Tag Archives: outrun online arcade

First Impressions, Game Gear

OutRun Europa – First Impressions

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No suitable Game Gear box art, and the copy I purchased was the cart only.

So I was at a local game store the other day when I glanced in one of their display cases and noticed sitting front and center in a stack of Sega Game Gear games was OutRun Europa. Having recently spent some time with OutRun Online Arcade I decided to pick it up and see what it was like.

First off, the game is not developed by Sega, nor was it even published by them. The game was developed by Probe Software (a British studio no longer around) and published by U.S. Gold (a British publishing house that shares the same fate). It came out on a variety of platforms in the early nineties, mostly British computers but it also saw release on the Sega Master System and the Game Gear, the version I purchased.

Rather than simply driving, OutRun Europa features a very light story element. All I could gather from the game however was I had had my vehicle stolen, so I stole someone’s motorcycle to chase down the thieves, which is ironic since by doing so, I was a thief, whatever. I guess there is a different vehicle for each stage, but I wasn’t able to make it past the first stage, and it isn’t the game’s fault.

Alas my Game Gear was pretty much useless. The sole speaker on the system didn’t work and the headphone jack didn’t give me the full soundtrack. This is a shame because I watched clips of different versions of the game on YouTube and the soundtrack was good. The major problem with my Game Gear was the screen however. It was hardly legible and adjusting the contrast didn’t help. I could barely read the heads-up display or even see the pickups on the road.

While the stages were fairly lacking in detail, the Game Gear still had some impressive visuals.

So I didn’t get to play a lot of OutRun Europa, but I was able to piece more and more of it together from playing it a few more times and scouring the internet for information. I did like the handling of the motorcycle from what I played although I could’ve done without the pickups. These pickups gave me shields, boost, and maybe ammunition in later stages. There was a fork in the first stage but it doesn’t have a format similar to most other OutRun games, that is to say it doesn’t have multiple branching paths. I wished I could’ve played more to see the different stages and vehicles (a Jet Ski?!) but I won’t be able to until I get another Game Gear or a different version.

In Between Posts

In Between Posts, September 11, 2011

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I finally got around to posting my OutRun Online Arcade review last week. It was a pretty fun game and as a result of playing it I picked up another OutRun game last week. I was in a local game store and saw front and center in one of their cases a copy of Out Run Europa for the Sega Game Gear. It was just the cartridge, no box or manual, but it was only a few bucks so I picked it up. I’ll post something about it this week.

I also posted two demo impressions last week. One for Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon and another for The Baconing. The former wasn’t that great, but it might be fun with a pal or three and The Baconing seemed pretty decent, but maybe worth checking out DeathSpank first. I have a few more demos queued up too, but there isn’t enough time in the day you know?

Lastly I started a new game last week: Doom 3. I’ve sunk a couple of hours into it and I’m liking it. It’s pretty spooky, as long as I’m in the mindset to be spooked.

That’s pretty much it on the gaming front. School and work have kept me busy too, but I’m glad I can find time to write a little bit. I should post something for Out Run Europa this week and hopefully a demo impression of two. Also it’s been ten years since 9/11/2001. Dang.

Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade

OutRun Online Arcade – Review

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There was a handful of Ferraris to choose from; unfortunately they all performed the same.

OutRun Online Arcade, a downloadable racing game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 won’t be available to purchase soon. It has already been delisted from PlayStation Network and will be delisted from Xbox Live Arcade in December. It’s the most recent release in the long-running racing series, although it’s basically OutRun 2 SP, a previous game in the series. It’s my first experience with the series however and I think it’s a fun racing game that’s not too serious. It was developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega in April 2009.

OutRun is a series focused on driving Ferraris, and Online Arcade is no exception, which is also why the game is being delisted; Sega’s license with Ferrari is expiring soon. There are a handful of different Ferraris to choose from, but these seem like the most popular lot.

The stages look incredible, but it's hard to get anything more than a glimpse when you're driving so fast.

In the main gameplay mode, OutRun mode, I raced against the clock aiming to reach checkpoints to extend the timer. There are multiple, branching routes to take, another hallmark of the series, and I had to complete five in any order. Before each checkpoint, I had the option of taking a left route or a right route, leading me through different locations; all together totaling fifteen stages. Besides simply finishing, I was aiming for a high score; the faster I completed the mode and the more cars I passed, the better my score.

