Game Guide - Guide for POD Speedzone

POD SPEEDZONE: GAME GUIDE

by

Wolf Feather/Jamie Stafford
[email protected]


Initial Version Completed: October 17. 2002
Version 1.0 Completed:     October 17, 2002

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CONTENTS
Spacing and Length
Permissions
Introduction
Getting Started
Arcade Mode
Cars
Race Venues
Power-ups
Weapons
Contact

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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

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PERMISSIONS
This guide may ONLY be posted on FeatherGuides, GameFAQs.com,
PSXCodez.com, F1Gamers, Cheatcc.com, Absolute-
PlayStation.com, InsidePS2Games.com, RedCoupe, gamesover.com,
CheatPlanet.com, The Cheat Empire, a2zweblinks.com, Gameguru,
GameReactors.com, RobsGaming.com, cheatingplanet.com,
CheatHeaven, IGN, vgstrategies.com, hellzgate, Games Domain,
ps2fantasy.com, and neoseeker.com.

Permission is granted to download and print one copy of this
game guide for personal use.

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INTRODUCTION
First, an important note: This guides DOES NOT cover online
gameplay for POD Speedzone, as I do not have online
capabilities at this time.

POD Speedzone is an interesting game.  There have been many
futuristic racing games in arcades and on various consoles.
POD Speedzone certainly does not attempt to distinguish
itself from the rest of the futuristic racing games in
existence, but its is rather interesting and fun to play.
This guide will lead players through the basics of gameplay
in POD Speedzone.

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GETTING STARTED
First, bypass the opening movie.  It is not interesting at
all.  In fact, the opening movie is absolutely unnecessary.
Even worse, it is embarrassingly open-ended without having
really presented any believable storyline to make an open
ending worthwhile in any way.

As with any game, begin by immediately going to the Options
Menu.  Here, it is important to become familiar with the
controller configuration; fortunately, there are five
configurations from which to choose, including steering with
either the analog stick (rather difficult unless someone is
an analog specialist) or the D-pad (the arrow buttons beneath
the analog stick).  Also, customize sounds and other aspects
of the game, then head back to the Main Menu to get started.

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ARCADE MODE
For those who do not have the DreamCast console configured
and wired for Internet access and online play, this is the
only game mode available (other than Two Players Mode).  The
game presents a number of cars, each varying in both look and
performance; two of the cars are not available, as they are
apparently for online use only.  Once a car has been
selected, a race venue can be selected; again, one race venue
is not also available unless online capability has been
detected.

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CARS
Here are the various cars and their stats:

   Bulldog*
      Acceleration: 10
      Brakes:       9
      Shield:       6
      Speed:        7
      Boost:        7
      Handling:     9
   Cougar
      Acceleration: 8
      Brakes:       5
      Shield:       6
      Speed:        8
      Boost:        8
      Handling:     10
   Crab*
      Acceleration: 9
      Brakes:       9
      Shield:       8
      Speed:        6
      Boost:        10
      Handling:     10
   Piranha
      Acceleration: 9
      Brakes:       10
      Shield:       10
      Speed:        6
      Boost:        10
      Handling:     8
   Scarab
      Acceleration: 9
      Brakes:       8
      Shield:       8
      Speed:        8
      Boost:        8
      Handling:     9
   Sea Cat
      Acceleration: 8
      Brakes:       9
      Shield:       8
      Speed:        10
      Boost:        6
      Handling:     9
   Viper
      Acceleration: 8
      Brakes:       10
      Shield:       9
      Speed:        8
      Boost:        8
      Handling:     10
   Wasp
      Acceleration: 10
      Brakes:       9
      Shield:       8
      Speed:        8
      Boost:        8
      Handling:     9
* This car is not available unless online capabilities have
been detected.

Each car comes equipped with shields and a fixed amount of
Boost.  Shields are destroyed due to collisions with
ANYTHING, and once shields are gone, the next collision
cripples the car and the race immediately ends.  Shields and
Boost can both be provisionally augmented by collecting the
proper power-ups (see the Power-ups section below).

