate through it as straight as you can so you can zoom by fast past the
finish line hopefully in 1st place!
d. Enter canyon
140-160mph
depending on d. Might need to slow
car’s handling. down to get around
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Typical Starting Lap Times
==========================
These simulation mode lap times to the nearest second are in no way meant to be
accurate. They are meant to a rough ranking guide of the cars on this track. If
you’re racing on this track with no other cars on track, with simulation and
stock car settings, then expect to get close to these times, about plus or
minus 3 seconds.
6. Greece, Mediterraneo
========================
Advanced, 4 miles / 6.44 kilometres
Best 3 Cars: McLaren F1, Lotus GT1, Ferrari 50
I think that this is the best track in the game alongside Pacific Spirit. And I
think that because it is so easy to crash out yet at the same time it is just
plain fun making it excellent for 2-player racing. I’m not so sure about this
track being labelled “Advanced”, because getting through the track is
reasonably easy and races aren’t that hard to win.
The track has a desert-like setting and basically has 3 parts to it.
In the 1st part, you start off on a hilltop and the road ahead leads to a Greek
town. Oh but this Greek town ain’t just any old town. It’s a town on a very
steep hill! Going down fast through the street takes a bit of skill and is
incredibly accident-prone.
Leaving the town, you’re onto the 2nd part of the track; a long section of road
with gentle bends and jumps where you can just accelerate flat out all the way.
After zooming through a tunnel, you’re onto the 3rd part of the track, a series
of twisting tight turns back towards the finish line that can be driven through
really fast with intensity.
See? Fun, fun, fun all the way through. A fantastic Greek classic!
a. Welcome to Greece
--------------------
Start off by accelerating straight down the road, slowing down if necessary to
avoid rolling the car. You can hit those 3 sale stands without losing too much
time if you want. They are very good for blocking the road from computer
opponents!
You might jump into the town with a 2 wheel landing, but the car should regain
balance if you’re around the middle of the road.
Note going 130mph+ down into the left barrier at the top of the town can result
in you flying straight off the track into the buildings!
b. Down a Very Steep Town
-------------------------
You will first make a gentle right turn. While you’re going through it, keep
steering right to get yourself onto the right side of the road around the brown
line. Don’t go on the left where it is steep up ahead! The car will jump side-
on into the buildings and maybe even roll. Brake down to at least 120mph, then
continue going down the road staying around that dark brown line. Stay well
away from that building corner that sticks out. Take it easy down the bit that
swerves down right then left. When you see the concrete platform on the right,
don’t go onto it! Go around the concrete platform, staying at least a car
length away from it, or else you’ll run into the wee little bump that’s hard to
see, making a pointless jump to slow you down and ruin your driving line.
Straight after the concrete platform, move to the very right to prepare for
your exit out of town. The exit out of town is a long and wide 180 degree left
hander. You need to judge when to start turning into it so that you go through
it fast and smoothly without braking or hitting any barriers. Preferably you’ll
want to enter it real early and wide, going through close to the left barrier
onto the dirt straight outside of town to give yourself plenty of runoff space
to the right.
Watching computer drivers go down the town can be so hilarious at times! I once
saw a Lotus Esprit V8 jump up into the air vertically facing up, then some
other cars smacked into it, causing it to roll all the way down street!
Now that concrete platform in the middle of town is great for doing 360 spins!
If you make a handbrake turn into the buildings to the left before you jump,
you can do multiple spins and when I say multiple, I mean something like 6 of
them! This makes for some very entertaining replays indeed.
c. Rural Greece
---------------
After making that wide left hand exit from town, you’ll make a wide 180 right
hander. You might not be able to accelerate right through it, but cutting
through the sand close to em cows here can be quite helpful.
Now it’s an “accelerate all you want” part of the track through the Greek
Countryside. Of course this is not without a few things in between. You will
come across 3 big road bumps for your jumping pleasure. Stick to the left side
of the road to take the 2nd and 3rd jumps to give yourself decent landing space
as the road bends right. After the 3rd road bump, you’ll hop onto a big wooden
bridge that bends right about 60-70 degrees; check out the huge overhead! Some
cars can accelerate all the way in and out. It also doesn’t hurt to scrape the
left rail a tiny bit. Coming out of the bridge, you’ll go around a very long
right bend with nice looking windmills outside the bend. Cars with good
handling won’t need to let go of the accelerator. But for cars with not so good
handling, you will only need to let go of the accelerator once here while going
around. Even better, you can cut through the dirt on your right, but be careful
about those bumpy areas. Now just keep pushing along into the tunnel for the
final sprint home!
After coming out of the bridge, you can take a left into a separate dirt track
behind the windmills.
There is also a huge dirt pile to your right around the big right bend to make
really huge jumps. And as usual, big jumps only slow you down!
d. The Athletic Race Home
-------------------------
By now, you’ll be going very fast. Near the end of the tunnel is the start of a
tight 90 degree left hander. For some cars, you can continue to accelerate
right through. For others, you’ll need to release the accelerator when it looks
like you’re going to run off the road, so make use of the runoff space onto the
dirt. Keep an eye out for the ancient Greek pillar on the right side of the
track at the end of the bend. Not so much because you might hit it, but because
computers drivers always smash into it!
Now you’ll encounter a series of twisty tight turns after another, kind of like
the canyon in Pacific Spirit. The road may look narrow here, but keep in mind
that the dirt around you is drivable. Try not to use the brakes here, there
isn’t much need to slow down. Whenever you can, make use of the dirt by cutting
through it. It’ll really help on that sharp left corner. The race is finished
off with a sharp 90 degree left turn around a wooden bridge. Stay well away
from the dented part of the barrier, or else you’ll fly off the mountain! Keep
steering left when you’re back on the road and don’t let go until you’re facing
the finish line to avoid hitting the big concrete pole. You can even cross the
finish line by going around the outside of the poles.
rZMBM87a
c. A trip behind the rMB ,MM7
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Typical Starting Lap Times
==========================
These simulation mode lap times to the nearest second are in no way meant to be
accurate. They are meant to a rough ranking guide of the cars on this track. If
you’re racing on this track with no other cars on track, with simulation and
stock car settings, then expect to get close to these times, about plus or
minus 3 seconds.
In case you haven’t noticed, in all 4 of the Intermediate tracks, the Cala is
always only a few seconds behind the XJ220. Like in the intro video, these 2
cars make for some terrific and stylish one on one racing, particularly on this
track. I raced them round and round the track many times, and there isn’t much
separation between the 2.
7. Nepal, Mystic Peaks
=======================
Advanced, 4.7 miles / 7.56 kilometres
Best 3 Cars: Ford Indigo, McLaren F1, Ferrari F50
“Hate” would be too strong a word to use here. So I’ll just say that I
“dislike” this track. The drive through the track is difficult involving alot
of braking and turning without much room for speed. It can even be frustrating
for beginners as well. It certainly earns a tag of being “Advanced”, but it’s
not exactly my idea of Advanced fun if that was what EA had in mind.
You start off in the middle of a Nepalese town high up in the mountains
somewhere. As you drive around the first 180 left turn, things start to look
Asian when you see that little Chinese looking building. The road turns to
gravel as you approach a very sharp switchback, then it slopes up really steep,
levels off a bit then goes back down as you enter a queer purple looking cave.
