Add'l:
To drop fuel tanks:
Hold R/L shoulder buttons and triggers all at once for about 3-4 seconds. Will drop all tanks.Tips mainly compiled on xbox.com forum from "FeralKitty" on XBox forums
http://forums.xbox.com/6021443/ShowPost.aspx.: Preface :.
I hope this guide will be a useful source of answers to questions that are commonly asked on the Xbox.com Over G forum. Please take a minute to read through the Table of Contents, as you'll find that most questions you might want to post, have already been asked (and answered) several times, by other posters.
Where possible, I've provided links to other posts that contain additional information (or discussion).
.: Table of Contents :.
A. General questions
A01. I'm a new pilot. Is there any help?
A02. Why is my plane so sluggish/hard to fly?
A03. Why can't I do a barrel roll?
A04. Why do I lose glory points when I load a game?
A05. How do I land on a carrier?
A06. Can I auto-land on a carrier? in H3LL Mode?
A07. How do I change the game's difficulty?
A08. What's the difference between Beginner and Expert?
A09. What's the advantage of playing Expert Mode?
A10. Why did this game get mostly bad reviews?
A11. Is there a demo for Over G?
B. Scenario Mode questions
B01. What do the different colors mean on the radar?
B02. What are the green circles on the radar?
B03. Do I have to taxi to the runway every time?
B04. I'm stuck playing the same mission. How do I advance?
B05. What do the different mission colors mean?
B06. How do I control my wingman?
B07. How do I get my wingman to attack a target?
C. Achievement questions
C01. What does "after second game" mean?
C02. What does "Play well" and "Play very well" mean?
C03. Where is the list of Planes/Achievements?
C04. What mission do I fly to unlock the ___ (plane)?
C05. I missed unlocking the ___. Can I still unlock it?
C06. Why does my Xbox crash after I complete a mission?
C07. How do I keep my planes when I start a new game?
C08. How do I unlock Premium Reward 6?
C09. Why did it only unlock Premium Reward 8, but not 7?
D. Planes and stats questions
D01. What do the different ranks mean?
D02. How can I improve my rank?
D03. Can I get Predator/Best Guy in offline Arena?
D04. Why don't my stats increase?
D05. How do I hover/take off? (F-35B)
D06. How does stealth mode work? (F-22A)
D07. Can the Su-33 land on a carrier?
D08. How do I equip smoke for acrobatics?
E. Weapons and fuel questions
E01. How do I select the weapon to use?
E02. Why can't I toggle between different bombs?
E03. How do I lock on to a ground target?
E04. How do I use my missiles? bombs?
E05. Why won't my missiles launch?
E06. How do I dodge/evade missiles?
E07. What missiles are best?
E08. Why am I running low on fuel?
E09. How do I refuel? How do I get more weapons?
F. Multiplayer questions
F01. Is there any Co-op in the game?
F02. My box says 1-2 people can play in Co-op. How?
F03. Does the computer attack bases in Multiplayer?
G. Challenge Arena and Big Boss questions
G01. How do I unlock Big Boss mode?
G02. I killed a Big Boss, landed, and got nothing. Why?
G03. Why can't I find the ___ Big Boss?
G04. What rank do I need for Big Bosses to spawn?
G05. Why can't I get any Big Bosses to appear?
G06. How do I destroy the F-22A Big Boss? the B-2B?
G07. How can I destroy the Unknown Big Boss?
G08. Is there a map for Challenge Arena?
G09. What are the blue planes/ships on the map?
H. Specific walkthrough questions
H01. How do I keep the VIP Transport alive?
H02. How can I survive the canyon mission?
H03. How do I unlock the F-22A?
H04. How can I complete Area 7 H3LL Mode?
H04. How can I complete Area 8 H3LL Mode?
H05. Why does the game lockup in Mission 8 Phase III?
H06. How do I complete ___ mission?
Z. Appendices
Z01. Revision History
Z02. Contact information
Z03. Credits
Z04. Legal
A01. I'm a new pilot. Is there any help?Daddio B posted an awesome set of tips in
New Pilot needs help.
A02. Why is my plane so sluggish/hard to fly?If your aircraft feels sluggish, here are a few possible reasons you might want to check:
* Make sure you're gone into Settings -> Game Settings and changed your controls from Arcade to Real.
