H.A.W.X. 2 (PS3) Review - PAGE 1

Tom Clancy is best known for his thrilling novels that revolve around espionage, conspiracies, and military tensions between countries. Sometime in the late 90's he decided to co-found a video game developer known as Red Storm Entertainment. They released many excellent games, including the Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six series of games bearing Tom Clancy's name.

Ubisoft eventually bought Red Storm Entertainment, and have continued to release various games with Tom Clancy's name attached, after he sold Ubisoft the rights to continue to do so. As to whether he collaborates with them or not is unknown for the most part. Either way, his name has become a gold mine that Ubisoft hasn't hesitated to cash in on.

While the majority of the games released that utilize the Tom Clancy universe are excellent, there are still a few trying to catch up. H.A.W.X. is one of the series that doesn't quite hit the mark. With the release of H.A.W.X. 2, I was hoping for a lot more improvements over the original that really could have made this series unstoppable. Unfortunately it was not to be.

The game's story is very fragmented. One minute you're helping some Russian spy blow up a bunker as a U.S. pilot, and the next you're helping the same Russian spy defect to the U.S. as a Russian pilot. The plot made very little sense, and there was just a bit too much conspiracy for my tastes. I'd imagine even Tom Clancy would facepalm at some of the plot. And honestly, did we need to have an ending taken out of an Ace Combat game?

One of the more frustrating aspects of the game is that you end up doing circles trying to get a lock or an enemy in your crosshairs. Don't worry about the enemy having the same problem though -- they can lock on you at all times. They have an endless supply of missiles, flares, and much better maneuverability than you. 

If you get dizzy or sick easily, I don't suggest playing this game for too long. After doing left circles chasing an enemy for what seems like five minutes, you will finally line him up in your cross hairs only for him to reverse course on a dime. This leads to a lot of spiraling about that can leave you dizzy and motion sick if you're not careful.

The enemy will also bombard you with AA guns and batteries of ground-to-air missiles that relentlessly pound you. If you're flying in a formation with three other jets, don't expect the enemy to attack them. They will all target you first, and if you're lucky one or two will break off and chase your wingmen. However, expect to be outnumbered at all times.

The graphics are very well done, especially using the GeoEye satellite imagery to make the gorgeous topography. Unfortunately, you will still see a lot of frame rate drop and stuttering when multiple enemies are on the playing field -- especially the last battle where even the music and dialog skips!

I can't say for certain how accurate the in-flight refueling is, but it's definitely hard as hell at first. Once you get lined up to catch the basket it's ok, but just trying to get to that point is difficult. I felt like I was playing twister with my hands, trying to decelerate with my left hand while adjusting yaw (L1 and R1) with my right. Oh and don't forget matching the pitch with your left thumb.

In fact, I ended up playing 'hand twister' quite often during my play through. Having the yaw on L1 and R1 did not seem comfortable at all. It was awkward more than anything. It's like they wanted to be slightly different with the controls than the Ace Combat series, only it was not for the better.

Tapping R2 (accelerator) twice removes the assistance mode and gives you a much more maneuverable aircraft. However, you have this forced chase view that is more disorientating than flying blindfolded. Good luck shooting anything down in this flight mode, as you lose your canon reticule as well. The only thing this is good for is dodging missiles. 

Your AI partners will also frustrate you to no end. They can't hit the broadside of a barn, and are more a hindrance than of any help at all. Any type of mission that relies on you suppressing the enemy or escorting allies turns into a one man stand where you take everything out while your allies fly in circles picking their noses. While they did start to do a bit better on the last three missions, their air-to-air battle skills hardly make them worthy of being in an elite squadron.

What really threw me off was when my AI wingmen would say things like "enemies coming in from the south!" or "bogies at heading two, six, zero". Well where the hell is my heading indicator?! There is literally no heading indicator whatsoever!  How are you supposed to fly a plane with no bearing indication? There are no compass markings on the tactical map either. So how did my wingmen know what direction enemies were coming from?

The online experience is pretty fun, if you can find anyone to go up against. Mostly you will end up with one-on-one battles that are ten minutes of 'I shoot you, you shoot me'. Flying around circling each other like a couple of maniac birds, trying to get that lock and get your planes into the crosshairs. Once one of you does get shot down, you normally spawn right on top of the other guy so it makes for an easy kill. 

Overall H.A.W.X. 2 is a slightly above average arcade flight game. It will never stand up to the Ace Combat series, no matter how hard Ubisoft tries to borrow from it (or move away from it in a few areas). However, the planes offered in this game will keep a jet jockey happy for the time being. Just don't expect any amazing improvements from the first iteration, and enjoy the few hours of stick time this game has to offer.