OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast Comments by Tom Bramwell

/shocked

What? A constructive review??

Didn't I buy this ages ago on the XBox?

EDIT: Oh it's the special edition with different tracks and slip-streaming... Gotca!

@Frod

See my correction: Just realised myself :D

3 minutes till this descends in to another 360 related flamefest.

\o/

a NINE !

/dances

Will enough people care? :)

Judging by the state of the game charts, I think its pretty clear that as quality rarely sells, neither will OutRun 2006 unfortunately. Bearing this in mind, do you think the game will be reduced after a short period of time to say £19.99 or less, or do you reckon it'll simply disappear from the shops altogether like Symphony of the Night and take up residence on ebay at a ridiculously high price?

I definitely want this game, I'm just not in a position to buy it at full price this Friday. Excellent review and excellent game though =)

sequel???

more like tweaked version..

a 9.0? 0_o

Xbox magazine gave this a 6.0 and they usually give games a 7 when EG gives them a 5... *confused*

Are you saying that this is in the same league as Oblivion?

I would buy this too (hell, I could do with an 'arcade-style' game for a change from all the story-based stuff I've been playing) but I bought 2 suits this month and going on holidays... So the wallet is pretty bare :S

/may pick it up next month

Xerx3s - of course its is. Check the reviewer ;)

Outrun on my PSP. On Friday.

Excuse me one moment...



... \o/

This is why Backwards-compatability is important...

Having purchased the XBox original at full price, only to see it hit the bargain bins a couple of months later, I'm prepared to wait a bit for this one.

"Are you saying that this is in the same league as Oblivion?"

Oh...oh dear.

The new 'as good as Halo' will now be 'not as good as Oblivion'. I can see it now. It will also be just as funny (ahem).

Expect SEGA to pull a OutRun360 by christmas time... that's probably why the 360 doesn't emulate this one...

I smell a purchase coming my way.

arcade-nostalgia-me-do! \o/

Good old Sumo! You guys rule!

/clenches jaw

Blimey - a very nice review. I'm not sure about you coming round and kissing us mind :)

Before the inevitable flood of 'Why doesn't this work on 360' can I just say that we'd have happily done whatever to make it happen, just it's out of our hands.

Microsoft have stated that the 360 will eventually run all Xbox games, so once this happens, then you'll be able to play OutRun2006 and OutRun2 on Xbox360.

Until then - there's nothing we can do sadly.

Still not long till Friday - I hope everyone has as much fun with the game as we did making it :)

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S0L
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Gutted it doesnt work on the 360, looks like the PSP version for me then

Well done, Tom, for such a great review. As to all the nay-sayers, this is an arcade racer, but you might be surprised about its longevity. I and many others I know bought the original Xbox game not long after it came out, and everyone's still playing the thing, because it's so much fun and easy to pick up and play for short bursts. Everything I've heard suggests that C2C is even better than the first game, which makes it a no-brainer purchase for me.

I suspect that this game won't sell terribly well, and I know full well that many magazines and gamers will dismiss it as too simple, comparing it to games that have cars in but that otherwise bear little or no relation to C2C. But, hey—so what? Those of us who adore pure arcade gaming now have two near-flawless games to keep us going for years. Those who ignore it simply don't know what they're missing.

I have to go back to OutRun2 on Xbox and see why I didn't enjoy it as much as apparently everybody else did.
The review had me feel your love for it, though, very good.

Xbox magazine gave this a 6.0 and they usually give games a 7 when EG gives them a 5... *confused*

What's confusing? OXM is staffed by monkeys. Unless their review copy was accompanied by a fat cheque and a bunch of bananas they won't give it a chance.

Are you saying that this is in the same league as Oblivion?

Hnnngghhh *eyeballs explode*

Tom, one question: Alot of your beef with the 360 seems to be that its not doing anything "nextgen". In the case of Outrun we basically have a PS1 style racer but with nicer graphics. Surely thats not reaching "current gen" levels?

I might be missing something, but OXM gave it 9/10?

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S0L
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shite shite shite shite shite

i was really hoping this'd be an 'ok' game, but noooo it has to be uber and give me even more reasons to upgrade the PSPs bios :(

/contemplates buying a second PSP

Blue Skies FTW!!

