Tom Clancy's HAWX Related content
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PreviousTom Clancy's HAWX Review
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Everyone has a guilty gaming secret and mine is this: I like Blazing Angels. Ace Combat might get the plaudits, but Ubisoft's World War II games captured the essence of close-quarters dogfighting - as opposed to locking on to a target kilometres away and dispatching it with a solitary button press.
With that in mind, I was looking forward to Tom Clancy's HAWX. Ubisoft Romania (responsible for Blazing Angels) is the studio behind the game, and the recent playable demo showed major technical leaps and bounds had been made. HAWX looks lovely, feels good and plays well online. The best of Ace Combat combined with the close-quarters gameplay of Blazing Angels? Yes please.
Adding to the allure is the guiding presence of master storyteller Tom Clancy - or rather those in control of his megabucks franchise. The game features a decent enough, if rather implausible plot, set between the events of Ghost Recon 2 and EndWar (both of which have a small influence on the HAWX storyline).
You play the part of David Crenshaw, ace US fighter pilot. Swayed by the six-figure salary offered by Artemis Global Security, you swiftly discover that life as Top Gun for hire isn't all it's cracked up to be. After defending Rio from invasion, it becomes apparent that Artemis has megalomaniacal aspirations that could bring down the US Government. Crenshaw and his wingmen dutifully switch sides, using their prodigious combat skills to foil Artemis and return balance to the (Air) Force.
In essence, HAWX offers a 19-level campaign, with flight sim trappings sufficiently tamed for the less technically adept console audience. Ace Combat with knobs on, if you will, as this gameplay video
reveals.
There are two key innovations designed to set this game apart from Ace Combat, while at the same time making it more appealing to a wider audience. First up is the Enhanced Reality System (ERS). It's HAWX's equivalent to the death-defying magical prowess of Elika in Prince of Persia.
If you're having trouble locking onto a troublesome fighter, one press of the ERS button will make the computer plot a route guaranteed to get you behind your opponent. Fly through the gates Pilotwings-style and you're perfectly lined up for a zero-skill missile kill.
If rockets are heading for your plane's posterior, ERS will guide you to safety. Check out its magic in this montage of clips over on EGTV. You'll see that ERS is sometimes used by default to guide you towards hard to reach targets. This isn't so bad, but in terms of the basic gameplay, you can't help feeling it's more like a cheat button and should thus be avoided - unless you're really having issues getting by without it.
The second innovation is an evolution of HAWX's Blazing Angels dogfighting DNA. Double-tapping either trigger turns off the multitude of computer aids that stop you flying like an idiot and crashing the plane into the ground. With 'Assistance Off' in effect, a third-person exterior view kicks in and you're able to pull off steeper turns and more extreme throttle control. It gives you an edge against tougher opponents, but you're in danger of stalling at any given moment.
Blazing Angels' dogfighting used a similar approach but arguably did it better, by focusing the camera on your opponent and letting you guide your plane towards the target. HAWX doesn't do that, making you feel oddly detached from the plane you're flying. The lack of a target-centric viewpoint also makes it more difficult to get a lock-on. On the plus side, you do get some lovely views of the scenery, as you can see in this Assistance Off video we've prepared for you here.
Speaking of the visuals, there's no denying this is a beautiful-looking game... From a high-up perspective, anyway. Ubisoft Romania has taken base satellite imagery and extended it into the third dimension with varying levels of success. From a couple of thousand feet up, everything looks superb, but fly close to the ground and the flat satellite scans look very rough - particularly in the night-time Los Angeles level, where the static lighting really lets the side down.
Buildings are realised in 3D, but with varying degrees of success. For example, the Chicago cityscape looks like what it is - a series of flat ground textures with boxy skyscrapers overlaid on top. The likes of Tokyo and Rio are much more convincing: better-lit, expertly modelled, and a joy to behold. For the most part, the gameplay keeps you up on high, maintaining the illusion. But when you're skimming tree-tops to avoid SAMs, you can't help but notice the lower resolution visuals.