The trip through the cave is slow, but just when you’re itching for some speed,
you go out into an all-new world of snow! Oh but you’re not going much faster
for longer as you continue to put up with a barrage of tight and sharp turns.
When you drive past an old Nepalese temple, you head down the road sloping down
bending right then left, a place where you can easily do amazing flip outs. The
road soon levels down and you’ll see a plane crash wreck in the background,
with it’s supply boxes spread out all over the road. This is the one few parts
of the track where you can go really fast. You escape the snow for one brief
moment as you speed through a tunnel then it’s out into the snow again. Not
long after that, you have to slow down yet again to make your brave and daring
climb up the mountain. A bit of excitement builds up when you jump onto a
rather old yet sturdy looking bridge. You finally begin your descent going
round and down the mountain, into the cave finally escaping the snow to the
finish line. Do you really want to go over all that again?
If you are playing the track on a normal single race, changing the car settings
would be very helpful. Set the front and rear downforce on high, and put the
gear ratios on short. You get much better acceleration and turning. Perfect for
the Mystic Peaks.
Do yourself a favour by not painting your car white!
a. In Town For a While
----------------------
Start off by moving to the right side of the road. The first turn is a 180 left
hander that starts off gently and tightens as you go around it. On a flying
lap, you will have to brake. Try to stay off the grass bank and remember that
the grass bank to the left is undrivable. As soon as the corner closes up and
the road straightens, there is a sharp 180 right switchback. Slam the brakes on
fast, slowing down to at least 80mph before turning. Don’t go on the grass!
Accelerate up the hill, then slam the brakes on again when you see the top of
the hill. Keep under 100mph to prevent jumping. Now if you want a bit of fun,
charge up as fast as can to see how far you can fly up the cliff, only to come
crashing down again!
b. Queer Purple Cave
--------------------
You’re now going to take a scary little trip through a queer purple looking
cave. Maybe it’s ice? Anyway, when you first enter the cave, the left side
slopes down steep, so stay on the right. Now while you’re in the cave, the
keyword here is “patience”. Don’t worry if computer opponents overtake you,
because the computer is quite good through this bit. Stay under 85mph to safely
go around the corners, a driving line would also be of great help here.
c. Snowy
--------
If you’re on 3dfx mode, you’ll have to put up with the snow. It’s not too bad
if you’re going under 100mph. But if you are going over 100mph, the snow-balls
flurry around faster making it hard to see things.
The drive through the snow is a little different to the road, because the grip
feels different, yet I don’t know if it is actually different or not. You will
be faced with some narrow and sharp turns. This is where the handbrake comes in
very handy. If your car is heading for the outside of a corner, tap the
handbrake to quickly steer yourself the other way, it actually works very well
for all cars.
d. A Plane Crash Wreck Around a Temple
--------------------------------------
Once you’ve gone around the gentle left bend where the Nepalese temple is, the
road will slope down steeply bending right then left. Stay below 120mph to
prevent leaving the ground and stay well on the right side while going down the
slope. The left side where the rocks are near the bottom may look flat and
safe, when in fact it is a dangerous bit. I think the game has a bit of a
glitch there. Because if you drive over it, your car will mysteriously fly off
the ground and get dumped over on the right side.
After that, you can finally begin to drive without releasing the accelerator
for a while. Accelerate all the way through into the tunnel and out of the
tunnel. This may be your only chance to overtake some opponent drivers, so
don’t slow down! Avoid the 3 boxes spread around the road if you can help it.
e. The Old Yet Sturdy Looking Bridge
------------------------------------
Now you’re going to go right around a long uphill 360 right hander. Try to go
through as fast as you can, because this is the last good chance you’ll get to
overtake anymore cars. Make use of the handbrake going around, remembering that
just single taps will do the job. When you’ve finally made it around, there is
the old yet sturdy looking bridge up ahead. Definitely not a place for super
sports cars! Don’t go onto the bridge anymore than 120mph, or you’ll jump too
high causing you to land sharply and ultimately flip your car over. Computer
drivers will also be idiotic, flipping their cars here very often. When you’re
about to come off the bridge, get yourself onto the right and brake down to
under 100mph to prevent jumping off the bridge. If you drive hard out of the
bridge, you’ll either crash out on the rocks or fly off the mountain!
f. Down You Go
--------------
By now, you should not be last! Overtaking in this part of the track can be
difficult. You might be tempted to slow down while going around, but don’t. Any
slow down will allow computer opponents to overtake you. Go down fast,
carefully staying well away from the rocks around you. It may not look like it,
but even scraping the rocks here can flip you out. Like before, make good use
of the handbrake. And finally when the cave is in sight, power home fast to the
finish line!
Like so many other parts of the game, the computer is too dumb to realise the
barriers in the middle of the road near the end of tracks. Here it is no
exception, computer drivers will once again bang themselves into the big rocky
barrier in the cave.
a. Stay off the grass, there
is no need to go onto it!
| | |
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Typical Starting Lap Times
==========================
These simulation mode lap times to the nearest second are in no way meant to be
accurate. They are meant to a rough ranking guide of the cars on this track. If
you’re racing on this track with no other cars on track, with simulation and
stock car settings, then expect to get close to these times, about plus or
minus 3 seconds.
Despite being a Class C car, the ItalDesign Cala outperforms much faster cars
like the Isdera 112i and even the Class A Ford GT90. Obviously on a track like
this, good handling and acceleration will win the day. This is the only track
where the McLaren F1 isn’t the best.
Mumbo Jumbo on Mystic Peaks
---------------------------
For 3dfx users, this track becomes almost a nightmare. Out in the snow, not
only is it foggy which is bad enough already, but it snows with snow flying all
over the place and snow splattering onto your screen. This can really obstruct
your view if when you’re going over 100mph. I could put up with the rain on the
Proving Grounds and in Pacific Spirit. I can only just put up with those
annoying bees in the Outback. But the snow here is absolutely ridiculous. Yes,
you can still see the road ahead, it’s fairly visible, but anyone would rather
have it off than have those damn snowballs peppering all over your face. They
may have looked impressive back in 1997, but now it’s downright primative and a
plain old eyesore.
Oh I just wish there was a way to turn this off!
*** SPOILER INFORMATION ABOUT THE BONUS TRACK BELOW, DON’T READ ON IF YOU WANT
TO FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF ***
8. Hollywood, Monolithic Studios
=================================
Intermediate, 4.5 miles / 7.24 kilometres
Best 3 Cars: McLaren F1, Lotus GT1, Ferrari F50
This is the bonus track that you unlock after successfully completing the
Knockout competition. It is quite a fun track to race on; firstly because the
track it quite challenging to get around, but not too challenging and secondly
because of how the track interestingly changes from one movie theme to another.
Sadly this is the exact same bonus track from NFS2, but nevertheless it is
still a worthy addition to the game.
