NEED FOR SPEED: MOST WANTED BLACK EDITION
FAQ/WALKTHROUGH
v1.30 2006-01-30
Copyright 2005, 2006 by Barry Scott Will
*GAME VERSION NOTE*
This FAQ was written while playing NFSMW's Black Edition on the PC. The
Black Edition is also available on Playstation 2 and XBox. The Black
Edition includes eight additional bonus cars, three additional tracks, some
unique vinyls and a Black Edition Challenge in the Challenge Series. The
primary career mode is the same in both the Black and standard editions.
For more NFS Most Wanted info, including a 100% complete savegame, tutorial
videos and a visual version of this guide, visit:
http://www.pyric.com/nfsmw/
Need for Speed Most Wanted is copyright 2005 by Electronic Arts. This
FAQ/walkthrough is not endorsed by, nor is the author associated with,
Electronic Arts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contact Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To contact me about the guide, send email to:
pyric@cavecreations.net
Please include "NFS Most Wanted FAQ" in your subject line so I don't auto-
discard the message. Also, please read the FAQ carefully prior to asking
for help on any part of the game. If you send me additional suggestions or
hints for the game and I find them useful, you will be acknowledged in the
Credits.
If you found this guide useful and would like to contribute a small token
for my efforts, you may send money through PayPal to:
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Or use the Donate link found on my Web site:
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Thank you, and enjoy the guide!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Table of Contents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Front Matter
Contact Information
Table of Contents
Section A: Overview
A.01: Review
A.02: Frequently Asked Questions
Section B: Gameplay
B.01: Controls
B.02: The Blacklist
B.03: World Map
B.04: Safe Houses and Shops
B.05: Performance Tuning
B.06: Visual Upgrades
B.07: Special Unlockables
B.08: Ten Tips to Get You Started
Section C: Career Mode
C.01: Blacklist Member 15: Ho Seun (Sonny)
C.02: Blacklist Member 14: Vince Kilic (Taz)
C.03: Blacklist Member 13: Victor Vasquez (Vic)
C.04: Blacklist Member 12: Isabel Diaz (Izzy)
C.05: Blacklist Member 11: Lou Park (Big Lou)
C.06: Blacklist Member 10: Karl Smit (Baron)
C.07: Blacklist Member 9: Eugene James (Earl)
C.08: Blacklist Member 8: Jade Barrett (Jewels)
C.09: Blacklist Member 7: Kira Nakazato (Kaze)
C.10: Blacklist Member 6: Hector Domingo (Ming)
C.11: Blacklist Member 5: Wes Allen (Webster)
C.12: Blacklist Member 4: Joe Vega (JV)
C.13: Blacklist Member 3: Ronald McCrea (Ronnie)
C.14: Blacklist Member 2: Toru Sato (Bull)
C.15: Blacklist Member 1: Clarence Callahan (Razor)
C.16. Rockport's Most Wanted
Section D: Other Game Modes
D.01: Challenge Series
D.02: Quick Race
Section E: Cars
E.01: Stock Cars
E.02: Bonus Cars
Section F: Driving 101
F.01: Drivetrains
F.02: Tracks
F.03: Using N2O and Speedbreaker
F.04: Performance Tuning
F.05: Police Pursuits
Version History & Credits
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Section A. Overview
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A.01: Review
~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you're looking for a realistic driving simulator, this is not your game.
Need for *Speed* is the name of the game, and that is what it delivers.
While you will find a "vehicle damage" option, all it does is affect the
appearance of your car, not its performance.
After the previous two "Underground" games in the NFS series, MW returns to
more racing-centric gameplay, though still with the "street" background to
the story (such as it is). While tricking out your vehicle visually is
still an option, it isn't really required unless you need to tone down the
heat on your car.
You can freely roam about the city, as in NFSU2; however, you also have the
option of jumping directly into events rather than having to drive to each
one. The game takes place during an autumn day in the city of Rockport.
It's a large game world with good detail and plenty of shortcuts and off-
road opportunities.
NFSMW also marks the return of luxury sports cars such as two models from
Lamborghini, the Ford GT, Dodge Viper and more. The cars are beautiful. The
graphics are detailed. The game is very, very fast.
What more do you want?
A.02: Frequently Asked Questions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q: How do I sell parts?
A: Go to a shop and "buy" stock parts for your car. This only works for
parts such as body kits, spoilers, etc. You can't do this with
performance or visual upgrades. However, the money to be earned this way
is pretty small and generally not worth the trouble unless you're
desperate for cash.
Q: So what's a good way to earn money?
A: You can play race events as many times as you want and win the cash
reward each time. Once you get to BL#7 (Kaze), a few minutes spent on
a race will earn you 10,000. You can also Challenge each Blacklist
member until you win his or her ride and then sell any cars you don't
want.
Q: How do I get the pink slip for Blacklist X?
A: You pick one of the ? bonus markers. If it doesn't have the pink slip,
you pick another one. If the second one doesn't have the pink slip, you
press ALT-F4 on the PC or the Reset button on your console, reload and
race the Blacklist member again and take two more guesses. Each time you
reload, the pink slip is randomly inserted (and, sometimes, may not even
be available). So it all comes down to racing the Blacklist member over
and over until you get lucky. Or, just deciding you don't need every
Blacklist car and getting on with the game.
Q: Can I play my own music in this game?
