Warhawk (2007 video game)
Warhawk is a remake of a flight combat game of the same name; released as a launch title on the original PlayStation. The remake is multiplayer-only, with the ability to take control of planes, tanks, and jeeps. Though the game was initially to have both single-player and multiplayer modes, the single-player was scrapped because developers decided that it was vastly inferior to the game's mutiplayer component.[2]
Details
Though the game does not offer a single-player campaign, there is the option to play four way split-screen, whereby players can simply connect another controller to the console and jump into the game, world wide online playing with up to 32 players, and LAN with only one game disc (or downloaded file) needed. There are medals and rewards awarded for certain achievements, and the developers have also strongly hinted at the possibility that these rewards will come in the form of trophies displayed in the upcoming online service PlayStation Home. Players are also able to fully customize their characters with armor squad markings, Warhawk paint schemes, and other accessories to allow full personalization.
Warhawk is the first game released on the PlayStation Network that does not allow sharing with other consoles or user accounts.[3]
SCEA has confirmed a demo won't be released, citing it wouldn't do the game justice as it is multiplayer only. [4]
Release
There was initial confusion as to how this game would be distributed to consumers, after the announcement that it would be a multiplayer-only title. Sony announced on May 16, 2007, that there would be two iterations of the game. The game alone is downloadable from the PlayStation Store for US$39.99 (BP £19.99, €29.99). The second is a retail Blu-ray Disc version that sells for $59.99 (the standard retail price of most PlayStation 3 games upon release). This version features extra content such as behind-the-scenes developer interviews, concept art and trailers. In addition, the retail version of the game comes bundled with a Jabra BT125 Bluetooth headset, allowing players to chat with other players online while playing the game.[5]
Major Launch Problems
Major problems continue to occur in the weeks since Warhawk's release. The biggest issues include:
- The total loss of rankings and statistics, due to an inadequate number of ranking servers.
- Network login and game connection problems.
- Sony game servers that deny players from connecting even when 2+ empty slots are available.
- Favorite server list has not worked at any point since launch.
Many of these issues existed in the extensive Warhawk beta but failed to be corrected prior to launch. This led to accusations by the player base that, as one of the first fully digitally distributed retail games, Warhawk and Incognito relied on the fact that customers would not be able to return the game or trade in a used copy and used it as an excuse to spend less time on quality control while promising extensive future patches.
Worse still, Incognito has been consistently silent on how they intend to resolve these launch problems, even to the point where gamers were calling the developer's offices directly demanding information on Warhawk fixes. Furthermore, Incognito has been accused of a post-launch slackoff, particularly over the long labor day weekend that directly followed the launch. [6]
Between September 5th and 7th Icognito released two small patches with the intensions of resolving the major iissues in the game. On September 7th, Dylan Jobe the main Incognito/Sony developer on Warhawk made the following post in regards to the patches:
"As you all know, we have been diligently working on the stats issue. It totally sucks that your stats aren't posting and we take it very, very seriously.
So...some of you may have already noticed that we are bringing the entire system down right now to deploy a server-side patch for out stats database in an
attempt to resolve the errors when games post stats.
We have performed very thorough internal testing but, as will be the case with any large online game, the ultimate test is to get a huge player base to smash
the hell out of it. I think it’s fair to say that if this update doesn't resolve the stats issue...you will all let us know! :-P
Many apologies for this incredibly late notice but we are absolutely committed to making sure you all have great service, and playing Warhawk this weekend
with stats fixed has been our #1 priority!!!" [7]
However, As of September 12th, Warhawk's online statistics, ranking and rewards are still broken. The Playstation Network fails to register the results from 95% of all ranked matches, and the servers constantly go down resulting in the complete loss of all rankings and stats. [8]
It has been speculated that the problem is the result of a player's ranks, points and statistics only being stored centrally on Warhawk's network of ranking servers. However, the Network is prone to overloading and crashes; and when the network is down no points and statistics are recorded, resulting in player's with multi-hour play sessions never being rewarded for their efforts. It also has been reported that some play will have their ranks and statistics disappear completely forcing them to start from scratch. The solution to this problem may be to store a player's rank and points on their personal PS3. Each player's statistics can then be uploaded periodically to the Playstation Network (such as at login) to maintain global ranking statistics, without the risk of missing out on rewards when the ranking servers are constantly down.
