Having read fellow reviewer Rob Byron's take on OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast for PS2, I was a little apprehensive about the PSP version. You see, I too was one of those kids who jumped into the hard-backed plastic black chairs and played about aimlessly with the gear knob, hoping to get a free ride by pushing the right combination of buttons on the arcade machine! I also spent my hard-given cash at Blackpool on these OutRun machines and getting at least half way through one of the races was a massive sense of achievement in itself. But my AG comrade was let down by what the PS2 version had to offer, and now, with OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast PSP in front of me, held tightly in my hands, I was worried that I might be in store for the same old chore.

However, after an hour of gaming, it dawned on me: all the shortcomings of the PS2 version are actually virtuous on the PSP. Slapstick surrealness is something a handheld game needs. Serious games on handheld consoles are bound to fail - save the serious stuff for home time. Whacky graphics with an arcade look and feel might not do the PS2 justice either, but the graphics on the PSP are some of the best I've yet seen on the system - while I'm sure my AG sibling was right to pull these points up on the PS2 version, these inadequacies really make the PSP experience a hell of a lot better. Ha, I'm too optimistic for my own good!

Before all that though, let me get down and dirty with the gameplay - and there's a lot of gameplay to sift through, too. You can race instantly with Just Drive, perfect for a quick game on the go - and thanks to pretty swift loading times you can get into a game with a sense of urgency. There's also an option to play the old OutRun2 SP, so essentially Coast 2 Coast comes with two games. OutRun2 has a more arcade feel about it, no messing around with buying things and such. Coast 2 Coast's main modes are similar to OutRun2's though. There's an actual Coast to Coast mode, where you have to battle it out in both rival races. and Heart Attack races (involving the missus) - completing missions from both sections as you go. Outrun Mode sees you trying to reach the goal with your girlfriend screaming 'Whoooo' in your ear when she's having a good time (I can think of at least six other ways to achieve the same outcome though!) while Heart Attack Mode sees your girlfriend shouting out orders, such as 'Don't Crash' or 'Overtake' and you have to do as she says to earn points or hearts as it were. Then you have a Time Attack mode, where you race times and ghost cars, plus a Showroom for good measure, where you can spend all your hard-earned OutRun miles and hearts on things such as BGMs, new Ferraris and more courses too.

Whatever mode you're playing though, the gameplay more or less remains legendary all the way through. In Heart Attack mode, completing things on the fly as you cruise along feels fantastic, but generally racing and cruising along against ghosts in Time Attack or rivals in Outrun Mode just backs up my statement that there isn't a better racing game on the PSP at the moment. And yes, that includes you, Wipeout. Holding down X and slipstreaming your rivals at full speed, then sliding round the corner before blasting out onto a straight into the distance, is just amazing. Then, of course, the classic OutRun idea is underneath this beautiful poetic gameplay; the split choice to race this way or that way. In most of the modes you have a triangle on its side, this is your map and you start at the left tip of the triangle. Like a family tree, at the end of each small course, you can then continue to race down one of the sides of the triangle, or branch off to the left. You're faced with a few of these decisions until you get to the end, where you could end up in one of five different places. There's just nothing like it!

Possibly the best thing about OutRun on the PSP is the wireless online mode - or the wireless multiplayer for that matter - but the online mode is the most important thing here. The first thing I tried on this game was the online mode, simply because it was just so easy to get into with my wireless router conveniently turned on. I had little trouble finding a game, I just pressed the Quick Match option and I was launched into a lobby with a couple of other people. I then chose my car and when everybody was ready, we started. I lost, of course, but that's beside the point. Online games mainly consist of racing your rivals on a predetermined course, there is no route to pick - it's already mapped out, the other split option is barricaded off. It's just so convenient and so quick to get into a game, that even if you didn't get OutRun Coast 2 Coast for the online mode alone, you won't be able to stop yourself from quickly and curiously jumping into a game at home or at a Wi-Fi hotspot elsewhere -skulk in your neighbour's garden if necessary!

The graphics in OutRun are great. They have that arcade look, with some over the top elements, but I suppose that's covered in the overall 'arcade look' description. There's nothing much to say about the graphics except that they do look like they do belong on that pier arcade. For the PSP, these graphics are more than acceptable; it's amazing to have these characteristics in your hand. The sound is absolutely outstanding too; you select your music before racing and you can choose from old school BGMs from the really old OutRun games (classic 8-bit tunes) to new spruced up tracks and the remixes, which are the spruced tracks mixed even further. The large collection is not only impressive but they're all a complete joy to listen to, even the remixes, which as many people know, I usually hate! (See my MC3: Dub Edition Remix review for the full story!) You can't beat cruising down the beach road listening to some Chav-tune with the roof off and your bird sitting next to you, feeling your crotch. Unfortunately, the PSP does not simulate the latter - but it's something to think about for future handhelds!

The PSP does racing games like nothing else. Sure, your action games are alright and your shoot-em-ups are entertaining for so long, but racing games on this format have the lasting appeal of a really bad fart - I can't think of a better example, but I mean that example in the best possible way. OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast is no exception to the racing rule. It's going to last with its multiplayer online options, its diverse modes and course splitting gameplay - and all of these elements combined make the gameplay as fun as releasing a really bad fart in a really crowded area. Again, good examples fail me, but I mean that in the best way too. [What did you eat today, Dex? Fart-Ed] Before I dig myself into a hole with all these examples, race on down to the store and do your PSP a favour. Buy Coast 2 Coast!

Phew! Thankfully I came out of that situation smelling of roses! [Cough, splutter, what the hell have you eaten?! It sure ain't roses!! Suffocate-Ed]

Reviewed by Dexter Pearson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).