A: Only by turning off EA Trax and Interactive Music (Options>Audio) and
playing your music in WinAmp, iTunes, Win Media Player, etc.
Q: Are there any mods or trainers?
A: Yes. A good place to start looking is Need For Speed Unlimited at
http://www.nfsunlimited.net/
Q: I'm in the final pursuit and I can't find the old bridge!
A: It's west of Rosewood. Just south of the baseball stadium, on Hwy 99,
there's a road leading west. During the game it is blocked by
construction equipment; however, once you get the phone call letting
you know the old bridge is open, you can go through and head off into
the sunset.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Section B. Gameplay
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
B.01: Controls
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NFSMW can be played with the keyboard or a gamepad. The default controls
are:
+--------------------+-------------------+-------------+
| Action             | Keyboard          | Gamepad     |
|--------------------+-------------------+-------------|
| Accelerate         | Up                | Button 1    |
| Brake/Reverse      | Down              | Button 3    |
| Steer Left         | Left              | X Axis      |
| Steer Right        | Right             | X Axis      |
| Handbrake          | SPACE             | Button 2    |
| Speedbreaker       | Right CTRL (or G) | Button 4    |
| N2O                | ALT (or X)        | Button 7    |
| Shift Down         | CTRL              |             |
| Shift Up           | SHIFT             |             |
| Reset Car Position | R                 | Button 6    |
| Engage Event       | ENTER             | D-Pad Up    |
| View Blacklist     | B                 | D-Pad Down  |
| View World Map     | M                 | D-Pad Left  |
| View SMS Messages  | TAB               | D-Pad Right |
| Play Next Song     | T                 |             |
| Change Camera View | C                 |             |
| Look Behind        | L                 | Button 5    |
| Pull Camera Back   | P                 |             |
| Pause              | ESC               | Button 8    |
+--------------------+-------------------+-------------+
You can remap the controls by choosing Options>Controls from the Main Menu
or the in-game Pause Menu.
B.01.a) Control Descriptions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Accelerate: Just what it says. On the PC, the control is digital--you're
either on the pedal full speed or off it. Unless...you have a gamepad or
wheel with analog controls. NFSMW supports analog input, so if you map
acceleration to an analog control (e.g. to the right thumbstick on your
gamepad) you can get a full range of thrust.
Brake/Reverse: When going forward, this key brakes. When standing still,
this key accelerates you in reverse.
Steer Left/Right: Self-explanatory. Steering using the keyboard is, again,
digital and can be kind of tricky. It's best to have a steering wheel or
gamepad with an analog thumbstick to use for steering so you can have more
precise control.
Handbrake: Applies the emergency brake. A quick tap is useful for power-
sliding around hard turns.
Speedbreaker: A new "bullet-time" feature added to NFS. Pressing this
button puts the game in slow-motion so you can steer your car more
precisely. Speedbreaker only lasts a few seconds and recharges when you're
driving fast.
N2O: Gives your car a shot of nitrous oxide, providing a speed boost. You
must purchase a nitrous system for your car first and your system must be
charged. The nitrous system recharges while driving fast. You can hold the
key down to provide a sustained burst of speed.
Shift Down/Up: Self-explanatory. You have to manually shift your car in
drag races, even if you normally use automatic transmission.
Reset Car Position: After a particularly bad crash, press this key to put
your car back on course ready to go. Using this key in a police pursuit
will almost always result in an instant bust, unless all the cop cars
around you were disabled in the crash.
Engage Event: Enter a race, shop or safe house by driving into the glowing
ring that marks the spot in the game world and press this key. During
police pursuits, press this key to bring up details on your current pursuit
standings.
View Blacklist: Shows your current rival and all defeated rivals, targets
and available races and milestones. Use this to jump instantly to any race
or milestone challenge.
View World Map: Opens the world map.
View SMS Messages: Opens your Cingular cell phone menu with both voice and
text messages for viewing.
Play Next Song: If you have EA TRAX turned on, press this key to skip the
current song and start a new song.
Change Camera View: Rotates between the four main camera views:
- Bumper: first-person perspective that shows none of your car.
- Hood: first-person perspective that shows most of the hood of your car,
the closest approximation of a real-life view.
- Close: third-person perspective from behind and close to your car.
- Far: third-person perspective from behind and far away from your car.
Look Behind: Switches to a rear-view so you can check up on the pursuit.
Pull Camera Back: Pulls the camera further back from the car and also
swings the camera down to give you a low-profile view of your car and the
surroundings; it will return to its original position when you release the
key.
Pause: Brings up the Pause Menu, which varies depending on your current
location and activity.
- During a race, you can:
- Resume race
- Restart race
- Jump to Safe House (quit race)
- Return to free roam (quit race)
- Performance tuning
- Options
- In free roam, you can:
- Return to free roam
- Jump to Safe House
- Performance tuning
- Options
- In the Safe House, you can:
- Return to free roam
- View the Blacklist
- Select a different car
- View your rap sheet
- Save your current game
- Options
B.02: The Blacklist
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Career mode, you must work your way up the Blacklist--a gang of street
racers--to get revenge on Razor (the #1 Blacklist member) for stealing your
car. To advance through the Blacklist, you have to do a number of things.
B.02.a) Win Races
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are a minimum number of races that must be won before you can face a
Blacklist member. There are six different types of races: Circuit, Sprint,
Lap Knockout, Drag, Speedtrap and Tollbooth. These race types are described
in Section F.
