HAWKEN

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 304 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 211 out of 304
  2. Mixed: 51 out of 304
  3. Negative: 42 out of 304

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  1. jason8102
    Feb 20, 2014
    7
    I paid the $29 for the Steam version of this game, to get me up to par with older players of the game. It was a wise investment. The graphics in this game are for sure a 10, I'm currently running it on ultra settings. Action is fast paced, but people might lose interest quickly on how soon you die. It gets better, trust me. Once you start unlocking the mods for your mech things becomeI paid the $29 for the Steam version of this game, to get me up to par with older players of the game. It was a wise investment. The graphics in this game are for sure a 10, I'm currently running it on ultra settings. Action is fast paced, but people might lose interest quickly on how soon you die. It gets better, trust me. Once you start unlocking the mods for your mech things become better, This is a free to play game and from what I see, you can do a lot without paying for a single thing and still enjoy the game. I've been trying to reach out to the developers and find out what they have in the future coming, I have had no replies yet. Currently there are only 3 or 4 maps to play and you can't customize weapons yet. Each mech has it's own abilities and you are pretty much stuck with those. Downfall in my mind. All in all, the game is great to play for a few hours at a crack, you will get sick of the maps sooner or latter since there are so few of them. I give the game a 7 overall. The developers need to "butter" up the players with new things coming and where they are taking the game.… Expand
  2. valid8
    Jul 22, 2013
    5
    This F2P FPS has so much potential...too bad that after about 28$ million capital injection around last year (no joke, google it!) the game is still, as of July 2013, in Open-Beta state. The devs are literally giving 2 flying F***s about the community...with slow updates, lesser servers, with some awful ping (I play on the UK ones and in about a third of em I ping 200-250). With that kindaThis F2P FPS has so much potential...too bad that after about 28$ million capital injection around last year (no joke, google it!) the game is still, as of July 2013, in Open-Beta state. The devs are literally giving 2 flying F***s about the community...with slow updates, lesser servers, with some awful ping (I play on the UK ones and in about a third of em I ping 200-250). With that kinda money support/funding, this game should have rocked the ground amongst other F2Ps like PlanetSide2, Team Fortress 2, Blacklight: Retribution etc... Hawken has, if I did the counting right, more than 3 years since they started development and I quote: "On March 9, 2011 Adhesive Games announced Hawken with a trailer of the work-in-progress, with only 9 months of development behind it." That's right down pathetic, and poor excuse too still be an incomplete, not finished game...

    As for the technical part of the game, it runs OK, but still needs polishing...I can barely keep 60fps with a 1090t, gtx670 and 8Gbs or RAM on HIGH settings (not ULTRA)

    The game has (STILL!) some dreadful balance issues along with a niche community of hardcore players that have maxed out their mechs...and all that (along with step learning curve) really make the sessions frustrating in the long run...leveling of the mechs is OK at best, it's sort of appealing...but by the time you've maxed out a mech or two, you will most likely find the game repetitive and stagnant; with really few incentives to actually spend more of your money on in-game currency (Meteor Credits).

    If you're looking for a good F2P first-person-shooter, just go with the ones I've mention above...if you're really into mech stuff, and you're not satisfied with MechWarrior Online or other of the same genre...my advice, don't get your hopes too high with Hawken either.    … Expand
  3. und3rgr0und
    Mar 1, 2013
    7
    Hawken isn't a free game to play, you play online matches and acquire in game currency to buy new Mechs, purchase different equipment and different perks. There's multiple game modes and you can filter the matches based on your location. One thing I did find was for the USA East it was tough to find any matches but by switching it to USA West I had no problem. Its a decent enough game butHawken isn't a free game to play, you play online matches and acquire in game currency to buy new Mechs, purchase different equipment and different perks. There's multiple game modes and you can filter the matches based on your location. One thing I did find was for the USA East it was tough to find any matches but by switching it to USA West I had no problem. Its a decent enough game but it does only hold your attention for so long. I can play for a hour at a time or so..it's a good way to waste some time but its also fun but for whatever reason i get bored quick.… Expand
  4. Nevermind
    Feb 16, 2013
    7
    Hawken could be described as the embodiment of "average". It does not really stand out in any way, possibly due to the bland graphics, so super foggy to the point that you might imagine the game is taking place underwater. The game modes can be fun, and require team play, but the lack of things such as auto balance, and some unbalanced map design mean that winning a game in Hawken mightHawken could be described as the embodiment of "average". It does not really stand out in any way, possibly due to the bland graphics, so super foggy to the point that you might imagine the game is taking place underwater. The game modes can be fun, and require team play, but the lack of things such as auto balance, and some unbalanced map design mean that winning a game in Hawken might not be due to your skills, but most likely due to some underlying fault in the map/ mechanics/ balance.
    Hawken aims to be a hit to the "unskilled" f2p crowd, with level ups to keep you interested, unlocks and cosmetic items, and this comes at the expense of the skilled player, when the team based game modes are full of people generally not helping. Ultimately the game modes are what will either make or break this game. If Hawken does manage to cater for skilled, competitive players, and fixes the little annoyances here and there, it will no doubt become a great game. However, given that these problems do exist, it means more likely the game will be just-another-UT3-game, as easily forgettable as it is was initially exciting.    … Expand
  5. averageGamer12
    Feb 11, 2014
    5
    Just another boring generic shooter but with mechs. There is no depth. The game has really bad matchmaking. It doesn't know what it whats to because the Developer keep drastically changing it's core game-play throughout the last few years.The recent changes only the game feel a lot more generic by taking away what little depth it had before.
  6. mike2003
    Nov 18, 2013
    5
    Very quickly bored. Boring and monotonous game. Few weapons, a lot of lags. Little variety in the game, all the same too, no need to move forward. The only plus is fighting robots!
  7. Notthatguy
    Sep 17, 2013
    7
    Hawken is an interesting "mech" game, its not quite my speed, and makes me yearn for unreal, not surprising as it is made on the unreal engine, its fun, tho matchmaker can at times be painful.

