WRECKLESS: THE YAKUZA MISSIONS (A.k.a. Double S.T.E.A.L) Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions [Xbox U.S. NTSC Version] FAQ / Walkthrough / Strategy / Secrets Guide Version 0.4 (03:47 PM 02/25/2002) Unpublished work (c) 2002 by Shinya Aoki Contact: shinya72@hotmail.com Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions (c) 2002 Activision Publishing Inc. Game Code (c) 2002 Bunkasha Publishing Co., Ltd. Xbox is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. ================= TABLE OF CONTENTS ================= 1. Introduction and Description 2. Basic Tips 3. Unlocking Missions 4. Scenario A Missions A-1 through A-10 5. Scenario B Missions B-1 through B-10 6. Unlocking Vehicles 7. Unlocking Camera Filters for Replays and In-Game 8. Unlocking Extra Camera Angle for In-Game 9. Replays 10. Q & A 11. Credit 12. Revision History 13. Legal ============================================================================== 1. INTRODUCTION AND DESCRIPTION ============================================================================== As this driving game is fairly easy and straightforward, this guide is provided as a simple and fast reference and will focus on the points in the game that needs attention. Note: All the information disclosed is based on the Normal difficulty level of the game. For Hard difficulty the information is the same except the time given for each mission or section is less. ============================================================================== 2. BASIC TIPS ============================================================================== For missions that require the destruction of other vehicles, this game, unlike others, has a context sensitive damage scheme that requires the player to hit the other vehicles with a certain amount of force before damage is registered. This means flying off of an elevated platform like the top of a building at full speed and landing on the enemy's car will do much more damage than if the player just bump the opponent as they are speeding along. To damage enemy vehicles it is suggested that the player brake after each hit to create enough distance so that the player can speed up enough to damage the opponents' vehicles. Sideswipes, along with stopping in front of the enemy vehicle so that the enemy vehicle will ram into yours, are other ways that might be more effective depending on the player's preference. As the missions in the game have a wide range of difficulty levels, ranging from pure driving fun to pure throw-the-controller-at-the-TV frustration, sometimes it is better and less frustrating to skip certain missions that are harder to complete and finish the ones you can first. I will note on specific missions in the title the possibility of it being hard. Here is a quick list of missions that require more time and should be attempted last in your open set of missions: SCENARIO A: MISSIONS A-4 and A-6 SCENARIO B: MISSIONS B-4, B-6, B-7, and B-8 Use the RESTART option in the game pause menu to your advantage. Not only does it save you the trouble and time of having to load in and out of the mission menus again, for missions that need scouting first (i.e. MISSIONS A-4, B-3, B-4, B-6, etc.) it is suggested that the player first ignore the mission objective(s) and look around first. Especially for MISSION B-3 it makes the mission a lot easier. Use the right analog stick to view your surroundings. Some missions and secret vehicles will be easier to accomplish and obtain with this feature. Also this feature can be used to view some of the hidden amazing background graphics this game has. Also the White (Clear) Button is an analog zoom button for your viewing pleasures as well. Use your brakes and reverse gear wisely. Not only is it useful for cutting down time, for some stages you will need to use it in order to advance. The reverse gear is useful also sometimes when you are stuck on a wall. Although the game has an impressive graphical damage model for especially the player's vehicles, it is only cosmetic and will not affect the performance of the vehicles. Therefore do not worry about game overs because of too much damage to your vehicle. Have fun driving into things. The game does not have auto save. Remember to save before turning it off. Powerslide: While holding the Acceleration Trigger or Button (R Trigger or A Button) down, turn left or right and depress or pull the Brake Trigger or Button (L Trigger or X Button) at the same time. This maneuver will help cars that have sluggish turning abilities to turn sharp corners at high speeds and also will help regular cars in tight spots where you need to make 180-degree turns. ============================================================================== 3. UNLOCKING MISSIONS ============================================================================== A total of 20 missions exist in the whole game. At the offset the player can only choose from two missions, MISSIONS A-1 and B-1, one from each Scenario. After completing either one of these missions, sets of missions will be opened up for each Scenario. After unlocking the first set of unlockable missions (3 for each Scenario) from Scenario A or B, the player can choose which missions they would like to complete next. These missions do not need to be completed consecutively, but in order to unlock the next set of mission(s) the player will need to complete all the mission(s) that are still not completed. The missions will be unlocked as follows for each Scenario: Unlocking MISSIONS A-2, A-3, and A-4: Complete MISSION A-1. Unlocking MISSIONS A-5, A-6, and A-7: Complete MISSIONS A-2 through A-4. Unlocking MISSION A-8: Complete MISSIONS A-5 through A-7. Unlocking MISSION A-9: Complete MISSION A-8. Unlocking MISSION A-10: Complete MISSION A-9. The same exact formula works for Scenario B. NOTE: MISSIONS 9 and 10 for both Scenarios are bonus "secret" missions that are rewards for additional play and are more or less "fun" missions. The story plot ends with MISSION 8 of each Scenario. ============================================================================== 4. SCENARIO A STRATEGY AND WALKTHROUGH ============================================================================== Hong Kong Police & Inspector Flying Dragons: Madoka and Mei You play as a ditzy Japanese female police officer and a glasses wearing Chinese female police officer in the HK police force on a hunt for Yakuzas. MISSION A-1 ----------- (Protect Armored Van and Yakuza Chase) Chase down and demolish the 3 black Yakuza Mercedes that are chasing the Armored Van. As mentioned earlier, sometimes braking is needed not only for taking turns so as to not get stuck on a wall, but with the powerslide move it will help taking turns faster as well. Also, as the damage model will only credit you with damage when a certain amount of force is exerted on the opponent(s) vehicle(s), you will need to stop and make some distance between you and the enemy vehicle(s). A Time Extension of 20 seconds is given for each enemy vehicle destroyed. MISSION A-2 ----------- (Recover stolen government money plates from the Yakuza) Steal back money plates from 6 Yakuza Mercedes. Same basic principles as A-1 except the Yakuzas are driving all over the map for this mission. Demolish an enemy car to recover one plate. The sixth and final car will appear at the Wong Tai Shin Temple area when the fifth enemy car is demolished. A Time Extension of 30 seconds will be given for every enemy car destroyed. MISSION A-3 ----------- (Exploding Dim Sum Stands) Yakuzas are using Dim Sum stands as their front for business so you have to take them out. You will have a rival car to compete with you on this mission. For every stand you will receive a certain amount of points (3, 7, etc.) depending on the color of the umbrella above it. The mission ends when one of you reaches 100 points. The points are displayed at the bottom right corner of the screen. For people that have trouble with this one just stay close behind the opponent's car and pick up any stands you see. As he will miss most of the stands, you can win easily. Following him closely also solves the "Disappearing stands" problem as stands will disappear or lose their ability to give you points after awhile. Do NOT stop or turn around for stands you missed. MISSION A-4 ***(Hard)*** ----------- (Rescue Feng Shui Professor, get papers, and meet Police Chief on roof) The Professor is tied to the front of a monster dirt dump truck. You have to rescue him and grab the papers that he has from the top of a building under construction and meet the police chief on the roof. This mission is probably the most difficult in the game considering the time limits, frustration in play mechanics, and not mentioning the optional secret vehicle to unlock later on while at the same time completing the mission. (The directions for obtaining the secret vehicle will be in the Unlocking Vehicles section) This mission might be hard at first, so just drive around a couple times and realize that the truck drives around in a circle and remember its route. Go into the pause menu and choose RESTART. Section 1 Now in order to save the professor and stop / demolish the truck you have to drive off different ramps and hills and hit the back or side of the truck hard enough so the barrels it is carrying will explode. (4 times in total) Timing is critical. The quickest way to do this is to wait a second or two after the mission timer starts and then travel toward the slope to your left. When you approach it the truck should be just to your right so at the top of the slope drive off to the right and hit the truck (first hit spot). Time it so that you will hit the left side of the truck so that it bounces you back onto the slope. In front of you there is a ramp on TOP of the slope you are back on. Drive off that ramp and hit the truck again (second hit spot) on its left side or rear. Now fall down to the road the truck travels on. If possible hurry to the hill directly to the right of the path here. This is the 2nd slope after your start. Drive up the slope and make a left and onto the truck again (third hit spot). If you miss this one soon the truck will make a left-handed U-turn. There is a slope there to your left again. Line your vehicle up straight with the hill and wait about 100 meters away from the slope until the truck starts to make the U-turn. Drive straight up that slope and hit the truck (fourth hit spot). If you did all this right that would have been the last