Hello again! This is Ollie Barder from doublesix. Since I spoke here last, the studio has been really busy with Top Gun – a new air combat game for the PlayStation Network based on the classic 80’s film. Needless to say it’s been a lot of fun making Top Gun and I’m happy to announce you can download Top Gun starting tomorrow (August 17th) on PSN. Screeching across a blue sky in a F-14 Tomcat will never get old.
For those curious as to how we’ve tackled the game we went down a more arcade focused route for air combat, more so than other games in the genre. So instead of having to micromanage finite ammunition, stalling and the vagaries of an overly complex flight model, we’ve streamlined all that down and removed as many restrictions as we possibly could. The reasoning behind this was to have the player focus on just enjoying air combat and keeping things simple while choosing either your guns or missiles. This means things like your health replenishes over time and your guns won’t ever overheat. You’ll have the freedom to fly through the blue sky and get to feel like a fighter ace.
We were also really keen on getting atmosphere and tone of the film into the game and make all of that nicely functional too. From using the same HUD elements as you see in the film (such as the missile lock), to your co-pilot spouting one liners each time you down an enemy – it’s all there to tie into the game’s functional feedback. In fact, we had Jack Epps, Jr., the original screenwriter for the Top Gun movie, write the script for the game to maintain the feel and attitude of the Top Gun property. Naturally, the game features the wonderfully nostalgic “Danger Zone” too as well the Top Gun theme.
The final element that we thought that would make all this gel was the addition of Controlled Flight Instability (or just CFI), as this acts as both a target camera and modifier to the flight model so you can pull much quicker turns mid-air. This came from that annoying habit of players in multiplayer doing loops to avoid being shot, CFI basically means the enemy has nowhere to hide now.
From 11 campaign missions, a horde mode and 16 player online multiplayer (with 5 modes) there’s quite a fair amount of content for a digital download game. You may also play as any one of six different jets: the US Navy’s F-14, F-16, or F/A-18 or the enemy’s MiG-29, MiG-31, or Su-27 We even support a custom button mapping for Saitek’s Aviator flightstick too. We all hope that people enjoy the game as much as we have had making it and always remember, you can be our wingman any day.
Make sure to download Top Gun tomorrow on the PlayStation Network for $14.99.
Finally, be sure to join Top Gun screenwriter and game author Jack Epps in PlayStation Home Central Plaza tonight for the Top Gun Troop Parade, starting at 5:00 pm PDT / 8:00 EDT. Better yet, wear your new Top Gun shirt, which you can win by watching the trailer in the theater.
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