THUG 2 Skateboarding Terms Help (Xbox)

[Starshifter]

Loving this game and I'm not an xtreme sports person by any stretch of the imagination.  But, I am having trouble understanding what some of these skateboarding terms mean and why I would use them.

What is Manual?  Why would I use it and what is the advantage of it?  It seems that I could do the same thing (i.e., skate normally) instead of using manual and having to concentrate on balancing (D-Pad up/down) while pressing other buttons.

What does  No Comply mean?  What am I not complying with?  It appears to be "jump over things."

What is the difference between an Acid Drop and a Revert?  It appears to me to be the same thing - a way to land on a ramp without wiping out.

I have the strategy guide (or Tip Book like my son calls it) and it doesn't define these terms nor does it tell me why I would use them.

By the way, I created my own 1980's soundtrack for the game and there is nothing like skateboarding to the likes of Billy Idol, Bananarama, Culture Club, and Michael Jackson's Thriller!  

Thanks!

[DonD]

The only one I can help you with is manual, which is to balance your board on 2 wheels.

A quick up-down or down-up will get you to manual, and you can (and should) use it to link tricks for higher scores.

Usually, if I'm grinding a rail and coming to the end, I'll jump (ollie) at the end and up/down while in the air to land in a manual, then try to keep that going until I find something I can grind again.

I find the grinds are the way to rack up the points, and usually don't do much with the ramps unless I absolutely have to to finish one of the goals.

- Don

[Starshifter]

Thanks DonD!

So manual is a way to link or maintain a chain of tricks and/or grinds.  Interesting.  I'll have to practice it more.  This game more than any other requires very high dexterity when manipulating those gamepads.

Well, that's one obscure skateboarding term down and two to go.

[Laner]

What does  No Comply mean?  What am I not complying with?  It appears to be "jump over things."

"No Comply" is simply the name of the move.  And yes, it's basically a little hop.

What is the difference between an Acid Drop and a Revert?  It appears to me to be the same thing - a way to land on a ramp without wiping out.

I'm not sure about the acid drop, but a revert is simply a move done at the end of a ramp landing where you shift your board 180.  Just another way to link moves.

[Starshifter]

Thanks Laner.

I'm starting to see the general picture here.  All these funky skateboarding terms are basically just ways to continue linking the various moves and tricks to rack up as many points as possible.  I guess I can probably just use the ones I get use to throughout the game instead of trying to master them all because some of them are near impossible to pull off.

[Dimmona]

Manual - sounds like you've already got it.  You should always be in the habit of hitting either D/U or U/D everytime you land on a flat surface as the manual is the main way to 'link' combos together and score the really big points.

No Comply/Boneless - Hitting the 'A' button will ollie (jump).  Tapping UP + A button will do a No Comply, which (in addition to giving you a few extra points and one extra trick in your combo) will give you some additional height on your jump.  Double tapping UP and hitting 'A' will do a boneless, which is will make you jump even higher (and is worth a little bit more than a No Comply).
You should try to do a boneless everytime you jump, especially on ramps.  Doing a boneless just as you reach the lip of a ramp will give you a huge increase in the height you go off of it so that you'll have more time to do tricks/etc.

Revert - causes you to shift the board around 180 degrees without changing the direction you are heading.  It's usefulness in the game is this - normally when you go up one side of a half pipe, you can do a few tricks but your combo will end when you hit the ground.  If you hit the revert button (right trigger) the instant you come back down and touch the ramp, followed by a manual (U/D or D/U) you can now go up the other side of a ramp and do a trick and it will count towards your originally combo.

So basically you want to always try to do a manual everytime you land on flat ground, and a revert + manual everytime you land from a half pipe.

Acid Drop - get off your board, go to a ledge, jump off and get back on your board in the air.  I forget the key combination off hand, but I think it was the white button to get off your board and then L+R trigger in the air to do an acid drop (??)

Hope this helps!

[Starshifter]

Dimmona excellent!  Thankyou!

I printed your info out to keep in front of me while playing until it becomes second nature to me.  I'm already about three-quarters through the training and starting to get the hang of the moves and button combinations.  The hardest thing with this game is just trying to figure out what all these weird skateboarding terms mean.  I'm getting there though.

[DonD]

Alright, help me now.

I'm stuck on the goal in Skatopia Classic where you need to front flip the billboard.  As hard as I try, I can't get a clean front flip.  It's supposed to be Up-Up-X for front flip, but I keep getting it with a nosegrab or something attached, even in Focus mode, and since I'm not getting credit for the goal, I can only assume it must be a Front Flip alone with nothing else attached.

Any ideas on how to do it?  In what sequence should I be hitting the 3 button presses?

- Don

[dangerballs]

The Manual also allows you to do flat-land tricks.  Simply start a manual (up-down, down-up) and then while you are manualing you can hit combinations of the grab, grind, and flip buttons to do tricks like handstands and etc.  Its a very easy way to rack up serious points, especially after a huge ramp trick.

[dangerballs]

Alright, help me now.

I'm stuck on the goal in Skatopia Classic where you need to front flip the billboard.  As hard as I try, I can't get a clean front flip.  It's supposed to be Up-Up-X for front flip, but I keep getting it with a nosegrab or something attached, even in Focus mode, and since I'm not getting credit for the goal, I can only assume it must be a Front Flip alone with nothing else attached.

Any ideas on how to do it?  In what sequence should I be hitting the 3 button presses?

- Don

Are you on the XBOX or PS2?  The PS2 is slightly easier to use because of the seperated d-pad.  The XBOX d-pad can suck because you can mean to hit up, but the controller registers a up-left or up-right.  Anyways, the key to doing double-press tricks is to remember that its up,up,x and not up,up+x.  Its takes a bit of timing, but you have to hit the up button pretty quickly.

[none]

hell, DonD, i'm having problems with that goal as well.  but i have managed to pull off a flip using the button combination you described, just not over that dang sign.  i think it's doable, just not by me yet.  good luck to you!

[stiffler]

I thought the combo for a front-flip (on the Xbox) was to HOLD the action button (B?) and THEN do the up-up.  I just finished the training portion, so I am pretty certain about that.