Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X 2

Review from AJ - Monday, 29 November 2010 @ 5:18pm

I had a lot of complaints about HAWX. My review last year, although full of praise, had a reasonably lengthy list of things I didn't like about the game. My main issue with the game was the complete lack of realism. Whilst Tom Clancy games are usually notorious for being tougher than tough, HAWX was to flight sims what Mario Kart is to racing. You were pretty much invincible, had unlimited fuel, practically unlimited ammo and had a fighter jet capable of mid-air drifting.... laws of physics be damned!

That's a weird looking cockpit dude...oh right

Whilst it may be a little arrogant to quote oneself, I feel that it is practically a requirement for this review. Here are some of the things I said about HAWX, "The problem for me, however, is that if you take away the need for refuelling, take away the need to be able to land a crippled fighter on a carrier, take away the limited missile capacity of a modern jet fighter, take away the perilous nature of keeping an 8 tonne F/A-18 in the air whilst being shot at, the challenge just vaporises."

I'm happy to say that Ubisoft read my review, and have made all the changes I recommended to them...well..sort of. Pretty much as soon as you sit down to play HAWX2, you realise that they really listened to the fans when they made the sequel. Within the first ten minutes of the game you've done a takeoff, a landing, a mid air refuel, run out of ammo and had your ass handed to you by the opposing forces. Now we're talking! This is what I signed up for! Landing on an aircraft carrier is supposed to be HARD dammit. I did 3 flybys on my first attempt before eventually ditching into the water. Of course there is an assisted mode for the weak willed and children, but no serious gamer would dare touch that. And don't get me started on mid-air refuelling. You haven't felt pressure until you've tried to stick that pointy thing into that round thing for the first time, let me tell you! Yes, we're still talking about HAWX2 by the way....

How come I have to fly the ugly one?

Probably the stand out feature of HAWX2 isn't actually a feature at all. One big failing of the original HAWX was the totally unbelievable story, with little or no cut scenes, no real action, no real...anything. HAWX2, on the other hand, actually has its story running parallel to the next Ghost Recon game. It's only a shame that both games weren't released at the same time. HAWX2 features several missions which have you providing air support for ground troops engaged in many of their own operations. Some of these missions actually have you assisting ground forces from a UAV or from the gun turret of a flying fortress. Not only are you more actively engaged in what's happening at ground level, it's a heap of fun firing of explosive rounds from 3000 feet . Whilst these may not be terribly exciting missions, they serve the purpose of helping fill out the story and give you a sense of real engagement with the troops you're supporting. When you jump back into your fighter jet, you have a lot greater empathy for those troops when they request your air support.

TAKE THAT! (Back for Good)

Whilst the first HAWX had some pretty fun missions, HAWX2 really steps it up a notch. Not only is every mission different, but the terrain now plays a huge part in each mission. Whether it be chasing enemy fighters through a canyon, or defending a nuke-carrying train through rugged mountains, you're not just keeping the enemy off your tail , you're also keeping one eye on that mountain in front of you. There is a great range of air to ground support missions, air to air dog fighting and of course missions which require a little of both. The missions are also a lot more involving that the first HAWX, and you'll often have a lot more support fighting a lot more enemies. My only complaint about the missions in general is that it is often hard to know which target you're supposed to be after. In many cases you're tasked with destroying a particular target within a certain time frame. Failure to destroy the target means failing the mission. In some cases, however, the game completely fails to let you know exactly WHICH set of ground forces it expects you to take out, or exactly which friendlies you're supposed to be providing support for. I don't mind losing a mission for sucking, but I hate losing simply for not knowing what I'm supposed to be doing.

Graphically, HAWX2 hasn't changed a lot from its predecessor. The terrain is arguably more refined, and buildings and ground units look a lot less like cardboard boxes, but as with most flight sims it doesn't really matter all that much. At the end of the day there is only so much detail you can cram into the 30 pixels that represent an enemy fighter 1km away.

Pros

Far more intense combat. More believable and intriguing story. Interesting cross-over with Ghost Recon. Varied mission types including gunship and UAV missions. Now features take off, landing and refueling.

Cons

Missions are often feature many dozen targets, most of which aren't your concern, but it's hard to know exactly what IS your concern. Team mates are still pretty much useless.