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1. Introduction & Legal stuff
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Well, since I cannot find a good one anywhere, I'm going to write a faq for
Road Rash. That's my first faq, and I'm not a native english speaker, so don't
mind any language errors/imperfections.
Now for some legal stuff:
This document is for private and personal use only--it cannot be reprinted in
part or in whole, or reproduced in any way or in any form (written or
otherwise). It is a free document that cannot be used in any sort of
commercial transaction, including selling it or giving it away as a gift. This
FAQ cannot be referenced, altered, or used by anybody (including webmasters,
publishers, and magazine staff) without my expressed written permission. This
FAQ was created and is owned by me, Vieri Tomassoni
(dot) it>. All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged and respected that
are not specifically mentioned herein. This document is copyrighted 2004 by
Vieri Tomassoni.
My e-mail: fade@figlidigaucci.it
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2. Tips
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- First and foremost, know that the computer cheats. It has unlimited nitros
from what it seems (you often see them having those nitro-typical bursts of
speed even at low levels), it doesn't get arrested by cops, and it doesn't
"die" when it falls in the sea in the Pacific Highway track, while if you do,
your race is over. But then, the computer isn't too smart, and those advantages
balance out that fact. It's sometimes frustrating to see computer racers at
level 1 go speeding with nitros, though. Just remember, you can still win if
you have enough distance left (well, if you fall behind in the last 2 km,
you're off...) to catch up. Even if you are at 13th position at middle-race,
just keep that accelerate button pressed down and hope you don't hit anything.
- Many people seem to miss that you can steer in three different ways. First of
all, the steering keys (default left&right arrow), the "balanced way"; use it
often and use it well.
Then, we have the leaning option, much slower but makes you lose much less
speed. Good for wide roads when there's no cars nor obstacles near.
And finally, the steer+lean combination: if you press simultaneously the steer
and lean keys, you steer VERY fast (be careful, on the most agile bikes this
can, and often will, lead to oversteering and crashing); and even if you don't
hit anything, steer too much this way and you're going to crash. Great for
avoiding incoming cars/obstacles when it would be too late to steer normally.
Handle with care!
- Try to stay on the right side of the road; this should be obvious, because
it's easier to avoid a car which is not coming at you full-speed. Even better,
if you can stay on the yellow middle-line, you can pass through cars while an
opponent beside you will be forced to slow down, or go flying.
- Avoid passing over the mud/oil/ice/whatever pools: if you take 'em while
steering, you risk oversteering, and even if you're not steering, at the next
turn your bike will "screech" more, making you lose more speed than usual. Not
that big of an issue, sure, but every little bit helps when you're behind other
racers.
- Running over pedestrians, traffic cones and other things that make you jump
isn't just for fun; countless times I avoided crashing head-on on a car by
jumping over it. Try it, it's really satisfying!
- Don't use nitros when you're in first position; when you're leading, the
computer opponents seem to stay at the same distance from you no matter what.
Even if you have a level 3 bike at level 1, they'll still be something like 300
meters from you no matter how much fast you're going (remember that
computer-cheating part?). So, spare those nitros for when you really need them:
to catch up after you've fallen and you need to gain that 3rd position to
qualify.
- Use kicks and punches wisely. You're in a two-lanes road in the middle of the
city? Don't punch them, kick them into the sidewalk, they'll almost always hit
a tree or something and crash. And naturally, avoid kicking them when you're on
the middle of a wide road with no obstacles whatsoever; punch them into
oblivion instead. I still don't get the meaning of the other attack (I've got
the italian version, don't know how it's called in english), why should I use
it over a good old punch? If anyone knows, write me.
- Weapons are your friends, in this game. It's so much easier to make another
racer fall down when you have a club or chain in hand... and don't forget you
can steal them from other riders, if you don't have them. Just punch them while
they're attacking you and you have a chance of taking their weapon away. My
personal favourite is the club, but the chain is nice too.
- Policeman are really slow, especially at lower levels. Don't slow down to
kill them, just speed past them (unless you don't care about the race and just
want to have fun!) and avoid crashing.
- In the later levels (4 and 5), you often don't lose because you're going too
slow, but because you crash too much and waste your bike or get caught by the
cops. So, don't hesitate to push hard on those brakes if needed to avoid
crashing. Anyway, I could finish the game without braking at all, not even
once. But if you do brake, it can make your life easier sometimes.
