In Spectrum Holobyte's newest release, the player gets behund the wheel of the world,s finest street machine, the Corvette. The challenge is to blow away competition in a cross California run. Players choose from four different Corvettes, as wll as four challengers, ranging from the relatively slower Porsche to the quite competitive Ferrari F40. The game feature four possible runs and multiple difficulty levels to challenge the most seasoned video racers.
The Basic Driving:
The only way one can be successful in VETTE! is by mastering the simple yet fine art of driving a sportscar. Start out the first few races slowly, getting a feel for the way the car handles. Use the center lane key to keep the car in the lane. Players may avoid over-
steering by holding down this key while driving, releasing it only to switch lanes. Although the car defaults to the `in-car' view, this is not the best angle to see upcoming cars from any great distance. Instead, switch to the helicopter view and adjust the angle to about 45 degrees. This will give the player a bigger jump on cars coming up on the Vette.
In the event of a collision, immediatly hold down the acceletator while pressing the center-lane key in order to get the car back to speed as fast as possible. If the damage was to the car's engine, note the top speed the car now travels at. If it's below the top speed of the competition, seek out a gas station and pull in-between the building and the pumps to initiate repairs.
The Courses
Once you're comfortable with driving the car, the next strategy is mapping the course. The competition will always take one of the shorter paths to the finish, so players must be ready with a course of their own. The trick here is to plan the routes so as to stay on the freeway as much as possible.
There are fewer police cars and traffic signs on freeways, allowing a player to make up time in a hurry. Traveling through city streets can be almost completely avoided in the first two courses, while the other two do require the player to navigate the urban terrain somewhat.
Course 1 starts at the San Francisco Zoo and heads north to the Golden Gate Bridge. Players should start out traveling fairly slowly because there are a lot of police cars in the first section of the course. As you approach the park, floor it and travel along the straightaway at full speed onto and past the Presidio. Once the bridge appears, slow down. The police will bw here also. If full speed was maintained earlier, the player will have enough of a lead to go 65 mph over the bridge and cross the line a winner.
Course 2 goes from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Bay Bridge. Again, head over the bridge at moderate speed, accelerating when the road turns into Lombard St. From here burn rubber east until the intersection of Van Ness Ave. Travel south on Van Ness to Broadway and make a left. This will take the player right to Embarcadero and over the bridge. Here you should be careful to obey the city rules while on Van Ness and Broadway.
Course 3 is an all out spewed war from the instant the player gets on the freeway. This course is all freeway as the player travels west on Interstate 80, 101 and 280 back toward the zoo. Just remember to slow down at the beginning and end, where the police are lurking.
The final course is a round trip course from the zoo to the Golden Gate, out to the Bay Bridge and finally back to the zoo again. Use the strategies and course routes laid our earlier as a guide. Remember, too, that this is more of an endurance race. Don't panic if the competition gets a bit ahead while driving slowly through the city
-there is plenty of freeway time to catch up. If the competition is out of view, remember to hit `H' to display the onboard map, which will show both cars positions. Once satisfied, remove the map. Otherwise, it blocks the view of the oncoming streets and traffic signs.
Finally, if sirens begin to wail, a policeman is upset and wants the violater to pull over. Never do so. Floor it and the police car, if it is behind the Vette doesn't stand a chance. However, if the police car appears in front of the Vette, he will get you whether the car is floored or not. If this happens, pick an excuse that sounds valid and hope he's in a good mood.
