HAWX Xbox 360 Review

HAWX

Xbox 360 Review
Develper: Ubisoft Romania
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release: March 6, 2009

There really have not been many games where you are thrown in the cockpit of a fighter pilot Top Gun style this generation.  The only game that has really allowed us to do that is the great release of Ace Combat 6 on the Xbox 360 back in 2007.  Attempting to capitalize on this void, Ubisoft has released H.A.W.X. on the next-gen platforms.

H.A.W.X. stands for High Altitude Warfare eXperimental squadron, and is based in the year 2012.

The game starts off with you in the role of former U.S. Air Force pilot David Crenshaw, with the events taking place during the same time period of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.

The way in which the story plays out here, as is typical with games based on the Tom Clancy license, is absolutely fantastic.  The way in which the whole story is told, with Crenshaw going from the United States to a group Artemis, and then going back full-circle to fight off the group he was once involved in is all very intriguing and will have you smiling from ear to ear with interest.

With that said, it is clear and apparent that the real highlight of this game is the fantastic campaign mode, and that goes without saying.

You do not have to play through this enjoyable campaign mode alone though, as you can also do it with 3 other friends over Xbox Live all at once.

With the way in which the co-op is set up, you will find yourself flying around with friends as a blast, completing missions, covering each others tails, and everything in-between.

The single-player campaign is a lot of fun, but the only issue is that some of the missions seem to get repetitive after you get through around half of the 19 missions.  This is not too much of a negative thing, it just felt at times that you were doing the same stuff in different variations.

If the single-player campaign is not for you, or after you plow through it several times, you can also jump into the 8-player online mode where you can show your skills online.

The game tries to be accessible in a few different ways, such as offering a mode where you can freely fly around to get a feel for the aircraft.

This will be very helpful due to the fact that there are over 50 different licensed planes in this game that you are going to have to choose from.  These vary in style, and for the most part all control differently, meaning you are going to have to get used to how to control the various aircraft if you want to have the most success when you have to use on of them in a battle.

The controls are pretty much as you would expect as you use the left stick to control your pitch and yaw, while the right stick does your looking around.  You can also use the triggers to break, accelerate, etc.  The face buttons are used solely for the weapons of the game.

For those who are having trouble, you can activate the Enhanced Reality System or ERS, which actually helps you fly, set up shots, etc.  This helps a great deal as there is a lot of depth here to the controls, and things can get tricky.

Visually, the graphics for H.A.W.X. are absolutely beautiful when it comes to the way in which the detail was done on these aircraft and such.  The level of detail on each and every one of these aircraft will blow you away, as will the amazing scenery that surrounds you during the battles.

The only issue with the surroundings are the fact that once you get a bit too close, the level of detail begins to go away, with more textures being needed.  Overall though, visually this is an impressive one.

H.A.W.X. is a fantastic fighter pilot game that fans of Ace Combat 6 are absolutely going to love.  The dog fights are filled with adrenaline, and the combination of the single-player and multi-player modes give this one some legs.  This release marks a great foundation for what hopefully will be a fantastic franchise in the years to come.  Well-worth picking up for fans of Ace Combat and other fighter pilot games.

Graphics: 8.5 Some texture work could have improved things, amazing aircraft detail though!

Audio: 8.4 The sound effects of the plane are really well-done, an improved soundtrack could have helped things.

Gameplay: 8.4 The aircraft control great, voice commands work well, overall this one is a joy to play!

Replay Value: 8.0 The longevity will rely on how many friends you can get to play this one online with you.  If you have friends with H.A.W.X., you will be playing co-op for a long time.

Final Score: 8.2

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