After Burner Reborn on PSP
And Planet Moon Studios is doing it, woo hoo!
Published: October 10, 2006
For all the crap they've gotten over the years, SEGA seems to have finally wised up to the fact that maybe their internal development teams are either spread a little too thin or just aren't quite the creative and technical powerhouses that they might have been. This isn't a slight against the company; with the number of projects they have in the works (or planned projects anyway), it makes sense to tap the talents of outside developers to build up the stable of solid titles.
That's precisely what they've been doing. SEGA has formed partnerships with or outright bought some of their strongest allies, turning the House of Sonic into a well-rounded developer/publisher into a multi-platform beast that offers everything from PC strategy titles to arcade shooters to next-gen console platformers -- most of which are new franchises wholly owned by SEGA.
But they haven't forgotten some of the classics that helped make them the powerhouses of the 8- and 16-bit generations, and when it was announced that Planet Moon Studios would be working on "a classic franchise" most wondered what it would be. Planet Moon made a name for themselves by creating quirky, hilarious offerings like Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Armed & Dangerous and most recently Infected on the PSP.
Perhaps it's because of that PSP experience that SEGA tapped them to resurrect one of the greatest arcade shooters of all time, Afterburner in a new PSP entry dubbed simply After Burner: Black Falcon. The subtitle deals with the titular terrorist organization Black Falcon, who managed to sneak into a CIA facility and gank 13 top-secret planes (they are apparently very sneaky indeed). The only way to recover the planes, apparently, is to jump into real fighter craft of our own like the F-22 Raptor, the F-14D Tomcat and the F-15E Strike Eagle and blow shiz up.
"SEGA is revitalizing its vault of classic franchises for the current generation of gamers, and a new version of After Burner is the perfect fan-favorite to bring to a portable system," quoth Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of SEGA of America. "After Burner: Black Falcon's ease of play and intense arcade action has been taken to a whole new level with a slew of customizable licensed aircraft and parts, and multiplayer modes which allow for both competitive and co-op play."
"As huge fans of the original After Burner, we are delighted to re-imagine this classic arcade franchise," squealed a gleeful Bob Stevenson, CEO of Planet Moon Studios. "Building After Burner: Black Falcon from the ground-up enables us to craft the game with PSP features in mind with all-new multiplayer modes, customizable jets and over-the-top gameplay. Most importantly, it's approximately 9000% more portable than the original arcade cabinet."
Awesome quotes aside, we're a little scared that Planet Moon's trademark humor might be lost in the turn 'n burn world of air combat, but at least there's heavy weapons customization for all the planes and the option of Ad-Hoc multi-player -- including co-op! Woo hoo! We'll have more on the game as soon as we get it, but keep your eyes peeled for more updates leading up to the Spring 2007 release.
That's precisely what they've been doing. SEGA has formed partnerships with or outright bought some of their strongest allies, turning the House of Sonic into a well-rounded developer/publisher into a multi-platform beast that offers everything from PC strategy titles to arcade shooters to next-gen console platformers -- most of which are new franchises wholly owned by SEGA.
But they haven't forgotten some of the classics that helped make them the powerhouses of the 8- and 16-bit generations, and when it was announced that Planet Moon Studios would be working on "a classic franchise" most wondered what it would be. Planet Moon made a name for themselves by creating quirky, hilarious offerings like Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Armed & Dangerous and most recently Infected on the PSP.
Perhaps it's because of that PSP experience that SEGA tapped them to resurrect one of the greatest arcade shooters of all time, Afterburner in a new PSP entry dubbed simply After Burner: Black Falcon. The subtitle deals with the titular terrorist organization Black Falcon, who managed to sneak into a CIA facility and gank 13 top-secret planes (they are apparently very sneaky indeed). The only way to recover the planes, apparently, is to jump into real fighter craft of our own like the F-22 Raptor, the F-14D Tomcat and the F-15E Strike Eagle and blow shiz up.
"SEGA is revitalizing its vault of classic franchises for the current generation of gamers, and a new version of After Burner is the perfect fan-favorite to bring to a portable system," quoth Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of SEGA of America. "After Burner: Black Falcon's ease of play and intense arcade action has been taken to a whole new level with a slew of customizable licensed aircraft and parts, and multiplayer modes which allow for both competitive and co-op play."
"As huge fans of the original After Burner, we are delighted to re-imagine this classic arcade franchise," squealed a gleeful Bob Stevenson, CEO of Planet Moon Studios. "Building After Burner: Black Falcon from the ground-up enables us to craft the game with PSP features in mind with all-new multiplayer modes, customizable jets and over-the-top gameplay. Most importantly, it's approximately 9000% more portable than the original arcade cabinet."
Awesome quotes aside, we're a little scared that Planet Moon's trademark humor might be lost in the turn 'n burn world of air combat, but at least there's heavy weapons customization for all the planes and the option of Ad-Hoc multi-player -- including co-op! Woo hoo! We'll have more on the game as soon as we get it, but keep your eyes peeled for more updates leading up to the Spring 2007 release.