Outrun 2006 SP HD - XBox Live Arcade

As a preened playboy that prances more keenly than Ferrari’s famous horse, Outrun 2006 provides escapism from dour driving simulations into a world of gleaming motors, candy-bright lights and vapid women. In capturing the essence of Yu Suzuki’s seminal 80s arcade game, Sumo Digital have dispensed with nearly 15 years of driving game development to deliver fun and enjoyment over mechanical expertise. Few other games highlight the change in the driving genre - from ‘game’ to ‘simulation’ - so clearly as Outrun 2006. There are no tuning options beyond choosing a transmission, cars do not have selectable colour schemes and there is no career mode charting the ascent from a rusting banger to the heights of supercar ownership. Rather Outrun 2006 delivers staccato bursts of pure fun that re-create the ‘just one more credit’ phenomena that made the arcade original such a hit.

Dappled light slips past as the beautifully waxed Ferraris, untouchable by impact damage, tear through the landscape. With elegantly designed tracks taking advantage of the drifting mechanic there is a constant feeling of motion. Slaloming around corners perpendicular to the road whilst roaring past competitors delivers a sense of satisfaction and challenge. Knowing when to drift and when to seek the racing line means the difference between success and failure, and Sumo Digital have delivered an accessible challenge with much replay value in arcade mode, time attack and its challenge mode. The mechanics, whilst simple to grasp, are complicated by the rival Ferrari drivers and the traffic volume. This exposes the game’s main weakness, the cars’ twitchy front ends can make relatively simple overtaking nerve-wracking, and correcting your course after a drift can feel like a lottery. Nevertheless, this minor gripe can be ameliorated by practice and overly gentle use of the analogue thumbsticks.

From the opening bars of ‘Splash Wave’, through to the gleaming motors and the spectacular scenery, there is little doubt that Outrun 2006 is a worthy update of the arcade classic. With mechanics focussed upon fun, and tracks designed for risk taking, there is much to reward both repeat play and that quick five-minute-fix. Whilst Outrun 2006 is four years and one hardware generation old, its stylized visuals have aged far better than facsimiles of reality, and its play mechanics remain timeless. There is much to recommend in Outrun 2006, and it is a worthy addition to the aptly named XBox Live Arcade.

4/5

Pop Quiz...

... which of the following weighs 20 kg?

1: 500 lemons;

2: c. 1/3 of me;

3: three or four big bags of potatoes;

4: Victoria Beckham;

5: the fingernail of William 'the Fridge' Perry;

6: My luggage allowance to move to Japan for 5 years.

It is, of course, a trick question. They all weigh 20 kg, though the only ones I give a freshly minted fuck about are 2 and 6. Mainly 6.

Per Ardua, Japan.

The internet is awash with people without anything to say other than a need to exercise their god-forsaken right to say it. Whilst we've all enjoyed a smirk at the self-important cretin who details the minutiae of their life for generations to come, or a bloated moron's ruminations on the power of darkness, I never really thought I'd be joining their brain-numbed ranks. However, I have an actual purpose, and blogs with a voice are the only ones worth reading. In little less than three months I'll be moving from the 'cosy' north east of England - with its windswept scenery, orange women, historic buildings and casual racism - to Japan as part of the JET program. I do not intend this to be some sort of horrendous, overinflated blog on the practicalities of going to Japan with JET, though I imagine some of these aspects will come out through an admixture of complaint and unfocussed rage. Rather, this blog has a very tight remit for keeping me in contact with the very few people I actually like, and the still-fewer who like me. I have always thought that a personal, as opposed to journalistic, blog should be very much Facebook 'plus'. Hopefully, this simple rule will prevent me from becoming that saccharine twat who belongs on the other side of the world, as far away from you as possible.