You start off in what looks like a movie set of a typical LA Street with palm
trees. You sweep by a Western movie set, then forcefully charge into the Star
Wars movie set complete with X-Wings flying over you, laser sound effects and
hologram projections in the middle of the road. The road suddenly goes steep,
then bends around into a Blade Runner movie set. You travel in a slight uphill
angle then when you least expect it, you make a massive jump as well as an
unusual speed burst in mid air. As you land, the road bends to a long 180 left-
hander and straightens up going into the Jurassic Park movie set. Your
cornering skills are tested with a variety of different turns and bends, some
gentle, some sharp. Spinning UFOs surprisingly come into view at the end of the
Jurassic Park set before you enter the final movie set of the track; a city
raging with fire. The road slopes down quick causing you to make a big jump
back into the LA street, then sharply turns right back towards the finish line.
a. Streets of LA to the old Western
-----------------------------------
If you have a fast car, take a driving line into the first corner.
If you have a slow car, then you should be able to go around the first corner
by staying on the right.
When you enter the Western set, you can accelerate straight through it if you
take a driving line, but you must make use of the dirt track. There is no need
to brake at all, just release the accelerator to slow down if necessary.
b. Star Wars
------------
Accelerate all the way through the outer space area. Spend a moment checking
out the Star Wars stuff around you, even glittering stars in 3dfx mode.
By the time you reach the end of it, there will be a 90 degree right-hander.
On the onscreen map, it the turn looks very sharp when in fact it isn’t. Some
cars will be able to accelerate right through the turn. If you can’t, then
you’ll have to brake down to about 150mph or release the accelerator for a
moment. Ignore that space map projection in the middle of the road. Instead,
keep an eye out for that blue hologram pole thingy up ahead. When you see it,
stay away from the black surface surrounding it, because it’ll slow you down.
Straight after you pass that thing, brake to a safe speed, so you won’t fly off
the steep downhill slope that first bends right then left. This bit is probably
the trickiest part of the track to get right, especially with a Ford GT90 or
Mustang Mach3; they will really piss you off! I suggest that you first go down
the slope on the blue lane to the right and when you see the road bend left,
steer left back onto the road, although you could risk a 2-wheel landing to
slow you down. Next you’ll go around a 180 right-hander into the Blade Runner
set. A driving line here would be helpful.
c. Blade Runner
---------------
Now I don’t actually know if this is Blade Runner or not. I just assumed it is
because of the futuristic buildings, the TV suspended up high and the flying
cop cars.
But anyway, moving on.
While you’re accelerating hard down the set, depending on what car you’re
using, you might actually slow down about 3 or 4 mph. The road will eventually
slant down causing you to make a great big jump and get a quick speed burst in
mid-air. The higher you go, the more speed you gain mid-air. Must be something
to do with Blade Runner and flying cars?
Your landing will be a hard one where you land on your 2 front wheels, but you
shouldn’t flip over. Down the road is a long 180 left-hander. Brake down to a
speed so that you won’t wind up going around the bend on the outside lane. Now
prepare for Jurassic Park!
d. Jurassic Park
----------------
As soon as you pass the blue road signs entering the set, slow down and enter
the sharp 180 right-hander wide, cut over the grass if you want. Now just
accelerate through the next few gentle bends, taking a driving line to shave
off those milliseconds. When you reach the T-rex, you’ll go around a gentle
right hand bend. Yes that T-rex is real, don’t hit it or it’ll eat up your
time! As soon as you pass the last road sign going around the bend, kick in the
brakes slowing down to around 120mph for the next corner; a very sharp right
turn that is tough to get around even with a Ford Indigo. Cut through the grass
here if you want, being careful not to bump into the bank, but don’t stop
steering right until you’re safely through. The next few turns can be easily
taken with a driving line, cut through the grass if you want.
e. A Pyrotechnic Finish
-----------------------
After leaving Jurassic Park, you enter straight into a movie set with buildings
and barrels on fire around you. Don’t know what movie this is.
Your fantastic journey through the sights and sounds of Hollywood are rounded
off with a big jump out of the burning city set and into a sharp right hand
bend. If you’re going over 160mph, you might need to brake before flying off
the ground. Anyhow, while you’re car is in flight, steer right so that when you
land, you’ll immediately start steering into the turn. Control your speed
around the corner so you don’t mess the whole lap up by hitting the left
barrier. Once you’re around the corner, the finish line and hopefully 1st place
is in sight!
rr
MMMMMMM
MMS M
b. Don’t go into M MM
corner if you’re MM M d. Brake as soon
160mph+. MM MM as you enter
| MM MB the set.
| rq bM; M |
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MM \ M; 2M MMX
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MM M MM MB
SMW Mr wwrMMM Mr
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M7 M8 MM MM
M M MM MMW
a. No need to use M. M0 MMMMMMMMMMMM
brake at all --------MM M | MMMMM.
through this MMi M |
part, unless MM MM |
you’re on a MM M d. Brake as soon as
flying lap. M MM you pass the last
\ MM S MM road sign around
\-------MMMXa . T MM \ bend.
AMMMMMMMM==A==MSMM \
R \
T e. Steer right the
moment you land to
get the earliest turn
into the corner.
Typical Starting Lap Times
==========================
These simulation mode lap times to the nearest second are in no way meant to be
accurate. They are meant to a rough ranking guide of the cars on this track. If
you’re racing on this track with no other cars on track, with simulation and
stock car settings, then expect to get close to these times, about plus or
minus 3 seconds.
Kind of like in North Country, there is a big time gap between the Ford Indigo
and Ford GT90. Like the Mystic Peaks, cars with the handling and acceleration
will win the day. The McLaren F1 is exceedingly dominant here. Combining it’s
quick acceleration, good handling, topped off with the best top speed and
brakes in the game, this super car of all super cars will beat any other car by
between a few seconds to many seconds.
6.2. Summary Table
===================
The table below briefly summarises a few things about all 8 of the tracks I
went through above.
Length is in miles.
The “Underdog” below is the car that performs unexpectedly well on the track
compared to the other cars and given the nature of the track.
For example, you expect the Isdera 112i with a much higher top speed to beat
the Indigo on Pacific Spirit where there is are long straights, when in fact
the Indigo is faster.
Approximate Simulation Times below are only starting laps, no catch up on.
/=============================================================================\
| Track | Length | Difficulty | Fun Factor | Approx Sim Time | Underdog |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Norway | 3.2 | Easy | OK | 1:00 to 1:17 | None |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Australia | 4.7 | Easy to Mod | Good | 1:35 to 1:56 | F50 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Mexico | 4.7 | Easy to Mod | Very Good | 2:03 to 2:22 | Nazca C2 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| N.Europe | 4.7 | Moderate | OK | 2:25 to 2:46 | Indigo |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Canada | 5.0 | Moderate | Excellent | 2:10 to 2:31 | Indigo |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Greece | 4.0 | Mod to Hard | Excellent | 1:47 to 2:05 | Lotus GT1 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Nepal | 4.7 | Hard | Bad | 2:55 to 3:14 | ITD Cala |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Hollywood | 4.5 | Moderate | Very Good | 2:02 to 2:26 | Lotus GT1 |
\=============================================================================/
A bit more stuff about the car’s lap times on all 8 tracks are under
8. Extra Analysis.
7. Game Modes
==============
7.1. Tournament
================
This is what you play the game on single player for; to show that you are
better than the computer drivers. When you prove that you are better than the
computer drivers, then you go win the tournament! What do you get for winning?
