Sega Ages Afterburner

I can remember the first time I played Afterburner in the arcades. The joystick, or more appropriately the flight stick was like a real flight yoke with it's odd shape and trigger controls. With the joystick, you could control the plane to bank left and right, to dive and climb, and to roll which was the only way to avoid oncoming guided missles. The great thing about Afterburner back then was the sense of speed and destruction as your plane roared its way through the skies and met the enemies head-on. You could target the enemies and listen to the announcer yell out 'Lock-On' and fire on cue. It was exhilirating to watch the vapor trails of your missles as they streamed towards the enemy planes and exploded upon contact. That was cool. Your fighter is also equipped with guns but their visual effects aren't as spectacular as the missles. I haven't played the arcade version of Afterburner in years due to unavailability but thanks to the Sega Ages collection, the complete arcade game is now available for play on the humble Sega Saturn in its original arcade glory. I am still impressed by Afterburner's sense of speed and excitement as you fly through the unfriendly skies and take on your mission to take down the enemy. The Sega Ages collection will continue with more titles in the next couple of weeks. Some Sega classics that I would like to see on the Saturn are Super Hang On, Power Drift and an arcade perfect version of Altered Beast. Click here to look at the CD cover for Afterburner. Click here to look at the back cover.

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