Warhawk Epic Review - 8/10
Ehreeew, whoosh, boom tah tah tah tah tah, sound familiar?
Sure it does, we’ve all imitated a fighter jet at some stage of our lives and some of us probably still do, but imitate no more as the release of Warhawk for the Playstation 3 allows us all to fulfill a fond childhood fantasy of flying a warplane.
Enter Warhawk, a remake of a 1995 playstation game of the same name, and what was once an austere flight combat videogame has recently been revamped into a next-gen war ‘megagame,’ now with the ability to control ground troops, 4x4s, tanks, turrets and of course, Warhawks. At heart, Warhawk is a 32 player, multi-player only, war shooter that pits Blues against Reds over a multitude of modes set in vast landscapes which allows players to duke it out in the air or on the ground.
Whether you buy Warhawk (including Bluetooth headset) from retail outlets or download it through the Playstation store, it’s pretty straightforward and makes it easy for players to jump right into action with in-game help available to aid beginners familiarize themselves with the world of Warhawk. The manual, though helpful, does not contain everything like ranking terms and other general information so it’s best to visit the official website www.us.playstation.com/ for FAQs, hints, strategies and other neat reads. But as stated above, it is quite easy to skip all the reading and head straight into battle, this is made even more so by the fact that this game uses general controls such as: R1 - fire, L1 - secondry fire, left stick - walk/drive/fly, right stick – aim/maneuver to control troops, vehicles, aircrafts and turrets so that the player can seamlessly transition from foot to vehicle to air with flawless precision and eliminates the need to memorize numerous complicated control schemes. Some other great features that you’ll notice is the auto-aim and lock-on functions which assists players in maintaining a steady shot and also proves to be invaluable during tense situations. Warhawk also has motion sensing capabilities but for players untried to motion sensed controls, this nifty little feature might certify to be more counter-intuitive than intuitive especially in the heat of combat so it really is a question of preference in my opinion. Although this game has superb controls, Warhawk really shines with its magnificent gameplay which fuses careful strategic planning with outright action.
Warhawk contains 5 maps, each with 5 variations making a total of 25 playable maps which make up the game’s battlefields. These maps include: The Badlands, a canyonous desert region with a large fortress in the center; Archipelago, a tropical territory consisting of a series of floating islands neighbouring a greater island found in the middle; Eucadia, a mountainous region with many scattered townships across the area; The Island Outpost, an island locale with two main military strongholds at each end, and The Destroyed Capitol, the ruins of the once prosperous Eucadian Capitol which contains a cluster of high-rise skyscrapers surrounding a park located in the center of the map. Moving on, there are 4 different modes which can be played on these maps: Deathmatch, an intense free-for-all to which the player with the most kills in a set time limit wins the round; Team Deathmatch, similar to Deathmatch, although this time it’s Blues vs. Reds (Eucadians vs. Chernovans) and teams have the ability to capture neutral bases for use as spawn points; Capture the Flag, your typical CTF scenario, obtain the opposition’s flag and run it back to your base, and finally, Zones, where the map is broken down into zones each having its own base with the objective being to earn more points by capturing and controlling more zones than the opposing team. Once you have created or joined a game, you should note that there are a few ways of getting around in Warhawk, the easiest one being on-foot as a ground troop. While roaming as a ground troop you’ll have access to the most amount of weapons ranging from the standard service pistol, combat knife and grenades to more powerful munitions such as: automatic rifles, missile launchers, sniper rifles, flamethrowers, landmines and of course the infamous binoculars which is used to call in an air strike on a targeted position. Although each weapon has their own distinct advantages, you’ll most likely be pulling out the automatic rifle for the majority of ground combats you encounter as not only is it proficient in short and long ranges but also has a 40 round magazine with an approximate maximum carry limit of 280 rounds to ensure you never run out of ammunition whilst in the midst of a fracas. Traveling and fighting on-foot is a great way to remain inconspicuous however it does take a while to get to your destination, so a quicker way to move about on ground is to drive a vehicle, be it a 4x4 or a tank. 4x4s are the fastest land vehicles available in Warhawk and has a maximum capacity of 3 people: a driver, a passenger and a machine gun operator at the rear. Though agile, the 4x4 is relatively weak especially against impacts made by heavy artillery, thus for a stronger transport or combat vehicle players should opt for the war tanks. They may be considerably slower than their 4-wheeled counterparts but they are certainly more resistant to oncoming fire. The only downside to these tanks apart from their speed is that they’re fairly sizeable making them easy prey for Warhawks and Nemesis Aircrafts who incessantly fly around the combat zone however, having an extra troop armed with a missile launcher onboard should provide decent cover when under attack. On the contrary, if you’d rather encompass the skies, then jumping aboard the nearest Warhawk/Nemesis Aircraft should get you flying right away. These flying destruction bringers have access to some of the most powerful weapons offered in Warhawk including homing missiles and cluster bombs as well as having the ability to fly around in stealth mode and dispense chaff to evade and elude enemies. So, as you can tell, Warhawk definitely has solid gameplay though the same can’t be said about online play. From the beginning, this title has had a host of network issues but patches are constantly being released to resolve these errors. However, don’t fret just yet because in spite of all the network flaws, Warhawk still manages to provide gamers with an immensely relishable online experience giving players something to shoot for every time they log on.
From a graphical standpoint, Warhawk looks great on displays with 720p or 1080i capabilities, which truly bring out the fine details and accentuates various in-game sequences. Be that as it may there is one outstanding visual facet, and that is the game’s extensive draw distance allowing players to see the other side of the map and literally even further, into the horizon, all this with crystal clear perception. Another crystal clear aspect of Warhawk is its audio content which is nothing short of stupefying as it immerses you directly in the heart of warfare by bombarding your ears with gunfire, explosions and the fading bellows of fallen men. The game’s sound effects in general are sharp, clear (no muffling or distortion) and accurately realistic, particularly for soldier weapons where you’ll likely find yourself firing your guns for no apparent reason apart from hearing the incredible sound coming out of it. Furthermore, Warhawk includes a useful voice chat system so players can strategize with one another to enhance efficiency.
To put it briefly, Incognito has taken a simple, outdated game developed by ‘SingleTrac’ and conceived a next-gen megagame loaded with superb gameplay, excellent graphics, highly vivacious sounds and a commendable online system capable of bringing players from around the world on to one battlefield, pitting Blues against Reds in a conflict of epic proportions, making soldiers out of men, and heroes out of soldiers. So be sure to purchase a copy of Warhawk today, so you too can fulfill a childhood dream.
Submitted by valeroso
05/10/2007
12
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