I won’t tell you at this point, because it’ll be a spoiler for those of you who
are new to the game. The reward might be worthwhile, it might not be. Either
way that’s not the point! You are here to prove that you are better than the
computer drivers... Isn’t that the reward itself?
The tournament mode consists of you racing with a full grid of cars on all 7 of
the tracks. The 7 other cars that have made up names will be part of the
tournament with you throughout all the races. Each track you race on will
consist of 4 laps. You may race the tracks in any order you wish. Each track
will be restricted to either Class A, B or C cars. You are not allowed to
change the settings of your car.
The objective of the tournament mode is to score as many points as you can. To
score points, you need to finish a race and come better than last place. You
will not get disqualified for coming last.
The table below will show you how many points you score for what placing you
get:
The table below will show you what Class cars you are restricted to race with
and against on each track:
/-------------------------\
| Track | Class |
---------------------------
| Proving Grounds | A |
| Outback | A |
| Last Resort | B |
| North Country | C |
| Pacific Spirit | A |
| Mediterraneo | B |
| Mystic Peaks | C |
\-------------------------/
Strategy
========
After racing and completing all seven tracks with the most points, you are
declared the tournament winner. If you don’t have the most points, then you
have wasted your time!
The objective is not only to score the most points, but to score as many points
as you can in the shortest time possible. Because you are allowed to race the
tracks in any order, you can use this to your advantage and race them in such
an order that allows you to score easy big points early on. Basically do the
easy tracks first, then the harder ones after. This way, you won’t be pressured
to do so well on the harder tracks. I am telling you this, because when I first
played the tournament mode, I did it the other way round; to get the hard
tracks over and done with. Stupid idea!
You can guarantee to win the tournament if you win 6 races, provided that the
second place computer opponent has come third or worse at least once.
You are allowed to save/load tournaments making it a whole lot easier for you.
Below I will go through each track in the order you should play the tournament
in.
The list of cars shown is in the order they should be most preferred to use.
Of course, if you’ve won the tournament before and are in need of a challenge,
then use the least preferred cars.
1st. Proving Grounds
====================
Class A
Preferability: McLaren F1
Ford GT90
Ferrari F50
Lotus GT1
Difficulty: Easy
Car to use: McLarenF1
Well duh! Of course you use the McLaren F1. This is the no brainer race. You
will win it. There is no way you can’t win it. Just win!
2nd. Outback
============
Class A
Preferability: McLaren F1
Ford GT90
Ferrari F50
Lotus GT1
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Car to use: McLaren F1
Once again, you are to win this! It won’t be all that easy like on the Proving
Grounds though. Those McLarens and Ford GT90s all around the track are a major
pain in the ass. You can manage to just pass them on the straight, but a slight
mistake will see them zoom by like.... well like I said before, a major pain in
the ass! Just use the McLaren F1, go fast, keep control, don’t hit things and
you will win.
3rd. Last Resort
================
Class B
Preferability: Ford Indigo
ItalDesign Nazca C2
Isdera Commendatore 112i
Jaguar XJ220
Difficulty: Moderate
Car to use: Ford Indigo
You should be able to keep a lead throughout the race using the Ford Indigo.
Those fat assed Jaguars and Isderas won’t be able to corner well through the
forest and caves, and the Nazca C2s poor acceleration on the straights let it
down.
4th. Mediterraneo
=================
Class B
Preferability: Ford Indigo
ITD Nazca C2
Isdera Commendatore 112i
Jaguar XJ220
Difficulty: Moderate
Car to use: Ford Indigo
Using the Indigo, you should be able to create quite a big lead by the time you
go around the first bend outside the town. A few cars might pass you around the
end of the tunnel. Don’t worry, the Indigo’s handling will easily zip you
through the twisty section allowing you to re-create your lead once again.
5th. Pacific Spirit
===================
Class A
Preferability: McLaren F1
Ferrari F50
Lotus GT1
Ford GT90
Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult
Car to use: McLaren F1
I classified this as moderate to difficult because of how fast the race is
where things can change very quickly. Races can be won or lost at the canyons
on the last lap. This race can be won by any of the cars. With a Lotus GT1 you
can lead anywhere, but not the long beach straight where you are likely to be
overtaken.
6th. Northern Country
=====================
Class C
Preferability: Ford Mustang Mach 3
ItalDesign Cala
Ferrari 355F1
Lotus Esprit V8
Difficulty: Difficult
Car to use: Ford Mustang Mach 3 or ItalDesign Cala
A reasonably OK track with nice wide spaces to roam free, Class C cars, so why
difficult? Well when you’re racing with Class C cars, there is no clear-cut
winner car. The Ford Mustang Mach 3 is hell hard to drive. And if you’re using
a car other than a Ford Mustang Mach 3, then it’s hell hard to overtake those
Ford Mustang Mach 3s!!!
The Mustang Mach 3 has the quick acceleration necessary to kick the other Class
C car’s butts on a track like this. But it just likes to slip and slide all
over the place and I don’t like it. If you know how to drive the Mustang Mach 3
without making mistakes, then it’ll be fine. You can win. However if you’re
like me and hate the Mustang Mach 3, then the next best thing to go for is the
Cala because of its good handling. You can come about third with some effort
put into it. But it’ll take something more than effort to come first!
7th. Mystic Peaks
=================
Class C
Preferability: ItalDesign Cala
Ford Mustang Mach 3
Lotus Esprit V8
Ferrari 355F1
Difficulty: Difficult
Car to use: ItalDesign Cala
Like the Northern Country, those quick as Ford Mustang Mach 3s are becoming
quite a nuisance. Mystic Peaks relies on a combination of quick acceleration
and good handling. The Cala nicely does the job here. Stay on the track, stick
to your driving line, and ram hell hard into those Mustangs to spin them out!
By now, if you did reasonably well on the previous six tracks, then you might
have won the tournament by now. But of course, if you really want to prove
you’re a better driver than the computer opponents, then winning on the Mystic
Peaks proves it all!
End of Tournament
=================
*** SPOILER, DON’T LOOK IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF ***
OK. If you have won the tournament, then you unlock three bonus cars.
So there is no need for me to tell you what they are.
But if you came here because you were too chicken to win the tournament, then I
will tell you what the bonus cars are:
-Bomber BFS
-Tombstone
-FZR 2000
They’re fantasy cars of course. Go play with em. So that’s your reward for
winning the tournament. Was it worth it? Hey! Wasn’t the whole point of this
tournament proving you’re better than the computer? Well, yes it was. But did
you win all races?
If you haven’t, then you haven’t proved anything!
Oh no, winning the Knockout was proving you were better than the computer!
Read on.
7.2. Knockout
==============
This is what you play the game on single player for; to show that you are
better than the computer drivers. Wasn’t that what I said about the Tournament?
Yes it was, but the Knockout is the real deal my friend. Win the Knockout and
you can rightfully call yourself a good NFS player.
The Knockout mode consists of you racing on all 7 tracks, plus a final face-off
track.
You must race the tracks in one order of increasing difficulty and you must
race all the tracks using one car.
The first race starts out with a full grid of 9 cars. After each race is
completed, the last placed car is eliminated. Each race is 2 laps long. Your
opposition will depend upon which Class car you decide to use throughout the
Knockout.
