Top Gun puts iPhone and iPod Touch owners in the flight suit of a new recruit under the guidance of Maverick and Ice Man—you choose your own handle—who flies into the face of a new Communist threat. You'll pilot your way into the danger zone in either a F-22 raptor or B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, with anthem master Kenny Loggins sonically guiding you through dogfights that may very well take your breath away.

Does Top Gun pass muster?

Loved
Flight Control: Shrewdly, Top Gun is a rails shooter (sorry, guided third-person experience) in which the developers set up "danger zone" patterns for you to barnstorm through (and avoid) laid over surprisingly rich environments. Danger zones - either an obstacle or enemy fire - tip you off to areas you don't want to be, rather than relying on you spotting that canyon wall or carrier bridge upcoming. It's good way to build this kind of a game on this platform, and the controls are matched well to the challenge, responsive without being too sensitive. Between missions you'll probably shift your iPhone or iPod while you crack your knuckles, but recalibration is a snap and accessible through the pause menu. Flying is the point of this game, and the flying is fun.

Campy fun: I was going to bag on this game's continuity. But it's an iPhone game, the fact it has any story and continuity is more a positive than a negative. It's still a bit weird to be flying modern-day combat aircraft (F-22s, B-2s) and still macho-talking about waxing Boris and the commies. Then again, Top Gun is, and always will be, classic Cold War propaganda. Take it in stride and the game will wink at you lots of times with humor that isn't entirely unintentional. My favorite was a pre-mission briefing in which those bastard Soviets were sending a bomber after our carrier. (Really. A tactical high-altitude bomber. OK.) "Jesus!" says one of the pilots in your briefing group. "Jesus can't fire an M61 rotary cannon at sixty-six hundred rounds per minute for us today," says Maverick, who is now an instructor (with Iceman) at Top Gun.

Hated:
Repetition: The upside is the missions can be quite long, an achievement on this platform. The downside is that they can be quite long, too. You'll fly different aircraft and meet different objectives, but it all comes back to evasive maneuvers and blasting unlimited missiles at endless waves of enemy aircraft. Mission failure means starting over from the beginning, making it extra agonizing when you screw the pooch with just 2 kills out of 30 left. The mission load times are, to be blunt, a pain in the ass, especially if you're going back to clear a level you've been failing repeatedly. The between-missions dialogue, actually advances a story (albeit kind of hokey) but it's OK and you can breeze through it. But the establishing-shot animations and the text dialogue at the beginning of missions just seem to get in the way of playing the game.

Putting together an arcade flyer with serious gameplay chops on the iPhone, and doing it with an existing IP, is a mean challenge. Freeverse handled it very well. I'm not sure I'd classify this as a casual game, which reflects credit on Freeverse for deepening the gaming experience in a new platform. On top of that, it delivers unlockables, some easter eggs and achievements, all for $4. That's a good value, and for all for all the campy dialogue and touches, Top Gun is still a very serious game.

Top Gun, for the iPhone and iPod Touch, was developed by Freeverse and published by Paramount Digital Entertainment. Currently available from iTunes store for introductory price of $3.99. Played all missions on iPhone.

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Top Gun for the iPhone remembers the glory days of the Cold War – a time when men wore leather jackets, women (apparently) didn't wear bras and the B2 Spirit was next-gen. Developed by Freeverse – same guys who did Days of Thunder for the iPhone – the game harkens back both to the 80s hit film and to old school arcade shooters that we used to feed quarters to. But even if you can't remember who said the famous line, "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," Top Gun iPhone might still take your breath away.

What Is It?
Top Gun for the iPhone is flight simulator/3D shooter. Players control both the plane and the targeting reticule with the accelerometer while two onscreen buttons control the Vulcan cannon and the missile launcher. The plot of the game takes place after the film – Maverick and Iceman are now teachers of your generic sassy character at the Navy Fighter Weapons School.

What We Saw
I spent 15 minutes with the game in a hotel room where publisher Paramount was also showing Star Trek to other journalists. It was kind of hard to hear the audio as a result and because I had a limited time with the game, I didn't get to soak up the story cut scenes.

How Far Along Is It?
The game is pretty much done and due out in May, but an exact date and price haven't been set yet.

What Needs Improvement?
Cluttered Screen: The scoring system in Top Gun makes for a messy display. Besides the buttons, the health meter and other heads-up display icons, you've also have to look at "danger zone" boxes that pop up on screen in a 3x3 grid. Danger zones usually indicate an incoming missle or a building you're about to fly into – the longer you stay in a danger zone, the more points you rack up. The box starts out flashing yellow and then turns red when impact is imminent. It's a helpful visual indicator of impending doom, I suppose, but when you've got all nine danger zones flashing at once, it stops being useful and starts being cluttered.

Auto-Calibration: Unlike Days of Thunder, in Top Gun you can change the calibration of the motion controls at any point in any level. However, at the beginning of each mission, the game auto-calibrates based on how it thinks you're holding the phone. For me, this resulted in a totally screwed up calibration that had to be reset right at the beginning of the mission, which totally slowed down the action.

No multiplayer: Boo.

What Should Stay The Same?
Effective Calibration: As many times as I had to recalibrate, I was always amazed at how perceptive and effective the calibration system was. All you have to do is pause, press one button, title how you want the phone to be when your aircraft is in a neutral position, then press a button and off you go. It's effective, if a little tedious to have to redo it at the start of each mission.

