Speed! Power! The road’s all yours! Hot car. Hot music. Sensational scenery. It’s all part of the home computer version of one of the hottest games ever to hit the arcade circuit. Slip inside one of the fastest machines on four wheels. Then step on it.
In Out Run you can cruise past the beaches of Southern France, California’s Death Valley, cities, mountains and much more. And leave the others in the dust.
Get a good grip on the wheel.Because the baby is pure power. And she could try to get away from you.
The Great Discovery happens in Out Run
Well I discovered Out Run on the Arcade version and it was probably between 1987/1988. It was on an Arcade saloon in Benidorm, Alicante in Spain and I was really amazed. It was a total new Arcade machine to me that I never ever seen and its level of difficulty, the graphics and specially the brilliant soundtrack was the more that amazed me.
I probably was discovering something outstanding out of this world. The cars represented like real cars of the 80s of course marked a benchmark to the next Arcades and specially Arcades about cars. Bettles, Opel Kaddets and trucks made its appearance and you have to avoid them!!!
On this Arcade saloon of Benidorm in 1988 probably (I don’t remember exactly) I waited for my turn sometimes to insert coin and play this glorious Arcade Machine. When the kids or guys failed or succeded to finish the game I entered on to play the machine. I remember to play and hallucinate with this Arcade Machine.
I don’t remember if on my various tries I reached Level 3 at most but the experience was recorded on my memory for all of my life. This game marked some of the best moments of my life. And I am sure that for most of the people waiting they will remember this awesome Arcade. The graphics and the music they marked my life.
In 1988 and this time I am sure I buyed the Out Run’s Spectrum version and i was pretty amazed too. The game came in a box with 2 casettes: 1 for the game and the other it was no less than the original soundtrack to play while you are driving on this hazardous roads.This Spectrum version was great for be for the ZX computers.
I remember the hapiness when I first have the Out Run box on my hands for the first time.Soon I became an expert driver thanks to this Out Run conversion. And the soundtrack, the soundtrack was really amazing.When I played on the Speccy version and played on the soundtrack I was in heaven…the graphics were not the same as the 8 Bit couldn’t make better and the Spectrum cannot compete with the Arcade version,but the sountrack was exactly the same…incredible.One thing i remember well is how I drived on the level 4 or so and avoided lots of trucks on the way on some playing.That was pretty amazing on this Spectrum version.
Let’s start with the Amiga version
The Amiga version was anxiously awaited when I had Spectrum and readed an spanish computer games magazine called Micromania. On some issue of 1988 I think on a pulled apart called 16-Bit where they were 3 pulled aparts called “PC”,”Atari” and “Amiga”. On the Amiga section it appeared a review of the game called Out Run.
Previously I saw it on magazines advertisements for 8-Bits and 16-Bits for Spectrum, Commodore 64, Atari ST,etc… The Amiga didn’t appear.
Back with the Micromania review I remember 6 or 8 screenshots that caught potential of this version.In fact I fall in love with the Amiga version. Of course these graphics were different from the Arcade version but they are closer to it than any system reason that let me dream for an Amiga version close to the Arcade one.
After being hallucinated with the Arcade version in Benidorm and with screenshots of the Micromania magazine of the Amiga version I trace my plan to get and Amiga.
It was in 1990 when I was 12 years old that I p?ct with my father that if I approve my school’s school year I will win an Amiga as a prize. I passed well my school year and I got a new Amiga on June 1990 only paying the monitor. So I can probe Out Run and so many other games. I traveled with one friend to the province of La Rioja in Spain days before on the weekend and on the next monday I had my Amiga 500 at home.Very happy times…
The history of Out Run on the Amiga began when I asked to my father to get some games for Amiga from someone. He managed to get me 15-20 diskettes and one of them had Out Run on them. To the history it was from some Amiga owner that my father has as mate in his computing office near Bilbao.