- In Career mode, you can (and should) repeat races you've already qualified
for (Napa Valley comes to mind, it's just SO easy) to gain more money and get a
better bike to speed past those easy levels and get to 4th or 5th tier faster.
Or, if it just seems impossible to not waste your bike/get caught in some
tracks, to have some more "buffer money" to avoid losing the game. Then again,
if you want a bigger challenge (or better, some challenge at all) at lower
levels, just don't buy faster bikes. Remember, being caught at higher levels
costs you more, and the same goes for wasting more powerful bikes.
- There are some obstacles that may make you crash sometimes and jump at other
times. They're fixed, so if that little sign in the middle of the road at the
4th km in peninsula makes you jump once, it will ALWAYS make you jump (that's
just an example, by the way). But to be sure, I'd avoid each and every obstacle
which you're unsure about. Better safe than sorry.
- With patience and practice, you can lead opponents to crash. When you're
going at the same speed, they will try to come near you to kick/punch you; so,
try to make sure that there's an obstacle in the path that leads to you (an
incoming car or whatever). For example, you have an opponent on your right. You
see an incoming car. Try to pass to the left of the car, so the opponent will
come at you, and will hopefully not make it in time to avoid it like you did
and go flying.
- If you see a fallen opponent running back to his bike, run over him! It will
make him lose some time to get up again, and every little bit helps. Besides,
it's funny!
- Be careful on what path you take when the road splits. The shorter it is, the
harder it is, usually; for instance, when in the city the road divides in two,
left side only cars coming at you and right side only cars going in your same
direction, the left path is obviously harder but a little shorter. Experiment
and see for yourself what side you like the most in each track.
- In the later levels, there will often be cars coming from the side roads and
crossing your path. Those are DEADLY, because they're slow and take up much
space. Learn where they appear, and be prepared to hit your brakes or
lean+steer to avoid them if the need arises.
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3. Tracks
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Now, the tracks, in order of difficulty, from lowest to highest: [I hope to get
them correct, I have the italian version so don't know how they are named in
english]
NAPA VALLEY:
An easy track, not much police, wide roads, not many cars, not many obstacles.
Be careful not to let your guard down though, because there are places in which
you can't easily see an incoming car. But mostly, it's the easier track, no
great effort needed even at level 5. Don't take the path on the right at the
first road-split, because it's a dirt road, thus making you go really slow.
SIERRA CANYON:
Now this is harder than napa valley, but not so much. Roads are narrower, there
are more turns, and they are tighter than the ones on Napa. There are also more
guardrails, and if you get kicked out of those, you can't get back to the track
and you have your max speed really limited. Avoid being kicked out of
guardrails, and try to kick your opponents outside them! Nothing too difficult,
though. As much police as in Napa, so nothing to really worry about, though at
higher levels there are more policemen I think.
PENINSULA:
Lots of cars, lots of obstacles, narrow roads (but there are also some really
wide ones). Many policemen, too. Hit the brakes when needed, and be careful
when riding uphill, there could be a car coming up from the other side! From
level 4 on, there are road blocks, which you can pass by staying EXACTLY on the
yellow line in the middle, thus passing between the police cars, or jumping
over them with the help of the strategically-placed sand mounds in the middle
of the lanes, in front of the cars (it's harder). There are policemen just
before the road block, so if you fall on it, you're almost certainly busted. If
you take a certain right-path when the road splits, you'll find yourself on a
road which passes near the cost, and if you fall in the sea, your race is over.
Avoid it if you can.
THE CITY:
Hard. Really hard, at later levels. More cars, more obstacles, more narrow
roads and tighter turns than in Peninsula, and just as many cops. Same
suggestions from peninsula apply. I think there aren't any police roadblocks,
but the last time i finished a level 5 race in the city was a loooong time ago,
so I can't be sure. Will check it out and update, if that's the case.
PACIFIC HIGHWAY:
So, that's the most annoying track of them all. In theory, it wouldn't be so
difficult; I'd have rated it just after Sierra and before Peninsula, but it has
a twist that will make you want to smash your monitor many times. Namely, more
than half of this track is on the seaside. If you crash and fly off the cliff
and into the sea, your race's over. Combine this with narrow roads and many
side-obstacles, not to mention opponents that LOVE kicking you, and you'll have
a really frustrating track, a true nightmare at level 5. Be REALLY careful,
it's easy to fail this track several times in a row.
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4. Bikes
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Aaah, the real meat of the career game.
