Despite what you see in the screenshots in this review, H.A.W.X. is as much a flight simulator as Burnout Paradise is a driving sim. Ubisoft's latest liberty with the Tom Clancy franchise is more akin to Descent or Wing Commander than it is to Microsoft's Flight Simulator X.

Fast-paced action; exciting mission scenarios; and maps that use satellite imagery

Dumb opponents; unrealistic physics; unrewarding unlock system

When you hear the name Tom Clancy, you think of his books first and then a very close second, the games that bear his name. The majority of his games, like the Rainbow Six collection are all about teamwork, stealth and tactics.

Fun game really; Lots of planes to pick from; Assistance off mode adds enjoyment

Graphics are bland; Storyline is bland as well; Missions can get annoying and monotonous at times; Online play needs some work

With their recent release of H.A.W.X. 2 Ubisoft provides a fresh face for the FPS, MMO and RTS dominated gaming climate. It comes to Benchmark Reviews eighteen months after the less-known H.A.W.X. game.

Good Terrain; Playable on most video cards; Controls easy to learn; anybody can fly; Variety of game types; Co-op Campaign; Experience unlocks weapons and planes

Dogfights very repetitive; Small multiplayer community; Bland campaign; Missions repetitive

In Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X you are a fighter pilot and are employed by Artemis Global Security, a private military contractor that is permitted to operate anywhere in the world. Your task is to fly fighter aircraft and perform missions for your employer.

Tom Clancys HAWX from Ubisofts Romania Studio puts the player in the cockpit of the latest fighter jets to create a high octane flight experience with plenty of tricks to separate it from the masses.

has led our expectations a merry dance indeed from early footage to retail release. When the first batch of screens broke cloud cover many people, myself included, wrote the game off as a well turned-out but unremarkable flight sim.

Did I Catch a Niner in There?

This is a great air combat sim that I have been playing for years. With all air combat games it is best played with a quality joystick such as the Microsoft Sidewinder joystick available used for about $10. I have been using a sidewinder for 20years and it is still going strong.

This is the first game I've bought and played for years. I was keen to have a go, but before you can start playing you have to get it all loaded on the PC. By the time I'd installed, registered online, entered the code, then waited for it to download and reinstall an update about 1 1/2 hours had...

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X is Like some bizarre ritual every time something remotely to fighter jets is uttered the first thought that comes to mind is of the wild aerial manoeuvres pulled off by certain top-gun pilots on the silver screen in the early 90s.

brilliant game; fantastic technology

nothing