Top Gun: Combat Zones | Nintendo GameCube
The sky is not your limit.
Head into the danger zone on the Nintendo GameCube in Top Gun: Combat Zones, an arcade-oriented flight simulator featuring authentic U.S. warbirds.With 36 missions spanning three decades, the game's scope is far more ambitious than that of the '80s movie on which it is based. Incidentally, Tom Cruise's character from the Top Gun movie must be on a super-secret mission, because we've been unable to locate him in the game.Don't worry if you're not up on world politics. Taking an arcade approach, the game is less about historical accuracy and more about blasting bogies.
Lock and Load
Top Gun: Combat Zone begins at the Academy, where you are introduced to the basics of sky-scraping combat. Here you learn to dogfight, destroy ground targets, and complete objective-based missions that look and feel like the real thing.Once you graduate from flight school, it's time to put your specialized training to work. Mission objectives are fairly simple and include destroying targets or protecting friendlies. You will soar over the rugged landscapes of Southeast Asia, tear through the teeming cities in the Gulf States, circle huge oil rigs in the Arctic Circle and dogfight with MiGs over Miramar Base in sunny California. Missions take place during the day and at night.As an ace pilot you will have a full arsenal at your disposal, including both air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. Slightly less elegant are Rockets, which do not have lock-on capabilities, and Cannons, which spray clouds of hot lead. Some planes are armed with Bombs which, when armed, switch the camera to a bird's-eye view of the terrain.
Risk and Reward
Although you only start with an F-14 Tomcat, you can eventually fill your hangar with eight fighters. To unlock more of the Navy's finest, including the F-18 Hornet, Osprey and Raptor, you must achieve gold medals in the missions.Bonus points on each mission are awarded for First Blood, Damage Avoidance, Cannon Accuracy and Time Remaining. While Top Gun: Combat Zones isn't exactly the most challenging game around, the medal system helps greatly boost its replayability.Top Gun: Combat Zones is not for gamers who are strictly into realistic flight-sims, but it does offer an admirable list of jets and locations. While cynics may smirk that Titus has dug into the bargain bin for an ageing movie license, wannabe pilots and arcade flight fans should take Top Gun: Combat Zones for a spin.This game has been rated "E" (Everyone) by the independent Entertainment Software Rating Board.
- Vendor: Nintendo
- Type: Nintendo Games
