WarHawk

Has the PS3 discovered multiplayer perfection?

This review will have something of a niche audience, and if you do not satisfy the following three criteria, then there is probably going to be very little to interest you. To play WarHawk you must: have a PS3, be connected online and love multiplayer games. If this is you then please continue reading, otherwise you might want to look elsewhere about now. The thought of an exclusively multiplayer online only game seemed, at first, a rather strange step for a development studio to take as not only does it reduce the customer base but will also deter those solitary gamers who prefer singleplayer experiences. If you do fall into the aforementioned category then you are sadly missing out, as Incognito have pulled off a beauty.

WarHawk did not start life as a purely multiplayer title, indeed there was a singleplayer campaign but as development went on this was sadly lacking in comparison to the online experience. So focus was switched to the mulitplayer and making this as good as it possibly could be; in my humble opinion it has come pretty close to perfection. I've not been a huge fan of shoot 'em ups online, previous attempts ending in sour frustration as more often than not you come up against dedicated fans that have honed their skills so superbly that the simple task of staying alive can become an unwelcome chore, but not any longer.

The format of WarHawk will be familiar to any online gamer, Incognito are not trying to do anything new but simply do it well. There are four modes of play: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the flag and Zones. These are all self explanatory except perhaps Zones, which sees the teams capturing 'Zones' on the map to earn points and thus trying to link up the map with the captured zones. Within deathmatch modes, there is the option of playing in Dogfight only, where just sole use of the WarHawk is allowed. There are five maps in total that can be configured to five variations depending on the style of game and number of players playing. The largest maps support a maximum of 32 players. In battle you take the side of a Eucadian or Chernovan, this may have had some baring on the singleplayer mode but has no effect on gameplay, indeed the only moment this seems relevant is in the customisation of your character, so for the majority its basically Red vs. Blue. Player customisation is simple but effective allowing you to choose sides and customise the look of your soldier, which can then be used as defaults when joining games. Through progression in the game extras can be added, this enables the more experienced combatants to be spotted easily. Over time badges and medals will be awarded depending on how well you do contributing to improving your online ranking on the leaderboard.

There being no singleplayer campaign, the first couple of games can be a daunting experience, little information is given about the controls and weapons, most will be learnt via the in-game help which at times can be too brief; for those without a HD TV a little hard to read as well. The learning curve at the beginning can be steep due to the epic scale of what is possible within the game. You can play the game on foot arming yourself and playing a slower strategic style, if you tire of this you can hop in a Jeep and speed across the map, teaming up with a buddy allowing them control of the mounted machine gun. If you want something a little more powerful then a tank might be what you desire, not the quickest but packing a ferocious punch. If some base defending is in need then taking up a turret position might serve you best... there is a multitude to choose from depending on your objective. AA guns for those pesky WarHawks through to heavy missile launchers to repel the oncoming tanks. Finally there is the beloved WarHawk itself, from where this title derives its name. The aircraft is essentially two-in-one, being able to switch between a hover mode for take-off/landing and strafing ground based enemies and then a full out fighter plane. This allows for awesome dogfights across the map that can climb to dizzying heights through the clouds. Additional weapons can also be collected around the map.

The ability to change the way you fight depending on map or how you are feeling at any given moment is one of this game's joys. If you wish you can spend the entire game in the air supporting the ground troops in their objective or vice-versa. Graphically the game is as good as anything on offer presently with a few nice touches, for example the WarHawks when hit will explode magnificently, sending burning chunks falling down. The draw distance is also superb with the whole map visible, especially stunning when taking the WarHawks high up and viewing from the air. Personally, I feel the game becomes truly excellent during the team modes when actual co-operation is used. Communication in-game is accomplished via the use of a headset and when people get talking plans and actions can come together extremely well. I had one successful game in capture the flag mode where it was my job to make the dash with the flag in a Jeep, whilst others on my team held off the opposition via the use of air support. Unfortunately this kind of team play is rare with very few opting to use headsets and when they do the quality is fairly poor and sometimes crumbles to an unrecognisable grumble. There is use for the Sixaxis controller in the game when trying to fly and drive but after a couple of tries most will decide that the normal controls allow for quicker reactions and more freedom.

Sony released two different versions of this game, a download from the PlayStation store can be yours for 20 GBP, or a couple of weeks later we had a Blu-ray copy (for 40 GBP), including a Jabra Bluetooth headset to enable more communication between players. The headset also works with most mobile phones and this is a nice extra. There seems to be very few down sides to this game, its aim is to be a good online multiplayer title, and it exceeds at this. The only drawbacks that I can see are that the maps start to get familiar but hopefully Incognito will resolve this issue with more maps to be downloaded at a future date. There are always a large number of players online whatever the time of day with the dedicated Sony servers usually holding the larger 32 player battles. One nuisance that has become apparent is if someone is hosting a game and then decides to quit, the game will end abruptly. To owners of PS3s out there, this game is a must, and if you go the download route then it is simply a bargain. All in all there has never been a better time to join the fight, I urge you to head online.

90%

By Tom Carpenter