|
|
|
TURBO OUTRUN (ST)
|
Publisher: US Gold.
Developer: ICE. Released: 1989. Genre: Racing. Other versions: AMI; SMD; PC; CPC; C64. Posted 28th May 2020. By Tom Clare © 2020 |
|
Whilst the rapid and stylish Commodore 64 version would be celebrated as a classic, it’s something of a mystery how Turbo Outrun’s 16-bit incarnations, of which there were no fewer than three distinct builds, could fare so poorly. Porting the follow-up to the biggest racer ever to hit the arcades was never going to be an easy task, but whether you played it via the home computers, console or MS-DOS, you’ll have ended up disappointed, for a variety of different reasons. Sadly, ICE could not make good on the frenzy of hype surrounding the game’s launch, and the Atari ST version is arguably the worst of the lot.
When I say the home computer versions run poorly, I’m being diplomatic. Playing the game on a base model Amiga, or an ST with an 8Mhz processor, is frankly a waste of time. Such is the performance drag, the game barely functions, with a frame-rate regularly reduced to that of a slide-show. Those fortunate enough to own a computer with a little more grunt will find things a bit better, though this overambitious arcade conversion is beset with problems.
Ambitious visuals, technical issues: a screenshot that sums up Turbo Outrun
Turbo Outrun is based on the lightning-fast coin-op of the same name, and the premise here is much the same as the original. The car versus the clock, in a checkpoint-chasing road trip across the United States (albeit from east to west this time around), with the iconic Testarossa swapped out in favour of the ferocious Ferrari F40. Though the split-route options have been removed, it was nevertheless an appetising prospect. ICE’s conversion looks really good; its visuals are easily the most appealing aspect of the game. There’s huge amounts of detail packed into each stage, with large, colourful hoardings and roadside scenery, ample traffic and a fantastic array of strong backgrounds, lending each stage a distinctive look and feel. The urban metropolises of New York and Los Angeles bookend the experience, whilst night-time Chicago and the sun-kissed, busy beaches of Miami prove two of the biggest highlights. Depending on the stage in question, you’ll face different volumes of traffic, environmental conditions and even hazards in the road itself.
|
|
Big sprites and impressive vistas come at a severe cost, however. Such quantities of scenery reduce the action to a crawl, and even at its most untroubled, TO still suffers from a fairly sedentary frame-rate, meaning the game struggles to generate any sense of speed. Worse still, the 3D scrolling is completely unconvincing, with some stages seeing buildings randomly popping up in the middle of the road, which can be very distracting. Scrolling inconsistencies are an issue with the A.I. as well. There are times when you’ll pass traffic on the other side of the road and suddenly find your F40 acting as if it’s rear-ended them. On occasion, stages spawn the F40 in the roadside, causing an instant and unavoidable crash. It’s frustrating, inconsistent and, with strict time limits, something the player can ill afford.
FOCAL POINT: 16-BIT TURBO OUTRUN 101
|
|
|
(1990, PC)
|
(1992, Mega Drive)
|
Turbo Outrun's 16-bit outings were a roll-call of missed opportunities. The Amiga version ran predictably similarly to that of the ST. Sharing the same, crippling performance issues, it did at least benefit fractionally from stronger music and effects. The MS-DOS edition that followed in 1990 proved a bit of an oddity. Significantly smoother scrolling, sprightlier handling and wider roads offered promise. However, it felt nothing like an Outrun experience, running at a disappointingly pedestrian pace, and featuring some almost absurdly ugly-looking visuals. Three years on from the home computer versions, SEGA would eventually release their own port for the Mega Drive. The benefit of cartridge media meant it wasn’t beset with loading breaks between stages and unlike the aforementioned titles, offered a range of options and difficulty settings. The MD version could be considered the least broken, and if that sounds like conditional praise, it’s with good reason. It was also the least ambitious, and distinctly mediocre. It had a fair turn of speed, but empty-feeling levels, poor sprites and troublesome A.I. meant it was left lagging behind the likes of Top Gear and Lotus Turbo Challenge that had by then raised the bar.
Turbo Outrun features a single route, comprising of sixteen stages, and is relatively tough to beat. This isn’t so much down to the road layouts themselves, which are fairly unmemorable. Of greater hindrance is traffic, between the jerky update and their rapid weaving patterns, they can prove quite a stumbling block. Police vehicles have a nasty habit of causing collisions even after being overtaken, whilst their propensity to re-pass your Ferrari and sit directly in front of your car, is very off-putting.
Recapturing the rocket-powered velocities of the arcade game was always going to be an uphill struggle, but it can’t help but sit in stark contrast, given that it feels slow by Atari ST standards. Not only does it lack the speed of the arcade Outrun games, but it also lacks the rhythm, the thrill of jumping state to state and seeing one backdrop dissolve into a new one, with no let-up. Checkpoints are instead punctuated by lengthy, static loading periods. For every 40 or so seconds of driving, you can look forward to 20-25 seconds of sitting waiting as the next part of the route loads.
Recapturing the rocket-powered velocities of the arcade game was always going to be an uphill struggle, but it can’t help but sit in stark contrast, given that it feels slow by Atari ST standards. Not only does it lack the speed of the arcade Outrun games, but it also lacks the rhythm, the thrill of jumping state to state and seeing one backdrop dissolve into a new one, with no let-up. Checkpoints are instead punctuated by lengthy, static loading periods. For every 40 or so seconds of driving, you can look forward to 20-25 seconds of sitting waiting as the next part of the route loads.
|
|
Handling is so-so. A touch sluggish, but not unmanageable. The music is catchy and reasonably well-suited, even if the songs run at a higher tempo than the action. Sound effects are a bit limp however, police sirens are pretty torrid and the crash effects aren’t especially distinguished. Still, the title screen and scoreboards look good.
Whilst the visuals and the presentation make a valiant effort of recreating the retina-searing arcade experience of Turbo Outrun, it comes up well short in the most crucial areas. On the Atari ST, it lacks pace, technical stability and excitement. Blasting through different cities isn’t as fun as it should have been, though its sixteen stages will keep die-hards going for some time. Home computer players eager for the next big thing however, will have been disappointed.
Whilst the visuals and the presentation make a valiant effort of recreating the retina-searing arcade experience of Turbo Outrun, it comes up well short in the most crucial areas. On the Atari ST, it lacks pace, technical stability and excitement. Blasting through different cities isn’t as fun as it should have been, though its sixteen stages will keep die-hards going for some time. Home computer players eager for the next big thing however, will have been disappointed.
|
|
VERDICT
"Turbo Outrun looks great, but ultimately lacks the pace, technical stability and excitement of the arcade game... it’s hard not to see it as a disappointment." OVERALL: 5/10 |