hit. But if not drive past the truck and make the left at the dark wall and to you right (This is also where the construction site building you have to go up later is) there is a clearing. Make a right-handed U-turn into the clearing so that you will be looking at the truck that is coming your way. Drive off the little hill to hit the truck (fifth hit spot) and that should do it. But if this one is hard to time, instead of making the right-handed U-turn at the clearing to go up the hill, make a left after entering the clearing and there is another slope. Wait there and drive off of that to hit the Truck easier (sixth hit spot). It will cost u more time since there is about a 10-second wait until the truck is in position. If you missed this last spot the truck would have made a full circle so start with the first hit spot again. Also there are other places to drive off of but the spots that are mentioned are the easiest ones to reach. Section 2 You will get a Time Extension of about 40 seconds for this section. After the cut scene that ensues and the truck explodes drive up to the building under construction mentioned earlier (follow red arrows if having problem). Break through the barricades for this construction site area and do NOT go up the big ramp indicated to you with the red arrows once in the building area. If you go this way Yakuza cars will be waiting at every level to knock you off the building costing you precious time to go back up every time you get knocked off. Instead of going up the large ramp make a 90-degree right hand turn once inside the building area and in the back far right corner there will be a small secret concrete ramp leading up. When facing the main ramp with the red arrows pointing at it the secret ramp will be to its far right in the back against the back wall sloping up from left to right. Follow that up and cross a red metal construct bridge to end up in an elevator. Hit Y to go up. During the sequence of the elevator going up line your car up so that it faces the open side of the cage. After reaching the top, drive off the platform and make a 90-degree left to go into a metal construct ramp. Make another left to go down the ramp (basically equal to making a 180 degree U-turn once you get off the elevator). Pick up the papers in the area at the bottom of the ramp in the square marked with the X. Then turn around and head back up to where you first got off the elevator to see a white light cube and stop completely inside of it to finish. If you insist on going the hard way up the large ramp the Yakuza Cars can be avoided by tricking them to steer one way then you going the other way because the AI does not counter steer well. Jump over into the other building via the metal ramp to your left at the top level. After the jump to the next building, make a quick left and to your left again is the elevator to go up top on this route. Hit Y to up the elevator. This elevator will take you up to the same square area as the secret ramp shortcut route's elevator. Follow the directions above for the secret ramp to complete the mission. ADDENDUM (02-25-2002) ***QUICKER ALTERNATE ROUTE*** (Contributed by Colin Bonstead) This strategy from the contributor mentioned above may be by far the easiest and quickest way to complete this mission for certain players. The reason is due to the combination of the advantages of two other ways to complete this mission. It has the advantage of demolishing the monster dump truck in Section 1 with just ONE easy hit. It also has the advantage of NOT using the Tank-90, which is not accessible at this point and also harder to maneuver up the ramps and jump in the construction site in Section 2. Here are the directions: From the start of the mission, with any regular vehicle, follow the monster truck and bump him along (it speeds the truck up a little) and drive off the route to the right once you reach the construction site entry ramp area. Alternatively you can go up the slope on the right and pass the monster dump truck and drop into the entrance area for the construction site. Once in the construction site area, make a 90-degree right up the mini ramp to face the main ramp (With the Yakuza cars waiting up top), which should be ahead of you to your left. The secret ramp should be visible further ahead of you to your right at the back wall. When in that position, there is an elevator shaft made from red metal construct beams that is right between these two ramps in you vision. Two rows of metal signs point to the left into it and it is directly to the right of the main ramp. It looks like a metal pillar in the center of the area. Drive ahead and make a left in-between the two rows of metal signs and follow it into the elevator. Press Y to go up. During the ride up, make a U-turn and position your vehicle so that it points to the open end of the cage where you came in from. After reaching the top, drive out and make a quick right. You are now in the top platform of the main ramp. Yakuza cars will be waiting but will be parked and not be activated yet. After making the right coming off of the elevator, to your left is a small jump into the second building where the papers are. Make the jump into the other building and go down the small metal ramp and break the metal barricades at the bottom. At the bottom of the ramp, instead of making the left to go into and up the second elevator, stop and switch your attention to your radar and wait. You will now be facing the area the truck is circling in. The area is below your vision but if you look on the radar, it will be displayed clearly. From this perspective, the loop the truck is making is in the shape of the number "7". If done within a reasonable time, the monster truck should be travelling from the top right corner towards the left now. It should be below you to your right passing in front and below you. If you are too early and the truck is still making its way up the right side of the "7" to the top right, just wait. Line your vehicle up so that it is facing straight off the open end of the platform. As the truck is travelling from the right to the left you will see the red dot passing right in front of your vehicle's blue arrow. Now switch your attention to the main screen and you will be able to see the monster truck through the red metal beams. It is passing right under you. Four red arrows will be pointing at the exploding barrels for even more clarity. Use the right analog stick to view to the right if having questions. Right when the truck and arrows are about in front of your vehicle, floor it and fly off the platform and into the truck. With the damage model in the game, from this height the truck is demolished in ONE hit. For people that was late and missed this first pass, wait until the monster truck makes the loop around the top left edge of the "7" and as the truck is passing under your vehicle from the left to the right, DROP OFF the platform. Do not accelerate or else you will go too far out. Instead simply roll off the platform and you will land right on top of the monster truck to demolish it. After the truck is demolished, head back to the construction site and read instructions for Section 2 above for directions for completing the mission. Now if you wish to acquire the secret vehicle in this mission, the timing will be tight but it is accomplishable if you catch the truck in its first pass in Section 1 and take the secret ramp up in Section 2. Look for more details for unlocking the secret vehicle in Section 6 of the FAQ including one involving the Tank-90. MISSION A-5 ----------- (Destruction Derby Fun at the Convention Center) Demolish 8 Yakuza black Mercedes in a dome arena. This one is purely for fun. (Note: Using the Tank or the APC on this stage later on is fun as well) Tip 1: For people having trouble with this one the super easy and fastest way to demolish them is not to chase the Yakuza Cars at the beginning. Instead after the initial crash and pileup go out to the outer rim where there is a ring of mines all around the dome. Weave around the mines in a continuous "S" course. The Yakuza Mercedes will pile up behind each other and detonate themselves. When there are only a few left, switch tactics and chase after them to finish them off. Tip 2: In the center area of the dome the player can "drop" concrete pillars on Yakuza cars by waiting in front of one and having Yakuza cars ram your vehicle from behind. Your vehicle will be pushed forward and break the base of the pillar. The pillar will then "drop" down on the Yakuza car(s) behind your vehicle. Tip 3: The player will receive a Time Extension of 30 seconds for every Yakuza car destroyed. MISSION A-6 ***(Hard)*** ----------- (Rescue Police Chief from underground sewer) Drive through an underground sewage maze to find the chief and escape while rescuing him. For this mission you can gather a max amount of 6 packs of TNTs along the way to help you. The TNTs act as lives for the second and third part of this stage when you drop in the water. You can restart from the second and third part of this stage as many times as the amount of TNTs you have with you. But it only activates when you drop into the water so do not let the timer run out before you drop into the water if you sense you cannot finish the mission and want to restart from the beginning of the section. However you will need at least one TNT pack at the end of the stage in order to blast the wall so that you and the chief can get out. The gathered and remaining amounts of the TNTs are displayed in the lower right portion of the screen. Also the timer for this stage will reset itself for every section so your performance on one section has no bearing on the next. It means even if you did really well or really bad on time in any given section you will not be rewarded or punished for it. The amount of time given to you for each section is preset. Also the Dragon-SPL (red sports car) might be the easiest to use for this stage. Section 1 (195 seconds given) Plenty of time is given for this section so there is no need to worry. Going through the first tunnel is easy but made tough by the water dam half wall after the right hand curve. The explosions on your left and right will make your vehicle stop, rock, and shake so try to avoid the fires bursting through the pipes on the sides and also the exploding barrels as it temporarily "blinds" your vision. The explosions near the half wall are especially frustrating. If you are using the Dragon-SPL gather