This is more like it. After recent incarnations of the more realistic (dull) plane combat games like Tom Clancy’s Hawx or Blazing Angels, it’s good to see a more fun-minded arcade game return. You won’t find a more fondly remembered fighter plane game than After Burner either.

Rather than succumbing to modern pressure, the series still seems to play in its familiar style of blasting towards the horizon, with players concentrating on avoiding enemy gunfire in a relatively 2D space.

If you’ve had a gander at the pictures you’ll have noticed the lovely new HD makeover from Sega’s AM2 crew who’ve been showing off for years with the likes of Virtua Fighter 5 and Out Run. If you think the pictures look good, just wait till you see it in motion.

New to the series will be Climax Mode (ha!), where players will be able to temporarily be able to activate a slow motion effect to easily dodge incoming fire and increase accuracy to take down the faster moving swarms of enemy ships. All before it kicks back into full-on mental again.

You can read the rest of my preview over at Dealspwn.com