Top Gunner (1986). Play online

Summary

Top Gunner, more familiarly known overseas as Jackal, is a fast‑paced overhead run‑and‑gun arcade experience that lets you pilot a battle‑jeep with a partner. Up to two players can hop in at any time, each driving a distinctively marked jeep and sharing the eight‑way joystick and two fire buttons for machine‑gun bursts or a powerful, upgradeable projectile launcher. The gun’s quick fire contrasts with the slower yet far‑reaching grenade‑to‑missile system, which can be boosted three times for multi‑direction shrapnel strikes.

The game unfolds as one sprawling scrolling arena, mixing ruins, lakes, hills and a mountain‑top base without the usual level breaks. Enemy vehicles, artillery and flag‑decorated camps pepper the screen, and the North American cabinets swap the original colors for U.S. and Vietnamese flags. Extra lives are awarded for score milestones, and losing a jeep drops your upgrades, urging strategic play.

Storyline

In Top Gunner, you command the Jackal unit, an elite squad of four hardened soldiers. The team consists of Colonel Decker, Lieutenant Bob, Sergeant Quint, and Corporal Grey, each forged by a brutal training regimen. Their objective is to plunge deep into enemy land behind two armed jeeps, locate captured personnel, and extract the POWs before the opposition can react. The mission tests their ability to survive any environment and bring the prisoners home safely.