OUT RUN

 OUT RUN, from Sega and Mindscape, is a translation of Sega's popular
video-arcade road race game. It offers colorful graphics, excellent animation,
highways and scenery from around the world, a "radio," and a car with a
screaming 295 kph top end. The Atari ST version is the basis of this review.

 If I'm not mistaken, the arcade-room version of OUT RUN had a seat, a steering
wheel, and stereo sound; unless your ST is similarly equipped, some of the
thrills will be imaginary. Nonetheless, OUT RUN is pure arcade action and great
fun.

 Since OUT RUN is not a cockpit game, there's no "dashboard" to deal with. You
steer a car on a road, rather than by gauges or idiot lights. The road and the
scenery scroll as you drive; when you sideswipe roadsigns or backend other
vehicles, well, we don't call that scrolling: We call it crashing and burning.

 Not only does the car in OUT RUN have a great top end, its transmission is
state-of-the-art: only 2 gears, high and low. You can wind the engine up to over
100 kph in low (for those tight curves), then kick into high and head up to 295.

 At the bottom left of the screen are two of the three most important
information displays (other than the road, of course): speed and tachometer/gear
readout. The third display is the time limit, which clicks off in the upper left
corner: When time runs out, regardless of how far you've successfully driven,
the game ends.

 Should you reach the end of a particular course before the time limit runs out,
any extra time is added to the following course. Points rack up for driving
fast; on crossing a goal line, any remaining time is multiplied by a million --
now those're some points! At the end of each course, a map will then appear,
showing you how far you've traveled into the itinerary.

 OUT RUN can be controlled by either joystick or mouse; as usual, the joystick
works best. Pushing the stick forward accelerates; pulling the stick back
brakes; moving the stick left or right does the steering; and pushing the button
switches gears.

 The songs on the "radio" are "Passing Breeze," "Splash Wave," and "Magical
Sound Shower," which pretty much sums up FM programming in the '80s.
Fortunately, the radio can be turned off. The courses will take you through the
Swiss Alps, southern France, Death Valley, and onto the Autobahn. There are
fifteen highways in all; most are scenic, although some are cluttered with
advertising and traffic.

 The game looks and plays great. It's simple to learn; in fact, there's nothing
to it. If you're looking for action, speed, and thrills, you needn't look any
further than OUT RUN.

 OUT RUN is published by Sega and distributed by Mindscape.

*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253