For example, using a Lotus GT1 means you will race against other Class A cars.
As long as you don’t come last, you will progress to the next race. However,
your placing in a race will determine your grid position on the next race.
The biggest thing; you can’t save or restart races. Bugger that eh?
So as you can see, the Knockout is more difficult than the Tournament. It is
the game’s endurance test. Winning the Knockout requires consistency,
concentration, a reliable car, some dirty tricks, maybe a bit of luck and about
half an hour of your time! Win the Knockout to prove that you are better than
the computer drivers once and for all!
Strategy
========
The main objective of Knockout is not to come last.
Come last in a race and you’re out. No reloading, no restarting, nothing.
So it is very important that you don’t do anything stupid, especially on the
second lap.
Grid position isn’t all that important. So even if you come second to last,
it’s no big deal.
Choosing your car here is absolutely critical, seeing you will be using it
through all of the races with the same opponents.
The first race on the Proving Grounds starts off with a grid of 9 cars. 8
computer opponents, and yourself. There will be 2 of each car depending on
which Class car you picked. So if you picked say the Ferrari F50, there will be
2 McLarens, 2 Ford GT90s, 2 Ferrari F50s and 2 Lotus GT1s to race against.
It is possible to win the Knockout using any of the cars, but some cars will be
a heck of a lot easier than others. Every race will have one less opponent car
than the last and you can use that to your advantage. What do I mean by that?
The objective of the Knockout isn’t just not to come last. In the Tournament,
you did the easy races early to make things easier for yourself. In the
Knockout, you make things easier for yourself by deliberately, yet literally
knock the troublesome cars out!
In other words, you need to try and deliberately make the cars that will make
life harder for you later on come last to eliminate them from the Knockout. I
will call these cars the “Enemy cars”.
That way, when you reach the Mystic Peaks followed by the final face-off track,
you won’t have to race against such difficult opponents.
This is called “Knockout” after-all!
Car Selection
=============
As I said earlier on and I repeat again: Car choice is absolutely critical!
The race where things start to get extremely difficult is on the 7th race,
Mystic Peaks.
By then, you will race against 2 opponents cars. What you need here is a
reliable car that can handle such a track.
Class A
-------
Preferability: McLaren F1
Lotus GT1
Ferrari F50
Ford GT90
Winning the Knockout using this Class is the most difficult.
Class A cars give for some exceptionally close racing.
The outright fastest car out of this group is obviously the McLaren F1.
However, the Lotus GT1 is the most reliable. This is a matter of personal
preference. Do you want to play it safe by sacrificing speed for handling? Or
do you want to take a risk by going for all out speed? It’s entirely up to you.
The Ferrari F50 is an OK car to use. But it isn’t as fast as the McLaren or
Lotus on the Mystic Peaks.
Now, the Ford GT90 will definitely be the hardest car to use. It will be fine
on the first 2 tracks, but it’ll be a reliability nightmare from then on.
Class B
-------
Preferability: Ford Indigo
ItalDesign Nazca C2
Isdera Commendatore 112i
Jaguar XJ220
Winning the Knockout using this Class is the easiest.
The Ford Indigo is definitely the car to go for here. You won’t come 1st in the
first 2 races, but you can win from then on.
The Nazca C2 will be an OK car here with a bit more speed on the straights.
The Isdera 112i and Jaguar XJ220 will both be a lot harder.
Class C
-------
Preferability: ItalDesign Cala
Ferrari 355F1
Lotus Esprit V8
Ford Mustang Mach III
Winning the Knockout using this Class will be quite difficult.
There is no clear-cut best car here, so using any car here will be fairly even.
The ItalDesign Cala has the best handling of the bunch to be able to get
through the Mystic Peaks the fastest.
The Ferrari 355F1 and Lotus Esprit V8 are the OK cars here.
If you can drive the ever most unreliable Mustang Mach3 properly, then it would
be the one to go for.
Enemy Cars
==========
These are the cars that you should literally knockout yourself in any way
possible to make things easier for yourself in the latter stages of the
Knockout. I will state the main enemy car, followed by the second enemy car,
which is the car you take out if you’ve already taken the main one out or can’t
get in contact with the main one.
Class A: McLaren F1, then the Ferrari F50
The McLaren F1 is highly likely win all races in the Knockout if you leave them
alone. So deal with it by not leaving them alone!
Class B: Ford Indigo, then the Nazca C2
The Ford Indigos are the slow bunch in the first 2 races, but a total menace
from then on, making it crucial to knock them out early.
Class C: Ford Mustang Mach III, then the ItalDesign Cala
The Mustang Mach 3s will always be the leading pack after the first race, so
make life easier for you and the other cars by dealing to them early on.
Below I will take you step by step through each track with Class A,B or C cars,
so you know what to expect.
Class A
--------
The car that you should take out would obviously be the McLaren F1s. This is
especially hard to do with a Lotus GT1. Make your move on the 2nd lap to
prevent them from catching up. Try to leave the Lotus GT1s alone. They are
highly unlikely to make it to the Mystic Peaks.
Class B
-------
Take the Ford Indigos out! They are the slow ones here, but they will become a
total menace later on. Spin one out on the 2nd lap and you’ll be sweet.
Class C
-------
Take the Ford Mustang Mach 3s out! It is very hard to overtake any of the cars
here, so when the opportunity comes, spin one of them out. If you don’t now,
it’s almost impossible to knock both Mustang Mach 3s out in the next races.
2nd. Outback, 8 cars
====================
You are faced with a major problem here. Opponent cars crashing straight into
the rock barrier at the split roads near the end of a lap. After you spin the
appropriate car out on the last lap, there is a good chance that some other
opponent driver crashes at the split road allowing the car you want eliminated
to go through to the next round.
Seeing this is only the 2nd race, it’ll be worth taking the risk to eliminate
an opponent at the split roads on the last lap in case some dumb ass computer
driver crashes at the rock barrier.
Class A
-------
Once again, take the McLarens F1s out. It maybe hard if you aren’t using a
McLaren F1, so the next best thing you can do is to go for the Ferrari F50s and
leave the Lotus GT1(s) alone.
Class B
-------
The Ford Indigo is going to have a very hard time here, because all the other
cars will be faster on the straight. Like before, you must take the other
Indigo(s) out. But a false move using the Indigo on the 2nd lap might put you
way behind the rest of the pack, so be careful.
Class C
-------
Once again, keep trying to take the Mustang Mach3(s) out. They won’t have the
highest top speed, so you can do it easier with a Ferrari 355F1.
3rd. Last Resort, 7 cars
========================
By now, if you haven’t deliberately eliminated the enemy cars, this track would
almost certainly be your last chance. Make your move after you’ve come out of
the volcano where you are less likely to get caught in a mess like in the
volcano.
4th. North Country, 6 cars
==========================
If by now there are still some enemy cars left, you shouldn’t bother taking any
of them out. The track is long and with only 6 cars left, it is a bit risky. If
you are going to take the risk, make your move on the last lap in the tunnel
after the switch-backs where the road is narrower. If you mess it up, then
you’re almost certainly toast.
However, if there are no enemy cars left you can try to take out the 2nd enemy
cars!
