Tom Clancy's HAWX (PC, 2009)

The PC has had all manner of flight sims, but only consoles have gotten a decent list of more arcade-like non-sim flight games. Sure, we've had Blazing Angels and other similar attempts, but these have been hampered by bugs and somewhat-outdated engines. HAWX enters in as an Ace Combat-style modern flight game for the PC.

Gameplay is similar to Ace Combat with a few additions, including the highly-maneuverable Assistance-Off mode. Mission goals generally consist of attacking and defending air, ground and sea units with the occasional aerial obstacle course thrown in to spice things up.

Graphics are gorgeous. The game utilizes satellite photography to reconstruct real-world locations. At cruising altitude, the game looks astonishing, especially with it's beautiful volumetric clouds. During low-altitude strafing runs, the illusion begins to waver a bit. Still, it's overall a definite looker.

Sound is pretty solid. We have the traditional array of engine roar, missile launches and gunfire backed by a solid-if-unremarkable orchestral score of the "flight sim" genre. Voice acting is also solid but not terribly memorable.

The plot is where the game starts to show some weakness. If you're hoping for an AC4- or AC5-style story of striking characters, daring heroism and the many facets of war, you'll be disappointed. HAWX's story is set in the present-day real world. The factions aren't "good" and "evil" as much as "American" and "evil nameless faceless corporation." The bad guys are bad because SOMEBODY has to be otherwise there'd be no conflict. Overall, the story is rather bland and a bit disappointing, especially coming for a Tom Clancy games.

I haven't toyed too much with the multiplayer, but what I've seen has been great. There's an awesome ranking system that places you against pilots of similar skill level. There's also a nice set of achievements that meshes quite well with the leveling system.

Overall, if you're a fan of Ace Combat and you have a capable PC, this game is definitely worth the money. Bonus points for force-feedback joysticks =)

Wow, this game is so much more refined then the demo version ! The graphic engine has lots of advanced options with ambient occlusion supported and running very smooth on a 8800GT (512mb), most settings set to high. The gameplay is very exciting if you enjoy air combat games, with a joystick its also a much better experience, although you will not see force feedback support. There is voice command support tho, for those using ear phones with a mic. Has online multiplayer and co-op support (yet to play), can't ask for much more in terms of extended play features (without having available tools to design your own missions) Cheap to buy also ! I'm a big fan of Ubisoft games, I recommend this one as an addition to anyone's collection, make sure you run a decent gfx card though, that totally increases the games effect. Enjoy !

One of the BEST FPF (First Person Flyer) ever made for the PC!
Excellent Rendering of Graphics and Effects!!
Realistic weapons and jets
Awesome features!
Extremely fun for those who enjoy shooting some baddies out of the sky

Nice game from ubisoft,I have had trouble playing online with with pc games in the past,It turns out it was becouse of the dsl motem I was using,now I have comcast and no problems playing online,this pc game is exiting and will keep you on the edge of your seat,some of the campains are hard,and im running it on normal mode,some of the missiles have onboard camera to veiw from the missile while its flying,which is cool but you could crash your plane if your watching the missile camera and you airplane is heading to the ground,alot of the weapons packs and airplanes are locked,you have to earn them,this gives the ones with the better planes and weapons an unfair advantage against a newby,There is an option to play based on rank which would even things up a bit,this also has assistance mode which gives you more of a 3d type veiw against your opponents,and gives you a slight advantage in this mode,personally I dont use it,I love the muti strike missiles,you can lock on and shoot upto 4 targets at once,I never really got into Tom Clancys games before but this won flys well with me,Its worth the money and you wont get bored of playing it for along time,,,see you all in the air,,genosun.

I decided to buy this game from a email demo sent from Ubisoft. I saw the demo and thought this looks real so I bought it. I am 50 and just recently started to buy video games again.

Installation onto my PC was easy and trouble free. The software equired an patch update which was automatic. No going to look for the patch.

I have played only a few hours and the missions really teach you the skills needed for online gaming. I have played online a couple of times and I have to say it was awesome. I really liked the fact that it put you against other players with the same skill level. I was able to make a few kills.

I highly recommend this game to anyone who wants to test their skills and see what a fighter pilot must go through. I play this game as if I was sitting in the cockpit to make the experince as real as possible. Very enjoyable and nerve racking if you know what I mean....