Strategy Guide - Guide for Need For Speed 3: Hot Pursuit

Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit					 5/8/98
Version 1.01						     Will Vosti
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Contents

  1.0 - Introduction
  
  2.0 - Gameplay
  2.1 - Practice
  2.2 - Single Race
  2.3 - Tournament
  2.4 - Knockout
  2.5 - Hot Pursuit
  2.6 - Arcade/Simulation
  2.7 - Tracks
  2.8 - Cars
  2.9 - Opponents

  3.0 - Tricks
  3.1 - Shortcuts
  3.2 - Username Cheats
  3.3 - Other Codes
  3.4 - Gameshark Codes
  3.5 - Weird Things/Misc Q's
			
  4.0 - Contact the Author
  4.1 - Distribution
  4.2 - Thanks
  4.3 - Version History

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1.0 - Introduction

This FAQ is meant to combine as much info on Need for Speed III: Hot
Pursuit as I can find.  This is my first ever FAQ.  I recently bought
the game and love it.  It's all that NFS II should have been and more.
I own the original NFS and this 2nd sequel does the first one justice.

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2.0 - Gameplay 

What NFS III is all about.  The following contains info on game modes, 
cars, and tracks.

===

2.1 - Practice

Straightforward, this is where you can go to get use to the game.  
There is skidmarks to help you find your route, and a tutorial on each
track.  I haven't spent much time here, I like to do it myself =)

===

2.2 - Single Race

Race one race on any track (that you've unlocked).  You can choose the
amount of your opponents, and who they'll be.  

===

2.3 - Tournament

Tournament is an 8-race tourney where you gain points for what you 
finish.  To unlock the 4 later tracks race Tournament mode in beginner
and make it to the 5th race, 6th race, etc.  You have to stay in 3rd 
to continue on (3rd in the standings.  You can finish 8th in a race
but as long as you're 3rd in the overall standings, you continue.) 

Points are given as follows:

1st: 8
2nd: 7 
3rd: 6
4th: 5 
5th: 4
6th: 3
7th: 2
8th: 1

What you recieve for winning tournament mode:

Beginner: Jaguar XJR-15
Expert: Mercedes CLK-GTR

===

2.4 Knockout

Knockout is a series of 7 races to narrow it down to one car left.  
The last place finisher in each race is eliminated.  An interesting
note on this mode in expert is the computer cars will all drive 
whatever car you are driving (excluding El Nino.)  So I actually won 
the El Nino car with the Ferrari 550 Maranello, not the Jaguar XJR-15
(which was the best car I had won at the time.)

What you recieve for winning Knockout mode:

Beginner: Empire City
Expert: El Nino

===

2.5 - Hot Pursuit

My favorite mode, and I'm sure alot of other people love it too.  You
race on any track (excluding the easter egg tracks) against one 
opponent.  Cops will ram you, put up road blocks, lay tire spikes (hit
them and your finished.)  If you stop at the beginning of the race
they'll give you a warning.  After that and you fall below 40 mph they
will give you a fine.  After 5 fines you're done.  If they have to use
the tire spikes on you hit them you're automatically arrested.

===

2.6 - Arcade/Simulation

Arcade mode is, well, racing arcade style.  Your car will turn better
and handle better than in Simulation, which is a big pain in the ass
if you ask me.  It's really hard to set up a car good (which I can't.)
Anyone know some good setups?

===

2.7 - Tracks

Tracks vary quite a bit.  The main 4 tracks each have it's own 
variation which is unlocked in Tournament mode.  Empire City (found in
knockout mode) has no variations (though a few good shortcuts.)  The
easter egg tracks do not allow you to race with other computer cars
or in hot pursuit mode =(  Nearly every track also has some object 
moving around it.

Hometown - 3.6 miles

The easiest course in the game.  It has wide roads making for fast
races. The only difficult part is the sharp 90 degree turn that comes
up pretty fast in the town.  A classic blue warplane will fly around
this level.  

Redrock Ridge - 5.4 miles

This track is fairly easy once you learn the turns.  A little practice
will help here.  A train will go by on rails above the ground near
the finish in this one.

Atlantica - 4.9 miles

One of my favorite, this track takes place in a beautiful city.  There
are a couple of tough hairpins, but nothing too difficult.  A huge 
blimp (you'll see and hear it) flies around this level.

Rocky Pass - 5.5 miles

A curvy, slow track.  It will definetly take some practice to learn all
the turns and rough spots.  I don't believe there are any moving 
objects here.

Country Woods - 5.2 miles

A tough track when you first go to it.  It's got plenty of 90 degree
turns and you'll need some good power sliding skills also.  A big
large donut on top of a donut shop will be spinning around (never 
noticed any cops stop by here in hot pursuit mode =)

Lost Canyons - 6.3 miles

A very, very tough track.  You'll go through an ancient temple and 
through a multileveled, wide, 3 route stretch where alot could go 
wrong.  Practice is worth it here.  As in Redrock Ridge, there will be
a train up above you near the finish.  

