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Good: Dogfights, sense of speed

Bad: Recycled objectives

Number of Top Gun references in this review: 2

When it comes to flight games gameplay either boils down to simplified dogfights or meticulously detailed simulations that, if you don't have one already, could probably qualify you for a pilot's license upon completion. After Burner: Black Falcon can be easily filed in the former category.

The newest entry in Sega's 20-year-old franchise, Black Falcon plays a lot like the Top Gun-inspired original. Levels are arranged in a linear fashion, enemies engage you from the front, back and sides, and a boss fight takes place at the end of almost every level. New to this installment, it's now possible to buy new fighters and upgrade their various weapons and components.

This works and it doesn't. Dividing the planes into three categories with unique strengths and weaknesses (bombers move slowly, but can take a pounding, scouts are incredibly fast and nimble, but lack armor, and fighters split the difference) is great, at least at the beginning of the game. By the end, it's a much better idea to focus all your resources on a specific plane, so that you have one workhorse instead of a handful of average aircrafts. A maxed out F-14 trumps a level two bomber any day.

As for actual gameplay, Black Falcon delivers enough dogfighting for Maverick, Goose, and even Iceman to handle. Sure there are level-specific objectives as well as bonus objectives, but really it's all about getting from point A to point B and blowing the shit out of any and everything that lies in between. Expect to be bombarded with fighters, bombers, surface-to-air turrets, flak cannons, submarines and, of course, bosses.

It all feels incredibly old school, but it works. Mowing down weaker enemies with your machine guns while dropping a bunker buster on a weapons factory and simultaneously launching a cluster of missiles into an incoming pack of fighters is incredibly exciting and, thanks to the simple control scheme, quite natural. Avoiding a lock-on or an incoming volley of missiles is as easy as tapping the triangle button and when the action gets too heavy, especially in the later levels, pressing the R trigger engages the afterburner, which puts some much needed space between you and your enemies.

Visually, Black Falcon looks good. Textures are bright and the in-game cinemas are well done. Particle effects like explosions and reflections are impressive, but the single best visual accomplishment is the sense of speed during afterburner boosts. On the bad side, the framerate dips and sometimes the game even temporarily freezes when the action gets too heavy.

Black Falcon's major fault is recycling. Textures are seen over and over again. Levels are revisited or only slightly modified and level objectives are the same or similar for every level. Bosses have four tricks. They trail you and attack from behind, drop flak to set off your missiles early, drop EMPs to invert your controls or turn invisible. The final few bosses do all of those things.

Still, After Burner: Black Falcon offers a quality action experience for someone looking for a mindless shooter. The controls are tight, the action is exhilarating and the game is just long and challenging enough to remain fun all the way to the end.

Graphics: 7.5

Sound: 7.0

Gameplay: 7.5

First Play: 8.0

Last Play: 7.0

Overall: 7.4