October 22, 2004 - Back in the arcade days I played OutRun, Pole Position and every other arcade racer I could get my hands on. Back then, they were all arcade racers. Each game had its twist, its one catch, and Sega's OutRun always stood out as a fast, wild ride in a convertible with a girlfriend. If you remember playing it, you'll also recall it wasn't an easy game, either. OutRun was easy to pick up and play, but to beat it? Well, you'd better have two pockets filled with quarters, and another loaded pair of pants for backup.

In yet another strange arrangement that would have boggled people's minds just a few short years ago, Microsoft is publishing OutRun2, an Xbox port of the Sega AM2 arcade game. But so be it. The final reviewable is, to be completely honest, pretty damn good. In fact, it's much better than I expected it to be. There is a hefty quantity of modes, hundreds of unlockables, fully licensed Ferraris (which of course drive nothing like their real-life counterparts), and two secret arcade games bundled in for old-school racing farts like myself. It's also got a distinct sense of control and speed that makes it easily one of the most fun racing games that I've played in a good long while.

Gameplay
Sega AM2's OutRun2 boasts a few, singular strengths. It's the epitome of arcade games in the best sense of the phrase. This racer is absolutely super easy to pick up and play. Anybody can do it. There are two buttons to press. Right trigger is accelerate and left trigger is brake, that's it. It takes place across a wide range of courses, all of which are tied together in a branching and expanding pyramid. You'll speed across them with a great sense of speed, and you'll pretty much be punching the pedal to the metal the whole way. No, it's not as blazingly speedy as Burnout 3: Takedown, but that's OK. It's still very fast. It also boasts one of the coolest powerslide mechanics in any arcade racer ever. And if you REALLY love Sega's racing games, you can unlock the original Outrun and tracks from Daytona USA. Yes, they're packed in here. Lastly, you can get online via Xbox Live! and vie against seven other people.

I'm not going to short-thrift OutRun, but that's pretty much it. Is that enough?

So, I just turn this wheel and you love me long time?

Now, if you're still interested in a very good alternative to BurnOut 3 this fall, you should seriously check this out. I'll explain why I believe this seemingly simple arcade game has more going for it than meets the eye. First, if offers three main modes of play: OutRun Arcade, OutRun Challenge and OutRun Xbox Live. The first mode offers OutRun Mode (beat the arcade game), Heart attack Mode (listen to your girlfriend's commands and earn hearts while still making the checkpoints), and Time attack Mode (beat your best score). Then there is OutRun Challenge, which offers 101 missions to beat. With a little inspiration from other arcade games, namely Crazy Taxi, you'll find these missions hilarious, cruel, fun, and just plain weird.

For instance, a normal challenge is to pass as many cars as possible in a certain time length. Easy enough. Another might see you collecting as many hearts (which revolve around opponent cars) as possible. Yet another challenge might require you to pull off a sustained powerslide and while holding it, take a picture of a giant heart in a specified area. That's also a rather cruel one -- because it's actually quite hard at first (the timing is all weirded out). There are, in fact, 101 challenges, and each one, once beaten, unlocks something special. The word "Special" ranges full tilt in OutRun 2. You could unlock a picture of a mountain bike (somehow related to a Ferrari, which is the special obsession behind the this game's origin), or a special Euro-mix of a classic OutRun tune, or a new car. Unlocking stuff is the essence of gaming these days, and there is undoubtedly a serious quantity of "stuff" to unlock in these 15 stages.