Ripten Review: Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2 (Xbox 360)

A common problem I find with air combat games, especially on consoles, is that they shoot themselves in the foot and become victims of their biggest asset: freedom. A huge open environment where you can literally fly anywhere, soon becomes boring because it’s repetitive and uninspiring.

Luckily H.A.W.X. 2, unlike it’s predecessor, realizes this and actually breaks up the monotonous plane to plane combat with new and fresh sequences that the original game could’ve used. Whether this was to draw a new audience, or to simply keep the original audience enthralled by the advanced plane combat remains to be seen.

Following the events of the original game, the HAWX Team (A squadron of advanced pilots) have been deployed to the Middle East in attempt to quell increasing violence and movement of high value enemy leaders. Throughout the course of the campaign, you will find yourself switching between a number of pilots and nationalities, each with their own separate planes and stories. While this is a good way to tell the story, it is confusing and ultimately I felt it didn’t work well for this style of game.

As I previously mentioned, Ubisoft Romania, the developers of the second game, have introduced a plethora of new content to separate the otherwise dreary and repetitive missions.  Throughout the course of the campaign players will have access to a number of planes, from the well known A-10 Thunderbolt II, right through to the lesser known SU-37 Terminator. Each plane handles differently and each has it’s own weapon loadouts and capabilities. For example, the A-10 is better at taking out armored vehicles with it’s GAU-8 cannon, where as jets designed for faster speed and maneuverability will be better for engaging other enemy jets.

Perhaps one of the most fun and well used additions is the introduction of the AC-130; perhaps one of the most well known gunships in the world. One particular mission towards the start of the campaign sees you take the role of gunner as you protect an elite squad rescuing a captured leader. By using the various optical zooms, you can literally see the squad members taking cover and firing at the enemy. This mission is a real standout in an otherwise bleak and boring campaign. As well as the AC-130 segments, the ability to land and take off has been introduced, as well as the ability to land and take off on carriers, and mid-air refueling. Although nothing added is insanely different, these new elements make the game appear to be about more than just dogfighting.  Although it doesn’t take long for that excitement to subside and you’ll soon feel like you’re just following waypoints and blowing up planes.

Check out some HD gameplay footage below:

Something I was quite happy with, was the fact the skill and intelligence of the AI has been ramped up significantly. No longer will they just fly idly allowing you to shoot them out of the sky, now they will present a much harder challenge. Numerous times in a single dogfight the enemy broke my missile lock, or even deployed flares then performed evasive techniques. With this smarter AI, the dogfights feel a lot more alive as opposed to a mid air duck shoot. It becomes more of a problem in sections of the game where you’re tasked with eliminating numerous groups of enemies while you struggle just to take out one.

Later on in the game you will finally have access to your wingmen. The most significant use for these team mates is to target enemies and tell them to engage. This is absolutely essential in later parts of the game where you have to defend a base from ground and air targets, since you can’t be in 150 places at once. If you die during the process, you’re plonked right back at a checkpoint, and this really makes the gameplay feel stale and repetitive. What would’ve been much better is a dynamic campaign.  It would be interesting if when you failed a mission, you lost a tiny portion of a map, similar to Tom Clancy’s End War.

Graphically the game has been improved, and a lot of that is thanks to the amazing imagery from the GeoEye Satellite that takes realistic screen shots of Earth, then relays them back to the ground. The textures hold up when you’re fairly high up, but when you dip down to lower altitudes the textures seem a bit blurry and low res. This is easy to ignore however as you will be feasting your eyes upon the gorgeous planes and mind blowing explosions. Coupled with a brilliant emotion inducing soundtrack, HAWX 2 is definitely a treat for the eyes and ears.

In my opinion the greatest joy of the game comes from the online co-op modes. By teaming up with another pilot online, you will actually feel like an elite fighter pilot as you tackle the skies knowing true and well that you have someone to back you up. There is also a wave survival mode which is enjoyable and provides a healthy mix of competition with friends.

Completing a mission in Single Player then allows you to access it in an Arcade mode, where you have access to different planes, weapons and new strategies. I think this is a brilliant move on Ubisoft’s behalf, as it opens the game up and adds more replay value.

All in all, the new gameplay content and graphics sadly don’t make Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2 an essential must have game of 2010. It’s definitely worth playing as something new in a jaded landscape of first person shooters, but it’s not genre defining or perfect – not even close actually.

Here’s The Rundown:

+ Great New Gameplay  Additions
+ Improved AI and Extra Game Content
- Still Feels Boring and Repetitive
- AI is a Bit TOO Good