After Burner Climax Review

For those of you that haven't played the original After Burner then you missed out on a treat. It was released in the late 80s and like all good games it originated in the coin swallowing arcades before being ported to the home console market. Being released on pretty much every console going After Burner was a great game and the sequels that followed were also awesome. However its been a while and the game that once was great is now just a faded memory in classic gamers minds. So Sega being Sega they have decided to release a new version of this game which was originally released in the Arcade in 2006 and re-ignites the passions of home console owners once again, this time for the PlayStation network and Xbox Live.

The best thing about this game is the "one more go" factor. Its something that I'm pretty sure all gamers have had this experience before, but if you haven't its the feeling of when you have completed a level or even a map, there is something about the game that just makes you want to keep playing. The game itself plays brilliant so good in fact that last night i decided to have a quick play on this game. After a few games i realised that 4 hours had gone by and the 'ball and chain' wasn't very happy indeed. It's not that I cant keep track of time (well that might be this issue) but the fact that this game is just fantastic to play and I am having problems putting the game down.

The graphics have had a massive overhaul, obviously from the previous versions and even with a fairly busy screen i cannot see any slow down whats so ever. Everything looks fantastic and keeps the feel of speed and you are racing through canyons or even over cities. The enemies will come thick and fast as well as from pretty much every direction. The controls are pretty simple move the joystick to move around. The game really doesn't give you have much movement just turning left right up and down, which is really just dodge missiles or to get out the way of sharp pointy rock faces. If you quickly flick the joystick left or right you will then do a roll which will get you out of the more difficult spots that the game will put you in later in your progression. However this isn't a problem, the on rails type shooting allows you to learn the levels and keeps the game play fast and effective, while the rest of the controls are pretty simple you get a button to shoot missiles, a button to shoot a machine gun, finally a Climax button which will allow the game to slow down for a second and your aiming cursor to go bigger allowing you to lock on to more enemies during this period.

The storyline is revolved around an enemy force which is planning on invading your country so we do what we do best and go and attack them before they get chance. Over the course of the arcade storyline you get to choose on some occasions on where you want to go next which doesn't effect the story line that much and the out come seems to be based on how well you have done over the course of the game to which ending you will get.

As well as completing the game you also get a certain number of challenges that once completed allow different modes and unlocks to use within the game. These will either make the game more difficult or just more fun to play. Example of these are ones that made your cursor the same size as it is when your in climax mode as well as also making your jet super fast or super slow. While most of these are just added perks that make the game more fun to re run through. There are a few which will get the hardcore fans going that ramps up the difficulty and makes the game even more challenging.

The Controls can be customised for you to utilise you favourite setup, which is a good idea as most people will want the controls a certain way which is needed in this game as there is no time not to know what your control system is as most enemies can really put the hurt on you if you mess up. On the main Arcade mode which is the basic storyline mode for the game allows you to pick between three types of jets. As far as I know as of writing this there isn't any difference between all of the jets apart from the fact that they look different and they have their own different paint styles which you can use just to make your plane look even more cooler. The next thing I must say is that the music is kick ass and even better when you select the music from After Burner 2 if you fancy some retro action.

The Graphics are fantastic and the soundtrack is pumping, however the controls are little clunky but still work well once you have got to grips with them. I can honestly say this is the most fun I have had in years and for the price (Xbox 360 - 800 Microsoft Points or Playstation Network - £7.99/€9.99) it would be rude not to pick it up. The game will keep you going long after the latest stellar breathtaking game is over and done with and to be honest you cant beat a remade classic. Though I have to admit, every time I play this game, I get the odd craving to watch the volleyball scene from Top Gun!