Final Lap

Final Lap (ファイナルラップ, Fainaru Rappu) is a racing video game produced by Namco, and released by Atari Games for the United States in 1987. It was the first game to run on Namco's then new System 2 hardware, and is a direct successor to Namco's two earlier Pole Position games (1982-1983).

Final Lap was the first racing game to allow up to eight players to simultaneously race on the Suzuka Circuit, in a Formula One race. This was, at the time, considered a revolutionary feature and was implemented by linking together up to four two-player sitdown-style arcade cabinets. It was also arguably the first racing game to implement "rubber banding" to ensure that less talented players were never too far behind the leader, a concept that would be taken much further by the Mario Kart series. There was also a single player mode, in which the player's score was based on how far the car travelled until time ran out or if the player completed four laps (on default settings; the arcade operator can set the lap number to be as low as three or as high as six).

Traces series

Traces is a series of novels written by author Malcolm Rose, about the adventures of Forensic Investigator Luke Harding and his Mobile Aid To Law And Crime, Malc. The first book, Framed!, has been selected by the United States Board on Books for Young People and the Children's Book Council as an Outstanding International Book for 2006.

Six books of the series were published between 2005 and 2007 by Kingfisher Books in the UK and by Turtleback Books in the US. All six books, plus a seventh, Murder Club (2013), have since been published by the author on Amazon Kindle.

Alternate England

The Traces universe is explicitly located in a future England, where the decayed and semi-abandoned South is supported and feared by the vibrant, successful North.

Final Lap 2

Final Lap 2 (ファイナルラップ2, Fainaru Rappu Tsū) is a sequel to Final Lap (released by Namco in 1990); it runs upon Namco System 2 hardware, and much like that original title (and Four Trax), it allows up to eight players to play simultaneously when four two-player sit-down cabinets are connected together, but this one features four different tracks which are set in the game's home country of Japan (the Suzuka Circuit from the original), Italy, Monaco, and the United States (which resembles the Test track that was featured in Pole Position II). For a second time, the players must take control of either the Williams, McLaren, March or Lotus cars, which have been redesigned, in a Formula One race on one of the four tracks - and in the single player mode, the player's score shall again be based upon how far his car travels until the timer runs out or he completes four laps of the chosen circuit, and hitting another car or a billboard will again not cause a player car to explode like it did in the two Pole Position games, but it can still send it (or the other car) spinning off the track, costing valuable time. In the multiplayer mode, up to eight players can again race simultaneously; this shall again allow for better lap times, as the plain green CPU-controlled cars (which have also been redesigned) shall appear less frequently. The United States track is the easiest of the four, and is recommended for the novice players - and once a player has mastered it, he will be ready to move on to the Monaco track, then the Italy one (which are of medium and medium-hard difficulties). However, the Japan track is the hardest one, given that it is the Suzuka Circuit from the original game and it is therefore only recommended for the expert players or the players who had managed to master it in the original.