Babe Magnet

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday May 6, 2006

Jason Hill

Dream a little. Speed off in a fast car with an attractive passenger for company, writes Jason Hill.

Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast

PS2, Xbox and PSP $79.95 G ****

Before Gran Turismo rewrote the driving game rules, Sega dominated the starting grid with peerless, thrilling arcade gems such as Daytona, Sega Rally, Virtua Racing and Outrun.

Today many will brand Outrun 2006 an anachronism, but throwing a Ferrari outlandishly around tight corners remains as much fun as it was two decades ago, particularly with a factory-standard babe squealing in delight.

Most of the game's pleasure stems from the giddy car handling, which enables skilled players to powerslide gracefully around corners at ridiculous speed. The branching track system is brilliantly designed to challenge and thrill in equal measure.

The game includes all content from both Outrun 2 and the SP edition. It offers the freedom to play the kind of challenges you like best in an elaborate solo mode, plus pleasing multiplayer options.

Classic Outrun modes let players roar along picturesque courses, choosing easy or more difficult paths as you race the clock or try to beat rivals to the finish line. Heart Attack challenges are more demanding, requiring players to comply with their lady's every whim, including driving on a designated part of the road, ramming beach balls or other cars down the highway, keeping above a set speed, avoiding UFOs or performing enormous drifts around corners.

Too many games make you jump through arbitrary hoops to unlock prizes, but time with Outrun is never wasted. Every kilometre is credited whether you win or lose, allowing you to trade for new cars, music, tracks, goals and more. The variety on offer and the ratings system ensure terrific replay appeal, but the game is best suited to short bursts of fun. Cleverly, the PSP and PS2 versions can be linked to transfer your progress.

Endgame: A joyous, charismatic arcade racer guaranteed to produce a smile whether playing for five minutes or five hours.

Tetris DS

Nintendo DS $69.95 G ***1/2

The Russian puzzler that single-handedly sold tens of millions of Game Boy consoles has been updated for Nintendo's latest handheld.

The block-matching action is as addictive as ever and the surprisingly diverse new modes are creative and enjoyable, although not up to the standard of the original.

Dispensing with the familiar Soviet presentation, Nintendo has furnished the game with nostalgic graphics and music from retro classics such as Super Mario, Zelda and Metroid.

Some players might find it disconcerting to have the famous crazy plumber leaping around the top screen while they juggle puzzle pieces below, but long-time Nintendo fans are certain to love it.

The best new challenge is a tug-of-war competition where completed lines push opponents further and further into oblivion.

There's also a mission mode that demands players complete strict tasks such as using a specific piece to complete a line. Failure is punished with huge numbers of extra blocks. The most radical departure is a Metroid-inspired challenge that reverses the Tetris dynamic. Rather than spinning each falling piece, players rotate a clump of blocks trying to fashion it into a solid clump which will explode. Unhappily, it becomes laborious.

The obligatory touch-screen mode bears little relation to Tetris apart from the shape of the blocks, but is engaging. Tricky towers of jumbled blocks require a deft touch and careful planning to turn chaos into order.

The best addition is multiplayer Tetris.

Up to 10 nearby friends can do battle wirelessly using just one cartridge

and faraway opponents can also compete via Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection Service.

Unfortunately, purists might consider other changes to the classic game less welcome.

A hold box for troublesome or valuable pieces, previews of the next six blocks to appear and the ability to spin pieces infinitely make marathon Tetris sessions significantly easier.

Endgame: A classic puzzler that remains terrific fun, especially against friends. But some new features won't appeal.