After Burner: Black Falcon Comments by Dan Whitehead

The original arcade game was actually complete rubbish. If it hadn't been for the whizz-bang graphics and that cabinet nobody would've ever bothered to play it.

"Another averagio game for the PSP.. I want to buy one again, but.. they're just too.... too.... average."

5/10 = average, no?

Agree with Blerk.

We had the arcade in our office for yonks when working on the conversion, and I think everyone came to the conclusion it was naff.

Another averagio game for the PSP.. I want to buy one again, but.. they're just too.... too.... average.

Exactly, I really want a new PSP game. (my last game was Exit). But whenever I stand in front of the PSP rack at my local game shop, it all just feels so, so... Meh and I just can't be bothered.

"The sorely overrated Space Harrier"?

YOU DIE TODAY.

I like this, although I'm stuck on the third mission. Bloody difficulty spikes!

After Burner can only be played in the moving cabinet, that's the law.

After Burner can only be played in the moving cabinet, that's the law.

Maybe take the psp with you on a roller-coaster? :)

>Maybe take the psp with you on a roller-coaster? :)

That's ridiculous!

Sit in a tumble dryer, it's far more authentic.

"It may be more Iron Eagle than Top Gun these days"

That comment made my day!

Puts in Queens 'One Vision' cassette into my walkmen strapped to my leg... Runs round office screaming "Chappyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!"


/Realises joke will be lost on 99.9% of people.

Iron Eagle = Underated classic.

Cool game. Shame I don't have a PSP.

More classic updates please Sega!

Nothing wrong with the "average" games. I had a pretty good time with that 7/10 Chili Con Carnage not that long ago...

After approximately 4 years of silence, I have to come out and say that the "5=average" idea is the most retarded EG cliché ever. Yes, worse than "first post!".

Didn't any of you ever go to school!? Or do you have one of those fucked up marking systems with letters, like the Americans?

5 means "passable". It doesn't say anything about where the recipient of the mark sits among the others. And, in a system with marks out of 10 (like my country has in schools), there is no way that 5 is an average grade. 5 is "almost a loser but ultimately a survivor" grade. It's only a bit better than 4, which is a "must try harder" grade. The average people revolved around 7.

It's pretty much the same with videogames, even on EG. A 7 is nothing to be excited about. It's just a game you buy if you really want something of that type, or if there's a draught.

Why is this being wasted on the PSP? :(

We need Climax for 360/PS3/PC damn it.

Please please stop using the word "visceral" in reviews, or any other articles for that matter. It's the kind of snooty, games are art, pretencious wording that Edge uses, and it just annoys me.

marilena - before you start arguing that 7/10 is the EG's average, at least check the EG scoring policy for their official stance;

http://www.eurogamer.net/scoring_policy....

"We'll always try to position a five as our opinion of what an average game represents, but the more significant notion is that it's the score that tells you to approach with extreme caution."

And

"Over the years, in gaming parlance, seven has become almost the real 'average' score, but this is nonsense that we wish was flushed out of the scoring system with many publications terrified of giving certain games - particularly those of a great significance backed by big ad campaigns - less than this mark."

@Slurpy
Ooops :D. Me no speak English.

@Hog-lups
1. I know that 5=average is the official policy. What I was saying was that it's a retarded policy. 5 should mean passable.
2. Even though they say this officially, the EG reviewers don't really stick to it. I don't remember how to arrange games by score (or maybe the feature isn't available anymore?) but I bet that it wouldn't show 5 as making up the majority of the marks. It would still be good ole' 7 on the top spot :).

You're confusing the average score (as in the score that comes up most often) with an average score (as in the game in question being of average quality). If the majority of games score 7, that would simply mean that the average game is actually above average.

If you see what I mean.

I don't remember how to arrange games by score (or maybe the feature isn't available anymore?) but I bet that it wouldn't show 5 as making up the majority of the marks. It would still be good ole' 7 on the top spot :).

I think this is a flawed concept though. EG haven't reviewed every single game on every single platform so the statistics would be scewed one way or the other. (e.g if EG had only reviewed a significant majority of 'good' games then the average would be a 'good' mark and vice versa)

Edit, err if that makes sense? :)

Wow, even 7/10 scores bring out the "No good games" dickheads now?

Of this, M.A.C.H and Heatseeker, Heatseeker looks the most promising, this sounds like it might be worth a punt when it drops below 20 notes though.

Any chance of a TDU review soon?

I'm still waiting for the crippled pigeon from Jersey to drop dead at the door with my copy.

RAWWWRRRR

*thud*

So "average" means "average fun"?

Like, 10 = orgasm, 1 = being raped slowly with a crowbar, 5 = not bad, not so good?

I suppose it does make sense.

Absolutely cracking game which is perfectly suited for the PSP.In fact I`d personally go as far as to say this is one of the best games available on PSP and the pick up and play aspect is umatched.

"Another averagio game for the PSP.. I want to buy one again, but.. they're just too.... too.... average."

What about Ratchet or Tekken?

I haven't bought a PSP game since I bought Wipeout Pure at launch, but I got PES 5 and Talkman as Christmas presents. And the next PSP game I actually buy might be FFVII Crisis Core. But I still love my PSP, I just don't get much time to play it.

5 is not necessarily average. On a scale of 1-10, if your sample is one at 7 and one at 9, the average is 8, for instance. So to get an average of 5 you will need a number of 1-4 scores exceeding the number of 6-10 scores.

Frankly I doubt EG bother to review that many bad games just to actually make the average 5.

Much as it pains me to enter a scoring debate, it seems to me that 'average' suggests solid but unremarkable performance across the board. Whereas a 7 could go to a damn fine piece of RPGing let down by shit graphics, for example, or a shooter with crap single player rectified by some big league online play.

For god's sake lets all agree/disagree with the reviews, rather than some opaque numbering system.

On the PSP has no games front, I think the PSP's problem isn't a lack of games, it's a lack of games that justify the hefty price tag of the system itself. If PSP was cheaper, I'd buy one. There's some good games on the system. It's just hard to justify something that's nearly twice the price of the DS.