From Gran Turismo 5 comes our latest game of the week, a race pitting Kotaku reader Icegoat in a roadster overmatched by nearly 150 hp against the rest of the field,
"I like a challenge," writes Icegoat, who ran a BMW Z4 tuned up to 397 horsepower against a field of racers ranging in power from 542 to 637 HP. Early in the race, Icegoat hits a couple of walls, crashes three different times in the first three laps, and winds up dead last among the field of 12.
"Normally I might restart the race at this point, but on this day I kept racing," icegoat writes. "From last place I suddenly became quite serious about the race. I timed my braking, controlled my throttle and kept my rear of my overpowered FR car in check around the corners."
Icegoat kept picking off the field - 11th place, then 10th, then 9th. "I managed to get all the way up to second place, just behind the leader, at the last corner of the race. I dived in to the inside line, pushed my way through and overtook first place just as we rounded for the final stretch."
He would have to hold off a furious AI rally, though. "My opponent, just in my rearview mirror, was much more powerful than me. I all had was cunning. If I allowed him, he would easily overtake me in the half-mile straight sprint to the finish. So I made my little BMW Z4 as wide as the the four lane road. I swerved and zig-zagged to keep the enemy squarely in my rearview. With that final bit of skill and luck I was able to clutch victory from the jaws of crashing-into-last-place defeat."
Icegoat vows that he ran the race with no driver aids. "No traction control, no active steering, no skid recovery force, no stability management." See for yourself in the video above!
Remember, all you have to do to get yourself featured in Box Scores' Game of the Week is take a picture of whatever you've been playing - crappy cell picture will do - write up a couple sentences about why it was so compelling, and email it to me, owenATkotakuDOTcom, with "Box Scores" in the subject header. I will star all submitters, regardless of whether they are published. So be sure to include include your commenter handle, or your commenter page URL if it is different from your handle.
Now the Kotaku Sports open thread commences with the sports TV highlights for today and tomorrow. All times are U.S. Eastern.
- College Football Bowls
Games underway include Florida and Penn State in the Outback Bowl on ABC; Alabama and Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl on ESPN and Mississippi State and Michigan in the Gator Bowl on ESPN2 in half an hour. The BCS begins tonight with Wisconsin vs. TCU in the Rose Bowl at 5 p.m., and Connecticut vs. Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl at 8, both games on ESPN. - NHL Winter Classic
Hockey's outdoor extravaganza has been moved to an 8 p.m. start (NBC and CBC) to avoid rain predicted for the Pittsburgh area this afternoon. The NHL's fifth regular-season outdoors match (with a sixth coming later this year in Calgary) pits the rival Penguins and Washington Capitals at Heinz Field. The CBC nightcap involves the Flames at the Oilers, 10 p.m. - NFL
The biggest game in the final week of the regular season involves the 7-8 Rams and the 6-9 Shitchickens for the NFC West title and a home-field berth in the playoffs. Elsewhere, the Packers (4 p.m. Fox,) Giants (4 p.m., Fox) and Buccanneers (1 p.m.) Fox, all take the field trying to lock up the last NFC playoff berth. If you can sort out the playoff possibilities, let me know.
- MMA
Tonight's UFC 125 matches lightweights Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard; and middleweights Chris Leben and Brian Stann, in Las Vegas on pay-per-view at 10.
Remember, you may send Game of the Week nominations to owenATkotakuDOTcom, and flag it "Box Scores" in the subject header. Please include your commenter handle for proper credit.