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It's war time, and as a crack pilot of the USAF "Top Gun" school of flying planes and shooting at things, you are naturally the first choice for a series of suicidal solo missions. In these missions it's your job to destroy key enemy sites and ultra-sophisticated new developments in order to stop the enemy. So now it's time to pack your special brown uniform, choose your fave missiles for the battles ahead, and take off in your F-14 to face impossible odds.

Top Gun 2, like its predecessor, is a cockpit-view shoot-'em-up with the usual fiddly flight-sim elements eradicated, so the action concentrates solely on shooting the enemy targets. At the end of each level, the pilot comes up against the secret weapon which he has been sent to destroy. Beat this and you move on to the next, tougher, mission.

At the start of each mission, you are given a choice of missiles to get the job done. The more powerful the missile, the fewer you are granted. So if you plump for Sidewinders, you are rewarded with sixty of the blighters, but the highly effective, powerful Phoenix missiles only come in an economy-sized pack of twenty.

The F-14 you're given isn't an ordinary place. Why? Because no matter how long you remain in a straight dive, you never crash!

Unfortunately, the enemy aircraft aren't lacking in the old defying-the-impossible department either, and are able to seemingly travel underwater and leap out of the sea at you!

There are three types of game in Top Gun II, namely the standard one-player game where you fly missions against massed enemy forces, a one-player "versus" game, where you dogfight one-on-one with an enemy fighter of your rank, and a two-player split-screen dogfight where you blow one of your mates into oblivion (hopefully).

The original Top Gun game wasn't all that bad - but this is terrible. The 3D effect is blocky, jerky, unconvincing and off-putting and the sprites are badly-drawn and dull, the sound, what there is of it, is enough to make you rip your ears off and, worst of all, the gameplay is awful.

The collision detection is ropey to say the least, and the poor perspective makes it impossible to judge how far away incoming missiles are, let alone dodge them.

The "versus" mode adds little lasting appeal as it is laughably simplistic, an average battle lasting about seven seconds. Top Gun 2 could and should have been a lot better - fans of the original are bound to be very disappointed.

I think that Rad has been a tad harsh in his comment. Granted, Top Gun 2 will win no awards for its graphics, and the sound too is similarly unappealing.

The playability is all-important though, and Top Gun 2 isn't a total disaster - it's just pretty average. It's just too simplistic to gain points for ingenuity, and not exciting enough to keep you coming back for more.

I think that, with better graphics and more things to do, this could have been a lot better, but as it stands Top Gun 2 just isn't realistic enough to be a sim, or thrilling enough to score in the arcade stakes.

If it's airborne thrills 'n spills you're after, try out Captain Skyhawk.

Presentation 68%
A few fairly useful options and some nice cartoon-style intro screens.

Graphics 49%
Poor 3D perspective, blocky sprites and awful "scenery".

Sound 42%
A small number of toshy effects and a feeble tune.

Playability 55%
A very poor control method and completely unexciting action results in instant apathy.

Lastability 35%
Even with the two-player mode, this just hasn't got enough action to keep you entertained for more than a day or two.

Overall 51%
A very mediocre release that will disappoint even the biggest Top Gun fan.