DOWNHILL DOMINATION: DEMO GUIDE by Wolf Feather/Jamie Stafford FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM Initial Version Completed: August 5, 2003 Version 1.1 Completed: August 5, 2003 ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== 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 Controller Layout Race Modes Tips Contact ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== SPACING AND LENGTH For optimum readability, this driving guide should be viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier. Check for appropriate font setting by making sure the numbers and letters below line up: 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ==================================== PERMISSIONS This guide may ONLY be posted on FeatherGuides, GameFAQs.com, and IGN.com Permission is granted to download and print one copy for personal use. ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== INTRODUCTION Those familiar with my writing history know that a game outside the auto racing genre rarely grabs my attention... and this would be no different, except for the fact that I received a demo disc in the mail from Sony. So I tried it, hoping that it might by SSX or SSX Tricky, but on bikes. Downhill Domination certainly tries to be a biking version of the SSX franchise, but falls well short. Still, for a short period of time, Downhill Domination is definitely entertaining, but - based solely upon the demo version - seems to lack the longevity of any of the SSX games to date. What the demo version of Downhill Domination offers is a single locale (Mt. Midoule, pronounced 'mih-doo-lee') in Italy, with three types of racing on various parts of the mountain. Only two players are available in the demo version of the game: Cosmo (British) and Mai (Japanese). Including the player, up to eight competitors appear in a race. Depending on race performance, the player will earn money to acquire new or upgraded items, sponsorships, etc. - but actually acquiring these elements is not available in the demo version of the game. Single-player and two-player Multiplayer modes are available, but the full-version game will allow up to four players simultaneously. Like the ever-popular SSX series, the players and competitors tend to make a lot of comments - and Mai does indeed chatter a lot in Japanese, making her character more believable. There is also music playing almost constantly throughout the game. A Training Mode exists, so that the player can learn some of the many tricks available in the game; tricks can be Superstyled and Comboed to attain even more points and money. And, of course, there is 'combat,' meaning that the player can take swings (or kicks, or whatever) at nearby competitors, scoring bonus money for each competitor successfully knocked to the ground >:-) ==================================== CONTROLLER LAYOUT There is only the default controller layout available in the demo version of Downhill Domination. The entire Options section is unavailable from the game's main menu, although it is indeed shown. D-pad and L3 stick: These are used for directional control. R3 stick: This is used for combat; kicks and punches are handled automatically by the CPU. Shoulder buttons: Used singly or in combination, these are the buttons used to perform tricks. While some tricks are taught to the player in Training Mode, there are others available by experimenting during races. Triangle button: This will Superstyle (tweak) a trick for more points. Square button: This allows the player to engage in combat, and is an alternative to pressing the R3 stick to the left. Circle button: This allows the player to engage in combat, and is an alternative to pressing the R3 stick to the right. X button: This is essentially the 'accelerator.' Pressing and holding this button will allow the player's character to pedal the bike, while pressing twice and THEN holding the X button will cause the player's character to sprint (pedal twice as fast). However, sprinting is only available if the adrenaline meter (the five green circles in the lower-right corner of the screen) have at least one circle activated - more activated circles equals more adrenaline. ==================================== RACE MODES There are three race modes available in Downhill Domination: FR, MX, and TD. Each operates somewhat differently. FR: With eight total competitors, this is essentially a run from the very top of the mountain to the very bottom. To some extent, the player can select alternate paths, but boundaries are clearly delineated, and the player is reset if the boundaries are crossed. There are numerous jumps and obstacles along this lengthy run. For this demo version of the game, the player can anticipate approximately five minutes to complete a race in FR mode. The most unusual element, however, is that there are spectators actually walking about IN the raceway, so the player must be constantly aware of them - hitting a spectator will slow the player's character, and can possibly cause a crash. MX: This is a much shorter run, well under two minutes to complete in the demo version of the game. The idea here is to attain as many points as possible for tricks completed, AND finish in first place. The best places to complete tricks are the areas with numerous consecutive ramps - located near the end of the venue in the demo version of the game. TD: TD is a technical descent of the mountain. The raceway is generally quite narrow, and there are numerous obstacles - trees, rocks, tight single-file turns, etc. Simply staying ON the bike is the main key to victory in a TD race. In the demo version of the game, the TD race will take more than three minutes to complete. In a Career, the player competes in all three race formats on a given mountain. A certain number of credits must be obtained (the number received depends upon the finishing position in each race) in order to advance to the next race format on a different area of the same mountain. ==================================== TIPS Without question, the player should definitely select a character, and go directly to Training Mode. This interactive learning mode will introduce the player to many concepts in the game, as well as present a number of tricks. Many more tricks are available in the game; these can be discovered through experimentation in races. Wild animals sometimes appear in the raceway. Like the spectators, they can create wrecks... or at least slow the player's character. The player should spend plenty of time exploring, as there are numerous shortcuts and alternate routes. Some shortcuts are simply not 'visible' due to a high lip or a sheer dropoff, but they can be faster routes than remaining on the main path(s). ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== 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/DC/Mac game guides, visit FeatherGuides at http://feathersites.angelcities.com/ ==================================== ==================================== ====================================