Top Gun: Combat Zones
Aircraft:
On all levels that contain multiple aircraft bogies, the
best solution is to wipe out all aircraft by flying low to
the ground, then pulling up on the stick to get a missile
lock to destroy them. Take one bogie out at a time, then
fly back close to the ground and start the process all over again.
F-4 Phantom:
Successfully complete the game under any difficulty setting.
The F-4 is a decent fighter with a good firepower rating.
JSF:
Get at least a "Bronze" rank for every Academy and Warzone
challenge. The JSF's cannon, though a bit on the low side,
seems like it damages enemies more.
YF-23:
Get at least a "Silver" rank for every Academy and Warzone
challenge. The YF-23's cannon fires very fast, and it is
highly maneuverable. Overall, it is a very decent fighter.
V-22:
Get a "Gold" rank on all Academy and Warzone challenges.
Though its firepower rating seems like it would only send
out one shot every five seconds, it actually has twin
machine guns that fire as fast as an enemy helicopter or
gunboat. It also has unlimited-use afterburning fuel, and
can stop almost completely if the brakes are applied.
It is not very fast, however, even with the afterburners activated.
Anti-aircraft guns:
Flying close to the ground causes the anti-aircraft guns
to overshoot your plane. They cannot fire below a certain
point due to the risk of hitting their own men.
Weapons:
While speed in completing missions, extent of damage to
your jet, and "First Blood" bonuses help, they will never
allow you to gain the points and medals to open new jets.
The key to points is ammunition choice. Try to use only
guns for everything, saving all the missiles and bombs
possible. If you must use missiles, use the self aimed,
not the guided. The more bombs and missiles you return
with, the higher the scores. By doing this it is possible
to advance from the normal 300,000 to 400,000 red star
success to consistent scores of over 2 million per mission.
Flying:
As the missions gain in complexity, every fly over must
be highly efficient. Instead of tight sweeping turns,
use over-the-top turns. This can cut a 10 second turn
down to 3 seconds and place you in a better attack mode
to start the next run. This requires practice.
Destroy tanks, vans and most moving ground targets:
Use the afterburners when you are close to the ground.
Note: This will not work on BTROs or gunboats
(it will just do damage).