Besides, OutRun mode there was Time Attack, Continuous Race, and Heart Attack. Time Attack is just as it sounds: a race against the clock, unlike OutRun mode however, there is no traffic. Continuous Race had me racing through all fifteen stages in either OutRun mode or Time Attack mode. Lastly was Heart Attack mode. This was OutRun mode, but I had to do special actions that my passenger would request of me. After each checkpoint, I was graded on how well I did them. And as the title suggests there’s also an online mode, but I was lucky to find two other people online.

The Heart Attack mode added diversity to the package.

OutRun Online Arcade’s roots are in the arcade; as such the gameplay is quick-paced and great for short gameplay sessions. Whenever I played, I played a few races at a time, aiming to get a specific achievement. OutRun Online Arcade doesn’t have a lot of content to offer, seeing everything won’t take long, but I found the achievements to be challenging and provided enough incentive for me to replay the game often, attempting to shave a few more seconds off my best time. I think it’s worth checking out before it is delisted permanently.

4/5

In Between Posts

In Between Posts, September 4, 2011

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So I lied about last week, I didn’t actually post anything. I was super busy last week with homework. Primarily with this internet program called ALEKS. It’s a review of everything accounting and I sunk nearly twenty hours into it; some from the previous week. On top of ALEKS and my other homework, I worked six days last week. Needless to say I’m wore out and I’m excited I don’t work tomorrow, Labor Day.

I did find time to watch some lucha libre Thursday and that was pretty awesome. This mexican restaurant (Elote) in Tulsa puts it on on the first and third Thursdays of each month. The crowd was fairly large, about a hundred people, and the fighting was obviously for show but so entertaining.

I will post stuff this week. My review of OutRun Online Arcade for sure. That’ll be up tomorrow morning. I’ve already scheduled it so it’ll be up for sure. Hopefully I’ll get to the demos I downloaded last week. I think I’ll start a new game tonight or tomorrow, but then again I might just sleep.

In Between Posts

In Between Posts, August 28, 2011

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Well I finally posted my Grandia Xtreme review last week. Honestly I didn’t complete the game though. I made it to the boss before the final boss and it was crazy difficult, so I’m going to grind for a long time until I can over power the end bosses. I’ll focus on other games and try to play Grandia Xtreme every now and then; I’ll probably zone out with a podcast and grind some levels.

Besides that I posted two impressions for some demos. The first was Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine which was an okay third-person shooter. It’s worth noting that it’s my only foray into the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The other demo I played last week was Hamilton’s Great Adventure, which I thought was a stellar puzzle game.

I didn’t have a lot of time for video games last week; school took up the brunt of my time. I did play OutRun Online Arcade and I should post a review of that this week. My girlfriend and I resumed our game in The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure and are making solid progress in that. I also picked up Pokemon HeartGold for the first time in a long time. I played an hour or two of that and took my PokeWalker with me to work for one day, and wound up sending it through the washer; as of now it doesn’t work.

I’ll post my review of OutRun Online Arcade this week, and maybe some demo impressions.

Oh, and I decided to start adding a score to my reviews. Grandia Xtreme is the first game to get a score.

In Between Posts

In Between Posts, August 21, 2011

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Returning to school last week cut into my gaming/writing time so I was only able to pump out one article: my demo impressions of Bodycount. I was also played the demo for Toy Soldiers: Cold War however and should post my demo impressions of that game tomorrow.

Besides those two demos I did play a few other games. I barely played any Grandia Xtreme but I plan on playing it tonight. I played a little bit of Halo 3 online attempting to clean up my achievements in that game. Surprisingly I played a good deal of OutRun Online Arcade. I purchased this game late last year and played a little then. I’m going to write a review for it, but want to play more of it. I’m expecting late this week or next week for that, pending free time that is. Lastly I played a level of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure  with my girlfriend. We’ve played it previously but lost our save file. We definitely want to beat it and I’d like to write about it, but who knows when either will happen.

I’ll post my demo impressions of Toy Soldiers: Cold War tomorrow and we’ll see what else happens this week.