Back in the days when arcades were still popular and were packed out with all of the latest games, you could always expect to see someone playing one of the many driving games available. Outrun was one of the first driving games and continued to dominate the arcades throughout the years with updated titles. Of course, that all changed when games machines were introduced to the home market at a reasonable price. Back to the present, Sega have released ‘Outrun 2006: Coast to Coast’ for all Ferrari lovers to burn up the highways with a gorgeous girl by your side.

Gameplay:

With the likes of PGR and Burnout on the circuit, Outrun 2006 aims its sights at the classic gamer (the ones who remember arcades) with this simple but addictive driving game. There are no 25+ types of car manufacturers; instead you are given 15 fully licensed Ferrari models including the all new F430, F430 spider, Superamerica and the 550 Barcetta. The single player game has four quick start modes; Coast 2 Coast, Outrun, Heart Attack and Time Attack. Each mode allows you to gather more Outrun miles, which in turn unlock more cars, music and courses. The collection of Outrun miles is also available when playing on LIVE.

In the Coast 2 Coast mode, you are able to race against other computer cars in the attempt to finish first and gain top grades, of course you could finish any other position but who likes to be anything but first!! The other feature in this mode is ‘Heart Attack’. Here you are trying to keep your girl happy by performing the many requests or is that demands, where the better you do, the happier she will become which ultimately leads to a better rank.

Outrun mode is the most familiar version to arcade gamers where you get the chance to play Outrun 2 and Outrun 2SP, both pit you against the clock where you must race from checkpoint to checkpoint before time runs out over 15 stages. At each stage you must decide which branch to take thus making every race different until you have exhausted (no pun intended) all possibilities.

Finally, there is ‘Time Attack’. In this mode you are able to race against ghost cars, which could be previous best times by yourself or perhaps you might want to download the world’s finest Outrun racers to see how well you do against them or learn a couple of new tricks.

Graphics.

This is a perfect recreation of the arcade machine and considering what is out on the market, the graphics feel dated and don’t seem to use the full potential of the Xbox (as seen in PGR2 or Burnout). There are good points such as the way the reflection shines off the car whilst racing but not enough to say va va voom. The sceneries are nice enough and vary between canyons, forest redwoods and beach highways with some lovely colours but it’s hard to get excited about the look of the game.

Sound:

The words cheesy and irritating come to mind when you describe the music for Outrun. The tunes are available from the start are downright terrible and my advice would be to switch the music off altogether. The sounds associated with driving are barely present with the exception of when you overtake another vehicle, and even when you change vehicles, the engine sounds exactly the same.

Longevity:

Apart from a crash course back to the days of my youth playing this in the arcades, this game in my opinion will not last very long due to the other race titles available on the market. The different modes do bring some life to this game and LIVE helps a little, but it doesn’t hide the fact that this game is monotonous.

Round Up:

This game is worth hiring before you even consider buying for two reasons, the first being that you might actually finish the game over the hire period, and the second reason is to see whether the music will drive you insane. It is a fine recreation of the arcade classic Outrun and if you are a fan of the game you will love it.

Pros:

• Outrun 2 & Outrun 2SP
  
• LIVE races against 5 other players.
  

  Cons:
  

  • Music so bad that you wouldn’t want to subject your enemies to.
    
  • Monotonous game play.