Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X

Did You Know?

• A Wii version was announced but ultimately canceled.
• In November 2018, the game was added to the Xbox One's Backwards Compatibility list, though only through physical media as it is not available on the Xbox Marketplace.

Gameplay

The gameplay resembles other console-based flight arcade titles such as Top Gun, Ace Combat, and After Burner. Players engage enemies with over fifty aircraft, each equipped with guns, a large supply of Joint Strike Missile (JSM) heat-seekers, and flares. Most enemy aircraft in the single-player campaign are downed by two JSMs, while heavier aircraft require four. Guns inflict little damage but have infinite ammunition. Each aircraft may carry one or two additional weapons, such as cluster bombs on the A-10, which are effective against ground targets but not airborne ones. Players cannot customize weapons but choose between predefined configurations. The Enhanced Reality System (ERS) includes radars, missile detection, an anti-crash system, damage control, a tactical map, information relay, interception trajectories, and weapon trajectory control. The ERS also lets players issue orders to their squadron and other units. Features can be turned off selectively for greater difficulty and maneuverability. The Ace Edge flight stick and throttle control from Ace Combat 6 is compatible on Windows and Xbox 360. Campaign missions can be completed in co-op mode, and a deathmatch mode allows players to challenge each other. Winning players earn experience points to unlock more weapons, and multiplayer plane availability depends on the player's level.

Synopsis

The story takes place in a near-future where private military companies, staffed by elite mercenaries with little regard for the law, have become essential. As these corporations grow stronger, one powerful PMC launches an attack on the United States. The game is set in the same timeline as Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, and Captain Scott Mitchell, the Ghost leader, appears in several missions. Elements from other Tom Clancy games are also present, like the missile defense system from Tom Clancy's EndWar. The player controls Major David Crenshaw, a U.S. Air Force pilot who leads the elite H.A.W.X squadron. The action starts in 2014 when Crenshaw provides air support for the Ghost Recon team in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. After that mission, the Air Force shuts down the H.A.W.X program, and Crenshaw joins Artemis Global Security, a PMC. For the next six years, Crenshaw and his squadron fly missions for Artemis and its clients, defending facilities and attacking insurgent bases. In 2021, Artemis signs a major defense contract with Brazil, making it one of the most powerful PMCs. Las Trinidad, an anti-U.S. PMC alliance, then invades Rio de Janeiro, but Artemis and Brazilian forces push them back. The United States intervenes, undermining Artemis’s role and causing its stock to fall. In response, Artemis takes a contract with Las Trinidad and attacks a U.S. Navy carrier strike group in the Strait of Magellan. Unwilling to fight their own country, Crenshaw and his squadron destroy the Artemis fleet and its fighter escort.

Development

Ubisoft first teased the project under the name Tom Clancy's Air Combat before officially unveiling it as H.A.W.X at the E3 2008 conference on July 15, 2008. Playable demos landed on Xbox 360 in February 2009, followed by PlayStation 3 and Windows versions later that month and into March. The game’s nineteen missions rely on satellite imagery from GeoEye’s Ikonos system, a commercial Earth-imaging tool. The development team partnered with GeoEye to integrate these high-resolution pictures, a shift from classified intelligence to consumer gaming, according to GeoEye VP Mark Brender.

Reception

Critics were split on H.A.W.X, with reactions ranging from mixed to positive. The satellite mapping earned widespread praise for boosting realism, though it suffered from noticeable pixelation when flying low. Game Informer's Matt Miller highlighted the game's big thrills, while others found it stale. IGN's Nate Ahearn enjoyed the co-op but called the sparse multiplayer a letdown, and X-Play's Jake Gaskill described versus mode as confusingly shallow. In a rare positive review, Zero Punctuation's Ben Croshaw panned the story but lauded the gameplay.