Class A: Ferrari F50
Class B: Nazca C2
Class C: ItalDesign Cala
If you’re behind near the end of the last lap, then you’d better hope a
computer driver smashes into the tunnel barrier! This has happened a few times
when I’ve played.
5th. Pacific Spirit, 5 cars
===========================
At this point, it is far too risky to take any enemy cars out. You’ve come way
too far to mess this up now! If you are the extreme daredevil, then make your
move in the canyon where all cars are going at very high speeds making it
easier for you to create something dangerous. As you know, mass crash pileups
can occur here. Also if you happened to stuff things up for yourself here, you
can still catch up in the City.
6th. Mediterraneo, 4 cars
=========================
Seriously, no more enemy car business. You have come way way too far to do
anything ridiculous. Feeling ultra dangerous? Then take out enemy cars out
after the tunnel where the road is twisty and narrow. Perhaps you can try
knocking them off the mountain near the end?
If you were lucky before, you might have already taken out the main and
secondary enemy cars. If you are in that situation, then the other 2 cars you
race against shouldn’t pose any problems.
7th. Mystic Peaks, 3 cars
=========================
Now there is no time to worry about taking enemy cars or any cars out. On a
track like this, you’ll struggle to hold a position, let alone to win. If
you’re coming last and stuffed yourself on or after the wooden bridge, then you
better hope that a computer driver smashes into the rock barrier in the last
tunnel!
Class A
-------
If you haven’t taken out any enemy cars, then your two last opponents are most
likely going to be either two McLaren F1s or a McLaren F1 along with a Ferrari
F50. Also, the 2 Lotus GT1s almost certainly should have been eliminated by
now.
Class B
-------
Hopefully at this point there are no Ford Indigos. There is most likely going
to be a Nazca C2 here. If there’s an Isdera or Jaguar, then you can’t lose!
Class C
-------
It is very likely that you struggled to keep up with the Mustang Mach3s up till
now. In that case, it is most likely that there will be one of them here. A
Cala should also be here.
8th. Monolithic Studios, 2 cars
===============================
By now, you must be totally gased out! You’ve just spent half an hour trying
not to come last in races that get increasingly harder topped off with a heart
pounding Mystic Peaks thriller!
Now it is show down time. It is one on one on a fast tight track that you’ve
never seen before. It will not be easy at all. There is no time for you to
screw with the other car. Get ahead of the other car and stay ahead. It is time
to go all out without holding back.
Class A
--------
The last car you will face off against is most likely to be a McLaren F1. Now
racing one on one against them is extremely tough. Whichever car you’re using
will have the firepower to beat the other car no matter what it is. It’s now a
matter of how hard you push your exotic super car to the limit!
Class B
-------
The last car you will face off against is most likely to be a Ford Indigo or a
Nazca C2.
With an Indigo, you can beat any car one on one here. Not using an Indigo? Then
you’re in for a tough time!
Class C
-------
The last car you will face off against is most likely to be a Mustang Mach3 or
a Cala. You won’t be able to afford any major mistakes with whichever car
you’re using, because your acceleration won’t be quick enough to get back into
contention. Keep yourself at a high average speed, corner smoothly and hope for
the best!
End of Knockout
===============
*** SPOILER, DON’T LOOK IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF ***
Phew! If you’ve just won the Knockout, then I must commend your worthy efforts.
You have also been duly rewarded in the game, so there is no need for me to go
on about it.
But if you came here because you were too chicken to successfully complete the
Knockout yourself, then I will tell you what is unlocked:
-The Monolithic Studios track in Hollywood.
It is the same track that you raced on the last race of the Knockout.
So, you’ve proved that you’re better than the computer drivers eh?
Oh not just yet! Win all races in the Tournament. Then go on to winning the
Knockout using a Class A car. That is when you finally prove that you’re better
than the computer drivers!!!
8. Extra Analysis
==================
Here in this Extra Analysis, I’ll show you how I came up with those car ratings
out of 12 above in the General Rundown on each car. Then I’ll go through each
of those 4 categories in some more detail. After that, I’ll continue to go over
some other useless stuff that you might be interested in.
It is just boring stuff you don’t really need to know, but if you feel like
it...
Each car is judged by the 4 categories: acceleration, top speed, handling and
braking.
I made use of the graph feature when you are selecting your car. Now these
graphs don’t measure anything complicated, their lengths are just based on the
car’s rating in that category out of 12.
Using a ruler I measured the longest bar on my screen, which turns out to be
114mm (millimetres and if you aren’t familiar with the metric system, then I’m
afraid I can’t help you!). The next longest was 110mm, followed by 106mm,
102mm, 98mm, 94mm... Notice the pattern? Now you can just subtract 14 from all
those numbers to get a nice number out of 100. And finally I can assign those
nice numbers out of 100 to the cars according to their rankings out of 12. Then
with it all put together, we can see how the 12 cars are classed A, B or C.
Acceleration: Ferrari F50
Top Speed: McLaren F1
Braking: McLaren F1
Handling: Ford Indigo
Top Speed
---------
Top speed is the fastest speed the car can go given enough straight flat space.
In the game it is measured in miles per hour. Top speeds for each car are given
in kilometres per hour as well in the General Rundown above.
The car can go over its top speed in downhill sections of tracks.
Here I found out that some of the graph bars were wrong. This included the Ford
Indigo, Ferrari 355F1, Ford Mustang Mach III and the ItalDesign Cala. After
extensive testing on the Proving Grounds on simulation mode, I have confirmed
all of the car’s top speeds and they are pretty much the same as what is shown
in the showcases.
In the graphs those wrong figures were (with their true top speeds):
Now as you can see, there is obviously a problem.
I have driven the Indigo and Mustang Mach III around the Proving Grounds (with
stock settings) many times and no matter how hard I try, they will not go over
180 mph and this is not counting that downhill bit before the tunnel.
So seeing I think I’m 99.9% correct on this, I just changed the values around
to:
Note that although the Indigo and Mustang Mach III have the same top speed, the
Mustang Mach III was stuck on 179 mph for a very long time before going onto
180 mph, so I can fairly say that the Indigo has the slightly higher top speed.
OK, now that little EA error is out of the way, here are the car’s top speed
rankings:
Acceleration
------------
Acceleration is measured by how long the car takes to get to 60 mph (96 km) and
100 mph (160 km). I don’t know how EA ranked the acceleration of the cars, but
I think they must’ve averaged the acceleration up to it’s top speed.
In simulation mode, most of the cars do reach 60 mph and 100 mph fairly
accurately to their specified times. Some of course are way off. The showcase
for the Cala shows 0-60 in 5.0 secs and 0-100 in 10.9 secs, but in the game it
appears to be a lot quicker than that, about 0.5 secs faster. The McLaren F1
also does 0-100 in less than 6.2 secs. This game by all means is more of an
arcade racer than a simulation. I think with a “simulation” mode, EA should and
could have done better than that. Afterall, they did specifically put on the
box “LICENSED SUPER CARS MODELED TO EXACT SPECS”. Don’t know about your box,
but that’s what my one says.
