review
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POSTED 5/5/10


AFTER BURNER CLIMAX

SEGA



As consoles have evolved, enabling complex graphics, mini-movies and more levels than a Malaysian skyscraper, pure arcade thrills have become a dying breed. All that power’s there, so why waste it on an ephemeral experience, right?

Fuck NO! And we’re breaking our rule of not starting sentences with ‘and’ to embrace SEGA for thrusting a rigid middle digit up at the pompous, overlong and full-of-way-too-many-cutscenes games that proliferate today. After Burner Climax is a PURE arcade experience – all that’s missing is a coin slot, and possibly some drug-dealers skulking in the corner.

For the unaware, After Burner was a late ’80s coin-op that took all the thrilling bits in Top Gun and let you do them. You powered through the air with missiles and bullets hurtling all around, cock rock screaming as you took out bad guys and had enough adrenaline pumping through you to light a small Eastern Bloc country. It was a 10-minute thrill ride (if you didn’t totally suck) then it was over. So, you’d play it again, such was its pull.

It’s now been dragged into the next century and plopped onto PSN and XBLA with awesome graphics and sound, but the mechanics have stayed much the same, save for the titular ‘Climax’ which gives a brief burst of slow-mo lock-on time. A mass of unlockables allow for game tweaking, too.

After Burner Climax is perfectly named. It isn’t deep, and doesn’t last for hours, but the excitement it gives you in that 10 minute burst just might be the best damned gaming quickie you get all year. We’ve marked it in context, hence…

take me back to the start...

 



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ALL WRITTEN CONTENT COPYRIGHT © AMY FLOWER 2008-2018. GAME IMAGES COURTESY OF RESPECTIVE GAMES COMPANIES.