B.02.b) Attain Milestones
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Milestones are steps along the way to achieving the "street rep" you need
to gain the respect of Blacklist members and earn the right to race them.
Milestones involve run-ins with the police and come in a variety of
flavors: Pursuit, Bounty, Trade Paint and Photo Ticket are just a few. See
Section F for information on Evading Police and Section C for the specific
Milestones available for each Blacklist racer.
B.02.c) Earn Bounty
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your bounty represents how badly the police department wants to put you
away. As you have run-ins with the fuzz, your bounty will increase. You
must accumulate specific amounts of bounty to earn the right to race a
Blacklist member.
B.02.d) Challenge the Blacklist Member
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once you've reached the targets for a Blacklist member, you can enter the
Rival Challenge for that member. The Rival Challenge consists of two or
more events between you and the Blacklist racer. If you win the events, you
defeat the Blacklist racer, collect your rewards and move on to the next
member. You must win all events in one sitting, you cannot save your game
between events.
Your reward for beating a Blacklist member is cash and markers. You may
choose two of six different markers. There are three bonus markers, which
do not reveal their contents until chosen. These markers display a question
mark (?). They may contain additional cash, get out of jail free cards,
additional impound strikes, the pink slip to the Blacklist racer's car
(i.e. you get the car) or other goodies. The bonus markers are randomly
set, so there's no way to predict what you will get.
*NOTE*
The bonus markers are *RANDOM*. Some people have latched onto a pattern, or
think the pink slip shows up in the same spot each time; however, none of
these methods work to get the pink slip. Some people get really lucky and
win almost every Blacklist car, others win only three or four. If you
desperately want the Blacklist cars, you'll have to exit the game
immediately after choosing the second marker, before pressing Continue. (On
a PC, press ALT-F4 to shut down the game; on a console, just hit the Reset
button.) Or, turn off Autosave (Options > Gameplay) and exit the game
normally after defeating the rival and then reload. After reloading, you'll
have to race the Blacklist member again and try the markers again.
There is also one marker each for a unique visual upgrade, performance
upgrade and parts upgrade. While you can choose a specific type of upgrade,
you do not know what the actual upgrade will be (might be a new spoiler,
hood, vinyl, engine, transmission, etc.). The unique parts won with markers
are called "Junkman" parts and are available in the back room of any shop.
When in the shop, press [1] to enter the back room and add Junkman parts.
If you want to maximize the performance of your cars, select performance
markers from Blacklist racers and hold onto them until you get late into
the game and start picking up some exotics. Load them up with Ultimate
parts (as you unlock them) and then add the Junkman parts on top of that. A
car with all Ultimate + Junkman parts will have full performance stat bars
(Top Speed, Acceleration and Handling).
B.03: World Map
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Open the World Map to view available events, shops, safe houses and to
activate the GPS system. Click an event, shop or safe house on the map and
choose Yes to activate GPS. When GPS is active, an arrow will appear at the
top center of the screen pointing you in the correct direction.
There are three boroughs in Rockport: Rosewood, Camden Beach (further
divided into Point Camden and Gray Point) and Downtown. You begin in
Rosewood, in the northwest part of the map. After defeating Blacklist #13
(Vic), you can drive through Camden Beach, which takes up the eastern side
of town. You can cruise Downtown in the southwest after defeating Blacklist
#9 (Earl).
The first time a new area opens, you should spend some time driving around
in free roam to get a feel for the streets. The more familiar you are with
the game world, the easier it will be to race as you will know what's
coming without having to look at your minimap as often. You'll also have an
easier time in pursuits, when you are making your own "track".
B.03.a) Major Landmarks & Shortcuts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Rosewood State University: this large structure sits in the center of
Rosewood and has a circular road around it. It's fun to drive through
the halls of the college, but is of little use otherwise.
- Rosewood College Hospital: sits south of the University in the middle of
a switchback. When going downhill (southbound), you can jump through the
hospital (except in some races where it's closed off). Northbound, there
is a ramp going uphill past the lower half of the hospital (on the west
side). This shortcut is only occasionally available in races.
- Highland Trail & Forest Green Golf & Country Club: this park and golf
course adjoin each other in the northeastern section of Rosewood. They
make for great off-road fun, but don't try them with anything other
than a FWD or AWD car. Also, be very careful of the trees. There's a nice
pursuit breaker and hiding spot in the park.
- Hickley Field: a baseball stadium on the west side of Rosewood, this
is a great place to evade pursuits as there are breakers outside each
entrance and a hiding spot on the west side. Break into the field from
the east side, then break out on the west side and slide right into the
hiding spot. The breakers should have rid you of any cops following and
you'll be all set to wait out the Cooldown period.
- The Alley: in the northern part of Rosewood is an alley that serves as
a shortcut in a large number of races. It cuts off a corner of the road
that runs past Hickley Field, northbound, and then turns east and then
south toward the college.
- Hwy 99: is the highway around Rosewood. There are a number of wide open
areas, but also some long tunnels and narrow bridges. This can be a great
place for a pursuit, as long as you don't run into Rhinos in a tunnel or
on a bridge.
- Bus Station: positioned directly in the center of the map, it displays
as a diamond-shaped area in between Rosewood and Downtown. The bus
terminal is notable for a couple of pursuit tricks described in section
F.05.g: Pursuit Hints & Tips.
