After Burner Climax User Review

Let me just break the ice before I start off on my review. I am a huge aircraft enthuiast. I attend air shows around the country, and make a yearly trip to Nellis AFB. Needless to say, the flight genre is one of my favorites. I have played and completed nearly every flight game on the PS3 and PS2, with Ace Combat 4 and IL-2 being my personal favorites, with each being for different reasons.

I was excited about a childhood favorite (yes, I am older gamer at 37) being brought into the HD era, and more importantly, my PS3. I spent many a quarter down at the arcade with the orginal After Burner. Plus, the 10 dollar price tag was very attractive to me.

The visuals on the game are stunning. The explosions, the airplane models, and ambient surroundings are very sharp and brilliantly done. You won't find realism here, but the use of 3 US real world fighters is a plus in my book.

When it comes to gameplay, it is very close to original. A 100% pure arcade air combat game to the core. I am glad this aspect remained faithful to the original. Expect flying at break-neck speeds, with dozens of enemy aircraft and missiles gunning for you.

The sound is what you would expect from a Japanese game with American voice overs. Nothing spectacular nor disappointing here. For nostalgia purposes, the orginal music can be used while playing. Nice.

Any fan of the original game will find that the controls are well implemented to a Dualshock controller. It felt natural. The game even features customizable controls. A huge plus in my book. Only complaint? I wish the aircraft roll could have been more natural, and not requiring extra control stick movement.

If this game disappoints in one are, this is it. In my first play through, I was able to get 75% of the trophies. Yes, I play a ton of flight games, so this could be expected. The problem? I completed the singleplayer (arcade mode) in under 10 minutes. I understand the game is a PSN title, but in my book, beating a game that fast puts a bad taste in my mouth. The game is all about high scores, and I am fine with that. But I feel this game could have easily tripled it's length without getting redundant.

Thanks for reading.