Kikizo' s After Burner PSP Review

It' s a shame we can' t explore more of the levels, swoop around a rock formation and attack your enemy from behind, or fly high into the sky and attack from above the cloud line. Or just to bank all the way to the right to avoid an obstacle. Not to mention a lot of the levels being bland monotonous affairs such as flying over water or rolling fields. There are some interesting ones though, such as the snowy mountainous regions, but these only drive home the fact that you can' t really fly around, explore, and devise attack strategies.

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The Final Word: Flying a military aircraft on rails can only be fun for a short time. Unfortunately that' s the case here, and Black Falcon soon loses its appeal. After Burner fans might appreciate the update, but unless you played the originals the first time around, most will probably be aghast at the lack of interactivity and variation. Hopefully Sega will do us proud with a home version of the stunning After Burner Climax.

Bearing in mind that this PSP game and the arcade game are completely different entities, with the arcade version having been developed by AM2, I still can' t follow the logic of this review' s criticisms with its final statement. The main criticism seems to be that shooters on rails are just too outdated to be enjoyed by today' s gamers -- then the author expresses hope that AM2' s shooter on rails, the " stunning" After Burner Climax, will " do us proud."

Look, if you fundamentally don' t like games on rails, why even write a review of one? That' s like someone who doesn' t like loud guitars writing a review of a rock album. " This rock record would be great if it wasn' t for the fact that these guitars are so distorted and high in the mix." It' s a given for the genre.

After Burner is all about adrenaline. It isn' t about exploring or deep tactics. Is it a detriment that you can' t turn around and drive the wrong way, or go exploring in the countryside on the recent Outrun updates? Do you have to have played the originals to enjoy the new versions?

From what I' ve seen of the PSP After Burner, it looks too slow and environments are sparse. From what I' ve seen of AM2' s After Burner Climax, it looks intense, beautiful and fun. But you' re still not going to be able to " explore" its environments. Who cares? Its challenges lie elsewhere. There' s lots of gamers who want a sledgehammer jolt of adrenaline at the bleeding edge of incomprehensible speed without f#%&ing around for hours building up a character and plodding along through vast environments.

I would have to agree with on-rails feeling dated and limiting, though. Ever since last gen(XB,PS2,GC) Ive had a huge urge for more; more freedom and choices, ways to handle situations, and how my game is presented and controlled.

On a related note to what I said about freedom and control, every console dev should allow complete control custimization, PC has had it forever, and its not like it can hurt anything to have an extra option for (advanced/hardcore/whatever) users who want it.

And flight sims on PSP? Not a very good idea IMHO, just due to the limitations of hardware make a visceral experience hard to make.

I dont want to celebrate, I want to sell you hate.

ORIGINAL: immortaldanmx

And flight sims on PSP? Not a very good idea IMHO, just due to the limitations of hardware make a visceral experience hard to make.

Ace Combat X would change your mind about that in an instant.

I' ve always LOVED games that are on rails! Long live rails!!

The LAST thing I want is for the next Panzer Dragoon, Space Harrier, or After Burner to be free-roaming!

Terry Bogard - currently the most Unhelpful member of the Kikizo forums.

I' m a lover of on-rails games I must admit. Sometimes it' s nice just to sit back and blow the haeds of zombies in a mindless fashion :). It' s also a good (if cheap) way of telling a story in a game.