OutRun 2 Video

[Lazy8s]

http://www.sega-am2.co.jp/img/download/mv/outrun2/or2adv.mpg

This is the total package. Complex trackside detail being rendered way out into the distance and then rocketing smoothly by, realistic lighting setting a different mood for each locale and highlighting across the cars nicely, countless flourishes like smoke and water shimmering and cloudiness and desert haze, and all a part of the same continuous course! The modeling of the vehicles, like that Ferrari, is so believable I could touch it. Not to even mention each location, colored in trademarked SEGA arcade vibrance, its own stunning little world - the ocean city, the industrial zone, the castle, the lakeside village, the mountains and the deserts and the forest... Take THAT, photorealism.

And wow does whipping through those courses and sliding around those long turns ever look fun!

 

[maskrider]

I haven't watched the video yet, but I have stood behind the real arcade machines for 15 minutes watching people play it.

It looks pretty good, but not really spectacular. The jaggies are very noticeable. May be because of the big screens (there are 2 of them side by side for 2 players play).

It didn't wow me at all and I wouldn't call it photo realistic at all. The game plays like the first Outrun to me.

In the same Arcade, I would play the Initial D Arcade Stage than Outrun.

 

[Lazy8s]

maskrider:

I wouldn't call it photo realistic at all.

My point was, it's not. This game shows how graphics can be impressive without conceding to the conventions of photorealism.

Outside of the new F-Zero, I haven't seen any racer even approaching the draw distance and detail scaled by those backgrounds or its sense of speed.

 

[London Geezer]

I also stood for a long time watching people playing it, and although it looks nice and all, it really is nothing special... It's fast, it's clear (saw it in pro-scan cabinets) but nothing to pop my eyes out of my head.
Especially after seeing Burnout2 and what you can do with some imagination.
Also it doesn't look like a particularly deep experience, although that is the point of arcade racers, it won't convert into a successful home version unless they add tons of extras. I'm pretty sure Burnout3 will stomp over this game in every singe way, B2 already does IMO...

 

[notAFanB]

meh, seen it, tried it , played it (well the last part is actually well executed, albeit raher brief).

looks fine, still obivious lo geo mdelling, half height and half frame updates on reflections.

the only real downer is the absolutely horrid aliasing on some sectiosn and the bloody 'tabletop' sky!


verdict: a solid 7.

 

[London Geezer]

Burnout2 proved that you can have loads of hours of fun with an arcade racer. Evidently Sega thinks keeping an 80s game and building a 3D engine around it is good enough. Much like they've been doing lately and are still doing now. When will they learn?

They used to have imagination, they used to have innovative ideas, they used to pull out magnificent games out of nowhere. What happened?

 

[notAFanB]

They used to have imagination, they used to have innovative ideas, they used to pull out magnificent games out of nowhere. What happened?

they still have them, but (being cynical here) the bottom line may very well hang heavy over their heads for the last 2 years.

 

[Lazy8s]

You've missed the point of the gameplay, london-boy, unsurprisngly since you've seemed not to have even played it. The challenge of OutRun is to hone and balance aggressive driving tactics to race through a frantic onslaught of weaving traffic and twisting roads. Satisfaction comes from high-speed maneuvers and trying to reach the end of the course. If you could fault the action for being too slow or not providing enough challenge, then you'd actually have a material argument to question the execution - whether it succeeds at being fun, the ultimate objective.

As for design innovation, they've fleshed out the drifting mechanics and now have your passenger grading you on driving style. But yeah, you can't veer off and drive through the grass to a shortcut, or knock down pillars and destroy the environment to block other cars or anything... No, the game isn't groundbraking, just a nice change of pace from the glut of other racers on the market.

london-boy:

Especially after seeing Burnout2 and what you can do with some imagination.

Burnout 2's environments have nowhere near the variation of what's presented here. And from a technical standpoint, it also stops about a country mile short of OutRun 2 in draw distance, smoothly scales the landscape nowhere near the same degree, and lacks many of the pixel-level special effects. Everything in OutRun 2 is part of the same track even.

notAFanB:

still obivious lo geo mdelling,

Nah, it's just a game that finally provides some balance between the cars and the oft overlooked backgrounds... they even made sure that the passengers in the car are of a high detail. Of all racers, this isn't the one whose polygon rates I'd question.

half height and half frame updates on reflections.

Yeah, I would've liked the reflections at 60fps too, but that's sometimes the trade-off you make when you give each vehicle its own reflection or aim for a certain complexity.

and the bloody 'tabletop' sky!

I personally love its dynamic effect and lighting when you enter a new stage.

london-boy:

They used to have imagination, they used to have innovative ideas, they used to pull out magnificent games out of nowhere. What happened?

Well, I'm grateful for SEGA's innovation with recent games like Billy Hatcher, giving a fluid new play mechanic to a platforming genre most other devs have seen fit to recycle uninspired mechanics upon.

 

[maskrider]

As what I have said in a previous follow-up, I think it is just an old Outrun with a new 3D engine and new graphics and that's all.

The next 3 time I am in the Arcade nobody is playing it in that 30 minutes slot that I had stayed there (watching than playing) but they are rather playing Initial D Arcade Stage and Battle Gear 3.

 

[V3]

As what I have said in a previous follow-up, I think it is just an old Outrun with a new 3D engine and new graphics and that's all.

Yeah, I agreed with this. I'll give Outrun 2 score of 4/10. This is a waste of resources, a game that shouldn' have been made.

