Hawken: Hands On with the Open Beta

The thunder of machine gun bullets tearing through steel, rockets scorching metal frames, grenades soaring through the air to deliver devastation, this is just a sample of the experience that is Hawken. Hawken is an online FPS placing players in the cockpit of giant mechs set in a war torn world. Now this may not be too inspiring for players to pound away on their keyboards to be part of this game but one small aspect of this game is that Hawken is free to play.



Like other mech shooters before Hawken, this game requires a mix of skill and time. Those lacking in aiming, leading targets, and other such necessary skills needed to play shooters will find themselves a bit enraged. But, this allows for new players, rather those that are shooter prodigies, to be on nearly equal ground with veterans of Hawken. Each mech is labeled with a type of class, Bruiser, Grenadier, etc., and as such the longer you play with each mech the more experience you earn for that specific one. To encourage player advancement through the levels of each mech, you are able to purchase new items, weapons, and parts for your metal monster to match your playstyle. These items are nothing cheap though, such as a nuke that instantly wins the game for your team, they are able to turn the tide in your favor in other ways.



Before you acquire these tools of player pwnage, you must first buy them either with Hawken Credits or Meteor Credits. Now the former is earned through playing the game, doing better on the scoreboard rewards you with more Hawken Credits. Those looking for a shortcut to parts should purchase Meteor Credits with cash, similar to Riot Points in League of Legends. The only items that are able to be purchased only by Meteor Credits are merely for aesthetic value (camo style, body parts, etc.).  Everything else can be purchased with either of the two types of credits.

Once you’ve outfitted your mech as you see fit, you’re ready for battle. Meteor Entertainment and Adhesive Games were kind enough to not only include a playable tutorial area but also videos on the two extra game modes: Missile Assault and Siege. These two game modes are merely spin offs of the classic King of the Hill and Capture the Flag game modes, with a few minor twists involved. In Missile Assault, your team’s goal is to maintain control of areas on the map to inflict damage against the enemy team’s base. Siege involves both aspects of King of the Hill and Capture the Flag. You start the match by acquiring energy at specific map points. Each mech type can hold a different maximum amount of energy and you can destroy enemy mechs for them to drop all their acquired energy which you can then pick up for yourself.  After one team has brought back enough energy, their battleship is launched. Now comes the King of the Hill part. In the middle of the map is the AA position, if your enemy controls this point your battleship will be brought down taking away your chance to damage the enemy base.



Thankfully Hawken is in open beta because it needs to fix a few balance issues to ensure that this game will claim a spot of power within the gaming industry. Matchmaking and certain other aspects with specific game modes needs adjustments but Hawken stands currently as an impressive game with a smooth learning curve for players of all skill levels. Admittedly, however, the community will freely tell you the changes that are required before this game can be considered as a contender for Game of the Year in the future.

Hawken is one game that will either be an under the radar hit or an indie game to take online gaming by storm. Solid default controls allow any person to jump in and play in a matter of seconds. The visuals are a bit bleak and dirty, but that cements in the fact that you are in the middle of a war.  Audio in Hawken is, as the game stands currently, a mixed bag. The sounds of rockets, machine guns, rifles, and other such weapons cause a rush of adrenaline in an attempt to make action movie stars drool in desire but there is little to compliment these sounds other than the inane noises your mech makes while hovering and walking about the battlefield. To assist with this, just start up Pandora while immersed in Hawken.  Immersion is a better description for the state of being you experience rather than simply "playing Hawken". If you find it to your fancy this game will easily rob you of hours of your day, then days of your week, until you realize you’ve played away months of your life in this epic game.