Warhawk (2007 Video Game) - Gameplay

Gameplay

Warhawk is a third-person shooter set in a science fictional, perpetual war between the Eucadian and Chernovan armies (blue and red team, respectively).

There are two ground vehicles, a jeep and a tank, and an armored personnel carrier is added by the Operation: Broken Mirror expansion. There are two air vehicles, the Warhawk and Nemesis (which are only cosmetically different), both of which can use nine weapons, an example is the AS-3 Tow Missile system. That weapon is the only weapon in the game where the player guides the weapon, the players screen is devoted to guiding the missile and leaving the player open to getting hit. But the upside is that it does massive damage and is the largest explosion in the game. The Omega Dawn expansion adds a dropship, and the Fallen Star expansion adds a jetpack. There are three turrets available to the player (anti-air missile turret, anti-air flak turret, and the .50 caliber anti-infantry machine gun). The game uses the PlayStation 3 Sixaxis and DualShock 3 controllers. The game can be set to make use of these controllers' motion sensing function to allow the players to control aircraft and ground vehicles by tilting the controller in different directions rather than the more conventional methods of using the D-pad or analog sticks. However, a traditional control scheme is the default option. Warhawk offers online and offline multiplayer play. Offline allows for 1-4 players splitscreen (without bots). Online features up to 32-player battles, with the ability to have up to 4 players use one PlayStation 3 in split screen mode (on non-ranked servers that permit it). Players 2-4 can enter or exit the game while a match is in progress.

The game uses medals and rewards, which are awarded for certain tasks. As of v1.50, the game supports trophies, which will be used in the online service PlayStation Home. Players are also able to customize their characters with armor squad markings, Warhawk paint schemes, and other accessories. More customization options are unlocked as the player increases in rank. Warhawk also allows the creation of clans, which may participate in online events and competitions. The game also makes use of arbiters, paid anonymous players who are tasked to find cheaters within the game. They are able to punish offending players in several ways, such as an email warning, a forum post, a kick, or a temporary/permanent ban. Arbiters can also request that the player's stats be erased.

What made this game for most of its most dedicated users was that it was personal. You joined a game and instantly knew, similar to a prison gang, if you had friends on the inside or not, whether or not you'd have to go to war with an old rival, or if you even had a chance a winning. These things became clear in the first minutes of the game by simply looking at the map, score, and roster. This personal appeal was also seen in the game's subculture that lived outside the game on the official Sony PS3 forums, which at the time were the most popular of all the forums. Players would convene on the forums to talk tactics, gossip and even discuss real life events. At times even the game's developer would stop by. The game and forums would eventually die down due to old player's moving on to new game releases and new players turned off by the game's steep learning curve.