Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2

I'm going to be honest with you. I wasn't that big of a fan of H.A.W.X. 1. To me I felt that it was missing the fun and excitement of Ace Combat and many older addictive Arcade Flight Simulators. But after giving H.A.W.X. 2 a chance, I wasn't let down again. H.A.W.X. 2 lets us experience what it is like to pilot a diverse amount of aircraft without ever having to leave the comfort of our cushioned computer chair.

The game begins with some basic training in order to get you used to flying, but then takes you right in the middle of strife and warfare on a global scale. H.A.W.X. 2 uses GeoEye to map out actual locations for in-game action. That means that the landscape you're bombing and fighting over exists in the real world.

You'll be flying as American, British, and Russian aircraft pilots in your single-player mission as you attempt to stop Russian insurgents from starting another world war and exploring locations all over the world. There are multiple types of missions you'll encounter, including bombing targets, dog fighting, unmanned aerial drone reconnaissance, and stealth missions where you protect ground forces with an AC-130! H.A.W.X. 2 also features 4-player Co-op for the campaign and 8-player free-for-all dog fighting. If you think fighting AI targets is fun, challenge yourself to fighting other people online. There are ranked or non-ranked matches that you can play in three separate game modes. Ubisoft has also included Leaderboards so you can see how you rank up against other people around the world. Finally, there's plane progression and pilot achievements tracked in the game so you can show off how good you are as a pilot to your friends!

As I wrap up playing H.A.W.X. 2 there's a couple things that I like and some things that still bug me. First off, if you plan on using a mouse and keyboard to play, I would advise against it. I tried for nearly an hour to get used to playing with it to no avail. Luckily for me, I had an Xbox 360 wired control to play on lying nearby. I would highly recommend using one or at least a joystick if you have one as it made playing much more enjoyable. Also, Ubisoft made it where you must have an Internet connection to play the game. I don't agree with that decision, but that's what I had to deal with in order to play the game. I did like that there is an included benchmark utility with the game along with LAN support for when you want to just play on your own network. A final nice addition is information about GeoEye and their satellites, including information on each satellite and two galleries with pictures of many places all over the world.

So what games will you be playing this Holiday season? Leave comments below, or discuss in our Forum.

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