Gameplay
The game takes advantage of the PlayStation 3 SIXAXIS controller's motion sensing capabilities, allowing players to maneuver aircraft by tilting the controller in different directions rather than the more conventional methods of using the D-pad or analog sticks. However, the developers have stated that a more traditional control scheme is optional. The game engine features procedurally-generated water and waves, as well as volumetric clouds. Warhawk features at least 32-player online battles exclusively, with the ability to have 4 players use one PlayStation 3 in split-screen mode. Either player can seamlessly enter or exit the game while a match is in progress.[9]
Maps
There are five maps with 5 sections each, resulting in 25 maps in Warhawk. In a game you are able to choose which areas are open. Archipelago is a groups of islands floating high in the air with a giant castle in the middle. The Badlands is a desert canyon area with little civilization and a huge fortress. The Destroyed Capitol map is at the top of skyscrapers in the ruins of the Eucadian capital from the Chernovan invasion. The Island Outpost is a military outpost with bases on each end. It is wanted by both forces, and Eucadia is a mountainous land with scattered villages.
Vehicles
There are three vehicles for each faction; a Warhawk/Nemesis aircraft, a jeep, and tank.
The Warhawk is the plane for the Eucadian forces. While it has a regular flight mode that resembles a fighter jet it also has a hover mode that resembles a helicopter. The official site says that it is an artistic mix of Curtis P-40 Warhawk and the A-10 Warthog. The Chernovan plane is called the Nemesis. Its design was a combination of the German Luftwaffe, Messerschmitt Me-262, and the Lockheed Martin F-35B.
An off-road jeep-like vehicle which can carry up to three soldiers; a driver, a passenger, and a gunner. Extremely fast with little protection, they have a mounted machine gun on the back. The jeeps of both sides are essentially the same, only with a different visual style.
The tanks are also very similar. The heavily-armored tanks can hold a driver/cannon operator, and a turret machine-gunner. Although one of the slowest vehicles, it can take repeated attacks and still operate.
Turrets
There are three different types of turrets. The Anti-Aircraft Turret functions as a flak gun, intended to destroy warhawks. It has short burst of ammo and long reloading times. The Homing Missile Turret has a good advantage with its lock-on function, but when firing makes your back side vulnerable to enemies. The Heavy Machine Gun Turret is identical to the machine gun on the back of jeeps, but on a solid place. If you fire the machine gun too long it will overheat, making you wait for it to cool down before you can resume firing.
Aircraft Weapons
The Homing Missile is exactly what it sounds like. It can lock on to aircraft or be dropped like an air-to-ground bomb. The Swarm Missiles are multi-target and able to be targeted onto one target or many. The Cluster Munition is an anti-ground bomb that when dropped splits into 25 little bombs. The Chaff Dispenser is able to throw off any projectiles locked on to you. The Tow Missile is a special missile that must be launched while in hover mode. When fired you can guide it to its target with a first-person view through the missile. The Aerial Mine is a mine that floats in the air and will explode when hit by aircraft. The mine will not be set if you are to close to the ground. The Avionics Package makes you invisible from sight, on the map, and locking on.
Soldier Weapons
The Service Pistol is standard with all troops and has unlimited ammo. The Combat Blade is also standard, but can only be used in close range attacks, it can, however, take a soldier out with just one hit. The Grenade is used against troops and ground vehicles. The more accuracy upgrades you get, the more powerful your grenades become. The Binoculars have two levels of magnifications and are used to request air-strikes. The Automatic Rifle has a longer range than the pistol and has a faster rate of fire. The Portable Missile Launcher is able to take out ground vehicles and aircraft with a lock on function. The Sniper Rifle includes two scope magnifications and can also take a soldier out with one shot. The Flamethrower is used against troops and vehicles. It's a good weapon for when being attacked at close range. Landmines can be placed around key positions such as your teams flag.
Ranks and Rewards
Warhawk features a ranking system based on your in-game points and awards earned. These points and awards are received for playing on ranked servers only. The higher your rank is, the more customization options you have for your character and planes.
