Tom Clancy's HAWX Review

By Richard Leadbetter Published 5 March, 2009

Winging it.

Version tested: Xbox 360

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.

Chase me, chase me!

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.

Pew! Pew!

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.

On Xbox 360 (the version reviewed), overall impressions of the graphics remain highly favourable throughout, especially in light of Ubisoft's attempts to run the game at a full-on 60fps with anti-aliasing set to the max. There's sporadic jerkiness (especially evident with the thankfully-not-used-much cockpit view) but the overall impression is that it looks smooth and the control response is crisp and effective.

You can expect a comparison with the PS3 version in the next Eurogamer Face-Off. But based on what we've played of the demo (check out the tech analysis over on the Digital Foundry blog), initial impressions are that it's another decent conversion from Ubisoft: better than 360 in some places, worse in others.

Online options include a drop-in, drop-out co-op mode that sees the single-player campaign mission segue into quad-gamer mayhem - something I enjoyed it a great deal. There's a real sense that you and your wingmen are up against impossible odds. While a co-ordinated strategy reaps obvious dividends, going your own way Maverick-style remains a viable option; not a bad thing when so many online games see you teamed up with a bunch of non-communicative strangers.

While this doesn't make for an experience with a massive amount of depth, there's a real sense you're taking part in a larger-scale conflict. Supplementing this is the 16-player Deathmatch mode: fun as far as it goes (especially with the mode-specific support weaponry) but an option with limited longevity.

The good thing about the online options as they stand is that any kill in any mode counts towards your XP total. As in Call of Duty 4, the more points you have, the more prizes you have access to: in this case, bonus planes to fly and more weapon payload configurations. There are 40 levels to attain, and a run-through of the single-player game in normal mode got me up to level 20.

'Tom Clancy's HAWX' Screenshot 1

Although online is very entertaining, you can't help but feel that it could've offered so much more. The player vs. player options are limited (although at least one more gameplay variation is coming via DLC along with bonus plane packs), and a full-on HAWX vs Artemis spin on the campaign mode is sorely missing.

The more you play HAWX - whether online, or in single-player - the more you get the sense that although it has the nucleus of something special, there is a huge amount of potential yet to be realised. First up is the vast array of planes and weapons selections on offer. All good, and satisfying to unlock, but the default plane and payload options are always more than enough to take down the threat of each campaign.

There's no sense of there being much of a tangible advantage in gaining all this extra stuff. This is a shame because it's the key to the game's longevity - the single-player campaign is over quickly (around 8-10 hours in normal mode) and it should be the lure of further unlockables that brings you back.

'Tom Clancy's HAWX' Screenshot 2

The planes themselves are also much of a muchness, exhibiting little in the way of unique features. I'd expect the F-117 stealth fighter to handle like a dog, but it doesn't. I'd also expect it to be somewhat immune to radar, but it isn't. Any and all of the stealth fighters in the game seem to act very similarly to the more standard aircraft. Bearing in mind the decades of technological advances in the various aircraft HAWX offers, this is a surprise and a disappointment. The Clancy franchise should be synonymous with tactical depth and intelligent gaming, but here the gameplay feels homogenised and dumbed down.

Take HAWX for what it is, not what you want it to be or what it could have been, and you have a game that's certainly enjoyable to play, especially online. Ace Combat fans will love it, so it's a good job this title is compatible with the Namco game's bespoke flight sticks.

But in essence, HAWX is a victim of the high standards set by the other titles in the Clancy franchise. Games such as EndWar and Ghost Recon manage to strike a balance between being fun to play, while offering real challenge and depth of gameplay. This game doesn't, and as a result it's hard to recommend it as a must-buy.

6 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Richard.

About Richard Leadbetter

Rich has been a games journalist since the days of 16-bit and specialises in technical analysis. Commonly known around Eurogamer as the Blacksmith of the Future.

Read more articles from Richard by visiting the Richard Leadbetter archive page.

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Comments (73) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Law07 #1 3 years ago

    lol

  • aphexstwin #2 3 years ago

    you twat. i was gunna be first but had to log in!

    2nded!!!

  • Quint2020 #3 3 years ago

    I called it.

  • rarebit #4 3 years ago

    is the expression 'meh'? yes...yes... i think it is.

  • Genji #5 3 years ago

    I somehow read the title as "Tony HAWX something or other".

    Looked at the pictures, and thought "shit, this doesn't have anything to do with skating anymore"

  • aphexstwin #6 3 years ago

    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

  • RexRunti #7 3 years ago

    Come back Freespace 2, all is forgiven.

  • Physically_Insane #8 3 years ago

    Aw, I really wanted to buy this. Oh well...

  • Dr_Wadd #9 3 years ago

    I've tried the demo of this, and the third-person viewpoint when you go into assistance off mode pretty much kills any chance there would have been of me buying this. I found it totally detracts from the concept of it being a flight combat game.

  • SEVQA #10 3 years ago

    I was in two minds about this - now my mind is made up!

    No purchase!

