This game's few missteps are easily overshadowed by the through-the-roof fun factor.
The game definitely goes for an arcade feel. Planes come equip with hundreds of rockets, as opposed to the four to eight that they usually carry in real life. This allows for long missions, but frequent checkpoints prevent you from having to replay large section over. The controls are the standard fare, as is the mix of air and ground targets. There are a few additions that make this game stand out. One move that frequents arcade flight games is the need to spin in circles al a low speed until you catch up to your target. Any time this begins to happen here, the game gives you the option to turn on a tracking system that places rings in front of you. Maintaining a good speed and making in through the rings will line you up behind your target for a perfect shot. This same system can be used to evade incoming rockets, although turning sharply usually works just as well. The next addition is what the game calls assistance OFF mode. In OFF mode, you are given a cinematic view of your plane and pull of amazing turns that would rip a real aircraft to pieces. This may be unrealistic, but this mode still provides the most intense air battles of the game. You do need to be careful, however, since flying too slow in this mode will cause your plane to stall. These two options do an amazing amount to add the fun of the game and make it easier for those not experienced in flying games.
You are also usually accompanied by two wingmen that do a fairly good job following your orders when you tell them to attack, although they don't do as much damage as you even though they are using the same weapons. They also can fly much faster than you. If you are cruising along at top speed with them at you side and then order them to attack the enemy in front of you, they will take off at twice your speed and barrel toward the enemy. While this does make it easier for them to reach far away target while you are engaged in another area, it still hurts the experience a bit each time it happens. Also, the fact that your wingman cannot be shot down or crash was another decision that was made to promote playability over realism. It's nice to know they will always be there to support you, but it's disappointing to see them actually fly into the ground and come back out unhurt.
There is an amazing amount of unlockable content. You can earn experience from each kill, successful mission objective, or bonus achievement. Some of these bonus goals can be earned by performing a particular dangerous maneuver while others add up over time, like killing 100 enemies with a particular weapon. The same experience bar adds up whether you are playing single or multiplayer. As you level up, new planes and weapon loadouts are unlocked. I have played through the game twice and have only reached level eighteen of the possible forty. There is an insane amount of planes to unlock, but it is worth noting that there isn't much of a difference between the handling or weapon options between them.
Personally, I think the story is one of the best in the Tom Clancy series of games. It has the same political intrigue and betrayals that past games have had, but this one makes you a bigger part of the events. In past titles, you were given your orders and basically just did what you were told. Here, your character makes decisions that affect not only the plot, but the fate of the United States as well. The missions also contain plenty of variety that kept my interest all the way through.
There was only one thing I felt that kept this game from being perfect: the targeting system. The only way to target an enemy is by pointing you crosshair at them and pressing the proper button. Pressing the button again will target the next closest enemy while a third press will target the first one again. Since you can only order your wingmen to attack your current target, you must turn toward the enemy you want them to attack. This is a minor annoyance, but is something that you can get used to. The system becomes a serious problem when you need to target a single enemy that is attacking an objective that you need to defend while they are among a group of ten other enemies. It is endlessly frustrating to try and pick out a single plane while looking straight at them while both you and all your enemies are flying around at high speeds.
The graphics are passable. The planes themselves look great, with high amounts of details and reflections of the sun bouncing off. The ground also looks borderline realistic from high in the air. Approaching the deck, however, starts to show off the highly pixilated ground as well as overly blocky buildings. Rocket trails and explosions are also underwhelming. Also, while most gamers won't experience this unless they are trying too, midair collisions are impossible and the planes will simply fly through each other.
While the targeting and graphics are a disappointing, it's hard to express how much fun the game is. There is always something new to do in the campaign and some new goal to aim for. In my opinion, Hawx is the best game available in the genre for the current generation on consoles.