Randolph Ramsay chases down some bandits in this video review for Tom Clancy's HAWX 2.

Exciting aerial combat; Looks great from the air; Good multiplayer options; Plenty of different planes to fly

Uneven enemy AI; Looks bad closer to the ground; Some poor collision detection; Non-fighter missions are hit and miss

HAWX 2 is such a letdown after the brilliant original and, if anything, feels like it has gone back a few steps rather than making any kind of progression. There is still plenty of fun to be had, especially in co-op or on the survival maps, but the first game has the edge in almost every regard.

In order to dodge incoming attacks, you have to perform aerial stunts that might look brilliant, however are very unrealistic. Some of the manoeuvres you can pull off would actually have you crashing in real life. If it were a game like Just Cause 2, then I'd understand!

It's by no means perfect, and as the player it can become overwhelming at times to keep a track of orders whilst firing at enemies and keeping an eye on the radar. However, H.A.W.X 2's aerial dogfights are a thrill and the game can also boast one of the finest examples of accurately recreated...

H.A.W.X. 2 is not a horrible, horrible game.  It looks appealing, and the combat is satisfying.  However, if anyone asked me if I prefered the original or this, i'd pick the original in a heartbeat.

Having played the heck out of the first H.A.W.X. game, I feel comfortable saying Ubisoft's first foray into the flight combat genre would qualify as acceptable. Enough even to elevate my hopes for a sequel considerably.

Yellow diamonds aren't stressful until you realize they're all enemies surrounding the gunship you have to protect. Our screen is full of yellow diamonds. And we're freaking out. We didn't feel that way during 2009's HAWX, which, while fun in its own right, lacked a real sense of urgency.

+ Top-notch pacing and mission design; + Meta-achievements that earn us more XP? Hell yeah

- A few really tough missions; ? How does a MiG not crash after being hit with one missile

This is a flight simulator for people who can't be bothered with the technicalities of flying a plane. The dials, switches and gauges on your dashboard are for show only – it's an arcade game designed to get you into the action with as little fuss as possible.

Accessible arcade flying; New in-flight refueling and takeoff/landing sequences; Some well designed missions

Lame story; Boring graphics; Too-simplistic combat

When Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. arrived on the scene in March 2009, it was met with mixed reaction. While some praised the game's storyline and co-op gameplay, many cited concern with game's visuals, framerate drops, and lack of multiplayer.

As publishers continue to revive a lot of dying genres in the games industry, so Ubisoft continues to expand upon its air combat franchise, Tom Clancy's HAWX Apart from being an obvious effort to popularize the Tom Clancy universe even further, the original HAWX game was actually quite fun in an...

A satisfying choice of airplanes to pilot; plenty of different missions; multiplayer is fun

Elements that were supposed to improve the game end up ruining it; friendly AI still not too bright (same as in the original); also the closer you fly to the ground the uglier the game gets