G'Day fellow tuxers……. Its Bruce your host here once again…….. Its a sunny Saturday here right now…….……

This week has been great weather wise……. Its starting to warm up here and the sun has been out every day…….

I mowed the lawns and cleaned out the gutters before bushfire season starts……. and have taken Natasha on many walks……

I also got to play quite a few games…… Its been a pretty laid back week here…… Besides work being a pain in the arse…..


[+..••] As for gaming this week in Emulationville I played [+..••]

Arcade

Real Bout Fatal Fury Special (1997 SNK) - Fighting


Console

Dakar 2: The World's Ultimate Rally (2003 Acclaim) - Sony PlayStation - Sports (Racing)
ESPN NFL 2K5 (2004 Sega) - Sony PlayStation 2 - Sports (Football)
NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona (2002 Infogrames) - Sony PlayStation 2 - Sports (Racing)
NFL Blitz 2024 (2023 NFL Blitz Resurrection) - Nintnedo 64 - Sports (Football)
PES 2014: Pro Evolution Soccer (2013 Konami) - Sony PlayStation 2 - Sports (Soccer)
Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (2006 Konami) - Sony PlayStation 2 - Sports (Soccer)
Tecmo Super Bowl 2024 (2023 TecmoBowl.org) - Nintendo Entertainment System - Sports (Football)


PC

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002 Rockstar) – Steam (Proton) - Action
NASCAR Heat 5 (2020 Motorsport Games) – Steam (Proton) - Sports (Racing)
WRC 10 FIA World Rally Championship (2021 Nacon) – Steam (Proton) - Sports (Racing)


Dick Trickles Racing Career: Part 32
NASCAR Dirt to Daytona: Part 32
Featherlite Modified Series Season 1: Race 10

Intro music…... Hello and welcome to Left Turn Heaven..... Im Murray Eastlake and today im going to be bringing you all the action from the 2004 Featherlite Modified Series: Round 10 of 11 here at New Hampshire International Raceway……..



New Hampshire International Raceway…….


New Hampshire International Raceway is 1.058 miles long with 12 degrees of banking…… This track might only be a tad over a mile long…… But with big long straights and sweeping turns at each end…….. The cars can really stretch their legs…….. Horse power and lots of it is the name of the game here……. With plenty of room to move…… This should be a very fast and free flowing race…….

The final round of the 2004 Weekly Dirt Racing Series was held yesterday and Dick Trickle who had already wrapped up the championship many weeks ago took another stellar win…… To not only make it back to back championships but back to back undefeated seasons……. What another amazing year this Dick has had…...


2004 Weekly Dirt Racing Series: Round 10 of 10…...


Dick will be looking to carry that winning form here today…… As he really needs a win to keep the pressure on Jason Sulivan who has a 87 point lead over Dick……… Dick has been chipping away at that lead over the past few weeks…… Jason Sulivan has to be starting to get worried by now……

Jason Sulivan could also do with a win here…… As a win would wrap up the championship for himself with one round to go….. Is he willing to risk it for for the glory or will he be content with finishing second to secure a healthy points lead going into the final round???……..

The last championship contender is Joel York…… Who would need an act of god to be champion……. He needs to win here today then win next week……. AND he needs both Dick and Jason Sulivan to finish 19th and 20th here today and next week……. That is a tall order thats for sure…….

Well its all to play for here today…… Who will take the win and who will be knocked out…… With just two races to go its getting very serious now……...

Dont touch the sets...... Dont touch the dials...... You wont want to miss a single moment of the 2004 Featherlite Modified Series....… Practice and qualifying are coming up right now……


Dick Trickle at the track ready to race.…


Dick used the same setup from the race here two weeks ago…… He just ran a few laps in practice to make sure the car was still doing what he wanted it to do and that nothing was wrong with it…….. He was very satisfied when he got out of the vehicle after practice…….

Qualifying proved just how little Dick needed to touch the Klipsch Modified Flaming Dick Machine…….. He set a sensational lap of 29.661 to claim pole by a very comfortable margin…… As he was 1 second clear of the man in second Jason Sulivan who set a 30.601…….

Third was Francis Lee with a 31.225…... While the man who really needs a win Joel York could only manage fourth spot on the grid setting a time of 31.498…….

Rounding out the top five is last seasons championship William Anderson……. Who set a very respectable time of 31.767…….