- Trucking Depot: just south and a little west of the bus terminal is a
warehouse with a number of truck trailers pulled up outside. While
it occasionally looks like a good shortcut in some races, stay out of
it as you will have to slow down to thread your way through.
- The Mall: is a shopping center northeast of the bus terminal. Roads
between Rosewood and Camden Beach converge around here and many races
allow you to cut through the mall. There's also a nice pursuit breaker
in the center.
- Old Drive-in: this abandoned theater lies southeast of the mall. It's a
nice pursuit breaker, but don't use it as a shortcut--you lose too much
speed breaking through the movie screen and catching air afterwards.
- Lighthouse: this beacon of hope lies on an island at the south end of
Camden Beach. There's a narrow passage underneath the lighthouse and
you should always cut through there whenever passing this way, which
you will do frequently in races through Point Camden. There's also a
hiding spot on the north side of the island.
- Boardwalk: the boardwalk lies along the east side of the river, just
north of the lighthouse. A good number of races take you through there,
but you don't need to bother with it during pursuits as there are no
pursuit breakers in it.
- Docks: the "port" in Rockport is directly across the river from the
boardwalk and is a fairly involved area. There are several races that
take you through the area, but it's best avoided during pursuits.
- Train yard: just west of the docks is a train yard. Stay out of it at
all costs. Weaving your way through boxcars is not helpful during either
races or pursuits.
- Twin Towers: north of the lighthouse, along the river just where it bends
sharply west, are two tall towers. Many races take you around this area
and it appears there is a shortcut underneath. Don't be fooled, the
parking areas under the towers are full of concrete pylons that spell
instant loss if you hit one of them. Although, there are hiding spots
under these towers for use during pursuits.
- The "Back Street": in the southern part of Camden Beach is a narrow,
alley-like street that cuts a big chunk off many races (and a few
races force you to go through it).
- Penitentiary: the penitentiary is similar to the hospital in that it
lies in the middle of a switchback. It is just east of the twin towers
and when going downhill (from west to east) you can sometimes jump
through the prison. There's no shortcut through when going uphill.
- Oil Refinery: on the eastern edge of the map, directly between Point
Camden and Gray Point is an oil refinery. Many races take you around
this plant. Never go through it, as you're more likely to wreck than
save any time.
- Trailer park: this area is located in north-west Gray Point. Some races
benefit from cutting through the park, some don't (and some don't allow
you to cut through). It also has two pursuit breakers and a hiding spot.
- Cannery: a large dock/warehouse area on the southwest side of the Gray
Point inlet (Dunwich Bay). The cannery is notable mostly for the air
you can catch on a couple of jumps inside. One jump is easy to see,
the other involves finding an opening that takes you up on the roof of
the main building and allows you a big jump coming off the other side.
Just for fun as there's not much real use in it.
- Hwy 201: is the highway around Downtown. It has a number of twists in it,
including a 360 degree loop in the southwest corner. Not as conducive to
flooring it as Hwy 99, but still a good route for pursuits.
- Riverfront Stadium: this football field is located along the south side
of Downtown, in the middle of Hwy 201. The best route around it is to the
north of the stadium (west-bound lanes of 201). You can also run through
the field, but there are no pursuit breakers, so it's not much use in a
pursuit.
- Amphitheater: an open air theater located in the western portion of
Downtown, just north of the stadium. There's a good pursuit breaker
in the amphitheater and another just north of it in a construction
zone that leads to a jump onto Hwy 201.
- Sunken Road: running through the southern part of Downtown, in between
the stadium and the amphitheater, is a sunken, enclosed road with only
a few entrances. It's under construction and has a pursuit breaker and
a hiding spot. If you can get into it with only a few cruisers on your
tail, you can shake them off with the breaker and then hide.
B.04: Safe Houses and Shops
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Each of the three boroughs in Rockport has a Safe House, a car lot, and a
handful of one-stop shops. Each Safe House acts as your entry/exit from the
game world and your garage for storing your fleet of cars. You do not have
to physically drive to a Safe House, you can use the Pause Menu while in
free roam to jump to a Safe House.
Car lots contain all the stock cars available in the game (see Section E).
You must reach certain stages of the game in order to earn the right to
purchase most of the cars. One-stop shops handle performance, parts and
visual upgrades to your ride. You must drive to car lots and shops in order
to use them.
When in a shop, press [1] at the main menu to access unique parts won from
racers (with markers). Pressing [1] opens the back room and gives access to
these special parts.
B.05: Performance Tuning
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you were expecting something along the lines of NFSU2, you'll be highly
disappointed. Performance tuning your ride consists of sliders, and there's
no way to test or measure your performance other than driving the car after
you make adjustments. For a complete description of tuning options, see
section F.04.
B.06: Visual Upgrades
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While you can still rice your ride, there's not as much variety as in
NFSU2. Visual and parts upgrades exist mainly for people who like to play
with customization. The only time you really need to change the look of
your car is if the car gets too hot and you don't want the police to
recognize it; and, then, all you really need is a new paint job and, maybe,
a different body kit.
B.07: Special Unlockables
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the start screen (the screen that says 'Click to continue' and appears
right after the opening cinematic), type in the following codes. You have
to type the codes blind (i.e. nothing shows on screen), so type carefully:
castrol: Unlocks a Castrol Syntec Ford GT in the Bonus Cars.
burgerking: Unlocks the Burger King Challenge in the Challenge Series.