Out Run is a more complex than you think
The game is so complex that is not easy to explain. Let’s start with the presentation. The Out Run’s presentation on Amiga is fabolous. It starts with a screen of the game that can be and is reminiscence of the Arcade version. When I and my brother saw this introduction in June 1990 we thinked that the conversion could be perfect. But that’s
another tale.
The fact is that the Amiga Out Run opens triumphant at our eyes. The graphics on this intro are superb like the Arcade Machine and the music, the music is awesome as its were taken from a movie and with some classical music touches all in a great overture. This music is really outstanding, out of this world, outrageous as it can be seen on the flyer of the Arcade Machine.
After the introduction we step into game as it is. I want to remember that well I completed the game in a 4-5 plays attempt with 12 seconds left. I think I drived on Death’s Valley on Stage 4. That was my awesome achievement.
Great music tracks
The game as it is comes with a good menu before you start to play. On this menu you can customize which of the 3 music tunes you want to hear, music off, effectes on/off, game start esc,some cars, many cars and more things. After you have choosen the options suited for your taste you start the game…
Your car is a Ferrari Testarossa red colored as in the Arcade Machine and is placed as the starting line. The public are awaiting this cannonball race for the roar of your Ferrari and you feel grateful to have this beast on your hands. You start the engine roar, pull the pedal and…………vrooooooooooooooooommmmm…you are into the race.
Out Run on Amiga comprises of 15 levels in total on which you may choose between forks at the end of the first 4 courses or levels. So you run with your Ferrari for 5 stages if you reach the end. These 15 courses are really varied that this adds some winning points to the game. You start on a Palm Beach style stage with palms and sea around. The competitors on this first stage are orange trucks, beetles, Opel Kadetts, Porches and other vehicles that will make your life more difficult. These cars will appear on the rest of the game more or less dosed on the rest of the stages.
Race thru Death Valley
The stages will give you Death Valley in California where the sun is orange and infliicts its rays very agressively on the earth and of course the cars,there is forests too, Holland with its tulips flowers and mills on the 2 sides of the road, Spain and a stoned columns on the left Stage 2 that they are not like in the Arcade machine but they look awesome too. There is a desert course and a lot in as said 15 stages you to discover.
The fact is that this version is the most accurate close to the Arcade Machine at least on the computer conversions. The Megadrive version seems to be closer to the Arcade Machine more than this Amiga hit (because it was developed by SEGA) but I’ve never play it except maybe on my Amiga One XE with the help of some Megadrive emulator. No it was on the Turbografx emulator I think.
My opinion is that this conversion is very cool and close to the Arcade except on some details except maybe that the collision with other cars simply sometimes doesn’t work and the framerate is too slow. These flaws are compensated with the sensational graphics, the sensation of speed achieved with the Low and High Position of the gear lever that is fundamental to maneouver right. This gear lever is well used when you reach aproximately 180 Km/h and change it to High. Then at the High position you can reach to a maximum speed of 293 Km/h. Yes that’s truly amazing….yeaaaaahhhhh!!!!!
Take care of the blonde girl
Another thing I want to comment is the sweet companion of a blonde girl in the Ferrari’s Testarossa right seat and is advisable to drive well if you don’t want your car to fly on the air and leave you both and the girl “collecting flowers” on the road or one of the sides of the mentioned road. So take care of her, the woman sometimes have bad humour. And you can conquest her.
Change the Difficulty
You probably find easy to drive with the “some cars” option activated. If you want more difficulty and action just select “many cars” on the menu. I think you will enjoy this game.
If you want to have a real driving challenge? I think Out Run is one of those games that you play over and over and never get bored. The graphics, the sound, the music and the playability gives the game a lastability never seen before on any game. Variety of rival cars and trucks, different scenaries, race against time make this game in my opinion so much better than some people say about the Amiga version.
So if you want to relive the Arcade experience, then go out and buy Out Run on ebay. Out Run forever!!!! Unleash your
powers!!! Enjoy!!!
Developer: U.S.Gold
Year:1987/1988
Lastability:Very High
Great comments. Makes me want to play on my Amiga tonight!