After Burner II is an arcade-ass arcade game, which is both a positive and a negative in this case. On the positive end, it's just really easy to pick up and play. The graphics are terrific and the sense of speed that's conveyed will push you so far back in your seat that you'll feel like you're about to pop out the other end. This is all helped by a highly energetic soundtrack and near constant voice clips telling you to "FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!"

It's also much too long for what it is. I can pick up After Burner II for maybe 15 minutes and then I'm ready to put it down and do something else. It's best enjoyed in very quick bursts, and that's just true to its nature as an arcade game. What you see is what you get, pop in a few quarters before moving on to the next cabinet. But when you have it to sit down with at home, right there to enjoy at your convenience, it loses a little bit of its appeal and becomes a big ask to commit to from start to finish.

I've noticed other people complaining that it's hard to tell what's going on in this game, and I guess I don't really "get" that. The version I'm reviewing is on the Sega Genesis and I felt it was very readable. The arcade version is probably my favorite, and I think the 32X version is quite good as well, but never beat either of them, so I'm not reviewing them. There's plenty of options, though, and while the core game largely remains the same, I do think your mileage will vary depending on your platform of choice.