Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory/M-08

This is the first level where you will see how important it is to have the right vehicle for the terrain. Everything on this level is about elevation changes. You go up and down huge hills and you can expect to be airborne quite a bit. With the beating you will take from terrain alone, even before the all the cops that will be ramming you, you'll definitely want a durable vehicle. If you are relying on a lighter car, you'll need to do some route planning and analyzing of the law enforcement's placement and tactics.

On your first game, either the D-5 Hondo or the Baja Truck will give you the kind of protection you're going to need. Between the two, it comes down to the Hondo being slightly more rugged, versus the benefit of the Baja Truck's countermeasure. With more options, you'll want to go with the Sahara Special or the Grenadier, since they're both tough and they're good climbers.

The main strategy for getting through this level is to watch your mini-map in the lower right corner of the screen for oncoming law enforcement. The cops' vehicles are brown in this mission, and they blend in too well with the desert landscape to see quickly enough for maneuvering purposes. This is especially true while you're slipping, sliding and jumping all over the place. Even if you can't see the cop yet, if you notice a white triangle approaching you on your mini-map, you can start veering to the left or right to set up a juke for when he comes into sight.

Pickup 1
You start out in your secret warehouse in the hills, and almost immediately you're going over a ridge that drops away sharply down into a large ravine with a river going down the center. At the bottom of this first slope is an inviting lip, angled upwards for launching off of toward the pickup. However, it is extremely hard to maintain control and you would have to go out of your way to line up the jump correctly coming down the hill. It's much easier to roll down the right side of the embankment and take a short run through the water to the island over which the helicopter is hovering with your cargo. If you waste time or get yourself wrecked, you may find that the chopper pilot will take off with the item and you'll need to chase him down again to pick it up.

From the first pickup (assuming you got to the helicopter on time), the drop off location is up on the side of the ravine at the top of the little mountain village. You'll want to enter the village from the closer side to bypass the lower levels of the village, but beware of the first cop that will come charging down the hill at you as you're going up. Once in the village, you'll have to contend with some civilian vehicles and patches of ice and snow. The first will throw you off course if you hit them or you're trying to avoid them, and the latter makes precision turning unachievable. If you can make your way to the drop off, you'll find that it's a cul-de-sac from which you'll need to make a 180° to escape, and there is another cop in a Super Buggy patrolling here as well.

Pickup 2
You can exit the village on either end or somewhere in between, but the next pickup is going to be back closer to the way you came. Your exit route will mostly depend on how you got out of the dead end drop off location with the cop breathing down your neck. With the ice, the cop and the close quarters surrounded by buildings, rocks and trees, just getting out of there without taking damage is going to be difficult. So make your way from the village in any manner you can. Note that if you are coming from the far end of the village (opposite the side you entered) the first cop you encountered will be in your way, and the one that comes down from the next pickup will have a direct path for a head on collision with you. The next pickup is located up the other side of valley from the village, with trees and a stationary truck there to make it more difficult to access. The best way to approach it is on a course straight up the hill instead of at an angle, which will make you either fly off in the wrong direction or put you on a path cluttered with obstacles.

From the pickup, you'll want to turn in the direction of your arrow and follow the road through the tunnel. You'll have to be quick about it though, as yet another cop is waiting to the right of the tunnel entrance. If you go back down into and through the valley, be prepared to zig-zag back and forth between trees and deal with choppy terrain. Once you're through the tunnel or the valley, head to the left of the concrete structures to get a clean approach to the drop off. This is the same area as the first training mission, and the delivery point is sitting in the pool of water in the middle of the compound. There is a cop on the slope from the tunnel to the drop off, and another one waiting right at the delivery spot. If you can avoid the buildings and the cops, you'll want to exit to the right in the direction of your arrow.

Pickup 3
On your way to the next pickup you'll see an ATV rider in front of you, who will try to knock you off course as you pull alongside him. It shouldn't be too much trouble to juke him, as you'll need to turn uphill when you get to the gully in which the pickup is situated. There are plenty of trees both before and after the cargo, and they're strategically placed to make it difficult to maintain speed and have a clean path to the top of the hill. As soon as you make the pickup, veer right to bypass the bulk of the trees on your way up.

Following your arrow will take you through a small lake, so bear to the right. Also be aware that a cop will come straight in at you once you crest the hill. Make sure you're pulling well right of him to avoid a head on collision. At this point you can either head straight for the drop off or get on the road to the right and take it in. A direct approach will take you over rolling hills and you won't have a sightline on the target until you fly off a ridge toward it. Down the road, you'll have to deal with an explosion and a large non-combatant truck heading in your direction. At the drop off itself, a stationary truck sitting right beside it will force you to either slow down or utilize precision steering. In addition, another law enforcement vehicle will be approaching to ram you from the front. As soon as you make the delivery, pull hard to the right and go down the hill to avoid this last cop.

