Tom Clancy's HAWX 2 PlayStation 3

Released on 10/09/2010

• Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X 2 - Preview

  Return of the Top Guns

  Last year's release of Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X put the game in a fierce dogfight with competitors IL-2 Sturmovik and the ever-popular Ace Combat 6. Ubisoft's challenger did pretty well as sales went, but the general feeling amongst critics was that there was definite room for improvement.

  Elative manoeuvres

  Luckily, Ubisoft's brand new sequel looks to have learned a few lessons from its predecessor's turbulence - and H.A.W.X has manoeuvred itself into a much better position for its second approach.

  You've got a choice of 32 monstrous fighter-jets - armed to the teeth with missiles and future-tech.

  In H.A.W.X 2 you play as the three 'good guys': The US H.A.W.X team, the British Navy, and an elite Russian special forces. This heroic trio's mission is to stop insurgent activity around the globe - and re-establish worldwide stability.

  It's not an easy take – with the enemy insurgents having acquired a trio of apocalypse-ready nuclear warheads, stolen from a Russian airbase. It's suspected that the insurgents intend on setting off bombs over the ex-Soviet heartland and the Middle East.

  Fortunately, you've got a choice of 32 monstrous fighter-jets - armed to the teeth with missiles and future-tech - with which to stop them.

  Total control

  The single-player offering of H.A.W.X 2 aims to be a far deeper and more engaging experience than the first game; and to that end, players are no longer limited to aerial warfare. The game now covers all aspects of piloting a fighter jet - from navigating your bird to the runway to nailing a graceful precision landing, and everything in between.

  The opening mission takes place in a sand-swept region where players pilot an F-16. Although the initial few takes offs are relatively uneventful, taking off and landing quickly become a little more high risk as missions take place in under siege areas.

  H.A.W.X. 2's singleplayer aims to be a far deeper and more engaging experience than the first game.

  H.A.W.X 2 offers an impressive arsenal of weaponry to play with, including missiles, rockets-pods and an auto-cannon. Although subtlety isn't usually high on the list of priorities, the developer has chosen to include 'precision weaponry' to minimise collateral damage and create a combat experience close to modern day tactics.

  Firing missiles isn't a 'trigger and forget' experience, either. The camera can be switched to the missile's viewpoint, allowing the player to steer it to our target for maximum impact and minimise unnecessary casualties.

  H.A.W.X 2 adds a number of new gameplay scenarios to the formula. The new Recon missions require you to simply check up on high-priority locations, track convoys or investigate potential threats. These provide a nice change of pace - giving the player a breather from all the breakneck turns and devastating explosions.

  On the right flight path

  H.A.W.X 2 still has an impressive chunk of exhilarating gameplay opportunities, however. There are an assortment of new AC130 missions, night-time raids and plenty of air and ground dogfights to keep you on your toes.

  The game offers a good variety of different gameplay experiences - and both the ground level and high altitude combat has had numerous tweaks and improvements. Overall, it looks like Ubisoft is on the right flight-path this time around.

  Preview by: Tamoor 'Maverick' Hussain
  Version Tested: Xbox 360
  Preview Published: 24.08.10

  Published: 24/08/2010

• Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 Review

  Return of the H.A.W.X

  The first H.A.W.X game was a bit of a rough take-off for Ubisoft's exciting new franchise, although it gave fans of games such as Ace Combat a new excuse to get into the cockpit of a lighting fast fighter jet, a few camera control issues kept the game from hitting its stride.

  Fight for Freedom

  Fortunately, Ubisoft Romania's moment of madness has passed and they've demoted the camera system it developed for the original title from an essential feature to an optional extra - and is much better off for it. This time around H.A.W.X 2 feels much less like a confusing and complicated simulator and more like an action-packed arcade flight game.

  Less like a confusing and complicated simulator and more like an action-packed arcade flight game.

  The story in H.A.W.X 2 is classic Tom Clancy fair; it features a healthy dose of futuristic military tech, espionage and some tense global politics. The game takes place in a not-too-distant future where insurgent activity around the world has sharply increased and nuclear weaponry has mysteriously disappeared.

  H.A.W.X puts you in the shoes of three different fighter pilots, a Russian, an American and a British pilot, all of which are tasked with defending a number of cities from the out of control insurgents. The cities featured in H.A.W.X 2 are accurately mapped along with the terrain around them, giving the game an element of real-world weight to it.

  Control yourself

  The controls in H.A.W.X 2 have been simplified and as a result it's far easier to pull off complex manoeuvres and exciting tricks. The two sticks on the controller are used to roll, pitch and yaw the plane, with the shoulder buttons used for acceleration and fine tuning.

  Weapons such as cannons and missiles are assigned to the ‘X' and ‘O' button on the PlayStation 3 or the ‘A' and ‘B' buttons on the Xbox 360. Since the majority of the aiming is automatic (thank you lock-on technology) this is all you'll need to know to take to the skies and dogfight like a pro.

  It's up to you to regulate your speed, prepare and react; blow it at a crucial point in the mission and it could spell trouble for your squad.

  Speed is what truly makes you an elite pilot, with enemies in the game proving extremely nimble and often using complex manoeuvres suddenly. It's up to you to regulate your speed, prepare and react in these situations; blow it at a crucial point in the mission and it could spell trouble for your squad.

