******************************************************* ESPN INTERNATIONAL WINTER SPORTS FAQ AND WALKTHROUGH VERSION 1.0 (C) David Ashton (librestar@yahoo.co.uk) CONTENTS 1. Copyright and stuff 2. Review 3. Versions 4. Character Guide 5. Walkthrough 6. FAQ 7. Records 8. Unlockables 9. Contact Me ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. COPYRIGHT This guide was made by and is property of David Ashton. This guide is currently found on: # GameFAQS (www.gamefaqs.com) and cannot be found anywhere else without my permission. You are not to change this guide and make it as your own or take claim for this guide in anyway at all. If you want to reproduce this guide onto your site then please e-mail me (librestar@yahoo.co.uk) and I am sure we can come to some agreement. I will add your site to the list if we arrange something and you will get credit for spreading the love. It's the going behind people's backs that I don't like. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.REVIEW This game was a game that was to catch buyers into buying it, after watching Salt Lake. True, it didn't sell as well as the official game, Salt Lake 2002, but the game is a whole lot more rewarding. As well as the game having 10 events to Salt Lake's 6, the whole premise of the game wipes Salt Lake off the ice. If you stare at the graphics of ESPN you could well be watching the real - dull and white - thing. The graphics rock and this adds to the realism. The faces on the people actually look like real people unlike Salt Lake. Also on ESPN you take roles of different people eg. 'Bridget Rance' instead of 'that girl from Great Britain who you obscurely gave your own initials.' Each character has strong points and weak points so when you complete an event and think that you have mastered the alpine slalom, you can try to do the events with the people that are crap at the event. This just adds to the longetivity of the game as beating events with characters that are poor at the event just adds up as an extra challenge. But the events aren't simple. Some are relatively easy to complete like the Downhill whilst others like the Figure Skating and Freestyle Moguls you have to get inch perfect runs to stand a chance of gold. Other events have been reduced to a curious stabbing of buttons, which is ESPN's downfall. The snowboarding has been reduced to benami-esque button taps, which not without fun, feels nothing like snowboarding. The same can be said about moguls which has been reduced to a curious frenzy of tapping L1 and R1 buttons simultaneously and winding the analogue sticks round and round. Then there's the two-player. There's nothing more rewarding / frustrating than winning / losing to your best mate in a bobsleigh match to the death. The fact of the matter is, if you're going to buy a winter sports sim, choose this over Salt Lake. It's more fun, more playable, more longetivity and even though it's more arcadey than it's wet and windy counterpart more realistic. It's a fantastic compilation of benami, button-bashing, steering and other stuff. It will take you an age to complete all the events and get gold on all of them, especially on Moguls and Curling (I've been trying for too long and I still can't get them) and it's two player rewards like any other. It's a great sports sim. Have fun! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.VERSIONS 1.0 = finished guide. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. CHARACTER GUIDE MEN MARTIN BAKER ESPN:He's the strongest of the atheletes, but he performs poorly in events that require quickness and technique. Me:I prefer Klaus Gross to him. Even though they have the same stats they are different. Martin Baker isn't particularly good at anything. What I use him for:Nothing. KLAUS GROSS ESPN:Don't let his looks fool you: he's an extremely powerful athelete unparalleled in bobsleigh and alpine events. Me:Klaus Gross in unrivalled in the bobsleigh (even though my record is with Heinz Stranzl my average with Klaus is always better) and he is good at skiing and other stuff. One cool guy! What I use him for:Bobsleigh. JULES BELMONDO ESPN:Possessing speed, power and quickness, he has what it takes to win the alpine events. He is skilled enough to go toe-to-toe with Austrian atheletes. Me:Jules is great at all the ones that require speed but someone always beats him, eg. Heinz Stranzl in the alpine. A fantastic competitor nevertheless. What I use him for:Nothing. FILIPPO BASSO ESPN:A good all-around athelete, he has balanced but high overall stats. Me:Stay clear! What I use him for:Nothing. HEINZ STRANZL ESPN:Hailing from a nation than consistently wins in the winter games, he