Pickup 4
Follow the train tracks around the hill until you see the next pickup. When approaching the pickup, be aware that the ground is uneven, so it's easy to get knocked off course in lighter vehicles. There is a dropaway on the other side of the pickup, so expect to spend some time getting back up to it if you miss and fly off the ridge. If all went well from the last drop off, however, you shouldn't be hounded by cops at this point.

Once you have the loot, either cross the river and head for the entrance to the stone outcroppings, or cross the bridge first before heading over to it. You'll know the spot, because it's the only part that's not a hill and it will force you to go through one of the rock arches. Once you're in the stone garden, it's a straight shot between the rock barriers to the drop off on the other side of a sand dune. Keep in mind that you'll be turning to the left, so factor that in to your approach.

Pickup 5
The last pickup is across the train tracks nestled in a U-shaped depression surrounded by hills on three sides. When you get to this pickup, three law enforcement vehicles will converge, making a comfortable entrance and exit to and from the area very difficult. It is best to nab the cargo in the air from a jump off a ridge, because you then only have to worry about making your way out. If you don't have the correct approach, or you miss the target while jumping, you'll be in a bad position to get back to the pickup, as the cops will have had time to set up blocking positions. If you can successfully grab the cargo on your first try, it may be easier to continue on in the same direction, even if it's opposite to where your arrow is pointing, and turn back toward the drop off when you're clear of the law enforcement.

Once you've made the pickup and are ready to drop it off, you'll be heading back nearly the way you came toward the bombed out village. You can take the train tracks and the road around the hills if it's easier, or just go straight over them. The hills are a bit "softer" than the ones in the first half of the mission, so traversing them shouldn't pose a problem. In order to fit with the end-mission cinematics, there is no police activity around the drop off, and it's actually a nice, clean ride in to the finish. When you've made the last delivery, you'll see a cutscene where three law enforcement vehicles get blown up by a mine, which explains where "elud[ing] pursuers in the minefield" come from in Shodi's email.

Best time
If there is an optimal time, and an optimal route with which to achieve that time, on every mission, then this one is among the most difficult. The entire run requires machine-like precision in multiple areas of its highly technical progression. Uneven ground, ice patches, vehicles, sudden path divergences and more make it hard to reliably reproduce any given part of the mission. In multiple tries, it's possible to do certain parts well, but bringing it all together will be quite a feat. Even in a passable attempt, any minute change can make you lose seconds on your total time. The route for best time is generally the same as in the walkthrough, but like other missions, you'll have to do everything perfectly to attain and keep your high score on time.

Even though it only makes a hard course even harder, the ATV Monster will turn in the best time, albeit if no mistakes are made. It is very possible for individual players to get better times with another vehicle than they can with the ATV, however, this is attributed to more forgiving play throughs rather than the inherent capabilities of the different cars. In other words, if a perfect run on the optimal route can be achieved with every vehicle, the ATV's will be the fastest.

Pickup 1
The mission starts off with a difficult maneuver right out of the gate. With speed, the rise over which you must go will launch you into the air, with unreliable results upon landing farther down the slope. To set your trajectory correctly, wait until you get to the spot where the ground starts to rise, then angle left to the top of the shadow cast by the tree. Do a quick level out right as you go into the air, and don't touch the controls while landing. The goal is to be on a heading down the white rock running alongside the darker earth to the right.

Unlike in the walkthrough, you'll need to launch to the pickup instead losing a second or two going through the water. There are a number of ways to make the jump, and since it is hard to do even this beginning part the same every time, you'll likely be familiar with all of them. When you pick up the item, take off over the left side of the island into the water. Here you'll want to cross at the narrowest point, but the water is shallow, and there is a good chance you'll get bounced upward, losing a lot of time. Turn your wheels to the right when you're in the air to mitigate the bounce, but quickly get them facing the right direction when you land so your turn doesn't get out of hand.

Try and cut your turn to the left up the hill as close as you can, bearing in mind that the cop coming down the hill won't spin out until you're far enough to the right of him. At the top of the hill, you will launch off and get your first indication of how well you're doing on time. There is a flatbed truck that comes around the bend here from the right. If you don't see him, you're doing great on time, and as long as you make it in front of him, you can still turn in a respectable time. Depending on your heading, when you land you may need to be turning your wheels to the right. This is the first encounter with the ice patches, and any turn you make will be greatly exaggerated. As you make your way across town to the drop off, be sure not to hit any people.

On your approach, you can head directly over the side of the hill in front of it, which will launch you into the air, or you can wait longer to turn to the drop off and take the path up the hill. For the latter, don't wait too long to turn, or the cop coming from the opposite direction will nail you. Once you're at the drop off, you can turn either direction, but the left turn is far riskier due to the abundance trees, shorter distance to maneuver and the cop coming from behind. To the right you can take a path heading in the direction you were going behind the trees and boulder, or you can try turning more to the right and driving off the roof of the building. In most cases you will have to use whatever seems most appropriate at the time, because your approach and landing aren't reliable enough to formulate an exit strategy beforehand.