First of all, in thrash mode you don't get to choose your bike, but the
computer gives you a preset bike for each level. The bikes are:
[The bike the computer gives you in thrash mode is good enough to win all races
of the level, but with little room for error. The only exception is at level 5,
as explained further down in the description of 3rd tier bikes, under the
description of the 750/1100cc Banzai Super Sport.]
[A note about handling: handling describes how fast the bike can turn, and how
much can it turn without "screeching", which makes you lose speed.]
* Rat bikes *
125cc Perro pico - It handles really well, but it's really slow. Avoid it, if
you get it at the start you still can win all the level 1 races, but it won't
be easy if you're a beginner. A pro, though, wouldn't have many problems, level
1 is so easy.
400cc Corsair Swallow - A beginner's bike, handles quite well, is quite slow,
and has poor acceleration. Even then, it's good enough to win any race at level
1 if you're careful not to fall too much or slow down too much. So I'd suggest
you keep it (if you have it at the start) until the 2nd tier.
250cc Kamikaze ZYX 250 - A good bike, the richest characters begin with this
one. Handles good, better than the Corsair, and also has really slightly better
speed and acceleration than the Corsair, but those are almost unnoticeable.
450cc Banzai Sport 450 - 2nd best bike of the tier, this is noticeably faster
than the Kami, but doesn't handle as good. A good choice, you can win all level
2 races with it if you're careful.
500cc Killer Rat - 1st bike in the tier, good handling, good top speed, good
acceleration for its use. Can almost breeze through level 1, and you can afford
to make some errors in level 2.
* Sport Bikes *
600cc Stiletto Aggressore - The "average" one. Not good enough for level 3 (you
CAN win level 3 with this, it just won't be easy at all), very good for level
2. Average handling, average top speed, average acceleration.
250cc Perro Grande - By far the bike that handles better in this tier, this can
also be a disadvantage, because you risk oversteering. Acceleration and top
speed are like the Stiletto Aggressore, maybe a little bit better.
750cc Kamikaze ZYX 750 - Good bike, can win you all races of level 3 if you're
careful. Handles not so good, but has good top speed and acceleration.
750cc Diablo Vampiro - Great bike, slightly faster than the Kami750, and
handles a little better.
1000cc DMG M10 - A really heavy bike, faster than all other bikes in this tier,
but handles very bad. It isn't worth the trade-off, in my opinion: it's hard to
avoid things
coming at you with its poor handling, and since you'll be going FAST with this
bike, it'll be even harder.
* Super Bikes *
600cc Corsair Raven N - Handles quite bad, but it's fast and it has nitros. Can
win all level 4 if you're careful. I don't like it much, though, and I prefer
to get another bike by that time.
750cc Kamikaze ZYX 750N - Goes fast, handles better than the "non-nitro"
version, has nitros. Nothing really special, though.
750/1100cc Banzai Super Sport - Has a 1100 engine on a 750 chassis. So, no
nitros, but handles great and is fast as hell. Though, the absence of nitros is
quite a disadvantage. Since for a mere 5.000$ more you can buy the Stiletto,
I'd overlook this bike... even if it's my theoretical favorite due to the
premises! (hey, a 1100 engine on a 750 chassis... that's just COOL!) Can win
all level 5 races, if you're careful.
[Note: level 5 is the only one in which the thrash mode gives a slightly better
bike than needed, this one would have been theoretically the right one, but not
having nitros would scare off some level-5 thrash player, so they chose the
Stiletto Assassino, at least that's what I think. And it's also because at
level 5, you are going to fall more often than at previous levels, that's for
sure!]
1000cc Diablo Vipera N - The meanest, fastest hunk of metal you can have in
this game. Maximum top speed, maximum acceleration, can get over 300 km/h with
a nitro-boost. It handles quite well, but nowhere near the Stiletto, and when
you're going at 270 km/h handling is really really important to avoid those
incoming cars and obstacles, so I'd say this is the second best bike in the
game even if it has the best top speed/acceleration.
900cc Stiletto Assassino N - Everything the Banzai Super Sport is, plus nitros.
(Maybe handles a little worse and has a little more top speed&acceleration) The
best bike in the game, in my opinion: when you're going so fast, handling is
more important than top speed, and it isn't really so much slower than the
Diablo Vipera N. The game doesn't agree with me, though, because the Diablo
Vipera costs quite a bit more and seems to be regarded as the best one. Oh
well, these are MY ratings, so...