B.08: Ten Tips to Get You Started
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#1: Put nitrous on your car as soon as you can (after beating Sonny--
Blacklist #15). Nitrous is the best performance upgrade you can have as it
allows you to more quickly recover from clipping a wall or hitting another
car.
#2: If you hit a civvie car or truck (excluding tractor-trailers), 19 times
out of 20 the vehicle will spin out right. The other 1 time the vehicle
will spin out left and then come back right. So, when you hit a civvie,
always dodge left.
#3: Learn when to take a hit. Sometimes dodging traffic will hurt worse
than hitting the other car. This is especially true on narrow bridges or
exit ramps, where dodging may cause you to clip a wall and spin out. Turn
down "World Detail" in your advanced video options to get rid of lots of
extraneous junk on the roads and minimize the hits you do have to take.
#4: Don't try to complete every pursuit milestone as you play. Do the photo
tickets and one or two other milestones (such as Pursuit Evasion, which is
easy to earn) as needed to advance. Later in the game, when you're running
long pursuits for Blacklists one, two and three, you'll earn the earlier
milestones as you earn the current milestones. For example, while you're
earning 850,000 Bounty for Razor's milestone, you'll also earn all the
other Bounty milestones from previous racers. While you're running
roadblocks and spike strips for Bull, you'll complete all previous
Roadblock and Spike Strip milestones.
#5: Learn your engine's sweet spot and get perfect launches on every race.
Perfect launches are especially important in drags, so stick with one or
two cars as your primary racers and learn how to get perfect launches.
Follow a perfect launch with some nitrous to get an early lead.
#6: If you are in a 2x2 starting position for a race, you will always be in
back. If you get a perfect launch in this situation, immediately aim for
the gap between the front two cars. Otherwise you'll waste your perfect
launch by bumping the car in front of you.
#7: Handling is more important than Acceleration and Acceleration is more
important than Top Speed. Keep that in mind when choosing a car. Most
courses won't allow you to race at top speed because of all the curves and
turns, so keeping your car off the wall is more important than flying
through at 200+ mph.
#8: Learn how to use N2O properly. You don't want to hoard nitrous, because
it recharges quickly, so there's no use in "saving" it until later. On the
other hand, you don't want to use it all up and keep it empty--you should
always have some reserve to help you out of a tight spot and you'll want a
full meter when approaching a speedtrap or the end of a race. Overuse of
nitrous also leads to out-of-control driving, which ultimately slows your
average speed. Use your nitrous wisely and it will serve you well.
#9: Practice "driving with the map". Racing by following the barriers isn't
enough. You don't want to be surprised by a sudden 135-degree turn or a 180
loop. Glance at the mini-map every few seconds so you'll know what's ahead.
The mini-map will also show you upcoming speedtraps and tollbooths in those
races.
#10: Always be sure to have some cash on hand or a Get Out of Jail Free
marker in case you get busted. Get two cars in your garage as quickly as
possible, so you can keep racing if one gets impounded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Section C. Career Mode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You begin career mode with an extended series of FMV sequences that set up
the story, such as it is. During these cutscenes, you have to win three
races, which is not hard to do. The first two races are Sprints and then a
2-lap Circuit. Your "hot" BMW will barely break 140 and the other cars are
much slower--consider this your tutorial to get you used to racing. You
shouldn't have any trouble beating the races.
After those three races are won, you start a race against Razor. Don't
worry too much about it, you won't be finishing this race. More FMV
sequences set up the beginning of the main story: you find yourself with
30,000 cash in your pocket (40,000 if you have an NFS Underground 2 career
save on your system) and a small selection of cars to get you started on
the racing circuit again.
If you have the extra money from playing NFSU2, buy a Golf GTi, it's the
best starter car. Otherwise you want the Lexus IS300 or the Fiat Punto if
you want good handling. The Chevy Cobalt SS is faster, but handling is
poor. Once you've selected your car, you have to start working your way up
the Blacklist.
NOTE: "CP" in the race descriptions means "cop probability". Maximum means
the cops will almost assuredly be chasing you during the race. Minimum
means you can breathe easy--no cops to worry about.
C.01: Blacklist Member 15: Ho Seun (Sonny)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This here is Sonny. He's dumped a whole lot of cash into his car. That
ride is worked so don't be fooled, it's a rocket. He does anything he can
to get a hold of parts before they hit the streets."
Ride: Golf GTi
Targets:
- Race Wins: 3
- Milestones: 3
- Total Bounty: 20,000
The races here are pretty easy, especially if you were able to buy the
Golf. You don't even need to spend any money on upgrades. Don't be put off
by Sonny's best scores on his Rival Challenge races, you don't have to beat
those scores to beat him (or any other Blacklist racer). If you weren't
able to buy a Golf at the beginning of the game, try to win Sonny's car
when you collect your race markers.
Available Race Events:
- Circuit (Ironwood Estates): 1,500 cash; 4.2 miles (2 laps); CP: minimum
This is a short, easy course, but it does have a couple of shortcuts. The
first will be just visible to your left soon after the start/finish line
and is blocked by a wooden fence (easily breakable). This path travels
through the woods, cutting off the next two curves. If you miss the first
turn, the second part of this shortcut will appear soon after to your
right. The second shortcut is a narrow alley between buildings that chops
off a large corner. As you come off the highway, you'll make a sharp left
turn and then see another sharp left. Stay straight at that second left to
hit the opening of the alley.
