nerdalerts

Ok, so the Demo has been released on the 360.  Set to be publicly released in north america on March 6, 2009

I have enjoyed aircraft war games about as much as FPS.  Provided they are made correctly.  Ace Combat, looks good, but is so unrealistic it’s crazy.  If you’ve played AC6, you’ll know what I mean.  Dogfights with UAVs,  “boss” type aircraft, Missiles that can be outrun by normal aircraft, no countermeasures, and really terrible plot.  By ‘terrible’ I mean cheezy.  But as far as looks go, the game looks good, the planes are rendered well, and the in-cockpit view isn’t shabby. And I know there’s room for unrealistic things in simulator games, like nobody wants to blackout from high-g turns and people like being able to shoot down more than 8 aircraft before having to return to rearm, but there’s also a limit.  AC6 is fun, it’s game play is too unrealistic.  But in any case, this story is about HAWX.

I spent a good deal of time playing the demo.  There’s several features I really like. 

First, a missile is ridiculously fast; there’s no outrunning it, which is also true to real life.  When you fire it, it takes off like a bullet.  Which is a feature I like.  Makes it seem like a rocket powered warhead, and not some slow moving tube.

Secondly, you have countermeasures, for those times when you simply can’t afford to go into evasive manuevers to avoid it (multiple missiles inbound), pop a flare to disrupt the missile’s tracking system and be about your business. 

Third, there’s a new camera view.  You have your standard nose-mounted camera, cockpit cam (good detailing too) and a 3rd person from the rear of the aircraft.   But there’s also a new distant 3rd person, which shows your plane and your target, and when your target maneuvers the camera also turns to keep him in sight.  So half the time you’re not looking straight ahead.  It takes some getting used to, but once you master it you’ll like it, since it makes combat maneuvers easier.  Plus, I don’t know for sure, but i think you can turn sharper in that view.  

Fourthly, when you’re in-cockpit, my favorite view, you can use the right thumbstick to turn your head, and just like the new missile systems you can lock on using your helmet instead of pointing your plane at your target.   Best used when dogfighting and you can’t get behind your enemy, look up at him and lock on and fire.  Your missile is very maneuverable. 

Fifth, the rendering for the ground is gorgeous so far.  Most city landscapes in Ace Combat are flat with the exception of some central areas in the city.   In hawx, there’s building everywhere.  Part of the strategy for killing tanks is having to basically dive-bomb them since they are hidden on streets between large buildings.

Lastly, dive-bombing said tanks is made easy with the new flight navigation system.  When you’re attacking a tank hidden in a city, hit the button, follow the maneuver navigation sequence and it will bring you straight down on top of him for an easy kill.  If you need to evade a missile, hit the button when it pops up and your navigation tells you the maneuvers needed to avoid it.  Same is true for a plane in a dogfight. Hit the button and follow the maneuvers and you’ll end up behind him.  This is a nice feature in a pinch, or when your out of your best weapons and need to use a gun (god forbid).

Also, worth noting is that i am unsure as to whether or not you will be able to land/take off on your own, or if it’s automated.  There are also voice commands, I have not tested these, but i’m sure you can use them to control your teammates.  If they work anything like they did in the End War demo, I’ll be happy.  Where you don’t have to speak like you’re talking to a 3 year old “alpha……attack…..charlie….one”, just say it like you’re speaking normally.

The storyline is set to take place between the events in Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and End War.  There were only 3 planes available in the demo, the f-16 (you start with it), the f-15, and some other aircraft that i didn’t use.  An interesting note, when you select aircraft each aircraft had it’s own perks.  Similar to COD4.  When you select one, it tells you if it has the increased load perk (or whatever it’s called), which lets it carry more weapons than normal.  Whether it can achieve a weapon lock faster than normal.  All those seem cool, but I really want to know if you can mix and match to get optimal setups.  I really like the F-15, because I used to work with them in my old job.  So if i can hook up an f15 to make it better, i’ll be all over that.  There’s also an experience system.  You kill planes you get XP, you get enough XP you gain a rank.  I’m sure rank ties in to what weapons you can use, or planes you can fly.  There’s also challenges, kill say, 50 land targets and get a bonus to xp. 

No word yet on whether or not the f22 will have some sort of stealth capabilities, or if the f117 will.  I don’t know if the f117 will be in the game, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t. 

Bottom line: If you like Ace Combat, you’ll probably love this title.  I, for one, will definitely be buying it.  And there’s an online co-op campaign mode.  I’ve tried it once and liked it.