Reviews// Warhawk

“Just one more go, eh?” I said. And you know that when you’ve said that, a game has got you.

My sniping tale (my preferred weapons are the knife and the tank by the way) is more than simply illustrative of my immersion in the game. It should also show you the detail that’s gone into even the handheld weapons.

Now let’s talk about the Jeeps. “What about the bloody eponymous Warhawks, Tim, you blithering old fart?” I hear you yell. Well, if you’re any good at flying them, they are more fun than you could reasonably expect from a game that does not specialise in flying. The swoop, they dive, they stall, they hover, they fire, they get pick-ups that can electrify, frag-bomb, produce near invisibility and chaff. Yes, chaff.

Never forget the chaff. Chaff is crucial. Chaff will save your life as the missiles from ground and air lock-on to you while you, in turn, try to blast a guided missile (you get to guide it in all its grey, grainy glory) into a street packed with melee-ing troops. Missile locked (as you are warned) means, drop chaff. It works every time.

You could indeed opt to play Warhawk entirely as an airborne game and you’d probably love it.

Or you and a pal might like to play it as a Jeep-based game: you driving – that’s the most fun – your buddy in the rear, standing up, machine-gunning all and sundry. Driving these little bastards (the Jeeps not your friend, I would hope) is immense and hilarious fun. They are – as previously pointed out – zippy as a pair of jeans made by a fashion student fixated on retro-punks stylings. They handle smoothly and can take all kinds of hits.

They’re nearly as much of a joy as the tank… now, the tank…

This is quite enough. I don’t want this to turn into a game guide.

Halo?
Let me deal with one side-issue that’s been doing the rounds. Warhawk has been called a Halo beater. Sure, there are similarities. But unless you own an Xbox 360 and a PlayStation 3 and you feel that you absolutely have to choose only one game then, well, you’re too rich and too stupid to benefit from either… sorry, a tangent. There are similarities but you can enjoy both, so let’s cease that pointless challenge shall we.

Summary
So, in summary then: Warhawk is a game that sees you rushing around beautifully realised landscapes, in teams or against everybody else, using a variety of weapons, vehicles and tactics, all set to some decent noises while online. Of course, you can scream abuse or encouragement with a headset and mic. Of course, you can set up your very own server and ‘pwn’ people from all sorts of exotic places. But here’s a thing, Warhawk is also a fun game to watch other people play – and that’s one of the finest compliments I can give any game.

Aside from the few faults (and the lack of bike and helicopter – I really do want it all), it’s an absolute, locked-on, chaff dropping, frag-bombing, team-building bloody marvel.

Now I want just one… more… go.

SPOnG Score: 95%

Conclusion
Its few inconsistencies don’t really detract from one of the most enormous slices of online, multi-player joy that this reviewer has had the pleasure of playing. It’s certainly not for the military completist, nor will someone after an engrossing plot and heavily technical weapons-use love it. It won’t suit people who crave deep, tactical and strategic game-play. The person it will suit is a socialised, quick-thinking gamer who wants non-stop, elegantly produced, massively fast-paced video gaming fun.