This could be Sega's year, as the company revives several of its classic franchises yet After Burner's return stands out as the most entertaining. After Burner: Black Falcon, soars onto store shelves around the end of March. Some gamers may not see this as a big addition to Sega's 2007 library, but with developer Planet Moon Studios at the helm, the game should be one of the year's best.
Planet Moon has been involved in a number of quirky projects over the years, including Giants: Citizen Kabuto for the PlayStation 2, Armed and Dangerous for the Xbox, and most recently, Infected for the PSP. With After Burner: Black Falcon players head back to the old days of the original arcade game as well as plenty of new content that sets it apart from its predecessors.
Black Falcon's story revolves around the terrorist group Black Falcon, an abominable group of fellows that invaded a CIA facility somewhere in the central United States. Because of this security lapse, the bad guys made off with thirteen high-powered jets. The goal? To sell these jets to the highest bidder, making them a huge threat to the United States. In retaliation, the CIA issues a direct order to hunt these jets down and retrieve them at all costs. Fortunately, a team of three pilots accepts the perilous mission.
Instead of just being stuck with the typical jet, players choose from roughly fifteen licensed planes including the F-22 Raptor, the F-14D Tomcat and the F-15E Strike Eagle, among others. Each performs differently and comes packed with a hefty supply of bullets and rockets to use against Black Falcon. All the jets are fully customizable, in case gamers desire a "stealth black" paint job or arming the kind of missiles that would make foreign dictators piss their pants.
Planet Moon knows its way around the After Burner license and plans to create break-neck aerial battles. The control scheme follows the classic formula, with players being able to move their crafts around with ease. Even the classic "barrel roll" maneuver, a complete sideway flip, becomes accessible. However, even with these moves and weapons, the challenges in later missions prove to be very difficult as pilots face off against the higher ranks of Black Falcon. Each pilot goes through 18 missions with separate individualized bonus missions so there's a lot of gameplay here.
The visuals represent a new face for After Burner. Players fly through different terrain over the course of each mission, blazing through the countryside or dodging mountains. Unfortunately, GameDaily was unable to learn anything about the audio, but if the developers stick with the source material, expect heavy radio chatter as well as a few classic tunes in the background.
Black Falcon also introduces multiplayer to the series with support for up to eight AdHoc players in versus mode. The final version also promises co-op missions, where two players hunt down Black Falcon operatives and the stolen jets together. The addition of these modes gives Black Falcon lots of potential, and plenty of extra replay ability.
After Burner: Black Falcon still has a little ways to go in its development cycle before it arrives on shelves in March. However, Planet Moon's stellar laurels are just the think that's needed to restore greatness to the once-powerful franchise. In the meanwhile, grab a copy of the Top Gun soundtrack and get ready to return to the danger zone.
Related links
Reader Comments (0)