Top Gun arrives on Xbox and PC: Free DLC for MS Flight Simulator
Created: 05/26/2022Updated: 05/26/2022 08:35
By: Marcus Efler
Be Tom Cruise for once: A free add-on for the Flight Simulator brings the jet and the feeling of the cinema hit "Top Gun: Maverick" to Xbox and PC.
Games based on feature films such as "Hogwarth's Legacy" or "Spider Man" can develop their very own appeal.
No game spin-off is planned for "Top Gun: Maverick", the sequel to the 80s cult film and well on the way to becoming a
huge blockbuster
.
But at least Microsoft and Asobo Studio released an add-on of the same name for the popular Flight Simulator 2020 before the cinema launch.
As is well known, it allows very
realistic control
of various aircraft types on Xbox and PC.
So now he serves as the basis for the adventures of Tom Cruise aka Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, the intrepid and always well-coiffed fighter jet pilot from the Hollywood dream factory.
Top Gun for Xbox and PC: Jet training instead of war action
Of course, one should not expect a plot or spectacular dogfights against enemy pilots from the free DLC.
Rather, this is a digital boot camp for gamers with a soft spot for military jets.
They should accept the extension with some enthusiasm, because something comparable has been searched for in vain since such games have largely died out.
Here is the trailer for the DLC, but with very little real gameplay:
In a total of nine scenarios and training missions, flight fans learn and practice handling Mitchell's F-18 Hornet - as is usual in Flight Simulator, either from a first-person perspective in the cockpit (with switches that can mostly be operated and displays that work), or as a third person with free controllable exterior view of the jet.
Incidentally, it is already part of the simulator's basic equipment, and its added "Maverick" paint job is one of the rare references to the film.
After all, the plane with the characteristic blue stripe can also be used anywhere on
the globe
outside of the DLC .
Top Gun for Xbox and PC: Flight in the Stratosphere
That doesn't apply to the add-on's second jet, a stealth-themed Mach 3 plane.
Although it also has a beautifully designed cockpit with such fine things as fuel cell activation, it is firmly linked to the associated mission of a stratospheric test flight.
However, this is a fine and challenging thing, whoever masters it on the first attempt without crashing from a height of 30 kilometers on the desert floor of Nevada can be proud of himself.
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Highlight in the “Top Gun” DLC: Landing on an aircraft carrier © Screenshot Marcus Efler
The scenarios such as a timed low flight over detailed American landscapes or barrel roll maneuvers are anything but profane.
Depending on the setting, the console or PC pilot can play in a relatively relaxed manner, or operate almost realistic simulator training - as he knows it from Microsoft's "Flusi".
Top Gun for Xbox and PC: Landing on the aircraft carrier
A special highlight is landing on an aircraft carrier.
There is already something like this as a paid DLC, but it has not yet been worked out in such detail.
Finding the right approach angle, direction and speed and safely catching the safety rope requires a lot of training and practice.
Shooter fans might miss the ability to fire at enemy jets and bomb targets in the Top Gun: Maverick add-on (if you even want to do that in these real-world wartimes).
However, such a thing would contradict the concept of the game as a peaceful simulator.
But that's what
"Ace Combat 7"
is for : It's more of an arcade game with a focus on aiming and hitting than on realistic controls - for which a "Top Gun" expansion is also available.