This game is a very easy racer except some of the mini-games can be a little frustrating and why I have given it a 3. The rest of the game is made super easy as there are cheats that make you pretty much unbeatable. The cheats don't work on the circuit races, but they are quite easy to win anyway.
IMPORTANT : Before you begin the game, make sure you choose Story Mode then Full Size. DO NOT choose COMPACT. If you choose Compact the achievements will not unlock as this mode is set aside for kids.
CHEATS:
Enter these Cheat Codes every time you load a game from disc / start the game up. Go into Options then Cheats.
Unlimited Boost : VROOOOM
Fast Start : IMSPEED
TIPS :
Some events do not become available until after you have completed certain races and gained some trophies.
If you find yourself off track, press the 'back' button and it will set you further ahead of the track most of the time (except circuit races)
Use Boost (LT) on every race (except circuit races) and you should tear ahead quite easily.
LIST OF OBJECTIVES
Chapter 1
1. Radiator Springs Grand Prix
2. Radiator Cap Circuit
3. Sally's Sunshine Circuit
4. Tractor Tipping (Achievement)
5. Doc's Lesson: Powerslide
6. Doc's Challenge
7. Palm Mile Speedway (Achievement)
Chapter 2
8. Boostin' with Filmore
9. Luigi to the Rescue
10. North Desert Dash
11. Sarge's Boot Camp
12. Sarge's Off-Road Challenge
13. Motor Speedway of the South (Achievement)
Chapter 3
14. Mater's Backwards Lesson
15. Sheriff's Chase
16. Sheriff's Hot Pursuit (Achievement)
17. Rustbucket Race-O-Rama
18. Ornament Valley Circuit
19. Sun Valley International Raceway (Achievement)
Chapter 4
20. Sally's Wheel Well Sprint
21. Doc's Check-Up
22. Tailfin Pass Circuit
23. Delinquent Road Hazards
24. Monster Truck Mayhem (Achievement)
25. Chick's Challenge
26. High Speed Heist
27. Lightning Strikes Back
28. Smasherville International Speedway (Achievement)
Chapter 5
29. Radiator Springs Grand Prix (Achievement)
30. Tailfin Pass Grand Prix (Achievement)
31. Ornament Valley Grand Prix (Achievement)
32. Los Angeles International Speedway (Achievement)
33. Lizze's Postcard Hunt - see bottom of guide.
ACHIEVEMENT GUIDE
Tractor Tipping - 75 points
Successfully complete all levels of Tractor Tipping
Not the most forgiving mini-games as this can be become frustrating for some. There are 8 levels of this nonsense. You have to tip the sleeping tractors over without Frank, the Watch Tractor, discovering you.
My advice is to forget about the clock on your first go and figure out a path and then don't rush it. There's more time than you think. On level 7, it gets a bit tricky as Frank is continually chasing you.
Palm Mile Speedway - 75 points
Win the race by finishing in 1st place
This is a circuit race, so the boost cheats or powersliding do not work. While you are racing, DO NOT take your finger off the A button and try to stay close to the inside of the track. If you heading towards the wall, hit the LB (Left Bumper) to tilt the car for a tighter turn. You cannot use the back button here or you will come out further behind.
Try to have a decent pit stop as well (under 25 secs) and you should come out in front. For some reason on the last lap, if you are close to the leader or in front, you will magically gain a few more seconds ( I gained about 60 in one race) so this may have been added by developers for dramatic effect.
Motor Speedway of the South - 50 points
Win the race by finishing in 1st place
See "Palm Mile Speedway" achievement above for tips on how to win this.
Sheriffs Hot Pursuit - 50 points
Successfully complete all levels of Sheriffs Hot Pursuit
You will need to chase some speeders until the meter bar goes down. There are 5 levels and each with three cars. The five levels are
Speeders
Hooligans
Road Hazards
Delinquents
Hot-Rodders
Just stay really close and use boost if you have to. If you are lucky, sometimes they get stuck into a tree or wall and then they become easy pickings. If you catch one, but lose the others, you can retry without losing the car(s) you have caught.
Rustbucket Race-O-Rama - 50 points
Win the race by finishing in 1st place
A 12 lap race but this time you will be using Mater. You CAN USE boost or powerslide. Boost when you climb the mounds and then powerslide around the corners. Try not to collide with too many cars as you will lose huge chunks of time.
Sun Valley International Raceway - 75 points
Win the race by finishing in 1st place
See "Palm Mile Speedway" achievement above for tips on how to win this.
Smasherville Motor Speedway - 75 points
Win the race by finishing in 1st place
See "Palm Mile Speedway" achievement above for tips on how to win this.
Monster Truck Mayhem - 50 points
Win the race by finishing in 1st place
Again use boost on the ramps and powerslide when turning.
Radiator Springs GP - 50 points
Win the race by finishing in 1st place
See "Palm Mile Speedway" achievement above for tips on how to win this.
Tailfin Pass GP - 50 points
Win the race by finishing in 1st place
See "Palm Mile Speedway" achievement above for tips on how to win this.
Ornament Valley GP - 50 points
Win the race by finishing in 1st place
See "Palm Mile Speedway" achievement above for tips on how to win this.
Tailfin Pass - 75 points
Complete necessary activities to unlock Tailfin Pass
See the list of Objectives at the top of this guide. You will need to complete and including Sally's Wheel Well Sprint sprint to unlock this.
Ornament Valley - 75 points
Complete necessary activities to unlock Ornament Valley
See the list of Objectives at the top of this guide. You will need to complete and including Sheriff's Chase to unlock this.
LA International Speedway - 100 points
Win the race by finishing in 1st place
See "Palm Mile Speedway" achievement above for tips on how to win this.
Lizzies Postcard Hunt - 100 points
Collect all available postcards in Postcard Hunt
Not the easiest achievement in the game and why I have left this to last. There are only 20 postcards to collect however some are a little tricky. Follow these video guides below and you should have no trouble.
Note : This mission opens up early in the game but it is best to do this last as you will need to complete races to open up areas to collect postcards.
Credit goes to BrianTL5 for the videos.
Note : This mission opens up early in the game but it is best to do this last as you will need to complete races to open up areas to collect postcards.