Top Gun (2010 video game)

Top Gun is a combat flight simulation game developed by Doublesix and published by Paramount Digital Entertainment.[1] It is based on the 1986 film of the same name. It was released on August 17, 2010, as a downloadable game for PlayStation 3 through the PlayStation Network.[2][3] The following month, it was released for Microsoft Windows through Steam.[4] One of the film's writers, Jack Epps Jr., was involved in the game's development. Epps wrote new combat scenes and dialogue for the game.[4][5] Top Gun received "generally unfavorable reviews" according to Metacritic. In 2011, the game and film were released together under the title Top Gun: Wingman Edition.[6]

Top Gun
Developer(s)Doublesix
Publisher(s)Paramount Digital Entertainment
SeriesTop Gun
Platform(s)PlayStation 3
Microsoft Windows
ReleaseAugust 17, 2010 (PS3)
September 2010 (Windows)
Genre(s)Combat flight simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

Top Gun is a combat flight simulation game. It is based on the film of the same name, and it retells the plot of the film, with the player taking control of "Maverick" in an F-14 fighter jet. Top Gun includes several game modes. In the main campaign mode, the player must complete 11 missions. The first mission is a prologue, while the next three are training missions, and the remainder are set over the Indian Ocean. Mission objectives include killing a target, shooting down enemy aircraft, destroying gun emplacements, and escorting a wounded fellow fighter. Weapons includes missiles and a machine gun, and the player's health automatically regenerates after a waiting period. As the game progresses, the player gains access to the F-16 and F/A-18 fighter jets. In Horde mode, the player is given a barrage of enemy aircraft to shoot down. The game includes online multiplayer for up to 16 people, through the PlayStation Network. The game also includes a cover version of Kenny Loggins's song "Danger Zone" from the film.[7][8][9][10] The game includes various trophies that can be won.[11]

Reception

Top Gun received "generally unfavorable reviews" according to Metacritic.[12] Arthur Gies of IGN questioned the decision to create a video game based on a 24-year-old film: "It's not a film that holds any particular amount of modern day relevance".[10] Cliff Bakehorn of GameZone also questioned whether there was really demand for a new Top Gun game. He concluded that Top Gun was an "overpriced, underwhelming, uninspired, and unceremoniously average" flight combat game.[1] Kristan Reed of Eurogamer praised the game for its "undeniably solid, arcade-style" combat, and stated that "there's a measure of craft about the whole thing that you'd expect from a mid-priced boxed release, never mind a cheap, download-only affair."[13] Carolyn Petit of GameSpot stated that the game "delivers some terrifically exciting action that will make you feel like a real Maverick, whether you're a fan of the film or not."[9] Game Revolution praised the large playing environments.[8] Play found the gameplay to be "dull",[15] and Mike Cruz of 1Up.com considered the game mediocre.[7]

Reed thought the controls were easy to use,[13] while Cliff Bakehorn criticized their layout, stating that the controls "feel like they were strategically designed to twist your fingers like a pretzel."[1] Cruz described the controls as "unnecessarily difficult" and too "loose".[7] Gies stated that Top Gun consisted of the same gameplay that had been used for decades in flight combat games, and wrote, "It would be less annoying to see such predictability if the game weren't such a chore to control."[10]

The campaign mode was criticized as being repetitive and too short,[8][10][9][14] although Play did not mind the short length.[15] Gies wrote that the missions ultimately become "exercises in flying toward something in as straight a line as possible, locking on with missiles, firing, and repeating."[10] Reviewers noted that there were few people playing the game through online multiplayer, and it was thought that the game would not produce a sizable multiplayer community.[9][1][10] Some reviewers praised the graphics,[13][8] while others criticized them.[1][10][15] Gies stated that the plane models were good-looking but was critical of the "angular and muddy" environments.[10] Play considered the graphics uninspiring.[15]

The voice acting was criticized, and reviewers also noted that Maverick does not speak in the game.[8][9][1][10][7][14] Game Revolution opined that the dialogue felt "very forced and contrived."[8] Bakehorn stated that the voice actors deliver their lines with "absolutely no effort or enthusiasm."[1] Cruz wrote, "Not only is the delivery bad, but key lines of dialogue are said by entirely different characters."[7] Gies stated that Epp's involvement in the game was barely noticed. He also wrote that the game "takes bits of exposition and dialogue from the film and places them often without any context whatsoever during the in-mission cutscenes".[10] Petit criticized the "awkward" attempts to "find excuses to shoehorn nearly every memorable line" from the film into the game. She stated that the game "uses some elements of the movie to terrific effect, while other references fall flat."[9]

References
  1. Bakehorn, Cliff (August 27, 2010). "Top Gun review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 26, 2011.
  2. Moriarty, Colin (August 17, 2010). "This Week on PSN (August 17, 2010)". IGN. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  3. Makuch, Eddie (August 17, 2010). "Top Gun soars to PSN". GameSpot. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  4. "Top Gun Pilots Onto Steam for PC Download". IGN. September 14, 2010. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  5. Sinclair, Brendan (May 20, 2010). "Top Gun kicking tires, lighting fires this summer". GameSpot. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  6. Brown, Christopher. "Top Gun: Wingman Edition". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  7. Cruz, Mike (August 25, 2010). "Top Gun PSN Review". 1Up.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2013.
  8. "Top Gun". Game Revolution. September 9, 2010. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015.
  9. Petit, Carolyn (August 23, 2010). "Top Gun Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 3, 2011.
  10. Gies, Arthur (August 18, 2010). "Top Gun Review". IGN. Archived from the original on December 4, 2010.
  11. "Go Up Against the Best of the Best to Prove Who's Top Gun on PlayStation Network". IGN. August 26, 2010. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  12. "Top Gun". Metacritic. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  13. Reed, Kristan (September 17, 2010). "Download Games Roundup". Eurogamer. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  14. "Top Gun". PlayStation Official Magazine – UK. No. 51. United Kingdom. December 2010. p. 118.
  15. "Top Gun". Play. No. 198. United Kingdom. December 2010. p. 103.
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