* Check to see if the Air Brake might be on, or your Landing Gear and Flaps are still down. (B or G and F in the lower right corner of the HUD.) Press Up (Brakes) or Down (Gear and Flaps) on the D-pad to toggle them.
* Try flying a different aircraft. Some aircraft are far less maneuverable, and have far less power, and will not handle turns or g-force as well as other planes. Use the chart in the upper-left of the Aircraft selection screen to compare each plane's capabilities.
* Check the ordnance you're carrying. If you're loaded down with lots of big bombs, for example, your plane won't maneuver as well, and require more time/runway to take off, than normal. The Weapons Selection screen will show the combined weight of all weapons.
A03. Why can't I do a barrel roll? From the Main Menu, select Settings, then Game Settings, and change your controls from Arcade to Real. (See p. 40 in the manual.)
A04. Why do I lose glory points when I load a game?It's not a bug or a glitch. I believe it's primarily meant as a touch of realism (i.e. recent flight hours -- maintaining your level of skill) and perhaps also as an anti-exploit feature.
The game checks to see if you have recent flight time. If you have not flown recently enough with that save, you will lose glory points. The higher your rank, the more often you have to fly. For example, for Predator, you need to play at least every 12 hours, to maintain that rank.
Making a copy of your save doesn't protect anything. Whichever profile you reload, if it's been too long since you've been up in the air, you're going to take a hit.
The only way to prevent this is to load every profile you want to maintain, and get some flight time/experience, to stay in shape.
See
Losing glory points.....How come? for more information.
A05. How do I land on a carrier?See
Carrier Landing Woes or
Landing on Carriers for more information.
Also check out the
YouTube Carrier landing training mission video by Letz Rock.
A06. Can I auto-land on a carrier? in H3LL Mode?Yes, as long as it's not the Area 3 Carrier landing training mission. Yes, you can also use auto-land in H3LL Mode, assuming you've gone into Game Settings and turned Auto Land back on. (Each time you start a new game, or change the difficulty, game settings are reset to default, so you need to go reset them to match your preference.)
A07. How do I change the game's difficulty?Select New Game from the Start screen. Choose your difficulty. When asked where to save it, make sure to overwrite your existing game. This will only change the difficulty level, but will keep all your old planes and statistics (as well as keep track of what missions you previously completed).
A08. What's the difference between Beginner and Expert?At Beginner difficulty, your weapons will "resupply" themselves in-air after a few seconds, giving you an unending supply of ordnance.
A09. What's the advantage of playing Expert Mode? Expert difficulty is slightly more challenging because you only have a finite amount of weapons. You have to be more selective what you attack, as well as assigning targets to your wingman, so you don't have to reland constantly to restock.
A10. Why did this game get mostly bad reviews? I believe there are two main reasons. First, most reviewers didn't appear to change the controls from Arcade to Real setting. Second, some of the initial missions are very short/easy and are over in 30 seconds or so. If more time was spent playing the game, I think they would have discovered some of the much longer, more challenging multi-part missions that show up later in the scenarios.
H3LL Mode is especially challenging, and some missions take days to complete, leading to frustrated posts for help!
A11. Is there a demo for Over G?Unfortunately, not. If you're not sure if you'll like the game or not, most people suggest renting it first. (You can also buy a used copy on Ebay.) It's a love-it or hate-it type of game. Importantly, though, you need to give it a few days time, if you initially dislike it. Most people, once they set the game settings properly*, and get past some of the easier missions, find that they've grown to like it.
* I recommend Real controls, Manual weapons selection, Auto landing, and Manual chaff/flares (countermeasures).
B01. What do the different colors mean on the radar?Red is a mission-critical target that you must destroy (in Scenario) or a Boss/Big Boss (in Challenge Mode). Yellow is a target who has aquired you on their radar, and will take a shot at you, when you are in range. Green is a target who has not detected you.
You can lock on to different targets by pressing Right on your D-pad. Your current target will be filled in with its color, instead of an outline.
(See p. 14 in the manual.)
B02. What are the green circles (dots) on the radar? The circles (dots) on your radar are ground targets, as opposed to planes. They may be ships or land vehicles. The colors mean the same, as in B01. Ground targets are rarely unprotected, so be alert for surface-to-air missile launches.
