Critical Velocity - Asian

Gordon is shown on the poster with a rose clenched between his teeth and the words "Trust me!" next to his face. He walks to a car where his partner in crime named Saul is seated. Cut to a sequence where two girls from the intro named Hope and Diana are being chased by cops. After the girls have a near collision with the Stormers who are seated in their blue Sprout, the mission begins with a rolling start. The objective is to chase Hope and Diana through a bustling city and crash into the police cars to stop them from catching the girls. Cars may be hit from behind, from the side, or blocked from passing. Early in the mission, the racers and the chasers have to plow through a red light where a big flatbed truck is moving through. While the girls will fly right through (according to script), cop cars may get jammed and block your progress. Falter in your mission to chase the girls and provide escort service and the cops will eventually damage the Stormers' vehicle enough to end the level.

Physics
When crashing into other cars, they'll bounce back with sudden recoil and explode from their hoods. When hitting a car from behind, you can send it careening into a wall for kicks and giggles. Watch as the buster hits the brakes in a desperate attempt to avoiding crashing into the divider. The physics are a little off however. When hitting a vehicle that's coming at full speed from the opposite direction, it will bounce back but your vehicle will continue rolling with just 1/2 decrease in velocity while the other vehicle comes to a near dead stop.

Controls
The control is floaty where the Sprout car sort of glides across the road. Maneuvering is performed through the left thumbstick while the "X" button accelerates and the "SQUARE" brakes. Instead of a straight-away track, the first level contains forking roads, detours, and all-important destructible items on the side of the highway such as bumpers, light poles, and road construction things. While racing, cops and enemies will wait by the side of the road and then zoom in on the action when you pass. The enemies may be tracked by little red arrows which signal "Enemy" on the bottom of the screen as they attempt to overtake your vehicle. The speedometer is located on the lower-right corner of the screen and the track map on the lower left which keeps a bird's eye view of the road as well as adjacent surroundings.

All manner of vehicles share the road including boxy vans, sporty cars, and sedans. Bonuses may be picked up such as extra nitro stock and points.

Since Saul and Gordon will accept any job per their advertising flyer, the boys will engage in missions which take them on both sides of the law and throughout the town. Scenic routes include a trek through a seaside resort, a drift friendly mountain pass, and a shanty town. To help the duo conquer all stages, new cars and car upgrades are available to boost road performance and vehicle fortitude.

NCS Game Notes
* The police captain Hartman in the game may have been modeled after Gary oldman's cop from "The Professional" movie.

* The key to the second level where a pair of purse snatchers are being pursued is judicious amounts of sliding or drifing to make the hairpin turns. Keeping an eye on the overhead road map and memorizing how the perps will turn also helps.