Top Gun Hands-On Preview

“That was some of the best flying I’ve seen to date – right up to the part where you got killed.”

Top Gun is… exactly what you think it is. Developed by doublesix (South Park Lets Go Tower Defence Play! and Burn Zombie Burn) and published by Paramount Entertainment, the game allows you to take to the skies once more and relive some of those awesome dogfights from the classic film Top Gun (and much more!)

A couple of days ago, we left the office to go check the game out and see what Top Gun has to offer that we haven’t already seen from the likes of Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. or Ace Combat.

The game features a campaign set in the 80’s with three sections: a prologue, the Top Gun Academy and the Indian Ocean. The major difference between the game and the film is that where the film was almost completely set in Academy, the game is only there for about 30% of the game, with the other 70% being missions in the Indian Ocean. The reason for this is simply that the Top Gun Academy is all about pacifism and this wouldn’t make for much of a game – if you weren’t allowed to blow things up! So instead, you spend your time in the Academy becoming adept with the flight and various advanced manoeuvres, then moving onto more tactical and missile-filled missions in the Indian Ocean. The campaign takes around 4-7 hours to complete and features all the characters from the film: Goose, Jester, Iceman, Viper, Merlin, Slider and Wolfman, while you take control of Maverick, somewhat of a silent protagonist. The game is penned by the film’s original screenwriter Jack Epps Jr., but doesn’t have the same actors providing the voices. The voice actors playing the parts are all great though, and combined with the soundtrack (which features “Danger Zone”) you’re provided with a prettyauthentic Top Gun experience. You’ll also hear quotes every time you perform an action and these, in my opinion, never get old. “Scratch one bogey!”

The core gameplay of the game is somewhat reminiscent of Ace Combat and other flight games but obviously with its own twist. The game’s very approachable and much more forgiving than others in the genre, with infinite health and unlimited reloads, making it much easier to pick up and play in short bursts rather than requiring a whole lot of time and dedication – just like any great downloadable arcade game should be! However, the game is hugely impacted by the difficulty setting; if you choose to play on a harder difficulty then you will find the AI becomes much more intelligent and a great deal harder to take down! You’re also joined by a wingman (like in Top Gun!) which will attack on his own but can also be controlled through use of the directional pad, unlike a great deal of other games, the co-operative AI partner is actually quite useful and can take down fleets on his own! The game tries to focus on use of the guns, as in Top Gun, missiles should only be used as a last resort and as a result, the use of missiles is greatly limited by a lengthy reload time but the guns are incredibly powerful so you can quite easily play through a mission and only use your guns. Various missions in the campaign also involve using waypoints to flank the enemy, defending your fleet or attacking an opposing fleet, all offering plenty of variation in the gameplay. C.F.I. (Controlled Flight Instability) is also something unique to Top Gun and this allows for ease of movement in more accurate and advanced manoeuvres.

There’s a whole load of “little touches” that were really great, and are some of the trademark things that make Doublesix really shine as a small development team – so small in fact, that there was only roughly 10 people working on Top Gun and the whole game was developed in-house, engine and all, in just 12 months. Now that’s impressive! One of these touches was the final mission’s date, set on the same day that Top Gun saw it’s theatrical release, at which you can’t help but grin a little nerdy smile. There’s also an “easter egg” which allows you to follow the missile to its destination in what is essentially a “missile cam.”

The game features various optional control schemes, some you’ll be used to from the likes of Ace Combat and others are new to the game but also work very fluidly. The game also supports the Saitek Flight Stick to provide a truly authentic, unmatched Top Gun experience!

Also playable in the game is a horde-style mode which allows you to fight against endless waves of enemy planes to attempt to achieve the highest score. In this mode, the AI is far more intelligent than in the campaign mode, ramping up the game’s difficulty. Whereas in the campaign, the enemies will only patrol a certain area, in horde mode they will find you and attack you from anywhere on the map.

A multiplayer mode is of course also present in Top Gun and allows you to fight against other pilots in matches of up to 16 players. The multiplayer mode features a ranking system to progress through and five different modes such as Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and a mode known as Top Gun.

The game offers a lot of fun and is very easy to pick up and play. Whether you’re a fan of (or have even seen) Top Gun, there’s a great deal of chuckles to be had and those one-liners from Jester, and a lot of replayability.

Top Gun is currently being cleared for release so expect a confirmation on a release date soon. It’s expected to be released later this month on the PlayStation Network and later in the year on PC and Mac.

“I gotta send somebody from this squadron to Miramar. I gotta do something here, I still can’t believe it. I gotta give you your dream shot! I’m gonna send you up against the best. You two characters are going to Top Gun.”