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H.A.W.X.

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Game Reviewed: Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.
Publisher: Ubisoft Entertainment
Developer: Ubisoft Romania
Reviewer:  Dave Muschott
Platform: Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, And PC
Category: Action – Flight Simulation
ERSB Rating: Teen

 

 

Game Description:

From Ubisoft, the makers of the Tom Clancy franchises such as; Rainbow 6 and Ghost Recon comes their first attempt at a flight simulation game called H.A.W.X. This is an acronym for High Altitude Warfare- Experimental. The game features realistic dogfights, authentic fighter planes and missions that could have come straight out of any war from the last decade or two.

HAWX follows its main character, Major David Crenshaw, squadron leader, from his US Air force time to his private military contractor work with a company called Artemis.  Through Artemis, Crenshaw works for various large companies as well as the Brazilian government as a private military pilot.  It does not take very long for Crenshaw to realize that Artemis is the real enemy. He then begins a series of flight missions to defend the US forces against Artemis.

If you have played other Tom Clancy games you will see similarities in HAWX with the use of cut scenes,  orders given by way of radio communications and updates via video link.  The story line is really an after thought (not on quality, because they do a nice job with it) but it only serves to help set up your next aerial engagement.

If you are a fan of flight simulation games, HAWX would be a great game to have. Controlling the flight of your plane is fairly uncomplicated and those with previous flying experience will pick it up easily.  One of the key game advancements in this game is the Enhanced Reality System. The ERS, when utilized is a series of mid-air gates projected into your display that, when you fly through them correctly, lets you find your aerial opponent quicker or the ability to dodge your enemy’s missiles. This is a nice technical addition to assisting you through several flight missions.

What Parents Need to Know

Violence:

HAWX is a first person jet fighter game that can also be played from the third person point of view, but I do not recommend it as it is extremely difficult to target your enemy from that perspective. There is little to no blood or gore in this game. This is mainly because missiles and rockets blow up stationary or moving targets such as buildings, boats or tanks. There is a realistic fighting perspective in this game but it is not over the top. The cut scenes are mainly informative ways to move through the game and do not show any violence within the game play.

Language:

I did not find any use of course language within the game. But the game states mild language issues, so please be aware as I may have tuned them out.

Sexual Content:

There is no sexual content within this game.

Spirituality:

There are no spiritual aspects found within this game.

A Child’s Perspective:  My teenage son thought the game was pretty cool. He liked flying the airplanes although he prefers first person shooter ground games. Please remember this is a teen rated game and intended for teens and older.

Reviewers Thoughts:

I am a big fan of Tom Clancy’s games so I was excited to give HAWX a try. I found out very quickly I am not a big fan of flight simulation games. I did like the storyline and the graphics were very well done. You could tell they put a lot of time and effort into this game to make it visually stunning.  If you like flying games you will love this game, but if you are not into flying games you may want to pass on this Clancy effort.