 Top Gun was released in 1986 and such was its impact that 23 years later, without the benefit of a sequel, it is still spinning out salutes to Maverick, Goose, Iceman and Viper. The latest is Top Gun for the Iphone by Paramount which provides an opportunity to step back into a time when few would of ever imagined we’d be flying jets on cell phones.
First off, this is a straight arcade on-the-rails shooter without the quarters. There is no need to worry about navigation, take-offs or landings, stalls or any of the things you go to flight school for. Simply strap in and let the game take you for a supersonic ride. Your control is limited to rolling your Tomcat left or right and up or down on the screen to avoid the red danger zone boxes while you fire a Vulcan cannon or better yet unlimited missiles at air and ground targets. While that’s the game play in a flash, Paramount has managed to pack a surprising amount of hectic fun and high level maneuvering into this basic concept.
 
The accelerometer control is simple and responsive with nice fluid movement that just feels good. While there is an option to pause and recalibrate, there is no way to reverse the x and y axis. This was a problem for me as the up/down controls felt reversed. Getting high-speed brain lock while trying to avoid a screen full of danger zones lead to a lot of pilot ejects and even though you’re allowed a good number of direct hits before you fail, Top Gun demands quick reactions to advance through its lengthy 10 missions.
Yet I kept returning for the addicting fun of cutting loose with fire and forget missiles while streaking over the beautiful land and seascape of Top Gun. Certainly it wasn’t to witness the cornball story that unfolds between missions. You’ll be tapping faster than your Vulcan to get past these laughable storyboards.
 
The in-game chatter is more palatable, although I felt it would’ve been nice to have voice acting for chatter instead of having to read the dialogue. There are nice cut scenes both before and during the missions. The sound is very good with lots of jet engines, weapons and explosions not to mention Kenny Loggin’s “Danger Zone” and other similar songs.
 
Top Gun doesn’t set its sights on being anything other than a fun arcade homage to one of the most popular action flicks of all time and as such it does a good 4 star job which should appeal to fans of jets and twitch gaming who “feel the need, the need for speed!“. It’s rather amazing to think that a 1000 lb. arcade machine has been collapsed to the palm of our hands.
Reviewed by Gooch - Iphone |