Aquatica - 5.3 miles

Another one of my favorites.  You'll race at the evening on a coastline
which is curvy and tough.  Powersliding skills come in handy here.  
A Titanic replica will tout it's horn as you'll drive by it.

The Summit - 6.4 miles

This track is tough.  The longest of all the tracks, you'll need some 
practice for this king of all tracks.  The snow makes for slippery
turns, and the fast slalom section is a favorite place for me to crash.

Empire City - 4.6 miles

My favorite track, Empire City is, as the game describes "a metropolis
gone bad."  Shortcuts and columns sticking in the middle of the road
are everywhere, and tight 90 degree turns are also littered throughout.
A helicopter will fly above you in this track.  

Easter Egg Tracks
*** All easter egg tracks cannot be run in hot pursuit or single race
mode ***
Check below to see how to get these tracks.

Caverns - A race with obstacles all around.
The Room - Race in a kid's room on one of those racing toy track things
(where you hold down a button and the cars go racing around.)
Autocross - A track in the dirt in a huge forest.  Some big air in 
here.
Space Race - Race in a space station.  Some cool rooms in here.  Check
out the docking bay with the space ships.
Scorpio-7 - Take the aquarium in Aquatica and expand it through the
whole track and you get Scorpio-7. 

===

2.8 - Cars

The heart of NFS III, of course, is the fast and powerful sports cars
that we all can not afford but can dream about driving.  Below is the
statistics for each (1-15 scale.  In the compare option in the game
there are a max amount of 15 dots.) 

Key: Acc= Acceleration - Spd= Top Speed - Brk= Braking - Hnd= Handling
- Ovr= Overall 

Ferrari 355 F1 * Acc 8 | Spd 9 | Brk 9 | Hnd 9 | Ovr 9

A good car for the beginner tournament before you can unlock some
better ones.  Doesn't excel in any one category but is well balanced.

Chevy Corvette * Acc 7 | Spd 7 | Brk 11 | Hnd 8 | Ovr 8

The slowest and worst car in the game.  It has good braking but overall
is not a good choice.  Of course, it is the only car in the game 
without an insane price =)

Lamborghini Countach * Acc 8 | Spd 9 | Brk 7 | Hnd 8 | Ovr 8

Along with the Corvette, it's the worst car in the game.  A balanced
car, but not a great choice.

Italdesign Nazca C2 * Acc 9 | Spd 11 | Brk 11 | Hnd 8 | Ovr 10

A fast car, the Nazca C2 is a good choice for a fast, good braking car.
It's a prototype car that could use some better handling.  

Ferrari 550 Maranello * Acc 9 | Spd 12 | Brk 10 | Hnd 10 | Ovr 10

A favorite of mine.  A good car overall, and fast, I beat the beginner
tournament with it and the expert knockout tournament.  

Lamborghini Diablo SV * Acc 11 | Spd 15 | Brk 9 | Hnd 8 | Ovr 11

One word to describe this car: FAST.  It's pure speed in this car,
which can go up to 209.  The handling and braking are weak, though, but
if you can control the car, it's for you.

Jaguar XJR-15 * Acc 13 | Spd 10 | Brk 15 | Hnd 15 | Ovr 13

A very nice car.  It's handles and breaks like a dream.  It's only 
downfall is it's slow top speed.

Mercedes CLK-GTR * Acc 15 | Spd 12 | Brk 13 | Hnd 12 | Ovr 13 

A pure racing car, the CLK-GTR is a fast, well balanced car.  It's got
a huge rear wing to stabilize the fast beast.  

El Nino * Acc 15 | Spd 15 | Brk 15 | Hnd 15 | Ovr 15

An awesome car with the tops in every category.  Combine the handling
and braking of the Jaguar, Acceleration of the Mercedes, and a speed
even faster of the Diablo and you get the El Nino.

===

2.9 - Opponents

In the game you will always have the same seven opponents.  They are
usually the same skill level as they were before.  Below is some
descriptions on how they will usually do:

Ice: Usually the toughest opponent.  You'll also always race him in
hot pursuit mode.
Bullit:  He'll come after Ice.  Sometimes it seems like he's slower, 
though.
Blazin:  Blazin seems to be fast one time, slow the next.  He can
challenge for the lead but usually will fall into 3rd or 4th.
Swerve:  Can be challenging for the lead, but can also be in dead last.
Terror:  Like the 2 previous ones, he seems to vary, but is usually
in the middle of the pack.
Tad:  Always one of the also rans.
Karkas:  Rarely will he finish higher than last.

