Hawk

"Become one with the Hawk. . ."

The year: 1989. The game: Hawk.

CP Verlag, known for publishing obscure games on the Commodore 64 in the 80's to early 90's, took a risk on Hawk. . . and I'm glad they did. Hawk first started out as a simple Asteroids clone, but evolved into what many gamers call ''The Holy Grail'' of Commodore 64 vertical shooters. I will refer to shooting games as 'shmups' in the review, so don't be confused.

GAMEPLAY: 10/10

You start out with what appears to be a crudely made trident, only to find that it's much more. The 'Hawk,' your ship, has the capabilities of sucking up enemy fire and using it to unleash one of the nine various super-shots. Sound familiar? Think of it as an early Ikaruga. . . only without the graphics. As I mentioned before, there are nine super-shots that you can use if you suck up enough bullets. These can range from bone-rattling bombs to heat seeking missiles. You switch between the power-ups by pressing the button that you set it to. It's really rather simple when you get into it. Back to the gameplay. There are a total of seven levels that you must valiantly pilot the Hawk through. The difficulty of the levels varies as you complete them, but the first two are extremely easy and the first essentially serves as a 'training ground.' You've got your standard enemies in the game and they just float down to the 'bottom' of the screen and shoot random bullets. There are 'bosses' at the end of the levels and they pose formidable challenges. While the first is not very difficult, the others are really difficult to beat. You'll need to practice a lot before you can get anywhere in this game. . . but that's not always a bad thing. The controls are customizable and it prompts you at the beginning to set the controls on your keyboard, so you can choose what you want. That being said, the controls are very good because you can make them whatever you want.

I do have one tiny gripe about the game, though, and it's that your craft can't go forwards or backwards, only left and right. However, this is easily forgotten once you make it through a couple of levels.

Bottom Line: Simple yet perfect.

STORY: 10/10

Just how I like my shmup stories, short and sweet. It's the quintessential 'space fighter' story, but who cares? You have to fight the evil alien spacecraft before they reach your colony on the moon. No more, no less.

Bottom Line: Not much to talk about, just like all the others, but is that bad?

GRAPHICS/SOUND: 10/10

Some of the best I've seen/heard from my Commodore 64. The game moves lightning fast and is very smooth. The crafts and sprites are finely drawn by some of the best at CP Verlag. Your craft almost looks like it's really there. . . but it's not, unfortunately. While zipping through the alien hordes, you will hear some of the finest sound effects ever. Shots coming from 'Teh Hawkzorz,' as I affectionately call it, sound crystal clear and are surprisingly realistic for the old '64. Also, the noise that the alien craft produces when it slams face-first into one of your shots is astounding. It really sounds as if you take two airplanes and shove them into each other creating a flaming ball of wreckage. Aw yeah, now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout, foo!

Bottom Line: Virtual sex for your eyes and ears.

PLAYTIME/REPLAYABILITY: 9/10

The average shmuper will take roughly ten hours to get through one play time. The levels are about an hour long and take up almost all of the disc for themselves. Thankfully, there are random stops in the level that allow you to save and come back for, furthering the replayability. After you beat the game once, you unlock a two player mode. Granted, the second player will have to plug in a joystick, but it's great fun. The only complaint that I have about the replayability is that the Hawk ''trident'' splits into two ''V-Shaped'' wings for two players. What? What are you doing CP Verlag?!

Bottom Line: Where is 'Teh Hawkzorz?!'

FINAL RECOMMENDATION: Go for it.

Search for this, love it, cherish it, marry it, whatever you do, make sure you hold on to it. It is the best shmup that I've ever played. Trust me when I say this, for I've been playing it for ten years. . .

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/28/03