Launch Site
NASA Space Launch Center
Cape Canaveral, Florida
The Command Center
In order to fire the NASA rocket into space requires a few steps. First open the door to the right of the command center and drive into the control room, you should hear a bleeping. The transporter will slowly start making it's way up the runway towards the launch pad - when it reaches the top, the rockets will fire periodically, emiting jets of flame from the tunnels underneath. Suffice to say, getting caught in these will set your vehicle on fire, cue another trip to the ocean...
Once in place, head back to the command center and simply enter the control room again. The a countdown begins and the rocket takes off into orbit. But that's not the end of the story...
The Launch Pad
Now that the rocket has departed, you get a chance to send yourself into orbit. Just head round to the tunnel at the rear of the launch pad and keep an eye on the lights - when the turn green, drive in...
The camera will switch to a ground-level view and you'll see you vehicle, recently fitted with a giant rocket, climbing the launch gantry! The rocket will kick in and you'll be launched high into the air, on the way down you'll have the chance to collect a variety of weapons and powerups. Just before you reach the ground a rather attractive red and white parachuts will open, slowing your descent before detaching and letting you drive of. Apart from collecting the goodies, you can use the altitude to drift from one side of the arena to another
Wind Tunnels
Once you take the front doors of the buildings, they'll suck any unsuspecting nearby vehicles in and spit them out into the ocean. There range is quite far, stretching across the runway, so be sure to take a wide berth!
Guard Towers
The turrets will track and fire the equivalent of the Mosquito Machine Gun if you get too near them. This is great if your watching a slower moving opponent get hit, but if in trouble, take 'em out.
Rocket Engines
The engines will periodically test fire - if caught in the backblast, you'll be set alight. Luckily, the ocean is nearby, so take a dip to extringuish the flames. After a few hits, they detach from their mounts and will circle around in the sky, before homing in on nearby opponents.
Electric Fences
These electric fences appear on both the main and secondary island and deliver a nasty shock should you run into them. Take them out as soon as possible to avoid this - in the case on the smaller isalnd, you'll need to in order to get to the collectables.
Weapons & Powerup Spawn Points
Various weapons and powerups litter the coastline (both on and off land), but you may want to make your way to the fenced island for a few guarateed pickups. The quickest way to do this is to get some propellors and jump up onto the island, but with a little trepidation you can go to the smaller island nearby, then onto the main one. Just look for the ridges below the water (you can drive along these without taking a dunk). Check out the Shuttle hangar for an ultra rare wrench too!
Sharks
"Get out of the water!" These horrors patrol the perimiter of the level, homing in on you, should you get too close. After a few bites, you'll lose your Hydro Floaters, sink to Davy Jones' locker and be spat out of the launch pad tunnels. The best option is to steer clear, but since they have a wide turning cirlce shouldn't pose too much of a problem.