I've read elsewhere that some people like to target certain other cars and take them out first. I could not disagree more strongly with this idea. If you target one car for death, that still leaves 4-8 other vehicles who will be bearing down on you. You've got to think defensively first.

Fire Missiles: Fire missiles are your standard run-of-the-mill weapons. They've got some homing ability, but only enough to make a difference in the wide-open levels like Los Angeles or Holland.

Napalm: Napalm blasts fire from your car in a high arc and enflame whatever they hit. If you're firing them from a high point, they will home in a little bit on enemies to the right or left. Because of their firing arc, they tend to be inaccurate weapons; I usually find myself overshooting my foes. The best way to use these is to freeze your opponents, then get next to them, and fire a napalm at point-blank range. Then, like I said above, run like hell.

Power missiles: Personally, I don't like Power missiles. They have absolutely zero homing ability and will fire in a straight line from your car. Unless I've got an opponent frozen, or a cluster of opponents close together, I prefer not to use them. Power missiles do cause a lot of damage, and knock their target back a considerable distance. But that's only a significant advantage in New York, Antarctica, and to a degree Amazonia.

Homing missiles: My babies. Homing missiles are just what they sound like: missiles that focus in on a target and hit it. Unless you fire them directly into a wall, they're almost guaranteed to hit their target. They'll even hit opponents at higher or lower levels than you. If I see some of these lying around, I always pick them up, even if I have to unload other weapons to make room.

Remote bombs: Remote bombs are powerful explosives that can be detonated from a distance. I like to find places where cars to tend to congregate, like the top of the Eiffel Tower or the Antarctic Trench. I drop a remote bomb and get a safe distance away. As soon as somebody pokes their head around the corner, BOOM! - they're in the sky. Otherwise, I try to freeze someone, drop off a remote bomb at full speed, and then detonate it a few seconds later without looking back.

Ricochet Bombs: Ricochet bombs are powerful projectile weapons that roll along the ground until they hit a target, whether it's a vehicle or an object hiding a weapon (i.e., the parked cars of Paris.) The longer they roll along the ground, the more power they pick up. This can make them extremely dangerous, especially in the tiny level of Moscow. I usually use them as short range weapons after freezing someone, unless I'm getting towards the end of a level. Then I like to bounce them off the walls and play pool. Sweet Tooth, side pocket.

Lightning: Lightning blasts are a great way to hit several opponents at once. When you get lightning, keep an eye on the power generators of whatever level you're on (not every level has a power generator.) If you see a couple of cars nearby, then stand back and zap 'em! Usually, you can get in two or three good licks before they have time to get away. And if they start to run early, hit 'em with a freeze blast and make them stay.

Health: Picking up Health icons repairs damage done to your car. Woo-hoo!

Turbos: Turbos give your car an extra boost of speed. Useful for escape, or if you're just impatient to get somewhere.

Force Field (U, U, R): The second most useful advanced move. Picture this: you start a level trapped in between Mr. Slam and Hammerhead, and Warthog and Spectre are raining their specials upon you. You have two options. The first option is to die. The second option is to throw up a force field and try to get away. Your force field is only up for a few seconds, but while it's up you're invulnerable to damage. That's good, especially since you can still attack others.

Rear Attack (L, R, D): This combo will fire whatever Power-Up Weapon you have selected directly behind you. Unless you're sure someone's right behind you, the attack will usually miss, so I pretty much only use it with homers. Warthog and Spectre can also fire their specials behind them with reasonable confidence that they'll hit something.

Napalm (R, L, U): This maneuver is exactly the same as the Napalm Power-Up attack. Only useful if you're out of all other weapons.

Mines (R, L, D): While reasonably effective against human players, I've found computer-controlled players can usually avoid them. Mines are only useful in two situations. One is when you're being pursued. Drop a quick mine; you'll find this usually deters most opponents. Other than that, you can try to drop them off at teleport sites or other locations where opponents will have to go to get to you, like the swimming pool in New York or the tunnel in Amazonia.

Jump (U, U, L): Combining jumps with turbos allows you access to places you might be otherwise unable to reach. For example, in New York there's a Power missile floating in the air above the swimming pool that can only be reached with a jump.

Cloaking Device (R, D, L, U): Makes your car temporarily invisible. Not terribly useful, but a lot of fun.

Quick, boy, back to the Temple of Vin!

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