Qualifying Results........



Dick Trickle lined up ready to start the race......


Dick lead the field to the green flag for the 50 lap race……. Dick got a good jump to have the lead into turn one……. As Jason Sulivan tucked in behind Dick in second…… With Francis Lee not far behind in third……

In what seems to be the never ending battle for fourth…… Joel York and William Anderson resumed their usual positions……. Fighting each other tooth and nail…… Joel York could do without this battle as he really needs to stay in touch with Dick and Jason Sulivan…… But William Anderson was not going to let Joel York go as Anderson claimed fourth spot going into turn three…..

Out in front and Dick was already setting a comfortable lead…… He was in clear air setting lap times on par with his pole time…… leaving Jason Sulivan and Francis Lee to fight it out for second……

Jason Sulivan was starting to gap Francis Lee as Lee was not able to keep up with the championship leader…… And the traffic was not helping Lee at all……

Speaking of the traffic Dick Trickle had no problems with the traffic as he was slicing through them like a hot knife through butter……. He was losing so little time that he was still setting 29.7 lap times while going through the traffic……

Jason Sulivan was not as good through the traffic…….. He was losing around a second extra a lap trying to cut through the lapped cars…… And now he found himself in no mans lap……. Huge gap to Dick in front and large gap to Francis Lee behind…… He was in for a boring second half of the race……

William Anderson and Joel York were still fighting hard at the half way mark of the race…… With Anderson just able to fend of York through the traffic…… But there signs were ominous that York was faster than Anderson over all…….

Meanwhile up front Dick had a commanding 25 second lead at the half way point……. And was still cutting through the traffic like a man possessed……. As long as Dick didnt make any mistakes it was his race to lose…… Jason Sulivan just couldnt keep up and was sitting in a very comfortable second place………

Francis Lee was falling further behind as the laps went on…… His long run pace was just not here today……. It was looking like a very comfortable third place for Lee today……

The battle for fourth died off after the half way point as Joel York found a way past William Anderson for fourth…….. His car was indeed faster as he was starting to gap last years champion…… Anderson looks set for another fifth place finish as he has a nice healthy gap to Gary Soros…….

With 10 laps to go Joel Yorks championship hopes were all but done and dusted….. As all he could do was sit there and watch as Dick blew past him to put York two laps down……

Dick was not done lapping cars as with 3 laps to go he then drove past Francis Lee to put him also two laps down…….

As the chequered flag waved no one could stop another Dick Domination as the Klipsch Modified Flaming Dick Machine crossed the line to claim his fourth win in a row……. Dick has really grown in the back half of the season…… And no one has been able to stop him…….

Championship leader Jason Sulivan was second…… His championship lead cut down to 64 points…… That is a rather healthy points lead going into the final race of the season next week…… He managed to stay just 1 lap behind Dick……

Third was Francis Lee who was just nowhere to be found after the early going…… His pace dropped off during the entire race……. He will need to work on his qualifying and race trim balance for next season…….. He was 2 laps behind the winner…..

Fourth was Joel York whos championship hopes have now officially ended……. Hes another one whos had a consistently solid year on track but was nowhere near the level of Jason Sulivan or Dick……. He was also 2 laps behind Dick……

Fifth was last years champion William Anderson who had another solid fifth place finish but when you realise he was very nearly three laps behind the winner….. It doesnt look that good….. Just like with Joel York….. Anderson has just had no answers at all for Sulivan and Dick…….. If he wants that title back hes going to have to lift his game massively next year……..



Race Results..…


After the race Dick did his trademark burn out down the main straight…….. The cheers of the crowed was almost enough to down out the noise of Dicks engine……..

After the burn out Dick drove out of the tyre smoke like a scene from a movie……. And made his way to Victory Lane……. Where his wife Pussy Galore was eagerly awaiting the arrival of her man……

After the two embraced I managed to pull Dick to the side and get a word with him……. “WOOOOOOOOO the fantastic fourth in a row Murray…….. I cant do anymore than I am right now……. Time is running out for me……. Just one race to go and im going to need Jason [Sulivan] to finish thirteenth or worse next week……”

“Jason [Sulivan] has had a hell of a year……. But if he has problems next week I will be there to pick up the pieces…… Its not over until I take the chequered flag at Martinsville…….”

