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Reviewed by Andre Delaney 18th August 2007
One thing the Playstation 3 has an abundance of are over the top action titles from Resistance Fall of Man to GRAW2. This aint a bad thing by any means, so when we hear that the development team behind the outrageous Twisted Metal series where bringing back Warhawk to our beloved console, we certainly had something to be excited about. Warhawk is Sony Computer Entertainments answer to the lack of air to ground flight titles currently available across all platforms this generation and are hoping to garner increased interest in the Playstation 3 with this exclusive title. Incognito are to be commended for branching out and creating one of the most stunningly beautiful and immersive titles this year.
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Originally penned as a single player title with additional online elements, Incognito deciced to drastically shift focus to a more multiplayer orientated title and Warhawk is all the better for it. Trust us when we say flying a fighter jet over some of the most diverse maps to date seen in any game has never been as fun. You get to play in sandy covered ravines to tropical islands beautifully and artistically designed. You will find yourself shot down more than once simply because your caught off guard admiring the view, and what a view. Never have we seen such huge draw distances in our lives. Kudos once again goes to Incognito. Never has draw distance been so important to the survival of a title and if Incognito hadnt realized this, Warhawk could have been a flying disaster.
Graphics aside, its all about gameplay. It doesnt matter how visually beautiful a game is if the core gameplay is dog poor , thankfully gameplay here actually surpasses whats viewed on screen. You have an absolute treasure chest of options available to you here which all help create some spectacular battles. If you want a 32 player battle over a tiny area and litlerally throw your opponents into the biggest masacre available onscreen then off you go. If you want a more skill orientated dogfight then you can create a match up over a massive map and have one of the greatest multiplayer battles of your life.
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On screen itself you will be treated to an extremely helpfull HUD system which will help indicated what areas you control, where you should be heading and if any dangers are arising on the horizon. As most of the maps available in Warhawk are absolutley massive, the inclusion of this HUD system was a stroke of genuis on Incognitos part. You also get the normal onscreen information like weapons, enemies approaching etc.
Continuing on with gameplay, one thing most players will notice from the word go is Warhawk is actually like playing two different titles. Ground battles play out skillfully and at a much slower pace than taking to the skies. When on the ground, you have access to a basic pistol and knife, as well as various guns and weapons you pick throughout the game. You can also take control over ground vehicles like tanks which enables you to get from one area to the next. Both areas of the game, whether ground battles or skies play fantastically well and complement each other perfectly.
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The games visuals have already been touched upon in our review, but how does Warhawk sound? Warhawk could have plummeted straight to the ground if it didnt have and engrossing soundtrack to go along with the stunning visuals and gameplay. Bullets whizz by, explosions will test just how good your speaker system actually is, and background music will have your heart racing faster than the fighter jets you control.
While we will admit that, yes, the single player mode of Warhawk is non existant but multiplayer really is where Warhawks strength lie. Warhawk is a game marketed towards the multiplayer audience and doesnt make any apologies for it. Look at Counterstrike or even to a greater extent Battlefield 2, both games developed solely with multiplayer in mind. Both have gone on to win award after award and selling into their millions and we dont see why the same wont happen for Warhawk.
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Warhawk is a game for a multiplayer audience. It takes everything youve known about online battles and pumps as much excited into each battle as humanly possible. Right from when you boot up Warhawk you know your about to play something special. There are a lot of gamers across the world hoping a game would arrive for the Playstation 3 that warrented their purchase. Most gamers assumed that this title would be Metal Gear Solid 4, but we all know that saying about assumpions. Warhawk is easily the best purchase any Playstation 3 owner will make. With titles like this, Heavenly Sword and Haze all exclusive to Playstation 3, we really can see no other outcome than Sony winning this round of console wars or at least give Nintendo a bit of friendly competition. Get this title right way, through the Playstation Network this August or in shops mid September. An essential purchase.
*Please note that this is a multiplayer game at its core, so for fans of singleplayer gaming, this title may not be for you!*
| Graphics | 9.7 |
| Audio | 9.3 |
| Gameplay | 9.5 |
| Replayability | 9.7 |
| TOTAL | 9.6 |
Link: http://www.nextgenireland.com/warhawkreview.html