B03. Do I have to taxi to the runway every time?No. You can press the Back button to automatically taxi to the runway. (You can also press the Start button during a cut-scene to skip the scene.)
B04. I'm stuck playing the same mission. How do I advance?Use the left thumbstick to move the mission selector circle to a different mission. Missions marked "Cleared" are ones you've completed already.
B05. What do the different mission colors mean?Green missions are submissions. They help clear the way to the later missions. You choose your own path through the green missions, selecting one of the green missions from the choices that game gives you. Yellow missions are Tactical Missions. There may be one or two tactical missions, and they need to be completed before the Red (Strategic or main) mission is unlocked.
B06. How do I control my wingman?Press the Back button to bring up the Wingman menu. Use the left and right triggers to select the order to issue. Press the Back button again to issue the order and exit the menu. (See p. 28 for specifics on each order.)
B07. How do I get my wingman to attack a target?Lock on to the target that you want your wingman to attack. Press the Back button, use the left or right trigger to select the ATTACK order, then press the Back button again to issue the order.
C01. What does "after second game" mean?Once you have finished the game a first time, you can replay specific missions to unlock different aircraft from the first time. These particular achievements are known as Special Rewards.
For example, the first time you complete Area 4 Submission 10, you unlock the Mig-29G. The second time you complete that same mission, you unlock a special reward of the Mig-29S.
C02. What does "Play well" and "Play very well" mean? "Play well" refers to Special Rewards, which you unlock by flying specific missions a second time. (Generally during your second time through the game.) It is not a requirement to be on Expert difficulty to unlock the Special Rewards.
"Play very well" refers to Rare Rewards, which you unlock by playing H3LL Mode difficulty. H3LL Mode is unlocked by completing the game on Expert difficulty.
C03. Where is the list of Planes/Achievements?See the
List of Planes/Achievements post.
C04. What mission do I fly to unlock the ___ (plane)?See C03. Just look for the specific plane you want to unlock, then complete the required mission.
C05. I missed unlocking the ___. Can I still unlock it?Yes. You have two choices. If you have finished the game (on Beginner or Expert) but not started a new one yet, you can go back into Scenario and fly the necessary mission, without having to restart the game. Your other choice is to start a new game, and playu through again, making sure to fly the specific missions you need to unlock your remaining planes. See C03 for specifics.
C06. Why does my Xbox crash after I complete a mission?This is the achievement glitch that popped up after the last Dashboard update. The workaround to avoid it is to press the Guide button on your controller after the achievement is unlocked, but before pressing the A button. See
Good game, but crashes 360 each time I get an Over G Achivement for more discussion and the workaround info.
I believe there is also a fix to this problem, if you change your PAL setting in the Display menu, via the Xbox System blade. See the
achie lock POSSIBLE cure thread for more details.
C07. How do I keep my planes when I start a new game?Select New Game from the Start screen. Choose your difficulty. When asked where to save it, make sure to overwrite your existing save*. This will only change the difficulty level, but will keep all your old planes and statistics (as well as keep track of what missions you previously completed).
* Feel free to make a backup copy first, if you're worried that this doesn't work. I do assure you that you won't lose any planes or stats! See
Starting A New Game and KEEPING All Your PLANES for original info on this.
(This answer was buried all the way back on page 20 of the forums, and the question really isn't a common one, but it's a good answer to know, since what you have to do is not intuitive at all.)
C08. How do I unlock Premium Reward 6?Ah... the long-discussed mystery. Thanks to Alex Star who figured this out, it's not too complicated (but does require a lot of time).
First, unlock the first five Premium Rewards, by shooting down the specific wingman Big Bosses, as explained in G03, then challenging each one in Big Boss Mode.
Next, you need to obtain Best Guy or Predator rank, by playing online in Multiplayer. This rank can't be obtained offline in Challenge Arena. Once you have reached Best Guy (or Predator), hop into Challenge Arena, and shoot down a plane, then land and exit. Select your Big Boss menu, and F-15J 305th should be available to challenge!
C09. Why did it only unlock Premium Reward 8, but not 7? Premium Rewards 6, 7, and 8 unlock based on your rank, after you have unlocked the first five Premium Rewards.