combines speed power and quickness. He is extremely good in alpine events. Me:He is my favourite character. Great and alpine and bobsleigh, he's the best male, definately. What I use him for:Downhill, Slalom and Speed Skating. RIC GORDON ESPN:An athelete with an extremely good technique. He has his own special techniques for the halfpipe and other events, and is a league above the competition. Me:Good at jumping and tricks, whatever it is. What I use him for:Half pipe, K90 and K120. EDWARD BISHOP: ESPN:An athelete with extremely refined techniques. His fortes are ski jumping and the mogul. Me:Very similar to Rick. What I use him for:Moguls TAKEO JINNAI ESPN:A well-balanced athelete who tough to beat in any event. Me:Similar to Filippo. I don't like these 'utility' men. What I use him for:Nothing. --- WOMEN BRIGID RANCE ESPN:She's a powerful athelete who is highly talented. Me:She's powerful, and good at speed events. What I use her for:Nothing. KERSTIN STEINER ESPN:She is the fastest of the female atheletes, and also boasts great power. She is strong in alpine events. Me:Too true. She and Sally Evans are top dogs for alpine, bobsleigh, speed skating and others. What I use her for:Nothing. NATHALIE DUCHAMP ESPN:Pretty much good in everything, she is a very balanced athelete. Me:Another'utility' girl. I use her for the figure skating because she looks good but she wouldn't be my choice in the competition. What I use her for:Nothing. ISABELLA RIVERA ESPN:She is known to out-power even the male atheletes with her dynamic techniques. Me:Another strong girl. I don't use her much though. What I use her for:Nothing. STEPHANIE RILKE ESPN:Very balanced, she is a good all-around athelete. Me: Grrr. What I use her for:Nothing. KAREN TURNER ESPN:She is the queen of the skating events. In terms of technique, she is the best among the female atheletes. Her speciality is figure skating. Me:The best at figure skating, bar none. I don't use her for anything else though. What I use her for:Figure Skating. SALLY EVANS ESPN:Although short in stature she has good speed and power. She shines in downhill events, where she is in the top class in terms of speed. Me:My favourite girl athelete. Very strong in the alpine, bobsleigh, speed skating. Great athelete. What I use her for:Downhill, Slalom, Bobsleigh and Figure Skating. MIYUKI AIKAWA ESPN:She has good technique, often better than her male counterparts. Me: The only one to rival Karen in the figure skating, also the best at the half-pipe and moguls. What I use her for:Half-pipe and Moguls. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.WALKTHROUGH This is to help you get asll the gold medals. This is only a guide, you don't have to select who I reccomend, it's only my viewpoint. Have fun! ALPINE SKIING DOWNHILL Male:Heinz Stranzl (AUS) Female:Sally Evans (CAN) Tip: An easy one as long as you don't try the weaker players. Try the course out and work out where to go. You will get disqualified a few times first but once you've mastered the course it's a doddle. ALPINE SKIING SLALOM Male:Heinz Stranzl (AUS) Female:Sally Evans (CAN) Tip:It is very tricky to complete the course, and the second run through the course is reversed. Just use the sharp turn (square by default) and don't crouch for most of the run through. When you've mastered the tricky art of tight turning you'll do it as long as you don't hit a flag and go flying. K90 INDIVIDUAL SKI JUMPING Male:Ric Gordon (USA) Female:N/A Tip:When selecting wind try to get it as close to the middle of the white strip as possible. Hold one anologue stick down and press the other down when it reaches the middle. Hold them down the run-way and pull them up when you reach the end, good timing is essential. You will then see a gauge. Try to get the green bar on line with the yellow line as much as possible (this'll get you further) and press L1 when the two bars are the same to get a good landing. You have to beat 187.0pts over two jumps. Not too hard. K120 INDIVIDUAL SKI JUMPING Male:Ric Gordon (USA) Female:N/A Tip:When selecting wind try to get it as close to the middle of the white strip as possible. Then start tapping. See the FAQ for a good way to tap. Press L1 to take off at the end of the run way and continue to tap whilst the skiier is in the air. Press L1 to land. The key here is a good take-off and a good landing provided you tap fast. MOGULS Male:Eddie Bishop (CAN) Female:Miyuki Aikawa (JPN) Tip: Tap as close to the end of the bar as possible and then pull tricks with the anologue sticks over jumps (press triangle button for trick list). This is the trickiest event to get gold in and there is no set way of going about it. Just