OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast

Format Xbox

Developer Unknown

Publisher Sega

Genre Racing / Driving

It's no secret we're all fans of the original Xbox version of OutRun2. To us it's arcade racer perfection - even if it did fail to spawn a sales rush with the Great British games-buying public. If this special 'remix' edition doesn't hit at least the top three spot in the sales chart, then we can't even begin to explain the trouble that's going to kick off.

Why? Because OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast is the perfect blending of two of the greatest arcade games of recent years (OutRun2 and OutRun2 SP), together with simply dozens and dozens of brand new challenges and race modes. More than that, Coast 2 Coast uses the subtly refined handling system from SP, so those who had difficulty with the original Xbox game (and let's be fair, some of the later challenges were insanely hard) can now benefit from the addition of slipstreaming, better drift cornering, more forgiving car collisions, and the entertaining addition of rival Ferraris that dodge and weave through the traffic just like you. In fact, if you simply want to play a carbon copy port of OutRun2 SP, you can - it's there as an additional option.

But mainly Coast 2 Coast is about the tons of super-slick, modified Ferraris, loads of unlockable classic OutRun music tracks and a big fat pile of missions where you have to please your totally unreasonable other half ("Count all the green cars we pass or I'm LEAVING YOU!!!"). That, and the endless variation of Live multiplayer modes - because what's the point of enjoying Sega's finest if you're not enjoying it with friends?

And the best news? Although it's yet to be confirmed, it's likely that Sega will release Coast 2 Coast at the wallet-friendly price of 30. So now you really don't have an excuse for not owning Sega's seminal classic. Full review coming soon.

Official Xbox Magazine staff