Tom Clancy's HAWX

H.A.W.X. has a lot of potential, and some nice ideas. Unfortunately it falls short off the mark in a few areas, which is a real shame.

H.A.W.X. is a nice, action-packed distraction with some promise, but if you're squeezed on cash and are still waiting on the next Crimson Skies or Ace Combat, you might want to sign on as a pilot-for-rent instead.

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. is not the greatest flight combat game on the market. That said, however, it's a well polished title that can bring some fun.

Hawx could do with a fair bit of polish before it (inevitably) comes around for a second flight, then - and a sluggish start to the solo campaign doesn't help much either. It's far from perfect, but the ERS formula does provide a small but much needed fresh idea to the tired genre, which means many Clancy and Ace Combat fans alike will be glad they played it.

But even fantastic graphics can't elevate H.A.W.X. beyond a simple weekend rental.

The multiplayer likewise suffers a bit from a lack of variety.

You can’t help but feel that H.A.W.X. is a little too tame for its own good. While it’s certainly an enjoyable air combat game, it lacks the edge that other Tom Clancy games so evidently possess.

We love H.A.W.X. and we hate H.A.W.X. For every good thing there is something bad. We’ve played it for a long time, but never got really excited. Collecting experience points and unlocking stuff is cool, but the gameplay gets repetitive. H.A.W.X. looks really good, but has a bad storyline. The game is good, but at the same time disappointing.

With touches of originality in its gameplay and a main campaign that presents enough variation to keep things interesting, HAWX is proficient, but it rarely manages to be much more than this.

Beautiful from a distance, but disappointing when you really open your eyes. Still, I find that I have a certain affection for this game - one that I never expected to develop. If Ubisoft decide to make a HAWX 2, I'll certainly be in line to take a look.

It may take a while to click, but once it does H.A.W.X is certainly an entertaining ride. It may not have the variety required for multiple playthroughs, it will however entertain you through to the conclusion.

The studio has instead crafted an accessible, if not necessarily deep, flight simulator that entertains but never exhilarates. [Apr 2009, p.104]

As it stands it's a solid, fun game, but it's far from being perfect and there's a lot of missed opportunity here.

Fast and fun once the controls are mastered.

It was great being given the chance to play something a little different than your more prevalent shooters involving muscle-bound marines. With the ERS system and forgiving flight controls giving an accessible edge to a niche genre, it’s an enjoyable and recommended introduction.

Overlooking its visual and storytelling blemishes, Tom Clancy's HAWX is an entertaining flight game with solid controls and satisfying gameplay.

HAWX does what it does admirably in most cases. It provides an enjoyable and entertaining diversion in a rarely explored genre with just enough content to keep gamers with friends busy.

It’s competent but bland, lacking the imaginative missions of Blazing Angels, the glorious melodrama of Ace Combat, and the joyful air ballets of either.

The mission design is lacking, the combat is unimaginative, and the multiplayer is shallow. Still, there are plenty who will be able to enjoy soaring 40,000 feet above the earth destroying dozens of enemy planes. All the while belting out lines of Danger Zone. That’s not weird, is it?

Tom Clancy´s franchise sees another title, and this time is a flight arcade. Sit back in the seat and fly through the skies finishing the forces of the rebels against America. The game features an interesting campaign, filled with details like the experience and reward system. Despite the boring missions and repeating time and time again situations, the multiplayer and campaign modes do their job quite well, providing an interesting an fun experience. Cant stand next to Ace Combat 6, but if you like air combat arcade games the game is worth a rental.

One of the weakest Clancy games to date, although not because it’s broken in any way, it’s just so pedestrian it never grabs the gamer like most of the other titles in this stable. And, I know, it’s not a flight sim. What it is though is a middle-of-the-road arcade game.

HAWX is a victim of the high standards set by the other titles in the Clancy franchise. Games such as EndWar and Ghost Recon manage to strike a balance between being fun to play, while offering real challenge and depth of gameplay. This game doesn't, and as a result it's hard to recommend it as a must-buy.

HAWX is a little too short and a little too easy to recommend wholeheartedly, though if the thought of embarking on a cooperative jet-fighting mission or participating in high-powered dogfights is enough to get your pulse racing, you'll probably find enough going on to keep you occupied.

H.A.W.X. does little to add something new to an almost dying genre. But it's still a pretty entertaining flight sim if you're looking for some dogfight action on your console.

As an arcadey flight game it’s just about on the enjoyable side of average, especially when compared to its still superior genre stablemate Ace Combat 6. [Apr 2009, p.122]

If you look at Hawx from a feature standpoint, there is much to be found here. But despite impressive features such as co-op play, a great number of available fighter planes, fast paced action and an intuitive yet advanced control scheme this title never really becomes interesting. A weak story combined with oh so repetitive missions quickly erodes the lure from the feature sheet. And when the multiplayer mode only offers the same thing but with human opponents, the overall experience is a mediocre one.

A gimmicky Ace Combat homage made by people who think you might be stupid. [May 2009, p.72]

Very much the well turned-out but unremarkable flight sim we first thought it was, despite mid-development flashes of promise.

I think what bugs me the most about this game is that I had my original expectations set pretty darned low before it came out in the hopes of being easily-impressed, and sadly, it ended up meeting many of these low expectations.

A flight simulation so shallow you barely need to hold the joypad to become a top gun.