Or rather a cover version of it, as Warner Bros own the rights to the soundtrack, which proved to be out of developer Double Six's price range. Still, it's a bloody good cover, and it was only when we were told that it wasn't actually the original recording that we realised. So, “Danger Zone” is in, and we still (rather lamely) get goosebumps when that twangy synth beat and oh-so '80s rocking guitar kicks in. Harold Faltermeyer's Top Gun theme is also in the game too, which still gives us a weird shiver down the spine, even though we wouldn't consider ourselves avid fans of the movie.
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| Double Six seems to have got the Top Gun dogfighting down to a tee |
Why are we harping on so much about the Top Gun soundtrack? Because you've no right to call your game 'Top Gun' without it. It's like making a Beverly Hills Cop game and omitting “Axel F”, also composed, rather coincidentally by Harold Faltermeyer. Spooky. The soundtrack is also the first concern of Top Gun's Senior Designer, Ollie Barder, who immediately assures us that the iconic songs are definitely in the game, as well as what Barder calls “full '80s cock-rock” composed especially for the game, and indeed so too are the original pilots and wingmen from the movie.
So, you'll play as Maverick, Goose is your wingman, Jester shows you the ropes at Top Gun Academy and Iceman still thinks “you're dangerous”. All of the key ingredients are apparently all present and correct to uniquely identify this as a Top Gun game then, and even every one of the numerous missions are individually dated and gradually lead up to the movie's theatrical release date in 1986, showing an obsessive attention to detail that's very encouraging. But what of the flying, we hear you scream. What's the point in names and a faithful soundtrack if throwing an F-14 Tomcat through the sky isn't as gratifying as it should be?!
Comprised of missions at Flight School and over the Indian Ocean, Top Gun has two other modes in addition to the core campaign – Horde and 16-player online Multiplayer – which all allow you to fly one of the game's six planes – the F-14 Tomcat, F-16 Falcon, MiG 29, MiG 31, Su-27 and one other one – in classic Top Gun style, with very few limitations on what you can do. Firmly rooted in arcade territory, there are no take-offs or landings to perform, no restriction on the number of missiles you can fire – although they take 25 seconds to reload – and it is completely impossible to stall.
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| On-screen briefings and voice-overs from your wingman keep you abreast of events in the hostile skies |
You can also boost for extended periods, barrel-roll like a maniac and if you need to draw a bead on an unseen enemy, you can call upon your 'CFI' (Controlled Flight Instability), which zooms the camera out and enables you to execute insane aerial acrobatics to get a better overview of what's going on, while also being able to evade incoming missiles with style. You can't over-use this ability however, as you have a bar that rapidly depletes while you're using it, but it still proves invaluable when you've several bogies on your six (or something like that). The idea is that CFI makes dogfighting a more visceral experience, and Top Gun fans will be happy to know that there's also the always tense crosshairs to line-up with all the requisite lock-on beeps and so on. And if you do have a missile on your tail and no CFI, you can always deploy some flares with the d-pad as an alternative countermeasure.
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| Dodging missiles is a key ingredient of any flight game. In Top Gun, you have CFI to help out |
Double Six has also taken visual feedback into consideration during dogfights, so when you get hit, the colour drains from the screen to let you know. Also, when you register a hit with your guns, you'll get different feedback to when you score a direct hit with a missile. Although Top Gun falls more on the arcade side of the fence, there's still full flight stick support and two distinct control methods – one based on the Ace Combat control system and the other a layout inspired by IL-2 Sturmovik – meaning that there's likely to be something for every flight fan. And controls will be important for when you fly through canyons and mountain tunnels to go off-radar, and earn an aptly-named Trophy called “You're Dangerous” as a reward for successfully tearing though one of these secret passages.
Top Gun is all about capturing the spirit of the movie, and on that front Double Six's PSN title looks set to deliver on its promise. You even have Goose as your wingman chatting down your ear keeping you updated during your missions, and you just know that when he dies, it's going to be a sad, sad moment. In short, Top Gun appears to be incredibly faithful to its source material and ought to please arcade-centric flight fans and Top Gun die-hards alike with it's accessible handling and speed. And if that isn't reason enough to fly into the danger zone when it releases very soon for between $10-$15 on the PlayStation Network, then we don't know what is.