  • porkman #11 3 years ago

    Played the demo and with all Jet fighter type games you end up firing at dots. WW2 and WW1 are much better for flight games.

  • bonker #12 3 years ago

    I can't help but pre-emptively facepalm any "Tom Clancy"" stuff these days - not the best franchise in the world this I fear ... (Unless it's just me!)

  • Ceatlan #13 3 years ago

    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.

  • steoc4 #14 3 years ago

    I actually had a lot of fun with the demo. There are better games out there but this is something I'll want to pick up when the price drops in future.

  • seasidebaz #15 3 years ago

    Boo!

  • OllyJ #16 3 years ago

    I would like to get this but yeah that assistance camera made it hard for me to control....

  • PearOfAnguish #17 3 years ago

    "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.

  • asphaltcowboy #18 3 years ago

    I quite enjoyed the demo. Review seemed so positive right up until the score :/

  • Anthony_UK #19 3 years ago

    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.

  • seasidebaz #20 3 years ago

    @Crofto:

    My reckoning is they'll score Beyond Good & Evil 2 marks above what it should get. Then balance will be restored :D

  • UncleLou #21 3 years ago

    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 by 2 at 05/03/09 @ 14:51

  • thelatestmodel #22 3 years ago

    "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.

  • VicViper #23 3 years ago

    @seasidebaz

    BG&E2 will get the marks it deserves, I hope, if the can make it equal or better than the original then happy days.

    Well doesn't look I'll be abandoning ace combat series in my top Arcade Dog fighter games.

  • Widge #24 3 years ago

    I don't like middle ground games, make my flying games like Afterburner!

  • marilena #25 3 years ago

    "My reckoning is they'll score Beyond Good & Evil 2 marks above what it should get. Then balance will be restored :D"

    So, BG&E 2 will get a 12/10? That would be something!

  • UltimateWarrior #26 3 years ago

    Really like this review. I like the way videos explaining certain points are included within the text. More of this please Eurogamer.

  • Artemis_Matsas #27 3 years ago

    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.

  • OllyJ #28 3 years ago

    @Uncle lou

    Because you can't do the fancy tricks in normal view, I don't understand why I should ever be taken out of the cockpit view...???

    WHY?

  • UncleLou #29 3 years ago

    Did you really feel in any way limited in the cockpit perspective?

    You can essentially do the same trick. Brake, turn the plane around. Where's the problem?

  • kinky_mong #30 3 years ago

    @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.

  • rauper Verified Managing Director, Eurogamer Network #31 3 years ago

    artemis: We posted the review as soon as we could, but we didn't get code until later than usual - nothing sinister going on regarding timing from our perspective.

  • galerian86 #32 3 years ago

    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!

  • UncleLou #33 3 years ago

    "It prompted me to read your bio on your profile and after the laughter had subsided I formed the impression"

    Heh, excellent. Cheers for pointing that out. :D

  • Katsumoto #34 3 years ago

    Lol yeah i've read that profile before too, I was almost in tears. Classic stuff.

  • MyPointIs #35 3 years ago

    You can count another one who was completely baffled by the anyoing 3rd person pseudo 2D camera the demo IMPOSED on you to play. It does NOT work.

  • UncleLou #36 3 years ago

    Imposed in the tutorial.

  • Chtulie #37 3 years ago

    No love for 'Secret Weapons over Normandy' in the intro?

  • autogunner #38 3 years ago

    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.

  • Ceatlan #39 3 years ago

    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 by 2 at 05/03/09 @ 15:50

  • UncleLou #40 3 years ago

    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 by 1 at 05/03/09 @ 15:54

  • RedSparrows #41 3 years ago

    Kinky, ta for pointing out Crofto's profile, it's always fun to read something so un-self-aware. :D

  • Dr_Wadd #42 3 years ago

    @ UncleLou, I didn`t get around to playing the mission proper and see there if I could avoid the third-person camera, so thanks for the heads-up, I shall give it another go, although if it does change my mind I`m not sure my bank manager will thank you ;)

  • Ceatlan #43 3 years ago

    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 by 2 at 05/03/09 @ 16:04

  • PearOfAnguish #44 3 years ago

    Oh no, please tell me that Crofto bio is a joke.

  • UncleLou #45 3 years ago

    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. :)

  • marilena #46 3 years ago

    Heh, Lou, you seem to have convinced one bunch of people, now you only have 13758 Internet forums to go!

    Good luck with that :p.

  • bad09 #47 3 years ago

    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......

  • Anthony_UK #48 3 years ago

    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 by 2 at 05/03/09 @ 16:50

  • UncleLou #49 3 years ago

    The unassisted 3rd person view is alot more easier to use set to normal rather than advanced. Set to normal for example, pressing pressing the stick left, will simply make you plane turn left rather than barrel roll on itself.

    That depends - personally, the simplified controls drove me mad, but I had no trouble with the expert ones. Much easier for me if the controls in the cockpit and from the external cam view are the same. I ended up flying down instead of to the left becasue I kept doing a roll to the left and then pulled the stick down to make the turn.