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RACE VENUES
Here are the racing venues available in POD Speedzone:

   Bridge Ride:    As the name of this race venue indicates,
                   there are quite a few bridges in for this
                   circuit; some of these are essentially
                   incomplete bridges, requiring plenty of
                   boost to ensure the car can safely clear
                   the gaps.  Bridge Ride also includes
                   several mechanical plant-like monsters
                   (think angry Venus Flytraps covered with
                   metal) which occasionally dip down to
                   attempt to eat and otherwise hinder the
                   cars in the race.  This venue also has
                   several run-off roads, but these do not
                   lead anywhere, so it is important to not
                   miss a turn and be forced to backtrack...
                   especially since the cars in POD Speedzone
                   do not come equipped with a Reverse gear.
   Canyon:         This circuit takes place on a canyon
                   floor; as such, the raceway is often
                   bounded by tall rock cliffs.  There are
                   numerous junctions, allowing each car to
                   take a different route; some of these
                   routes do not contain actual roads,
                   instead presenting simply sand (which is
                   inherently slower than the paved
                   raceways).  There are a few mechanical
                   entities which will occasionally attack
                   the cars.
   K Zone:         K Zone effectively combines the main
                   features of both Bridge Ride and Canyon.
                   This race venue also includes an unmarked
                   junction (i.e., no directional indicators
                   appear on-screen on approach) which yields
                   extra power-ups; the CPU-controlled cars
                   never take this route.
   Mines Web:      Despite the name of this race venue, there
                   are no miners here, and NO mining
                   equipment to be found :-(   This is a
                   tight and twisting venue with numerous
                   junctions and many mechanical creatures
                   roaming about... many of them will attack
                   the cars as they pass.  Due to the
                   multiple tight corners, aggressive drivers
                   are likely to never finish races at this
                   venue.
   Oddrock*:       Unknown
   Volcano:        This race venue presents a lot of elevated
                   raceways and raceways through tunnels in
                   the volcano.  There are also unmarked
                   junctions (i.e., no directional indicators
                   appear on-screen on approach) which yield
                   extra power-ups; the CPU-controlled cars
                   never take these routes.  Mechanical
                   plant-like entities and swinging barrels
                   of molten lava will try to block cars from
                   passing cleanly.
* This race venue is not available unless online capabilities
have been detected.

In many situations, the raceway is bounded by metal barriers;
touching these barriers or any other obstacle will result in
the car's shields fading away due to the incurred damage.  In
ALL situations, the raceway is extremely narrow, so passing
must be done with care; this is an obvious benefit to the
race leader, as there is not much raceway to protect when
driving defensively.

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POWER-UPS
There are three power-ups which can be acquired during races.
These are generally presented beside each other at various
points on the circuit, and look like floating jewels of
differing colors.

Blue:   This will add to the player's current Boost level.
        Each car begins with a limited quantity of Boost, so
        it is important to collect these blue power-ups as
        often as possible to be able to power toward the
        Finish Line on the final lap of a race.
Red:    This provides a temporary Boost for a fixed amount
        of time.  The time length of this Boost cannot be
        altered (unlike normal Boost, which is only used for
        as long as the player presses the Boost button), so
        it is important to know each circuit well enough to
        determine when is and is not a good time to use this
        fixed-duration Boost.
Yellow: This power-up adds to the car's shields.  The car
        takes damage whenever it is involved in a collision
        or when attacked, so this will help to keep the car
        in a given race.

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WEAPONS
Two weapons can be collected (in the same manner as power-
ups) during races.

Orange: This is a Mine weapon.  Upon activation, a land
        mine will be placed immediately behind the car, and
        will explode and cause damage to any car that happens
        upon it.  This is a good weapon to use during
        defensive driving, especially if being tailed closely
        by competitors >:-)
Pink:   This is a Wave weapon.  Upon activation, cars
        immediately ahead will be forced to stop momentarily.
        This is a nice weapon to use for offensive purposes,
        to make passing a little bit easier :-)

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CONTACT
For rants, raves, etc., contact me at [email protected];
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, visit FeatherGuides at
http://www.angelcities.com/members/feathersites/

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