After Burner

• Release Date: 1988
• Genre: Simulation
• Style: Flight Combat Sim
• Similar Games: F-16 Fighting Falcon (Sega Master System), Thunder Blade (Sega Master System), G-LOC: Air Battle (Arcade), Thunder Blade (Arcade), Thunder Blade (TurboGrafx-16), Aerial Assault (Sega Master System), Thunder Blade (Atari ST), Thunder Blade (Commodore Amiga)

Game Description

After Burner is a home port of the Arcade hit. You play the part of a Navy air captain known as "The Ace." Players pilot an F-14 Thunder Cat capable of Mach 2 and equipped with a targeting computer, missiles, and a Vulcan 20mm cannon.

The enemy plans on taking over the world, and they have a strategy to make it work. Their plan is divided into two parts and has been hidden in various parts of their country. Those plans have been located by Naval Intelligence, and they need you to retrieve them. Enemies you will encounter include jets, helicopters, and flying fortresses (extremely large jets).

From a third-person, behind-the-jet view, players can maneuver up, down, left, and right, as well as perform barrel rolls. A total of 18 stages must be completed in order to win the game. Three lives are provided from the start, and extras can be obtained when a score of 5,000,000 is reached and again when a score of 15,000,000 is reached. Three continues are available.

Roots & Influences

After Burner is based on the Arcade game of the same name.

Review: Overall

After Burner doesn't have enough variety. All of the enemies are very similar and all of the 18 stages look almost exactly alike.

Flying your F-14 Thunder Cat is very simple. One button shoots your guns and the other your missiles. Neither is limited, so you should constantly fire both of them. Your aircraft movements are kind of jerky and performing a 360-degree roll is useless. It was probably only thrown into the game because there is not a lot you can do in After Burner.

The screen scrolls forward with the ground/water below you and the sky in front of you. Just shoot and jerk your plane back and forth. If you fly at an upper diagonal angle, either to the left or right, you can avoid most of the enemies. Bosses, of which there are very few, are not very interesting. They are so big they just sit in front of you for you to pick apart.

A few bonus points are awarded if you can dock with the refueling plane that appears between some of the levels. You never actually run out of fuel so it doesn't matter if you can't dock. The 18 stages are broken up into six-stage increments that flow together. You have three continues so this game can be won in about 45 minutes max.

The graphics look okay but the stages all look the same. Between the six-stage increments there are some cool cut-scenes when your plane lands. Your cannon fire looks pathetic: It is made up of yellow balls. Sounds are up and down. Music is decent (but repetitive) and so are the missile firing sounds, but the cannon fire sounds as bad as it looks.

After Burner is an average shooter. While it looks good, there is just so little to do. Enemies all move and shoot similarly, and there are no power-ups. Shooter fans and fans of the Arcade version are probably the only ones who should try this one.

Review: Enjoyment

No power-ups and all of the enemies are too similar.

Review: Graphics

Good, but not enough variety in the stages.

Review: Sound

Gunfire needs major improvement.

Review: Replay Value

Every stage is the same.

Review: Documentation

Includes everything you need.