up some speed as you are making the big right curve and just drive "MIB" style up and around the walls in a circle to avoid the water dam half wall. You need some speed in order to do this. You will then enter a multiple elevator platform area that is more suited in a Mario game than a driving game. Use brakes and reverse when needed. The first three elevator platforms are pretty straightforward, just roll on when it is at or below your level. For the fourth and last one roll on and back up to the edge. Wait until it's high enough to jump off of (basically at its highest point) and drive off and get the last TNT and progress. Go down the ramp and pass through another tunnel to enter Section 2 of the stage. Section 2 (20 seconds given) Not much time is given for this section so you have to hurry. At the start of this section you can see a statue with his hands sticking out as if he is calling for help. It is not the captain. This part of the maze is in a "Figure 8" shape so you can either choose one path or another. The easiest way is to take the path that goes to the far right. There will be three moving pieces of walls (a-la platform games) that come out from your right to push you into the water if you are not fast enough so try not to pause while going through this part. Remain at moderate to a little above moderate speed for this section and head for the black metal wall that is ahead of you at the end of the last slope going down. Section 3 (60 seconds given) More time is given for this section so you can slow down a little bit here. Follow the first spiral up and once you are at the top and facing north on the map again, drive straight and roll down the platform that goes to the right a little. Now here is a shortcut. Instead of taking the spiral down again, (the turn to the right at the bottom of the slope) directly roll off of the slope and onto the path beneath it. You should be able to see it quite clearly from the top of the slope. You have to have the right amount of speed (rolling speed, no acceleration) or else you will fly into the drink. After landing safely, follow the red arrows for the rest of the path to reach the last high platform. Gather some speed and fly off of it to enter Section 4. Section 4 (20 seconds given) Not much time is given for this section so you have to hurry. Also the irritating explosions you encountered earlier will activate along the whole path as well under your vehicle if you are too slow. Even though the path here is straight, it is very narrow so be careful not to make large adjustments to your steering and fall off. Slow down a little to rolling speed when necessary. At the end of this section you have to make a sharp left then right to go up the small concrete ramp horizontally in front of you. Make sure you don't get stuck on the walls here. After going up the ramp make a left and enter Section 5. Section 5 (110 seconds given) Slow down once you break the fence and enter this section as you are given plenty of time to accomplish this. You will see the Chief's car on the straight concrete platform there. What you need to do is use your vehicle to push the Chief's car forward so that both of your vehicles enter the lift safely. Be careful and take your time as the chief's car can easily be pushed off the ramp to either side if you ram it. Slowly nudge the car along and when you see that it is veering off to one side push the side of the car where it is heading towards to bring it back to center. (I.e. if it is going towards the right, tap the right rear of the car to make it go left a little) Just don't push him off. Once you are both inside the lift press the Y button to activate it to go up. Now after reaching the top move towards and enter the white lighted cube and Press the Y button again to activate the explosive to blast the wall open. After blasting the wall open drive up the ramp to finish the mission. You do not need to push the chief up the ramp. MISSION A-7 ----------- (One on One in Hong Kong) (a.k.a. "Hong Kong" Highway Battle or Midnight Racing "HK Style") This mission is just for fun. Race the other car a-la Chase H.Q. style for those that still remember. Race the enemy vehicle along the highways and city streets while ramming him into submission and oblivion. Make sure you brake after ramming him each time as some distance is required to let you get enough speed again for the next hit. Don't forget to get the secret vehicle for this stage mentioned in the Unlocking Vehicles Section. MISSION A-8 Final ----------------- (Final Showdown with Yakuza Boss) Tiger Takagi, the Yakuza boss, is waiting on the roof of a circular skyscraper for his helicopter transport to pick him up. Your objective is to defeat Tiger Takagi on this oval shaped platform that is the roof of the skyscraper and arrest him. You can accomplish this by either ramming him off the roof (easy) or just ramming him until he has no HPs left (even easier). Either way the story ends the same way and it has no bearing on the outcome of the ending. Halfway through his HP his helicopter will drop several Yakuza cars onto the roof to hinder you. Make sure they don't push you off the roof (There is a third and easiest way to defeat him by just one blast of the cannon using the tank, but you don't have that yet). After Takagi is defeated, a ramp will open up on the edge of the roof directly to the left of the starting point. Explosions will occur to hinder your sight so if you cannot find the ramp visually use the radar. It is a slit that juts out from the oval. Drive up with some speed but also carefully as it is narrow. At the top you will drop off to the roof of a lower building to accomplish the mission. If you miss it's game over. MISSION A-9 Bonus Mission 1 --------------------------- (Blood Pack Transport) Foreign Prime Minister's daughter needs a rare type of blood fast so you have to transport the blood to the hospital. This is a fun and easy cruising mission in which there are several shortcuts. Follow the red arrows and try to find shortcuts in the mission. You will be carrying five blood packs on your vehicle. They act as your damage points for this mission. Whenever you receive enough damage to your vehicle you will lose the usage of a blood pack. The damage is context sensitive so if you crash really hard you will receive two damage points and have two blood packs taken away. When you lose all the packs it's game over. To help the player out, there are shortcuts and I will mention a few. For the first part on the highway take the highway bridge to your right with the oncoming traffic. Although it makes more sense to follow traffic, in this case it is much better to take the oncoming traffic route as there are only a few cars that come your way on this side as compared to the left. After the 2 sides of the bridge merge, slow down and bear left because you will need to get on the off ramp to the left soon. There will be red arrows pointing to the left. However there is a shortcut here if you get off the highway towards the right. It is a located after the merge in the bridge and before the left bend that leads you to the red arrows pointing to the left off-ramp. If you decide to go right, go off the on-ramp with cars coming up towards you and make a sharp right at the exit of the ramp. Go straight and follow this street to a left bend up a hill. Pretty soon you will see red arrows pointing to the right. Follow the directions and make you way up the hills. Starting from this point forward Yakuza Cars seeking revenge will be waiting for you to slow you down and damage your blood pack supply. Avoid them as much as possible. A shortcut here in the hills is located where the road winds left and right like a snake (it looks like a 'M', a '3', or a 'W' on the radar depending where you're facing). There is a slope that you go up in order to enter these series of curves. Upon going up the slope to enter these curves there is a wooden wall. If you crash through that you can go straight up the hill and cut a lot of time by avoiding all those turns and Yakuza cars as well. The hills here connect you to the mountain. Continuing up the mountain, after making a wide right hand turn up the hill there is another shortcut. If you look at the radar it is easy to find. It is a brown line that cuts straight through the next big left handed bend you have to make. The entrance is located on the left-hand side of a two way street that you will be travelling straight on. You can see the entrance covered up by some wooden boards to your left at the end of a row of diagonal parking spaces. Go through this tunnel while watching out for the exploding barrels and it will cut even more time for you. Make a sharp 90-degree left at the end of the tunnel and head straight to reach the hospital at the end of a rise and fall of another slope. MISSION A-10 Bonus Mission 2 ---------------------------- (Protect Double Decker Bus from Yakuzas) A fun mission. Yakuzas want revenge and are intend on destroying a double decker bus with tourists on it. By now you will have unlocked the AUV (Army APC with the police logo and insignia on it). Use that vehicle for a breeze. All you have to do is run over all the Yakuza Mercedes that appear in your path. Follow the bus closely from behind and watch for the Yakuza cars to come at the bus and you. Hit them if you can before they hit the bus but this special bus can take quite a beating so don't sweat it if you can't stop their first hit. Just run them over as you see them and the mission should be over easily. ============================================================================== 5. SCENARIO B STRATEGY AND WALKTHROUGH ============================================================================== New Spies Ho and Chang Spy Heroes: Ho and Chang You play as two goofy Chinese spies working for the Hong Kong government to uncover the plots of the Yakuza and stop them. MISSION B-1 ----------- (Recover laundered Yakuza cash) You simply need to demolish the armored van in order to complete the first part of this mission. You do not need to wreck the three escort Yakuza cars. Though they might get in the way so it might be better to take them out first. You have lots of time so this one should be easy. There is a shortcut at the beginning of the stage in the snakelike bends if you want to get ahead of the motorcade (On your radar it's the 'M', '3', or 'W' shaped bends depending on which way you are facing). After destroying the van and getting the cash, you