Xbox on Holiday: A Passing Breeze

My Xbox 360 still thinks it's 2012.

Trials Evolution showing as my last-played, The Witcher 2 still in the tray, and my full-body avatar jiggling on the dashboard. My 360 is a time capsule of early 2010's gaming, untroubled by system updates thanks to a decade spent in storage.

I dusted off my frozen-in-time 360 earlier this month when I was back in the UK. The reason? OutRun 2, of course.

I'd long been aware of its existence, but despite my enjoyment of the original and general fondness for arcade racers, I'd never played OutRun 2. This was most likely the result of unfortunate timing and the platforms on which it appeared. It came out on the original Xbox, a console I've never owned; a semi-sequel, OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, arrived a few years later when I was at the very tail end of an extended period of relative disinterest in video games. I simply wasn't paying attention, so OutRun 2, in all its guises, entirely passed me by.

Presumably due to an expired licensing agreement with Ferrari, whose cars feature prominently, it hasn't been ported to later consoles. If you want to (legally) play OutRun 2 you need original hardware. Did your mum hold on to your Xbox for you? Does your PS2 still work? Does your PSP battery look alright? If not, you're outta luck.

I was reminded of OutRun 2 earlier this summer when a short clip appeared on my Twitter feed, via one of those oft-retweeted nostalgia accounts. It was swiftly followed by some fond reminiscing by online friends who I'm assuming saw the same tweet. Fully-hyped, I swore I'd give it a go if I got the opportunity, and that's exactly what happened a few weeks later when I spotted an Xbox copy in CEX Milton Keynes for a paltry twelve quid.

And with that, I was on the clock. I had only a week left to enjoy it, seven days remaining of my holiday in which to get my twelve pound's worth. My 360 stays in the UK, you see, and I have nothing capable of running this particular Xbox game back home in Japan. So that became my evening entertainment for the remainder of the holiday - thirty minutes of joy before I slipped into my pyjamas.

And what a lovely time I had drifting around tight corners at full pelt, covering impossible distances side-on, and power-sliding my way past traffic and into the heart of my passenger-seat girlfriend. It's rammed full of turn-of-the-millennium arcade nonsense, yet it still has plenty of the laid-back cool that the series is known for. Bright colors, memorable tunes, and a distinctive aesthetic -  it was a welcome helping of summer vibes during a month where temperatures barely crept above twenty degrees. 

And it offers far more than just racing from point A to B. I barely scratched the surface of the generous extra modes, which include an array of varied challenges, including traffic avoidance, sticking within racing lines, mowing through cones and even some mental arithmetic.

It was with a heavy heart that I packed up my 360 on the penultimate day of our trip, returning it back to the plastic crate from whence it came. But there's no need to worry, as I wisely bought a copy of OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast on the PSP, so the party needn't stop now that I'm back home. An exceedingly wise double-dip.

I'd bought Ghost Trick on Switch in advance of our trip, intending to play it on vacation. It was supposed to be my holiday game, but it was OutRun 2 that captured my imagination and dominated what little time I had for stick-twiddling. 

I'll be sure to bring OutRun 2 with me the next time I'm back in the UK so that I can pick up where I left off, sliding around hairpin turns under an impossibly blue sky.