get the best runs you can, persevere all you can and you'll (eventually) get it. HALFPIPE SNOW BOARDING Male:Ric Gordon (USA) Female:Miyuki Aikawa (JPN) Tip:You have to press either o, x, squ or tri in the section that flashes. Each section/button pressed combo makes different tricks. Work out which opnes score highest and remember never to repeat tricks. When you press your button in the right section you'll have to press either up, down, left or right in a combo. Key it in correctly to complete your trick. To get gold you must have that perfect run, never repeating a trick, always in right zone, never missing a trick etc. The best way to not repeat a trick is the start or x say and go clockwise around to squ, then tri, then o and back around. As long as you stop it in the correct section you can bet you haven't repeated a trick. Whatever you do, (it may seem like the sensible thing) but never skip out sections and land the bar in D all the time. You lose mega points! It'll come... SPEED SKATING 500M Male:Heinz Stranzl (AUS) Female:Sally Evans (CAN) Tip:When he shouts go start tapping. Go to the FAQ for a great way to tap. When the radar glints yellow (going round a corner) stop tapping for a second and then start again. Every time it goes yellow slow down to prevent from slipping. As long as you can tap fast you should be able to do it. BOBSLEIGH Male:Klaus Gross (GER) Female:Sally Evans (CAN) Tip: Tap to get power up, and make sure ride is full too. Then press L1. Do this for all four people. For a great wap to tap see my FAQ. Steer it down the course without touching the walls. A lot of time is made and lost in the tunnel. If you don't touch all the way down the course and you have a reasonably good start then you should do it. FIGURE SKATING Male:N/A Female:Karen Turner (USA) Tip: Pick 'bomber night' dance and dance without missing one, it's essential. The chorus buttons, as long as you use Karen or Miyuki are o, tri, squ, x, x, tri, tri, tri in order. As long as you keep your combo all the way through you should do it. CURLING Male:Doesn't matter Female:Dosen't matter Tip:I haven't found out an advantage with characters here. All I know is the first team you play, they play conservative, the second team play aggresive and the third team a mixture of both. For the second one you have to make his strength, his weakness and trip over his own feet by driving out his own out of the house or something like that. The team you play in the final is tricky. You'll have to struggle that out yourself. It's a tricky event, keep trying and it'll come to you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.FAQ Q. How does that code thing work? A. When you finish championship mode, men or womens, you get a code. Go and post that at http://www.konamijpn.com and it'll give you a ranking of where you are in the world. Q. On the ski jumps how does the wind meter work? A. The nearer to the white stripe you get it the further you fly. Q. How can you tap fast? A. Try cloaking your thumb under a t-shirt and then scrub up and down between o and x. It lessens the friction between your thumb and the pad so you can tap faster and get better results. Q. I can't get gold on moguls and curling. How do I do it? A. Perseverence is the key. Q. What is there to unlock on this game. A. See section 8, Unlockables. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.RECORDS If you have a record that beats mine on this list e-mail me (librestar@yahoo.co.uk) and I'll do my best to get it on. ALPINE SKIING DOWNHILL Mens: 1.46.96 heinz stranzl (aus) Womens: 1.49.88 sally evans (can) ALPINE SKIING SLALOM Mens: 1.03.53 jules belmondo (fra) Womens: 1.05.22 isabella rivera (ita) K90 Mens: 206.0 ric gordon (usa) K120 Mens: 289.5 ric gordon (usa) MOGULS Mens: 7212 eddie bishop (can) Womens: 6125 miyuki aikawa (jap) HALFPIPE Mens: 5940 ric gordon (usa) Womens: 5600 miyuki aikawa (jap) SPEED SKATING 500M Mens: 34.22 klaus gross (ger) Womens: 36.67 sally evans (can) BOBSLEIGH Mens: 1.09.32 heinz stranzl (aus) Womens: 1.10.38 sally evans (can) FIGURE SKATING Womens: 5114 karen turner (usa) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8.UNLOCKABLES You can unlock these costumes when you do different cahllenges in the game. Bear - win in mens championship. Penguin - win in womens championship. Robot - get all golds in mens and womens events. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. CONTACT ME Thanks for reading my guide and I hoped it helped you get those medal that you were chasing. If you want to e-mail me about anything about the guide, improvements, or the records feel free to e-mail librestar@yahoo.co.uk. Thank you! Goodnight!