Furbs, stop being such a troll!

Hey I've got an Xbox (x3!) and PC so I'm actually curious about this, I just dont see what it offers over for instance RR in terms of gameplay. I'm not even actually wanting to compare the two, I just dont understand Tom's stance.

Outrun 2 was meh to me precisely because it was the game as I played in the arcades 15 years ago, with some heart collecting subgame, but maybe I'm missing something.

If thats trolling then forgive me, I'll get back under my bridge!

*laughs*

i really enjoyed that review. i was undecided but now i'm going to buy it.

thanks, tom.

Perhaps Tom can't help himself but view this through the rose-tinted haze of those retro spectacles. Perhaps you make allowances for games such as this, with their core structure and gameplay routed in in the past, tied to what is commonly regarded as a *classic* you don't bother making direct comparisons to RR6 (even though you could argue that RRs mechanics are also historic like Outrun).

I guess he's only human Furbs.

@ Frod - So whats current gen about it other than the visuals? :P

I really loved the first one on the xbox when I played it with my old wheel, I didn't really get on with the joy pad controls.

Might have to get this and a new wheel. I might give RR6 a go as well if it's that good.

Outrun 2 was great because it was like having an arcade machine in your bedroom. Games like this and F-Zero are what driving games should be for me. Project Gotham and Gran Turismo are just too damn dull.

Tom - is it better than Ridge Racer PSP then?

I'm definitely getting this, it's just a question of whether it's the PSP or PC version. PC will obviously look better, but I don't play much on the PC these days. It seems perfect for a handheld game, but the PSP version doesn't seem to be perfect, unfortunately. After spending hours on the ultra-smooth, and quite frankly brilliant Ridge Racer, I'd be interested to know how this compares in terms of smoothness and control.

K

Sound like I'll have to give RR6 a try I was put off it by a demo I played. I saw it today for 15 quid second hand so I might give it a crack.

Now it's official: Eurogamer has just funny reviews when it comes to racing games.

*LOL*

Outrun is the PERFECT arcade racer. Mkay.

this looks the same as the first one basicaly.. which was a good 3/10 if that.

You need to feel the love of blue skies.

This is Katamari Damacy in a racing skin.

I'm veering towards the PSP version... the thought of Outrun 2 on the go is hard to resist.

I hate to be predictable but... is there any mention at all of a souped up 360 version of the game coming some day? I don't fancy buying games for consoles I'm probably going to be packing up pretty soon.

:: Outrun 2 was meh to me precisely because it was the game as I played
:: in the arcades 15 years ago, with some heart collecting subgame, but
:: maybe I'm missing something.

I guess so, seeing as the games are only superficially similar, in the way the branching system works. The control method, which is the entire point behind OR2, is totally and utterly different (although it did amuse me to see all of the reviews referring to the slides and drifting in the original, as though OR2 was a mere graphical update). The mini-games in OR2 were fun as well, and weren't in the original.

Outrun2 plays very differently to 1986 Outrun. There was no sliding and twisty turning tracks in the original.

K

I CAN'T WAIT.

This is the _only_ thing that has mead me want to buy a PSP.

"Outrun 2 was meh to me precisely because it was the game as I played in the arcades 15 years ago, with some heart collecting subgame, but maybe I'm missing something."

OR2 and C2C resemble the original Outrun gameplay-wise in the same way that Ikaruga resembles Space Invaders. It would be hard to come up with two racing games with more fundamentally-dissimilar play mechanics. You great twonk.

Kay - fair enough, but thats hardly a huge progression in my eyes.

I think disc is right - its the blue skies thing - I just cant buy in to it :(

Cheers Rev. I guess thats karma as I've said the same about you so many times reading your reviews and articles :P

Outrun 2 is my favourite Xbox game by a country mile, so it would be rude not to buy this.

But PS2 for use with my steering wheel or Xbox for slightly prettier graphics? Hmm.

My PC could barely handle the orignal Outrun, so it's probably out of the running.

UK Resistance have a nice alternative review of this...though it's not really a review, just a smattering of screenshots and some text.

K