Pickup 2
If you can keep some speed coming out of the first delivery, try to make your way off the wooden platforms overhanging the cliffs in the middle of the village. Bear slightly right off of them to avoid a hard landing and to put yourself in good position for the approach to the second pickup. Heading through the village to the platforms is tricky business, so if you can't make it happen, just try to get as far to the right (towards where you started the mission) as you can, because it's important to be able to make a straight run for the contraband up the opposite slope. If you went off the platforms, be ready to juke the law enforcement Buggy coming down the other side of the gorge. You'll want to be heading directly up the hill to the pickup, in a line perpendicular to the road on which it's sitting. If done correctly, you should launch off the lip of the road right between two trees, nabbing the loot and landing on the slop behind it. Right before launching, start turning your wheels to the left to set up your next direction.

Depending on how and where you land, you'll need a more or less acute turn, and you also need to beware of the tree, which is very easy to run into. Ideally, you want to make a smooth transition onto the road heading toward the tunnel. Use a boost when you're facing the right direction to speed in front of the cop coming down the slope on the right. It's very easy to hit the landing at the pickup wrong and either bounce and come to a stop or mess your turn up so you go too far and hit the trees or not far enough and fly off the ledge. If you fly off the ledge, you can still continue the run, but you'll be in a bad position both literally and timewise. You'll need to boost through the valley, which is filled with trees, then contend with the bumpy ride to the drop off.

If you went through the tunnel, drive off the ledge to the left after the bush at the tunnel exit. You want to stay on the left side of the law enforcement vehicle ahead of you, then bear further left and take a jump down to the flat ground behind the concrete compound. Make a right around the closest structure, in between it and tree. If you went across the valley instead of through the tunnel, this is ultimately where you want to head as well. Smooth out your course and don't make any last-second corrections before you hit the lip and launch yourself between the buildings to the delivery point in the middle of the water. Level out in air whether it looks like you need to or not, as the landing is very bad in the shallow pool.

Pickup 3
From the second drop off you need to head to the right, in the direction of your arrow. The quickest way is with an immediate right, then going alongside the row of buildings to the end of the complex. In many cases this won't be feasible with your landing, and you'll have to go around the building instead. Either way, use another boost here, and avoid hitting any trees. Once you're out of the compound and across the road, bear slightly left of the direction in which your arrow is pointing, and you should spot an enemy ATV rider ahead of you. You're looking for the draw that has the pickup in it, and when you get to it, make a right to face uphill. You'll have to take into consideration where the cop on the ATV is, but he is easy to maneuver around. On your way up the draw, avoid hitting any trees. This is one advantage your vehicle has, as it is small enough to fit between the pairs of trees on the slope.

From the pickup keep heading up hill, but bear to the right to avoid driving into the lake. At the top, you should the top of a lone tree. Make sure you pass it on the right hand side to avoid the cop approaching on the other side. Immediately after the tree is a depression, and you will fly off the near lip and land on the other side. It's important to maintain control here, as you will lose a lot of time getting back to speed trying to go uphill. Stay on a direct approach along the path of your arrow, which will take you to the left of an explosion on the hill. Eventually you will jump a rise onto the road, and if you're doing good on time, a large non-combatant truck will be at or before the drop off coming down the road toward you. If you aren't doing well on time, you may find yourself jumping right into this truck. It is a straight shot to the delivery, but make sure you veer sharply right as soon as you get close enough to the drop off to avoid the oncoming cop.

Pickup 4
If you avoided the cop at the last drop off, you should have gone over the edge of the road and down the slope. Angle to the left, in the direction of the next pickup. In this part, just try to maintain your speed and have control of the vehicle at the pickup. Note that there is a large bump right before you get to the cargo. Once you have it, continue in the same direction and head across the bridge with the train tracks. Use a boost here, as it's one of the few flat stretches on the level. On the other side of the bridge, head right to the entrance to the rock garden. Go through the first arch, and thread your way through in the most direct heading to the drop off. There should be no cops around at this point, so your only worry is not running into a stone outcropping.

Pickup 5
From the drop off, head either left or straight depending on your final approach, and follow your arrow as closely as possible. It's imperative that you nab the loot while heading in this direction, as it is nearly impossible to turn around and get it without slowing down or getting rammed by cops. Across the train tracks, you will go up a hill and soon after fly off the top of it, hopefully right through the yellow smoke of the contraband. When you land, make a hard, sweeping right and start heading in the direction of your arrow. Just maintain control and burn up your last two boosts (if you haven't already used them) on your way to the final drop off.