Afterburner Returns

Sega have announced that the latest version of the Afterburner Series, that being Afterburner Climax, is in development for Home Systems. The game , which was originally launched in the Arcades in 2006, will be presented in high definition and available to download via Xbox Live Arcade for the 360 and Playstation Store for the PS3.


(2006 Arcade Flyer)

The Afterburner Series started way back in 1987 when it followed Out Run, and Super Hang-on, as the next generation of Arcade Games hosted in Sega's over-the-top mechanised cabinets, built to create a greater Arcade Game experience. The game itself saw you flying an American Tomcat Fighter Jet, into waves of incoming enemy jets and the cabinet moved in parallel with your movements, shifting wildly left and right depending on how you weaved to miss that enemy fire.
At the time, it was revolutionary and worth every penny of that huge £1 cost per go!

(1987 Arcade Flyer)

Its success spawned not just Arcade Sequels but conversions to the Home Computers of the time. After the first sequel was launched, Sega took Air Combat to the extreme launching G-Loc in 1990, hosted in a full 360 rotating cabinet! Now this was something special! You were actually strapped in like a rollercoaster ride and you found yourself flying upside down in Air Combat. A wonderful piece of early nineties excess! (Wouldn't get it now, Health and Safety wouldn't allow!)

(R360 cabinet - Photo courtesy of System 16.com)

Back in the Home Market, Activision had the job of converting the game to the main Home Systems of the later eighties, those being the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and the Spectrum. The graphics were far from high definition (or even low definition on the Spectrum!) however you were actually playing "afterburner" in your bedroom! Heaven!

(Atari ST Game Cover and In-Game Screenshot)

(Mmmm.... that'll be the Spectrum Version then! Blimey, I bought this at the time and thought it was sooooo Arcade Perfect!)

Sega continued in the arcades releasing Sky Target in 1995 (which saw a conversion to the Sega Saturn Console) and then a further arcade outing with Sega Strike Fighter in 2000 on the Naomi Hardware.

History Lesson Over. For more detailed reading on this subject, you can visit www.system16.com where you will find the Ultimate History of all Sega Arcade Gaming or you can order a copy of Retrogamer's Afterburner Special, available from the Back Orders Web Page.

Screenshots? Oh Yes, here some are courtesy of Sega Europe (you can see the rest by following the link to the website at the top of this page):