Start Your Engines! Sega Ages’ Out Run Hits Nintendo Switch

By: GeekyGamerGirl87

When it comes to racing games, there’s a fifty percent chance that I will enjoy them or not like them at all. A racing game must be done just right for me to really get full enjoyment out of it. However, this is usually for modern day racers. When it comes to remakes of racers from the past, I am usually a little more enthusiastic about playing them. Mainly because playing these racers remind me of my childhood. Therefore, when SEGA AGES Out Run was given to thedailygamepad.com for free to write a review on. I was more than happy to take the wheel –sorry I couldn’t resist — to writing the review. Before I begin my review, I would like to thank the developer M2 Co., Ltd and publisher Sega for providing us with the free review code. It is due to their kindness that I can write this review.

For those of you who are new to Sega’s Out Run, Out Run started off as an arcade machine game in 1986 and has since over the years been ported to many systems, such as the Sega Genesis, and even the PlayStation 3 just to name a few. The game is straight forward. You start off as a pair cruising the streets and ideally, you set your own path by taking your own route as there are forks in the roads for you to select your own route. The game ends when you reach the end of the route or as I like to say your destination. What makes Out Run unique is although it is considered a racer, it just feels like a couple trying to get to their destination the fastest way possible, or if you want to add a story to it, maybe the guy is a street racer and his girlfriend is going along for the ride. Again, there isn’t a story to the game (at least not any I could find), but this is the story that I have created in my head because I really get into my games.  You do have to move around traffic and make checkpoints to continue the race, and this is what makes the game a racer in my opinion because you are trying to race to each of the checkpoints. Failure to make the checkpoint results in a game over.

I can honestly say that the SEGA  AGES version of Out Run has been done nicely. One of the main things I love about SEGA AGES  Out Run is the manual which when I first played the manual had not been uploaded. However, this was added within the day and it made it easier for me to play the game. It should be noted that you do have to have an internet connection in order to view the manual, but the manual is really in depth and reminds me of the manuals that use to come with games back in the day. The manual has a lot of information and it is appreciated that they added this to the game.

When it comes to the ways the game is played you can play in handheld mode, with the joy cons separated from the screen, or even plugged into the television set. Another cool feature the game offers is the ability to use the motion controls. These can be used with both the joy con detached or in handheld mode. I am not sure if this feature is also available with the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, as I do not own one.  I did play the game with my wired controller and even with those controls, it played pretty well. In order to activate the motion sensors, the transmission must be in Automatic which can be done through the settings screen.  Another thing about the motion controls is that sometimes they will drift a little too much, but you can reset them by using the L+R Buttons. I would also like to say for the first time since writing a review for a switch game that I enjoyed all the controls for the game. This even includes the joy-con controls. I at first was a little hesitant with playing with just the joy-con controller, but surprisingly with this game, the joy-con controller felt good playing with it. It should be noted that I was playing with just one joy-con controller.

Besides changing your transmission from Manual to Automatic, the settings do offer quite a bit more options. You can select from the difficulty of play style, as well as how short or long you want your race to be, and if you want to use KM/h or mph.  You also have the option of choosing between four different display modes which are Widescreen, Arcade, Vintage, and Full Screen. There are Fourteen different wallpaper options for the game; with thirteen being wallpapers and the option of not running any wallpaper at all. You also have up to four options for Display effects which are None, Scan Line, Smoothing, and Scan line + smoothing. I do want to take the time to also mention another cool feature in the settings and that is the music player the features ten tracks. The tracks are as follows:

1. Passing Breeze
2. Splash Wave
3. Crusing Line
4. Camino A Mi Amor
5. Step On Beat -Arcade Edition-
6. Midnight Highway -Playback-
7. Radiation Nostalgic Ver.
8. Driver’s MegaMix Vol. 1
9. Last Wave
10. Magical Sound Shower

At the beginning of the game, you can select from at least five of the tracks and those five you can select from are Passing Breeze, Splash Wave, Radiation Nostalgic Ver., Step On Beat -Arcade Edition-, and Midnight Highway -Playback-. I thought that this was a great little feature as I am really into the music when it comes to video games.

Overall, I can say without a doubt that I highly recommend SEGA AGES Out Run. Especially, if you are into retro racing games and even if you are not but you do like racing games, this is a must-have. I have been playing this game a lot because of the nostalgia it fills me with and how well it has been executed. If you would like to play SEGA AGES Out Run, you can purchase it on Nintendo eSHOP for the Nintendo Switch for $7.99 USD.