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Lego Racers 2

Levels

There are five levels, or worlds, in Lego Racers 2, each based on a particular theme. In addition to racing cars in the Racers product line, each theme is based on an actual series Lego sets, and includes parts of those sets.

Sandy Bay: Based on Lego Town sets. It is an island that has a town, construction site, and several beaches as well as a mountain in the center. This world also has portals to the other Lego worlds in it; if you are in the Arctic world and are going to the Mars World, you must go back to Sandy Bay and into the Mars portal. Sandy Bay has four bosses that you have to race before going to any of the other Lego worlds. They are the construction worker, the postman, the fireman, and the policeman (in that order). The races are: Dig-A-Brick, Special Delivery, Hot Stuff and Bobby's Beat. Golden bricks can be found at the beach, at the top of the mountain, and on a ledge by the west beach.

Dino Island: The next Lego world you visit is based on the Lego Adventurers sets. It is also an island featuring two rivers, a plateau with a volcano, a jungle, a tribal village, ancient ruins, and a few beaches. It constantly rains here. There are Lego dinosaurs running about, which can't hurt you (although they can push you, a setback during races) and always run the same path. The boss for this world is Sam Sinister, who has a fast car. He has an engine super upgrade in the form of a turbo boosted engine. The races are: Tribal Trouble, Dino Dodgems, Cretaceous Canyon, The Lost Race World and Sam Sanisters Slammer. Other racers are Pippen Reed (also in the first) Sir Cuningham, and Cassiopeia (a martian). Golden bricks can be found by the platue, the mountain, and the serpents mouth.

Mars: The third Lego world is based on the Lego Life on Mars sets. It is a series of valleys in between tall cliff-like mountains. It features a martian mine, martian base, abandoned martian base, crashed space shuttle (which you arrive in according to the mini-movie), and two caves as well as two lava rivers. If you get enough speed in free roam mode, you can get on top of the mountains, but you will respawn if you get too close to the edge of the platform. The boss is Rigel, a martian who races in a mech (a bi-ped robot large enough to sit in) and is not affected by weapons of any kind, although he cannot ramp up speed by running down hills. He has a shield super upgrade in the form of a shield generator. Other racers are Pippen Reed, Cunningham, and Cassiopeia. Golden bricks can be found in the maze, the waterfall (also a shortcut), and Rigel's tribute. Shortcut: the waterfall.

Arctic: Based on the Arctic sets. It is again an island, with a mountain that you may go inside of, a beached tanker, an ice maze, an iced over lake with several large holes in it, and several bases. It constantly snows here. The boss is the Berg, an ice monster that runs instead of drives. The Berg can turn on a dime and makes icicles sprout from wherever he walks. Although they cannot hurt you, they slow you down tremendously. He has a grip super upgrade in the form of tires. Other racers are Pippen Reed, Cunningham, and Cassiopeia. Golden bricks can be found in the plane, the doctor's office, and the trapped boat. Shortcut: the Berg's cave.

Xalax: The characters could be purchased from the "Lego Racers" line, but the world does not resemble any particular sets. The world is a dome full of cheering fans and features a volcano in the middle of a lava lake, a jump, a loop, and a tunnel that you may drive upside-down in. Xalax is unique in that for each race the landscape changes. The boss of this world is Rocket Racer, who has a very fast car and all of the upgrades given to the racer. Other racers are the Ramas named Lightor, Warrior, Loopin, Gears, Surfer,Shredder,Scratch,Spiky. Golden bricks can be found near the tunnel, near the mountain, by the loop, and by a Rampage. Shortcut: go around the loop instead of on it.

Upgrades

Upgrades for your car may be obtained by winning mini games. Each mini game is accessible by driving through a vortex while exploring the Lego worlds. There are two mini games per world, one on an easy level and one on a difficult level.

There are three categories of upgrades available: Grip, which improves how well your car turns and how much your car slides; Power, which controls how fast your car goes and how much climbing power your car has; and Shield, which controls how much damage your car can take before disappearing.

Powerups

Powerups are various types of weapons that can be used while racing. You obtain a powerup by driving over a white, spinning, glowing Lego brick. A counter appears that cycles through all of the powerups; the one it lands on is the one you get. You may press the "fire" button to stop the counter if you see one that you want. It takes a quick hand, however. Otherwise, the counter will automatically give you a bonus based on your position in the race. Persons in last place will receive the best powerups. Unlike Lego Racers 1, there are no power-enhancing bricks for your powerup.

