WarHawk

For the PS2 or classic XBOX users, Warhawk is guaranteed to evoke a nostalgic feeling within you if you ever played the stunningly good Star Wars Battlefront series. Warhawk is a third person shooter that feels like a polished update of the classic Star Wars gem. It is multiplayer only and there are no fees to play online except your internet bill. However, you can also play split screen with up to three other friends. Warhawk is situated a little into the future in a fantasy world. A battle rages between two armies, the Eucadians and the Chernovans, who are both equal in sense of gameplay terms. The only thing that differs is their design and the designs of their aircrafts. The Eucadians take on the appearance of a rogue faction, you could even say they represented the rebel alliance from Star Wars, and the Chernovans don plated metal armour and look slightly more kickass than the Eucadians but when you're knocking each others hawks out of the sky with homing missiles none of this seems to matter.

The graphics are quite average but when you are in the skies you will notice that from looking above that the maps have been superbly designed and so have the hawks and vehicles. Teamspeak replaces the repetitive use of commentators or preset audio messages that are starting to become a trend in shooters.

Warhawk is fought on three levels which all ultimately conjoin to make the game what it is. The three levels of Warhawk are: Infantry in which you fight other ground troops, disable vehicles or try to hunt hawks with rocket launchers or mounted turrets. The second is vehicles such as tanks or buggies which are an easy way of speeding across the battlefield to secure zones. But the most unique and popular way of getting about is the Warhawk itself. The hawk is basically a jet fighter that can travel at any speed you see fit and offers an arsenal of weapons for your disposal.

Being an average soldier can be hard. You have to always make sure your not outgunned against another soldier, vehicle or even the hawks. The weapons available to infantry are: the average pistol that fires as much as you can tap the R1 button, the assault rifle which is often used to circle around enemies spamming them until they drop dead. Other combat weapons include the melee knife, land mines, a flamethrower, an extraordinary pair of binoculars used for calling a mini air strike, mine capable of hurting enemies around it and lastly the rocket launcher. The rocket launcher is tricky to use on just about every type of enemy apart from the Warhawk. Station yourself on top of a lookout post or from a good vantage point wait for a lock on to occur and release the trigger. The controls for soldiers are very basic and easy to pick up, you can duck using the circle button and jump using the cross button.

Vehicles have their ups and downs depending on which one you jump into. The buggy offers great mobility and three seats: a driver, a passenger and a turret on the back. Also it can't be targeted by missile via auto lock missiles. Also there is the tank, it has more durability than the buggy but moves slightly slower and is quite sluggish when it comes to pivoting the front cannon which can be a pain. The cannon is quite powerful and can instantly kill any idle soldiers foolish enough to stray into its line of sight. The controls for the vehicles are quite different too. Instead of your normal X button acceleration and O reverse you use the two triggers.

The hawk has a few ways of being operated and it's up to you which one to choose. You can use the motion sensor option which is compatible with all SixAxis controllers. This method is quite tricky as you have to hold the controller flat to remain at a decent level of flight and sometimes can misread your movements resulting in a crash or an explosion in your cockpit. The other ways include using your D pad or Analog sticks which is the default and most recommended option. Once you have chosen what method you want you can then choose between the default flight system or pro flight which allows pilots to spin their hawk as well as moving it with both of the Analog sticks allowing you to dodge missiles a lot easier. Once in your hawk you will enter the hovering stage of flight. This is the best mode for attacking ground troops or landing your hawk. The other mode is the actual flying which is a lot quicker and more unstable than hovering but will allow you to barrel roll and spin when being chased.

The game modes in Warhawk lack thought, them being your average Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Zones, a mode in which you take control points to gain the advantage. There are 5 different areas in Warhawk including: the Badlands, Archipelago, Eucadia, the Island Post and the Destroyed capital. That might not seem like an awful lot but each map is split into 6 variations for each mode you play on them (7 for Eucadia) and each section of the map used for the specific mode will make you feel as though you are never playing the same map over and over. Each map is designed to perfection. From the desert destruction of the wastelands to the inhabited Eucadian streets the locations give a feel of total warfare.

Fighting well in fights will gain you points which will allow you to gain ranks and unlock new custom parts for your character. Also badges are awarded which are more like mini awards but completing the same task but on a bigger scale will get you better badges. Also ribbons similar to the ones given in Resistance: FOM are given to indicate how many times you may have gotten a 3 kill streak and other similar accomplishments.

Overall Warhawk is a revamp to the battlefront style game and it does it very well. You are given options in this shooter like no other, you play this game how you want to. If Warhawk alone isn't enough expansions are now available from the PSN store featuring new maps, vehicles and weaponry.

Graphics: 4.4/5.0
Sound: 4.4/ 5.0
Gameplay: 4.8/ 5.0
Layout: 4.8/ 5.0
Online: 4.8/ 5.0