They say all good things must come to an end, and – inevitably – they must. Unless, of course, you’re talking about the sort of game which combines scorching handbrake turns, blue skies, and various Ferrari models, in which case, the rule is null and void and the game seems to last on into eternity. Outrun, having battled through from the humble arcade machine in your local bowling alley onto next-gen consoles, has to be one of those few exceptions to the rule – it is one game which, however many times you bust it’s carburettor or break it’s clutch, will still come back to haunt you in another iteration.

In a good way, though – Outrun is just one of those things that makes your imagination go wild. It’s simplicity and pure inattention to detail; the almost never-ending, one way ribbon of road winding through cities and countryside; the dangerous oversteer which leaves you hovering on the edge of death, only to generously pop you back on the right course eventually, whatever line you take; the interminable powersliding which is so easy to pull off yet oh-so-satisfying. Such a combination wouldn’t and couldn’t work as well in any other game but OutRun – it’s timeless.

Timeless, maybe, but worth the €10 (about £8.50ish) or 800 MS Points which it costs on the store?

Outrun is undoubtedly true to the original arcade versions – for those gamers who started out on arcade machines, Online Arcade will be one which takes them back to their younger games. However, while the colours are sharp and the framerate is quick and not-at-all jarring, Online Arcade’s visuals just don’t have enough in-your-face realism. The cartoon-style graphical style which Online Arcade incorporates is reminiscent of the original, but – to be deadly honest – the original actually has better graphics than Online Arcade.

However, when it comes down to actually driving, the homage paid to the arcade versions pays off, and big time. While the cars don’t handle with all the realism in the world, driving is, simply, fun. There’s no damage indicators, no clutch, nothing which is actually that technically realistic, and it works perfectly – the only components of the gameplay which are actually that near real life are the ability to use either automatic or manual handling and the slipstream system. In fact, it’s the same sort of arcade-y system used in the Ridge Racer series – Online Arcade oozes the same charm and enjoyability factor when it comes to the actual driving.

The different modes available for gameplay are a good point too – you’ve got a few real gems, including the classic Outrun mode, where you need to try and complete the 15 areas with only a certain amount of time for each area, and then just normal race modes. However, there are also some modes which are just mind-bendingly stupid – attempting drifts and other car-based stunts in order to please my virtual ‘girlfriend’, thus earning points, is not my idea of the most well-thought-out game mode ever.

The different areas aren’t very original either – those looking for dashes through open countryside, desert wastelands, the Amazon Rainforest or even just a normal race circuit, like Donnington, will be disappointed, as almost all of the different areas are based around America – there’s beachside roads, Vegas-esque casino towns and wooded national-park-type areas, but no race tracks or terribly normal areas to race through, which is a shame, but it doesn’t really take away from the experience – racing is racing, wherever you’re doing it.

Online is pretty much exactly the same as the offline game, but with additional cars – online players – who you have to race against, instead of racing against checkpoint times. It’s not very original though, and the game lobby is terribly set up; if you enter a game already in progress, you don’t start automatically at the next checkpoint, but you end up having to wait for the next game. Which means that you can hardly ever play online without a five-minute-or-more wait till the next race starts.

So, worth the €10, £8.50ish or 800MS Points? For a bit of cheap fun which will keep you entertained and is good to crack out when the kids are bored, definitely. For a hardcore racer who wants the best driving experience possible… definitely not. It’s a good game, and fun, there’s no doubt about it, but there are flaws which will be noticed by the most dedicated of gamers, and even the least after a while.

It’s a hoot in spurts, though.

7/10

Linford

Labels: DLC, Linford Butler, Outrun, Review

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