Hot Wheels World Race

THE BAD:
Sometimes the game's computer controlled cars cheat to win which can be very frustrating. I also don't like the fact that the human players always start in the last pole positions. And the person with the top points always starts last making it harder to get into the lead. I would prefer the game to work more like a real race where the top points leader gets the pole position at the start of the race. However, it does give the weaker players a fighting chance.

SUMMARY:
Overall I find this game to be a blast. Up to 4 players can play. Even adults can enjoy this game. The graphics are incredible. Lots of fun playing with recognizable Hot Wheels cars such as Twin Mill. But have yet to find much on tips for game play or cheats for the game. It is very difficult to win extra cars once you have unlocked all the tracks and when there are only a few cars left to unlock. However, if you can get 4 players going at the same time, it is easier to win and unlock more cars.

So here are my tips for playing:
Each car has 4 primary attributes:
Speed - overall top speed
Acceleration - rate at which car accelerates
Grip - level of road holding capabilities
Boost - how well the car utilizes Nitrox 2

CARS:
I tend to prefer cars with good top speed, a fair amount of grip, and average to good acceleration. The different levels in boost don't seem to make a significantly noticeable difference when racing. So I usually don't pay that much attention.

Also try out cars even when they have some weak attributes such a top speed. I have noticed several cars that seem actually faster than what the speed meter indicates.

My favorite cars are:
Ballistic, Aeroflash, Twin Mill, Back Draft, Power Pistons, Power Pipes, Rodger Dodger, Overboard, Jester, and Shiloutte II. Sweet 16 is not too bad, but it just too goofy looking - reminds me of the Draconian fighters from Buck Rodgers and sounds like a lawn mower.

The worst cars are Greased Lightning and Maelstrom which are just too hard to control. I also don't care much for the pickup trucks as they tend to flip over too easily and have very little grip. Deora II is not too bad but can be hard to land.

The wider cars tend to be easier to land, especially when doing a twist. Longer cars such as Greased Lightning are difficult to land doing a front or back flip.

POWER SLIDING AROUND CURVES:
Another feature that is good to get used to is the emergency brake option on the X button to do power slides around sharp curves. Just be sure to be turning some before tapping the button or you will come to a full stop and/or hit the wall. And be sure just to tap the button breifly, holding it down for any length of time brings your car to full stop.

Just as in any properly done racing game, this game also incorporates the typical physics of racing such as slowing down going into a curve and then accelerating at the apex. Cut to the outside going into the curve, then move toward the inside of the curve and punch it moving back to the outside of the curve.

The B button applies regular braking, but I rarely use it. Probably the best place to use it is when you are coming into one of the round-abouts or figure 8 splits. But again, just tap the button as holding it down for any length of time brings you to a full stop. You definitely want to maintain as high of a speed as possible throughout the race.

JUMPS:
Vary your jumps every time you go over a ramp. Either do a front or back flip, or do a right or left twist.
Even doing a front flip more than once from one ramp to the next will get you a stale. I try to always do at least two flips or twist. Doing only one on some tracks will not refill your nitrox for boost. Doing more than two often times will not give you enough time to recover to line up the car for a perfect landing and will not refill your nitrox.

You can also try pressing button combos during the jumps according to the overhead display. But they are difficult to perform and do a flip and land the car perfectly. I have yet to see any real benefit in doing the button comobs. Though if you complete enough of them your car will glow with flames as it runs down the track. Also try not to do a right or left twist when a car is right next to you when you leave the ramp. It will tend to push you away from the other car and you will end up flying off the track or hitting the guard rail and failing the landing.

On some occassions, if you time it just right, the car you are trying to pass will hit the ramp the same time you do. If you can, try to push the car off of the ramp causing it to crash or fly off of the track.

UNLOCKING CARS:
As for winning new cars, you basically have to win ever single race in the Elite league to unlock them, which is very difficult to do. You will almost inevitably loose at least one race no matter how hard you try even with multiple players. If you are playing solo, it really is difficult to win enough to unlock new cars.

TRACKS:
The hardest tracks to win on are Deep Zone, and the egyptian tracks with pyramids. At least that is what I have noticed. The other tracks are challenging, but are more comfortable to race on. In Deep Zone, it seems like the computer controlled cars are just more difficult to beat. Plus there are some very long sweeping turns that is difficult to keep up a good speed on as your car tends to either slide or bump up against the wall. I try to left off of the gas (A button) and let off of the joystick some to keep it from sliding which slows you down.

Also try to keep from pinballing from wall to wall as you go down the tracks - this also slows you down. On straight-aways just let off of the joystick and let it run straight. On sweeping turns, I tend to repeatedly tap the joystick in the direction of the turn so the car does not turn too sharp. I wish the game designers would not make the joystick control so sensitive for racing games - oversteer is a common problem of among all racing games though.

The last track "Vast Jungle" is also hard to win due to all the jumps in it. You are constantly having to vary your jumps to prevent from getting stale and not getting your nitrox refilled.

Try to always leave one shot of nitrox for the end of the track as the game sometimes will shoot a computer controled car past you right at the end. I usually press the Y button as the finish line comes up to do a look-behind to see if any cars are close to me and then hit the last nitrox boost to shoot across the finish to insure the win.

PICKING UP RINGS:
If you are flying solo, then try not to go through the tracks picking up all the rings the during the first two laps. Use them sparingly in case you fail a landing or don't fill your nitrox after a jump. If you land perfectly, just try to miss the rings so they are there as back up in the later laps. Then on the 3rd lap, try to pick up all remaining rings.

In multi-player, try not to pick up too many rings as it will require everyone's effort to come in first place. Someone must come in first in almost every race to continue playing. Otherwise, you may not earn enough points to continue to the next track. So work as a team. Also Don't be surprised when the worst player wins. The computer is good at causing problems for the most frequent winners which allows the weaker players to win sometimes.

WHEELS:
These lock or unlock force fields to ramps and short cuts. If you are in the lead, try to hit every single one as some wheels will lock a short cut behind you forcing the other cars to go the long way.

HIGH BANK CURVES:
Most of these will have force fields blocking them until a wheel is picked up and many of them also have rings to pick up. They also have a boost strip that will shoot your car ahead about half way along the wall. I recommend trying go up on the bank at the last possible moment, otherwise your car will slow down dramatically until you cross the boost strip. After passing the boost strip, try to exit as soon as possible as there is often times a narrow ramp following the curve and exiting too late makes it difficult to hit the ramp at a good angle.

Another feature of these curves is a dead spot you can hit that will completely stop your car. So be sure not to wait too long to go up on the curve. On the flip side, you can use that dead spot to make an opponent stop if you time it just right and can force them into the that spot when they are trying to go up on the curve next to you.

POINTS TRACKING:
I really like the way it keeps a points standing throughout the game play. It's fun to see how the cars finish and it often varies which cars win or loose. However, it usually picks at least one computer car to be the nemesis during every race. This car is often hard to pass or it wins at least second place on most every race. Best thing to do is just find an opportunity to pass it when you have plenty of room - I suggest passing it on the inside of a curve.