After Burner: Black Falcon review

A classic arcade flight shooter refuels, but buys the cheap gas

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12DOVE Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Decent sense of speed

  • +

    Looks good

  • +

    Flame jobs on planes

Cons

  • -

    Jets too similar

  • -

    Unavoidable damage

  • -

    Shallow overall

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It’s very tough to update old-school arcade games gracefully. Change too much, and people accuse you of ignoring the franchise’s heritage. Change too little, and people will say the series is stuck in a rut. This second situation is unfortunately how we feel about After Burner: Black Falcon, an update to publisher Sega’s beloved arcade flight shooter series After Burner. It’s not as bad a collision with the past as would be, say, taking Mick Jagger shopping for Speedos, but it isn’t exactly plugging your iPod straight into your hybrid-fuel car’s stereo, either.

More info

GenreFlight
DescriptionWith its progenitors watching from the arcade past, this fledging screams onto the scene, engines a-blazing, looking fast, fun, and full of promise.
Platform"PSP"
US censor rating"Rating Pending"
UK censor rating"12+"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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Eric Bratcher
Eric Bratcher
I was the founding Executive Editor/Editor in Chief here at GR, charged with making sure we published great stories every day without burning down the building or getting sued. Which isn't nearly as easy as you might imagine. I don't work for GR any longer, but I still come here - why wouldn't I? It's awesome. I'm a fairly average person who has nursed an above average love of video games since I first played Pong just over 30 years ago. I entered the games journalism world as a freelancer and have since been on staff at the magazines Next Generation and PSM before coming over to GamesRadar. Outside of gaming, I also love music (especially classic metal and hard rock), my lovely wife, my pet pig Bacon, Japanese monster movies, and my dented, now dearly departed '89 Ranger pickup truck. I pray sincerely. I cheer for the Bears, Bulls, and White Sox. And behind Tyler Nagata, I am probably the GR staffer least likely to get arrested... again.
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