Your rank needs to be Ace before the Premium Reward 8 Big Boss shows up in Big Boss mode. You need to be Ultimate before Premium Reward 7 shows up. If you're not Ultimate yet, fly around in Challenge Arena, shooting down any Bosses/Big Bosses to gain glory points and boost your rank.
D01. What do the different ranks mean?This is often discussed in StaticGull's
Classes and Sniper Vs. Gambler thread.
The ranks, from lowest to highest, are Greenhorn, Slump, Decline, Stupidity, General, Dexterous ..., Ace ..., Ultimate ..., Best Guy or Predator, Top Gun, and Legendary ... .
Dexterous, Ace, Ultimate, and Legendary have a word after them that indicates what tactics/combat style you tend to use. The different tactics are Gambler, Sniper, Destroyer, Shooter, Tactitian, Attacker, Gunner, Fighter, and Striker. These are not better or worse ranks in themselves. For example, if your rank changed from Ace Gambler to Ace Tactitian, you're still an Ace. However, if your rank changes from Ace Gambler to Ultimate Destroyer, for example, that is an improvement in rank, since Ultimate is higher than Ace.
The only tactic I believe I understand the meaning of, is Gambler. This would be shooting down planes who have locked on to you (and possibly launched). StaticGull's thread is the best place to get answers for meanings of these tactics, if you want to know.
D02. How can I improve my rank?Your rank will increase as you gain glory points. You can gain glory points by shooting down Bosses/Big Bosses in Challenge Arena, by being the person to destroy the Symbol Tower, in Multiplayer Arena, or by shooting down a player from another team in Multiplayer (either Arena or Vs match). Note that the person you shoot down has to be a higher rank than you, for you to get points from the kill.
As mentioned in D03, once you reach Ultimate in Challenge Arena, you'll need to go online, to improve your rank any higher.
D03. Can I get Predator/Best Guy in offline Arena?No, you need to play in Multiplayer (online) to go from Ultimate to Predator/Best Guy.
I've only heard of one person who says it can be done offline, and far more people who have tried/done what he did, without getting it.
D04. Why don't my stats increase? First, you have to utilize the skills that are based on the stats, for there to be any possibility of increase. (e.g. for your Evasion to possibly increase, you need to have been evading missiles.) Second, it takes a while for your stats to increase. It's a slow process. They don't necessarily go up every match/mission. The more you use your skills, though, the more they will go up.
The good news, though, is that they can improve throughout playing any part of the game -- Scenario Mode, Challenge Mode, or Multiplayer. So just keep flying and working on your techniques, and it will slowly pay off.
D05. How do I hover/take off? (F-35B)I haven't flown the F-35B personally, but I can point you to the
Hovering thread for answers from others who know what to do.
D06. How does stealth mode work? (F-22A) You can toggle Stealth Mode on the F-22A by pressing left on the D-pad. What this does, according to other posters on the forum, is narrow the confinement of the radar beam. There are, however, several factors, that make you more or less stealthy (visible) to other planes:
* Carrying ordnance on the wing pods makes you less stealthy, since enemy radar has more surfaces to reflect off of.
* Having your radar in Seeker mode (e.g. you have an air-to-air missile armed) instead of in Nav mode (passive) makes you less stealthy.
* Using Afterburners makes you a very visible target.
See
How does Stealth mode work for more details.
Note that the F-117A does not have a Stealth mode that you can toggle on and off. It's special ability is Night Vision mode.
D07. Can the Su-33 land on a carrier?In-game, no, although it is a naval aircraft and has a tailhook in real-life. The reason why is that its special ability is not tailhook but Limit AoA. Also, the other factor that's been mentioned on the forum is that the Su-33 needs to take off (via a "ski jump") from a Russian aircraft carrier, so the catapult technique is not compatible.
See
Su 33 Carrier landings for more details, and a real-life video of an Su-33 in action.
D08. How do I equip smoke for acrobatics?In Strike mode, Select Acrobat from the Weapons selection screen. I believe that only certain planes can be equipped with smoke. Once you're flying around, press the Y button to switch from Nav to Smoke, then press the A button to deploy it.
See
Acrobat for more details.
