Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. by Gameloft let’s Iphone flight jockeys take to the skies in an exciting high altitude thrill ride through 13 long and involving air/ground combat missions that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.  You’ll get to fly 26 advanced aircraft over real world GeoEye imaged locations from Rio to Washington while being challenged to use all the high-tech weaponry, targeting and flying skills at your disposal to succeed.  You won’t want to eject from this cockpit.

  

Set in the Tom Clancy universe of Advanced Warfighter you start out as a mercenary for a private corporation called Artemis protecting their global interests.  Each mission has you engaging a combination of air, ground or naval targets over a wide range of terrain with constantly evolving objectives given in voiceover communications with a yellow arrow to guide you. The accelerometer controlled flight engine is smooth and responsive with yaw controls at the bottom of the screen and touch controls for firing and changing weapons in the right corner.  There’s a d-pad option if you prefer although I don’t know why you would as the tilt control feels perfectly suited for this game.

   

The missions are long and well constructed with multiple objectives as you play.  You may start out just trying to gain air superiority but you’ll receive orders to take out ground defenses, give air support to advancing units, fight off reinforcements and finally cover the ground withdrawal.  The missions take about 20 min. and must be completed as there is no saving but there are checkpoints. There’s also nice variety in the missions as you may be flying at night or be forced to follow a strict flight path or fly nap of the earth. You’ll also be required to change your weapons from joint strike missiles to freefall bombs to multi-AA or multi-AG missiles which are great for taking out multiple air or ground targets quickly.  It’s fun, exciting and challenging Iphone gaming with some great visuals for the platform, although it does get blurry up close.

   

For those who desire more challenge in the air-to-air combat there is Wifi multiplayer but no online. Where H.A.W.X. excels is in its great mission structure and exciting ground attacks through explosive flak over real world locations with a nice selection of devastating weapons which you’re forced to use correctly in order to succeed.  

You gain points, unlock aircraft and get new weapon packs with the successful completion of each mission and there is an extensive achievement system.  While there is a recommended aircraft and loadout for each mission, you can choose any unlocked aircraft and weapons pack you desire. H.A.W.X. runs extremely smooth at all times and has been well tested.

  

Gameloft has crafted a beautiful 5 star gem in H.A.W.X. that’ll make you forget you’re playing on a phone.  It’s arcade flying at its finest and highly recommended.


goyami@comcast.net