Are you excited about Tom Clancy's HAWX on PC/PlayStation 3/Xbox 360?
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Related Games
Tom Clancy's HAWX
Latest News
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PSN update: demos, DLC, more demos [36]
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HAWX European Assault DLC tomorrow [9]
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Hawx for PC delayed by one week [4]
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Ubisoft confirms HAWX demo dates [27]
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I Am Alive due by end of March - Ubisoft [26]
Latest Screenshots
10 February, 2009 [1]
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aphexstwin
05/03/09 @ 14:03
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not as good as ace combat for me. the sat scans werent all that good and its another tom clancy scifi shooter with wings. all the clancy games are getting scifi these days tbh
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I agree Dr_Wadd, in the demo I found the distant 3rd person point of view complete useless. All of sudded instead of playing 3D combat flight game I was playing an old school 2D shooter similar to time pilots, except with a pseudo depth which you had no real perception of because of the distance you were away. It completely ruined what had started out feeling like a great flight combat game.
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PearOfAnguish
05/03/09 @ 14:29
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"Adding to the allure is the guiding presence of master storyteller Tom Clancy"
Tom Clancy's involvement with this game started when he received the royalty cheque and ended the day he cashed it in at the bank. |
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asphaltcowboy
05/03/09 @ 14:32
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I quite enjoyed the demo. Review seemed so positive right up until the score :/
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Anthony_UK
05/03/09 @ 14:32
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Hmmm is it better than Ace Combat then?
Also is the 6/10 partly because it's not Ghost Recon in the air? For me the Tom Clancy name used to mean you knew were getting a semi realistic war game of some shape or form, so sticking the same badge on a very arcadey flight sim doesn't sit well with me as enjoyable as it was...... But at the same time, I'd like to think the game wasn't marked down because of that reason. |
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*Copy and pastes post from the Bikini Squad comments*
What, no 10/10? WTF --- Ubi-Soft will be angry at you people... maybe that explains why the 404-Not Found message is displaying in the usual advertisement spots for me? ;oP I know I know... you'll make up for it by overrating some shitty Ubi-Soft tagged title in the future... I get it. |
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seasidebaz
05/03/09 @ 14:37
+1
@Crofto:
My reckoning is they'll score Beyond Good & Evil 2 marks above what it should get. Then balance will be restored :D |
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I liked the external cameral once I used the much better "expert" controls.
I don't see how you'd let that mode put you off buying this even if you don't like it though, it's not like you need to use it (except in the tutorial) - provided you like the game from the cockpit/behind plane perspective, of course. For me, it's a buy. It's essentially Ace Combat (which I love) with a more sterile presentation, but a nice etxra mode for pretty airplane ballet.
Edited 2 times,
most recently on 05/03/09 @ 14:51
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thelatestmodel
05/03/09 @ 14:45
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"Adding to the allure is the guiding presence of master storyteller Tom Clancy"
Tom Clancy's involvement with this game started when he received the royalty cheque and ended the day he cashed it in at the bank." This. Really disappointed with the demo and won't be buying it. I'm a flight sim fan, but I do like arcade flying games as well. This just isn't a good game. |
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UltimateWarrior
05/03/09 @ 15:05
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Really like this review. I like the way videos explaining certain points are included within the text. More of this please Eurogamer.
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Artemis_Matsas
05/03/09 @ 15:06
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Ok, so it's official: If a game does not attract a positive review from a given site, then the review gets postponed until the official release.
brilliant strategy. |
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kinky_mong
05/03/09 @ 15:15
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@Crofto: That's three comments section in a row I've read where you've made some "chip on your shoulder" comment about Eurogamer's review scores. It prompted me to read your bio on your profile and after the laughter had subsided I formed the impression that you are quite a pathetic individual.
Good day. |
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galerian86
05/03/09 @ 15:16
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I don't think HAWX is a flight sim. More like going for arcade flight game. You don't have to worry about ammo that much, and pulling off stunts is a breeze. From the demo that I played, it is decent!