E01. How do I select the weapon to use?Press the Y button to toggle between your different ordnance. Note that this requires the Game Settings to be set to Manual Weapons, or you won't have as much control.
E02. Why can't I toggle between different bombs?Your Weapons setting is probably set to Auto and the game is choosing a specific bomb to drop for you, instead of letting you choose the type of bomb.
E03. How do I lock on to a ground target? Locking on to a target is affected by the current weapon you have selected. It's impossible to lock on to a ground target, with an air-to-air missile selected, and vice versa. Press the Y button to toggle to a bomb or air-to-ground missle, then press Right on the D-pad to lock on to the desired target.
E04. How do I use my missiles? bombs?See p. 19-22 in the manual.
For missiles, select the appropriate missile, depending on the range of the other plane*, lock on to the plane (by pressing Right on the D-pad), and pressing the A button when SHOOT appears.
* As a rough guide, use heat-seekers, when the other plane is close, say 1-4 miles. Use radar-seekers, when the other plane (or ground target is 5 or more miles away. Depending on whether the other plane is stealthy or not, you may need to toggle your weapons selection, switch out of stealth mode yourself, and/or get a lot closer, to get a lock.
Bombs are a bit trickier, since they don't tell you when to DROP. (There is an Auto Bomb mode that you can read about and play around with in Strike mode, to get some practice.)
Select the bomb(s) you want to drop, lock on to the ground target (by pressing Right on the D-pad), and optionally click the left thumbstick for a better camera angle on the bombing line/target. Wait for the pipper (little dot at the bottom of the bombing line) to coincide with the ground target, then press the A button.
See the
HOW do I drop bombs and succesfully blow up ground targets or
Bombing thread.
See
F-15E Carpet bombing tip for more comments on Auto bomb.
E05. Why won't my missiles launch?For the sake of completeness, I'll try to cover every possible reason I know of. Bear with me, if some of these are too obvious:
* You don't have a target lock.
* You have too many missiles in the air already; the game can only track 10 at a time.
* Your plane is not oriented properly for a missile launch (e.g. banked too steeply, or flying upside down). This varies from plane to plane, but if you have a big X in your HUD, that's a no-go due to orientation.
* You're too close to the target, and need to switch from Radar Seekers to Heat Seekers.
* Your Multiplayer game may be out of sync (e.g. what you see, visually, doesn't correspond with the other person's true location).
See the infamous
missles will not shoot thread for more discussion.
E06. How do I dodge/evade missiles?This question gets asked a lot. Definitely check the forums before thinking about starting a new topic on this subject!
See
Some info on how to dodge missiles for some tips and maneuvers.
Refer to Alex Star's
Over-G Online / Dogfighting & Arena 101 thread for very advanced tactics.
You can practice in Challenge Strike mode. Pick an SA-21 or enemy fighter as your opponent. It takes a little while, but you'll start getting a feel for it. Also, as you get better at it, your evasion stat will also (slowly) increase, giving you a slightly better chance that you'll be successful.
E07. What missiles are best?See the
BEST MISSILE thread for a discussion about this question.
E08. Why am I running low on fuel?You probably have your Afterburners on. (Thrust of 101-103, also shown by A/B above the thrust number on your HUD.) Afterburners use a lot of fuel.
E09. How do I refuel? How do I get more weapons? You can land at a friendly base or carrier (assuming you're flying a naval aircraft with the tailhook ability) to resupply. The direction to the nearest base is marked by a white triangle on the outside of your radar circle in the lower-left corner of your screen.
F01. Is there any Co-op in the game?RK: Going to interrupt here and mention that playing online in the MP Arena, if you do not have full teams, the game puts in bots for the other teams. It will not provide a wingman for a solo player, but it will fill in 2 bots for each unplayed team. You need at least 2 players for this, you can be on the same team. The game will fill in the other 3 teams with bots. Changing the number of players for the round does not determine how many players/bots, it changes the map size. Fewer players = smaller map. More players = larger map. Play MP as a form of co-op vs. the computer if you only have 2 people etc.No. There is no split-screen or System Link Co-op at all. You cannot also Co-op via Xbox Live. You can fly with teammates in Multiplayer, however that is not Co-op.