“The car was fantastic again today….. I really could not have asked for a better car…… Riding the Klipsch Modified Flaming Dick Machine is almost as good as riding Pussy Galore……”

“I was able to get through the lapped traffic without any issues today……. And that makes a huge difference during the race….. As you can lose so much time in the traffic that can put extra pressure on you……. So I was able to run my own lap times and cut through the traffic without any pressure at all…….. It was a fantastic race from my point of view…….”

“Next week we are off the final race of the season as Martinsville….. No more dirt races this year…….. So I can spend all week preparing the modified car…….. All I can do in the race is lead the most laps….. Win……. And hope that Jason [Sulivan] had a bad day or something goes wrong for him…… I hope the race wins that Luis Rivas cost me earlier in the year dont come back to cost me the championship……”

Next week the 2004 Featherlite Modified Series heads to Martinsville Speedway…….. For the final round of the 2004 Featherlite Modified Championship……..

Dick vs Sulivan….. Only Jason Sulivan and Dick Trickle can win the championship next week…… Dick needs to win ……. Lead the most laps and prevent Jason Sulivan from leading a lap……… AND he also needs Jason Sulivan to finish thirteenth or worse…….

Jason Sulivan just needs to finish twelfth or better and he will be the champion…….. He is control of his own destiny……. He seems to be quite content to just rack up second place finishes the past few weeks…… Will that continue next week to wrap up the championship???….. Or will he try to take the championship with race winning glory????……

Francis Lee and Joel York will be looking to spoil the party next week…… Even through they have been relegated to racing only for pride…… You can bet they will both want a win to finish the season…...

Tune in next week for the answers to all these questions and more….. Exclusively here on Left Turn Heaven……..

This is Murray Eastlake reporting for Left Turn Heaven..... And until next time its goodbye from me....


Winnings.…



NASCAR Heat Weekly.…



2004 Modified Series Championship Standings after round 10 of 11.…







First lap Modified Dick action....


Dakar 2: The World's Ultimate Rally…...



You see ive been through the desert on a horse with no name…….

The graphics are actually quite nice….. Its not super amazing……. But it does the job…….. The vehicles looks nice and the terrain is rather nicely detailed for what is meant to be a desert rally….. The textures are a bit on the low resolution side mostly on the vehicles…….. even on the PS2 that could have been done better…… Another really nice thing is how the vehicle gets more dirty as you drive through the stage……. And it can get real dirty…… If my ex was that dirty…… She wouldnt be my ex…….

The sounds here are ok……. The co-driver can be a bit annoying and can also be hard to understand at times….. They all seem to have very thick fake accents….. The vehicles sound ok….. The usual vacuum cleaner sounds for this time period on consoles…… Not as bad as the vacuum cleaner sounds in Gran Turismo……... The sounds of the tyres on the difference road surfaces is a really nice touch of detail……. The constant forever looping music is annoying and I needed to turn that off ASAP……..

The controls are rather standard for the PS2…… Left stick steers……. X accelerates……. Square brakes……. Circle handbrakes……. Etc etc…… It works well enough and its nice and responsive……. I had no troubles playing through the entire event…….

The storyline….. Well there is no storyline… So I get to make one up again……. April O’Neil is on location doing a story around Giant Radscorpions……. When she is kidnapped by Shredder…….. She is bound and gagged and thrown into the back of a Dakar Rally vehicle and transported from France to Shredders secret hideout in Dakar…….. The Ninja Turtles enlist the help of their old friends M.A.S.K. to help locate which vehicle April O’Neil is in……. You take control of said vehicle that April O’Neil is in…… Can you make the run from Paris to Dakar without being spotted by M.A.S.K. or the Ninja Turtles????…….

The gameplay is actually good….. This is first and foremost a arcade game….. There is no simulation here…… Their are 12 stages so 5 less than the real 2003 Dakar Rally…… But these are very short and sweet and each stage can be done in 5 or 6 minutes tops….. While I normally would prefer longer stages…… Since this is pure arcade I will let it slide…..

I chose to drive the Blue Armada of Kamaz……. The Kamaz is locked until you win the reverse Dakar Rally in a tuck on medium difficulty or higher…… And the reverse Dakar is not unlocked until you win the normal Dakar on medium difficulty or higher…… So I used cheat codes to unlock it…….. I really hate that locked content crap in these older games…….

