GAME CLEAR No. 8 -- OutRun 2

OutRun 2 (2004, Xbox)

Original Platform: Arcade
Original Developer: SEGA AM-2
Original Publisher: SEGA
Port Developers: SEGA AM-2, Sumo Digital
Port Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Clear Date: 12/12/2020

This has to be one of my quickest beats of all time. I think I cleared the easy path of arcade mode on Normal in about five minutes (oddly, I can’t seem to access that exact high score). I got the credits, and that is definitely the “main” game, so I’m calling this beaten.

This is also the first time I’ve busted out my original Xbox in probably over a decade! I finally grabbed it from home a couple months ago just so I could have it, and since I bought OutRun 2 from a game store in Virginia (I think?) a year or two ago, I’ve been meaning to give it a shot. The ol’ Xbox disk drive didn’t want to open at first, but I finally coaxed it into doing its job, and now the system works like a charm. I got a little nostalgia flipping through the save files on my old hard drive and thinking of my middle school gaming years. Lots of Tony Hawk! I was amused at the AC/DC heavy ripped music on my HDD as well. I thought the fact that you could listen to your own music in Xbox games was so cool! Ripped a lot of stuff on there. For this reason, I strongly associate “All Along the Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix with the Xbox version of Counter-Strike. A buddy of mine had Hendrix’s greatest hits and let me rip to to my Xbox, and it was routinely the soundtrack to hunting AI terrorists (I wouldn’t have Xbox Live until years later). It might be worth my while to try to remove the HDD and copy it over to another compatible drive if I can find such a thing. It is certainly long in the tooth for a spinning disk drive.

I’ve also been amused at the stickers that were plastered all over my Xbox over the years. A couple from my high school, one from Thrasher skateboarding magazine, one from a Chattanooga burrito joint. It’s so uniquely mine. That’s why I’m so sad my sister “lost” (almost certainly sold) my original GameCube (and Game Boy Player, ugh). I’ve since replaced it, but the new one isn’t that childhood GameCube. I realize the distinction is minimal, but sentimentality for a computer is hardly rational in the first place. Hopefully someone else has been able to get many hours of enjoyment out of it.

Anyway, major digression there, but suffice it to say it has been fun to get reacquainted with my original Xbox, and I’m glad I still have it. 🎮

As for my impressions on the game itself, they are obviously limited, but maybe I’ll revisit this post once I’ve put a little more time into it! The arcade gameplay is great, and this is a quality racer. The mission mode is varied and interesting, but I’ve not gotten far in it. The soundtrack is solid, befitting the series reputation.

So unfortunately, not a ton to say about a game I’ve spent only about an hour with total, but I may update this space later. If you like time limited arcade racers, this is that sorta stuff. Good fun.

Edit: My original clear time was 5'06"264