  • Spekingur #50 3 years ago

    I liked the demo well enough, I might pick it up later this year.

    Still waiting on my Sturmovik though.

  • superjag86 #51 3 years ago

    I had a lot of fun with the demo and nothing in this review hasl put me off picking it up in the future. At the moment I have too many great games to get through!

  • Kraftwurm #52 3 years ago

    Extremely won't buy this. Hated the demo. So not fun to play!

  • gaselite #53 3 years ago

    "master storyteller Tom Clancy"

    Videogame journalism. That it's come to this.

  • Scimarad #54 3 years ago

    You lost me at "Master Storyteller Tom Clancy"...

  • shotgun44 #55 3 years ago

    Crofto, your profile is comedy gold! I found the demo pretty fun... I especially liked firing locked missles after a stall and then evenng up and flying off. Looked preeeety!

  • Chufty #56 3 years ago

    Trust Mr Leadbetter to get sidetracked from reviewing the game to talk about the anti aliasing.

  • septimus #57 3 years ago

    Delayed purchase, thank god, my wallet has been straining with so many releases these past few months.

  • Miths #58 3 years ago

    I just died on the second mission - on the lowest difficulty. As if that wasn't embarrassing enough it happened when I nose dived straight into the ground while I was trying to blow up an otherwise pretty harmless tank :p.
    Aside from my incompetence it's looking like it might be a pretty decent game. I really enjoyed Ace Combat 6 (aside from the horrible dialogue and storyline), and so far this has a very similar feel to it.

  • Artemis_Matsas #59 3 years ago

    @rauper
    I really don't mean to be a prick, but i'm starting to see some patterns to the timing of the release of some reviews. I hope that i'm being paranoid here.

  • beastmaster #60 3 years ago

    You know what to do next? Make a game called Firefox and have it thought controlled.

  • NegativeZero #61 3 years ago

    I don't think Ace Combat fans will love it. I think they'll play it, but they'll quickly see it for what it is: a competent but ultimately nowhere near as good knockoff.

    At least it's better than Heatseeker.

  • IneptPercy #62 3 years ago

    The end of the day I am not expecting another ace combat, but there isn't enough decent flying games so this is welcome to me, just waiting for the PC version.

  • metalangel #63 3 years ago

    Forcing you towards an external view + no landings = fail. Ace Combat was great: good cockpit views, decent enough aircraft selection (apart from only one Russian plane), and doing a frontline landing to rearm in the middle of a battle was incredibly exciting... some of the approaches I made to avoid getting smoked were ridiculous.

  • michaelius #64 3 years ago

    I tried demo - view from cockpit - cool, view from outside - meh , not interested in this game
    Edited by 1 at 06/03/09 @ 16:17

  • jordiniho #65 3 years ago

    lol i thought the game was crap, fair review

  • Miths #66 3 years ago

    "Forcing you towards an external view"

    Choose expert controls and you can pull of the same maneuvers in first person/cockpit view as you can in the odd, external "assistance off" view. Or so the rumor goes anyway - I forgot to give it a try on the two missions I played earlier today (I'm through to first eight in total), but I will later.
    So far I'm enjoying the game and I find it very similar to AC6 in terms of controls, target selection/cycling, multi-target air-to-air missiles etc. I can't really say anything about differences in difficulty level, because I'm a wuss so I'm playing it through on the easiest level first :).
    Edited by 1 at 07/03/09 @ 12:27

  • Bluetooth #67 3 years ago

    Tom Clancy's Ace Combat.

  • Bitkari #68 3 years ago

    The Clancy franchise should be synonymous with tactical depth and intelligent gaming, but here the gameplay feels homogenised and dumbed down.

    That's really the whole Clancy franchise now, sadly. In an effort to create a broad appeal for these games, they're losing what made them so exciting in the first place.

    I was really hoping that this would be a bit of a spiritual successor to Strike Commander (perhaps with a dash of Clancy-esque conspiracy terrorism nonsense), but it seems to be more like a super-shiny Afterburner than anything else...

  • lmephisto #69 3 years ago

    Huge selection of planes i am satisfied :p Very nice feeling when you fly as well but i cannot feel the boost of mach 2... :p
    One problem only...it feels that blazing angels swoww2 and tom clancy's hawx have something similar..THE BLOODY MISIION WITH THE EMP!!!!!!! was it really necesarry????????????????????????????

  • viper_h #70 3 years ago

    This is a stupid review. I liked this game. The score's all wrong! Waaaa!

    Seriously, I'm quite enjoying this. One of my most played 360 games.

  • slave23d #71 3 years ago

    aww crap. was looking forward to this after the taster in the demo

  • smurphs #72 3 years ago

    I really enjoyed the demo. Why oh why can't we have a proper flight sim on the 360 though?? Surely there's enough of us boring oldies to make it worthwhile....

  • t8yman #73 3 years ago

    Well I love it, admittedly I havent finished it yet (up to about M13) but I am thoroughly enjoying it.