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autogunner
05/03/09 @ 15:47
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i loved the demo but could not complete the TUTORIAL as the bots that tailed you were so hard i spend most of the time dodging missiles.
I think the ERS and assistance off modes work to an extent, although ERS is a bit of a winbutton. |
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UncleLou,
So they lost a sale because the demo screwed my opinion. Why should I bother any further, its not like I normally buy games where I disliked the demo. The tutorial definitely gave me the opinion that it was a major part of the game, and I stopped playing almost as soon as that part started. Its not my job to try to like games, its the demo and tutorials part to sell the game to me. I have more than enough things to do with my spare time to not waste it further on things that are trying there hardest to put me off. Maybe I'll give it a second chance based on your comments here, but maybe not. It might be an example of a bad demo spoiling a potentially good game.
Edited 2 times,
most recently on 05/03/09 @ 15:50
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I really don't care if you buy it or not. I was just pointing out a factual error in your post.
I simply don't get why people complain about a voluntary feature they don't need to use (which is pretty obvious if you play the "real" mission instead of just the tutorial). By all means, don't play the game because it is too arcadey or whatever, but stop it with the "the external camera ruined it" posts.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 05/03/09 @ 15:54
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RedSparrows
05/03/09 @ 15:54
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Kinky, ta for pointing out Crofto's profile, it's always fun to read something so un-self-aware. :D
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farticusmaximus
05/03/09 @ 16:00
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@UncleLou
In fairness, it's not made clear that the external view is not mandatory during the game. I switched off after a few minutes of being in external view but would have carried on if I had known. In fact I'll go back and give it another shot tonight armed with that knowledge. |
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UncleLou,
Sorry I was not trying to be inflammatory or even agressive in my post. I was just trying to point out how dangerous a demo/tutorial can be. I didn't even try the real mission because after I encountered the distant 3rd person part of the tutorial I was just so astounded that anyone thought something like that could be a good idea in a flight combat game, especially as to me it seemed like the tutorial was making a big thing out of how cool it was and how important it was to the game. I pretty much stopped right away after that. Now if it is really not a big part of the game and you don't actually have to resort to using it at all, I may give the demo another go, but it definitely shows how dangerous demos can be.
Edited 2 times,
most recently on 05/03/09 @ 16:04
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Don't worry, you didn't really sound aggressive. I am afraid I do, sorry about that, but I have an extremely annoying bellyache today which I can put the blame on!
But really, try the "normal" mission - you can easily finish it without ever using the assistance off mode. Though as I said earlier, if you haven't, try the assistance off mode with the "expert" controls as well. They're the same then as in the cockpit, as instead of being simplifiedm but different, which just ended up confusing me. Whether you're liking them or not (I do, because it really looks extra-ordinarily pretty), I think a developer that obviously has put some thought into a new feature, and has made it non-mandatory no less, deserves some credit rather than so many "it's ruined" comments. Not just here but also in the forum, and on RPS, so having to repeat for the 10th time today that you don't need to use them made me a bit grumpy. :) |
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I thought the demo was fun, I really liked the 3rd person view, along with the missile cam it made some great scenes!
Might pick this up, especially now I know a flight stick is out next week to! I haven't used one since that old PS1 dual stick monster! / puts on flight jacket and shades listens to take my breath away...... |
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Anthony_UK
05/03/09 @ 16:43
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The unassisted 3rd person view is alot more easier to use set to normal rather than advanced. Set to normal, pressing the stick left, will simply make you plane turn left rather than barreling roll on itself.
I found it strange at first untill attacked a tank in the middle of some buildings, heading directly up at the sky over the target, then switching to unassisted mode, pulling back on the stick and braking (making the plane stall and flip over on itself almost stopping in mid air) then switching to assist on, firing up the engines and unleashing a couple of missiles at the tank now directly below me. /damn just sold it to myself /hates posting on my iPhone (mercy grammar police)
Edited 2 times,
most recently on 05/03/09 @ 16:50
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