Out-Run 3-D

Out Run 3-D is the second in a quartet of Out Run driving video games developed for the Sega Master System, and was released in 1989. Although based on the original and similar in design, it is a separate game and not (as its name might otherwise suggest) a three-dimensional version of the original Out Run.

Out Run 3-D
EU Cover art
Developer(s)Sega
Publisher(s)Sega
Platform(s)Sega Master System
Release
  • EU: September 1989
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player

Design

The game was one of six Master System titles developed for use with Sega's stereoscopic 3-D glasses, but it also features a standard 2-D mode which may be accessed by pressing the Pause button when the title screen appears.[1]

Music features prominently in the Out Run series. Out Run 3-D features four selectable tracks, including a remixed version of "Magical Sound Shower" from the original Out Run, as well as "Midnight Highway", "Colour Ocean" and "Shining Wind", written by Chikako Kamatani. A new version of the original's "Last Wave" is also introduced at the score screen.

Graphically the game resembles its predecessor and, like the original, features a red Ferrari Testarossa Spider. However, most of the sprites were re-drawn and a variety of new visual elements were included, such as a long tunnel, roadside shorelines and certain weather effects, as well as an exhaust backfire animation on the player's vehicle.

Gameplay

The driver interface and controls in Out Run 3-D are largely the same as those of its predecessor, with a two-speed manual gearbox and a top speed of 293 km/h.

The overall road network is also arranged in the same fashion as the first Master System Out Run title. Starting from the same tropical landscape (named Coconut Beach[2]), on each trip the player is likewise presented sequentially with four junctions - each with a choice of two turns - with the goal of ending at one of five destinations before the timer runs out.

The landscapes, however, differ in varying degrees to the original, and the shapes of the roads are unique. Also unlike the original title, Out Run 3-D allows the player to choose between three difficulty settings - Beginner, Average and Expert - which changes the weather as well as the road layout of each leg of the journey.

Reception

Mean Machines Sega magazine awarded Out Run 3-D an overall score of 81%. While pointing out that the game was not as smooth as the first Master System Out Run title, the MMS team described it as being perhaps the best stereoscopic 3-D game on the market.[3]

References
  1. SMS Power!, http://www.smspower.org/Manuals/OutRun3D-SMS-EU, Out Run 3-D
  2. SEGA Master System Out Run instruction manual, p. 34
  3. Mean Machines Sega, Issue 1, October 1992, p.135
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