User Score
4.0

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 61 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 61
  2. Negative: 36 out of 61
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  1. Dec 5, 2010
    4
    I enjoyed playing the original HAWX. So i invested 50 bucks in this game. I am a bit disapointed. Good: Nice gameplay, i really enjoyed the night vision levels, where you are flying a gun high in the sky and protecting the land troops.(Also seen in Modern warfare). You also get to take of and land in this game, which is pretty exciting to do. Important to know that if you want to enjoyI enjoyed playing the original HAWX. So i invested 50 bucks in this game. I am a bit disapointed. Good: Nice gameplay, i really enjoyed the night vision levels, where you are flying a gun high in the sky and protecting the land troops.(Also seen in Modern warfare). You also get to take of and land in this game, which is pretty exciting to do. Important to know that if you want to enjoy this game you should really use a joystick or gamepad.
    Bad: It looks like i bought a beta version, there are still a few bugs that can really annoy you. For example: the Ubisoft security system does not allow the game to be played when you are offline, so every time my wireless connection drops the game is paused, and restarts from the last checkpoint when i reconnect to the internet. I am not really sure that it is my internet connection or the ubisoft server that disconnects.... still that doesn't make it less annoying. Especially when you are almost through a difficult stage of the game. Secondly i found it very difficult to use my gamepad in this game. I had to restart the game and sometimes even my whole pc to be able to use the joystick. Final complaint is the long loading time when you start the game. The security system that is build to prevent piracy is now actually making it more attractive to play an illegal copy of this game. Not a very smart move from Ubisoft in my humble opinion.
    When an update arrives that solves the problems i would probably rate it higher.
    Expand
  2. Dec 4, 2010
    0
    This game is pathetic. Controls are jerky even after numerous adjustments. Storyline is horrible. Gameplay in the original HAWX was much better. Heat-seeking missles can't seem to find heat sources. If you have the original HAWX, don't expect this game to be similar. Instead of giving an enjoyable gameplay experience, Ubisoft made this game a chore to play. I will be uninstallingThis game is pathetic. Controls are jerky even after numerous adjustments. Storyline is horrible. Gameplay in the original HAWX was much better. Heat-seeking missles can't seem to find heat sources. If you have the original HAWX, don't expect this game to be similar. Instead of giving an enjoyable gameplay experience, Ubisoft made this game a chore to play. I will be uninstalling this pathetic attempt at entertainment. It reminds me of Operation Flashpoint 2 (Dragon Rising) trying to make money off of Operation Flashpoint's success. Expand
  3. Feb 11, 2011
    0
    I really didn't realize you could make any flight sim more boring (and broken). MS flight simulator is more interesting than this turd.

