When comparing Power Drift vs OutRun, the Slant community recommends OutRun for most people. In the question“What are the best and the most revolutionary games of all time?” OutRun is ranked 36th while Power Drift is ranked 95th. The most important reason people chose OutRun is:
Unlike other racing games of the time, you aren't necessarily racing at all. OutRun was more about beating the clock than any opponents. At the end of each stages, the player could either turn left for an easier stage or turn right for a more difficult stage which gave the user some choices as if they were driving instead of racing on a set track.
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Pros
Pro One of the first games to incorporate 3D effects
While Power Drift isn't actually 3D, it manages to appear like it has some 3D elements because of the way it uses 2D sprites. It also tilts the screen when steering, and includes a 3D looking fly-by introduction to each track. Together, this made for a 3D-like experience, without actually using any 3D technology.
Pro Unique driving gameplay instead of racing
Unlike other racing games of the time, you aren't necessarily racing at all. OutRun was more about beating the clock than any opponents. At the end of each stages, the player could either turn left for an easier stage or turn right for a more difficult stage which gave the user some choices as if they were driving instead of racing on a set track.
Pro First game to offer a choice of music
Before OutRun, players couldn't choose what music they listened to. In OutRun, players could choose one of three 'radio stations' which would play different music.
Cons
Con Very touchy controls
The controls in Power Drift are extremely touchy, making controlling your cart very frustrating. Adding in the fact that it's very easy to fall of the track, plus the very fast gameplay makes it extremely difficult to control.