games: Tom Clancy’s: H.A.W.X

Thomas Clancy. For a man who has produced some of the most macho and military games around, it’s ironic that there are so many dirty anagrams of his name. For example, Scantly Macho, and My Scotch Anal. It’s also an anagram of Talc My Nachos, which is just about the least manly thing you can say when you work in the military. No wonder he calls himself Tom.

Anyway, PC gamers have long mourned Clancy’s Rainbow Six franchise. The general feeling is that it’s sunk from a hardcore, realistic killing simulator into some kind of, well, “console game”. And those people will see Tom Clany’s HAWX as just another simple-minded step in that direction. It’s an arcade game, pure and simple. It’s Afterburner, it’s Ace Combat.  It’s Space Harrier, it’s… err… Missile Command.

So, it’s good! All those games are very good. And HAWX looks lovely - assuming you don’t spend too much time close to the ground. And it fulfills the number one obligation of a flight combat game - it makes you lean to one side and make little straining noises like a constipated rodent.

There’s not much you have to worry about. There’s a go-faster button, a fire missile at enemy button, and the rest is about manouevring yourself into a positions where you can fire missiles at your enemy.

If that sounds difficult, then don’t worry - Ubisoft have included a short-cut system that makes you feel like a real future pilot. Just tap the Enhanced Reality Button, and you’ll be presented with a series of gates. Fly through them, and you’ll be delivered into the perfect position to destroy your target. The same system will also helps you escape missiles that have locked onto you.

So, it’s not about strategy - and it’s not even about other planes. It’s all about flying through gates, and shooting big yellow targetting squares, as soon as they turn red. This happens before the plane is bigger than the target. It’s a bit like a massive 3D version of Geometry Wars. If you want to enjoy HAWX in the single player, don’t use the Enhanced Reality System.

Even the different planes don’t handle differently. That’s OK if you don’t know anything about planes, and think it’s all just flying metal horses. But if you’ve got expectations about certain planes handling in different ways, forget it. If the view wasn’t from outside the plane, you’d not know the difference.

Multiplayer, on the other hand, is excellent, with co-op included. You can fight the 19 missions with friends, or randoms. And you don’t have to babysit your colleagues, like Left 4 Dead or Resi 5, which instantly reduces the stress of being bundled with accidental idiots. 

HAWX isn’t what some people will want it to be - a flight sim. But, if you want to experience The Curious Case of The Tom Clancy Franchise, start with this and work your way back to 1998’s Rainbow Six on PC. It’s quite a journey. 3*s.