So now I’m just going to shut up and give you the rankings according to what
the game shows:
Braking
-------
Well as you all know braking slows down a car. I’m not entirely sure how it is
measured in this game, but I think it’s to do with braking distance. There
actually isn’t that much difference between the cars here. The McLaren F1,
which is supposed to have the best braking stopped in about 5.8 secs from 120
mph. The Isdera Commendatore 112i, which is supposed to have the worst braking
in the game stopped in about 6.5 secs from 120 mph. So as you can see there is
only about a 0.7 sec difference, but if you imagine all the other cars put in
between, then the difference will be smaller still.
Handling
--------
I think handling here is based upon how good the car can turn, not how much
control or grip it has. For example: The Ferrari F50 may be 5th, but it likes
to oversteer. The Mustang Mach III may be 8th, but it’s down-force is laughable
meaning the car is nearly impossible to drive without accelerating at high
speeds.
Overall Ranking
---------------
Now finally after all that mumbo jumbo we can get straight to the point.
To produce an overall car rating out of 100, I didn’t just average all 4
categories together.
Lets face it; for a game that relies on speed to win, the brakes aren’t all
that important. I’m not saying that they’re not important at all, just not as
important as acceleration, top speed or handling. In fact, I only think of
brakes as being half as important.
So I added the top speed, acceleration and handling scores together, plus half
of braking. This big number is then divided by 3.5 times 100 to finally get a
nice car rating out of 100. Now that the cars are all neatly stacked together,
you can see how the cars were classed A, B and C:
/----------------------------------------------------------\
| Rank | Car | TSp | Acc | Han | Bra | Overall |
|----------------------------------------------------------|
| Class A |
| 1st | McLaren F1 | 100 | 92 | 88 | 100 | 94 |
| 2nd | Ferrari F50 | 84 | 100 | 84 | 84 | 89 |
| 3rd | Ford GT90 | 96 | 96 | 76 | 60 | 85 |
| 4th | Lotus GT1 | 80 | 76 | 96 | 92 | 85 |
| Class B *************************************************|
| 5th | Ford Indigo | 64 | 80 | 100 | 96 | 83 |
| 6th | ITD Nazca C2 | 76 | 72 | 92 | 76 | 79 |
| 7th | Jaguar XJ220 | 92 | 88 | 56 | 64 | 77 |
| 8th | Isdera 112i | 88 | 84 | 60 | 56 | 74 |
| Class C *************************************************|
| 9th | ITD Cala | 68 | 60 | 80 | 88 | 72 |
| 10th | Mustang Mach 3 | 60 | 68 | 72 | 68 | 67 |
| 11th | Ferrari 355F1 | 72 | 56 | 68 | 72 | 66 |
| 12th | Esprit V8 | 56 | 64 | 64 | 80 | 64 |
\----------------------------------------------------------/
* Brakes only count for half of its score
** The Ford GT90 & Lotus GT1 came out with the exact same overall rating of 85.
I made the GT90 3rd because of its far superior speed.
Lap Time Ranking
----------------
Obviously the overall car rankings mean nothing if their lap time rankings were
different. So as a little experiment, I’ll see how the cars stack up against
each other with their lap times only on all tracks. This would give a more
meaningful way of ranking the cars in actual gameplay.
I won’t do anything complicated. To keep things simple, I’ll just insert the
car’s ranking on the track based on the typical lap times from the track
walkthrough in Section 6.1. then average them all.
All that information is neatly compiled in the table below, “Avg P” is the
average position over all tracks:
So as you can see, there are a few changes.
The Jaguar XJ220 and Mustang Mach III both dropped one place,
with the Isdera 112i and Ferrari 355F1 going up into their places respectively.
The Lotus GT1 and Ford Indigo move up one place while the Ford GT90 drops 2
places.
The keyword here is “handling”. If a car has similar acceleration
characteristics, then the car with the much better handling will always come
out on top. Top speed isn’t much of an issue on the Intermediate and Advanced
tracks.
Lap Time Differentials
----------------------
Carrying on from lap time ranking, instead of averaging the lap time positions,
I’ll use the lap time differences in seconds behind the leader and add them up
together. This way we’ll get a more proportional ranking of the cars relative
to the time. Again this is based off the typical lap times from the track
walkthrough from Section 6.1.
So if you were to race a McLaren F1 and Esprit V8 over all 8 tracks, the Esprit
V8 would be around 2 minutes and 37 seconds slower than the McLaren.
/========================================\
| Car | Total Time Behind |
------------------------------------------
| 1. McLaren F1 | 0:00 |
| 2. Ferrari F50 | 0:34 |
| 3. Lotus GT1 | 0:36 |
| 4. Ford Indigo | 0:41 |
| 5. Ford GT90 | 1:02 |
| 6. Nazca C2 | 1:08 |
| 7. Isdera 112i | 1:17 |
| 8. Jaguar XJ220 | 1:35 |
| 9. ITD Cala | 1:59 |
| 10. Ferrari 355F1 | 2:18 |
| 11. Mustang Mach 3 | 2:22 |
| 12. Esprit V8 | 2:37 |
\========================================/
*approximately a 21 second margin of error
Horse Power
-----------
BHP seems to be the main measure of a car’s speed when it comes to Gran
Turismo. So just out of interest, I’ll list the car’s BHP in descending order:
9. Easter Eggs formally known as Cheat Codes
=============================================
For all cheat codes, simply enter them in the game’s main menu.
You will hear a swoosh sound to remind you it is activated.
Change all Civilian Cars Including Yourself
-------------------------------------------
madland - Wooden Stand
rexhour - Tyrannosaurus Rex
schoolzone - School Bus
vip – Limousine
Civilian Car Cheats
-------------------
go18 - School Bus
go19 - Commanche Pick-up Truck
go20 - School Bus
go21 - Tractor Trailer
go22 - School Bus
go23 - Audi Quattro
go24 - School Bus
go25 - School Bus
go26 - Mercedes-Benz
go27 - Volkswagen Fastback
go28 - Mazda Miata
go29 - School Bus
go30 - School Bus
go31 - Mercedes Unimog Army Truck
go32 - School Bus
go33 - Mercedes Unimog Snow Truck
go34 - Monolithic Studios Tour Bus
go35 - Limousine
go36 - Mazda Miata
go37 - School Bus
go38 - School Bus
go39 - School Bus
go40 - Wooden Box
go41 - Hand Cart
go42 - Wooden Stand
go43 - Tyrannosaurus Rex
go44 - Wild West Style Wagon
go45 - Souvenir Stand 1
go46 - Souvenir Stand 2
go47 - Souvenir Stand 3
go48 - Log
go49 - Crate 1
go50 - Box of Beer
go51 - Block of Rock
3dfx Only Cheat Codes
---------------------
kcjones – drive with rainbow car and rainbow in background
mad - have cows coming out behind you instead of dust
Miscellaneous Cheats
--------------------
chase – make opponent cars follow you if you’re in front of them.
pioneer – upgrades all cars to pioneer engines, making them faster and handle
a lot better than they normally would.
rain – race with rainy conditions on Proving Grounds and Mystic Peaks
(n/a with 3dfx)
roadrage – when you honk your horn, an opponent car in front of you will crash.
rushhour – get a lot more traffic on the road
slip – make track all slippery
slot – enable slot mode, automatically turns your car when you accelerate, so
you won’t need to steer.
