2007’s Warhawk was one of the first PS3 multiplayer games that I remember friends talking excitedly about. While I tragically missed out on the game’s heyday, I had enough time with it to develop an appreciation for Incognito Entertainment’s melange of grand scale land-and-air battles with third-person twitch-shooter mechanics. Plus: it had jetpacks! As we’ve established on a recent episode of the podcast, those things go a long way with us here at VGH.
Starhawk, out today for the PS3, is the spiritual successor to Warhawk. The developer has changed to LightBox Interactive (but includes members of the Incognito team) and the game now occupies a Wild West-tinged sci-fi world. The most intriguing and game-changing addition is probably the unique “Build and Battle” system, which allows players to call in supply drops of defensive walls and turrets, vehicles, weapons, and even giant mechs on the fly.
My time with the game’s beta earlier this year was a blast and I was impressed with the high level of polish already on display. I’m easily turned off by run-and-gun multiplayer modes but working with my friends to assemble defenses in massive 32-player matches immediately clicked with me. Looking for an advantage in a Capture the Flag match and realizing that I can call in a tank drop, file the members of my team into it, and then barrel into the enemy compound made the game feel fresh and thoroughly unpredictable.
If you’ll be playing Starhawk this week, be sure to keep an eye out for me. I’ll be the guy in the jetpack.
Also out this week:
Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition (XBLA)
Datura (PSN)
Nexuiz (PC)
Two quick notes:
If you’re interested in Nexuiz, be sure to check out our review of the Xbox 360 version of the game from way back in February.
I strongly considered writing this entire article about Starhawk, the noted eco-feminist writer and Paganism advocate, but I clearly decided to go another way with it. You’re welcome.