Am sad to hear this news. Fired up Halo 2 recently and was pleased to see there was still an active community. Sure, I don't use Xbox1 Live very much, but it's always nice to have the option, and experience what the service used to be like.

There are still a few Xbox1 games I was hoping to sample online, like the original Outrun 2 games, Capcom Vs SNK 2, SFIII Third Strike. Their communities may not even be blips on the radar, but I'm sure forums could have been used to arrange matches with like-minded people. Wonder if I can download fastest ghost times etc before the servers go down?

I've read about something called xbconnect - software that runs on your PC and allows you to play LAN Xbox1 games over the Internet, by connecting your PC, Xbox1 and router together. It makes the game think you are playing people over LAN / system link, when in fact you're using the Internet. This could be an option for continuing some games online, and even for enabling net play in games that didn't support Live in the first place, but supported system link, like Halo1.

Fond memories of this. Bought it in 1998 after Official Sega Saturn Magazine kept saying how good it was issue after issue (a great magazine, like you, EDGE). One of the first games I ever imported (after X-Men Vs Street Fighter I think). I wasn't into collecting at the time and threw away the spine card...oops. Well, it was a flimsy bit of the wrapper, what good's that when I want to play the game?

Still got it but not played for a long time. Often think about playing it if that counts. Is top quality no doubt, and I did play to the end (using lots of continues along the way), though I don't think I've got that shoot 'em up mentality to play them to death...too many other games to enjoy and so little time!

From what I've played of Ikaruga I liked the black/white mechanic, and enjoyed that depth more than Radiant Silvergun's. The graphics in RS though, like the running man, and the stage inside a computer or something, were just incredible. And I liked the weapon choices, they were just...cool.

I love the Saturn version of the original Virtual On. Never played this sequel before, but I remember the Saturn game was perfectly playable with a standard pad (no dual sticks/button configs) and I was pretty good at it.

I'd love to see more Sega 90s arcade classics like this on modern platforms, some of which have never had true arcade to home ports. I'm thinking like Daytona 1 and 2, Sega Rally 1 and 2, Scud Race, Jurassic Park Lost World (this would be great on the Wii, no?), Virtua Fighter 1-3, Virtua Racing, Virtua Striker...Many of these games would be great with XBL multiplayer, just like back in the arcades with your mates.

Oz, the Panzer Dragoon games desperately need revisiting! Oh, and a new game in the series please Sega, preferably an RPG in the same league as Saga! OK so that's a lot of work, but I'm a consumer who is willing to pay for it! Or give me a job and I'll help you! (You don't have to pay me either.)

Denim, I played this new version last night in HD and must say it looked amazingly clear. Compared with the Xbox Coast 2 Coast running on a HDTV, which did look great, this new one has better contrast and more focused textures. Also, playing Coast 2 Coast on HDTV makes some of its artefacts/level of detail systems more prominent (although they may be 360 emulation issues - see below), like a blurring of the road textures about 20m in front of the players car; the new version is sharp and detailed to the horizon. (Interestingly the water in the new version seems to be more ripley, which looks great when parked, but gives more flicker at top speeds compared to the other versions' more glacial sheens.)

Alas after extended play of Coast 2 Coast through the 360, it appears the emulation is flawed (as is the original Outrun 2's). I witnessed sound effects being stuck in loops, the game crashing on a loading screen, possibly more slowdown than when playing on Xbox1 (though not game breaking), and the 360 may be responsible for the road blurring artefacts mentioned above, as I don't notice them when playing it on Xbox1 (though that is in standard definition, so the lower resultion could be obscurring them).

Think I'll add this new game to my Outrun collection just for the sumptuous graphics. Re: the PC version: do many people play it online, and how does the online play rate? (lag, slowdown etc). Cheers

Whereas Outrun 2006 coast 2 coast had tracks from Outrun 2 AND Outrun 2 SP, this HD version is just the Outrun 2 SP courses. This version also doesn't have a lot of the bonus modes from the previous home ports.

I was thinking of getting this for the hi-def (I believe it runs in 720p). But I assume the PC version of Outrun 2006 is HD too, so that is maybe a better option, especially when it has both sets of courses, more modes, free online, and Edge did praise the PC version in their recent top 100. You can also use your Xbox 360 wired controller on the PC. Oh, and I just found the PC version on Amazon for £2.99!

I accept it is sometimes better to play games like this on a big TV, but even the original home console ports of Outrun 2 and 2006 were 480p anamorphic widescreen (on Xbox at least, and even in the PAL versions I believe). The 360 seems to struggle emulating the first game in places, but 2006 seems fine; plug them into your HDTV via HDMI or component (even from the old Xbox) and they should look really good.

I've downloaded the demo for the new HD version, but not tried it yet on a HDTV. If it looks so much better that it's a must buy I'll let you know...

One last thought: very few people seem to play the previous versions online anymore (speaking of the Xbox versions at least); if busy online multiplayer is your thing, the new version is probably the way to go.

When all said and done, any version of Outrun 2 is brilliant, and Sumo have done a great job of keeping the game alive.