F02. My box says 1-2 people can play in Co-op. How?You can't. It's a misprint on the box for some countries. Although pics were posted online showing that some boxes do say Co-op 1-2, but the game does not support Co-op at all.
F03. Does the computer attack bases in Multiplayer?Yes. Maybe not as fast as you, but given enough time, computer (AI) planes can and will inflict damage on you or your base. The computer can also win a match, if you're not careful.
G01. How do I unlock Big Boss mode?You unlock the Big Boss Challenge menu by shooting down one of five specific Big Bosses. The five Big Boss planes that matter are the F-15DJ, the F-2A, the Su-33, the F-15D, and the F/A-18F.
Once you've shot down one of those Big Bosses, exit Arena mode. You should see a new Big Boss menu. All your new Big Boss challenges will show up there.
G02. I killed a Big Boss, landed, and got nothing. Why?A Big Boss can be flying in any random plane, however, only five specific planes matter, in terms of unlocking the Premium Rewards. See G01 for the list of five planes. (You did, however, gain glory points, which will help boost your rank.)
G03. Why can't I find the ___ Big Boss?It takes two requirements to find a specific Big Boss. Location, and patience. Yes, it will take a long time, so be prepared to possibly shoot down planes for a couple of hours -- it varies quite a bit, depending on your rank -- just for one Big Boss alone. It took me 3 days to find all five Big Boss planes in the Arena.
Ok, now that you know that it's going to take some time, hop in your F-22 and load it up with all air-to-air missiles. Some of these spawn locations are a good distance away from your base, and it takes a long time to travel back and forth just to restock, so the F-22 is the most practical plane to use.
Now, importantly, head to the right location and shoot down the right planes. Don't bother with any other planes that aren't related to the Big Boss you're trying to find. Try to avoid wasting any missiles on the wrong planes, such as while you're on the way to the spawn spot. Use your Wingman to take out any other planes you don't want to waste a missile on, so you're not constantly having to restock.
Now, here comes the patience part. Continue to shoot down only the right planes, and only at the right location. After a while, depending on your rank, a Boss will appear. Shoot him down. Continue shooting down the right planes. After a while, another Boss will appear. Shoot him down. It usually takes about three Boss shootdowns before the Big Boss appears. (Of course, all this is dependent on your rank. If you're a Predator, you might get a Big Boss pop up immediately, without even shooting down another plane.)
Once the right Big Boss appears, at that location, shoot him down. Now land, and exit, and you should have a new Big Boss to challenge, in Big Boss mode.
Remember that a Big Boss can spawn in any random plane, so don't bother going after any old Big Boss that shows up somewhere. Stay focused on the right Big Boss you're looking for, at its spawn point.
Ok, now that the general details are out of the way, here are the specifics for each of the five Big Bosses:
* F-15DJ. Ryoji - Premium Reward 1. Spawns at the volcano in the Southwest corner of the Arena. (A heading of 220 from the main base should point you in the right direction.) Head to the volcano, climbing to 30,000 feet after you leave the base, so you don't get harassed by everything between the base and the volcano. Once you reach the volcano, concentrate on shooting down F-1s, F-4s, and F-15Js or F-15DJs.
* F-2A. Edward - Premium Reward 2. Spawns between the main base, and the smaller isle base. (A heading of 135 from the main base should point you in the right direction.) Head in the direction of the smaller isle base, Southeast of the main base. It's pretty close. For this plane, I'm not sure what all the related aircraft are, to shoot down. Just shoot down everything that's close to the small base. (Don't bother shooting down the F/A-18s. They're related to another boss.)
* Su-33. Michael - Premium Reward 3. Spawns right in the Northeast corner of the Arena. (A heading of 040 from the main base should point you in the right direction.) Head to the Northeast corner. Once you reach there, shoot down any Su or Mig planes. Concentrate on the planes in the corner, as that's where he'll spawn.
* F-15D. Linda - Premium Reward 4. Spawns to the North/Northwest of the main isle (and to the North/Northeast of Blue Ocean). A heading of 320 from the main base should point you in the right direction.) Concentrate on shooting down A-10s (north of the main isle) and F-14Ds, F-15Cs and F-15Ds (northwest of the main isle).
