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If you caught last issue's preview of Namco's supersonic scrapper, you'll have found Timberlake wrestling with the often-discussed theory that behind all the macho flyboy antics, the movie Top Gun has a deeply homoerotic subtext. Yes, some will tell you that, far from being a teenage boy's wet dream, burning up the skies in one of the world's most powerful tactical fighters and bedding Kelly McGillis actually masked Maverick's afterburner-hot desire to give Goose more than just the birthday bumps. This issue we can offer conclusive proof on the matter. If you were unfortunate enough to catch the finale of Strictly Come Dancing, you'll have seen Julian Clary waltz on stage to perform his farewell dance in full American naval officer's uniform. And the song he danced to? Take My Breath Away from the Top Gun soundtrack. Case closed.

But enough of that. It's been a long time since we've had the chance to clamber into the cockpits of virtual fighter planes and the return of the Ace Combat series is most welcome. Only the 'not terrible, but not great' Deadly Skies has filled the void since AC4, and that's indicative of one of the series' main strengths - it has little or no competition. Fortunately this monopoly hasn't induced any laziness on Namco's part, and Squadron Leader bears all the hallmarks of previous games in the franchise, offering action in around fifty of the world's most expensive planes, while simultaneously delivering a neat story, some excellent graphics and a surprising variety of mission types.

To be honest, very little has changed in terms of the actual gameplay since last time out, not that a wholesale refit was needed - Ace Combat 4 was the absolute business anyway. Perhaps the most significant addition are FMV cut-scenes in the campaign mode. Last time around it was only arty drawings that were used to convey the story, and seeing both yourself and your buddies hanging out at the base or milling around gossiping on the runway helps immerse you into the alternate reality/future war plot. This, along with the constant radio chatter from all sides while you're in the sky, lends at least a pinch of emotional attachment to the game.

The plot is another consistently strong feature of the series and there's no exception here. It's immensely refreshing not to have some Clancy-esque "nuke the Arabs/Russians/Koreans" pro-Western propaganda drivel to wade through - the story is actually tinged with sadness and anti-war sentiment, of a fashion. But plot-schmot, we're here to shoot down enemy fighters, sink enemy ships and bomb enemy tanks. That's the bottom line and no game does it better. Missions are divided into defensive and offensive ones, but this is largely irrelevant as they all amount to the same thing: blowing up a variety of stuff.

As you'll already know if you're an Ace Combat veteran, those looking for a hardcore flight sim will be disappointed, because despite the logos of numerous aeronautical engineering companies appearing on the start-up screen, the officially licensed aircraft and an authentic on-screen display, the game is all set up for arcade thrills. Each plane boasts somewhere in the region of fifty missiles, your throttle is set at a steady speed and you only really need to worry about waggling the analogue stick in the right direction and giving the afterburners and brakes the odd squeeze. In fact, the game has more in common with Star Wars Starfighter than, say, any hardcore PC flight sim. Again this is no bad thing, and out in battle you get a genuine sense of speed thanks to the slick and impressive environments coupled with, as mentioned, the radio banter between airborne pilots. The insane amount of bogeys that need flicking out of the sky only add to that authentic flyboy feel.

The complex display and controls may appear quite daunting for rookies at first - every button on the pad has a use - but it's actually pretty easy to pick up and there's a comprehensive tutorial should you need it. Experienced pilots, meanwhile, will be right at home. One new featureis the wingmen commands, executed Ghost Recon-style with the D-pad. They're pretty simple and don't have much of an impact on the gameplay, as your fellow fighters are relatively autonomous and intelligent, but they do serve to add more tactical depth and also offer further emotional attachment to the whole story. You are Squadron Leader after all. If you find this all too stressful and fancy making a break on your own, a wickedly tough arcade mode offers some twenty stripped-down, goal orientated, time-sensitive missions in the Mobius 1 superfighter.

So it's all good stuff here and well worth a look, whether you've played any of the previous titles or not. It's just a shame there are no testosterone-squeezing beach volleyball mini-games. Roger that, eh?

Graphics 80%
Great planes, scenery and frame rate.

Sound 70%
Well-voiced in-flight babble.

Gameplay 80%
Unashamedly arcadey but excellent fun.

Lifespan 80%
Large, but multiplayer would've been nice.

Overall 80%
Another sortie with the best fighter plane shooter you can buy on the PS2. Okay, so it's the only one you can buy, but it's still a blinder.