After Burner (Arcade)
What Is It?
After Burner is the balls-to-the-wall air combat game that Sega made famous back in the mid 1980s. This PSP sequel is the first time we've seen a brand new After Burner on a console (or handheld) since the Sega 32X game. Featuring plenty of airplanes and tons of levels, this 3D sequel promises to revive the series for the 21st century. Unfortunately this is no easy feat, now that more than one generation has gone by without a proper After Burner game some are left to wonder if this brand even means anything anymore. This PSP game, while good, moves drastically away from the original games and doesn't feature enough throwbacks to the classic arcade titles. Having said that, it is still a fun handheld game that offers a lot of fast action and cool extras to unlock.
Why Should You Be Excited?
There aren't a lot of good air combat games currently available on the PSP, so it's easy to overlook some of the game's shortcomings. The graphics are sharp and the entire game runs extremely fast from beginning to end. There are some fun multiplayer games that you can take part in, including one where you fly (or try to shoot down) a cow. If the game takes off (no pun intended) then perhaps we will see more sequels, one of which could bring back more of the elements lost in this update.
What Could Go Wrong?
In a lot of ways this game feels very different from the other After Burner entries, and not in a good way. The multiplayer is fun, but why not put this online so that you can battle the entire world? There just aren't enough throwbacks to the first few After Burner games, something that just feels needlessly absent from this experience.
Bottom Line:
If you're looking for a fun 3D arcade-y air combat game then this is probably your best bet. After Burner is exhilarating and the very definition of the word fun, even if it doesn't quite live up to the original game's pedigree. This is a step in the right direction, hopefully PSP owners will respond and Sega will publish more sequels. Maybe next time they go about releasing an After Burner game they will decide to include the original arcade games just so people can see the drastic differences between the two products. All in all this is a competent update, now we have to wait and see what Sega decides to resurrect next (I'm rooting for Fighters Megamix).
Konami Shooters (Arcade)
What Is It?
Last year Konami packaged all of their Gradius games into one comprehensive collection for the PSP, and now they are back with three more 2D shooter compilations. This year alone we've seen the release of Salamander Portable, Twin Bee Portable and Parodius Portable, all of which give you a complete collection of their past arcade (and console, in some cases) work. Unfortunately none of these games are scheduled to be released in the U.S., but since the PSP is region free and these games require very little translating on your part there's no excuse to not pick these up at your favorite import retailer. While Gradius may have been a household name, chances are you haven't gone through the games in this collection, which makes these releases all that more sweet. If you're a fan of 2D shooters then you owe it to yourself to pick up these collections and relive a time when companies actually cared about the genre.
Why Should You Be Excited?
There are a lot of reasons to be excited about the various Konami shooters that have been released in Japan lately; chief among them is that most of them are stellar games that you probably haven't played. All of the games in these collections are worth playing, especially when it comes to the Salamander and Parodius sets. Even though you are going to have to import these games, the good news is that they are all relatively cheap, so you won't go into debt picking these collections up. If you're a fan of 2D shooters then there's no reason not to own the definitive collections of some of the best arcade shooters ever made.
What Could Go Wrong?
The Twin Bee collection isn't nearly as good as the other sets, which is kind of a bummer. These games could have easily been offered as one big set, which may upset some people who want to save a few dollars. The biggest problem with these collections is that they aren't coming out over here, which is a major oversight if you ask us.
Bottom Line:
Even though these games aren't scheduled to be released in the States, there's no excuse for 2D shooter fans to not get these classic games. The price is right and almost all of the games here are worth spending some time with. It's clear that Konami put a lot of love into the making of these sets; there are some cool extras and multiple ways of playing each of the games. Best of all, a lot of these games will be completely new to American gamers, which is yet another rock solid reason for you to get off your butt and have them sent to your door.
Final Fantasy Tactics (PlayStation)
What Is It?