    Hawken plays like unreal, fast paced rapid combat with a TTK that is a bit longer than would be expected based on the pace of movement. It also has a nice sense of progression all mechs can be    Hawken is an interesting "mech" game, its not quite my speed, and makes me yearn for unreal, not surprising as it is made on the unreal engine, its fun, tho matchmaker can at times be painful.

    Hawken plays like unreal, fast paced rapid combat with a TTK that is a bit longer than would be expected based on the pace of movement. It also has a nice sense of progression all mechs can be earned and will be unlocked by simply playing the game.

    I tend to play in stretches about an hour long, after that I get burned out, but I do tend to come back every day.

    Good viable fun.    … Expand
  8. GameSpoon
    Feb 26, 2014
    7
    Hawken is a free to play first person Mech shooter, developed by Adhesive Games. The game originally debuted on its own independent launcher, but earlier this month it re-released on Steam Early Access. To gain entrance to the Early Access you currently have to buy the Hawken: Nemesis Bundle, but on its final release the game will be free to play.

    I was immediately dropped into a    Hawken is a free to play first person Mech shooter, developed by Adhesive Games. The game originally debuted on its own independent launcher, but earlier this month it re-released on Steam Early Access. To gain entrance to the Early Access you currently have to buy the Hawken: Nemesis Bundle, but on its final release the game will be free to play.

    I was immediately dropped into a tutorial, explaining the basics of the game, movement, shooting, items and abilities. This was quick to grasp, and when that was over I jumped right into my first game. The first game you play will always be Team Deathmatch, as it is decided for you that this is the best choice for a beginner.

    image

    The movement in the game is very effective. The normal movements of the Mechs is slow, giving weight to it, but you have boosters which can be used to speed up movement and perform a variety of dodges and even hover. While the Mechs feel weighted, the addition of...
    To read the rest of this review, please visit http://bit.ly/1l8NaeP or follow us on twitter @GameSpoon    … Expand
  9. LD9000
    Feb 20, 2013
    6
    An ok game for F2P. Can hold my attention for a couple days. Beyond that, the action is not really that great. The game does not feel like huge battle mechs, more like your average twitchy short range FPS. My biggest gripe is engagement distances they are way too short. 100 meters is long range sniper... Seriously? Even BF2142 had better mechs, even though they were just a small part ofAn ok game for F2P. Can hold my attention for a couple days. Beyond that, the action is not really that great. The game does not feel like huge battle mechs, more like your average twitchy short range FPS. My biggest gripe is engagement distances they are way too short. 100 meters is long range sniper... Seriously? Even BF2142 had better mechs, even though they were just a small part of that game. Using active defense to block missles, slow, heavy damage overheating cannons. I don't feel this here.

    Even the world of tanks has engagement distances of around 350 meters, possibly more. But in this game you just get some hazy fog obscuring distant stuff. With this in mind, the levels feel small and while there is some hot around the corner action, it gets boring fairly fast.

