Out Run

STORY / GAMEPLAY
You drive your convertible sports car (that looks like a Ferrari Testarossa) having your girlfriend on the passenger's seat. Note: This game did not have an official Ferrari license (unlike its sequel Out Run 2, released many years later). Starting the race at a coastal road, you must pass through four checkpoints completing five laps within a set time limit. Before every checkpoint, there is a "fork" allowing you to enter one of the two different race routes. The game is notable for its innovative hardware of the time (including a mechanically moving cabinet), the fantastic graphics and music, the option to select the soundtrack of your choice as well as the opportunity to change routes. The aim is to race as fast as you can and change level before the time runs out. If you do this, your time will be extended and you'll continue racing on the next track.

GRAPHICS / SOUND
The game features great (for its time) graphics and the Master System version can handle a few similarities with the original (arcade) version. Most of the original stage details are found here and the scrolling is quite smooth (a nice color-cycling technique is used here and 3D effects through a sprite-scaling technique called 'Super-Scaler' technology) while the backgrounds move fast although a bit plain in detail. The sound offers most of the original tunes during gameplay, along with a few "racing" sound FX (the car's engine, brakes etc).