* F/A-18F. Alfred - Premium Reward 5. Spawns South/Southwest of the main base. A heading of 200 from the main base should point you in the right direction.) Shoot down any F/A-18Es and F/A-18Fs.
These five are the only Big Bosses you need to focus on in the Arena. Any other Big Boss will give you glory points, but won't unlock any challenge or new plane (or skin).
As for Premium Reward 6, 7, and 8, these Bosses are not found in the Arena, so you don't have to spend any time in Arena, hunting for those three. See C08 and C09 for details on the final three rewards. Remember that you have to have unlocked the first five rewards, before the last 3 show up.
G04. What rank do I need for Big Bosses to spawn? Well, they'll show up if you're Dexterous, but it might take a while. They'll show up sooner, if you're Ultimate. If you happen to be Predator or Best Guy, they might even show up right away, if you're lucky. Remember that Big Boss spawns are random, so any plane could show up, and it's more the luck of the draw. Just concentrate on the instructions in G03 and that should be the fastest way to unlock each one.
G05. Why can't I get any Big Bosses to appear?You're probably not in the right location, or killing the right planes. Read G03 carefully, and concentrate on one Big Boss at a time. Also try to increase your rank (e.g. by shooting down other Bosses, but not getting shot down yourself.)
G06. How do I destroy the F-22A Big Boss? the B-2B?Well, they're stealth planes, so it's a bit tricky to get a lock on them. For the F-22A, try not to be in Stealth Mode yourself. Get as close as you can; also try toggling between Radar Seekers and Heat Seekers. For the B-2B, it's very difficult to get a lock, and it might even be easier to use your guns. Just watch out for mid-air collisions, as the B-2B will play chicken with you.
G07. How can I destroy the Unknown Big Boss?Lots of bombs. It will probably take you a couple of trips, depending on your ordnance. I would carry as many big bombs and air-to-ship missiles as possibles. I can tell you that 4 2000 lb. bombs or 4 air-to-ship missiles won't be enough on their own.
Have your wingman weaken it up, so you're not flying back and forth so much. If you try to make a third trip back to base, he'll probably despawn before you get back.
G08. Is there a map for Challenge Arena?Yes. Press the Start button. You can use the right thumbstick to pan around, and the left and right triggers to zoom.
G09. What are the blue planes/ships on the map?They're friendlies. (Usually AWACS, but I've been told that there's a tanker too.)
H01. How do I keep the VIP Transport alive? Repeat after me. The
H3LL Mode Walkthrough is my friend. The
H3LL Mode Walkthrough is my friend.
This is the most difficult of all H3LL Mode missions, and gets asked about quite often. It generally takes a lot of retries, with a break now and then, so you don't get too frustrated.
As the H3LL Mode Walkthrough states clearly, speed is key here. You have no time to waste, as enemy Migs are approaching to take out the transport while you try to shoot down the six red targets in Phase I. If you don't kill the six fast enough, the 2 green Migs that have been on their way in, will easily take out the transport in one shot, as soon as they're in range.
Here are some tips I posted for a friend:
"That was a tough one! Took me 3-4 days to finally just squeak by Phase I. The green Migs were just lined up for their shot, at the time the 6th went down.
Time is very much of the essence, so I found that I had to shoot down 4 of the 6, and be attentive to [my wingman's] targets too. It wasted a lot of time, if he'd miss one and they'd get on my six, or be flying off away from us. Best thing to do is stay locked up on the targets he's been ordered to attack, when possible. I had him take down the first, I shot down the second (which sneaks in low and fast), and assigned him the 3th or 4th, whichever he had a better approach for. The key is that if he doesn't get a shot off fast enough, take his target down yourself, and assign him another one. Once he's shot down two, take the rest yourself, for expediency's sake. I would still assign him to attack my target in case they evaded my own missile.
Don't set him to AIR at all in that mission, as he'll lock up on a random green (who will likely out-maneuver him), and [become useless for the rest of the mission]. Just set him to attack a targetted red, but be ready to take the shot yourself, if he doesn't take it down fast enough.
By the way, you don't have to wait until you get a SHOOT on the missiles. Wastes too much valuable time for that mission, to wait to get close enough. Just take a shot when you've got a lock."
Once you're past Phase I, Phase II is easy. Give yourself a pat on the back, as everything is easier from here on out.
