driving heritage, plus they looked and
sounded amazing. I think they still
hold up today! It’s such a clear, easy
concept: beat the clock and get to the
end. Plus, who doesn’t want to jump in
a Ferrari and head into the sunset?”
Xbox Gamers wanted to do just
that, and while the exclusive port of
OutRun 2 didn’t shift millions of units,
it did enough to convince SEGA that
Sumo was the perfect developer to
port OutRun 2 SP when the arcade
manufacturer released it the following
year. For those who haven’t played
it, SP is mechanically the same game
as OutRun 2, but with an exotic New
World setting. Where OutRun 2 had you
once again racing through beautiful
locations in Europe, like the original
arcade game, SP shared parallels with
Turbo OutRun, Suzuki’s 1989 arcade
sequel, which finally realised his
dream of an American-based racer.
The brilliantly designed courses of
SP are not only challenging to race
through, but they also allow you plenty
of time to gawp and marvel at the
stunning landscapes you pass, just
as OutRun 2 does. Sunny Beach is a
stand-in for San Diego and comes
complete with moored boats and
beautiful white beaches; Big Forest
has you cruising through the Sequoia
National Park where you race through
(and even under) gigantic, monolithic
redwoods, while the Milky Way course
is a substitute for Cape Canaveral,
impressing with its mesmerising star
field and gigantic space shuttle.
Each of the 15 courses is not only
meticulously designed, but also
instantlyrecognisable,andit only
HANG THE DJ
BURNOUT 3:
TAKEDOWN
Criterion’s explosive
racer is an impressive
counterpoint to OutRun.
Just ignore DJ Stryker.SUPER SONICRACING
SONIC &ALL-STARS
RACING
TRANSFORMED
Another hitfromSumo,
this SEGA celebrationhas
some greattrackdesign.OutRun 2006: Coast 2
Coast was one of the best
arcade-style racers to
powerslide onto the Xbox,
and it certainly wasn’t
the last.NEED
FOR
SPEED
BRINGMETHEHORIZON
FORZAHORIZON
Playground’sdebutracer
tonesdownthestuffiness
foundin traditionalForza
gamesandfocuseson
racingthrills.takes you a few moments to realise
that SEGA’s original arcade team took
inspiration from the Grand Canyon, Las
Vegas, San Francisco, Prince Edward
Island and countless other locations.
When Coast 2 Coast was released
in 2006 it not only included the brand-
new SP arcade courses, but also the
original 15 courses from OutRun 2,
complete with the Heart Attack and
Time Attack modes for each set of
tracks. The 101 bonus challenges,
port of the original OutRun and bonus
tracks from Scud Race and Daytona
USA 2 didn’t make the journey,
however,meaningSumo’sfirstOutRunport is still well worth picking up and
adding to your collection. Coast 2
Coast is the far better game, though,
and that’s largely down to just how
much game there is. While drifting
through the 30 available courses is
still fantastic fun, the Coast 2 Coast
mode offers a far greater challenge,
thanks to its wealth of additional
content. There are new challenges
that range from simply outracing
other opponents, to drifting as much
as possible, or trying to impress your
girlfriend by staying ahead of a rival
driver until their available hearts run
out. “Our inspiration was Heart Attack
mode, where the game’s mechanics
were explored in various details, such
as precise drifting,” explains Lycett
about the new Coast 2 Coast mode.
“We sat down and brainstormed all
sorts of ideas, then tried them out in
quick prototypes to make sure they
were fun! If they worked we kept them,
if we didn’t we cut them.”At what cost?
As exceptional as OutRun 2 SP is, an
experienced player can get from start
to finish in less than five minutes –
great when you’re pumping a quid into
an arcade machine, less impressive
when you’re paying £40 for the same
privilege. Lycett mentions that SEGA
was well aware of how this perceived
value would translate to consumers
and asked Sumo to create as
comprehensive a package as possible.
“They wanted both online multiplayer
and an in-depth single-player mode,”“It’s such a clea easy concept: beat the clock
and et to the end. Plus who doesn’t want to
ump in a Ferrari and head into the sunset?”
extra
ABOVE Even today
Coast 2 Coast
remains a
fantastic-
looking game,
thanks to its
slick engine and
exquisite
stages.102 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE