E3 2008: Tom Clancy's HAWX Hands-On

Tom Clancy has his name attached to many things. The latest is Tom Clancy's HAWX, an air combat game set in the near future with references to Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and End War. At the Ubisoft booth during E3, we saw new maps and a few new planes and got a first look at the multiplayer team deathmatch, where players can shoot one another out of the sky.

The map we were shown was Cape Canaveral, the same location where US spacecraft are launched. In this particular campaign, it is up to you to protect the space shuttle (seen in EndWar). As tensions rise in South America where a private military company is involved, the US decides to step in and stop the conflict. At this point, the PMC strikes back at the US by jamming its satellite network to coordinate an attack on the US. We were told that in the US campaign there will also be three major cities involved, but there was no word on which ones they will be. The detail in the environment is extraordinary, and a quick look at the Middle East map showed the desert landscape, which was a sharp contrast to Cape Canaveral.

In team deathmatch, up to eight players, four-vs.four, can play against one another. A Ubisoft lead game designer explained that there is a good balance between two squadrons, and any more would be too chaotic. Even though it wasn't shown today, there is also a four-player cooperative campaign, where you can jump in and out of the game. Experience points are gained whether you play solo or multiplayer, in a campaign or in deathmatch, and points are collected to unlock planes and weapons. The planes we got to see were the F-22, which we saw at Ubidays; the S-47, which is a Russian prototype plane; the Eurofighter Typhoon; and the Rafale. We took a spin in the Rafale for this demo, but we were told that each aircraft will have its own characteristics when it comes to maneuvering and weapons. They will function differently from one another, but we were assured that they will still remain balanced.

Maneuvering the plane takes a bit of getting used to. The right trigger is to accelerate, which plays a key role in saving your plane when you happen to stall. If you get hit, leveling out your plane and slamming the accelerator will get you back in the action in no time. We also toggled in and out of an assistance mode. With the assistance on, you will see what the pilot sees and have your plane's safety activated. With the assistance off, you're outside the plane and have the ability to perform extreme maneuvers, which is the heart of the game. Double tapping the left trigger turns the mode on and off. Shooting a friend down earns you 50 points that go toward getting a reward. Once you reach 100 points you have access to a repair drone, which helps you and your teammates for a limited time. The number of points needed for the next bonus increases, but special abilities that come with it increase in quality as well. For example, you can get the EMP blast to stall all your enemies. You can request specific targets for your teammates so that they can go after someone who might be tailing you. This creates a strong sense of teamwork and can make the multiplayer experience incredibly enjoyable, especially if you can get eight players.

By the time HAWX is released early next year on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, expect to have 50 planes available with 17 different environments that use high-quality satellite data for the maps. Check back soon to see what this exciting game has to offer.