Reviews

Tom Clancy tends to get his name on a lot of video games these days, not bad for a novelist who's probably never even touched a 360 pad by choice. He's done everything from tactical squad warfare in Ghost Recon, stealth espionage in Splinter Cell and strategy in End War. Tom Clancy and Ubisoft have teamed up again this time to bring you arcade style flight combat H.A.W.X. (High Altitude Warfare Experimental). The collaborations usually bring us competent action packed games and with H.A.W.X. The sky's the limit.

Set in the future where war has spread and jets have advanced; it's the task of Major David Crenshaw and his HAWX unit to win the battle in the clouds. The story is presented in usual Clancy style in the form of mid-action videos, pre mission scenarios and post mission messages of congratulations. There's plenty of big up, feel good American chit chat, during which the Englishman in me longs for them to stop waving the American flag and feeling good about Uncle Sam and bring on the dogfights.

Admit it, you're making plane noises as you read this.

The game begins in the familiar territory of the Middle East. Anyone who's played Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 will be more familiar, as this is an aerial view of the exact same mission. Crossing over games is sure to whet the appetite of Clancy enthusiasts and it's nice to take on a different perspective. To take you away from the clichéd Middle Eastern warzone environments, there are battles raging over the skies of Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Chicago amongst several other locations. The war may have crossed the oceans and spread itself around, giving you varied and nice ground views, but the sky always looks the same. The graphical detail is stunning - just don't fly too close to the ground.

The objectives vary from the likes of protecting oil refineries and escorting bombers to taking out opposition tanks and planes. The accessibility is a relief, as I usually suck at these games, often unable to hit anything and spinning around in circles looking for the target like a dog chasing its own tail, before carelessly flying into the ocean. The game eases you in with simple objectives that won't give you too much trouble and by the time you reach Rio, where the tense fighting begins, you'll be flying high and scraping roofs like Iceman or that Scientology guy formally known as Tom Cruise.

Please, no cockpit jokes. It's just childish.

For your viewing pleasure, you have the option to play in third, first person or cockpit views. The easier option is third person, but daredevils may opt for the cockpit view for an added challenge and realism. If you're extra hardcore, H.A.W.X. Introduces Assistance OFF mode, which switches the view point to film perspective (as if viewed by a camera). This mode is extremely tricky and takes several missions to get used to, although I imagine the majority of people will instantly dismiss it in favour of the far simpler third person. Given a chance, however, it's an extremely exciting mode. Stalling a plane and watching it fall to the earth sets the heart racing, with the added pressure of regaining control before you're finished with a bang.