HOOTERS ROAD TRIP: GAME GUIDE by Jamie Stafford/Wolf Feather feather7@ix.netcom.com Initial Version Completed: June 19, 2002 FINAL VERSION Completed: July 5, 2002 ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== JOIN THE FEATHERGUIDES E-MAIL LIST: To be the first to know when my new and updated guides are released, join the FeatherGuides E-mail List. Go to http://www.coollist.com/group.cgi?l=featherguides for information about the list and to subscribe for free. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== CONTENTS Spacing and Length Permissions Introduction Tips Test Track Roadtrip 1 Roadtrip 2 Roadtrip 3 Roadtrip 4 Roadtrip 5 Roadtrip 6 Wish List Contact Information ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== SPACING AND LENGTH For optimum readability, this driving guide should be viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier. Check for font setting by making sure the numbers and letters below line up: 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ============================================== PERMISSIONS Permission is hereby granted for a user to download and/or print out a copy of this driving guide for personal use. However, due to the extreme length, printing this driving guide may not be such a good idea. This driving guide may only be posted on: FeatherGuides, GameFAQs.com, PSXCodez.com, Cheatcc.com, gamesover.com, Absolute-PlayStation.com, RedCoupe, ps2replay.com, InsidePS2Games.com, CheatPlanet.com, The Cheat Empire, gamespot.com, ps2domain.net, a2zweblinks.com, Games Domain, Gameguru, cheatingplanet.com, neoseeker.com, RobsGaming.com, ps2fantasy.com, gamespot.com, and vgstrategies.com. Please contact me for permission to post elsewhere on the Internet. Should anyone wish to translate this driving guide into other languages, please contact me for permission(s) and provide me with a copy when complete. Remember: Plagiarism in ANY form is NOT tolerated!!!!! ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== INTRODUCTION At only $9.99 new (in the States), this is not a bad game. Most likely, players will pick this up out of curiosity, just like I did ("Why is Hooters allowing its name to be used for a game!?!?!"). However, Hooters does sponsor USAR Hooters ProCup stock car racing, seen regularly on Speed Channel (in the States), so a racing game with the Hooters name really is not so surprising after all. "Tacky yet unrefined" certainly describes the game (however, I cannot speak for the restaurants themselves, as I have never actually been to a Hooters restaurant). Car control is a bit sub-par, with cars tending to oversteer perpetually; for those intimately familiar with games such as EA Sports' F1 series and the ever-popular Gran Turismo series, the lack of tuning possibilities can be rather frustrating. However, the graphics are quite good (at least when played on a PlayStation2), and the music is fitting and interesting without getting in the way of player concentration. Adding a breath of fresh air to the racing genre, cars unlocked during gameplay can only be used in actual Roadtrips if they are first Licensed for racing (which uses the Test Course and a target completion time). The main part of this game guide provides descriptions of each of the Roadtrips in the game. There are six Roadtrips (detailed on pages 12 and 13 of the game manual) broken into two or more Stages; each Stage is given a brief description in this guide, so that players will have some idea of what to expect. Players should anticipate approximately three minutes to complete each Stage. ============================================== TIPS The standard skills of racing apply: brake before cornering, out-in-out cornering, etc. However, the traffic on the roads (primarily the non-participant traffic) will often dictate how you can approach corners, hills, etc. Those with a PlayStation2 may want to buy/rent/borrow Midnight Club: Street Racing and/or Tokyo Extreme Racer Zero; these street/highway racing games introduce traffic on a much larger scale, and success in either or both of these games will translate nicely to Hooters Road Trip. Whenever possible, brake in a straight line before reaching corners. This will maximize braking ability. Braking while cornering makes the brakes less effective (especially at high speeds) and risks to make the car unstable. When approaching a series of quick-flick corners, try to straightline them if possible. This will reduce overall time and lessen the chance of losing car control. Those familiar with rally-based games should already be familiar with this tactic. Definitely get to know the Ft. Lauderdale-Jacksonville Stages REALLY well, as ALL Roadtrips begin here. Some also end by running this Stage in reverse. The opponents do sometimes make mistakes. Keep a watchful eye on opponents and prepare to take advantage when they goof. This generally entails ramming another (usually a non- participant) vehicle, but opponents will occasionally swap paint, thus slowing both cars. Some non-participant vehicles seem to ALWAYS create trouble, weaving around on the road and occasionally making overt attempts to block your progress. Be especially wary of taxis; for some reason, they are the most vicious non- participant vehicles. