Tom Clancy's HAWX 2: First Look
By
Giancarlo Varanini, Senior Editor
Take to the skies once again in this follow-up to Ubisoft's aerial combat game.
Fans of the original Tom Clancy's HAWX will be happy to know that much of what made the original game entertaining--fast-paced aerial combat--is still on display in HAWX 2, but the development team has made a number of improvements to deliver a more fleshed-out flying experience. We get the first taste of this in the first mission in the game, where we learn that the world is once again in the throes of political instability and nuclear weapons are missing from a Russian facility. The mission starts with a fully controllable F-16 takeoff sequence at a remote air base in the desert, and while you're heading toward the runway, you'll see little details that show how the base isn't just a static object. It's fully functional and mobilizing for the task at hand.
Once you're in the sky, you fly over your first destination--in this case, a small village--to make sure that it's secure. Once that's done, you move on to a convoy and inspect it for similar reasons. This is all pretty simple, of course, but these quick jaunts are seemingly there to help you get accustomed to the way the game controls. However, things start to pick up when you come across another unidentified convoy and discover that it's hostile when an RPG zips out of one of the trucks, taking down one of the helicopters that also came to inspect the convoy. At this point, we learn about the two different attack methods. Obviously, you have access to guns on the aircraft, but there are also precision bombs and rockets. Precision bombs are excellent for when you need to hit specific ground targets while minimizing the collateral damage, whereas rockets are a good all-purpose weapon when the situation calls for mass destruction. As the mission continues, we learn that the air base is under attack from a remote missile strike, and just as you're about to make your way back, one of these missiles clips your jet and sends it careening toward the ground.
We then fast-forward to later in the game--this time a nighttime seek-and-destroy mission where you take off (once again, a manual takeoff) from a carrier in an F-35 stealth fighter and fly over a region of an African country. Since this is a nighttime mission, you can switch to night vision to get a better look at the targets, which happen to be some tankers floating off the coast. The trick here is that some of these tankers are friendly while some of them are hostile, but you'll know which are OK to fire on once you get them in your sites and assess the situation. When you decide that one of the tankers is an enemy, you can fire a precision bomb and take it out with ease, but once you take out the first target, antiair fire starts streaming from the coastline. There's nice subtle detail here--since the country you're flying over doesn't necessarily have the best defenses, particularly against stealth aircraft, the antiair fire tends to spring up in random directions. So while this antiair fire won't necessarily fly directly at you, it's still wise to pay close attention so that you don't inadvertently turn into one of the streams.
We didn't get to see the ending for this particular mission (though we're told that HAWX 2 will also feature manual landing on aircraft carriers), but we did get to see some dogfighting action. The development team behind HAWX 2 stated that it wants dogfighting to be a more visceral experience. The result of this seems to be that jets will be flying pretty close to each other when they're engaged--we saw plenty of jets using their flares to thwart missile attacks and perform a variety of maneuvers to evade enemy fire. Additionally, when other jets are controlled by the AI, they will often turn to face you in a game of chicken as a means of replicating human behavior in multiplayer situations. On top of that, the picture-in-picture feature will generally make it easier to track enemy jets, because you'll get a closer look at their maneuvers and get a better idea of how to engage them.
It's worth mentioning that in full-on multiplayer, you can select from a variety of aircraft, all of which have different attributes. Also of note: You can play the entire single-player campaign cooperatively over the various online services for each platform (or through system link on the Xbox 360). We'll have more on HAWX 2, including more info on the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles that let you spy on enemy targets) missions, before its release this fall on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.
By
Giancarlo Varanini, Senior Editor
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139 comments
I hope they improve the flight physics, as the physics for the 1st game were downright appalling. Most people may not have noticed, but for hard core flight sim guys like me, it stuck out like a sore thumb. Quick example. Lets say your afterburners are going, full throttle. Your top speed is identical whether you're climbing or diving. Also, your acceleration rate is identical, whether you're climbing or diving. In other words, gravity has absolutely no impact on the way your plane handles. Absolutely no excuse for something like that. That said,I really enjoyed HAWX 1. I just hope they make the flight mechanics realistic this time.
im pre-ordering this :). i hope it will be as good or better than the first HAWX rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's great to play as three characters in the campaign. As well I hope there's better upgrades for the planes.