will be given a Time Extension to get to the airport. Follow the red arrows to get on the highway and continue following the arrows for this long stretch to reach the airport. There will be plenty of Yakuza cars in groups of threes that wait at certain spots to hinder your progress. Watch out for them. Drive through the long and winding highway to get to the airport. Once at the airport the timer is reset to 35 seconds irrelevant of how you did for the last section. Chase the airplane down on the runway and make it up the ramp on the back of the plane before the timer runs out or it will lift off without you for an instant game over. MISSION B-2 ----------- (Intercept Yakuza vehicles with counterfeit plates) The Yakuza damaged their money printing plates and are delivering them with cars to get them repaired. Your objective is to recover six printing plates from these Yakuza Mercedes (yellow boxes on your radar) and get to the goal. A new challenge is introduced here as the Yakuza cars, after having their plates stolen from you, if not destroyed, will try to steal the plates back from you. So you have to be careful as to not run into enemy cars that are chasing after you (red boxes on the radar). After recovering all the plates you will need to get to the goal within the time limit. For those that cannot make the time limit and for those that want to get the secret car on this stage later on, here are some tips: Tip 1: From the starting point at the Cultural Centre do NOT chase after the car that is directly in front of you going into the street to your left. Instead make a right at the street and after two blocks there will be two Yakuza cars unknowingly coming at you from the streets to your front and to you left. Get those two plates first and by the time you got both of them if you hang around that intersection long enough two more Mercedes will head towards this intersection. One will come from the street where you came from and the other will come from the street where the previous Mercedes came from to your left. Get these two as well and you need to only find the two remaining ones. Tip 2: The goal is an empty lot at the edge of the map directly to the right of the starting point and near the intersection mentioned below on this peninsula. Tip 3: If possible, when stealing the plates from the Mercedes, nudge them so that they will spin and face the opposite direction you will be travelling. That way they will take more time to recover and will give you more time to move away from them. Tip 4: The Yakuza cars with the plates have a logo with a plate and "$" above them and are yellow boxes on the radar. The ones without do not have the logo and are red on your radar. Tip 5: If you see on your radar one car with the plates (yellow box) surrounded by ones that do not (red boxes) do not try to go in the group to get the plate. Instead wait a few seconds and the yellow one with the plate should be making his way out of the group and away from you. Chase him down then. Tip 6: If a Yakuza car with plates is speeding towards you, slow down so that when you see him on the screen it is easier to ram him and not miss him. Slow down when a Yakuza that is after you is heading your way as well to better judge where to go in order not to lose a plate to him. MISSION B-3 ----------- (Recover Microfilm from Exploding Dim Sum Stands) Your objective is to recover four pieces of incriminating microfilms that are stashed in four Dim Sum stands around the city. The mission might seem difficult at first but it can be made very easy with the following tips. It will also be necessary to use these tips when acquiring the secret vehicle for on this stage. Tip 1: If you choose RESTART in the PAUSE menu because you run out of time or otherwise, the locations of the Dim Sum stands remain the same. If you get a Mission Failed or choose RETIRE from the PAUSE menu and reload the mission, the locations of the Dim Sum stands will be randomized and different each time. Use this to your advantage if you want a different set of locations. Tip 2: Press START to pause and in the PAUSE menu screen you can get enlarged images of the Dim Sum stands that holds the microfilms. The surrounding will give you a clue as to where they are. Tip 3: The arrow meters right beneath the timer clock in the top center of your HUD or screen is your "hotness" meter in relevance to the Dim Sum Stands. The more arrows you see the closer you are to the stand. When you see the meter go up to level 4 you should be able to use the right analog stick view feature to see where the stand is. Tip 4: The Dim Sum stands in question will have a very large colored arrow pointing down at them on the screen. The color of any particular arrow matches those of the sun umbrellas sheltering the Dim-Sum stands (i.e. Yellow, Green, Blue, etc.). Tip 5: The stands are usually at or near certain locations even though they are randomized every time you quit and reload the mission. Some spots are: 1. The Cultural Centre (Area with the "Small Ben" clock tower and raised walkway by the waterfront) 2. The Wong Tai Shin Temple (One of the 3 exits or near the exits at the temple) 3. Mongkok food stand alley (Entrances to the long street with all the Dim Sum stands in the middle) 4. Peninsula Hotel (Building near starting point with the square fountain in the indented area) 5. Kowloon Park (The park a little ways in the peninsula to the left of Nathan Road, which is the wide 6-lane road in the center of the peninsula leading inland) 6. Waterloo and Mongkok MTR stations (Small Red edifices that rise out of the ground further in on Nathan Road) 7. Indented Parking Lot (Parking lot where you find secret vehicle Car #B6 VAULTSAFE) Tip 6: This is the perfect stage to use the RESTART option. Scout out all four Dim Sum stands by choosing RESTART from the PAUSE menu whenever time runs out. After remembering all four locations RESTART again and easily get all of them. MISSION B-4 ***(Hard)*** ----------- (Tiger Takagi photo shoot) Tiger Takagi the Yakuza boss is attending a boat party at the JUMBO Seafood Restaurant in Aberdeen tonight and you need to snap seven incriminating photos of him with government and corporate officials. This mission is hard not only because of the acrobatics that you need to accomplish with your vehicle but additionally the physics models and properties of your vehicles make this mission even harder than need be. Your helium filled vehicles with anti gravity mechanisms for ground and magnetic mechanisms for water will give you some hard time. As the first four photos are straightforward and easy after a few tries I will only elaborate on the last three. Here are some tips also: Tip 1: The Super-Car ("Back To The Future" Delorean) or the Super-Buggy is probably the best car in your garage at this point to use here. Tip 2: Sometimes the photo spots two through four are randomized after you RETIRE or MISSON FAILED. Tip 3: The game gives you Time Extensions every time you snap a photo so you will get more time as you go along. Tip 4: At certain spots it is better to drop in the water after you take the photo since the game resets you back on land instead of the dry docks you are on. Not all spots are like that though. For the (most of the time fourth) photo spot where you have to go off a ramp and then bounce off a platform that is slanted to the left this trick works. Also for the photo where you have to go up a twisted wooden ramp and do a flip it works as well. Tip 5: Use your brakes and reverse gear wisely! Here are the advice for specific photos: Photos 2-4 For the one in which you have to go up a twisted ramp aim your vehicle towards the left a little as you are going up the ramp to compensate the momentum for the tendency to drop into the water on the right after landing. Photos 2-4 For the one at the far right of this shore map, after you make the sharp left and make it over the first jump off the ramp, brake and there are two paths to choose from. Do not choose the one that is in front of you. Choose the one to your left, which is a bit easier. You have to go off a ramp and bounce off a second ramp so make sure you have enough speed. Now make sure you brake hard after the bounce or else you will bounce and fly directly into the water. If you fly into the water though, the game gives you a break here and restarts you where you landed last. Make a hard left to reach the photo spot. Turn back around and follow the only path out through a jump off a ramp. The drop in the water trick will not work here. Photo 5 This one is at the far left of your starting point for this mission and at the edge of the shoreline here on the map. Go out on the wooden platform and then go up this 1/2 half pipe like looking wall here and make a U turn to the left at the top. Once you circle back down the wall on the other side of the barrier dividing it, make another U-turn to the right and drive out to the photo spot out on the dry dock. Turn around after the photo and drive back out towards the Christmas trees to get off this area. Photo 6 This one is near the starting point where you have make a large jump off a ramp; to clear it drive out on the dry dock and make the right. Line the car up and back up to the edge to get maximum boost for the launch. Then make the jump and hope you clear it. Another way entering this would be to drive with moderate speed so that you will clear the right hand turn but with no pause. Then speed up for the jump. With either the Delorean or buggy you should be able to hit the front of your vehicle on the opposite edge and do a flip. If you are lucky you can make it across with a bounce and flip. One other way is to make a hard right or hard left the instant when your vehicle is taking off of the ramp and have your vehicle do a lateral spin in the air and land sideways. Or alternately you can take off at a slight angle making the vehicle nail the edge of the opposite end with a corner and bounce up onto the dock. Photo 7 Final This last photo is relatively easy compared to a couple of the others or if you scout out the place where you have to go first. After you have snapped the sixth photo and watched the cut scene with the speedboat, drive along the dry docks until you go off the little ramp (with the bump that prevented you from getting in earlier) and back onto land. Then leave the dock area by smashing through the wooden doors that are located directly behind and to the left of where you started this mission. (On the radar it is