Outrun Online Arcade review

There's a lot of people that have fond memories of playing the original Outrun in the arcade all those years ago, but a lot of those people are completely unaware of the fact that there is an Outrun 2 and one that was released on Playstation 2 (Coast 2 coast). Fortunately for any fans of the series or arcade racing games in general, OOA is completely new experience that still retains many of the same gameplay elements that made the previous installments so popular while incorporating some new gameplay modes along with achievements, multiplayer, and leaderboards to keep you coming back from more.

Gameplay - 8/10

Before you even start the game, you're asked to pick a car and what tuning you'd like. It's worth mentioning that every car is in one way or another attached the legendary sports car manufacturer Ferrari in one way or another, but regardless of your thoughts on the brand, none of this really matters aside from aesthetics because this xbla title is far from being a racing sim and every car pretty much controls the same. After picking your car, its color, and the transmission, you're then given the option to select one of 5 gameplay modes, the 3 primary ones being Outrun mode (finish a race against the clock, competing for score, with several moments appearing between courses where you're given a branching path, 14 various paths you can take to reach one of five endings) Time Attack (same deal, but the tracks are pretty much empty aside from ghost cars), and Heart Attack mode (do various objectives to impress your girlfriend to get a higher score while trying to make it to the end). The other modes are just an extended version of Outrun and Time Attack, taking you through all 15 courses in a predetermined order. As previously mentioned, this is an arcade style racing game, meaning that you're going to find yourself constantly drifting between traffic in a completely sideways position, all without losing any speed if done correctly, and you're constantly exceeding 150 mph. In the beginning, it might turn some people off that since you have a time limit, the only way to complete a race is by not crashing or losing too much speed to make it to the next checkpoint, therefore adding more time to finish the level, but once you get the hang of everything, you'll start to find yourself trying out the various paths, getting favorite courses, and maybe even venturing online or checking in on your position on the leaderboards. Unfortunately, even just a few weeks after it's release, it's pretty obvious that most people playing this are playing solo since there are so few games online unless you can organize one with a few friends. While you can’t full customize the controls, there are several presets available, so I’m pretty sure there’s something out there for everyone and for anyone wondering, yes, the game feels a lot better if you hook up a steering wheel.


Graphics - 9/10

It seems like so long ago when developers were complaining about Microsoft forcing all arcade titles to be under a certain file size. Outrun arcade looks phenomenal, and while it might not be as pretty as Crysis or whatever or major retail release; it is easily one of the best looking XBLA titles available. The car designs themselves are incredibly authentic to their real life counterparts while still capturing the feel of the old arcade version of Outrun. No racing game would be complete without tracks of course, and Outrun’s stellar visuals pass on to the beautiful environments. There’s nothing else quite like that first short track, speeding down a highway with your girlfriend in the car beside you as you dart in and out of traffic with the top down, sun shining, wind rushing through your digital hair and making that first turn or drift and can see the waves crashing against the beach out the corner of your eye. Each level is dramatically different in look and feel from the last, keeping you from feeling like you’re driving through the same environments unlike many other racers out there. Because the game is running at such a high framerate and the visuals are so well done, one of the downsides is that if you do mess up and either slow down too much or run into the back of another car, the generic cars and buses used as the traffic models feel a bit blocky. It’s a small sacrifice to make for such an otherwise beautiful title though. One thing that does need to be mentioned is that some people have reported issues with the framerate either dropping or freezing for a moment, specifically around the Milky Way track, but I don’t personally recall ever having that bug happen.

Sound 6/10

There’s definitely something charming about how arcade like the sound is, but just like many arcade ports have learned through the years, something that might work fine there doesn’t necessarily translate well to a console release. When you’re starting out your race, you’re also given an option of what song you want to listen to, but they’re that really bad type of pop music that you only ever hear in arcade games, and that’s mainly because you can’t ever really hear them clearly in those environments. Since most of the game modes are over within 5 minutes, you’re not going to be complaining about having to listen to the same song over and over, but you definitely might wish there were more, especially since most people only favor 2 or 3 of the songs anyway. As far as sound effects go, it sounds like an arcade racer, from that trademark sound of rushing air as you draft behind someone to your tires squealing as you drift as 100+ mph around a 180 degree turn. It fits the game itself fine, but I can definitely see why someone that’s into serious racing games or never spent much time in arcades might be a bit put off by it and opt to just use their own custom soundtrack.


Overall 8/10

Outrun Online Arcade is going to appeal to a certain audience, and I’m positive the developers knew this at the outset. While it’s easy for anyone to pick up and play instantly, some people are probably going to be put off by the fact that there’s not a free run mode to allow you to memorize the tracks, meaning that on your first few playthroughs, even on the easiest path, you’re probably going to get game over’s back to back. As a direct result from the difficulty of finishing the races the first few times, there’s an immense sense of reward for finishing the game, then slowly increasing your score and times for each path. Once you tire of Outrun mode, there’s always Time attack, but for people looking for something different, there’s Heart Attack mode as well. For fans of arcade games or arcade style racers, you definitely need this in your collection. If you’re expecting Forza 3 here, you’re going to be sorely disappointed, but it’s still an incredibly polished and addictive racing experience that I recommend everyone at least try out.