There were a lot of great Final Fantasy games on the original PlayStation, but few are as endearing as Final Fantasy Tactics. Unlike most traditional role-playing games, Final Fantasy Tactics took familiar characters and locations and mixed them together to form a turn-based tactical RPG experience. While the graphics were never on par with Final Fantasy VII, VIII or IX, the hundreds of hours of game play easily made up for this concern. Now that a decade has passed Square Enix is ready to resurrect this popular tactical RPG and re-release it for the PlayStation Portable. This PSP version will offer a longer story, a whole new art style, rerecorded voice acting and a completely rewritten script (since the localization of the original was total trash). Just released in Japan, Final Fantasy Tactics is a style of game that PSP owners have been demanding for years now, and if the original game is any indication then this should keep you satisfied for months to come.
Why Should You Be Excited?
The original Final Fantasy Tactics from the 1990s is one of the best games ever made, it has a ton of game play and enough of a story to keep you hooked for months (if not years) to come. Although it's a port, there should be enough new stuff in this package to keep long-time fans coming back for seconds. This is a great game to re-release if only because it's hard to find these days and Square never got around to reissuing it until now. The new art style looks great and I can't wait to read a rewritten story that isn't full of broken English and sentences that don't make a lick of sense. There's just nothing like this currently available on the PSP and it may just be a reason for some people to buy Sony's handheld. And last but certainly not least, how can anybody not be excited about having a multiplayer version of Final Fantasy Tactics?
What Could Go Wrong?
The game still has a very simple look and may not appeal to a large demographic. It's not coming out until the very end of the year, which totally sucks. It would have been better if Square Enix took the time to develop a whole new Final Fantasy Tactics games of the PSP, much like they are doing with the Nintendo DS.
Bottom Line:
Despite having a few negatives attached to it, Final Fantasy Tactics will surely end up being one of the best PSP role-playing games of the year. It's been a long, long time since we tossed the original PlayStation version in the console to play through it, so this may appeal to people that have already played through the game (and maybe a few who haven't). We're dying to check out the multiplayer component, especially now that we've seen what other tactical RPGs are doing. When we look into the future we can envision a time when this port has taken our life away and won't let us get anything done. We look forward to those days.
Alien Syndrome (Arcade)
What Is It?
It's the game that everybody keeps confusing with the Alien series (See:
No Face Huggers in This Alien Syndrome). In truth this is Alien Syndrome, a classic arcade game that has sat dormant for more than a decade ... until now, that is. Recently Sega announced that they would be resurrecting Alien Syndrome for the Wii and the PSP, finally throwing a bone to that one person who has been demanding a sequel (or retelling) for way too many years now. This new Alien Syndrome will feature role-playing elements, a robust multiplayer experience and enough aliens to satisfy even the biggest space nerd. The one thing it won't have is face huggers; because that's not what this serious is all about!
Why Should You Be Excited?
When you listen to Sega explain the game it sounds like an action/RPG akin to the original Phantasy Star Online (only without the online part). The original is an action classic, offering something different from your normal space shoot-em-ups. The multiplayer component sounds like it could be a great excuse to bring your Wii/PSP loving friends together. It's about time they did something with this property, even if everybody is getting it confused with the Alien license Sega picked up around the same time.
What Could Go Wrong?
The graphics don't look very good, especially when you talk about the PSP version. Since the game is using an overhead perspective it might throw off some gamers who were hoping for more of a 3D world to explore. Neither the PSP version nor the Wii game go online, which is one of the biggest reasons that Phantasy Star Online was so popular to begin with. No queens, no face huggers and no aliens with acid blood ... how will we ever get over not having the staples of a true Alien experience?
Bottom Line:
We're excited about Alien Syndrome's multiplayer modes, but we hope that Sega is able to turn this action-packed franchise into something more significant. We like what we hear about the role-playing aspects, but we've seen Sega (and other companies) screw up those kinds of things before. We're also a bit worried about the way the game looks, it hardly looks like a current game (it looks more like an old game that's trying to look current). We're hoping that by the time this game comes out people will be able to keep Alien and Alien Syndrome straight.
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