the opening between the long blue and the long green blocks directly behind where you start) Make a sharp 90-degree right after exiting into the streets and then basically follow the red arrows in a left-right pattern until you reach a stretch that makes a wide right. Follow this path along the shore and after the wide left you will see a little hill to your right with a parking lot in front. Make the right to go up the hill and go left where there is a fork in the road. Slow down and make a left to reach a grassy spot at the edge of the Aberdeen shore some ways down from where the JUMBO is at. Snap this last photo to complete the mission. Note 1: The spot is along the route of Entrance 2 to find the secret 4X4 for MISSION A-4. It is in the grassy spot where you should watch out for driving into the water when you go off the path. Refer to the unlocking secret vehicles section for details. Note 2: You have to hurry a little because Takagi is leaving on a speedboat and if you don't make it to the photo spot in time, Takagi will pass the spot and it will be too far to take a photo and irrelevant of the clock you will fail. There is however a small leeway because you can still take a photo of him even if the speedboat passed the photo point a little with the help of telephoto lens (The game takes care of that, don't worry). MISSION B-5 ----------- (Organized illegal racing) (a.k.a. "Hong Kong" Highway Battle 2 or Midnight Racing "HK Style" 2) Some understanding cops organize street races at midnight. Win it to boost your reputation among them. Race two laps in a tour around Kowloon against six other vehicles. Your rivals will be sedans, taxis, police cars, and other cars you see in regular traffic plus one boss car, which is usually your vehicle's equivalent in the other Scenario. Including you, there are seven contenders. Comes complete with arcade racing game style countdown numbers, countdown camera angles, and countdown sound effects (Similar to Gran Turismo 3). A fun and easy mission and there is even at least one big shortcut. It is located after the Cultural Centre (Area with beige colored tiles by the ocean with the Kowloon "Small Ben" Clock Tower). After that there will be 3 cargo docks (simulating Ocean Terminal, Ocean Centre, etc.) to your left as you are driving past them (The row of 3 rectangles that jut out into the water on the radar). After that you will see Kowloon Park (Grassy park area) and instead of making the hairpin U to the right to go around the park just drive right through the park by making a 90-degree right hand turn at the red arrows. Follow along the wall to your left and make a 90-degree left at the end where it goes back out into the street. In the second lap, the computer AI will compensate by slowing down or speeding up depending on your performance and position after they enter their second lap. You will also get a Time Extension for the second lap though you will not need it. MISSION B-6 ***(Can Be Hard)*** ----------- (Plutonium pickup and disposal) Notice the two typos in the second to last sentence in the briefing screen. For this mission you have to recover and steal 3 sets of plutonium packs on Hong Kong Island from the Yakuzas that stole it from the government in the first place. You have to pick up the packs from mobile Yakuza orange dump trucks and drop them off with government disposal teams non-consecutively. This means you can pick up all three packs before dropping any off. But it is not suggested, as there is a deterring feature against this called the Geiger Gauge in this mission which will be explained later. Also make sure you stop completely inside the lighted white cubes for drop-offs. The 3 locations of the plutonium drop-off points are listed below. You do not need to follow the order described below but it might be easier (see tips below). As there are multiple ways to get to these points, you can have fun finding other routes. The amount of plutonium packs you have dropped off / not yet done is displayed in the lower right of the screen. O.K. means the ones you have finished with so far. The biohazard radiation logo is how many you have left to do. Tip 1: There is a meter called the Geiger Gauge on your vehicles for this mission. It is displayed under your Tachometer and Speedometer on your HUD. Whenever you have a plutonium pack with you it will rise and when it reaches max level the radiation level is maxed out and it's game over. It will however decrease whenever you don't have a plutonium pack with you. Therefore it is advised that the player drop off one pack before picking another one up. That is also why if you complete the disposal at the Long Wharf beside the highway bridge first it might be to your advantage. This is because the meter will start with nothing and be almost at max by the time you get out there. With a near full gauge you do not want to pick up another pack yet. You will need some time for the meter to decrease and the long trip back from the wharf is perfect for this. Also since the other 2 packs are pretty close together you will have more or less 1/3 to a 1/2 of the meter filled when you are completing those two deliveries. It will be to your disadvantage if you try to reach the long wharf with a non-empty meter. Tip 2: The drop-off spots are purple dots that look like targets on your radar. Tip 3: The dump trucks will take a route towards you if you take too long to find one. They will also travel in a relative circle in the downtown area. Note: A lot of free space is on the map so feel free to find your own routes. Drop off spots: 1. End of the Long Wharf Platform next to the Highway Bridge This one is far so you either might want to do this first or last depending on your preference. After picking up the plutonium pack from the truck near the starting point (the red box on your radar when starting), make your way towards the shore to the east (The shore on your upper left corner of your radar from the starting position of the mission). From here, follow the wide street parallel to the shore (still on your upper left on your radar) towards where the truck came from. To clarify, this is the street where the electric double decker trams are travelling on. At the next intersection, which is a "Y" fork, make a left to go up the street that lead you up a small hill diagonally. Follow this street until you arrive at a large intersection with lots of vehicles waiting for the lights. Make a sharp left here and travel down about 50 meters. Make a sharp right here to continue on a street that is located in-between the two on and off ramps for the highway bridge. Make sure you don't go up these ramps, they will lead you up to the elevated highway bridge which will take longer. Follow the street a little until you see the trees on the left of the street. Make a left out onto the grass. Once on the grass bear right and go into the opening between the metal walls on the right and the white concrete walls which are the struts of the elevated on-off ramps on the left. Bear right and there will be a copper colored sound barrier wall on your left. The circular should be on your right hand side now. Follow along that wall and you will end up on a street. Make a sharp left there and follow the street. You will go up an on-ramp that leads to the highway bridge. Do not go all the way up the ramp onto the bridge. Instead at the top of the ramp there is a fork to you left that leads directly onto the long wharf. Go straight and at the end is the radiation team. Make sure you slow down at the end or you might fly off after ramming the disposal team's trucks. 2. JUMBO Seafood Restaurant shore area (Boat full of lights in MISSION B-4) This one is located basically at the starting point of MISSION B-4 (Takagi photo mission). Pick up a plutonium pack from the truck near the circular or near the HongKong Bank Tower (Skyscraper with a metal frame on the outside and a lobby you can drive into). Travel on the street that is parallel and closest to the shore. Go towards the center of the shoreline by making your way to the double wooden doors which is located next to a "nick" where the street breaks and continues after a small turn. If you follow the drop-off order suggested it would be directly to your right when you see a building you are driving towards that seem like a dead end (It has a very dark base). Bust through the wooden doors and immediately to your right is the drop-off spot. 3. Under the Elevated Highway on the West Shore This spot is very close to the grassy spot for the seventh photo in MISSION B-4 and the Entrance 2 for the secret 4X4 in MISSION A-4. After coming back out onto the streets and making a sharp right, head towards the west shore (Left if facing the sea). Pick up the plutonium pack off the dump truck now travelling on the wide street near the freeway near the shore (the one surrounding the landfill for MISSION A-4). Now go towards the right bend, which leads to the highways at the west shore of this map. Do this by following the freeway bordering the shoreline and the landfill. This shore is to the rear and right of you at your starting position for this mission. On the radar this freeway is bordering a large dark green block (which is the landfill). After making the left bend along the shoreline, you will see an on-ramp to your left. Do not go up the ramp. Instead continue straight on the freeway and around the ramp underneath it to your left is the drop-off spot. MISSION B-7 ***(Can Be Hard)*** ----------- (Steal the Jade Cane) Steal a Jade Cane from the Yakuzas, which might bring up some new leads, and then escape. Fairly easy if you completed MISSION A-6 because it is located in the same sewer tunnels. Except this time you basically have to go backwards towards the goal, which is the starting point of MISSION A-6. Section 1 (65 seconds given with Time Extensions for every room) To open the path to the tunnels that lead you into each consecutive room that leads you to the Jade Cane vault room just ram the Yakuza cars Destruction Derby style in each room and demolish them. Due to the limited amount of space offered in these rooms it might be easier to drive away from the cars after the initial crash / pileup and wait at the walls away from them. They will be aggressive down to the last car and will come after you. It is faster to let them just demolish themselves by ramming into you. There are 3 rooms with three, four, and five cars progressively and respectively in each. When all the cars in each