The trucks are my favourite class in the real Dakar Rally……. I dont really like the cars or bikes that much…… So I was really looking forward to my first ever drive in a Kamaz truck in a Dakar game…….. The truck is a bit floaty and doesnt feel like it has any weight to it…… Unlike the real Kamaz Dakar Truck that weighs in at around 8 to 10 tons depending on the year and weight rules…..

There is no getting bogged or stuck in the dunes…….. The handbrake is pure physics defying arcade fun…… And even though it is an arcade game there is no underwater ocean section and no giant ants to destroy your vehicle…… But there are some shortcuts in forked routes in the stages……

There is also weather…… Like rain……. Its a nice touch and a nice addition to have……. But its not random…… A rainy stage will always be rainy no matter many times you play it and a sunny will always be sunny no matter what…….

The truck can be damaged and it can impact on the trucks performance but there is no “service” after each stage to manage the damage…… It is just all fully repaired between stages without any intervention from you the player……

The stages are either 2 or 3 laps around a track…… Or a single point to point run….. There are only 2 stages that take place in the actual desert…….. And they are the by far the best…… They are wide open stages with check points and you have free reign to get the checkpoint any way you want…… As the crow flies over the massive dunes and risk damage???……. Go around the dunes and try to not damage your vehicle…… The choice is yours…… And this is where the game really shines…… Sadly it doesnt shine for long enough…….

Even though the stages are on the short side……. Unlike some other Dakar games ive played that are over in less than 20 minutes….. This took me around 45 minutes to complete the normal Dakar Rally…… And to increase playtime once the main Dakar is won it will unlock more vehicles and a Reserve Dakar Rally event…….

Overall while not amazing and not truly capturing the gruelling nature of the Dakar Rally….. This is still by far the best Dakar game I have played……. But thats not a high bar considering ive only played Dakar ‘97 and Paris-Dakar Rally Special…… Which are truly awful games…..

But if you are looking for a pure arcade and fun Dakar Rally game…… Dakar 2: The World’s Ultimate Rally is actually a decent choice…...

And that is why my final score for Dakar 2: The World's Ultimate Rally is a Sandcrawler out of 10……...




Dakar 2: The World's Ultimate Rally…..


The Road To PES Penguin 6


The road to unlock the PES Penguin in Pro Evolution Soccer 6 is at 100 PES points out of 5000……….


Rugby 08 World Cup……..


Intro Screen



Australian Wallabies stats



Australia is in Pool B



Australia vs Japan


20 countries compete in the Rugby World Cup…… 4 Pools of 5 countries play in a round robin format and the top 2 countries from each pool go on to play in the quarter finals……

Pool A: England, Samoa, South Africa, Tonga and United States
Pool B: Australia, Canada, Fiji, Japan and Wales
Pool C: Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania and Scotland
Pool D: Argentina, France, Georgia, Ireland and Namibia

Game 1 of the 2007 Rugby World Cup for Australia was against Japan…… Japan is a very low rated team in Rugby 08 and was about as low in real life also….. So I expecting to put on a ton of points and easily get the 4 tries needed for a bonus point…….

And thats basically what happened……. Australia ran away with it early on which some easy tires and kept on running away with it as Japan had zero answers for the mighty Wallaby offence……..

I am playing 20 minute halves for a total game time of 40 minutes…… So lots of time to rack up points against the lowly rated Japanese…….

Not much to say about this game as Australia won 91-0…….. Which is actually not far off the real 2007 World Cup match score of 91-3…..

Next match will be Wales vs Australia……





Game Action



Final Score



Match Stats






Pool Standings Week One


Next week…… I will do more odd jobs around the house and continue to walk the fleabag…...

As for gaming there will be hardcore modified Dick Trickle racing action in NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona……. Getting down and dirty in WRC 10…….. More PES Penguin 6…….. Rugby World Cup in Rugby 08……… And I will be off yet another All Aussie Adventure……. err…… I mean……. Another Dakar desert adventure…….

Well thats it from me…… Hope all you tuxers have a good week……

Now for my bad joke of the week……
A polar bear walks into a bar and says to the bartender "Ill take a rum................. And coke....." Bartender says "whats with the pause??"...... Polar bear says.... "I was born with them......."
*ba dum.... tssssh…...*