Warhawk features a series of Medals, Badges and Ribbons that you earn by playing on ranked servers. Medals are the hardest to earn, taking the longest amount of time to get. Then come Badges the first level of which (Bandit) can be earned in a single game. While Ribbons are the easiest to earn, with multiple ribbons being able to be earned in a single game.
Warhawk keeps track of when you last received each medal, badge and ribbon, and for ribbons a count of how many times you have earned each one is also kept.
However, since the release of Warhawk the ranking and rewards system has still not been implemented properly. Because all customization options are linked to a player's rank and point score, the fact that a player cannot rank-up means they are still unable to obtain the main in game rewards.
Additional Content
Additional downloadable content is planned. This is likely to include new maps, weapon upgrades, additional game modes and more character customization options. The developers have mentioned they plan on looking at feedback about what the players want in the game.
Servers
In August 2007, Sony Computer Entertainment America released news that PlayStation 3 consoles would be used as the dedicated servers for Warhawk. The photograph shows a server room with several PlayStation 3 consoles in racks. Each server is able to support 32 players.[10]
Reception and Reviews
So far, the game has received very positive reviews with the exception of PSM who rated the game 6.5, describing it as "A third person shooter that never quite gets off the ground." [11].PSM3 gave the game a 9 out of 10, saying "It's a masterpiece of balance, of design, and the Jewel in Sony's online crown." [12] The reviewers at EDGE magazine gave Warhawk a 8 out of 10. 1UP has given Warhawk 8.5 out of 10 but said "It's just not quite $40 worth." which is refering to the price of the download version on the U.S PlayStation Store.[13]. IGN reviewers rated the game 8.8/10 and gave it an IGN Editors' Choice Award, saying that it's "a AAA experience that is an adrenaline rush for online fans." [14] Game Informer reviewed Warhawk and awarded it with a score of 8.25/10, stating that it was "better than they'd hoped for".[15]GamePro rated the game 4/5, stating that although Warhawk offers an intense online combat experience, being dropped immediately into the action leaves you "somewhat bewildered" and doesn't give you that "feeling of connection" to the game.[16]GameTrailers gave Warhawk an 8.6/10 saying "It's simply fun, easy to compete, but challenging to shine."[17]
| 1UP | 8.5/10 |
| EDGE | 8/10 |
| Game Informer | 8.25/10 |
| GamePro | 4/5 |
| GameSpot | 8.5/10 |
| GameSpy | 4.5/5 |
| GameTrailers | 8.6/10 |
| IGN | 8.8/10 |
| PSM | 6.5/10 |
| PSM3 | 90/100 |
| Official UK PlayStation Magazine | 9/10 |
Warhawk has sold over 150 000 copies in North America during it's first 2 weeks of release. [13].
However, it is important to note that most of these reviews were release prior to or during the games first week in release. Unlike most games, Warhawk is an online only game and therefore, the reviews failed to encompass the major network and server issues (specifically rank server issues) that continue to plague the game weeks after launch.
Notes and references
- ^ Games Release Schedule 04/09/07[1]
- ^ Warhawk exclusively embraces online multiplayer[2]
- ^ Warhawk hits PSN, complete with unexpected caveat[3]
- ^ http://kotaku.com/gaming/fence-sitting/no-warhawk-demo-for-you-298432.php
- ^ Chester, Nick (2007-08-26). "Sleep is for the weak: Warhawk getting midnight PSN release this week". DESTRUCTOID. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=warhawk&message.id=82116#M82116 Customers call Icognito to complain over mismanaged Warhawk launch
- ^ http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=warhawk&message.id=93138#M93138 Dylan Jobe post on US Playstation Forums
- ^ http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board?board.id=warhawk
- ^ Warhawk Hands-on. Includes splitscreen.[4]
- ^ Warhawk server revealed - all PS3 based![5]
- ^ Warhawk gets 6.5/10 from PSM[6]
- ^ Warhawk gets 90 from PSM3[7]
- ^ 1UP Warhawk Review - On foot, on wheels, and on wings. Equally excellent in our review. [8]
- ^ IGN gives Warhawk 8.8/10 [9]
- ^ Game Infomer reviews Warhawk [10]
- ^ GamePro reviews Warhawk; score: 4/5 [11]
- ^ Video review of Warhawk from GameTrailers.[12]