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

I went in expecting HAWX 2 to build meaningfully on what its predecessor set up, and the result is more complicated than a simple yes or no. The core pitch is still the same: pick a jet, jump into a scripted combat scenario, and spend the next ten minutes blasting enemy aircraft out of the sky in a style that sits firmly in arcade territory rather than simulation. If you want realistic avionics and proper procedure, this is not your game. What it offers instead is kinetic, accessible dogfighting that lowers the barrier to entry deliberately, and on those terms it mostly delivers. The campaign itself spans three playable pilots, an American, a British, and a Russian, weaving through a Clancy-grade geopolitical potboiler involving Middle Eastern insurgents and Russian ultranationalists. Character crossovers from Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell give the world some connective tissue, though the story is mostly delivered through dark briefing rooms and mid-flight radio chatter. The roster is genuinely broad: 28 real aircraft including the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F-22 Raptor, and the SR-71 Blackbird. HAWX 2 also breaks up the standard dogfight loop with UAV bombing runs, AC-130 gunner sections, night raids, and even mid-air refueling sequences. On paper that sounds like variety; in practice, reviewers at the time noted the UAV sections ended up being the most satisfying parts of the game, which tells you something about the limits of the main combat loop. The single-player has real problems. AI wingmen are largely useless in the story campaign, leaving you to handle objectives that are framed as team efforts entirely on your own. The assisted flight mode handles well enough, and toggling it off for "assistance off" mode opens up wild high-G maneuvers and backflips the series is known for, but the different aircraft feel almost identical in flight, which blunts the appeal of unlocking new planes. Weapon design also shifted away from fire-and-forget missiles toward operator-guided ordnance and precision bombs, which adds a layer of hands-on engagement but also slows down engagements in ways that frustrated players expecting the breakneck pace of the original. Where HAWX 2 genuinely picks up is in its multiplayer and co-op modes. The full campaign supports up to four players with drop-in and drop-out co-op, with difficulty scaling to match your squad size. Beyond the campaign there are Arcade missions (remixed, harder versions of story levels), a Survival mode that functions like a horde scenario, and a Free-Flight option for practicing landings and the assistance-off mechanics. Competitive play supports up to eight players. The consensus from launch reviews was fairly consistent: the multiplayer saves the package, while solo play is a letdown. With servers long gone on console versions, the Uplay PC release is the relevant version here, and it pays to verify what online infrastructure still exists before buying for the co-op specifically. HAWX 2 is a game that does one thing well enough to be enjoyable in bursts, particularly with friends, but struggles to make a case for itself against the Ace Combat series or as a standalone experience. It is a competent, unambitious follow-up that widened the mission variety without fixing the repetition underneath.

Alex · Scout Team

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