30 days of Xbox: Outrun 2

In which I burn rubber and capture hearts, all behind the wheel of a ludicrously expensive sports car.
I’m continuing my run through somewhat random original Xbox games with Sega’s Outrun 2. Outrun is of course of the classic arcade games, but it’s been way too long since I’ve last thrown this particular disc in the drive. It was, as memory serves, beaten out by an even superior sequel, but it’s basic Outrun 2 I’m playing tonight.
And it is, in a word, glorious

Yep, that glorious.
Simply because Outrun 2 knows that it’s an arcade racer, and while it has a few sops to longer-term play, such as modes where you only get to keep driving as long as you win your girlfriend’s heart (largely by drifting), it’s still a simple arcade racer.

Some things never change. Including dodgy videogame advertising, albeit not for this version of the game
You know what? Sometimes that’s enough. Sure, I get that it’s visually not the greatest thing, and that, say, a single random tyre in Gran Turismo Sport has more detail than this entire game, but I don’t care when I’m behind the wheel, because I’m way too far in the zone, fanging it around corners while the sublime Magical Sound Shower plays in the background.

This isn’t me playing, but even watching this game is joyful. And I hate watching other people play games.
There’s a certain look to OutRun 2 that screams “arcade” game to me, as well. It’s part pixel, part 3D, and yes, it’s dated,but it works so very well. Having just rescued a copy of Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 with the use of window cleaner (no, really, it worked), it’s fascinating to see the difference. NFS Hot Pursuit 2 is sluggish and floaty, where OutRun 2 is fast and terrifying, and all the better for it.
How long did I play for: About 45 minutes, long enough to take in multiple races and finish a few of the “easier” arcade runs. Frankly, I could play for much longer than that, but the increasing years mean that I start really feeling it in my wrists for any longer than that, because OutRun 2 uses the force feedback motors a LOT.

Fat Duck Tech Retro Xbox Game Rankings

  1. Outrun 2
  2. Spy vs Spy

That was never in doubt, right? The question now is how far Spy vs Spy can fall. Believe me, I’m pretty sure there are games I could pick out that are worse.
Next up: He is funky. He might even be a junkie.

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