H02. How can I survive the canyon mission?Repeat after me. The Canyon is a death trap. The Canyon is a death trap.
For Area 6 Tactical Mission 1, immediately climb up out of the canyon, and fly on the left side of it. Don't turn your radar on until you're close to the target.
(RK: THIS is how stealth mode works! Turn on radar and you'll get taken out. Hold "Y" to turn off radar and go back to NAV mode--passive radar. You can fly the F-117A all over the place if you're careful, without being detected. Turn on targeting as close to the objective as possible. The F-111 is very hard to get a lock on when it's running in full stealth mode...take advantage of that.)Try high-altitude bombing (over 15,000 feet) or air-to-ground missiles.
(You could also try flying at 2-300 feet on the left side of the canyon, taking the shot once the mesa is in view, then jinking hard to avoid their launch, using the terrain for cover, but this is a bit more dangerous, unless you like thrills.)
H03. How do I unlock the F-22A? Area 7 Submission 10. See
How to get the F-22 .... The Easy Way.
H04. How can I complete Area 7 H3LL Mode?Check out the
H3LL Mode Walkthrough for starters. Here are a few tips from what I remember.
Phase I goes pretty fast, and your wingman can take out one or two, easily. Phase II is when the challenge starts. You'll have one red targets heading for you from their fleet. Assign your wingman to take it down, then start banking to the right, towards our fleet. Keep on turning, because as soon as the first red target is destroyed, 2 greens are going to spawn, and be locked on to you. They'll take fast shots, if they can line up a solution, so evading is the key. Let your wingman cover you. The last 2 reds are bombers and need to be taken out fast, as they do serious damage to your fleet if not eliminated fast.
Phase III is a bit more relaxed again. You have 8 ships and 3 planes to destroy. What works well for me, is cruising at 200 feet among the enemy fleet, although some people prefer to circle around, or head up high to get the red ships in the rear of the battle group. Use your wingman to take out the ships. Save your air-to-air for the 3 red planes, as they'll head for your fleet and need to be killed quickly. Return to the remaining ships, and you're done.
H04. How can I complete Area 8 H3LL Mode?Say a short little prayer to the deity of your choice, asking that your game doesn't lock up in Phase III :p
Phase I and II are 4 ground targets each. For Phase I, either go in fast at 200 feet and hope you don't get hit by the AA, or head way up to 20,000 feet and do some high-altitude bombing. Divide the targets up between you and your wingman, so you don't have to land at all. If he (or she) takes too long on a target, take it out yourself, and assign them another one, because you'll have incoming fighters to deal with, if you're not fast. Phase II is similar. Divide up the targets, or let your wingman deal with the enemy planes while you take out the 4 ground targets yourself.
Getting to Phase III isn't bad. Now, one of two things can go wrong. Your Xbox can lock up, or you can get shot down :p To avoid the first problem, cross your fingers, and try not to give your wingman an immediate command. Just head down and right. You'll have two YF-23s to deal with. One of them might be visible on radar, to your right, and the other won't. Don't do the obvious thing and go for the visible one yourself, because the second will be sending a missile right up your tailpipe. The second is going to be coming in from your left, so turn to the left a bit and take him out when you get a lock. The last one is easier to deal with, when only one is left, so let your wingman distract him while you go for the second kill.
Give yourself a pat on the back, then throw the tarp over that plane and don't ever fly it again.
H05. Why does the game lockup in Mission 8 Phase III?I don't have an answer, but I know it's happened to a lot of people. Of the few times I tried this mission, it locked up once on me. It happened when I immediately asked my wingman to cover, while we were doing the nose-to-nose dance right at the start. After that, I stayed far away from the Back button, in case it was related to that.
H06. How do I complete ___ mission? There are a number of walkthroughs posted on the Internet. The two I tend to mention most often are the
H3LL Mode Walkthrough and IGN's
Over G FAQ. I've seen a few other mission walkthroughs on other sites, but don't have them bookmarked. If you do a search, you should find them.
Z01. Revision history1.00 Aug-11-2006 Initial version.
Z02. Contact information Please feel free to PM any comments, corrections, or questions about this guide to FeralKitty via the Xbox.com forum. I'll arrange for a mod to edit in any revisions that need to be made.
