HINT: Press the Y button on the Character Select screen to view that racer's ship data and terrain preferences.

The Right Weapon for the Job

You. Are. In. My. Way! *BLAM!* Mwahaha! Eat my dust!

I confess. There's something profoundly satisfying about launching a missile and watching it blow your competitors off the map. I get a thrill when I send a high-powered ray to blast my opponent's ship and then get to zip past the scuttled ship. Better still, I get points for successful attacks. After several solid hits on the same SPARC (single-person, armed, racing craft), I destroy it. And, I get even more points for a successful kill. Can't beat that!

When you score a finishing blow, your opponent gets teleported to a pool of water, specially designed to cool down the SPARC. The racer is thus rescued at the last moment to return in the next race. The first time another racer killed me? I had just turned a corner and zipped down a steep hill in Silver Rock Canyon when Alicia hit me from behind with her lightning weapon. Out of the race.

The A.I. teleported my ship, and I was left lightly floating in a pool of water. I was bummed, until I realized I didn't have to start from scratch. Alicia won that race, but I bounced right back and gave her a run for her money in the next.

Weapons
Once you've won enough races and earned enough money, you can purchase higher powered weapons. This adds another dimension to the game. You get to decide whether you want a fast ship with extra turbo, a defensive ship with extra shield, or an attack ship with a more powerful attack.

In addition, each Quantum Redshift racer has his or her own unique weapon type:

• Tara likes her high-tech missiles. Acorporation called "Big Texas Arms Company" sponsors her. They give her big guns. Big boom. Big, big boom.
  
• Prince Yuri hails from a polluted wasteland. He's a snake. Well, his totem animal is a snake. In keeping with the theme, Yuri uses an acid weapon powered by high-tech delivery. He's toxic.
  
• Kumiko is a nice young woman with a big heart. She doesn't want to hurt anybody. Awwww. She employs an electrical weapon that induces system shock to the SPARC and disables it rather than destroying it. How sweet is that?!
  
• When Zaki walked out of the desert, he brought theheat of the desertwith him. His weapon of choice relies on fire to burn through his opponents. When you haveZaki on your tail, you feel the heat.
  
• Jordan lives in Solar City, where everything is clean and efficient. She uses a plasma weapon that relies on concentrated, clean energy to blow her rivals off the track. She may be environmentally conscious, but that doesn't mean she's nice.
  
• Marcus is British. No big surprise that he would want a vehicle with a stealthy, secret agent kind of flair. He uses a sonic attack, like a boosted bat screech, to get the other racers out of his way. I bet he decorates his SPARC garage like a cave, too.
  
• Leah's heart isn't the only thing about her that's frozen. Her weapons reflect her home on the glacier slopes of Mount Schreck. When Leah's icy fingers of doom reach out to wrap around your SPARC, it doesn't matter how hot you're running ...even your heat trails will have icicles hanging from them.

By Violet Leigh