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== TEST TRACK The four-lane-wide test track is almost perfectly flat, and there are no others cars (neither opponents nor general traffic) on the road to create obstacles. The challenge here is to survive all the twists and turns in the road. It helps to make use of the telephone poles lining the road to anticipate corners and distances to corners. Also, stay off the shoulders, as their dirt will slow the car semi- significantly. ============================================== ROADTRIP 1 This Roadtrip has two Stages. Stage 1-1 is from Ft. Lauderdale to Jacksonville along a twisting, winding highway. The beginning runs near a beach, and has a short section where the sand has overrun the highway. Stage 1-2 is from Jacksonville to Atlanta. This road features numerous covered bridges (which narrow the road) and blind corners at the crest of hills. Because of the many blind corners, use the treeline to judge the angle of the cornering. ============================================== ROADTRIP 2 This Roadtrip has three Stages. Stage 2-1 is from Ft. Lauderdale to Jacksonville along a twisting, winding highway. The beginning runs near a beach, and has a short section where the sand has overrun the highway. Stage 2-2 runs from Jacksonville to Raleigh in the rain. This Stage features primarily two-lane roadways, with cobblestone shoulders which will still slow the car semi- significantly. There are plenty of trees along this route, including several long canopies of trees that essentially form a green 'tunnel;' however, these 'tunnels' generally create blind corners at the tops of hills, so caution is definitely required here. Stage 2-3 claims to run from Raleigh to Jacksonville, but this Stage looks completely like Stage 2-2 with NO sections that look like Stage 2-1. Oh well..... At least this Stage is run in the dry. ============================================== ROADTRIP 3 This Roadtrip has four Stages. Stage 3-1 is from Ft. Lauderdale to Jacksonville along a twisting, winding highway. The beginning runs near a beach, and has a short section where the sand has overrun the highway. Stage 3-2 runs from Jacksonville to Raleigh in the rain. This Stage features primarily two-lane roadways, with cobblestone shoulders which will still slow the car semi- significantly. There are plenty of trees along this route, including several long canopies of trees that essentially form a green 'tunnel;' however, these 'tunnels' generally create blind corners at the tops of hills, so caution is definitely required here. Stage 3-3 claims to run from Raleigh to Jacksonville, but this Stage looks completely like Stage 3-2 with NO sections that look like Stage 3-1. Oh well..... At least this Stage is run in the dry. Stage 3-4 is the reverse of Stage 3-1. ============================================== ROADTRIP 4 This Roadtrip has three Stages. Stage 4-1 is from Ft. Lauderdale to Jacksonville along a twisting, winding highway. The beginning runs near a beach, and has a short section where the sand has overrun the highway. Stage 4-2 is from Jacksonville to Atlanta. This road features numerous covered bridges (which narrow the road) and blind corners at the crest of hills. Because of the many blind corners, use the treeline to judge the angle of the cornering. Stage 4-3 runs from Atlanta to New Orleans. The road is nice and wide - a full four lanes - all the way. There are many hills and valleys, primarily in the first half of the Stage, and they seemingly ALL have corners at their highest and lowest points. The scenery really becomes interesting when the road begins winding through swamp country; here, the road flattens out. ============================================== ROADTRIP 5 This Roadtrip has five Stages. Stage 5-1 is from Ft. Lauderdale to Jacksonville along a twisting, winding highway. The beginning runs near a beach, and has a short section where the sand has overrun the highway. Stage 5-2 is from Jacksonville to Atlanta. This road features numerous covered bridges (which narrow the road) and blind corners at the crest of hills. Because of the many blind corners, use the treeline to judge the angle of the cornering. Stage 5-3 runs from Atlanta to New Orleans. The road is nice and wide - a full four lanes - all the way. There are many hills and valleys, primarily in the first half of the Stage, and they seemingly ALL have corners at their highest and lowest points. The scenery really becomes interesting when the road begins winding through swamp country; here, the road flattens out. Stage 5-4 continues from New Orleans to Corpus Christi. This road is mostly four lanes, but there are significant areas which narrow to only two lanes. There are plenty of corners, with some on hills or in valleys. Those who have lived in wide, flat areas (the southern Arizona desert or the Great Plains, for example) will notice that the sky indicates a heavy rainstorm always ahead... but the road never quite seems to reach the wet area!!! Stage 5-5 is the route from Corpus Christi to Phoenix. This is primarily a two-lane road - with some four-lane sections, especially through the mini-tunnels - through the southwestern