Weapons powerups make Lego bricks fly off the receiver's cars. Lose all the bricks and you will be forced to continue on foot, in Lego minifigure form. You have to walk to the nearest pit stop to get your car back.

The Stealth powerup makes your car invisible to other racers, and you may bump into other racers to obtain the powerup they have. Also, it prevents the Tracking Missile powerup from hitting you. It lasts for around six seconds. Symbol: The gray ninja

The Drill powerup fires a drill missile in front of your car. The drill behaves like a torpedo, and explodes on impact, eliminating around 50% of the opponents bricks. You can also ride on the drill by holding down the fire button. However, if you ride on it for too long, it will detonate, causing damage to your car. Symbol: A drill

The Disk powerup fires a flying disc in front of your car. The disc will bounce off any object it hits, except cars, in which case it explodes. You can get another powerup while this powerup is on. It is very powerful, like the drill it eliminates around half of the bricks on your opponents car, but is very hard to use. If you press the look back button you can fire the disc backwards; which can be useful if you are being chased by a Missile, as the Disk can destroy the Missile. Symbol: A disk with blades.

The Missile powerup fires a heat-seeking missile that you may lock on to any racer. The same with the disc, you can pick up another powerup when this one is on. Occasionally it will explode (by hitting something) before it reaches target. You can also select the target using next target & previous target buttons. It easier to cause damage with than the drill or disc, but it does less damageround a third of bricks. Symbol: A bloodhound

The Explosion powerup creates a bubble of expanding energy around your car. When the energy expands to a certain point, it explodes, harming every racer in the vicinity of the bubble except for you. You can charge the shot by holding down the fire button (note that if you keep charging and don't drop it as follows, it WILL damage your own vehicle.) If the fire button is held and then released, the bubble will fall behind the car and explode as described above. If a car runs into a dropped bubble, it will suffer more damage than normal. Damage is variable with this powerup, dependent on how deep you drive into the bubble. Symbol: A storm cloud

The Whirlwind powerup creates a stationary whirlwind that causes cars to veer away from it. If you hold down the fire button the whirlwind stays attached to your car. If you keep it attached, you will suffer minor damage. You won't be able to pick up any powerups while this is on. It lasts for around six seconds. Symbol: A twister

The Destructabrick powerup creates a force that first turns the screen yellow for half a second, and then takes 3 layers of bricks off every single car (except for yours) for six seconds. It is very rare, and is the most powerful powerup in the game. Symbol: Flying Lego bricks

Other

Lego Racers 2 also includes "cars" that aren't specifically cars such as trucks, cars with tank-like treads, hover cars, and snow vehicles with skis, as well as a "sail" snow vehicle that you cannot build with the displayed pieces.

Lego Racers 2 also has, like in the original, a car and characters designer. Lego Racers 2 has more bricks but fewer characters to make and edit. However, while in theory this means that more individual racer possibilities exist, the number of "widely used" parts is much lower, and only a few possibilities that exist are commonly used. This also follows over to cars. Additionally, you cannot change your player at any time during adventure (story) mode, further limiting options. You can change your car, however it can only be changed for each of the worlds once.

My First 7 Months In Iraq, The Shocking Truth You Didn't Hear On CNN

My First 7 Months In Iraq, The Shocking Truth You Didn't Hear On CNN.

I worked for KBR.
My First Six Months Of 2006. These are my unedited Iraq journal entries.

Quick Poll;
Do You Think KBR supports troops responsibly?

Yes OR No

Answer For A Chance To Win A $1,000 Wal-Mart Gift Card.

February 29 - March 16

Well, I did not go to Cedar yet. However the very next week I passed my driving test and over the course of the next week went on three missions. First was a mission to warhorse some 20 miles away from Anaconda. It went well, however the road was incredibly bad due to IED holes and VBED holes.
(VBED=Vehicle Born Explosive Device)

The next mission was to TQ at Al Taqqdum Air Base southwest of Baghdad. Definitely the most dangerous mission I've been on yet. Despite the risks or the 6 hour drive, both our convoy and military escorts escaped the breadth of the mission without a scratch.

