I don't think I really feel the need for speed
The Tom Cruise classic film is a masterpiece, but this game...well, let's have a look.
The storyline doesn't seem to be connected to the iconic movie it was based on. Most other games are connected, but is this one of the first to have poor connectivity? The film and this game have aged horribly, since the American F-14 Tomcat is no longer in service with the United States, but still in service with our enemy, Iran. No kidding. Also, the Soviet Union has been long gone, though there are rumors of it trying to reestablish its presence.
Anyway, so the plot is this: you're piloting the F-14 Tomcat as Maverick, and you have to complete four missions. Given a choice of missiles, and starting with a training mission, the player is sent after an enemy aircraft carrier, an enemy base, and finally an enemy space shuttle (yes, really). If you lose but achieve a minimum score of 50,000 points, a still image is shown of you being presented the Top Gun plaque that was awarded to Iceman in the film. If you complete all four missions and successfully landed on the aircraft carrier, a scene is shown of the F-14 taxiing on the carrier and a wave to the LSO crew.
The gameplay is incredibly short, which is unacceptable, considering this may have been rushed for no apparent reason. Each choice of missile you select offers more firepower in exchange for a reduction to the maximum amount of missiles you can carry, but it's utterly pointless since every enemy plane gets blown up in one hit. When your plane's fuel gets low, a refueling plane will appear, but it's extremely hard to connect your plane to the fuel tube. This can get annoying, especially if you've never experienced this kind of stuff before. At least there are decent enough graphics, with acceptable sprites, like the planes.
But the most hated and rather annoying thing about Top Gun is this: The landing part is infamous for being frustratingly difficult, as you have to line up your jet with the landing area in a limited amount of time. And with the movement controls on the D-Pad being reversed (pressing down increases the altitude and up lowers it, just like in a real jet), sometimes you will have a hard time completing these sections (however, AVGN did manage to land the plane with the Power Glove and I did, too). The instructions on the landing part are also confusing if not too annoying, such as it says to “Speed Up”, then the message changes to “Up! Up!” Does it mean to go up, or keep speeding up? Well, of course, it's the former, trying to tell you to increase your altitude, but it's still confusing in terms of context, especially for young 'uns. At least someone, I don't know his name, proclaims that landing the jet fighter is not difficult as long as you fully understand the controls.
At least this is better than Action 52 is all I can say. My reception with this game has been mixed and undecided. At least the movie and its recent sequel are decent in comparison.