First look: OutRun2

Sega's AM-2 team has today updated its official Japanese Web site with the first information on the tentatively titled OutRun2. The game is currently in development for the Xbox-based Chihiro arcade platform and will allow players to race in officially licensed Ferrari sports cars, including the F50 and the 1960s Dino 246 GT--as illustrated by today's screenshots.

A rough translation of the Web site suggests that players will be able to choose between realistic and drift handling styles, and also that the beautiful woman present in the passenger seat will play a far more active role in OutRun2 than in the original game--possibly making specific demands of the player concerning preferred routes and such that, if met, will reward the player with a superior ending at the finish.

Outrun 2 is currently known to have four modes--outrun mode, time attack mode, versus mode, and quest mode. The outrun mode plays identically to the original Outrun game. Time attack mode is a competition, in which players try to get the fatest track time possible--the times can then be posted to an Internet ranking board. In versus mode, a maximum of up to four players can race each other simultaneously. In quest mode, players will get to choose a woman who will sit in the passenger seat, but they will have to meet her requests during the race in order to please her and receive different endings.

According to the AM-2 site, the arcade version of OutRun2 is currently scheduled for release in Japan toward the end of this year. No console versions of the game have been formally confirmed at this time, but it seems reasonable to assume that at the very least an Xbox version of the game shouldn't be too far behind. We'll bring you more information on OutRun2 as soon as it becomes available.