After Burner Climax has finally made the migration from the arcade to the consoles, serving up visuals in shiny HD that make me use silly two-string words like “retina-melting,” along with twitch reflex action that couples some nostalgic memories of the series with a new trick that really makes the game less of the trip down memory lane you might expect, and much more of a 21st century arcade love song.
The view from the cockpit is a mix of familiar Top Gun styled vistas and arcade fantasy that leaves players buzzing by volcanic islands, city skylines, and through mountainous pathways – all of it at speeds that seem ludicrous at first sight.
On my first run through I felt a bit like a high school lover again, wondering how I’d burnt out so quickly after all the pent up anticipation.