Because you would possibly need one after HAWX. Slapping the Tom Clancy brand on a game usually means a very decent outing full of improbably martial story-lines and meaty shooting action. HAWX is the latest in the long-running, multifarious franchise that looks to extol the virtues of what is fast becoming the poster-child for any game with a military bias: Private Military Companies (PMCs). In this increasingly bleak version of the future, even our boys in the sky are nothing but trash-talkin’, hip-hoppin’ mercs. Doesn’t sound like they’ll be enjoying too many beachball matches then.
I feel the need…
In the currently available [XBL, PSN] demo of HAWX, you have the ability to play two basic missions. One is purely a training level designed to let you get a handle on this new-fangled “assist mode”; this has ostensibly been designed with the armchair commander in mind. When initiated, the camera angle swings way out and you get this awkward view probably better suited to something like Skate. I wasn’t happy when I realised that I had to play the entire mission from such a broken perspective. While I got used to it after a while, it felt weirdly disconnected as your control over the craft seemed to be far less refined.
Fortunately, the second mission allowed you to switch back to all things natural. To be fair, this incursion into Rio de Janeiro seemed poised to offer something worthwhile—with plenty of air support available and the knowledge that you were going up against an army of fighters, bombers and tanks. Ten minutes in and having shot down the bombers, chased tanks through gaps in the skyline of the city and played tag with some fighters, I was struck—brutally—by how utterly listless the whole experience was. At no moment could I sense the vertigo-inducing intensity that epitomises the Ace Combat series nor did I feel that I was doing anything remotely exciting. Adding insult to injury, the game tries to show off the ERS (Enhanced Reality System) which highlights “ideal” paths to enemy conflicts and even suggests the best way to dodge locked missiles. Weak.
…to ask for my 848MB back.
Personally, I wouldn’t find myself wanting to follow-up with HAWX even if a demo doesn’t always represent the full product. Now they may be able to sort out the bland, washed-out visuals and refine the controls but I don’t think they’ll be able to code in the kind of magic that gets your blood pumping and brings about a strange desire to break out the Top Gun soundtrack.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.