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System:
Arcade
Genre:
Shoot 'Em Up
Publisher:
SEGA
Developer:
-
Players:
1
Release date/year:
1987
Other systems:
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- After Burner II
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1987 SEGA - Arcade
- After the much toted success of After Burner, Sega created yet another sequel to go along with this rather fast paced game. Pitting you against a huge force of aerial enemies, you take to the skies in a super jet, and attempt to stop them from taking over the world. What this game features is a slightly more polished visual presentation along with some upgraded challenge. If you’re into the flight simulation that blends action with high flying skills, then you’ve come to the right place!
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The Game Play
The game play is a behind the view type of shooter that gives you control of a rather agile fighter plane with a fixed amount of room to work with. As most shooting games go, this one really doesn’t have much difference from any other one that you might play. When you really dive into what the game has to offer in terms of the game play and even the control, there is little here that differs from one stage to the next, leaving you with the feeling of being on constant repeat. Weapons are kept simple with machine guns and missiles being your only choice and you’ll have to learn to work with them at all levels.
The difficulty that you find here is nothing exceptional, with anyone from the beginning gamer to the veteran player being able to pick up on the controls in a heartbeat and work with what the game has to offer. Although the button configuration is set up to be easy to work with, you may need to take a little time to get used to the sometimes sluggish way that Afterburner II moves on the screen. Being in that fixed position simply means that you have to use timing and get used to the various patterns in order to successfully get through the game in it’s later stages.
The control of the game is really what brings this game to a full tilt. Being inside of the sit down machine gives you a somewhat limited feeling of what being in a plane of this sort is like. While there isn’t as much rotational movement with this version of the game as there was with the first After Burner, you’ll still find that there is plenty here to get you into it. Partial rocking and some movement of the cabinet with the movements of your plane will show you some pretty impressive presentation in the game play and control as well as the visuals!
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The Visuals
What you have is plenty of detail in the foreground and in the background as it comes rushing up to you. The backgrounds on the other hand have very little going for them, with most of your attention on the action that is happening onscreen. Explosions and near misses with the missiles is what you have to look forward to with some of the fastest fighter plane action around going on right here. The overall presentation of the game is only highlighted with the detail in which you go down in flames if you’re not careful in your assault on the enemy horde!
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The Audio
Inside of the cabinet {if you’re lucky enough to play in one} is nothing short of amazing. With a rock soundtrack that accompanies you through several different stages of action, there is nothing off-beat or slow to hear on any of the missions. The sound effects range from the rattle of your machine gun to the heavy, bass filled explosions of you or your enemies as missiles and machine gun fire take its toll. With the amount of sound that goes on, the only thing that you can hope for is that the game doesn’t have the volume set too high, or you’ll end up partially deaf!
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The Verdict
After Burner II is a good follow-up to the original game that gives you a slightly better visual presentation to the game. Though you might find that the game just has too much challenge to go your way for too far, there is plenty of action here that will allow you to keep plugging quarters into the machine. With the audio and visuals keeping up with the action that goes on during the game, along with the cabinet setting that allows you to feel limited physics of flying through battle. After Burner II is worth your money as well as your precious time!
8/10
//KasketDarfyre
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