Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast for the Xbox

After last week’s prod around the excellent Outrun 2, it seemed like a sensible idea to follow on with a look at what is essentially its sequel; Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast is the home computer and console take on the arcade follow-up Outrun 2 SP (or Special Tours), which took the original game, replaced every gorgeous location with a different but equally attractive one and, along with hiking the overall speed of the game up a little, gave the cars the option to ride the slipstream of vehicles in front of them to get their top speeds up even higher than before. As with it’s Xbox predecessor, Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast has a straight Outrun mode where the fifteen arcade stages can be attacked in the usual manner of racing a stage and deciding which comes next at intersections in the road but, surprisingly, it also contains the original fifteen from Outrun 2 as well, all of which are exercised regularly during the mission modes.

Gazing at a gorgeous sunset... at over 220Km/h

Yes, along with the all-out Outrun race modes there are mission modes in a similar vein those in Outrun 2, although this time they’ve been divided into two distinct groups; the more driving-oriented activities such as drifting, races against computer-controlled opponents and so forth are all presided over by Flagman, the rotund character who resembles Father Christmas on dress down Friday and usually waves the cars off at the starting line. The more surreal games have been placed under the scrutiny of Clarissa who is, despite her casual attire, a hard task mistress who cracks a metaphorical whip and insists on a high standard of driving skill from the player.

None of the bridges in Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast need a toll.

Although the photograph taking and memorising sequences of fruit are no longer present from the previous game, what the petite dominatrix in the passenger seat wants can still be somewhat deviant; along with more mundane tasks such as not crashing or passing as many vehicles as possible (sometimes involving convoys of big rigs), the missions range from the violent, such as smashing every other vehicle off the road with a temporarily indestructible car, to the surreal as the player avoids meteorites that tumble from the sky to embed themselves into the road surface, being caught in the tractor beam from a hovering U.F.O. or dribbling what must surely be ten feet of beach ball along with the nose of the car. No, I’m still not making this up…

Some of the scenery can't be appreciated until you watch someone else playing!

One major change between Outrun 2 and this new incarnation is the way that new items are unlocked. Gone are the Top Trumps and ridiculous Ferrari-labelled tat such as teddy bears and paperweights, instead we have Outrun Miles which are accumulated after races or missions are completed; these can be traded in like air miles to gain access to new cars, select paint jobs for the ones already unlocked, add extra soundtracks to the play list and open up missions including two long runs that take the driver through fifteen stages of either Outrun 2 or Outrun 2 SP scenery (the latter being available on some Outrun 2 SP arcade cabinets, apparently only enabled if the operator so chooses). The actual roster of cars is far larger in Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, with each of the fifteen existing in its regular state and a racing-ready “Outrun class” version which is more expensive, but has better performance.

The woodpecker infestation was getting seriously out of hand!

Considering the huge popularity of their original Xbox port of Outrun 2, I’m sure that the temptation was there for developers Sega and Sumo Digital to rest on the laurels of their existing code, merely tweaking it to add the slipstream and extra car roster in order to produce a home version of Outrun 2 SP. The quite brave decision to redesign the mission mode games, the inclusion of the tracks from the first game and particularly the alteration of that unlocking system really are deserving of praise (especially now that I can simply save up for the Outrun class F40 and the two mixes of Magical Sound Shower!) Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast still drives like an absolute dream and, with the thirty stages, two different sets of mission modes and a generous helping of Ferraris to choose from, this really should be enough to keep even the most well-practised Outrun 2 player busy for a substantial amount of time.

The versions of Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast squealing sideways around corners here were the Xbox and Windows PC ones (I’ve found the latter to play best using a USB analogue Dual Shock clone pad, with the left stick for steering and right assigned to accelerator and brake – it takes a bit of getting used to after the Xbox controls but does work quite well) but it also exists for the Playstation 2 and PSP and of course the arcade original.