Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. (PC) > Reviews (2)

Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X is Like some bizarre ritual every time something remotely to fighter jets is uttered the first thought that comes to mind is of the wild aerial manoeuvres pulled off by certain top-gun pilots on the silver screen in the early 90s. Perhaps the concept behind ubisoft’s newest venture Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X (high altitude warfare experimental squadron) was to allow the mavericks inside us to finally execute those outrageous stunts in the comfort of our homes.
Storyline:-
The first thing the player will notice about H.A.W.X is that contrary to popular belief this game is definitely not a flight simulator. Set in the Tom Clancy universe the game weaves a story in the near-future with elements borrowed from other Tom Clancy games such as End War and Ghost Recon. You play as a US elite squadron fighter pilot who is recruited by a private military company (PMC) called Artemis Global Security. Due to your outstanding accomplishments on the filed Artemis manages to become one of the world’s strongest PMCs in just a few years. During one routine assignment in Brazil where you provide support to the US forces you receive orders to turn your guns on your allies dye to a change in business interests. Deciding that your loyalties lie with your country rather than your employer you re-join the US forces and are assigned to the elite squadron H.A.W.X to battle Artemis over your country and bring back peace to the world.
Game play:-
The gameplay mechanics make a great effort to turn away from the same old simulation romp and deliver more of an action –packed angle onto the flight genre. You will be soaring through the skies pulling off outrageous manoeuvres and trying to best your enemies in a game of aerial domination with out worrying about trivial aerial domination with out trivial aircraft details such as fuel and ammo. Flying alongside you are two of your trusty wingmen whom you can issue orders to either attack a designated target or cover your six. You wingmen work much better against ground targets than targets in the air. The game also brings forth two innovative concepts. The first of these is the Emergency Response System (ERS). When activated the ERS creates a series of gates in front of your jet which you must fly through in order to either intercept your target or to evade a pursuing missile. Some players might be put off by this system since missiles aren’t that hard to dodge and the ultra-smart ERS will always put directly behind your enemies there by making the game really easy. Fortunately you can choose to completely ignore this feature in favour of a more challenging game. The second feature unique to the game is Assistance OFF. With the press of a button your aircraft’s computer is switched off and the camera pans away from the cockpit giving you more control over your plane’s action. Using the Assistance OFF feature you‘ll be able to fly like a true maverick pulling drifts in mid-air and engaging targets with increased manoeuvrability.

Those who use Assistance OFF can simply in mid-air. This system is much more enjoyable and creates the scene for a dramatic battle that truly shows off the game’s caliber.
Graphics and effects:-
The game’s graphics fare pretty well. The environments are intricately modeled using the GeoEye satellite technology and you’ll be able to view major landmarks of the cities that you fly over. However one might feel that the visuals leave much to be desired. The jet looks the same on the outside through out the flight no matter how much damage occurs, and since one is flying thousands of feet above the ground it is hard to judge whether the ground targets really do look as good as when one file close to them. Character modeling from the cut-scenes is pretty horrendous apparent in game sound remains satisfactory how ever Rockets guns afterburner and the like all sound well and are pretty much harmonious with the on-screen action and the sound track superimposes the tension built during dizzying battles at Mach 2 speed. Player also have the option to issue voice commands for various in – game functions but because of recognition issues this feature shouldn’t be banked on in noisy environments. The games multiplayer is engaging as well with campaign missions having the option to be played in co-op mode. This certainly accounts for better wingman support from live players as the artificial intelligence (Al) is just barely passable.
Verdict:-
Ultimately H.A.W.X is a title that dose its best to break away from the run-of-the-mill flight simulators and their clichéd dog fights. Even though the characters are not at all inspiring the story is interesting enough to draw in the player. Bringing with it an incredible story line and the futuristic touch we have come to expect from a Tom Clancy game H.A.W.X is guaranteed to bring you hours of enjoyment and all the top-gun action youcould expect from a flight game. This is one of those game even lceman would be pround of….