Replay Possibilities: The game awards achievements and medals for satisfying certain conditions on missions. I applaud this game extension tactic in lieu of anything like iPhone Achievements comparable to Xbox Live.

Plays Decently: The developer is keenly aware that this is meant to be a portable experience and they've gone the extra mile to make you enjoy whatever brief amount of time you get to play the game. You've got infinite ammo, simple instructions and uncomplicated menu options that are easily accessible – so you can pick this game up and put it down without ever feeling lost, confused or frustrated with the enemy AI.

Pretty Visuals Overall: The mountain levels looked a little bland, but the planes looked decent, the cut scenes had a mature cartoon style that appealed to me and the water was very pretty.

Final Thoughts
Two things bother me about this game. The first is wondering if Top Gun is going to fall victim to the price wars that currently rage on the iPhone App store. Given how short the missions were and how limited the scope of combat, I could see paying up to $1.50 for this game. If Paramount asks for $5, no way.

The second thing that's bugging me is the age gap. I heart Top Gun, but then I was just old enough to catch the tail end of 80s pop culture. Anyone younger than me that owns an iPhone just might not get this game; and they will be totally confused by the joke in my second paragraph, having never danced to "Take My Breath Away" at prom.

The pack also includes the Jjaro texture and design set from Marathon Infinity, as well as two new achievements with the potential to add another 30 points to your gamerscore.

Look for the Jjaro Map Pack tomorrow for the low, low price of 250 Microsoft points. It looks so old it's practically new!

Freeverse Announces New Content Pack for Critically Acclaimed Marathon: Durandal on Xbox LIVE Arcade

New York - June 17th, 2008 - Freeverse, Inc. today announced its plans to release a major downloadable content pack for its 2007 XBox LIVE Arcade port of Marathon: Durandal, Bungie's classic first-person shooter. Slated for a June 18th release, this content pack will extend the Marathon gaming experience on the Xbox 360 gaming console with new maps, game modes, and textures.

Available for 250 Microsoft Points on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, the Jjaro Map Pack for Marathon: Durandal will include 12 classic multiplayer levels previously seen in Bungie’s Marathon and Marathon Infinity.

Nostalgic players will recall the names of these classic maps: Thrud, Vulcan, King of Pain, Spiral Insanity, Dead Fields, Morphine, La Cosa Nostra, Mars Needs Women, ‘Fugee Camp, What Goes Up Must Come Down, Arena, and Spline.

Each of these downloadable maps will support new gametypes previously unseen in their original release on the Macintosh platform, including King of the Hill, Kill the Man with the Ball, and Tag.

Also included in this downloadable content pack is the “Jjaro” collection, a texture and design set previously introduced in Marathon Infinity. In addition to these exciting new environments in which to play, players will also be able to unlock two new achievements:

Thing What Kicks - Kill a Juggernaut in Survival and live to tell the tale. 20 points.

King Pfhor a Day - Outscore all other players (at least 3) combined in a King of the Hill or Kill the Man with the Ball match. 10 points.

Players must download and enable the Jjaro Map Pack before they can earn these challenging new achievements.

Marathon, considered ahead of its time in 1994, was a first-person shooter featuring an advanced 3D graphics engine, interesting story line, and compelling multiplayer game modes. Unique level design set players against obstacles and puzzles, including low-gravity spots, crushing ceilings, and magnetic fields that interfere with the player's motion sensor. Marathon's unique gameplay paved the way for two sequels, as well as Bungie's later franchise Halo.

Freeverse's 2007 XBox LIVE Arcade port adds some modern flair to this timeless classic, including a revised hud, enhanced widescreen high-definition graphics, and an increased framerate. Multiplayer is possible through four-player split-screen and 8-player games over Xbox LIVE, including both co-op and deathmatch modes. Winner of a Best of Show Award at the E3 2007 show, Marathon: Durandal is currently available on the XBox LIVE Marketplace for 800 Microsoft Points.

Turns out that the developer, best known perhaps for their work on Marathon: Durandal for XBLA, is under an NDA with Apple and can't talk about the game just yet.

There are still some tidbits to be found on the site though.

Moto Racing will make use of the iPhone's accelerometer to steer a motorcycle through races, and the intern who wrote up their "preview" says the game feels like an arcade title. Judging by the bits found around the giant red redactions, it looks like the game will indeed use tilting to steer and that, at least according to an intern at the place that makes it, it works well.

They didn't include any screens because of the NDA, but there is some art from their Mac level building utility to give you at least a taste of the art style.

Last we heard Freeverse was also working on a Sports pack for the iPhone, but no word on how that is progressing.

Freeverse tells us that while they will be at next week's WWDC, they don't plan on revealing anything new.

Wingnuts Moto Racer for the iPhone: A First Look [Freeverse]

Flick Sports will use the iPhone's flick and pinch feature and include golf, bowling, soccer and baseball "to start."

Flick Sports: Moto Racing will make use of the iPhone's accelerometer to steer a motorcycle through races.

The fact that the iPhone can, apparently, support a game like Spore and has such a unique set of interfaces makes me think that it could become a pretty viable platform for gaming... from Apple. Yeah, I'm shocked too.

iPhone Games [Freeverse]