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I bought this game used from Gamestop and I knew I wanted to play it since I played the demo on PS3. I have been a Top Gun fan for longer than I can remember, and have been a fan of the F-14 plane all my life. This is a fun little title that blends the action-oriented feel of Afterburner with the free-flight freedom of Ace Combat. This game is to air combat games, what Burnout is for racing games.
Gameplay:
The controls for this game are simple and intuitive; the emphasis of this game is on speed, and it pulls it off nicely. In most flight simulators, when you press "right" on the stick, the plane moves forward, and just turns sideways. In this game, when you press right, the plane rolls to the right and banks. Once you release the stick, the plane auto-levels with the horizon. This can take some getting used to if you play other flight simulators. If this is your first, it will feel comfortable and fun. The auto-leveling of the plane keeps you even with the ground, making it very hard to crash. I flew on full afterburner under a highway and breezed under it with ease. The afterburner in this game makes it fun to fly from one objective to the next, and this is where the game's sense of speed really shines.
The Hard Lock mode (Two words, not one as the product description reads) is very similar to the dogfight mode in Ace Combat: Assault Horizon, where you follow your opponent very closely and pepper him with bullets until you can get a missile lock. A missile lock is acquired by keeping the opponent inside of a circle while the missile locks on. In Hard Lock mode, you must complete mini-games, moving the analog sticks in a motion indicated on the screen. During these mini-games, you and your opponent will perform various maneuvers, such as "Break right" "Loop the Loop" and "Split-S" among others. They're generally easy to pass, and the better you do on them (you are rated a percentage for each maneuver you perform) the larger your Hard Lock circle becomes, making it easier to acquire a target lock. Your Hard Lock can be reversed if you fail at one of the mini-games, at which point you need to frantically stay outside of your opponent's circle, and reverse the Hard Lock again.
Graphics:
Everything in the game looks pretty decent. There is a "film grain" filter on the graphics, which cannot be removed. I do not know if this was done deliberately to make the game feel more "80s" or "retro," or if it was done to compensate for the lack of graphics this game has. Either way, I like it, and I normally hate grainy filters on my games. The planes look like the iconic planes, and the game takes advantage of the "hard lock" mode to show off the visuals. There are various skins and decal sets to unlock for each plane. It may be important to note that there are no human models in this game. Everything is a vehicle or structure. While I don't have a problem with this, it is a noticeable absence, likely done to save time during development.
Sound:
One complaint from another customer who reviewed this game was the repetitive music. While I do agree the music can get repetitive, there are multiple tracks which I don't mind repeating, and on Xbox360, you can pump in your own soundtrack. That being said, the game's title screen does feature the Top Gun theme. Everything else sounds like knock-off versions of "Danger Zone." All-in-all, the sound is adequate, and does its job. The voice acting is bland and uninspired, but passable. One cool thing is that when you have your afterburners on long enough, your plane makes a sonic boom, and that is a nice touch that I see in few/no other games.
Overall:
Top Gun: Hard Lock is an overall solid title. It is made with a very arcade feel to it, rather than the simulation feel of other games. The big question is: is it worth the $40? The answer to that question, is "no." I love this game, and enjoy it, but I got it on sale from Gamestop when I had a coupon. There is no reason to buy this game new for $40 when Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is available for $25 and is a better game. Another big problem this game has, is that you have to buy the multiplayer separately. A budget title that requires you to pay for the multiplayer absolutely kills the multiplayer community, and it is extremely unlikely anyone actually paid for it. When the game drops to an ACTUAL budget price, of $20 or less, then it would definitely be worth the pickup. As it is right now, you're better off buying a different game.
Pros:
+It's got the Top Gun theme!
+Tight, responsive controls
+Excellent sense of speed
+Arcade feel blends Afterburner and Ace Combat into an exciting, free-roaming game.
Cons:
-Missions can run a little long
-Music can get repetitive
-Have to pay for multiplayer
-Better games are available for cheaper
-Limited selection of planes
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Recreates the rush and speed of actiion from the movie of the same name. Good graphics. Plane profiles such as manuevering and speed are realistic within the platform. Multi-approach to advancement and points. Avoids dry military approach to training but avoids cartoony appearance that turns of gamers.Best Deals for Top Gun Hardlock - Xbox 360
The first thing people do when they see this game is ask themselves why someone would choose to make a Top Gun game now. It's been 27 years since this movie came out. It's not like there's a remake being made,,,,,,,is there?That's what this game is, though. It's a remake of Top Gun the movie in game form and I like it.
Despite being based on a blockbuster film that I happen to also like, this game is definitely a budget game. It shows in the dated graphics and terrible voice acting. Now, there is a weird film grain filter they chose to put on that you can't seem to remove. I guess they were trying to make the game look like a VHS tape or something and I kind of like that even though the game takes place in current times, but it makes the visuals look muddy. There is a cool effect when you break the sound barrier. There is a sonic boom and your guy says, "I feel the need. The need for speed," which I also like, but it IS cheesy and repetitive. The planes do look really good, though.
I find this game to be good ol' fashioned fun. The game doesn't take itself too seriously, and I like that. If you watch the Top Gun movie you do realize that it is rather cheesy and this game captures some of that cheese. That said, they don't use enough of the source material. I fully expected the title screen to be playing "Danger Zone," but I guess they couldn't afford to license it from Kenny Loggins. They play the "Top Gun Theme" a few times and that makes me happy, but it doesn't play often enough for me. I heard Maverick talk in the tutorial level and the guy they got sounded enough like Tom Cruise to make me happy.
Ok, Gameplay. This game seems to only have 2 maps. I haven't beaten it yet, so I don't know if more unlock, but I've gotten far into the story and I've only ever played on one map. They reuse the same rocky coast for 99% of the missions. That may be an exaggeration , but it certainly fells like it to me. The missions are fun, though, and they throw enough targets after you to keep it entertaining. The best part are the little quicktime events that you do when you get a "Hard Lock" on someone or they get one on you. It's a fun, in my opinion, series of maneuvers you must do in order to get a missile lock on some of the tougher enemies or break his lock on you. You have to quickly hit the two sticks in directions and they can get complex. I like that. It makes the dogfights more tense. The developers felt that the whole Hark Lock" system would sustain the whole game. I'm not so sure, though. I really enjoyed the game for a few days, but I started to get board with the monotonous missions and gameplay. I still really liked what I played. Unlocking planes and skins is fun. The "Hard Lock" stuff is also fun. It's just not enough to make the game more compelling.
I can't say I was surprised. I knew it was a budget title and I played the demo. I enjoyed the demo enough that I bought the game. I think that 505 Games did as good a job as they could with the Top Gun license. They obviously didn't have the time or money to make it too ambitious, but I like what's there even though I stopped playing it. I know that I can always play it again to have some fun.
The End.
Honest reviews on Top Gun Hardlock - Xbox 360
Bought game on Xbox on demand. Asked for a pdf of the manual and here's what I was told:"Unfortunately we do not provide any download links for manuals for digital copies of the game. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause."
They will take my money but god forbid I want to know how to play the game. This is my last purchase from this company.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Top Gun Hardlock - Xbox 360
This game was ok, but it too is mostly arcade based. If you are a true player,you can beat this one in an hour's time,
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