Multiplayer games are fun, everyone knows it and therefore it’s no surprise that Sony’s new release, Warhawk, falls into this category, but is fun enough and does this game cut it were it really matters? Read on and see what we think.
Before the action begins, Warhawk lets you customise your character and vehicle options, although this may not offer much to begin with, as you progress throughout the game and gain in rank you will unlock more items to use in this way, although many players may ignore this option by diving straight into the game, it is definitely worth using should you find the time.
Warhawk’s is an easy game to pick up and play. There are two teams of up to 16 players (With players choosing the side of the Eucadians or Chernovans) and games are battled out on one of five massive maps, these are Archipelago, Eucadia, The Badlands, The Destroyed Capitol and The Island Outpost, each map is very diverse and well laid out and there is no doubt that players will each develop their own personal favorites over a period of time.
There is no single player at all in Warhawk, therefore should you wish to play this game then you will need a decent internet connection. Playing in a multiplayer match couldn’t be simpler, just before you start you are presented with a list of servers, all you need to do then is choose the one you want and then you will spawn into the middle of the match, most of the time you are connected straight away without much problem and once in the game it is pretty much lag free. Using the community section you can find friends online and join in with their game, this is a great option as it would be impossible to find anyone on your friends list without this.
All in there are four Game Modes in Warhawk and these are Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Zone, each mode offers a unique and intense multiplayer experience. Most of the game modes explain themselves really, the only exception may be Zone mode which is all about capturing bases, however, once a base has been captured, players can “grow” the boundaries of the base by continuing to stay within its zone radius. Once two zones are large enough, the bases will merge and provide more spawn points, vehicles, and also allow you to achieve points faster. To win, your team must earn more points in either the allotted time, or earn enough points to achieve the score limit.
At the beginning of the game each player has the same starting weapon and the vehicles on each side seem to offer a good balance, meaning that it always turns out to be a fair game. As you wander through the levels you will be able to acquire new weapons such as a flamethrower, rocket launcher, machine gun and the binoculars (which can be used to call an airstrike). There are a good range of weapons and they all seem to be pretty effective, however it would be nice to see more and perhaps we will via the PSN once the developer gauges the games popularity.
It could be said that one of the most exciting parts of the game is when you find a vehicle. The vehicles in Warhawk come in a few shapes and sizes and range from Jeeps and Tanks to the Warhawk’s themselves, none of these are supremely powerful though and can be taken out fairly easily by someone on foot (providing that they have the relevant weapon in hand). Controlling the vehicles is simply a matter of using the analogue sticks to steer and the trigger to accelerate (or take off if you are in a Warhawk), some motion control has also been implemented into the game courtesy of the Sixaxis and this allows you to fly the Warhawk around using nothing more than your reactions, however even though you can adjust the sensitivity for controlling your vehicle in this way, it is still very difficult and therefore you will probably end up being thankful that the developer has not made this feature mandatory, meaning that you can switch it off via the menu at any time.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Warhawk is that even with all 32 players on screen, the action just doesn’t seem to slow down, it can get pretty hectic at some points but everything just seems to keep ticking along nicely. Graphically everything is presented in a way you would expect from a next generation game, the vehicles are all highly detailed and the environments look fantastic, although it isn’t the prettiest game you will ever see, it is obvious there has been at a lot of attention given to this area of the game.
As previously mentioned Warhawk is a very basic and therefore this could be it’s downfall with some members of the gaming public, with only five maps, limited weapons and no single player mode it may be hard for some people to justify it’s price tag, however most of these issues could be solved with future updates and providing these don’t cost too much then Warhawk could become a very popular game for the Playstation 3.
Warhawk promised much in the build up to its launch and we have to say that now its here, we are not disappointed, this is because it does exactly what it sets out to do by providing a next generation multiplayer game that is easy to access and fun to play, sure some of the in game options may be lacking at the moment but this does little to take away from what is a genuinely fun game.
