Turbo Out Run (sometimes stylised as “Turbo OutRun“) is the sequel to the classic Sega arcade game, Out Run, and was first released in 1989. The game could be purchased as both a dedicated cabinet and also as an upgrade kit for existing Out Run machines.

In Turbo Out Run the player drives a Ferrari F40 – with a female passenger at their side – across the continental United States, from New York to Los Angeles, and must race against a time limit, and an opponent who drives a Porsche 959. The route is linear and doesn’t have the branching paths that Out Run had. During each stage you’ll pass through three or four well-known cities and must make it to the next checkpoint before the timer runs down. If your opponent beats you to the checkpoint your passenger will leave your Ferrari and get into your opponent’s car! Conversely, if you beat your opponent to the checkpoint she will shower you in kisses in front of your opponent instead! Which is both ridiculous and funny at the same time…

Before starting the race you can choose between automatic and manual transmission, and during the race you can activate a turbo-booster to give you extra speed. You have to be careful, though, as using it will increase the temperature of the engine, which is shown as a bar at the bottom of the screen. If the engine overheats you can no longer use the turbo until the engine cools down again.

After completing every three levels you get to choose an upgrade for your car. A better engine; grippier tyres, or an upgraded turbo booster. If you manage to progress far enough into the game you can earn all three and drive the ultimate car.

Graphically, Turbo Out Run is more detailed and varied than its predecessor, and the speed at which the landscape zooms past – especially when using the turbo – is startling. Police cars appear occasionally to try to stop the player’s car and these can either be out-run using the turbo booster or destroyed by knocking them into scenery at the side of the road. There are also a variety of obstacles in the road that will slow you down if you hit them, like barriers, puddles, stones, snowballs and even speed bumps. And there are weather effects, such as rainstorms and snow flurries, that will obscure your view of the road and make driving more difficult.

Crashing is also more spectacular than in Out Run and there are a variety of ways the car will animate if you lose control of it, but since Turbo Out Run is a “family game” the two occupants – when ejected – simply get up, dust themselves down and try again.

Turbo Out Run is arguably more fun than the original Out Run and is still good enough to play nowadays. It’s been ported to a variety of home systems, with mixed results. The Commodore 64 conversion is generally regarded as a good port, although others (like the Sega Megadrive/Genesis port) have been roundly derided. The arcade version of Turbo Out Run is the one to play, though, and works well with analogue controls in MAME.

More: Turbo Out Run on Wikipedia