OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast

Long before Crazy Taxi started racking up fares, Sega had an arcade game that devoured our dollars faster than an SUV: OutRun. Fast, straightforward, and packed with plenty of colors and delicious eye candy, OutRun wasn’t your average arcade racer. Being stuck in the second dimension didn’t hold it back, neither did the hardware limitations that kept other racing games from achieving the developer’s true vision.

We’ve seen several generations of gaming hardware come and go since that time, and now Sega is ready to deliver another update to their groundbreaking franchise – OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast. Set in lush locales and stunning cities, Coast 2 Coast has hints of Sonic the Hedgehog running through it. But don’t let the pretty graphics and inspired environments fool you. This is a serious racing game with one serious intent: it wants to put players on the edge of their seats, much in the same way that another great racing game has – Burnout. 

Coast 2 Coast offers a few different game modes, the main one focusing on several tiers of races. Finishing first isn't always your primary goal. Instead the game might require you to drift for a big score, or stay out of last place to keep your girlfriend from running off. You don't necessarily have to be in first to accomplish that task, at least not until the race is narrowed down to two drivers.

Racing does make up the bulk of the action, sending players on a wild roller coaster ride. Everything happens so fast. Suppose you're speeding through a crowded city, dodging cars as you would in Crazy Taxi. The controls, I must add, are notably tighter than Crazy Taxi. They remind me of the original OutRun, but with the smooth, seamless feel you get from a modern-day analog controller.

Back to the scenario: it's very easy to get distracted by the environments, especially when you see what happens next. All of a sudden the course makes a major transition. The clouds changed as the sky morphed into another scene. As I sped down a short bridge, I could see massive mountains up ahead. It was as if I was in an entirely different course. The change is subtle, almost too quick to be noticed. This is a linear series, yet the enormity of each course makes the game feel so much bigger. 

Beyond racing there's Heart Attack, a mode of tricks, stunts, and doing whatever it takes to appease the lovely lady sitting in the passenger seat. The game refers to her as your "girlfriend," and the more you impress her the happier she'll be. Keeping her happy means she won't jump out of the car, allowing the game to continue.

What can a gamer do to impress his virtual woman? Pass cars without crashing into them, drive through a series of rings, or breach the barriers between two cars, etc. These are among several different race-related objectives that pop up throughout the course. Win or lose, you'll get to come back and try to complete the objectives a second time, or take an alternate driving route for other possible objectives. I'll take multiple routes just for the visuals. These may not be next-gen, but they are very impressive.

The car models are greatly designed with a smooth, highly reflecting shine. Lighting, shadows, and other lifelike elements are done in real-time. Buildings have a great set of realistic textures and architectural depth that prevents them from adapting the all-too-common “pasted on” look. (You know what I’m talking about: those flat, rectangular buildings boring textures and a lackluster texture job. This game doesn't have any of that.) It’s true that none of the cool effects you’ll see in Coast 2 Coast are new, but this is old hardware. All that matters is they’re polished, functional, and that the frame rate is consistent. Thus far the game has delivered all of those with only a minor drop in the frame rate. I suspect this issue has been corrected for the full retail version. 

Cruising into stores on April 25th, OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast is an exciting adventure that's full of eye candy. Get behind the wheel of 15 fully licensed Ferraris. Crash into other vehicles as you lose control, staring deeply into the background as it changes within the course. Online functionality has been built for up to six players, letting you and your friends enjoy all the new (and classic) environments together. There also appears to be some sort of connection between the PS2 and PSP versions. Could the two have exchangeable content? Your guess as good as mine, but whatever it is I'm definitely intrigued.