The classic is back the way it was meant to be, and totally worth the price of admission

User Rating: 8 | After Burner Climax PS3
Ahh After Burner. How many quarters I've dumped into the original I'll never know but I could probably buy myself a few PS3's with it. I haven't been to an arcade for a long time but this new version apparently came out sometime in 2006. I was always a Sega fan and when I had both Saturn and Dreamcast I would always plunk down for the great Sega arcade games. The last time there was an After Burner type release for a console was Sky Target on Saturn, which is tremendously similar to this game. But in the end many times while they were fun I wasn't so happy to spend $50 on a game I beat in 10 minutes, because in reality these games are pretty short and occasionally tough. This new system to release it on PSN for only $10 is perfect. While the game does have replay value that they added with trophies and unlockable upgrades, they realized in this day and age to put out a store bought product for $50-$60 you need to provide more than just an arcade port. PSN (and XBL) allows them to do that.

AND the best part the game is great and is an exact copy of the arcade. Its only about 8-10 minutes long depending on if you end up in any of the bonus areas but that 8-10 minutes is very intense. You have 3 planes to choose from in this version along with 4 color schemes for each plane. As you play arcade mode over you slowly unlock different adjustments you can make to the game like how many credits you have, the size of the targeting reticle, lives, etc. Some help and some make the game harder, but they are fun to play with. There is also a score attack mode which you play the game for an online ranked score. Finally training mode allows you to play any mission you have completed individually.

Graphics wise it seems like an exact copy of the arcade version's, that said the graphics are not up to snuff with what the PS3 can do, but this is an arcade port and the graphics are great and convey the game very well. The music is good too with catchy guitar riffs, soundwise as well you can hear other pilots radio chatter and other effects very clearly and they add to the fun.

Overall this game is totally worth the $10, just don't go into it expecting a flight simulator of some sort, or any sort of major depth. Its a short fun intense arcade game, and this type of release is perfect for PSN.