Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory/M-05

This is another mission out in the flat part of the desert by the lake and the mined train tracks. A new wrinkle is added this time though - you have to escape the police after your last drop off. There is an invisible boundary around the area that the police won't cross. At the end of the mission you either need to get across that boundary, or put enough distance between you and your pursuers. It's not too bad in this mission though, because the police boundary is relatively small. During the mission, if you take off joyriding, you'll see how far the cops are willing to follow you.

The mission itself is pretty straightforward, with the plane making multiple drops of a few items at a time. The time limit is fairly generous, but if you're having trouble completing the level on time, you can try a more efficient route than your arrows will point out. Read more about that in the best time section.

This is an open desert operation, so pick a vehicle with higher end top speed as you won't be needing as much climbing and acceleration. Or, if you're not afraid to mix it up with the law enforcement, grab a bigger vehicle that can take some hits. This mission is open-ended insomuch as it can be completed with any of the vehicles. Keep in mind that you'll need to do some fancy driving to get away from the cops at the end, so either choose a car that handles well for you, or one with an aggressive countermeasure.

Walkthrough
You start out on top of a hill watching the plane jettison its cargo. The first set of pickups consists of two items that float off to your left and right. The arrow will point you to the one on the right, but it doesn't matter in which order you collect them, because the delivery zone is in between. This means you'll have to cut back and forth, and you'll soon find out that the desert's swarming with ATV riders who're just waiting for you turn around and head back in their direction. Make sure your turns are fairly sweeping so you don't lose too much velocity.

The next drop will be three pieces of contraband, each landing near an obstacle. One is by a burned out tank and a tree, one is behind two trees and one is sitting in between two cars. Luckily the drop off location isn't in the middle of the three points, so you can make a more natural turn from you deliveries to the next pickup. All the obstacles are placed in such a way as to make an approach from the drop off zone more difficult. You'll probably want to slow down to avoid a collision when you go to nab the loot, but then the cops will be all over you. If you're not too pressed for time, consider swinging wide around the contraband and picking it up from the other side on your way back to the drop off.

So far you shouldn't have had to cross the minefield, although you may have noticed it on the periphery. The last drop is a single item clear on the other side of the area. A direct line from your last delivery to where it lands will take you across the mine-laden train tracks. Either swing wide right around them, or be careful to pick your way through. If you can manage to get through the mines, you'll usually take out a few of the cars following you. Make your last pickup and head for the hills. At the base of the mountains next to the bombed out village, you'll see the red smoke indicating the delivery point. From there you are free to go in any direction you choose to get away from the law enforcement. If you don't have a useful countermeasure equipped or you're all out, consider going either through the bombed out village or the opposite way through the large stone outcroppings. If you can make it through yourself, there's a good chance that the obstacles will take out your foes so you can escape.

Best time
Just like before, you'll either want to use the Super Buggy or the ATV Monster, depending on whether this is your first time through or not. The route is the same for either vehicle, because there's no rush during the maneuvers that require good timing. Whichever car you're using, you're going to want to be extremely familiar with the area, because you won't be following your directional arrow.

As soon as the level starts, turn left and go down that side of the hill. You'll want to maintain a heading which will take you across the road, but swerve to follow the road when you reach it. That way you'll avoid the ATV rider bearing down on you. Make a sweeping right turn through the low parts of the terrain around a hill and a cop in an SUV. What you're trying to accomplish here is to waste a few seconds while the parachute that went left in the beginning floats to the ground. You want to pull all the way around from the road until you're heading directly to the drop off point. Hopefully you will see the yellow parachute coming down in this direction as well. Ideally you'll want to snag the loot by driving just under it on your way to the drop off. For the Buggy, just cut your turn a little shorter to make sure you get to the contraband on time.

Avoid the cop waiting for you, make the drop off and veer to the right to line up with your next pickup. From here beware of the ATV rider on the left and another cop in an SUV on the right who may knock you off course. When you get to the second pickup, make a sweeping right turn all the way around and make your way to the drop off. The red smoke flares are situated atop a rise with a dropaway beyond it, so you'll get some air. When you land, head right and cross the mines and train track and turn back left when you get on the other side. Follow the train tracks and cross back over where they start to go up over the bridge. There's a cop waiting here, so be careful to avoid him. Turn back toward the last drop off location and you should see one of the yellow items dropping down between the tree and tank on the hill in front of you. With the best timing, you can make it through the two obstacles and pick up the cargo as it floats over you.

From here it's a straight shot to the drop off. Make a shallow left between the group of trees and the vehicle, and head to the rightmost item. Your arrow will be pointing to the other, closer item, but this heading is over very easy terrain and you don't want to miss that opportunity. You'll be heading to the pickup between the two cars, and they're hard to see, so be careful. The ATV or the Buggy can make it between the two without touching, but if you're in the Buggy, try to get as dead center between the two as you can to minimize any impact. Make a sweeping left and head back to the drop off.

On this approach you'll want to make a hard right at the drop off and go nearly directly back in the opposite direction. The ATV can make the turn sharply, but be careful in the Buggy that you don't run into the well-placed tree. Here you should have another relatively flat space to run out to the next piece of contraband. You can go to the left or between the trees, but make your sweeping turn to the right, otherwise you can run into the minefield. This should put you on the same approach to the delivery point as the last drop off.

Make the same hard right here, turning all the way around. Now you can finally use your boosts to get to the last item. Use two boosts on a heading bearing right of the arrow. This will take you past the bulk of the minefield so that you can cross at the less dangerous end. Make a right at the pickup and try to avoid the cop that's waiting there. From here it's a straight shot across the desert to the delivery. Use another boost on the way, but keep two in reserve to escape the cops. Beware that there are some mines on the right of the road and the train can come through to intervene as well. When you get to the drop off, take a right and run alongside the mountains. Use your remaining two boosts to get over to the stone outcroppings, where you'll cross the boundary and lose your pursuers.