    Combine this with some "OP" flavors of mechs and general lack of players, and I had to suffer through some horribly unbalanced matches where little one can do counts.    … Expand
  10. squeax
    Sep 1, 2013
    7
    The gameplay is pretty solid and there are enough mechs to choose from. The main gripe I have is that it doesn't feel like you're piloting a mech, it actually reminds me most of Battlefield 3. But unlike Battlefield 3, you cannot change out weapons or equipment once inside a match (although you can switch between your mechs). The starting mech is pretty good and within just two matches IThe gameplay is pretty solid and there are enough mechs to choose from. The main gripe I have is that it doesn't feel like you're piloting a mech, it actually reminds me most of Battlefield 3. But unlike Battlefield 3, you cannot change out weapons or equipment once inside a match (although you can switch between your mechs). The starting mech is pretty good and within just two matches I could buy one of the more specialized ones. Another issue I see though is that it's a very team-based game, you get pulverized in seconds if you try to solo, so you always have to stick together and cover each other. Though in all matches I've played most communication seemed near non-existent. My advice then is to play this with 2 to 3 friends to have a solid core of players on your team should you want to win reliably.… Expand
  11. Banhammer0
    Mar 15, 2014
    6
    Probably only mech shooter on the market not counting Titanfall. For an F2P game it's very good, but compared to normal (paid) titles it's obviously lacking. Good concept but poor execution in most areas.

    GOOD + For an F2P game there is very little P2W here (100 % non-comsetics are grindable) + Well thought-out ideas for deployables, mechs and abilities + Mech combat is actually    Probably only mech shooter on the market not counting Titanfall. For an F2P game it's very good, but compared to normal (paid) titles it's obviously lacking. Good concept but poor execution in most areas.

    GOOD
    + For an F2P game there is very little P2W here (100 % non-comsetics are grindable)
    + Well thought-out ideas for deployables, mechs and abilities
    + Mech combat is actually pretty fun and tactical with dodging and boosting

    BAD
    - It lacks the "weight" feeling when you shoot someone
    - Not enough variation in gameplay, few mechs, items and weapons that are hard to unlock as well
    - Poorly designed maps, potential achieved by giving mech "boosting" (weak flight ability) mostly unused
    - Generic modes (TDM, DM, Rocket assault which is really domination, Siege which is domination + capture the flag) without innovations
    - Weak audio, explosions sound like someone kicking a cardboard box

    SUMMARY
    If you are a kid or someone who can't afford a decent game go for it, you could have chosen worse in the F2P world. Good thing is you don't have to spend a cent on it.
    Average 6/10    … Expand
  12. dsj556
    Mar 9, 2014
    6
    This is probably the most accurate game to "mechwarrior" style games. The controls are very easy to use and the brief tutorial explains everything very well.

    Graphics:9.5 very good as is expected with modern games My only complaints are that this game has no single player mode and that it suffers from the pay to play function. I would have been willing to pay actual money for this    This is probably the most accurate game to "mechwarrior" style games. The controls are very easy to use and the brief tutorial explains everything very well.

    Graphics:9.5 very good as is expected with modern games

    My only complaints are that this game has no single player mode and that it suffers from the pay to play function. I would have been willing to pay actual money for this game but the in game purchases really make me not want to play it at all. Yes you can still seemingly unlock everything without paying for it but just the fact that it is in the game really kills it for me. I know this is the direction that games are heading and I wouldn't be surprised to get to the point where you can respawn for just .99 but I will not be playing games like that.

    Anyways this game is very good if you want a mech combat experience for free but be advised that there are some pay to unlock areas.    … Expand
  13. Varaxis
    Jul 31, 2014
    5
    I felt immediately comfortable playing Hawken, since I like Tribes and Halo style play. The jumpjets and the amount of HP mechs have, takes the emphasis off of snap and reaction skills out and opens the door to tactical and strategic skills. You don't have to collect stronger weapons nor power-ups like armor, so skirmishes tend to be fair fights. The game modes are interesting, taking aI felt immediately comfortable playing Hawken, since I like Tribes and Halo style play. The jumpjets and the amount of HP mechs have, takes the emphasis off of snap and reaction skills out and opens the door to tactical and strategic skills. You don't have to collect stronger weapons nor power-ups like armor, so skirmishes tend to be fair fights. The game modes are interesting, taking a game or two to learn the unfamiliar ones like Missile Assault and Siege, and are regularly played.

    There seems to be some personal matchmaking rating that matches you with those near your skill level, but for me it seemed to have cut down the # of available games down a lot. There doesn't seem to be too many online to find a decent game where one team doesn't outnumbers the other, I wind up having to go to another server, US East, to find them. Balanced games seem to be uncommon and leavers are not really punished in any way except for counting under their "Abandoned Games" stat figure. Unreal engine dodging in this game can be ridiculous with how some light mechs can do their dashes in the air with very short cooldown. Maps are few and the amount of cheap destructible stuff on many maps is a bit excessive. There are a few mechs that are too similar to others, creating a grind of an experience on them.