- Sprint (Diamond & Union): 1,500 cash; 3.5 miles; CP: maximum
This sprint is pretty wide open through the first three-fourths of the
distance, then goes through the switchback near Hickley Field and a quarter
of the way around the college to the finish. There's one little shortcut
near the beginning of the course, but it's such a tight squeeze it's likely
to cost you more time. Stick to the main course and try to build up a good
lead before you leave Hwy 99.
- Lap Knockout (Hickley Field): 1,500 cash; 5.1 miles (3 laps); CP: minimum
A simple circle around Hickley Field. The only slightly difficult portion
is the turn through the round-a-bout, which can cause a lot of sliding if
you oversteer. There are no shortcuts.
Available Milestones:
- Trade Paint (Bounty 5,000)
Evade the police pursuit and tag a minimum of 2 police vehicles to
successfully complete this challenge.
- Pursuit Evasion (Bounty 5,000)
Evade police pursuit in less than 4 minutes to successfully complete
this challenge.
- Pursuit Time Challenge (Bounty 5,000)
Get into a police pursuit lasting at least 2 minutes. You will need to
evade the pursuit to successfully complete this challenge.
- Photo Ticket (Bounty 4,000)
Get clocked at over 80 MPH to successfully complete this challenge.
Rival Challenge (5,000 cash):
- Circuit (Campus Way): 5.6 miles (2 laps)
Not much to say about this course. There's one shortcut, but it doesn't
shave off much distance, is very tight and has a hard left turn coming out.
Avoid the shortcut and stick to the main course. Make sure you bleed a
little speed as you enter the double switchback and save some nitro to
boost yourself to the finish.
- Circuit (Highlands): 4.3 miles (2 laps)
This is the Ironwood Estates course, but going in the opposite direction.
The alley shortcut is a bit more difficult to hit as it's a 45-degree turn
to the left and has a narrow opening. If you can hit it, you will save
several seconds; but, if you hit the wall when trying to enter, you're
through. Only try for it if your car has decent handling. The shortcut
through the woods plays about the same, with an entry to the left near the
finish line.
C.02: Blacklist Member 14: Vince Kilic (Taz)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This crazy fool is a major heat score. Blacklist gave him the name 'Taz'.
He hates cops and they hate him. Watch yourself around this guy. He prowls
the streets of Rosewood looking for newbies."
Ride: Lexus IS300
Targets:
- Race Wins: 4
- Milestones: 3
- Total Bounty: 50,000
Taz is not that big an increase in difficulty over Sonny, and his Lexus
IS300 is nothing special. Add a nitrous kit (at the least) to your starter
car or use Sonny's Golf if you won it.
Available Race Events:
- Circuit (Petersburg): 2,000 cash; 8.6 miles (3 laps); CP: minimum
This course is roughly rectangular. The first and third turns have
shortcuts. On the first turn, there's a parking lot to the left that will
cut a second or two off your time. When you reach the third turn, stay to
your left (into oncoming traffic) to take the shorter turn--it's worth at
least two or three seconds.
- Sprint (Hwy 99 & State): 2,000 cash, 5.0 miles; CP: minimum
The alley shortcut is open, but you'll lose too much time trying to make
the hard right into it, so go around the longer way. As you leave the
college circle and head for the country club, go around the right-hand turn
and straighten out into a cut-through under some trees.
- Sprint (Clubhouse & Hollis): 2,000 cash; 3.7 miles; CP: maximum
There are no available shortcuts on this sprint, except for a parking lot
as you leave college circle. You'll go downhill past the hospital, but it's
closed off so you can't jump through it. The track is pretty technical--
you'll want a car with good handling.
- Lap Knockout (Rosewood College): 2,000 cash; 7.4 miles (3 laps);
CP: minimum
A short course that takes you 3/4 of the way around the college and past
the stadium. You can use the alley shortcut on the northeast side of the
course, but beware of the sharp left turn coming out of the alley. You're
probably better going around rather than through the alley.
- Tollbooth (Skyview & Campus): 2,000 cash; 3 tollbooths; 5.1 miles;
CP: minimum
- 1.6 miles in 1:10
- 1.5 miles in 0:45
- 2.0 miles in 0:45
This is a flat-out speed race around Hwy 99. Times between tollbooths are
generous, so floor it and you shouldn't have any trouble.
- Circuit (Heritage Heights): 2,000 cash; 7.5 miles (2 laps); CP: minimum
This is a very straightforward course. There's no advantage to either the
left or right lanes in the split lane portion of the course, so stay right
and save yourself having to dodge oncoming traffic. The third major turn in
the course is a hard, 90-degree left. There are no shortcuts in the course.
Available Milestones:
- Bounty (Bounty 6,000)
Get 1,000 bounty in a single pursuit. Once done, evade the pursuit.
- Cost to State Challenge (Bounty 6,000)
Evade the police pursuit with a cost to state of 15,000 to successfully
complete this challenge.
- Infractions Challenge (Bounty 6,000)
Evade the police pursuit with a minimum of 3 infractions to successfully
complete this challenge.
- Photo Ticket (Bounty 4,500)
Get clocked at over 93 MPH to successfully complete this challenge.
- Photo Ticket (Bounty 4,500)
Get clocked at over 90 MPH to successfully complete this challenge.