  H.A.W.X 2 features a number of sequences where you're required to refuel your aircraft in mid air, these tense gameplay sequence test not only your control of the aircraft but also your ability to remain calm under pressure. You'll have to position yourself perfectly and maintain a constant speed to refuel your bird, fail too many times and you'll run out of time, which may means finishing off the mission on low fuel.

  Take off

  The other new addition to H.A.W.X 2 are the UAV missions, which give you control of an airborne surveillance camera and task you with conducting recon on nearby bases to help get the drop on any snoozing enemies. These missions are used to give you a nice change of pace from the constant breakneck turns and narrowly dodged missiles.

  Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X 2 is a solid game; it provides a fun arcade experience with great production values. The control tweaks and varied missions added since the first game make the game more approachable and make the complex actions and strategies much easier to pull off. The flight mechanics have been improved, visuals have been tweaked and the story is interesting, all in all it is a noticeable improvement over the first game.

  GAME's Verdict

  

  • Improved flight control.
  • Exciting combat scenarios.
  • Tense refuelling missions.

  

  • Story is very simple.
  • Not enough co-op.
  • Few customisation options.

  Review by: Tamoor 'Maverick' Hussain
  Version Tested: Xbox 360
  Review Published: 07.09.10

  Published: 07/09/2010

• Tom Clancy HAWX 2 Review

  View to a kill

  The world looks lovely from 10,000 feet. Even in Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2, where enemy fighters fill the sky with bullets and missiles, and angry voices bark in your ear that the ground forces you're supposed to be defending are being blown to bits, it's easy to be distracted by just how amazing everything looks. Using real high definition satellite imaging to create its aerial combat theatres, and painstakingly rendered plane models supplied by the likes of Boeing and Saab, H.A.W.X. 2 is an absolute beauty. It's also a pretty fantastic arcade flight sim, provided you don't expect much in the way of realism or variety.

  The game picks up its wafer thin plot threads from the previous game, and incorporates elements from other near-future Clancy games like Ghost Recon and EndWar, but you don't need to worry about getting lost in the story. Naughty bad guys have swiped three nukes, insurgent terrorists are pressing on multiple global fronts, and playing as a variety of pilots from the US, UK and Russia you've got to pull the world back from the brink by blowing lots of stuff up.

  Control is immediate and intuitive, even on the hardest difficulty setting, so there's no need to fear the spectre of serious simulation. This is a game that wants you to enjoy your time in the sky, restricting such bothersome real world problems like stalls to the manually activated OFF Mode. Playable only in a roving external viewpoint, it's definitely an acquired taste so making it entirely optional proves a wise decision.

   

  Eye in the sky

  Dogfighting is the core of the game, so it makes sense that it's also the most satisfying thing you'll do. Enemy AI has been vastly improved, with targets that now actively evade your sights and use counter-measures to throw off your missiles. It's a long way from the fire and forget barrage of games like Ace Combat, preferring to put you in close quarters cat and mouse scenarios where skill with the cannons and the ability to anticipate your opponent's next move are the key to success. The sense of vindication when you finally take down some cheeky git who's had you weaving all over the sky is immense, and the throaty explosions and beautiful smoke effects make for a suitably cinematic kiss-off to each fallen foe. You'll be punching the air and begging for the game to ?take me to the danger zone? more often.

  But H.A.W.X. 2 sometimes worries that aerial combat isn't enough for an air combat game, and breaks up its single player campaign with numerous variations that make for a refreshing break at first, but soon become slightly intrusive.

  UAVs, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, are the most common. These remote drones remove enemy engagement from the equation, hovering high above the ground beyond the reach of AA fire and enemy jets. Viewing the scene in grainy night vision, sometimes you'll be tasked with painting targets for future missions, or scanning buildings for prisoners of war. You can zoom almost right down to ground level, and seeing tiny white heat-vision figures going about their business gives these sections an enjoyable voyeuristic feel. There are also turret missions, where you hop into the hot seat on a gunship and provide covering fire for commandos on the ground. All are fun, but lack depth, and they don't have the replay appeal of the more rewarding dogfight sections.

   

  You can be my wingman any time

  The game is generous enough that there are plenty of other reasons to come back once the story is done, however. Completed levels can be replayed in Arcade Mode, where weapons and mission parameters are tweaked for tougher challenges, while Survival Mode is dogfighting heaven ? quite literally, as you fight to the death against endless waves of enemy attack.

  It's in multiplayer that the game's future lies though, a fact supported by the way the Achievements skew heavily towards online prowess. You can take to the skies and fight against human pilots, obviously, though the limitations of aerial warfare mean that Team Deathmatch is as sophisticated as the game types get.

  No, it's playing together that really brings H.A.W.X. 2 to life, with everything playable in co-operative style with up to four human pilots. The addition of flesh and blood wingmen shakes loose the sometimes rather rigid mission design, and lets you experiment more with different approaches to objectives. In the solo missions where you're supported by AI partners, their performance leaves a little to be desired, so the willingness with which the game allows you to fly alongside friends puts a large tick in the Very Good Things column.

  There's a lot to like, and even love, in H.A.W.X. 2. The attention to detail of the Clancy brand gives it a blockbuster sheen, and the core mechanics of mano-y-mano fighter combat are so enjoyable that you'll forgive the stiffness of the single player campaign. Get in the sky with some mates, however, and you've got something very special.

   

  

  Maverick
  + Stunning graphics.
  + Co-op mode is a blast.
  + Excellent and satisfying dogfight gameplay.

  Goose
  - Mission time limits get frustrating.
  - Not much longevity for solo play.
  - Limited customisation options.
  

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