OutRun
System: Genesis
Release Date: October 1991
Developer: SIMS/Hertz Co., Ltd.
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Racing
Get ready for a wild drive through the countryside in OutRun! Sega’s premiere arcade racing cabinet comes to 16-bits and you’ve got fifteen different segments of track to learn, drive, and master. You don’t have to worry about dropping a dozen quarters, though, so try and try again until you find your favorite path. Can you master them all?
I found the best tactic was floor it at all times. If a turn seemed to be a little tight, downshift until you got out of it, then floor it some more. What you need to be careful of are other cars that are in your path. These guys will mess up a clean race quicker than you can imagine. Turns are also littered with obstacles that will flip your ride. Luckily, you won’t be hurt and your car will appear ready for action.
There is a time limit on every segment of track. When you get to the end, you can choose to go left or right. This takes you to the next segment. As you enter the next scene, you cross a checkpoint that will extend your time. I found that if you wipe out more than once on a segment, you’re not going to make it. There were instances where I ran out of time as I crossed the checkpoint and got a game over. You don’t get the courtesy of coasting through here.
There really isn’t a lot going on in OutRun. The road hills and dips, but this just serves to obscure whatever turns are in your future. At least you have four different tunes to choose from. I hope you like one enough to keep you playing!
Graphics: 2.0
The car looks alright, but the road looks bad, the frame rate isn’t pleasing, and the hills and valleys obscure the track from sight.
Sound: 2.0
The different music tracks are nice, but none of them are really rocking enough to play with.
Gameplay: 1.5
This is very basic racing. Go fast and avoid the other cars on the road.
Difficulty: 1.5
Wipe out three times and you won’t be able to finish no matter how clean you run the rest of the time.
Fun Factor: 1.0
I really didn’t have much fun with this version of OutRun.
Overall Rating: 1.6
OutRun earns a C-. I can’t say I can recommend OutRun to anyone but the most avid fans of the game.