    The story got copy pasted out of cliches. Controls are jerky. Missions are boring at best and broken at worst.
  4. May 6, 2011
    3
    Not an enjoyable play. As others have mentioned story is weak, controls are marginal at best. If you have to play this one, definitely wait for the bargain bin.
  5. Dec 4, 2011
    0
    This is a very broken game. I can't imagine Ubisoft would make such an incomplete title. As the only good *entertainment-grade* modern aerial warfare game that can be played on PC, HAWX was a fair title for its price and the Tom Clancy brand, so I've waited for HAWX 2 and let's see what we've get: a ridiculous beginning as if you were playing Condition Zero: Deleted Scenes or any otherThis is a very broken game. I can't imagine Ubisoft would make such an incomplete title. As the only good *entertainment-grade* modern aerial warfare game that can be played on PC, HAWX was a fair title for its price and the Tom Clancy brand, so I've waited for HAWX 2 and let's see what we've get: a ridiculous beginning as if you were playing Condition Zero: Deleted Scenes or any other absurd modern warfare game coming out from nowhere. Bad, lazy, obviously low-budgeted cutscenes and menu. Supposedly-should-be-better-but-actually-awful graphics. Maybe you've got disappointed in Ace Combat 6 but got a slight hope from HAWX, but HAWX 2 would definitely let you down till the deepest of abyss. Please, DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. A refund should be worthy, though. Expand
  6. Dec 5, 2011
    0
    I signed up for metacritic just to write a bad review for this game. I paid $10 for this poor excuse for an arcade combat flight sim and I feel cheated. The first thing a publisher should realise and you will notice when and if you can get this game working is that the primary idea should be to make the aircraft an enjoyable thing to fly. This is a lame console port with no effort orI signed up for metacritic just to write a bad review for this game. I paid $10 for this poor excuse for an arcade combat flight sim and I feel cheated. The first thing a publisher should realise and you will notice when and if you can get this game working is that the primary idea should be to make the aircraft an enjoyable thing to fly. This is a lame console port with no effort or testing put into the end product. The plane is simply frustratingly boring to fly. The controls are awkward. It does not have a fluid motion to flight at all. It feels more like a old arcade game for 50 cents in the early 90's than a game that was made in the 21st century. Junk. The graphics are only marginally better. My machine can run them at max (I have a moderately fast computer) and they look dated and tired. Low res textures on the ground, moderate **** graphics, and the airplane isn't that great to look at either. The 2 parts I actually liked and I gave it 2 points for each were the mountains/terrain and the variety of missions. The terrain gives you some fun under the radar flight, until you remember the poor controls. They also take you out of the **** and thats a nice change. I could find nothing exciting about the story line at all to comment about. Tom Clancy should not endorse product like this. That name brand has really taken a hit as of late with some poor titles and this one really takes the cake. Can I get a refund? Maybe in store credit please?! Expand
  7. Jan 1, 2012
    1
    This game was a huge disappointment. The fact that you cannot change your plane during the first play-through is just stupid and frustrating. Not being able to change the plane load-out until you gain xp with that plane is also stupid. The worst part are the missions that take place behind a UAV or a mounted gun...yeah I bought a flight game to not fly...genius. I hate the wholeThis game was a huge disappointment. The fact that you cannot change your plane during the first play-through is just stupid and frustrating. Not being able to change the plane load-out until you gain xp with that plane is also stupid. The worst part are the missions that take place behind a UAV or a mounted gun...yeah I bought a flight game to not fly...genius. I hate the whole bombing thing too, I see some ground targets and think "cool I get to go fly low and take these things out" but no, switch to autopilot in the middle of a mission to aim and shoot... The missions objectives are just ridiculous sometimes, I find myself fighting against the game just to complete the objectives. After all the updates the game is still broken, lots of bugs. The graphics are barely an improvement over the original, maybe not even improved. Most missions I don't even use the "flight assistance off" because they don't really provide a situation that warrants its use. I got this game for 7 bucks on steam and feel ripped off. I feel like developers did not even try. If you want to enjoy the HAWX universe, just play the first one. Expand
  8. Dec 31, 2010
    3
    Great game, poor format. You cannot play unless you have internet access and it seems ubi's support is less than sympathetic for resolving issues. First HAWX was great. That is why I wanted HAWX2. Unfortunately, digital download means if ubi's site is running poorly, you can't play. I asked them for a dvd to play the game independent (for $54 you should get something!) and theyGreat game, poor format. You cannot play unless you have internet access and it seems ubi's support is less than sympathetic for resolving issues. First HAWX was great. That is why I wanted HAWX2. Unfortunately, digital download means if ubi's site is running poorly, you can't play. I asked them for a dvd to play the game independent (for $54 you should get something!) and they refused, saying they believe it's a better "gaming experience online". They threw a bunch of high tech chatter at me, telling me it was a problem on my end, but I am not a computer guru and shouldn't have to be just to play a game. The way I see it, you pay your money and play the game. That's the way it should be. So...don't purchase the digital download of this game unless you are a high tech computer guru that has the knowlege to alter your computer settings before playing the game. And don't expect ubi to resolve issues. They only respond when they feel like it. On the other hand, when the game does run, it is great. It has all the characteristics of the first HAWX plus now you get to take off and land on many of the missions. The graphics are outstanding, too. Expand
  9. Feb 16, 2011
    0
    This is a MEDIOCRE game! The 1st HAWX was ok and you had ERS for targeting. Now ERS is no longer ERS and used only for stupid landing and refueling??!! HORRIBLE! Cheap! And what more, in many missions, the brain dead programmer let the BOT planes have UNLIMTIED Flares? So you are stuck playing a stupid "machine gun" canon game with a stealth fighter, LOL? This game deserves a NEGATIVE score!
  10. Jun 1, 2011
    4
    - online mod is buged
    - stupid enemy KI
    - missing wingmen control like in HAWX 1
    - missing Ubisoft Game Launcher in the Steam version
    - missing hangar from Hawx 1
    - sometimes weapon choice doesn't fits to the mission (Air-Air weapons in a mission where 90% of the targets are at the ground... lol)

    - bad copyright policy
  11. Jun 27, 2014
    1
    This is a prime example of where Sequels burn up in a fire and die. I remember playing the first H.A.W.X. and loved it, but this was so damn annoying. They added some new features like landing to resupply, but half the time, if you do this, you run out of time and fail the missing. The forced planes are even more annoying. I swear I flew the **** Harrier for half the game.

    The game
    This is a prime example of where Sequels burn up in a fire and die. I remember playing the first H.A.W.X. and loved it, but this was so damn annoying. They added some new features like landing to resupply, but half the time, if you do this, you run out of time and fail the missing. The forced planes are even more annoying. I swear I flew the **** Harrier for half the game.

    The game lacked almost everything that made the first awesome. I remember playing the last mission on co-op, if was so **** and not even worth it (even funnier, my friend crashed during the final cutscene).

    I wish I could have gotten my money back.

    Oh yeah and online play, just go all guns. Players can dodge your missiles without even trying. I just rolled an A-10 with all the possible machine guns and took them head on.

    A game stripped of it's glory in every way. I barely remember it anymore, that's how long ago I stopped playing.
    Expand
  12. Dec 4, 2014
    0
    Game includes always-on DRM. An internet connection is required for singleplayer mode. This review must be 150 characters long, so here is some padding.
  13. Dec 22, 2012
    2
    First things first, Uplay is a JOKE.

    This is one of the most unstable, buggy game I've ever seen, can't quit the game properly, it choose to stuck in my memory for no reason. I have to reboot to get rid of it from my memory. Controller don't work, I have a flight stick connected and it choose to use my keyboard instead, way to go UBISOFT, you suck at PC resales. And you wonder why
    First things first, Uplay is a JOKE.

    This is one of the most unstable, buggy game I've ever seen, can't quit the game properly, it choose to stuck in my memory for no reason. I have to reboot to get rid of it from my memory.

    Controller don't work, I have a flight stick connected and it choose to use my keyboard instead, way to go UBISOFT, you suck at PC resales. And you wonder why PC version don't sale as good as console? Because you don't put efforts in it that's why. Your game don't worth my money, it doesn't even matter how good the game itself, technical side don't work and the game don't work.
    Expand
  14. Dec 22, 2012
    0
    This game is completely broken. Its a piece of **** and a waste of time. Once you have finished the 6GB download from steam it takes an additional hour before you can play, and then all the graphics are broken and none of the mission objectives appear.
  15. Aug 17, 2013
    0
    Hugely dissapointed as the first game was miles better. This game is pathetic. Controls are jerky even after numerous adjustments. Storyline is horrible. Gameplay in the original HAWX was much better. Heat-seeking missles can't seem to find heat sources. If you have the original HAWX, don't expect this game to be similar. Instead of giving an enjoyable gameplay experience, Ubisoft madeHugely dissapointed as the first game was miles better. This game is pathetic. Controls are jerky even after numerous adjustments. Storyline is horrible. Gameplay in the original HAWX was much better. Heat-seeking missles can't seem to find heat sources. If you have the original HAWX, don't expect this game to be similar. Instead of giving an enjoyable gameplay experience, Ubisoft made this game a chore to play. I will be uninstalling this pathetic attempt at entertainment. Expand
  16. Mar 18, 2023
    4
    Functional, but not great. Falls flat where its predecessor manages to be an alright title. It doesn't do anything new either, same jets, same weapons, same music and sounds. Ended up playing with just keyboard as I couldn't get the hang of mouse controls as there's an insanely huge dead zone that can't be adjusted.

    Playing from Steam in 2023 (which funnily enough, you can no longer
    Functional, but not great. Falls flat where its predecessor manages to be an alright title. It doesn't do anything new either, same jets, same weapons, same music and sounds. Ended up playing with just keyboard as I couldn't get the hang of mouse controls as there's an insanely huge dead zone that can't be adjusted.

    Playing from Steam in 2023 (which funnily enough, you can no longer purchase it there), it tries to install an old Ubisoft Game Launcher, while also working using the modern Ubisoft Connect.
    Expand
Metascore
66

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 12
  2. Negative: 1 out of 12
  1. PC Format
    Mar 18, 2011
    71
    Some fun to be had in amongst the tedium. [Apr 2011, p.102]
  2. 78
    So even though HAWX 2 is a step forward when compared to its predecessor, it's brought down by an almost empty multiplayer, despite the numerous options, a boring single-player and a pretty "dense" AI when it comes to allies, while the enemies do their job very well, ironically. So well, in fact, that you'll be tempted to stick a fork in it and finish the story in co-op, which ultimately is a good thing. Too bad this decision is encouraged in such a brutal manner.
  3. PC PowerPlay
    Feb 11, 2011
    60
    Fun without the fundamentals, a simpering sim with irritating copy protection. [Feb 2011, p.58]