Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory/Gameplay

Smuggler's Run 2 is a driving game, incorporating racing, action and strategy elements. While most missions rely on speed to both finish and achieve a high score, there is also emphasis on driving combat, route planning and picking vehicles based on their unique characteristics. As such, Smuggler's Run 2 is much more than just a racing game.

In Smuggler's Missions, the main mode of gameplay, you play as a driver for the Exotic Imports company. Exotic Imports is the front for an illegal smuggling operation operating on the eastern side of the world, and headed by a man named Luger. The story is about this group of smugglers taking on a new client and slowly learning more about the cargo they've been transporting until at the end of the game the crew is faced with a moral dilemma. The plot is advanced through short audio commentary at the beginning of missions, and live-action cutscenes at different points in the game.

As you progress through the game you will unlock different Vehicles, each with their own separately unlockable countermeasure. Your choice of vehicle will depend on your driving style, the objectives of each mission and the obstacles you will be facing. Things you will be doing throughout the game include picking up and dropping off contraband, competing against rival gangs, escaping and avoiding law enforcement, keeping up with and/or destroying other vehicles, and racing to different checkpoints.

Game screen
Each corner of the game screen, and the top, will provide important information while you are on a mission. The top left corner shows the time left to complete the mission. When it hits 00:00.0, the mission ends and you will have to restart from the beginning. Centered along the top of the screen is your rearview mirror and a directional arrow, which points to your next objective - either a pickup, a drop off or another vehicle. The top right corner of the screen shows you the amount of money you've earned on the current mission as well as how many of your objectives you've met. This takes the form of # met / # total. In the bottom right is your mini-map graphic, damage meter and speedometer. The mini-map will give you an idea of what and who is in close proximity to your vehicle. The bottom left corner contains memos from your computer system on what's going on in the game. You may see messages telling you that you've acquired an item or that an enemy has made a delivery, for instance.

Map screen
You can access the map screen with psx: R1 (default). By pressing the button firmly, you will see an opaque version of the map. Press lightly, and the map will be semi-transparent, allowing you to continue driving while still having the reference up. The map will give you a top-down view of the terrain, and you can make out some features like large structures, train tracks and bodies of water. The primary use for the map, however, is to note the location of the variable elements of the game.

You will see your own location on the map marked by a red triangle, with the longer point facing the direction you are currently headed. Law enforcement vehicles are white triangles, and rival gang members are depicted with blue triangles. Pickups will be marked with a yellow icon, whether stationary on the ground or in a moving vehicle (truck or helicopter). Drop off locations will be marked with red icons. When an item has been grabbed by another vehicle, either a rival gang member or one of your teammates, the pickup icon will be overlayed on top of their location triangle.

Pickups and deliveries
Most missions in the game will have you picking up some contraband and dropping it off somewhere else. Items for pickup can include anything from priceless artifacts, to weapons to precious gems. On the map, pickups are marked with yellow icons, and drop offs are marked with red icons. When looking at the normal driving view, you will see items waiting for pickup marked with a single yellow smoke flare. Delivery destinations are marked with three red smoke plumes. Pickup and drop off locations are surrounded by an invisible boundary which must be crossed by your vehicle in order to be activated. For pickups in particular, the field surrounding the yellow flare is quite a bit larger than just the item. The field also extends up to the top of the smoke and is in play when an item is still in the air, in the case that pickups are being distributed by parachutes. It is possible to snag contraband out of midair before it touches the ground and a flare goes up. Likewise, you can jump into the top of the smoke to make a delivery.

Driving
Depending on the vehicle, steering, acceleration and braking responsiveness varies. However, the game in general is very forgiving if you're a bit ham-fisted in your driving style. Smuggler's Run 2 incorporates drifting, traction and gravity into the driving physics. You will see your mph increase while driving down a sharp grade, and decrease when going uphill. Something unique to the Smuggeler's Run games is the ability to level out in midair. The vehicles in the game are much lighter than their real world counterparts, and as such they will often fly into the air. Using psx: C (default), you can level out your vehicle to ensure a smoother landing. You will find that leveling out is a critical skill you'll need to master if want to beat the game.

Besides just driving to get from point A to point B, you will also have to take into account the enemy combatants who will be looking to damage your vehicle. These can be either the law enforcement vehicles present on nearly every level, or rival gang members from team missions. The damage meter appended to the mini-map in the bottom right corner of the screen tracks your current damage level. You can take damage from running into obstacles or terrain, being hit by other cars, or being blown up by mines or other players' bombs. Your damage meter will go from green to red, and when all health is gone your engine will stall. If a law enforcement vehicle touches you while you're stalled, you'll be under arrest and the mission will be failed. As you drive, your health continuously regenerates, so if you've taken a beating, try to avoid the cops or running into anything until you build up some reserve health.