@F-14-D_TOMCAT - no...players of TOP GUN for NES have the most difficult job on the planet landing that thing...jk
@Anarchist-TKC-1 I totally agree. The DRM is definitely a deal breaker. If I wanted to be punished while giving away my hard earned cash... well, there are people that provide that kind of service.
I think they're onto something with this one. HAWX is not a clone of Ace Combat 6, nor was it ever designed to be. The concepts are entirely different. HAWX has a plausible story, per the usual with Clancy games, whereas AC6 has some crazy story about dancing with angels, I didn't quite follow it. I like HAWX b/c it focuses more on the action. Online it can get pretty intense, at least until people start spamming the aspects. Adding takeoffs/landings and aerial refueling is going to add a new layer of depth to an already great game. I love the fact that so many of the Clancy games are tied together like its their own little universe. If you want to compare it to AC6, so be it, but there's no logical way to do it. HAWX is plausible, launching 16 missiles from launchers that rise up out of the aircraft (we're not even going to get into the reasons why AC6 planes would crash instantly) while vaugely alluding to a war you're supposed to be in the middle of while thinking about dancing with angels, sadly, is not.
Ubi is such a pathetic company splinter cell=clone of metal gear solid HAWX=clone of Ace combat the more pathetic is,non of these above is better than the original ones now ghost recon=the clone of HALO+GOW?? what next they will clone??Rainbow six=clone of call of duty?
Manual takeoffs? Manual landing? Awesome, someone heard my prayers! It's such a pleasure (and a thrill) to bring your aircraft back home safely after a mission.
@GamerLegend10 o ok well you are right. lol i guess i just learned something new thanks :)...
@ kevingarnerry i know, i was just pointing out that both games are called AC, and so was joking about an assassins creed 7, i wasn't being serious.
@GamerLegend10 no not assasins creed 7 i am talking about namco bandai's ACE COMBAT 7 which we want for the PS3 since ace 6 was made for x-360 and non for PS3...
The manual take-offs and landings will be cool, especially the aircraft carrier landings. It will be awesome to finish a mission on my favorite jet fighter the F-14 D Tomcat and then have to deal with the daunting prospect of trying to nail a night trap(landing) on an aicraft carrier's pitching deck. That is why navy pilots are said to have the most difficult and dangerous flying job on the planet.
First one was nice looking, but didn't have much appeal to it. Now if this 2nd one is released with an annoying DRM, I'm definitely not getting it. I will await a demo.
cant wait to take of in this game if the first ones anything to go by then this is gonna be awsome
lets hope the PC version gets all the updates the consoles get. as apposed to the first game where the PC didn't get the updates...
Play Lock On 2:Flaming Cliffs But an arcade its also fun this game is good wort your dollar
Its sad this is the only alternative I have to go to from the old Ace Combat games. Still erks me to this day that AC6 did not come out for PS3.
i really wish i was in the Gamespot reviewers team.... There is too much gaming in my Blood system...:D
Looks great! Too bad it's Ubisoft. Due to DRM I have a boycott going on with them. On to the next game.
Sounds cool. I will definatly get it for sure. I liked the first one. I hope they fixed the issues that plagued the first one. The ground looked pretty from high up but it was pixelated at low altitudes and the F-15E was just a reskinned F-15C. The only flight series that I like more than Hawx is Ace Combat. Still Hoping they make an Ace Combat 7.
I would like to see an updated -realy updated- version of Red Baron. Now THAT would be a great game.
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Game Info
- Release Date: Sep 7, 2010 (US)
- ESRB: TTitles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older.
- Release Date: Nov 22, 2010 (US)
- ESRB: TTitles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older.
- Release Date: Nov 9, 2010 (US)
- ESRB: TTitles rated T (Teen) have content that may be suitable for ages 13 and older.
Tom Clancy's HAWX 2 Navigation
