OutRun2 on Xbox (2004)

Brief synopsis of OutRun2

Ever had those little fantasies where you think to yourself, Wouldnt it be better to live in Springfield? Well, we have those about Segaland!

In Segaland, the sky is always blue (unless it changes for dramatic effect) and drifting in cars makes you go faster and gives you more control. Oh, and all cars are made by Ferrari, are indestructible and come with a rather tidy female passenger for free. Although it must be pointed out that if you do drive a big flash Ferrari, you usually do get a tidy female passenger thrown in. As to whether its free, well, thats a debate best left to our feminist friends.

And all this is a rather long-winded way of introducing what is perhaps the quintessential quality of OutRun 2: the game is made of the purest Sega, its 100% Sega, it has no additives and no polycotton blends. It has heritage and is beautiful in a way that only the very cream of Segas software can be. Its also rather fun to play.

The main game deal is: pick a Ferrari with free girl then drive as fast as possible through a selection of five of the 37 available tracks sounds like pretty standard stuff. But its the style of driving thats important. As mentioned above, drifting is what its all about.

And in this, the Sega-ness of OutRun 2 is unmissable. A great part of the driving focuses on the players ability to drift. And drifting in OutRun 2 is absolutely fantastic. Again showing its somewhat tenuous blood line shared with the Sega Rossodeveloped Initial D, drifting around corners makes you go faster. As with say, Daytona, the drift is activated by letting off the gas, tapping the brake, then full gas and into the corner: the patented Sega drift technique.

Yet OutRun 2s drift mechanic is far more intuitive than that of its predecessors, albeit totally unrealistic. You can get the car to almost travel backwards and still retain control. It works very well as the drift is managed by a combination of opposite-lock steering and the amount of gas you apply. Drift out too far and just apply more gas, as with any racing game, though the amount of multidirectional control Outrun 2 affords the player is unsurpassed and only hampered by the width of the machine and the increased likelihood of crashing into other vehicles. Drifting in first-person mode allows lengthy views of the passing scenery perhaps the most unnecessarily detailed and beautiful selection of backgrounds ever seen in a racing game.

Ignore anyone who tells you Outrun 2 should not be a console game. It should. Theres enough there to satisfy all but the most avid Gran Turismo nut and with Live! play thrown in, you can live the Beautiful Journey forever!