Developer: Sega Publisher: NEC Avenue Release: 12/21/90 Genre: Racing
Sega’s ports of their arcade hits on the PC Engine are a curious bunch. One would assume they would keep those games exclusive to bolster the lineup of their own home platforms. But a significant number of their biggest hits of the 80s would hit the platform in varying degrees of quality. Shinobi was one of the best ports of that game for a while. But Altered Beast is an embarrassing version of a simple game. Out Run is one of the better efforts considering the hardware disparity and one of the system’s better racing games.
Out Run is a super scaler that uses a custom variant of the technology to deliver its gameplay experience. For its time it was one of the most visually complex arcade games out there as it scaled thousands of sprites to simulate 3d effects. There were many versions of the cabinet to simulate all aspects of the Ferrari, from the steering wheel and stick shift to the brake pedals. Despite all of this Out Run was ported to many different platforms with varying degrees of success. While the Sega Genesis version was the best you could buy for a long time this PC Engine port is not that far off to be completely honest.
Obviously the big question is how does it stack up visually? All things considered they do a pretty good job. They approximate the scaling track side detail as best as they can. There is less detail but it is still there. The lack of parallax scrolling is noticeable and certain routes suffer worse than others. The forked roads have been removed and the game runs at a lower resolution than the arcade. There are big black borders that shrink the display even further. Compared to the Genesis game it is more colorful but has less objects on the side of the road. The music comes down to personal preference. I do not like the PC Engine compositions and the sound effects are weak. These feel like compromises due to using a smaller Hucard however.
Out Run is not a traditional racing game in the sense that you are competing for first place. It is more of a driving game where the goal is to reach checkpoints to earn more time on your way to the eventual end goal. The game has one large map with many branching paths with some harder than others. There are five different goals with five checkpoints meaning overall there are fifteen courses in total. A single run consists of five “tracks”. Considering you determine your path through the game it has huge replay value as you experiment to find the optimal route to score the most points.
Outside of its visual prowess the gameplay is what kept players coming back. Out Run is a simple game with a bit of nuance to its controls. My natural inclination is to keep my finger on the accelerator and to lightly let off going in to turns. That does not work as well in this game. Shifting gears to manage speed and the torque kicked up yields better results and is a skill that I carry in to other racing games, even if I default to automatic transmission. The arcade game featured many twisting turns varying traffic to spice things up. To my eyes this version has shorter courses and is less complex. It still has most of the thrills but does not have the same impact.
I think what I appreciate the most about Out Run is its laid back atmosphere. Since you are not competing for placement it becomes about enjoying the scenery while on a cruise through the countryside. The goal is whatever you decide; that could be to see every route or to beat your personal high score. When you eventually run out of time it feels more like you disappointed yourself rather than failed at the game. Not many games give me that feeling and it helps this game stand out even more.
In Closing
It was a tall task porting Out Run to the PC Engine and the developers have done an admirable job. The visual splendor is lesser but the gameplay is largely intact. That means you have one hell of a driving experience on hand. Of the Super Scaler games on the PC Engine Out Run fares the best and one of the better racing games for the system.
