LEARN YOUR CAR: Turn your speedometer on and learn what each unique car can and can't do at what speed and under which conditions. This isn't to say there are exact limits to how fast your '99 Ford Mustang can take a corner in the rain without flying out of control. But you do need to know how to recover if your vehicle is on two wheels screaming toward a busy intersection at 90+ mph. If you don't learn that know-how, your vehicle will definitely pay the price.

LEARN THE CITY: For Checkpoint Races navigation is important. But for multiplayer Cops and Robbers, it is crucial. Remember that there is no set way to get from where you are to where you want to be, because a specific path will be good at most 90% of the time. There is usually a shortcut to get from one place to another, but sometimes what you think is a shortcut will actually take you longer or destroy your car. And save some health for those boxes in the alley you know you must go down: once you get the flashing death light, the next box could be your last.

LEARN THE RACES: Get an idea about what cars are suitable for the race you're running by trying a few different cars on it. In most cases, the optimal car won't be obvious, but if you find yourself in the middle of a long race with heavy traffic and you can't find a way to complete the first half of it without crashing 5 times, chances are the fast yet fragile Roadster isn't your best bet.

It's a matter of personal preference of course, but my favorite is to take on the Blitz races first. These races give you a chance to start figuring out the basics of how the game works without opponents trying to smash into you constantly. Also, the Blitz races reward you with one of the most fun vehicles in the game after only 2 wins! Once you've done a few of these races, you'll be ready to tackle the first few Checkpoint Races and then the Circuit Races. (Note: remember to start in Amateur mode vs. Professional-select when creating your character-Pro mode can get frustrating fast if you don't learn the basics first.)

BLITZ RACES!

• BLITZ 1: DEARBORN DASH
  The Dash is just a straight drag strip, but with a few catches. Floor it and try to avoid the traffic that will try to slam you from the left side of the first intersection. After that, do your best to predict where the pesky traffic will be, and stay a good car's width from them. (Use on many races from here on out: If you don't give yourself a bit of space to react, you'll wind up in some horrendous collisions, some of which you'd rather have avoided {chuckle}.) Also, use this race to practice your bridge jumps; notice how differently each of the vehicles jumps a bridge at different speeds. In some situations, the variations between vehicles can mean the difference between winning and losing a race.
• BLITZ 2: RIVER WILD AND WACKER
  Much more challenging than the first, this race introduces you to your first shortcut options. You'll find traffic much more difficult to avoid, and you may just have to scrape some paint on a wall here or there. Use the sidewalks to avoid traffic, but look out for the trees! There are at least 5 different ways to win this race; see if you can find more.
• BLITZ 3: UNDER THE EL
  This race has just as much traffic as the last one, but now it's dark! Under the El will give you an idea of how hard it is to make a right turn at 90 miles an hour without plowing into an oncoming delivery truck. But even if you do cause an accident, it's night and you might be able to sneak off into the dark before the cops get there. I'm pretty sure the mall is closed right now, and there's no traffic in it...
• BLITZ 4: DOUBLE BACK BLITZ
  If you've been driving the Beetle, winning's gonna start to get hard right about now. You'll need to avoid quite a bit of traffic, and maintain a lot of your speed as you exit the freeway, but you can do it. Just make sure you stay to the right as you pass the last freeway checkpoint, and you should be able to do a wide left U-turn to exit at 60 or more miles an hour. Be careful of the walls! Lose too much speed on them, and you'll never make it.
• BLITZ 5: GRANT PARK PARADE
  Now this traffic is what you call heavy, so stay off the roads when you can and watch for buses turning in and out! You can do this race pretty fast if you can manage to avoid traffic, but put down your snack until you reach the finish line. If you don't, you'll look away for half a second and look back to find tires flying around the screen.

CHECKPOINT RACES!

• CHECKPOINT 1: BEGINNER'S LUCK
  Here's where you'll learn the value of getting ahead early. Getting a good early lead is something you'll have to do on almost all of the Checkpoint races (Circuit races, too) in order to be successful. If you don't manage to get ahead of at least one or two opponents near the beginning of the race, you can count on having a harder time doing it later. You'll also see a cop or two on this one. Try to scrape them off by cutting a sharp corner, or try splitting the gap between a bit of close traffic and letting the maniacal Bobby crush them instead of you.
• CHECKPOINT 2: TOUGH TURNS AND A TUNNEL
  If you're driving in one of the chase views, try to make sure that you have a bit of space on either side of your car when you round a corner. Otherwise a slight touch is liable to send you into a tailspin, or even worse send you careening off the bridge as you try to jump it. There's a moderate amount of traffic to deal with, but using most of the open space on the near side of river should keep you away from most of it. After you get across the bridge you shouldn't have too much difficulty with traffic. There are several ways to get to the finish after the last checkpoint.
• CHECKPOINT 3: NORTH RIVER RUN
  It's every car for itself on this one. Forget about the opponents and decide for yourself the best way to get all the checkpoints. There are several ways that work, but look out for cops, because they can end your race real quickly.
• CHECKPOINT 4: SOLDIER SNEAKER
  At the start of this race, it looks like you're headed the wrong way. Is it better to back up or try a quick U-turn? It depends on your car, but you better decide quickly or there won't be anything left of you. The checkpoints on this race are spread out enough that the best path is not very clear, but you'll do best if you limit the amount of backtracking you do. And it wouldn't hurt to take a look in Soldier Field, either.
• CHECKPOINT 5: FREEWAY FLYER
  This race has long been my personal favorite. There are so many different ways to do it, and it's possible to win with any car (believe it or not). If you choose to stay with the pack, the best spot is 2nd place until you reach the freeway leg. That way, you can have the opponents barrel through obstacles for you rather than taking damage yourself. If you choose the freeway, be prepared for some serious traffic-dodging, because the wandering vehicles in this game are only slightly less deadly than the infamous trees.