Team missions
Some missions in Smuggler's Missions, and entire game modes are devoted to playing with teammates against a rival gang. These consist of either single item or multiple item objectives. In a single item mission, only one piece of contraband will spawn at a time. When that cargo is delivered, the next one will appear elsewhere on the map. Along with the items, a new drop off location for both teams will appear. Your team's delivery point will be marked with red smoke and as a red icon in the map. The enemy base will be marked with blue smoke and a blue icon on the map. In these missions, you only have to worry about one item - either you pick it up or you're trying to get get it from one of the other cars. To grab the loot from another vehicle, whether a rival gang member or one of your own guys, just run into them. Likewise, if you are hit, the contraband will be transferred to whoever tagged you.

On multiple item missions, more than one piece of contraband spawns at the pickup location along with the two teams' bases. Your strategy for these missions is a bit more complicated, as there will be multiple items you can go for and you'll have to prioritize the order. Also, many times there will be more items than members of your team. When all items have been delivered, a new pickup location and new homebases will appear, just like in single item missions. The only difference to how these missions are played is in a game of bomb tag.

Strategy
First, you should be familiar with the team roles that each vehicle plays:

Before selecting your team you should first decide which role you are going to take. Because you will be the most skilled driver on your team (hopefully), it is best to be the forward. Don't worry about choosing either of the vehicles that have forward as their team role; you can be the pickup and delivery man with whichever car you choose. If you are going to be the forward, be honest about your own abilities. If you are getting cargo constantly snagged from you, you will want a teammate who can watch your back and head those thieves off (guard). If you are having a hard time making pickups quickly enough or getting items from your rivals, a corner waiting at the enemy base will be a big help to you. Now if you have no problem making the drop off once the cargo is in your hand, backs will help to make sure there is still cargo left to be picked up.

An alternative strategy is to play another role on the team. The most effective will be to cherrypick the opponent's homebase, as quite often you can end up with the contraband by just sitting in the drop zone. In that case, you'll probably want to select at least one forward for your team, if only to avoid going over the time limit. Sometimes you just want to beat the crap out of them though, in which case you might go with one of the bigger vehicles and just focus on destroying your enemies. In this scenario you'll also want someone on your team making deliveries. Whichever way you want to play it, it is advisable to have a forward and a corner at the very least. The only exception is when you're going for a high score on a single item mission and you'll just use backs to ensure each piece of cargo is waiting for you when you want it.

Other missions
Every so often you will have a different type of mission that requires a different strategy to be the most effective. These include checkpoint races, following missions, destruction missions and bomb missions.

Checkpoint races
Checkpoint missions simply require you to drive through checkpoints, not necessarily in any particular order. In Smuggler's Missions the first training mission is an example, and checkpoint racing is also its own game mode. For the the training mission, you don't have to worry about law enforcement or driving very far, so go with the fastest vehicle you handle. For more details on the Checkpoint Races mode, see the Modes page.

Following missions
Your boss Luger uses following missions to test you, show you around and ultimately give you a new vehicle. You unlock both the D-5 Hondo and the ATV Monster this way. For these missions you won't have to deal with any law enforcement, but the driver you're following will try his best to lose you. You will fail the mission if you fall outside of a certain range from your target. Note that this can be behind or in front of the person you're supposed to be following. In one of the Smuggler's Missions, you will be following an enemy spy, and that case you must also not too close to him. The other driver follows a set path no matter what you do, and will attempt to regain his course if your jostle him, except in the case of the enemy spy, where you'll just lose the mission if you get close enough to touch him. This set course can be used to your advantage, as the easiest way to complete these missions is to stay near the target without following them. Use whichever vehicle you feel most comfortable with, especially if it has good handling in case you need to make any sudden maneuvers.

Destruction missions
For these missions your goal is to destroy the target vehicle. Just like following missions, there will be no law enforcement; it's just one on one. The target also has a prescribed route, from which he doesn't deviate and to which he will attempt to return when you start knocking him around. Above his vehicle you will see a red damage bar, which starts out full. As you deal him damage, the bar will go down until it is empty and his vehicle blows up. On the Smuggler's Missions you will need to do this three times, with three different vehicles. You'll want to use a heavy, fast vehicle and the bomb countermeasure wouldn't hurt either. If it is available, the Grenadier is the best vehicle for the job. The quickest way to destroy another vehicle is to get it in a t-bone position, preferably with the target on its back, and apply steady force to eat away at his damage bar. While the target is driving, ram into the back side of him at an angle to turn his car around so it's perpendicular to you. When using your bombs, don't be afraid to drop them extremely close, because your health regenerate - his doesn't. These missions are also timed, so understand his route and use the surrounding trees, buildings and other obstacles to aid you.

Bomb missions
Not to be confused with bomb tag, bomb missions are regular Smuggler's Missions where your contraband is a ticking bomb that will go off if you take too much damage. You'll have to balance speed versus weight in your vehicle choice, as even the slightest jostle from the terrain will affect the bomb. Watch your money in the top right corner of the screen, and you will see it decreasing with every hit you take. When it reaches zero the bomb will explode and the mission will have been failed.