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OutRun 2 
Release date: 25 Oct 2004
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Mygamer review
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Time Extension!
In the mid 1980s OutRun took arcades by storm with its beautiful graphics and open-ended gameplay giving users dozens of possible paths through the game - a feature way ahead of its time. For the most part, OutRun2 is a carbon copy of its classic arcade predecessor. The game starts you in Palm Beach and allows you to choose your own driving adventure as you progress to one of five destinations, all of which you'll need to reach with one of the twelve Ferraris at your disposal. At the end of the Palm Beach course your path then branches into two directions of varying difficulty. Each subsequent route branches out again until you've completed five of the fifteen courses. If you make all left turns you'll follow the easiest path through the game, whereas all right turns takes you through the most challenging. Each course has a time limit that is extended by crossing checkpoints and beginning the next course.
Not a sequel so much as a remake, OutRun2 is everything you'd expect historically - from the pick-up-and-play controls right down to the female passenger berating you for crashing or making mistakes. Scenery changes are abrupt as you progress from one course to the next, and occasionally the graphics on screen interfere with your line of site - but overall OutRun2 looks damn good. Some shadows are false but player car models reflect the environments and all three views - third-person, first-person and driver's view - convey an exhilarating sensation of speed. The only skill you'll need to learn is drifting, and you'll have to successfully utilize it over huge distances. While a bit unsettling outside of third-person view (since you can't see where you're going), it's still fairly easy to grow accustomed to. The Options screen can be accessed at any point on the front end or during game play to adjust the sound, game options and switch between eight differing controller configurations.
OutRun2's audio is every bit as authentic as the gameplay and you'll find all of the classic tracks including Splash Wave, Magical Sound Shower and Passing Breeze have been admirably recreated in addition to the new tunes that are onboard. Most of the music is great and fits perfectly with the feel of the game; but tracks such as Life Was a Bore and Night Flight are completely out of place and don't belong in a racing game. What makes it worse is that you can't replace them with custom soundtracks. There is also no music on the front end, and when the pause menu appears there is no sound whatsoever corresponding to item selection or adjustment of individual settings.
The main fame modes are OutRun Arcade, OutRun Challenge and OutRun Xbox Live. All modes are primarily the same thing and, prior to gameplay, you'll select from the available cars, pick a color and transmission type and, in true OutRun style, a soundtrack for your road trip. Load screens prior to the actual game exhibit the car you've selected in the appropriate color. OutRun Arcade consists of OutRun, Heart Attack and Time Attack modes. OutRun Mode is classic OutRunning where you must complete a path through the game before time expires. Heart Attack Mode is basically the same but, in addition to completing the race, you must also perform tasks to impress the young lady who's riding shotgun beside you. As you pass other cars and drift for certain distances hearts rack up in the heart meter. Whenever you screw up, hearts disappear and you get yelled at. In Time Attack mode you pick a predetermined goal area and a set route to it, then you race against a ghost car to the finish line.
And now a word from our sponsor:
OutRun Challenge consists of OutRun Mission, Party Missions and OutRun Race.
With OutRun Mission each course on the map has seven heart challenges each of which unlock a Mission Card. Challenges include maintaining a certain speed in marked areas, drifting, passing other cars, and even performing simple arithmetic while driving beneath numbers then choosing a path corresponding to the correct answer. Depending on how fast you drive, you may or may not have steam coming out of your ears from this particular challenge. There are 101 Mission Cards in total but, unfortunately, the vast majority of them are completely useless. Many cards show pointless Ferrari advertisements including a picture of the original engine crankshaft of the 1993 F1 Ferrari, or a kid's driver's overall - a child-sized replica of a Ferrari race uniform, and, no, your driver can't wear it during the game. Once all seven of a course's challenges have been completed you'll finally unlock something useful, such as a new course, a soundtrack, or a new car.
Party Missions consist of two to four players passing one controller back and forth to compete for high scores in missions. By selecting Mission the five events randomize, but you can't adjust them individually and cars and colors are chosen for you. Finally, OutRun Race consists of time trials, system link races and CPU rival races on any unlocked course. Rival Race lets you choose to race the entire course or an individual route, with one to seven CPU rivals and traffic (which can be toggled on or off). Time Trial also allows you to go through individual stages backwards - from finish to start, if you've unlocked the option to do so in OutRun Mission. There is no conventional multiplayer mode but you can race with up to eight others players via system link or Xbox Live.
OutRun 2 is all over the place in so far as what it has to offer - its $40USD value is well earned due to the very small selection of cars, lack of worthwhile extra content, inability to check a rear view while racing, and each course takes the same time to drive through as the courses in the original game. On the other hand, it's an exceptionally faithful recreation; the map of the route you're driving is displayed on screen just as it is in the original OutRun coin-op and, when you're done, the map appears full screen and highlights your complete path. You'll even find the same fat dude in the blue pants and red shirt frantically waving the checkered flag at the start of each race. OutRun fan boys rejoice - everyone else proceed with caution.
Review by Dave Kaplan on 31 Oct 2004
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