The countries of the former USSR were very unlucky with slot machines. If in the same USA in the seventies there were cords with full-fledged video games, then the main pride of the Soviet halls was the “Sea Battle” attraction, the most expressive graphic effect of which was flashing bulbs. Later, in the late nineties, automatic machines with games like Metal Slug began to appear in the lobby of grocery stores, and in some places specialized halls, but mass fashion for this type of entertainment still passed by.

… and with menopause

And very sorry. At the beginning of its journey, the slot machines halls were, in fact, the only place where you could see video games at all (home consoles appeared a little later and far from every family). As high technologies became more accessible, the manufacturers of the machine guns had to turn on the imagination to give players such feelings that could not be tested on PC or, say, nes. The most important advantage of slot machines was that for real pennies they made it possible to feel an unprecedented effect of presence. If the racing game is with the built -in steering wheel and pedals, if the shooter is with a light gun (if you are lucky, then with the background), and sometimes even with the helmet of virtual reality. Or here are specialized controllers: Marakas in Samba de Amigo , Dance rug in Dance Dance Revolution and a whole DJ remote Beatmania – 12 years before DJ Hero!

There was a separate story with simulators – there a specialized chair was considered a sign of good tone: with ergonomics close to the prototype (usually a racing car or aircraft), with a multi -colored dashboard and a bunch of special effects. For example, an arcade aircraft system After Burner 1987 release. In one of the models of this device, the chair could move horizontally and vertically, following the movements of the aircraft on the screen. By the way, the producer of this game was Yu Suzuki, a man who invented Virtua Fighter And Shenmue.

The happy story, however, did not work out: shortly after the first game, the “sequel” came out-a slightly modified version of the original, for some reason equipped with the number “2” in the title. Then, almost five years later, the third part appeared-this time already on Sega Mega-CD. After that, the series died out until 2006, when the Sega suddenly decided to reanimate the franchise and released itself AFTER BURNER CLIMAX. This game did not stand out on slot machines – the graphics, of course, became better than once a hundred, the gameplay was also processed, but there were no significant changes for the player in the very design – all the same chair on hinges.

After burning, read

But on home consoles the game looks completely different. More precisely, it looks exactly the same as on the machine, but this is what distinguishes it among other games in Live and PSN. The fact is that slot machines, especially Japanese ones, are also a special audiovisual style that you can’t confuse with anything: the main menu flashes and shimmers with schizophrenic flowers, annoying loud music sounds, and if you leave the game alone with yourself for a couple of minutes , a demorolec will turn on, which explains the basics of gaming mechanics. The game seemed to have not left the slot machine room. That is why at first she refers to the player as the next passerby, who can be teased and tied up, as long as a trifle will not end in his pocket, and then – drive out with a mutrust inscription “Continue?". These very "continuity" by default in the game only two, two lives in each. I did not have time to go through the game – please try again, from the first level.

There are not so many levels in Climax – about a dozen. But at the same time, each of them is happening such that in five minutes you understand – in order to defeat this game with miserable six lives, you must be an acce with a lightning -fast reaction. Firstly, Climax is a linear arcade aircraft system. That is, of course, you can turn the helm in any direction, but wherever you fly, the game will still expose a given number of enemies against you in the given combinations, after which, if you survive, send to the next level.

Secondly, the enemy’s pilots come massively and in complex formations: they can fly from behind, can go into the forehead, built by a ring or stretching into a dense chain that obscure the entire horizon. In response, we can only fire from a machine gun and release a dozen missiles. The ammunition is endless, but in order to knock down an enemy car, you need to aim quite accurately. In the meantime, you will catch the enemy in the crossroads, his colleague, quite possibly, will release half the ammunition in the belly of your plane.

AFTER BURNER-The game is bright and swift: we just flew over tropical islands, and after five seconds we get into a narrow canyon (there is no plot as such-the dispatcher, of course, is forever screaming, but you can not listen to it). Then-we chase after some fighter, then we go to the island with dozens of erupting volcanoes. At this time, we are feverishly aim, we feverishly maneuver (once, Voodoodreams Casino honestly, honestly), we explode someone … If Modern Warfare 2 once seemed to you a frivolous attraction, then this is just because you have not played video games on machines for a long time.

One complete passage of the game takes about fifteen minutes. Another thing is that even at a standard level of complexity, these fifteen minutes can stretch for three days-all because of the notorious system with the restriction of the "continuum": after porting to the home console, the game stopped asking for money for each next session, but refers to the player The formerly unceremoniously and thereby helps to educate patience and will to win … More precisely, she would help if the authors had not left the tender players in the acceleration system. The fact is that unlocked achievements make it possible to include crooking options: so, if you manage to lose ten times, the mode will open in which the game can be continued regardless of the number of remaining lives. It is worth turning on this option – and the game will immediately lose the lion's share of charm: the plane moves along a given route with our participation or without it, and an infinite number of lives turns the game into a cheap stroboscopic attraction for a quarter of an hour. For $ 10 (800 Microsoft Points) you can find entertainment and better.

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On the other hand, if you leave the game in its “pristine” form (or, say, just increase the number of “continuums” – you can do this too), then the AFTER Burner Climax can become a very exciting experience – especially for those who have not played or in my time did not play up in the halls of slot machines. AFTER Burner copes with his main task: he takes his throat with a dead grip and rapidly drags at very unlike levels, every half seconds explodes something, rattles and buzzes the gamepad deafeningly and buzzes. After passing in the head, there is nothing left but multi -colored sparks – an indescribable sensation. Spend at least five minutes behind the helm of local aircraft – and you will very quickly understand why people seized all pocket money in the Arcades, in powerless malice hit a machine gun with a fist, and then returned again.

Game Formula: 70% After Burner + 20% Blazing Angels + 10% 0 Day Attack on Earth

Grade: 7.5