OutRun

Even today, I consider this game a true classic and is as playable as ever. I often start it up, using MAME32, and spend a little time doing some driving. The music is the timeless classic it has always been, and brings me back to the late eighties when I used to play this game down at the arcade in 1987-88.

Out run is a classic arcade game and unfortunately almost all of its ports were terrible and bad, the truth is that it does not seem like a good classic game to me and the truth is that its gameplay is very repetitive, even if at least it has good music that you can select before to start the game and amazing graphics for its time, the only decent port is from TurboGrafx.

Outrun was a massive success when first released in the mid-80s. So much so that it was ported to every home console imaginable. Most of the conversions were utterly terrible. The TurboGrafx version was the best of these (with the Genesis version lagging behind it) but to really enjoy Outrun, one has to play it in the arcade.

If you have done you'll know what I mean when you recall the big machine with the seat, pedals, wheels and loud speakers. How wonderful were the three radio stations playing either 'Magical Sound Shower', 'Passing Breeze' or 'Splash Wave'? Once you got going and took off on your trip across America, your Ferrari Testarossa would travel through all the different scenery America had to offer. The graphics were beautiful with big blue skies, gorgeous beaches and awesome sunsets. The game itself felt liberated and hedonistic and those tunes were so funky that they've lasted to this day as some of the best video game tunes ever. Anyone who knows Outrun will know 'Magical Sound Shower'.

Alas, the Sega Genesis version doesn't really do the game any justice. It's far, far too easy (I finished it in 5 minutes on my first go!) and does not show off what the Genesis was capable of. The sound, graphics and gameplay could/should have been much, much better than they were. Even a neo-classic such as Road Rash was far superior to the Genesis conversion of Outrun.

Find the arcade machine and spend all your pennies on that. And if you like it there is still Turbo Outrun, Outrun Europa, Outrun 2019, Outrunners and Outrun 2 for you to get into.