Impressions: Hawken Beta

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Hawken Open Beta

                Now, I'm doing something a bit unorthodox here, reviewing a game that hasn't even technically come out yet. But nowadays game companies tend to release an open beta for games and they will sit in beta for YEARS. In fact, I think Huxley is STILL in beta, and it's been... What, three years I think?


          Irregardless, I've been playing a LOT of the Hawken Beta. Hawken is a first-person mech multiplayer shooter with some RPG leveling elements. It's a really bonkers idea, and it has in its inspirations everything from Mechwarrior to Counter-Strike. It's really working it's magic on me, whatever it is. It follows standard multiplayer dogma, play in teams or on your own and eliminate anyone with a different mech than yours (That's not on your team, of course). The game is already well-designed, if a little bit threadbare, but this is to be expected due to the nature of betas.

         What I didn't expect though, is how BUTTERY SMOOTH the game runs. It rarely encounters problems, and only once have I had a crash to desktop. Though I do get a visual glitch that makes everything look bad whenever I alt-tab away, most games nowadays go into conniptions when you minimize them. Dern these fancy golden pixels everything is made out of.

        Moving right along to the gameplay, it's quite interesting compared to the work-a-day shooters (Your CODBLOPS, your Battlefield, and so on) as you tend to live for far longer, and can repair your mech mid-battle to stay in the fight. The weapons are relatively well varied even this early in the game's release. Add to this the fact that  engagements are longer than usual, and you have time to adjust your tactics mid-fight. Plus, the weapons aren't Hitscan, so your aim, timing, and knowledge of trajectory is REALLY important. Movement and speed are very valuable in this game, and I've often gotten my metal cans handed to me by a Scout mech with a flak cannon.

      The game, like any other, of course has some problems.

Playing with friends is Nigh Impossible thanks to the lack of a grouping system, which is so baffling especially when the majority of the game modes are worked so strongly around moving and acting as a team. In fact, your mystery earpiece man occasionally says "We fight together, united we are strong...Alone we fall".
Funny how you'll spend as much time trying to get into a match with a friend than being in one.

Plus, trying to do more than one friend is a NIGHTMARE, and really shouldn't be attempted until they get some form of grouping in the game.
If this game releases without it... SHAME on it.

In terms of the gameplay side, the leveling of your mechs can make things a bit stacked in favor of the players who have a better equipment selection. Though it's still VERY possible to defeat a much higher level opponent, you'll have a tougher time of it and will likely need to use more skill to win. Add to the fact that these people are likely much more skilled, and some problems arise.

The last problem is a term of variety. As of press time, the game has only three mechs of each class, plus a fourth medium class mech that you're given for free. Also note that this is one of the game's best and most versatile mechs, and I continue to dominate players with much more expensive mechs with it with enough effort and occasionally luck.

Also coming to mind is why I'm even bothering to REVIEW this, considering it's absolutely free to play and is scheduled to remain so even when it hits full release. But like all F2P things, it has some things that cost money, and they're relatively cheap... But it has Microsoft Points syndrome BAD, as nothing costs an even amount of money. Everything is like "171" or "223" points.

But regardless of this, the game is still a blast, and I can always recommend something that's free without any harm to my reputation, and in this case I can recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of stomping metal war machines or is tired of your usual case of Shooteritis.

Now we get to the tough part. See, this game is FREE, so it's not really part of my ratings system. Instead, I'll give an idea of the kind of money that the game might be worth investing in at the present time.

I'd say this game is really worth an investment of 20-60 dollars.

If they up the amount of content in the game and get the party system working, this number will SKYROCKET, as there's alot of enjoyment to be had here.

All in all, don't let Hawken pass you by in the usual blaze of things. It's no risk to yourself, so feel free to give Hawken a good try. See if you like it.

Alright, this is Nev with a most different IIWYM review, and I'll be doing another usual review on Darksiders II later this week, and things will be heading back to their usual state.

See you next time with IIWYM Reviews!