room is demolished, the entrance to the next consecutive room will open. In the third room with five cars, when you dispose of them, the entrance to the vault will open. Get the suitcase and drive back out to the room with the five cars. Another opening to your right will open revealing the path you used in MISSION A-6. Go into this entrance and follow the red arrows for the path out. Section 2 (60 seconds given) There is a shortcut here in the first room with the zig-zag maze. After entering the room and going up to the top of the first platform, instead of driving to the left and into the tunnel in the wall, with some speed fly straight off the platform to the path in front (a little to the right) and beneath it. Finish this section by following the path and fly off of the last platform into the next section. Section 3 (20 seconds given) The strategy for going back up the "Figure 8" is to go on the same route detailed for MISSION A-6. I will defer any questions for this part to what is detailed in MISSION A-6. Just follow the path to the left for easy reference. You might need to hurry a little here. Section 4 (160 seconds given) Extra "lives" suitcases will not work for this section. In the first part of this section, there are two driving styles to approach the elevator platforms. The bold way is to drive off the platforms at high speeds and with some luck or skill land on the next consecutive platform. The reason for this is that when the vehicles leave the ramp at higher speeds they will remain horizontal for a longer period of time and not tip over in mid flight and land upside down on the next platform. The tradeoff is that it will be difficult to see where the next platform is sometimes resulting in a miss and then a dip in the water. The more cautious way is to wait for the platforms and leave the platforms at more moderate speeds and time your jump so that the platform your vehicle will land on is rising up to meet your vehicle. The tradeoff for this is that it takes longer. Do not frustrate if your vehicle does a flip and land upside down. Try the higher speed method described above if this way does not work for you. Go forward after this section and remember the water dam half wall in the sewer pipes at the end of your run. Try to go up and around the wall "MIB" style except this time do not accelerate until the top of the ramp leading down to the half wall. Watch out for exploding blinding barrels as well. Also in this section Yakuza cars will come after you but overall they shouldn't be much trouble except for the one at the water dam half wall. Make the wide left at the end to reach the goal. TIP 1: The player will be given Time Extensions for each section completed. TIP 2: The player will be given six suitcases once you get the Jade Cane. They will act like the TNTs in A-6. You can have five extra "lives" in the sections two and three, but only if you fall into the water or get stuck upside down. Do not time out. It will be an automatic game over. MISSION B-8 Final ***(Can Be Hard)*** ----------------- (Yakuza showdown and Space Shuttle launch interception) Note: The time given is cumulative meaning your time in the first part has a bearing on the second part of the mission so finish the first part as fast as possible. For this one it can be really easy or be a little difficult depending on some luck and some skill. Section 1 (195 seconds given) After the cut scene at the beginning you have to demolish four unlucky Yakuza cars in the Destruction Derby-like dome again. Here you can use the "follow me into mines" trick detailed in Tip 1 of MISSION A-5 for the first two cars. After the first two are destroyed the other two will drive away and not follow you as much. Additionally, the player can "drop" pillars on Yakuza cars as detailed in Tip 2 of MISSION A-5 as well. Chase them down and after all four Yakuza cars are demolished the doors to the dome will open. Follow the red arrows out of the place. Another cut scene ensues. Tip 1: A 20-second Time Extension is given for each Yakuza Car demolished. Section 2 (80 seconds Time Extension given) Slow down at the top of the ramp coming out to avoid flipping over and make a left at the exit. Now you have to stop the space shuttle from taking off and also demolish two more Yakuza cars on the loose to get the Key Cards before going there. The key point to getting the Keys is initial speed and avoidance of the Tank-90s. As there will be multiple Tank-90s on the streets shooting at you, it makes it difficult if you don't grab the keys fast. The Delorean would be a good choice for this mission not only because of the speed but also because it is smaller and lower (flatter) so tanks have a harder time shooting you. Also because car weight has no bearing on your "bounciness" which is a big factor considering the major problem of the tanks here. Once you are spotted and hit by the tanks, they will not stop and will relentlessly pound you with shots. As you know by now the cars you drive are filled with helium or have anti gravity systems built in so once you get hit and start to bounce it will be difficult and sometimes impossible to get out of the cycle. Now if you are fast enough you should be able to catch the first car and demolish it in a couple hits straight out of the ramp coming out of the dome. Now chase the other car with the Key Card (yellow box) down to demolish it and acquire the Card. To add to the confusion multiple Yakuza cars will appear in your path to stop you by ramming into you and confusing you as to which car has the Card Key. As I said if you are fast enough you can demolish both cars before they reach the areas that have tanks and other Yakuza cars in them. Once you are near tanks it will be harder, if not impossible, to finish the mission. So try to get both Keys before you see tanks (The tanks are purple rectangles on the radar). Here is another method that needs less luck that I gleamed off of a message board post (credits below) and tested as well. Once near the area with the tanks in the city, instead of trying to chase after the Yakuza cars with the Key Cards, travel parallel to them one block to their right. That way you can avoid the tanks and some Yakuza cars that try to hinder you and slow you down. Let the two Yakuza Cars with the Key Cards pass through this area while travelling parallel to them and once you hit a dead end they will make a right and come straight at you. Starting from here chase them down and finish them off as they head towards the highway bridge. If you somehow got stuck and the two Yakuza cars are way ahead of you on the bridge already, catch them on the way back on the RIGHT hand side of the bridge where the traffic is coming towards you. This is because they will make a U-turn at the launch pad area and come back on the right hand side of the bridge. Tip 2: A 20-second Time Extension is given for each Key Card-holding Yakuza car demolished. Just follow the red arrows to get to the space shuttle launch pad area. Or if you can remember the way it is located in the middle of the bridge on the far left (west) of the shoreline in MISSION B-6 (The plutonium mission). It is also the starting point of MISSION A-9. Drive onto the ramp leading up to the bridge, follow the bridge all the way to the midpoint of the bridge and there is an exit to your left so stay in the left lane (The area is a huge beige rectangle on your radar). After passing the two Yakuza cars at the gates and making a sharp 90-degree right there is a slope leading up to the launch pad area fading to the left. Follow that up and once in the clearing where the launch pad is there is a ramp going up the side of the structure to your left pointed to by red arrows. Four Yakuza cars will be waiting but once you go up the ramp they will leave you alone. Go up that ramp, follow it and there is an elevator at the end. Press Y to go up. At the top, floor it and make the jump at the end. Hit the Space Shuttle with Tiger Takagi in it and the mission ends. I was lucky on my 3rd try (Got stuck bouncing around tanks on the 1st 2 tries) to get the first car with 2 hits (multiple hits due to traffic in front of him) and the 2nd one with a few more. (He was stuck in traffic as well) Then after reaching the launch pad, as I was circling the launch pad for a way up all the Yakuza cars there chased after me, missed me, and flew off the edge into the ocean. Addendum: Depending on circumstances (Xbox system clock maybe?), the ending cut scene might be nighttime instead of daytime. MISSION B-9 Bonus Mission 1 --------------------------- (Collect boxes dropped from helicopter) This one is just for fun and very easy. Just follow close to the helicopter and don't stop or turn around for boxes that you missed as you will run out of time and the boxes ahead of you will disappear over time as well. A Time Extension of three seconds will be added to the timer for every box collected. MISSION B-10 Bonus Mission 2 ---------------------------- (Yakuza Fun Time on the Wharf) This mission is just for fun as well. Meant specifically for the Tank-90, this mission is truly a stress reliever if using the tank. Use the Tank-90 you just acquired from completing MISSION B-9 and blow all the Yakuza Mercedes off each of the wharves. You are located at the 3 docks / wharves mentioned in the shortcut for MISSION B-5 that sticks out into the ocean. Follow the arrows and travel to all three wharves to dispose of all the Yakuzas easily. All the Yakuza cars on the first wharf will have drivers and will charge at you. On the second wharf, only the initial two Yakuza cars will have drivers, the rest will be immobile (without drivers), and a few in harder to reach places if not using the Tank-90. On the third wharf all the Yakuza cars will be immobile and will take some platform game skills to reach if not using the Tank-90. Tip 1: There are immobile Secret Bonus Police Vans on each of the three wharves that gives the player 30 second Time Extensions each when pushed or blown into the ocean. One van will be available for each wharf and they are on small elevated ramps next to crates on each of the three wharves. They are located as follows: Wharf 1: To the left front of the wharf from your starting position. Wharf 2: Directly to your right beside the warehouse as you enter this wharf. Wharf 3: Directly to your right on top of the small ramp between the crates as you enter this wharf. Tip 2: Each Yakuza car destroyed will give you a Time Extension of 15 seconds. Tip 