After Burner Climax (XBL/PSN)

[Sketcz]

I finished it three times in one go but found it so shallow that I can't be bothered to go back.

[Darwock]

I wouldn't call it shallow at all - not when you try to chase the high scores. Much like any other Sega arcade game I suppose.

[marcus]

I like what they have done with the game but cant really see what all the love is about, its given longevity through the EX options but now Ive done most of it I cant see myself ever returning to it again. Nice, but little more than that.

[Legendary Wolf]

It is a good game, played the demo and although it doesn't offer much more beyond the arcade experience it was good enough for me to download the whole game. It looks very nice and plays as you would expect so as a modern take on a classic arcade title it succeeds. Like most Japanese games of this type, it is easy to play and get into but takes a lot of practice to be really good and rack up high scores. I've had a few goes myself but am only just getting used to it.

[Kongster]

Score attack without all the EX lark is where it's at.

[Darwock]

Arcade mode without all the EX lark is where it's at! Score attack gives you infinite lives :/

[Darwock]

God damn it! I thought I had met the requirements for the 2nd secret stage and nothing happened.

I know for the first you need to have at least 4 stars when going into the great river valley stage, so I thought that for the second you needed 4 stars when going into the sea of twilight stage. Apparently not. Is it 5 stars? Do they have to be flashing blue? Does anyone know the exact requirements?

[hush]

Seat and played it again last night and some how got both the secret stage's so i ended up get the Ending A ending that means i got 100% still very much fun

[Darwock]

Secret stages (I mean the alternate ones for stage 6 and 11) aren't linked to the A ending, it's clearing the special missions that does that.

To get the first secret stage you have to shoot over 50% on the first 5 stages and can only die once. To get the second you have to basically get from stage 5 up to stage 10 without dying at all, and shooting down over 50% each stage as well.

It's freaking impossible using the default settings, because the longer you go without dying the harder each stage becomes. I'm determined to do it without bumping up the number of lives per continue though.

[Darwock]

I managed to reach the second secret stage (Clouds of Twilight) in Score Attack mode - this is thanks to the infinite lives, so I'm not particularly proud of it. It hasn't unlocked in training anyway so doesn't really count.

What it has made me realise is that the key to the highest scores lies in that stage. There is fleet upon fleet of huge aircraft to shoot down, it's combo heaven! It's quite a bit easier than the normal version too... shame it's so hard to get to!

[Darwock]

WOOHOOO! Finally did it, got to the 2nd secret stage in regular arcade play, so that's me now unlocked every stage for use in training mode.

I think I did the four stages prior to that one on one life, which is how I managed to pull it off - it was the last life of my first credit and if I died my stars would have been reset to zero (needed to keep 5 for the SS).

I noticed I had five stars when I arrived at the second split path, so I took the easier one (where you have to shoot down the helicopters) but on 5 star difficulty there was crazy AA fire coming from the canyon walls. Still I survived, but had forgotten that meant the next one was Sea of Clouds, which has a lot of red missiles coming at you even on low star ratings. I opted to just try and dodge everything to preserve my stars, used my climax gauge when it was really hairy yet managed to take one hit regardless - one hit wasn't enough to destroy me though and I made it to the clouds of twilight

Unfortunately my nerves were shot and I screwed up the combo potential, fired off all my missiles before i had a chance to reload - not to mention I had already failed to destroy the stealth bomber earlier, so I didn't get the bonus ending and the high score eluded me. I got my 2nd best score despite only reaching ending C and with a maximum combo of only 65.

Just think would I could have got if I'd not been in such a panic...!

Only goal left for me now is a 20K score - ha!

[Sketcz]

I wouldn't call it shallow at all - not when you try to chase the high scores. Much like any other Sega arcade game I suppose.

But here's the thing, even without cheats I was sailing through the game easily, blowing everything up, and not really knowing how or why I was winning. The controls feel totally disconnected from the action - compared to say something like Panzer Dragoon Orta which is extremely precise.

Here my jet flails around, missiles go everywhere, and ever 0.037 seconds there's an explosion. It's a game for ADD people. It's like one of those mouse experiments: push a button, any button, and you're rewarded with a food pellet (explosion/noise/score). Other Sega arcade games had clearer boundaries and more precision.

I would aim for a higher score, but it doesn't feel like anything I do is having any kind of major effect. And when I switch cheats on it's like the game is on autoplay.

I've given this a 1 score.

[Darwock]

Totally, totally disagree with that. There is a strict pattern to everything, and you have to be very precise where you put your jet if you don't want to take damage. If you fire your missiles willy-nilly you will soon be hearing the 'click-click' of no ammo, and your combo is over. If you go too fast in some sections you will get overwhelmed, go too slow in others and again you will lose the combo. Spin too early or too late in a swarm of missiles and they hit you.

Everything has to be exact, it's certainly not just push a button and watch the explosions.

[JU!]

I had a blast of this again on the weekend I would def say it takes some skill. I can finish it no probs but doing better than I did before and taking different routes is always interesting.

[Sketcz]

I didn't put enough time in to comment on extended play, so I will give you both the benefit of the doubt.

But then the problem is, the barrier to entry is too low. It feels like a concession. Like they made the game easy to complete so as not to scare less experienced players off. Thing is, after I'd clocked it once without even trying (I may even have been drunk at the time), I instantly thought: ah yes, the game wins itself.

Compare it to say... A different Sega update, like the updated Outrun. It looked gorgeous, it was enticing, but I never made it beyond the second track on my first go. I had to work at improving my driving and with each successive track I managed to reach, my drifting improved and I could gauge my progress. I chipped away at the game. Afterburner just kinda gave it away, like a two-for-a-nickel whorehouse.

I've always been a progression/survival/1cc man - scoring isn't usually my thing. Afterburner Climax certainly wasn't, at least. Neither was Pacman DX either, for that matter, which I liked even less than this. I hope this view makes sense to someone - Outrun for the win, Afterburner and Pacman best left to the past.