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3.0 - Tricks

The following is all the tricks/cheats/codes that I know for this game.
Any new cheats, shortcuts, or gameshark codes are appreciated.

3.1 - Shortcuts

Hometown

No real shortcuts here, but before the first wooden shack the sharp
turn before it you can cut it fairly close to the fence.

Redrock Ridge

At the tight hairpin, right before it is a shorter turn.  Slide into 
here and cut a couple seconds off.

Atlantica

When the road splits into two for awhile, look to the right for a 
wooden, alternate route.  Head down here and end up at the ship port
area to cut off some time.

Country Woods

There are two shortcuts.  The first is at the long hairpin where you
will see a "gap" that seems to have less trees than the rest of the 
area.  Head into here (you'll need to avoid some trees.  You may get
stuck.)  If you do it correctly you'll get tons of time.  The 2nd can
only be done going backwards.  When you get to the very tight hairpin,
after you pass the small fence, you can go off the edge onto the lower
part. Press L1 to get set straight after you land and you'll gain some
good time.

Lost Canyons

This isn't much of a shortcut, in fact it might take longer, but in
the temple area go up the stairs of the temple and jump across it. 
Look out for the columns when you land.

Aquatica

The first shortcut is really an "alternate route" because it costs alot
more time than the normal route.  When you go by the huge white wall 
you'll see a gap.  Slow down and go in here to come out a little 
further than you came in.  This is a good choice to take to lose the 
cops however.   A little down the road from here is the 2nd shortcut,
which has a few signs in front of it and leads to a tunnel (the normal
route leads down a winding road.)

Empire City

There are three shortcuts here.  The first is right after the start.
Before the crane you'll see a little opening that cuts off a little 
time.  Right after this, slightly to the left is another shortcut with
blinking barracades in front.  Head into here for another small
shortcut.  The next is after the 2nd set of columns that stick right
in the middle of the road.  You'll notice a wall not like the ones
around it with flyers all over it to your right.  Go into here to come
out the other end and a drop off point (you can't do this going 
backwards.)

===

3.2 - Username Cheats

Enter these codes as your username.  

spoilt - All cars and tracks except the easter egg ones.
seeall - All camera angles can be selected from the options menu (the
new camera angles are from replays.)
rocket - El Nino
amgmrc - Mercedes Benz CLK-GTR
1jagx - Jaguar XJR-15
mcityz - Empire City 
playtm - The Room easter egg track
mnbeam - Space Race easter egg track
gldfsh - Scorpio-7 easter egg track
xcntry - Autocross easter egg track
xcav8 - Caverns easter egg track

===

3.3 - Other Codes

All the following codes are entered after you select a race but
before the loading screen.  Hold down the buttons and let go once the 
loading screen appears.

Super Horn: Start + select + R1 + L2
Increase Car Weight: Select + square + X
Slow Motion: Up + X + triangle
Cops Accent: Up + R1 + L2
Cops Spanish: Down + R2 + L1
Cops Italian: Left + R2 + L1
Cops French: Right + R2 + L1
Cops German: Up + R2 + L1

===

3.4 - Gameshark Codes

All Gameshark codes from www.nfs3.com

800fa9e0003d
Empire City and El Nino

800439320101
Jaguar XJR-15 and Mercedes CLK-GTR

800439300101
F550 & Diablo SV

8004392e0101
Italdesign Nazca C2

8011dd300001
Start on lap 2 in Knockout mode

8011dd300003
Start on lap 4 in Tournament mode

80125f1001ff
Race as the cop cars!  The car you choose determines the type of cop
car.

===

3.5 - Weird Things/Misc Q's

While racing at rocky pass in sim mode backwards, I crashed at the 
point where there is an arc you can go under or stay on the highway
and avoid.  I crashed, and proceeded to flip over and over down the
"cliff", which vanished and I was sorta flipping down nothing.  It then
placed me back up on the track.  I suppose this was a glitch.  Has 
anyone had this happen to them too?

I have done everything in the game except beat knockout mode on expert
in sim mode.  Do you recieve anything for this?

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4.0 - Contact the author

My e-mail is [email protected] (stuck with AOL for awhile now =(. 
Please send me any additional shortcuts, cheats, etc, etc.  Questions
and comments are also welcomed.

4.1 - Distribution

You can distribute this FAQ freely as long as it is not changed.

4.2 - Thanks

Thanks to www.segasages.com for most of the username codes and the 500
mph code.

Thanks to www.nfs3.com for the gameshark codes.

4.3 - Version History

1.00 - Initial Release (5/2/98)

1.01 - Added opponents, removed bad codes, added loading screen codes
(5/8/98)

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This FAQ is done by Will Vosti.  E-mail at [email protected].
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