3: The first wharf completed will give the player a Time Extension of 100 seconds. Combine that with the 15 seconds of the last car destroyed for 115 total. The second wharf completed will give the player a Time Extension of 50 seconds. Combine that with the last car destroyed for 65 seconds total. Tip 4: The tank might be hard to maneuver at first if you have never used a tank in a game before, but even then you will get used to it after awhile. Just look at your cannon to see which way you are driving towards or away from. The cannon points at the direction you are moving towards or away from. ============================================================================== 6. UNLOCKING VEHICLES ============================================================================== At the offset the first two vehicles for each scenario (Car # A1, A2, B1 and B2) are given. For some other vehicles by completing certain missions they will be unlocked. For certain "secret" vehicles that needs to be unlocked you will need to reach the vehicles, touch them, and complete the mission it is in as well in order to acquire them. That is why it might be easier to finish the mission they are located in one time first before attempting to acquire them. They appear as a blue "?" on your radar. Once seeing the vehicles in sight you will see a "?" over the top of them. After activating them for acquiring by touching them, the "?" will disappear from above them and from the radar. You only need to touch them; you do not need to demolish them. Following is the list of requirements and directions for acquiring the secret vehicles in the game: ------------ | SCENARIO A | ------------ -------------------------------------------------- CAR # A5: UNLOCKING DRAGON-SPL (Red MR sports car) -------------------------------------------------- Complete MISSION A-1. ---------------------------------------------------------------- CAR # A3: UNLOCKING BIG-4WD (Police 4X4 Big Wheel Monster Truck) ---------------------------------------------------------------- MISSION LOCATION: MISSION A-4 ROUTE 1: Normal Route --------------------- This vehicle might be the hardest to unlock due to its location in MISSION A-4. To attempt this, perfect the technique for demolishing the giant truck first then once you can destroy the truck fast hurry to the following location. The truck is down in a sewage pipe inside the hill directly to the left of the starting point. If you use the right analog stick "view feature" you can see the hill directly to your left from the starting point. From the starting point go left a little (not towards where the Truck is going) and down the slope the truck will come back towards you on. You will see metal barricades to your left. Go through these and make a sharp 90-degree left. You will see a low concrete wall some ways ahead. The dirt road bends toward the right but you will ignore that and attempt to go over that low concrete wall. Now drive straight down this dirt stretch with some speed and use the little dirt incline to bounce over the low concrete wall directly in front of you (the wall, just like the road, is slanted and fading from the left to the right a little). You will land in a grass area with a small concrete ramp. Go up and there are two elevator shafts. Drop down either one but it will reset you back to the top if you do not land upright at the bottom. Now drive out of the elevator platform and make a left. Follow the sewage pipe and the 4X4 will be on your left in the lower level a bit in. Turn around after touching it and head back to the elevator and press Y to go back up. Then go towards the construction site and go up the secret ramp to finish the mission. Time might be tight so you might want to perfect the "2 hits on the first slope and ramp" move. ROUTE 2: Alternate Route ------------------------ There is a second way in and out of the sewage pipe where the 4x4 is located. This 2nd opening into the sewage pipe is at the other end of the pipe (The 4X4 is located in the center of the pipe). I will give the pros and cons and directions for the location of the entrance and leave it up to the player whether or not to use it and if used whether to use it as an exit or entrance. It is easier driving but located farther than the elevator entrance previously mentioned. ***Advantages of using it as an ENTRANCE*** You won't need to make the small jump at the low wall (for those that have problems with it) and also no fear of multiple resets at the top of the elevator shaft if you end up landing upside down every time after dropping. ***Advantage of using it as an EXIT*** There is no long wait for the elevator to slowly bring you back up as well as no risk of landing upside down while bouncing your way back onto the roads once you get off the elevator. ***Directions from the Starting Point*** Initially this follows the same path as the low wall jump route. From the starting point, go left a little (not where the Truck is going) and down the slope the truck will come back towards you on. You will see metal barricades on your left. Go through them and make a sharp 90-degree left. Now instead of making that hop off the road, follow the road a little and after the bend to the right there will be a row of metal construction barricades on triangular struts on your right. Go through those and follow the path to the right a little until you break the barricades at the end and get off the dirt road and onto the paved streets with traffic. Make a soft right to follow the road and bear left on the road. Soon you will see an exit off to your left. Take the exit and go up the hill a little. You will see another exit off this hill path to your left that is covered with grass (If using as an entrance slow down here as it is very easy to drive off the road and straight into the water if going too fast). Go onto the grass and follow that path onto a dirt road leading down into the sewer. Break the wooden barricades at the end (Slow down here if possible as well) and make a 90-degree left and a small drop into the lower level of the sewer pipe. Follow the pipe and the 4X4 is in front of you. ROUTE 3: Tank-90 Route ---------------------- As several people have emailed and mentioned to me this known alternate strategy, I will include it here. The reason I was reluctant is because although players will eventually acquire and have access to the Tank-90 for this mission after completing all 20 missions, at this point in the game with normal progression, no players will have access to it yet. This strategy is for people that have finished all 20 missions and still have not acquired the secret vehicle for this mission. Also it is for people that do not have trouble maneuvering the tank. At the start of the mission blast the monster truck with one blast to destroy it. You will have 235 seconds now to acquire the truck and complete the mission. Go left after your blast and follow the instructions for ROUTE 2 mentioned above blasting all the cars in your way on the highway. As you approach the wooden barricades blocking the sewer, slow down and stop right after the tank goes through them. Make a sharp left and stay on the upper level in the sewer. Roll along the top level until the 4X4 is in firing range. Fire at it in the general direction as you move along and the "?" above it should disappear. The blasts that come out of the cannon will have some peripheral damage so even if you are just firing straight ahead, it will activate the 4X4 for acquiring. After the "?" disappears, continue straight along the upper level and make a right at the end to enter either one of the elevators. Hit Y to go up and follow the rest of the directions in the Walkthrough Section for MISSION A-4 to complete this mission. You can take any of the three routes mentioned in the Walkthrough Section, as the tank will not need to fear the Yakuza cars. A couple problems arise with the tank though. If you take either the large main center elevator or the main ramp up, you will need to make the small jump across to the next building, which might be difficult considering the slow speed of the tank. Line the tank up and have as much space as possible for the jump if taking these two routes. If taking the route with the small ramp, another problem arises with the small space to maneuver the tank. Watch out for walls that will get the tank stuck. Also inside a couple of the elevators in this mission, the tank will not be able to make the U-turn so that it is facing out as you approach the top. If all these problems can be overcome, the Tank-90 might be the easiest way for you to acquire the 4X4. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CAR # A6: UNLOCKING TAXI (Red Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Medallion Taxi) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MISSION LOCATION: MISSION A-7 This vehicle is very easy to obtain. During the first part of the race ram the enemy until he has only one more hit left to be defeated. Drive ahead of him and eventually after you drive off the highway and pass through the narrow alleys you will see the "?" inside a building to the right of the street you're driving on. Go through the opening by breaking through the windows and inside the atrium you will find the Taxi. Come back out on the street to wait for and finish off the other car. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CAR # A7: UNLOCKING TIGER-SPL (Black MR sports car with rocket engine on rear) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Complete MISSION A-8. Notice Tiger Takagi still driving it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CAR # A4: UNLOCKING AUV (Army APC with police insignia and logo on it) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Complete MISSION A-9. ------------ | SCENARIO B | ------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------ CAR # B5: UNLOCKING SUPER-CAR (Delorean from "Back to the Future") ------------------------------------------------------------------ Complete MISSION B1. The Union Jack on the roof of the car is a reference to Hong Kong used to being a British colony. It might also refer to the fact that the car looks similar to a Lotus Esprit, which is a British car. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- CAR # B6: UNLOCKING VAULTSAFE (Armored van with "Vaultsafe" logo on front) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MISSION LOCATION: MISSION B2 This one is easy to find except you have to complete the mission, which can vary in time depending on your performance on not getting your recovered plates stolen. If you follow the advice given for this stage though, it should be fairly easy. From the starting point of the mission it is located at the top of the map on the north border street. It is to the right of the starting point and near the center of the map (You start in the left side of the map). If you head directly north and reach the northernmost street, make a right and it is a few blocks down the street. It is inside a small indented parking lot to the right hand side of the street. ------------------------------------------------------------ CAR # B3: UNLOCKING BIG-TRUCK (4X4 Big Wheels Monster Truck) ------------------------------------------------------------ MISSION LOCATION: MISSION B-3 This one is even easier to obtain. The "?" on you radar is directly to the left of where you start. Make a left turn and immediately at the next block make a right. Ahead to your left there is a metal ramp but it is facing the other way. Go to the end of the block (So that you can get enough speed because you need to make a jump at the top of the ramp) and make a U-turn to face the ramp. Now drive up the ramp with some speed and make the small jump. Drive along the balcony and break through the windows to get to the corner of the block. The Monster Truck is at the end of the balcony in a little area to your right. For people that have trouble finishing it in time after getting the 4X4, read the advice above for this mission. ----------------------------------------------- CAR # B7: UNLOCKING YAKUZA-CAR (Black Mercedes) ----------------------------------------------- Complete MISSION B-8. Notice the unmodified character models. The Yakuzas are left in the car and the one on the passenger side even has a gun sticking out. ------------------------------------------------------------ CAR # B4: UNLOCKING TANK-90 (Tank with cannon turret on top) ------------------------------------------------------------ Complete MISSION B-9. Press Y to fire the cannon. Hold Y for continuous fire. The tank controls are similar to those of tanks in videogames. The cannon point towards where you will move towards or away from, so just point your cannon in the direction you want to go to or away from. The steering controls will turn the turret left and right but will also act as your directional rotation for the treads on the bottom. If you want to make a tight turn stop and turn the turret first to point towards where you want to go. Try this vehicle for all earlier missions to have some fun with the cannon. ---------------- | BOTH SCENARIOS | ---------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- UNLOCK THE USE OF ALL VEHICLES IN YOUR GARGAGE FOR THE OTHER SCENARIO --------------------------------------------------------------------- Complete all 20 missions. Incidentally if you have not acquired some or any of the secret unlockable vehicle(s) hidden in certain missions, you might want to try to use a vehicle from the other Scenario to get the missing secret vehicle(s) you still have not unlocked yet. Some missions are easier with certain vehicles (i.e. Tank-90 for MISSION A-4). ============================================================================== 7. UNLOCKING NEW CAMERA FILTERS FOR REPLAYS AND IN-GAME ============================================================================== You can unlock camera filters both for replays and in-game use by completing Missions A-9, A-10, B-9, and B-10. There are 16 filters in total to unlock with each of these missions unlocking four filters each. Scroll through the filters unlocked during replays and during gameplay by pressing DOWN on the D-pad. During both the game and replays the number of the filter activated is displayed in the bottom left corner of the screen. To switch the filters off, scroll through until it displays NONE. To activate auto filter switching, scroll until it displays AUTO. ============================================================================== 8. UNLOCKING EXTRA CAMERA ANGLE FOR IN-GAME ============================================================================== Complete all 20 missions in HARD DIFFICULTY with HEAVY TRAFFIC. Push UP on the D-pad to scroll to this camera angle during gameplay. You will unlock the auto-switching scenic camera angle (GT-3 style angle) for In-Game use. Not very useful but fun nevertheless. Reminiscent of the second controller port camera trick for Crazy Taxi for the DreamCast. Combine this with any camera filter (detailed above) for a powerful demonstration of what the X-box can do. ============================================================================== 9. REPLAYS ============================================================================== Aside from the unlockable camera filters mentioned in Section 7, during replay press UP on the D-pad for camera change. It is possible to toggle between the Behind-the-Car view, the Above-the-Bumper view, and the auto switching Scenic view (similar to angles Gran Turismo 3: A-spec). There is only a certain amount of memory cache the game allocates to replays. Therefore if your gameplay time is extended (taking too long to finish the mission) the amount of replay video stored in the cache might be cut at the end of your missions. In other words if you want to watch all of your gameplay during replays, get better and finish the missions faster. ============================================================================== 10. Q & A ============================================================================== Q: Can this game use the music stored on the Xbox hard drive for game music? A: No. Q: Is it 'like' (blah blah "insert game name" blah blah)? A: No. The only game(s) that is (are) similar to it is the Runabout series. Incidentally some of the staff that worked on this game are from the staff that made the Runabout series. Q: Is there a Multi-player option? A: No. Q: Is there Manual Transmission for the vehicles? A: No. Q: How long does it take to completely finish this game including all secrets? A: On an average, no more than 10 hours on Normal. Faster times are possible. Q: Can this game be completed in under 2 hours? A: Yes. I totally completed Hard Difficulty with Heavy Traffic in 1:42. Q: Why is this game so short? A: It's an arcade style game. Q: Are those "secret" numbers on the signboards on certain stages? A: Just fake phone numbers and email addresses of the companies advertising. Q: Rent or buy? A: Up to your budget. If you can afford a short but fun game, buy it. Q: Is the story or plot deep or interesting? A: It's an arcade style game. Not much thought is put into the script. Q: How much destruction can be done in the game? A: Humans run away or press up against walls. Some parts of buildings like scaffolds and certain windows can be knocked down and broken. But trees and lamp posts can be driven through with no collision detection. Certain objects that look breakable, like low concrete barriers, cannot be broken. Q: Is there any way to customize the controls? A: No. ============================================================================== 11. CREDIT ============================================================================== Thanks to: ir8prim8 for providing Tip 1 for MISSION B-2 erasmus for providing Tips 5 and 6 for MISSION B-2 Chris Schmidt for providing IN-GAME CAMERA FILTER info postmaster bates for providing alternate method for getting Key Cards in B-8 ReaKtioN for providing info for testing for Section 8: Unlocking Camera Angle Colin Bonstead for providing info for Quicker Alternate Route for MISSION A-4 Gary Gnu for providing info for Car # A3: Route 3: Tank-90 Route ============================================================================== 12. Revision History ============================================================================== Version 0.1: Initial Build - 02/10/2002 Version 0.2: First Revision - 02/12/2002 Corrected and added info for Unlocking Camera Filters Section Corrected Unlocking Vehicles Section info for Car #s A-5 and B-5 Corrected Unlocking Missions Section: Missions 1 through 4 Info added for MISSION A-8: Ramp Info added for MISSION B-4: Photo 7 Directions Info added for MISSION B-5: Contenders, Laps, and AI Compensation Info added for MISSION B-6: Drop-off Location 3 Directions Info added for MISSION B-7: Shortcut and Yakuza Cars Strategy Info added for MISSION B-8: Method 2 for Key Cards acquiring Info added for MISSION B-9: Time Extension Info added for Car # B4: Continuous Cannon Fire Info added for Unlocking Cars for use in other Scenario Info added to Q & A Added Section 9: Replays Added Section 12: Revision History Addition in Credit Section Version 0.3: Second Revision - 02/15/2002 Info added for BASIC TIPS: Damaging opponents' vehicles Info added for BASIC TIPS: Powerslide maneuver Info added for MISSION A-5: Tip 2 - Pillar Drop Info added for MISSION A-5: Tip 3 - Time Extension Info added for MISSION B-3: Tip 4 - Arrow / Umbrella Colors Info added for MISSION B-6: Tip 3 - Dump truck route Info added for MISSION B-6: More details for drop off locations Info added for MISSION B-7: Section 4 Elevator Platform Info added for MISSION B-8: Section 1 Pillar Drop Info added for MISSION B-8: Tip 1, Tip 2 - Time Extension Info added for MISSION B-10: Tip 1 - Bonus Time Extension cars Info added for MISSION B-10: Tip 2, Tip 3 - Time Extension detail Info added for Car # B4: Maneuvering tips Info added for Car # B5: Union Jack origin Info added to Q & A Sectionalized MISSION B-7 Sectionalized MISSION B-8 Added Section 8: Unlocking Extra Camera Angle for In-Game use Addition in Credits Section Various typography errors corrected Version 0.4: Third Revision - 02/25/2002 Info added for MISSION A-4: Quicker Alternate Route Info added for Car # A3: Tank-90 Route Info added to Q & A Additions in Credits Section ============================================================================== 13. LEGAL ============================================================================== This document is for private and personal use only. It can only be reproduced electronically, and if placed on a web page or site, may be altered as long as this disclaimer and the above copyright notice appear in full. This document is NOT to be used for profitable/promotional purposes; this includes selling, given as a gift, being used by publishers of magazines, guides, books, etc. or being incorporated into magazines, etc. in ANY way.