Hold n when the race is loading to drive during the night. (n/a with 3Dfx)
Type silspd as your name when you recieve a record to make your car heavier.
Type roadrage at the main menu and when you honk your car when an opponent is
in front of you, your opponent will crash.
Hold h while racing to give your car a short speed boost (the slot cheat must
be enabled).
Bonus Car Cheats
----------------
After activating these bonus car cheat codes, they will remain in the car
selection menu for single race mode.
bomber - the Bomber BFS.
fzr2000 - the FZR 2000.
tombstone - a Tombstone Daytona racing car.
Bonus Track Cheat
-----------------
After activation this code, the track will remain in the track selection menu
for single race mode.
hollywood - obtain the Monolithic Studios bonus track.
Thanks to http://www.nfscheats.com for the cheats above.
10. FAQ About this GameFAQ
===========================
How much experience have you had playing NFS2 SE?
-------------------------------------------------
Got NFS2 in mid 1997 and played it regularly for the rest of the year.
Got NFS2 SE in early 1998 and played it regularly until I got NFS3 in late
1998. From then on, I would only play NFS2 SE when I was bored with all my
other games.
I started to play NFS2 SE regularly in early 2002 when I decided to write this
GameFAQ.
How long did this GameFAQ take to write?
----------------------------------------
About 11 months of steady work every now and then, between February 2002 to
December 2002.
Why did you decide to write this GameFAQ?
-----------------------------------------
Because NFS2 along with NFS2 SE are amongst my all time favourite games.
I just knew so much about the game that I felt like sharing it with the world
for the fun of it.
What other works have you done on GameFAQs?
-------------------------------------------
I have also written a complete walkthrough for the Last Ninja 2, Commodore 64
and a beginner’s GameFAQ for Sensible Soccer, Sega Genesis.
Check out my homepage http://emunalysis.cjb.net for all my other video game
related works.
How did you come up with those typical lap times in the track walkthrough?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I went through a similar process with each of the tracks.
1. Same conditions, simulation, stock car settings, no traffic, no opponents,
not mirrored or backwards.
2. I drove around the track to the best of my ability with all 12 cars,
recording the lap times after completing a lap.
If I bumped into something, crashed, skid around to lose time, or anything
else that would have increased the lap time, then I keep restarting until
I got it right.
3. After driving right around the track with all cars, I would have discovered
new things about the track I never knew before. I would then pick any car
then try the track again. If there is an improvement in the lap time,
then I would go through step 2 again. I would repeat this process until
I was satisfied that I had good lap times.
The most times I have repeated a drive with all 12 cars around a track
was 3 times.
4. Lap times were then rounded up or down to the nearest second, except for the
Proving Grounds which was to the nearest 0.1 seconds.
Why have you not provided typical lap times for Arcade or Wild racing styles?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don’t have all the time in the world, producing typical simulation lap times
for all the tracks is a very time consuming process. Doing the Proving Grounds
itself took about 4 hours of full on driving around and around. So you can
imagine what I had to go through for the rest of the tracks that were much
longer.
Did you really mean what you said under 7.2 Knockout quote:
“So, you’ve proved that you’re better than the computer drivers eh?
Oh not just yet! Win all races in the Tournament. Then go on to winning the
Knockout using a Class A car. That is when you finally prove that you’re better
than the computer drivers!!!” ???
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No, I didn’t really mean to say that you had to win the Tournament and Knockout
using Class A cars to prove that you’re a good NFS player who is better than
the computer drivers. It was just one of my attempts to sound funny and lame.
Being very successful in any game doesn’t prove anything unless you are having
fun. So when you’re playing NFS2 SE, just have fun!
Are you serious about deliberately going on about knocking out the troublesome
cars in Knockout mode?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, I was. I just wanted to introduce another element of fun into the game for
those people who are new to the game or games of this type.
How did you make those ASCII maps of all the tracks and those other diagrams in
the GamqFAQ?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I used a program called ASCII Generator where you can convert any image to
ASCII text. To make those ASCII maps, I had to take screenshots of the tracks
under track info in the game.
How on earth did you come up with “approximately a 21 second margin of error”
8. Extra Analysis, Time Differentials?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under each of the typical lap times for Intermediate and Advanced tracks, I
said expect yourself to get plus or minus 3 seconds.
For the Outback it was about 2.5 seconds and for the Proving Grounds I’m
guessing it’s about 0.5 seconds. Add all those seconds up and you come up with
21 seconds. Note I said “approximately”, I don’t intend for anything to do with
lap times in this GameFAQ to be accurate, just roughly.
Why on earth do you keep putting information into tables?
---------------------------------------------------------
Humans like storing information in tables.
What is your favourite car in NFS2 SE?
--------------------------------------
The ItalDesign Cala, because it looks sleek & sexy.
I wish I had one in real life!
How much are you into motor sport in general?
---------------------------------------------
I am a very keen fan of the World Rally Championship and Formula-1.
I also keep an eye out on a lot of other things like V8 Super Cars and the
MotoGP.
11. Outro
==========
Well, it has been a long road writing this GameFAQ.
It has certainly been a much longer road with NFS2 along with the rest of the
NFS series and it won’t stop here just yet.
I hope you have found this GameFAQ helpful in any way possible, whether it was
to know a little bit more about the cars or improving your lap times.
But more importantly, I hope this GameFAQ has helped towards your enjoyment of
the game, so that way you got your worth and I got my worth!
And of course I hope you have enjoyed reading this GameFAQ more than I have in
writing it! Not that I didn’t enjoy writing it or anything, I did enjoy it
rather thoroughly.
Have fun playing NFS2 everyone.
Cheers.
~Twirl
12. Version History
====================
26.07.2003 (Version 1.2)
-Extended a few bits.
-Corrected a few more spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
-Fixed up the lap time differentials table where the McLaren was suppose to be
2 seconds behind in Nepal, not Hollywood.
06.12.2002 (Version 1.1)
-Added the Version History you are looking at right now.
-Added 5.6. Music.
-Extended the Credits.
-Corrected a few spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
04.12.2002 (Version 1.0)
-Released the GameFAQ out into the internet.
13. Credits
============
-Electronic Arts for making Need for Speed 2 Special Edition.
-McLaren, Ferrari, Jaguar, Ford, ItalDesign, Isdera, and Lotus for creating
such awesome exotic super sport cars.
-GameFAQs.com for inspiring thousands of people to write GameFAQs for free.
-nfscheats.com for the cheats.
-ACSII Generator at http://go.to/ascgen/ for making the ASCII diagrams.
-Microsoft Word for giving me something to write this GameFAQ on.
-Your web browser, for allowing you access to this GameFAQ.
-Your computer and my computer. Without them, nothing regarding this GameFAQ
would have happened!
-Everyone who read this GameFAQ.
14. Legal Stuff
================
This Need for Speed 2 Special Edition GameFAQ is Copyright 2002 by Twirl
You may distribute it freely and make print outs but only in it's original form
Feel free to edit it in anyway you wish, but don't save it or print it out or
copy/cut and paste anything afterwards
You are not to profit from this GameFAQ in any way, because if you do, I will
hunt you down and take the money you made without hesitation
