Every single mission in the campaign mode is available to play with a friend in a multiplayer co-op mode as well and it works really well. Having to taxi your jet to the runway with three of your friends can be quite fun, as you chat to each other via headsets. Objectives can end up becoming much easier as a result too, with players able to splinter off and tackle different tasks of their own accord. When it comes to the crunch though, you'll be thankful that you have an extra pair of hands to take on some of these 'insurgents', as they get progressively more difficult to shoot down the further you play through the campaign.
The multiplayer returns, but is focused on objective-based gameplay rather than simple dogfighting. Douglas said that in the first
H.A.W.X. title, online combat ended up becoming a game of 'cat and mouse,' where the tactic was to be the first person to get behind their opponent and gun him/her down. In
H.A.W.X. 2's eight-player team play, you're still destroying your opponent for points, but to win the match you have to better them in various tasks. One map requires you to maintain control over a particular area, while another gives points for hitting other targets.
It's a rather creative way of avoiding the 'cat and mouse' syndrome, but I fear that it could be all-too confusing a premise for simple online combat. Flying around various deathmatch arenas with a friend against two enemies, there was some initial confusion as to whether the objective was to defeat other players or to simply score more points from the surrounding area than them. For those just looking for a way to get eight planes in the clouds and engage in some hardcore dogfighting,
H.A.W.X. 2 might prove to be a game that's trying to do too much at once.
The game needs a few tweaks here and there to be completely enjoyable for Ubisoft's intended audience(s). Features like the enemy focus button – which allows you to switch intended long-range targets with the press of the Y button – for example, can be quite temperamental and almost as iffy as trying to select the right bloke to control in a
FIFA game.
In an intense, high speed, flight combat game that is not a latency you want to contend with. There are other control niggles that are present even after nailing the whole close-combat thing – such as trying to align yourself for a landing and requiring players to be an accuracy pro on even the lower difficulty settings. With the remaining issues sorted, and a clear mandate for online multiplayer, however,
H.A.W.X. 2 could be a much more engaging affair than its predecessor.
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 will be released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on the 3rd September.
