Bandai Namco’s Ace Combat 7 had just introduced a new DLC themed after Tom Cruise’s latest movie, Top Gun Maverick. The new DLC introduced several fighter jets from the movie to the game including the exotic-looking Dark Star, a hypersonic jet that Cruise tested in the movie.
Other than Jets, callsigns and emblems from the movie franchise also made it into the game to give players a Top Gun feel. To be exact, this is what the DLC brings to the game.
- Playable Aircraft: F-14A Tomcat
This aircraft can equip the LAAM, SAAM, or SFFS as its special weapon. Includes 6 skins (inc. specials). - Playable Aircraft: F-14A Tomcat | Top Gun: Maverick
This aircraft can equip the LAAM, SAAM, or HPAA as its special weapon. Features 8 skins from Top Gun, including Maverick and Iceman skins. This special aircraft is part of a collaboration with the movie Top Gun: Maverick. - Playable Aircraft: F/A-18E Super Hornet
This aircraft can equip the HCAA, 4AGM, or LAGM as its special weapon. Includes 6 skins (inc. specials).
- Playable Aircraft: F/A-18E Super Hornet | Top Gun: Maverick
This aircraft can equip the HCAA, HVAA, or GPB as its special weapon. Includes 6 skins (inc. specials). This special aircraft is part of a collaboration with the movie Top Gun: Maverick. - Playable Aircraft: 5th Gen Fighter | Top Gun: Maverick
This aircraft can equip the 4AAM, HCAA, or LACM as its special weapon. Includes 6 skins (inc. specials). This special aircraft is part of a collaboration with the movie Top Gun: Maverick. - Playable Aircraft: DarkStar
This aircraft can equip the SASM, XSDB, or PLSL as its special weapon. Includes 6 skins (inc. specials). This special aircraft is part of a collaboration with the movie Top Gun: Maverick. - VF-1: The emblem of VF-1, a United States Navy aircraft squadron in the movie Top Gun
- VFA-213: The emblem of VFA-213, a United States Navy aircraft squadron in the movie Top Gun
- The adversary PHOENIX: The phoenix emblem of F-14A Tomcat, an enemy aircraft in Top Gun: Maverick
- 2 logos from Top Gun: Maverick
- 5 character emblems from Top Gun: Maverick:
Maverick, Hangman, Payback, Rooster, and Bob - 12 nicknames, such as Goose and Cougar, exclusive to the Top Gun: Maverick Aircraft Set
- Two music tracks for multiplayer missions
The DLC contains many bits and brands from the new Top Gun movie but it doesn’t come with a new story or mission to play in. So, whatever it is that I wish to do in my F-14A Tomcat Top Gun Maverick edition, I’d have to do it in one of these – Free Flight, Past Missions, Multiplayer mode. I’ve not done Multiplayer mode yet but I’ve had a tonne of fun re-running old missions from the vanilla game and the expansion series with the new Top Gun planes.
The DarkStar with its high-speed spec and laser-armed arsenal has provided me with some advantage in some missions where I had to struggle against tight timeframes in the past. But as quick and sleek looking as it is, it lacks the flexibility that other fighter jets enjoy. In contrast, the unnamed 5th Gen Fighter is probably one of the most, if not the most versatile aircraft in the game to date. Its high manoeuvrability and deadly arsenal made it an obvious choice when chaotic dogfights are expected.
Both the F-14A and F/A-18E come in two versions – one presumably based on the original specs, and the other is the Maverick edition which is more powerful and scaled to the game’s activities and events. The Top Gun edition planes are the real focus in this DLC if players wish to get a digital hands-on experience with flying in the new Top Gun Maverick movie jet planes.
Verdict
Flying into the clouds and watching beads of water sliding through the canopy of the jet is still a sight to behold. But nothing beats the satisfaction when I finally pull a High-G manoeuvre to evade an incoming missile and position my plane behind an enemy’s, having him locked and then burst into a ball of fire with a well-timed shot. Top Gun planes or not, Ace Combat 7 is still a great aerial dogfight game that has aged well since it came out in 2019. Only this time, the DLC gives it that sweet Maverick-flavoured sugar coating that pleases Top Gun fans even more.
The absence of new missions with this DLC was a little disappointing because the base game did look like it has all the right settings to replicate one of the fights from the movie, or at least have a new one designed that centres around the new DLC planes. But still, movie-games collaboration is still a rare sight in the industry these days and although this DLC was nothing but a fan-service slash new movie promotion, it was still a good addition to the game nonetheless.
