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Tom Clancy's HAWX review - Lewissss - 27/01/2010 19:14:01 - edited by Ben Taylor
Genre: Shooter - Publisher: Ubisoft - Release Date: 03/03/2009

Tom Clancy's HAWX, or High Altitude Warfare – Experimental, places you in the role of Major David Crenshaw, the Squadron Leader of an Elite group of aircraft pilots. The game is based in and around 2014 and involves you working for the US air force, and a military contractor called Artemis, the latter of the two becoming your sworn enemy after attacking the US military. Whilst the story is at times engaging, it can become boring and repetitive as you progress through the levels. The main campaign takes you to numerous locations around the globe, from the towering sky scrapers of America to arid desserts.

As HAWX uses the latest in military software you can expect to do the same. HAWX involves an ERS (Enhanced Reality System) allows you to avoid missiles, line up shots on ground targets and in one later level allows you to avoid enemy fire which would otherwise leave you a pile of dust on the floor. Another major feature in HAWX is the ability to disengage you computer assistance. Doing this makes you able to turn tighter, decrease speeds quicker and avoid missile lock on. However, doing this also makes the jet trickier to fly. If you fly too steep or turn too slowly your plane will stall and you will fall like an apple from a tree, but of course some pilots can use this to their advantage. Although the game play may seem impeccable so far there are some downfalls. The ability to disengage the computer is not available until later in the campaign, this means that early levels can sometimes cause problems. Another major problem is that all the planes handle the same. There may be over 50 planes, which I will expand on later in the review, but they all handle very similar to one another. It makes you think that Ubisofts' changed the skins, but not the actual physics of the planes. Some jets do fly quicker than others, and some can turn slightly tighter but they are mostly very similar. However, this doesn't mean that they're not fun to fly.

HAWX is an intense shooter, but not quite a flight simulator.

HAWX features over 50 aircraft, ranging from F-22's to high-tech stealth bombers, all of which have their pros and cons. If 50 jets aren't enough for you then this can be increased by downloading the DLC for HAWX. HAWX has three sets of downloadable content available, all of which contain new jets from different countries. HAWX uses a rank system like that of most combat games. For each enemy aircraft, naval vessel or ground unit you destroy you will be given a set amount of experience points, which can differ depending on the difficultly you have the game set to. There are 40 different ranks available and these can be achieved through both the offline campaign or through multiplayer dogfights. The campaign is lengthy with more than 20 levels, all of which contain an intelligent AI service which adapts to give the player a challenging fight.

Most of the time the graphics in HAWX are exceptional. I say most of the time because as soon as you drop to ground level the trees becoming nothing more than leafy blocks and the buildings a mass of cubes. The jets themselves look amazing along with the dramatic sunset backdrop which could have been taken from a real picture. Each jet has a unique engine noise all of which can be heart of the clatter of machine guns and rush of rockets. Fortunately there is no drop in graphic presentation when playing in multiplayer.

HAWX has a limited multiplayer. Whilst all of the jets that are available in the campaign can be used online there is only one game mode in which to use them. Dogfights pit you against other pilots online in a timed battle. To start with this is fun and entertaining as you try getting a lock on the enemy, but after a while it becomes repetitive and boring. After you have achieved rank 40 there's nothing else to aim for and the dogfights become either too easy or boring. The highlight of HAWX's multiplayer capabilities is being able to invite a friend to join you in the campaign, this is the exact campaign used offline but now you can replace you AI wingmen with friends or strangers, this makes levels easier as you can create strategies and work together.

Overall HAWX is an intense shooter, but not quite a flight simulator. It has many defining features and a good lengthy campaign that will keep you entertained for a long period of time. Although lacking in multiplayer options, HAWX is defiantly worthy of your game collection.