Co-op takes on yet another dimension if you and your buddy are playing as different pilots. Black Falcon 's career mode gives you three to choose from, and each one wants something different out of a given mission. One wants to go as fast as possible (his name's Sonic, unsurprisingly), the second just wants money and the third, a young woman named Shinsei, will settle for nothing less than perfection.
So in addition to each mission's main goal, you'll also need to hit certain speeds, blow up certain things for cash bonuses or keep from dying or otherwise messing up, depending on whom you play as. Hit those secondary goals, and you'll open up two pilot-specific secret missions in addition to the 21 central story missions.
Whether you're playing by yourself or with a friend, you'll eventually be able to amass and fly a collection of 15 different, real-world jets, ranging from F-15s and F-22s to A-10 Warthogs and the SR-71 Blackbird spyplane. You'll earn these as you advance in rank, and you'll be able to customize them in interesting ways; aside from upgrading their weapon loadouts and overall performance, you can dress them up with new paintjobs or odd "bolt-on" accessories like dorsal fins and giant hot-rod exhaust pipes.
Its apparent wealth of options aside, Black Falcon looks poised to deliver everything an After Burner fan could want: fast, arcade-style air combat over beautiful, varied landscapes pitted with obstacles, secret shortcuts and tunnels. Assuming it can keep the action tight and the kills spectacular, it's already got us looking forward to March.
