Tom Clancy's HAWX (Sony Playstation 3, 2009)

There’s no denying the debt that H.A.W.X. owes to the excellent Ace Combat series, upon which its core gameplay and design ideas are based. In particular, the fundamental idea of looking like a combat flight simulation while playing like an arcade game remains intact. At the same time, Ubisoft Romania has gone far beyond crafting a copy, adding in plenty of innovative ideas, fun game modes, and an integration with the wider Clancy mythology that gives weight and depth to the experience.

The near-future setting tells the story of a squad of ace pilots who join up with a private military contractor after completing illustrious careers in the U.S. Air Force. As anyone who follows today’s zeitgeist can guess, the insanely powerful PMC turns out to have some sinister motivations, and lo, we’ve got ourselves a plot. It makes for some epic conflicts over Tokyo, Washington D.C., and Rio de Janeiro, all of which are displayed in glorious, breathtaking detail thanks to extensive satellite imagery data. Thankfully, the planes, weapon effects, and HUD show an equal level of polish.

The flight combat rises to the challenge presented by its visuals through well-balanced and varied missions. As you switch between desperate dogfights and furious bombing runs, you have the option to do it all with up to three friends. A thrilling two- to four-player cooperative mode turns the air fights into titanic affairs, since more enemies show up for every player in the game. There’s an exhilarating high to be found in covering a buddy’s bombing run with a blast of missile fire, or calling out that you’ve got the MiG squadron at 8 o’clock as your wingman zooms off to tackle the tank squadron rolling in at 2.

The game also innovates through its Assistance Off mode, which delivers big thrills despite its dreary nomenclature. By double tapping one of the triggers, players disable the safety locks on their plane, sacrificing a degree of control for increased mobility and evasion. The camera pans back to a wide third-person angle, and suddenly it feels like you’re drift racing a jet plane, as you veer wildly through the skies to zero in on targets, while warding off stalls that could send you spinning into a nearby mountain.

Like some of the recent Clancy games, H.A.W.X. also offers a leveling mechanic, based on both in-mission kills and larger challenges that are completed over time, such as perfecting the use of a particular missile type. As you level and unlock new jets and weapon load outs, you can use those unlocks in either the campaign or in the eight-person competitive dogfights. Along with multiple difficulty settings, there’s plenty of reason to continue ranking your pilot, since every game mode contributes to your growth.

So much about the game is well done, it’s easy to not notice that almost everything is a little too scripted. It’d be nice to see a little more creativity and adaptability in the enemy AI, but it’s a small complaint when stacked against the impressive feature set of the wider game. H.A.W.X. is the best flight game so far this generation, and a worthy addition to the best in the Clancy stable.

The game is visual brilliant, though some visual glitches are still visible and should have been fixed by now through an update patch. HAWX (High Altitude Warfare eXperiment) Blends in realistic dogfights with actual jet fighters, and fantasy high-tech computer controls that make the game easy to play and understand.

PROS: Visually and graphically beautiful, ease of flight controls, An array of over 30 fighter planes available. Possible downloadable content.

CONS: A large quantity of visual and gameplay glitches. Some missiles (Multi-AA missiles) are glitched and do not fire when prompted. Story is redundant, and after completing the campaign missions, you'll notice that you'll be left on your appetite (too Short, Online mode is POINTLESS: People get together and fly in circles forever. TERRIBLE online connectivity problems. Downloadable content is useless since most of the planes you buy are unlockable.

CONCLUSION: This game should be a 1-week rental. You'll find that the Campaign mode is interesting and fun, but As soon as you'll start playing ONLINE, it turns sour. The online mode is simply 2-8 people flying in circles, trying avoiding missiles, there is NO STRATEGY WHATSOEVER. In-Game settings for online games are very limited. Numberless glitches riddle the game. Leveling up is arduous and pointless.

Tom Clancy, who has established a reputation and a franchise thanks to his unbeatable familiarity with the government and military, has come out with H.A.W.X. as part of his recent streak of less impressive games. H.A.W.X., much like other recent games of his, lacks the impeccable details and plot of which he is so very able.

Visually, the environments are truly stunning, incorporating private satellite images of the cities into the game. Some of the videos, however, are stinted and seem to suffer from shortcuts taken by the design crew. In the heat of battle, though, with the life-like environment below and the impressive array of foes around you, the game is intense and engaging.

But there are some annoying distractions, like the fact that even the smallest fighter jets are somehow capable of carrying over 100 Air-To-Air missiles, in addition to cannon rounds and possibly Air-To-Ground armaments. The missiles, too, are far too capable of tracking a target - a certain adjustment no doubt made by the developers to up the fun.

At what cost, though? Credibility. Believability. Tom Clancy's games are supposed to be different because of their credibility and attention to detail. By dumbing down the game, so to speak, it is hurting the Clancy brand name.

So why a 4/5 rating, even with all of these negative aspects? Because, admittedly, any flying game is going to have its loopholes and shortcomings. It's the nature of the beast. While it would be nice to see Tom Clancy's gang go above and beyond, the game is nevertheless engaging and thrilling. The plot is tame, but the graphics and the rush the player feels while pushing the plane to the edge are very satisfying. Online gaming is just as intense, and the way the game is set up, you can easily pass hours upon hours and not even realize how long it's really been.

All in all, a fun game and worthwhile purchase, but don't expect the military precision that we have all come to expect from Tom Clancy.

HAWX is a solid game.
The campaign can be played on varying difficulty levels, with a single player, or with your friends in cooperative mode. While it's a bit short, it provides enough practice to improve your skills to the point that you are ready to fly online.

The multi-player Team Death Match mode provides unlimited hours of aerial battles with your choice from one of 67 aircraft, available to be unlocked through game play.

In addition to the 51 PSN trophies, there are many in-game achievements which give you added experience for your rank advancement.

The game is good, and I enjoy playing it very much. I think the developers could have made it excellent by adding a few things to it since this mainly lacks just some minor details. Overall, I still recommend this game to anyone who enjoys fighter jets and arcade-style play, and it serves well to fill that void in the game library for this type of title.

This game is very good, maybe not for 59.99 but you can get a great deal in here(ebay) the game is worth having. You are an Air Force Pilot in the game which I loved.On a curious note everything in the game is about Airforce, the thophies the ranks the character profile, everything!!(note that you can only complete the first mession as an airforce pilot) But in the game booklet the last introductory paragraph they writed US NAVY PILOT instead of US Air Force PIOT!!!! What happened There UBISOFT!!! Besides that the game is well done...