A strange thing happened at Ubidays 2008. Two very distinct conversations played out in the HAWX booth - one a love letter to the graphics, controls, missions and handling; the other a sneer at the angular planes, clunky control, and silly camera. Two very different conversations, divided perfectly between two very different types of player - those who'd played Ace Combat 6, and those who hadn't.
For Combat veterans, HAWX immediately feels like an Ace Combat clone made by the men behind Blazing Angels - both games look similar, with Ace Combat taking the edge; both games control similarly; and both have nonsense storylines.
Within the Clancyverse, HAWX presents its own special kind of nonsense, with mercenary squadrons dogfighting at close range over famous global capitals, but Ubisoft Romania's Studio Creative Director, Ioan Palalau, dismisses the idea of making Clancy's game a real flight sim. "Making a true sim isn't about how many missiles you have. This is the thing with planes - the missile is just the conclusion of a good fight. You pilot your plane well and that puts you in a position to launch your missile. You launch it, and you confirm the kill.
"When the pilots train in Red Flag (an advanced combat training exercise used by the US Air Force) if the computer decides the other plane is locked, they're dead. Pilots don't need to fire anything to know the fight's over.
"Having many different weapons means we can have many different game experiences over the course of the battle" says Ioan, so like Ace Combat, Tom's super-planes dump hundreds of missiles in a single battle.
Ride my tail Gleefully ignoring realism, Clancy's difference is the gloriously silly Enhanced Reality System. With ERS and assists on, the plane can't be stalled or accidentally ploughed into the ground; it allows you to issue orders to your wingmen with the d-pad, and gives you an on-screen virtual reality 'tunnel' to guide you on difficult bombing runs or to set you up behind an enemy plane.
Tap x when in pursuit and the display will plot a path using prediction algorithms to project the enemy's likely flight path and place you on an intercept course behind their eventual position. It's a path made of pure science fiction, of course, but it's a fun way to set up exciting bombing runs, nailing tanks entirely enclosed by buildings.
With the ERS switched off, you lose your complex HUD but can turn tighter and pull off risky aerobatics. Balancing the two is an interesting game, but it's the assist mode which is HAWX's stickiest sticking point. With assists, the camera is locked to the plane's tail or in cockpit; without, it's hundreds of feet away, viewing your plane from a skewed isometric angle.
You get increased spatial awareness but it comes at the cost of immersion; you go from being the pilot of your own jet to clumsily playing with GI Joe toy planes from a quarter mile away. Worse, the only way to get enough twitch control and crucial 'instability' to dodge missiles is to switch the ERS off, so missions are as much outside the aircraft as in.
HAWX's retardocam takes you out of the action more effectively than a punch in the testicles, and as the game currently stands, it can't be turned off.
The cinematic cam as the team call it is an unwelcome concession to the casual audience that even casuals might not appreciate, especially with so much of HAWX's potential audience already invested in Namco's skies. HAWX knows it, and even dropped the Blazing Angels controls in favour of a direct Ace Combat rip.
Despite some leading questions, the team won't discuss influences yet, but there's no need to hide from the truth - Ace Combat is great and HAWX could be its equal... if only they'd fix that bloody camera.
Deliberately or not, HAWX is so clearly an Ace Combat clone it's as if the team felt they needed more to disassociate the game - but it's good enough that it doesn't need the camera gimmick. Right now, that one design choice ruins a thoroughly decent game.
HAWX's retardocam takes you out of the action more effectively than a punch in the testicles, and as the game currently stands, it can't be turned off.
That is the best line i have ever read in a game preview
Not sold on this one. Dont think it will be added to my collection at any point...
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