CIRCUIT RACES!

• CIRCUIT 1: LITTLER LOOP
  Two words: Floor it! You'll want to watch out for a nasty tree around turn 3 and the barriers around turn 4; but if you let off on the gas a little bit on those corners, you might be able to avoid a quick death. The Beetles that are behind you (hopefully) are relentless, though. One too many crashes or spinouts, and you'll find yourself red-faced in the loser circle.
• CIRCUIT 2: RIVERSIDE RUN
  Pay attention to the many trees (and a ramp) that you'll have to avoid when crossing the two open area shortcuts in this race. Avoid making quick adjustments to the wheel, especially on the grass, or you'll wind up in a spin-out that may cost you the race.
• CIRCUIT 3: TUNNEL TURNER
  In this race, use shortcuts! You might not be able to jump out to an early lead, but if you can find one or two shortcuts, you'll do fine. One thing to remember: if you exit the tunnel too fast, you'll probably leave the ground-which makes it pretty difficult to avoid slamming headfirst into the brick wall on the other side of the street.
• CIRCUIT 4: DOWNTOWN DRIVER
  There are very few helpful shortcuts in this race, so you may have to make your own. You'll also want to avoid trading paint with your opponents. I managed to come in third after the yellow Panoz drove me headfirst into a barrier and destroyed me...pretty humbling considering that I was racing in amateur mode, and I've played this game more than anyone else on the planet.
• CIRCUIT 5: MUSEUM MARATHON
  Man, those Panoz opponents start fast in this race! A ruthless strategy comes in handy here: you may have to out-race a few of your opponents and smash the rest into a tree or wall. The Aquarium can be a useful shortcut, but if you have a fragile car, avoid it. The Aquarium shortcut lines you up directly with a tricky corner where you have to avoid two light posts and a stone railing-any one of which can end the race for you.

COPS & ROBBERS! (multiplayer)

• Maintain your speed at all costs. Even if it means going in the wrong direction for a second or two, maintain as high a speed as you can with your vehicle. You'll lose at least 5 seconds if you spin out, and once you've played this game for a little while, you'll realize that it's a game of fractions of seconds.
• Avoid destroying your vehicle. This one sounds like a no-brainer, but I've seen enough players intentionally damage out (to get a fresh vehicle), that it's worth mentioning. Your car will slowly recover, and even get a full charge instantly if you manage to drop off the gold, so it's better to drive safely while your car heals than to waste all your speed and 5 full seconds of damage recovery to get a new vehicle.
• Pick the fastest car that you can control. It doesn't pay to pick a slower, more durable car, because all the cars drop the gold just as easily when you get hit. My personal favorite is the Panoz Roadster, although I will sometimes pick the Beetle when the weather gets bad, because it has slightly better grip on the corners and maintains a high enough speed to be competitive when there is snow or rain.
• About crashes: To take the gold from someone, line them up for a side swipe, rather than trying to hit them head-on. It's extremely easy for even an intermediate player to avoid you if you're trying to play chicken with them. And once you miss, there's no way you'll ever catch them before they drop off the gold. Instead, try to side swipe them from a side street. It takes a lot more skill in timing, but oftentimes when you're successful, you'll strip the gold right off them and be on your way before they can even react. Even when you don't manage to hit them, this kind of attack gives you the chance to catch up to them again-especially if they have to swerve to avoid you, or the gold has weight (which slows down their acceleration a bit).

GENERAL RACE TIPS!

• Play with the speedometer and enable the map, until you get really good at the game and know the ins and outs of the city very well. You'll need to know how fast you can execute a particular maneuver in order to be the best at racing in general.
• Remember that full damage means the race is over in Checkpoint races, but means only a 5-second penalty in the other events. You might damage out in a circuit race, but your game in far from over if you race well.
• If you have a steering wheel (which I highly recommend), learn to use both feet on the pedals. Left-foot braking is one of the things that can stand you out as one of the better players, both on your own and in multiplayer games.
• Force-feedback is a benefit in this game. You can use it to feel the friction forces between the tires and the street, which helps you get the feel of the road and avoid losing control.
• Adjust your controls! Play with the control settings until you find a combination that matches your particular style. I like having a pretty big "null zone" and sensitivity about half. These settings make it easier to go straight when you want to go straight and make the quick adjustments that this game is all about.
• Don't restrict yourself to having fun only through winning races. There's a lot more to Midtown than winning races! For example, take a spin in cruise mode and see how much damage you can cause with the Bus before it stops running. Explore. Play tag with the cops, and see how many you can get to chase you before they wreck your car.

Have fun with it.