March 17 - March 22

Finally I have arrived at Cedar near Tallil Air Base. I like it a lot here, but unfortunately Cedar doesn't have even one tree. Tallil is only 7 miles away. It has trees. So I don't know why we don't? Like Anaconda the dust is bad but the smoke is light. Cedar is just 12 miles from Al Naziriyah.

March 23

We sat around much of the day in a minor but very irritating sandstorm. A mission up to Scania was cancelled. Perhaps tomorrow they will reschedule the mission. Also today we were given an escort class. Dealing in how to properly lead around third country nationals. Otherwise known as TCNs. A short but boring class.

March 24

Yesterday the airplane that took us from Baghdad to Tallil last week crashed in Tallil because only one landing gear came down. Three were airlifted due to injuries sustained. The plane is a very old Russian-made twin prop. It appeared to us last week that it had issues. According to a report, this is the second time in six months that the same plane has crashed. First time was due to engine failure.
Sat around the Pickle Park for much of the day. In the afternoon we loaded fuel for a mission to Scania tomorrow. A short two hour drive.
March 25

We went to Scania without any incidents along the way. Except one of the military escorts brok down near a Baghdad Interchange. The 5-ton was dragged the rest of the way to Scania. When we got there I checked out the Haji mart. The only place in all of Iraq where you can actually go outside the wire by yourself without armed escourt. The vendors are VERY pushy Made it back to Cedar without a scratch by 5 p.m.

March 26

I am carrying MOGAS. About 8,000 gallons of unleaded fuel. This I must carry through much of Baghdad to get the fuel to Anaconda in Balad. Once again I am in Scania MSR Tanfa (I couldn't read that name very well) North of us is red. In other words the insurgents are gonna blow us up. The army has therefore ordered us to stand-by for the night, before we continue.

March 27

From Cedar to Anaconda route was strewn with IEDs. Convoy ahead of us hit by two IEDs at MSR Sword ramp.

March 28

Sat on perimeter road at Anaconda for over two hours. The subsequent drive to Cedar was uneventful. No one to my knowledge was blown up or shot. PWC Logistic truck was completely on its side and just wiped out. My guess is the driver must have fallen asleep at the wheel which a great many of us were in danger of doing this morning.

March 29 - April 6

Got on Heidloff's crew, it is very excellent! We went to Al Taqaddum (we smoked hash there!) on the 30th and stayed until April 3rd. We got back to Cedar on the 4th. At Taqaddum 5 soldiers drowned in flash flooding while we were there. We experienced very fierce rainstorms.
On the way back on MSR Long Island, and MSR Tampa we were held up for hours as usual while EOD detonated multiple IEDs in our path. Today is the 6th and I have done nothing at all.

April 6
Did nothing all day at Cedar Camp

April 7
We have driven to Scania. The 100 kilometer trip took 5 hours because a truck broke down. We are staying overnight.

April 8
Still at Scania, We're out of here on our way to Anaconda at 10 pm (or 2200 hrs)

April 9-16
We just got back from BIAP (Baghdad International Airport). I hauled MOGAS (un-leaded in layman's terms). All went well.

April 17-20
Went to Anaconda/Balad with CC Bad Habit. I bought 950,000 Iraqi Dinar for mom for her 59th birthday. Cost; $700

April 21-April 24
Here in Taji about 14 miles from Balad and 26 miles from Baghdad. A lot of hostile action can be heard outside the wire. We had a hellacious sandstorm earlier mixed with a severe rainstorm. It was mud rain!

April 22-27
Left Taji yesterday (21st) made it back to Cedar II in one piece. Did a small mission to Tallil only 7 miles away.

April 28
We are on our way to Anaconda again. We were diverted to BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) because just south of BIAP at 25 Alpha (at an overpass) we came under heavy machine gun attack. I saw the skylight up with tracers coming from my right about 90 meters ahead of me. It looked as though you could walk on the bullets! There were so many of them. My adrenalin spiked moments before I drove through this maelstorm of fire. Initially I thought it was AK-47s firing at us. But one of the old-timers pointed out to me that at such a long range the bullets were on a flat trajectory. Indicating we were being fired upon by a so-called quad-72. A four barreled machine gun with rounds supposedly bigger than the US made 50 caliber! Unbeknownst to me there was a Bradley tank on the overpass. He saved us! But our rear Army Escort (Humvee) was shot up badly. All of our trucks escaped damage miraculously. And there were no injuiries/dead. We will continue to Anaconda tonight!