Rival Challenge (6,000 cash):
- Sprint (Stadium & Highway 99): 4.9 miles
This is a real sprint--lots of long, relatively straight areas where you
can open it up. No shortcuts.
- Sprint (Rosewood & State): 4.1 miles
Another fast course. There are two small shortcuts in the middle section of
the course, but you won't lose anything if you miss them and might lose a
lot of speed if you try to hit them and clip a wall. One is a cut-through
behind the main entrance of the water park, the other is a parking lot at
the first hard left turn.
C.03: Blacklist Member 13: Victor Vasquez (Vic)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This dude's been holding it down in the #13 slot for a while now. He can't
break out of his rut and no one can run him out. He's slack and dangerous
but knows how to handle his ride. He'll smoke you if he gets the chance."
Ride: Toyota Supra
Targets:
- Race Wins: 4
- Milestones: 3
- Total Bounty: 100,000
Vic will be your last "easy" Blacklist racer. If you're looking down the
road to a 100% complete Rap Sheet you will want to run a lot of police
pursuits before Challenging Vic.
At this stage of the game you only get level 1 and 2 heat and they are
easily dealt with. Run lots of short pursuits going for the big 5
infractions: ramming police, hit-and-run, driving off roadway, damage to
property and avoiding arrest. You'll need to rack up 500 infractions,
total, to rank #1 lifetime and it's a lot easier to do it now than later
when you have to face heat levels 3 through 5. Hopefully you won either
Sonny's or Taz's car so you have at least two and can switch back-and-forth
to keep down to heat level 1.
When you do Challenge Vic, keep challenging him until you win his Supra. It
will easily take you through the next three racers.
Available Race Events:
- Sprint (Rosewood & Lyons): 2,500 cash; 3.7 miles; CP: maximum
About midway through this course there's a back-road "shortcut" that will
cost you more time than it saves. When you reach the section where the road
splits, take the right fork--you'll have to make a 45-degree turn just past
a doughnut shop. This is the slightly faster route.
- Lap Knockout (City Center): 2,500 cash; 4.8 miles (3 laps); CP: minimum
There are small shortcuts through parking lots on several of the turns in
this course. On a small, tight course like this, you'll need to use them
and avoid any serious wreck. There's no margin for error on such a short
track.
- Lap Knockout (Rosewood College): 2,500 cash; 10.2 miles (3 laps);
CP: minimum
The alley shortcut north of the college is an excellent way to gain some
time on your opponents. There are no other shortcuts on the course.
- Tollbooth (Hwy 99 & Highlands): 2,500 cash; 3 tollbooths; 5.1 miles;
CP: minimum
- 1.4 miles in 0:50
- 1.4 miles in 0:40
- 2.3 miles in 0:50
Top-speed racing on Hwy 99. Put the pedal to the metal.
- Tollbooth (Hwy 4 & Forest Green): 2,500 cash; 3 tollbooths; 6.3 miles;
CP: minimum
- 1.8 miles in 0:55
- 2.8 miles in 1:35
- 1.7 miles in 0:45
When going past the country club, look for the cut-through under some trees
to the right. Get used to that cut-through, it shows up in a lot of tracks.
Keep it floored on Hwy 99 so you have some extra time to thread your way
around the college.
- Speedtrap (Diamond & State): 2,500 cash; 3.3 miles; CP: minimum
Speedtraps at 10%, 37%, 55%, 74%, 94%. For your first available speedtrap,
these traps are not the easiest to hit. Most come right after a big curve
so you'll be hard pressed to get any real speed going through them. Save
your nitrous and hold it down when you get in sight of a trap.
- Speedtrap (Forest & Ironwood): 2,500 cash; 3.9 miles; CP: minimum
Speedtraps at 17%, 34%, 58%, 77%, 89%. You can open it up on the first two
speedtraps--the mall shortcut is open, but you may want to avoid it as the
second trap is soon after and you don't want to lose any speed at that
point.
Available Milestones:
- Trade Paint (Bounty 11,000)
Evade the police pursuit and tag a minimum of 4 police vehicles to
successfully complete this challenge.
- Bounty (Bounty 11,000)
Get 5,000 bounty in a single pursuit. Once done, evade the pursuit.
- Pursuit Evasion (Bounty 11,000)
Evade a police pursuit in less than 4 minutes to successfully
complete this challenge.
- Photo Ticket (Bounty 5,000)
Get clocked at over 108 MPH to successfully complete this challenge.
- Photo Ticket (Bounty 5,000)
Get clocked at over 105 MPH to successfully complete this challenge.
Rival Challenge (6,000 cash):
- Sprint (Union & Hollis): 5.6 miles
Once you've made use of the ubiquitous under-tree cut-through near the golf
course, open it up down the road past the mall and remember to avoid going
through the truck depot.
- Sprint (Heritage & Campus): 3.6 miles
There's a 180-degree turn very early in the race, and Vic will interfere
with you if he's close. Try for a perfect launch followed by a quick burst
of nitrous to get an early lead so you don't have to worry about him as you
thread your way through the first half of the course. The only shortcut
worth noting is the parking lot to your right as you near college circle.
C.04: Blacklist Member 12: Isabel Diaz (Izzy)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Izzy is definitely a chick you don't want to mess with. She knows
everything there is about cars, on and off the road. She's got her ride
wired tight. She comes from a long line of race fanatics. Everybody she
runs with is either a cousin, friend or uncle. They all stick close so
don't get on her bad side."
