When comparing Darius 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 Darius is ranked 104th. 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 widescreen with cinescopes
Darius was the very first arcade machine using 3 cinescopes in a mirror system. This positioned the center screen normally, but the two extra screens were actually projected onto a display making the illusion of a single 3X wide display.
Pro Multiple endings
Because of it's non-linear design, you could choose your own path which could result in different endings. This is a much more immersive game experience, as you feel more invested in the game as your decisions actually matter.
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.