 

[notAFanB]

Nah, it's just a game that finally provides some balance between the cars and the oft overlooked backgrounds... they even made sure that the passengers in the car are of a high detail. Of all racers, this isn't the one whose polygon rates I'd question.

If I can see it (odd LOD modelling) I'll mention it. Rationalising it as balence is justifiable but I'll wait for a version revision.

Yeah, I would've liked the reflections at 60fps too, but that's sometimes the trade-off you make when you give each vehicle its own reflection or aim for a certain complexity.

so you agree then? the issue is that it's a little too obivous and noticable compared to other titles I've played. It Doesn't interfear with the gameplay, it's just odd.

I personally love its dynamic effect and lighting when you enter a new stage.

And what does that have to do with the stange way they transform the sky "tabletop"? it looks odd and I cannot evnvision what look that where aiming for by making seem like I could reach up and palm the sky!?

The next 3 time I am in the Arcade nobody is playing it in that 30 minutes slot that I had stayed there (watching than playing) but they are rather playing Initial D Arcade Stage and Battle Gear 3.

agreed,, those bloody things (initial D I'm lookin at you!) are so insanely popular it just boggles my mind.

 

[Lazy8s]

Good news: arcade revenue from OutRun 2 is ahead of SEGA's expectations. They're evaluating the game's home release at this point.

Here are some screens (managing to look unreal without even using PR supersampling):

the rendering of that view distance is just unrelenting

GameSpy.com anticipates bringing news on home conversion for this game near the end of the week, from an interview by their correspondents.

 

[marconelly!]

Here are some screens (managing to look unreal without even using PR supersampling):

Not to say it looks bad or anything (because it does look great, IMO) but those screens are artificially anitialiased, that much is obvious. Just by scaling the game's original 640x480 down to 350x263 you get smoother look.

Anyways, here's hoping for the home version(s), Amazon.co.uk has it already listed for PS2 and Xbox. I wonder if that's the 'source' of Gamespy's information as well, though :\

 

[Lazy8s]

marconelly!:

Not to say it looks bad or anything (because it does look great, IMO) but those screens are artificially anitialiased, that much is obvious. Just by scaling the game's original 640x480 down to 350x263 you get smoother look.

The screens aren't "PR supersampled" (rendered originally at some untrue resolution); the down sampling is just from natural resizing.

Anyways, here's hoping for the home version(s), Amazon.co.uk has it already listed for PS2 and Xbox. I wonder if that's the 'source' of Gamespy's information as well, though :\

Nah, this information is coming from the game's producer.

 

[Deepak]

Looks promising, but for those who have played or seen it....how is its sense of speed compared to B2/NFSU?? OT shall I get Wipeout Fusion? I heard its good...

 

[V3]

Looks promising, but for those who have played or seen it....how is its sense of speed compared to B2/NFSU??

The sense of speed is pretty good, drift are easy to pull. The game are generally pretty easy. That said if you played the original Outrun in Arcade ages ago, you've pretty much play this game.

Cross country driving a Ferrari is like the 80s idea of fun, nowdays people seems to prefer something like NFSU or Initial D. This game really is a step down from AM2 effort in F355.

 

[Lazy8s]

Deepak:

Looks promising, but for those who have played or seen it....how is its sense of speed compared to B2/NFSU??

Its sense of speed is exceptionally fast and reaches a new standard for smoothness. For reference, it's very comparable to F-Zero AX/GX (the GameCube could do OutRun 2 some justice.)

The movie at top gives some idea, but running video footage of the game being played has been released and is quite revealing.

 

[Fafalada]

agreed,, those bloody things (initial D I'm lookin at you!) are so insanely popular it just boggles my mind.

There's a good reason for that too - have you tried playing one?
A friend made me try it (I don't go to arcades much - partly because I suck at those machines even when I'm supposed to be good at a game) and from my perspective it's probably the most accessible racer I've played in last 10years, if not ever - and it manages to be very fun all at the same time.
And having those driving cards that store records only makes you come back for more once you've tried it.
It certainly blows away anything I've played on console in the last year.

Anyway, to stay on topic, I haven't seen O2 in arcades around here yet, so I only have pics to go by, but I am rather fond of how it looks so far.
The visual style just has some kind of 'class' to it, without trying to be realistic at all... I used to like Ridge series visuals for similar reason, and it's one thing I dislike about Burnouts so far - as polished as they are their art direction is completely sterile/bland.

 

[notAFanB]

hey there faf.

There's a good reason for that too - have you tried playing one?

yes, it great but I spend most of my time on Kof getting pummelled.

The visual style just has some kind of 'class' to it, without trying to be realistic at all... I used to like Ridge series visuals for similar reason, and it's one thing I dislike about Burnouts so far - as polished as they are their art direction is completely sterile/bland.

Then you'll love this one, good clean fun, bit short but expected of an arcade racer.

On a side note, happy lunar new year everyone!

 

[darkblu]

just from seeing the video lazy8s linked, i'd say this game is a gem - the key is in the tracks & scenery - rich and visually on par with the vehicles, and the draw distance is all i'd want from a draw distance. these factors combined give the impression of space, which combined with speed (quite decent for a wipeout and dethkarz fan), is what it takes for a driving game to get me hooked. as about photorealism - it's not required, all it takes is that the game has a good visual style. so when does this baby come out for the home equipment?