Ride: Mazda RX-8
Targets:
- Race Wins: 4
- Milestones: 3
- Total Bounty: 180,000
Camden Beach is open to you now, so there's more city to explore and more
races from which to choose. You'll notice the races are becoming a bit
tougher. If you haven't won a BL car yet, you'll need some performance
upgrades on your starter car. Concentrate on handling upgrades (suspension,
tires and brakes) before speed upgrades. You get your first drag race at
this stage. While you can complete the objectives without dragging, you
might as well get used to it, as you'll have to win some drags later in the
game.
Izzy's RX-8 is a sweet ride, but not that big an improvement on Vic's
Supra, if you got it. If you manage to end up with both, go ahead and sell
your starter car for money to upgrade the Toyota and Mitsubishi. The next
big jump in Blacklist cars won't come until you face Baron; but, he's a
couple rivals down the line.
Available Race Events:
- Circuit (Omega): 3,000 cash; 6.5 miles (2 laps); CP: maximum
Omega hits you with a hard right turn just off the line, then it's pretty
standard fare for the remainder of the course. After the second major turn,
there's a bit of a confusing area where the course passes through a large
intersection. The right-side wall is far off the course, so stay left to
avoid losing a second or two bumping through the medians.
- Tollbooth (Hwy 99 & Route 55): 3,000 cash; 4 tollbooths; 4.8 miles;
CP: maximum
- 1.2 miles in 0:50
- 1.2 miles in 0:40
- 0.8 miles in 0:25
- 1.6 miles in 0:50
Try to pick up as much time through the first tollbooth as you can, you'll
need it to get through the twisting course ahead of you. Just past the
first tollbooth is a shortcut to your left (look for the flashing yellow
construction markers). This will help you pick up two or three seconds.
- Tollbooth (North Bay & Chase): 3,000 cash; 4 tollbooths; 4.7 miles;
CP: minimum
- 0.6 miles in 0:40
- 1.5 miles in 0:45
- 0.5 miles in 0:20
- 2.1 miles in 1:05
The first part of this course is fairly tight, with lots of curves. Get
through the first two tollbooths with time to spare and you can cruise to
the finish.
- Speedtrap (Hwy 4 & Clubhouse): 3,000 cash; 3.6 miles; CP: minimum
Speedtraps at 6%, 36%, 49%, 73%, 91%. There's a speedtrap right in front of
you as you start, so a perfect launch is a big help (remember to aim for
the gap between the cars in front of you so you don't suffer a fender-
bender right before the trap). Trap #4 is on the curving switchback around
the hospital, so it helps to have a big lead going into that one.
- Drag (Bayshore & Boardwalk): 750 cash; 0.9 miles; CP: minimum
Your first drag race! Aren't you the lucky one. Read the tutorial on drag
racing in section F.02.f, then try this one out. It's actually pretty easy.
Don't change lanes until you approach the tunnel, then switch two lanes
right, pass one car, then switch one lane left, pass another car, then one
lane right and speed to the finish.
- Sprint (Campus & Chancellor): 3,000 cash; 4.2 miles; CP: minimum
Right away you're on the switchback around the hospital. You can't jump
through the upper half of the hospital, but you can jump through the lower
half. That will give you a big lead. Once past the hospital, as you
approach the left turn, only turn slightly and then immediately straighten
out to take a parking lot shortcut through the next right-hand turn. Next
up is the shortcut under the water park; this is followed by a sharp 135-
degree turn. Then it's on past Hickley Field--the alley is open, but
slowing down to make the hard right into it will cost you more time than
you'll save. Take the long way around and sprint to the finish.
- Sprint (Rockridge & Union): 3,000 cash; 5.1 miles; CP: maximum
This one's all about top speed, so use your fastest car and open it up on
the highway. Don't forget the cut-through near the golf course.
Available Milestones:
- Trade Paint (Bounty 19,000)
Evade the police pursuit and tag a minimum of 8 police vehicles to
successfully complete this challenge.
- Pursuit Evasion (Bounty 19,000)
Evade a police pursuit in less than 3 minutes to successfully complete
this challenge.
- Pursuit Time Challenge (Bounty 19,000)
Get into a police pursuit lasting at least 4 minutes. You will need to
evade the pursuit to successfully complete this challenge.
- Photo Ticket (Bounty 5,500)
Get clocked at over 114 MPH to successfully complete this challenge.
- Photo Ticket (Bounty 5,500)
Get clocked at over 121 MPH to successfully complete this challenge.
Rival Challenge (8,000 cash):
- Sprint (Chase & Bristol): 3.8 miles
A short and shortcut-free sprint. Keep your speed down when going through
the refinery so you don't bounce out of control.
- Circuit (Diamond): 8.9 miles (2 laps)
Diamond has four shortcuts, and, while none are spectacular, consistent use
of them can shave 10 or more seconds per lap. Right out of the gate you
have the cut-through under the trees near the country club entrance. Then,
the mall is open for a shortcut about midway through a lap. When the road
splits, take the 45-degree turn right for the faster course. Finally, you
can cut through the parking lot to your right as you enter college circle.
C.05: Blacklist Member 11: Lou Park (Big Lou)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This slab of Korean muscle considers himself a real ladies man. He's all
show. Rumor has it; he panics around the cops and bails on races the first