April 29-30
We were cancelled. I am still in Balad. Supposed to leave tonight though (30th). Talked to Anna on the phone today. She is getting much better at her (spoken) English. Temperature topped at 109 f.

April 30 (night)
Un-cancelled. We left Balad at 8:30 p.m. About 5 kilometers out we took a bunch of AK-47 fire. About 35 kilometers after this attack on MSR Sword in Baghdad an IED detonated on a truck. It was five trucks ahead of me. I saw a huge yellow flash on the left, followed by a thunderous BOOM. Then came the small arms fire. I heard a large popping noise nearby. And lots of other popping noises. But they did not use tracer rounds This time. My instrumentation was knocked out as well as my dome light. We looked for a good while on my Mercedes for any evident bullet holes to no avail. Yet my instrumentation dome light went dead after the distinctly loud popping noise. Our good Egyptian friend has bad hearing from the explosion (IED) which also completely destroyed his windshield and driver's window. The truck behind him had some bullet holes below the driver's seat. Both drivers are in relatively good shape. Crazy days!

May 1-May 13
It has been a very active beginning of the month. Heidloff's crew was hit at 4 Alpha. They lost nine trucks! I know many on my former crew: Christian Walker from Montana was hit by an IED on the MSR Long Island route to TQ (Al Taqeddum). She came with our group from Houston (about my mother's age) I saw her today (May 14) now she has a huge hole in her right leg from shrapnel. She is lucky to still be alive. The ballistic blanket saved her
I'm still on Palenkas' crew aka Bad Habit. We came back this morning (14th) from Taji. I had Taco Bell there! $1.75 for a bean freaking' burrito! We were hit by an IED and lost a truck. Also lost a truck last night because of bullet holes in the fuel tank.

May 15 - May 22
Went to Taji on the way back on Mobile a mortar crew was preparing to attack us from a nearby rooftop. We moved a mile up. Problem averted! After this we had another uneventful trip to BIAP

May 23 - May 24
TQ (Taqaddum) mission C C Regian and Michael Lanning had their truck destroyed by a large IED 10 miles from our destination. There were actually two large IEDs: one right after the other. The second caused only nominal damage to a humvee. Both driver and passenger of the truck received minor injuries. Route was Long Island.

May 27 - May 29
On a mission for Balad/Anaconda got this idiot for a CC named Stanolis or Trouble. We hate him. In fact we hope he gets killed. Mean? Yes, but I'm not beating around the bush. Our group does not need a scumbag CC! We will be rid of him ASAP! Bad Habit is on R&R.

May 30 - June 5
Uneventful. Two missions.

June 6
I am truck #5. On Willie Limbrick's crew. He is the new stand-in CC while Bad Habit is away. He is way better than Stanolis! A black American muslim our front escort were hit by a small IED. We're on our way to Taji. We've been diverted to BIAP.

June 6 - June 14
Last mission before R&R. Our front escort took an IED. I don't remember exactly what day.

June 15 - June 30
Nikolev, Ukraine baby!
Black Sea lovin! Oksana, Lina, Nina, Igor, Julia, Irina, Zanna, Massa and a second Massa!

July 1 - July 17
Back to work. We are B.U.S.Y.

July 18
I'm the CC driver. Our truck is #1. Anaconda mission = 2 IEDs, one demolished $175,000 truck (#7). No injuries. Heavy activity on all sides! Second IED on the heels of the Iraqi Army. EOD detonated enormous bomb about 1/8-1/4 mile in front of us. It shook the earth. Mortars shot behind us.

July 19 - July 21
Went to Taji. Delay on the way north so EOD could detonate an IED. The way down we were shot at in the same area where the first IED blew up on the previous mission to Anaconda.
Again #7 truck was hit. Third time in a row. Shortly after I saw a very large bomb explode around 40a. It was controlled.

July 22 - August 3
At 41 Alpha, we were stopped going northbound for an IED in a small pothole in the middle of the road. where my ass would have been first, since I am still driving lead. Rumors going around that there will be large scale attacks on US in upcoming weeks.

