It sure looks like Ubisoft are taking HAWX and the Tom Clancy brand name very seriously. The writer’s name has been associated with games for a while now, previously appearing as a prefix to series like Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six (based on characters and works of fiction that he created) and more recently in almost any military-themed videogame created by Ubisoft. HAWX is Ubisoft’s newest franchise to have Clancy’s name associated with it, and it now has a sequel, making it a full-blown franchise. But unlike the Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell games, Ubisoft Romania’s latest title feels rushed and poorly produced. It’s bad enough that aerial combat games aren’t for everyone, so if you’re even remotely interested in fighter aircraft having enjoyed a) repeated viewings of Top Gun for reasons other than ogling at Tom Cruise, or b) are hopelessly addicted to the History Channel’s Dogfights series, then HAWX 2 will not entertain or interest, prompting you to go back to doing (a) or (b).
Before getting into a full-fledged rant about how infuriating the overall HAWX 2 experience is, I shall put forth the game’s positives (and to its credit, there are a few). The game features a huge roster of flyable fighter aircraft including the usual suspects such as the F-16 Falcon, Eurofighter 2000 F-22 Raptor and A-10 as well as next generation fighters such as the Su-37 Terminator and F-35 Lightning-II, a product of USAF’s Joint-Strike Fighter programme. Apart from the manned fighters, you also take control of UAVs for precision bombing and stealth missions, and while this is a nice touch, it gives you the feeling of ‘been there done that’, particularly since games in other genres do this a lot better.
In terms of graphics, the engine has been slightly updated which makes the aircraft models and effects look marginally better than its predecessor but it’s the terrain that stands out, looking almost photo-realistic from the sky. Carrier landings, mid-air refuelling and day-and-night missions offer a bit of variety, with co-operative play topping off the list of decent features. Now let’s get to the not-so-awesome part.
Like the first game, HAWX 2 is not a simulation — don’t let the inclusion of taking-off and landing your airplane fool you. It’s as arcade a shooter as it gets, often featuring an overwhelming number of enemies, over-the-top scenarios and oh-so-generic (and badly written) military dialogue. Now, the arcade-y nature of HAWX 2 isn’t necessarily a negative since it makes the game accessible to newcomers, but the game is not forgiving enough to allow said newcomers to enjoy a decent bit of flight time without getting repeatedly pawned. It still feels like the game (like most games from Ubisoft Romania) was designed with veterans of flight sims in mind with the assumption that their attention spans have diminished over the time.
A fundamental knowledge of air combat games is necessary to play HAWX 2. By watering-down a flight simulation experience, a lot of liberties can be taken and compromises made (such as the now-irrelevant ‘attention to detail’ compromise) with flight mechanics, weapon load-out and physics. BVR (Beyond Visual Range) combat, which is such an integral part of modern aerial combat, is almost non-existent, with skirmishes in HAWX 2 always occurring in strikingly close proximity. Sure, dogfights are fun, but everything in HAWX 2 is reverse-immersive, if there is such a thing. The control scheme, poorly-rendered cutscenes, mission variety, dialogue and so-blatantly-ripped-off-from-call-of-duty-it’s-not-funny nature of the narrative don’t help with the immersion either. Let’s start with the controls, which are decent enough while taxiing on the runway and flying aimlessly in the air (with a little re-mapping of course — rudder controls are mapped strangely on the PS3 controller), but the second you enter a combat situation, the analog sticks are not nearly precise enough to hold a missile-lock or manoeuvre into a comfortable position to fire your cannon, and while the game does make this easier for you most of the time (with a gigantic hit-box and uber-effective lock system), there’s simply no satisfaction from downing several enemy aircraft after doing a truly horrible job of flying your plane. A joystick would probably help, but who wants to fork out the cash for a piece of hardware that will be used for a week or two at the most? The game’s missions, like the control scheme, often require you to adopt no strategy, aimlessly gunning down as many targets as possible, as fast as possible — think Sylvester Stallone as ‘Maverick’ instead of Tom Cruise. HAWX 2 also borrows heavily from games like Call of Duty, with a story that sees you playing as several pilots including a pilot from the British Navy, one from the Russian air force, and wait for it… an American pilot. The writing during the game’s various sections feels like lines from a stolen transcript of a Bruckheimer-produced Call of Duty-meets-Top Gun screenplay were used.
Verdict
Ubisoft Romania’s take on aerial combat is a disappointment despite sporting a huge roster of flyable aircraft and great-looking terrain.
— videep@gmail.com