    The game's free to play, but they obviously are trying to make money. Every time you start up the game, you must stare at a sponsor billboard screen for 5 seconds, unable to skip or alt-tab to wait it out. The upgrades and unlocks in game are so numerous and expensive that you'd need to spend well over 100 hours to unlock them using credits earned from playing only. It took me on average 20 game wins to afford something, games which last 10-30 mins each.

    The game's plagued by some bugs, such as items getting planted/embedded into the ground making finding and aiming at them hard. You can get stuck on some things like under energy lifters, on trees, or whatever. There's also hackers that use aimbot and move speed enhancements ruining games.

    Overall, I do not regret uninstalling the game, though I did not regret the bit of fun I had playing it. I just wore through the fun of learning the mechanics of mastering weapons, aiming, dodging, flying and navigating through the map, and various game modes. It just eventually turned into a grind, a time sink, once I started focusing on the unlocks, instead of my performance. Friends moving on to other things didn't get me to move on, but I did play less and have less fun, and frustration with terrible team balance and hackers were the final straw to get me to kick this to the curb.    … Expand
  14. AlienSpaceBats
    Jun 24, 2014
    7
    2014: Hawken arrives on Steam. I've been playing since closed beta, and seen the game come a long way - in it's current state, it's awesome fun, especially with friends, but in the long-term, once I reached an apex (winning matches most of the time, completed the PvE arenas) I didn't see much reason to persevere.
  15. Salient0ne
    Dec 24, 2017
    5
    Looks like i never updated this review, this game's matchmaking kills it after awhile. Before long there were so few players you had to play against guys 30-50 levels highers than you. Had no chance to win. Well it's dead now, and thats a big part of why.
  16. mijxero
    Feb 7, 2015
    7
    I am generally terrible at FPS games and do not play them a lot. This game has a large variation of mech types and the combat is fun and with the ability to take a few hits and heal between fights it adds a tactical element. I have played for a little bit and find the f2p model to be very similar to LoL where you can't really buy wins. I haven't spent a dime and ranked in the top threeI am generally terrible at FPS games and do not play them a lot. This game has a large variation of mech types and the combat is fun and with the ability to take a few hits and heal between fights it adds a tactical element. I have played for a little bit and find the f2p model to be very similar to LoL where you can't really buy wins. I haven't spent a dime and ranked in the top three of some matches using the standard starter mech.… Expand
  17. Slashdash07
    Apr 25, 2014
    7
    I like the game, but it's very hard to get into. I just started playing today, but I kept dying way too easily. I know you're supposed to keep playing to level up, but the game doesn't have a way to get you into games with people near your level. It's very annoying when someone who is level 50 is against someone who is level 3. All in all, the game is very well put together and isI like the game, but it's very hard to get into. I just started playing today, but I kept dying way too easily. I know you're supposed to keep playing to level up, but the game doesn't have a way to get you into games with people near your level. It's very annoying when someone who is level 50 is against someone who is level 3. All in all, the game is very well put together and is extremely fun.… Expand
  18. Westord
    Mar 19, 2015
    7
    generally fun but there's too much grind unless you're actually spending money. the recruit mech does often place top, but which mechs actually do well seems almost random, where a medium-short range combat mech like the assault or crt recruit, and others where a medium long range mech like the reaper does best. now this is influenced by the other player mech types, but a lot of it is the map.
  19. Captain_Chaos
    Jun 22, 2016
    5
    A blink-and-your-dead CoD clone disguised as a mech shooter. Interesting movement abilities, but crappy guns. Violently pay-to-win, and extremely grindy. It has some midly amusing cooperative modes but you could do better for coop elsewhere. Between this and the unforgivable mess that is Mechwarrior Online, there don't seem to be any quality mech games on PC. It's a shame, really.

Awards & Rankings

52
#52 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
37
#37 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. PC PowerPlay
    Aug 1, 2013
    70
    Hawken shows that piloting a mech doesn't have to be a complex task, and it gets players straight into the action. [Aug 2013, p.92]
  2. GameStar
    Jul 1, 2013
    76
    Quotation forthcoming.
    Read full review
  3. games(TM)
    Jun 25, 2013
    70
    Very ambitious, but we’d urge them to concentrate on the game; with poor matchmaking, few maps, overly simple game modes and a limited free game, players might not stick around. And that would be a shame.
    Read full review
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