August 5 - August 9
Mission to Anaconda, IE Balad. Iraqi Army guys blew up one of CC White's trucks in front of us at a checkpoint. On our way south from Balad on the evening of the 6th we took heavy gunfire from the middle to the rear. The gunmen pushed us into a large crowd of Iraqis. The first four trucks made it past the crowd. Meanwhile cc White was row behind us and sitting in a storm of lead rain unable to move out of it because of the roadblock of people we were jammed in.
The 6-7 trucks in the midst of the crowd all got stoned. (I mean rocks!) Our comrad Philip Roberts from Wales took a rock to the face. And we had a bunch of smashed windshields. This was 59A. About 25 miles north of Baghdad.

Further south, in Baghdad at precisely 47a, I swerved to a relatively new debris field on my left. Michael Lanning also avoided in the #2. bout our Indian friend (we call him Moe) went through the debris. The bomb he hit was a monster! The truck was no more. But Moe is still with us. His truck was armored. At this time we were again hammered with AKs. This time from my truck to the back. Only two trucks did not receive bullet holes or damage from anything.
Last night while we were in Baghdad, CC Jarhead was attacked with the same results. It happened to us on the 6th. Jarhead two nights later on the 8th. The military is quite useless these days. Because the US is prosecuting so many soldiers for supposed war crimes now they won't defend us because of the fear they have of prosecution. This war is being made more unwinnable everyday by idiot Bush and his friends.

August 12 - August 13
Mission to BIAP went well. I am no longer in the first truck. Number 15 now! It's way better. In the 1st truck it is much harder to be anonymous whilst smoking hashish. And occasional bottles of Jordanian-made Jack Williams Whiskey!
At Camp Liberty I had a lengthy conversation with the ABC World News crew. I declined an interview request. Off-camera I told them when they asked me about conditions/security in Iraq that indeed it is fast deteriorating. I don't remember the war correspondent's name. But he was a replacement for Bob Woodruff who was critically injured in a bomb blast in Baghdad while travelling with the Iraqi Army in January 2006.

August 14 - August 18
It was a mission to Al Taqaddum. The first time we've all been there since "Tattoo" was blown up on Long Island in mid-May. We traveled with empty fuel tankers this time. This was a first. To not upload at Cedar II I mean. So, away we went on the 15th in the early afternoon north to Scania, then we presumed TQ next. Wrong! Roads went "red" meaning we had to wait for a few hours at BIAP until they cleared the roads. About 9:30 p.m. we went out a shortcut directly onto the MSR Sword. Sword I will mention runs right through south Baghdad in the most dangerous suburbs on earth. This is where much of the Shiite-Sunni slaughtering occurs. At several sections consist of several mile long overpasses that go through these suburbs. On the first overpass we encountered it all went to hell! Intense gunfire erupted on us from below from about the 5th truck all the way to #20.

Victor Lobo's truck (#9) was stuck by a burst of tracers in his tanker causing it to explode. Lucky for him there wasn't anything but a small amount of jet fuel at the bottom of the tank. The fireball burst out the top hatch. It poofed out the whole tanker trailer as if it were a 9,000 gallon size marshmallow! I prayed intently to God to save my butt in the few seconds before driving through the maelstrom. Unfortunately Ronald Sousa in #19 received a serious shrapnel wound. I learned a few days later that our escorts killed several of the attackers. It is unclear exactly how many. We had 14 flats from bullets. My truck glided through without a scratch! Amazing! On the way back to Cedar I lost count in - the IEDs that detonated in their attempts to again cause harm. I stopped counting at six. All were big bombs! Overall I really hate to!

August 19 - September 16
It's been almost a month since I've made any entries in this journal. Palenkas AKA "Bad Habit" went on R&R. He put this screwed up Irishman as head of the convoy. Mike Lanning both opted to get outta there! So we did. Lanning, AKA "Tattoo" lucked out and got with Cordoba. I went with cc Maners, Holliday, "Tye Dye", Mike, and another Mike. They were cool. But after just two missions SP-5 inexplicably yanked one off of Manners crew. *END*

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My First 7 Months In Iraq, The Shocking Truth You Didn't Hear On CNN

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