Warhawk

"Smoke crack? Play WarHawk instead. It's more addicting and healthier."

WarHawk is online only and is exclusively for the PS3. For those familiar with the original WarHawk for the original PlayStation, this game is not at all like its predecessor. It's more along the lines of Battlefield 1942 type games, but it is also very different.

You can customize your character a bit by changing his skin color, his helmet, his upper body armory, his lower body armor, and a predefined picture to add to your armor. You can also customize your WarHawk's color and logo. Getting a higher rank unlocks more customizations.

There are 4 types of game modes: Zones (controlling territories), CTF (capture the flag), Death Match, and Team Death Match. Servers can hold up to a max of 32 people.

Unlike Battlefield, you don't pick a class. Weapons and health/repair icons are scattered throughout the field waiting to be picked up. You won't find a lot of vehicle camping since they are common and quick to respawn, and basically anyone can just join a game and have very little trouble getting into a WarHawk and doing some cool maneuvers.

This game is very addicting. The online play is simply a blast. A lot of fun is to be had with this game for a long time. The best part is there will be additional content such as more maps and other features, possibly even new game modes.

Graphics 9/10
Explosions are cool, the graphics are pretty solid, the screen shakes when stuff around you blows up. It's good, but there's some evidence of screen tearing sometimes. The frame rate is absolutely solid with no slowdowns, even in some pretty graphically intense situations.

Sound 9/10
The sound is amazing as well. Incoming missiles can be heard for a second before impact, giving you time to be aware of your death but not being quick enough to get away. Missiles whizzing past your head makes you alert. Guns and vehicles sound great as well. Play this with surround sound to get the most out of your hearing.

Gameplay 9/10
It's just a lot of fun. A lot. There needs to be more emphasis on teamwork though. Some games are flawed such as CTF, where people care more about getting points than they do actually worrying about the objective. Hopefully some kind of squad-based system gets implemented and/or some other means of encouraging teamwork.

Overall 9/10
It's definitely worth the buy. If you have a headset and you don't plan on doing any game sharing, buy the $40 version and I guarantee it'll be the best $40 you ever spent. Besides that bag of crack.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/04/07

Game Release: Warhawk (US, 08/28/07)