desert. Note the many saguaro cacti lining the roadway; this Stage is obviously based upon Arizona roads. There are some hills, but this Stage is primarily flat, as it avoids the mountains which do exist in the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona. ============================================== ROADTRIP 6 This final Roadtrip has seven Stages. Stage 6-1 is from Ft. Lauderdale to Jacksonville along a twisting, winding highway. The beginning runs near a beach, and has a short section where the sand has overrun the highway. Stage 6-2 is from Jacksonville to Atlanta. This road features numerous covered bridges (which narrow the road) and blind corners at the crest of hills. Because of the many blind corners, use the treeline to judge the angle of the cornering. Stage 6-3 runs from Atlanta to New Orleans. The road is nice and wide - a full four lanes - all the way. There are many hills and valleys, primarily in the first half of the Stage, and they seemingly ALL have corners at their highest and lowest points. The scenery really becomes interesting when the road begins winding through swamp country; here, the road flattens out. Stage 6-4 continues from New Orleans to Corpus Christi. This road is mostly four lanes, but there are significant areas which narrow to only two lanes. There are plenty of corners, with some on hills or in valleys. Those who have lived in wide, flat areas (the southern Arizona desert or the Great Plains, for example) will notice that the sky indicates a heavy rainstorm always ahead... but the road never quite seems to reach the wet area!!! Stage 6-5 is the route from Corpus Christi to Phoenix. This is primarily a two-lane road - with some four-lane sections, especially through the mini-tunnels - through the southwestern desert. Note the many saguaro cacti lining the roadway; this Stage is obviously based upon Arizona roads. There are some hills, but this Stage is primarily flat, as it avoids the mountains which do exist in the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona. Running through the Painted Desert from Phoenix to Las Vegas, the twisty two-lane road of Stage 6-6 has moments of four- lane ease-of-passing and is also lined with saguaro cacti. The final Stage of the game, Stage 6-7 is run from Las Vegas to Santa Monica on an actual highway until arrival in Santa Monica itself; there are six lanes total, but only the three lanes headed to Santa Monica are used. Once in Santa Monica proper, the six-lane highway becomes a four-land road; both sections are lined with palm trees (especially in Santa Monica), and the road in Santa Monica itself is bounded by plenty of sand as well. This is an excellent Stage for high- speed cars, as there is NO braking required due to the gentle curves throughout the Stage. Note that there is never any traffic heading in the opposite direction, so once in Santa Monica proper, feel free to make use of the FULL road, especially in entering and exiting corners. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== WISH LIST Here are some things I would like to see should there be future incarnations of Hooters Road Trip: 1.) Better handling with the D-pad. 2.) Customizable button functions; L2 to look back is really awkward at best. 3.) Allow players to save progress after each Stage of a Roadtrip. 4.) Certainly, Hooters exists in places other than the south and southwestern United States!!! This needs to be reflected in having some Roadtrips through the northern states and up and down each coast. 5.) Once a player has completed a particular Roadtrip in a given mode, that Roadtrip should be selectable everafter. 6.) Why do ALL Roadtrips begin in Jacksonville??? Give us some variety!!!!!!!!! ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== CONTACT INFORMATION For questions, rants, raves, comments of appreciation, etc., or to be added to my e-mail list for updates to this driving guide, please contact me at: FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM; also, if you have enjoyed this guide and feel that it has been helpful to you, I would certainly appreciate a small donation via PayPal (http://www.paypal.com/) using the above e-mail address. To find the latest version of this and all my other PSX/PS2 game guides, please visit FeatherGuides (http://www.angelcities.com/members/feathersites/). The latest version will always be immediately available at FeatherGuides, while other Web sites may lag behind by several days in their regularly-scheduled posting updates. ============================================== ============================================== ============================================== ======================================================================= Wolf Feather Jamie Stafford ======================================================================= Just as there are many parts needed to make a human a human, there's a remarkable number of things needed to make an individual what they are. - Major Kusanagi, _Ghost in the Shell_ ======================================================================= What isn't remembered never happened. - _Serial Experiments Lain_ =======================================================================