Hawken (video game)

Did You Know?

• The game's combination of first-person shooter and mecha combat was compared to Shogo: Mobile Armor Division from 1998.
• In August 2020, a fan group called Hawakening revived the PC release in offline mode, with future plans for multiplayer.
• A sequel titled Hawken Reborn by 505 Games entered Steam Early Access on May 17, 2023.

Gameplay

Hawken is a mech-based first-person shooter set on a dystopian human-colonized planet where resource scarcity drives conflict. Players pilot biped battle mechs armed with ballistic cannons and missiles, equipped with booster jets for speed and short jumps. Weapons have unlimited ammunition but overheat with sustained fire, temporarily disabling all weapons until the mech cools down. Players can customize mechs with alternate weapons, equipment, and upgrades, and use side dashes, boosts, and 180-degree turns that consume a recharging fuel gauge. The game includes ten maps: Bazaar, Bunker, Facility, Front Line, Highways, Last Eco, Origin, Prosk, Uptown, and Wreckage. Three game modes are available: Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch, and Co-op Team Deathmatch; a fourth mode involving charging a rocket to escape existed at one point. An exploration mode allows single-player free-roam without combat. Players can switch between first-person and third-person views and respawn as a different mech. Three mech types exist: A-class (light, agile, weak armor), B-class (balanced), and C-class (heavy, slow, high armor). Each mech has a unique active ability and some have passive abilities. Customization occurs in the garage.

Free-to-play

Hawken generated revenue through player-purchased Mech credits (MC), sold in packages from $5 to $100 USD. These credits could unlock any content, including weapons, items, internals, avatars, cosmetics, boosters, holotaunts, and mechs.

Film adaptation

In August 2011, DJ2 Entertainment acquired the rights for a film adaptation of Hawken, after Adhesive Games initially hesitated to release them. The story is planned to follow two young pilots from separate clans pitted against each other after a virus covers the planet's surface in toxic crystal. As of the available information, no writers, producers, or lead actors have been announced, but a Comic-Con 2012 panel announced that Scott Waugh, director of Act of Valor, would direct the adaptation.