Top Gun: Guts and Glory

This miniaturized military flight simulator takes you high into the video dimension airways. Choose your skill level (Amateur, Average, or Ace). Then it's up, up, and away in one of four hi-tech military aircrafts, including an MIG 29, an F-16, an F-117A, and an F-14. Once you choose your jet, you can ami it with Heat Seeking or Radar Guided missiles before you head out to face the treacherous challenge of 10 military sorties. Your goal: complete your assignments successfully to earn medals and a promotion.

For all you jet cases looking for a compromise between a "true" flight simulator and a flat out shoot-em-up, Konami's Top Gun series fits the bill perfectly. Now, Game Boy pilots can take to the skies with Top Gun: Guts and Glory.

HotShots

Konami hasn't changed much from the two original behind-the-jet view NES classics, and why should they?! The Top Gun series is one of their sleeper hits! This time you can choose from four types of aircraft: the F-14 Tomcat, the Mig 29 Fulcrum, the F-16 Falcon, or the F-117A Stealth Fighter. Also, you can fly five Air Combat dogfights, five Bombing Run assignments, or 10 Career Option covert missions, which are increasingly difficult combos of Air Combat and Bombing Runs. Every time you complete a mission, you earn a promotion medal and a password. So have a pen and paper handy.

Whichever war bird you pick, you'll find its cockpit loaded with goodies, like a radar screen, a degree heading gauge, an altimeter, and a missile lock indicator. Your hardware seriously soars. In combat, you can either use the missiles (radar guided or heat seeking) or the 35 mm cannon, effective for enemy aircraft near you. The throttle (the Start button) adjusts your speed from Air Brakes (slowdown) to Military (Cruise- m control) to Afterburner (sonic boom!).

Strategize, then Pulverize

Guts and Glory is a good combi- nation of strategy and action. The g sound is great, with realistic can- I non shots and explosions. The graphics are cheesy in some respects, like the wimpy oceans and clouds. They really kick though when the well-animated aircraft and warship convoys storm the screen. It may not be a true flight simulator, butTG:G&G is the closest thing to it for you Game Boy Top Guns!