| Platform Reviewed | Sony Playstation |
| Genre | Arcade Flight Combat Simulation |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| Multiplayer Value | None |
| Length | Moderate |
| Difficulty | Moderate to Tough |
| Skills Required | Hand-Eye Coordination |
| Interface Devices | Playstation Joypad |
| Interface Design | Good |
| Programming | Good to Excellent |
| Game Design and Playability | Good |
| Type Of Fun | Fire and Forget Flying Combat |
| Replay Value | Moderate |
| Overall Value | Good to High |
| Quality | Good to High |
| The Best | Fluid 3D graphics and serious weaponry |
| The Worst | Bad acting, action is interrupted by video sequences in the middle of battle (!), poor transitions. |
| How much would I be willing to pay for this | 45 bucks |
Description:
Fly around and blow stuff up. How much more technical must I be? How about, "Deliver calibrated ordnance to achieve a significant tactical advantage"? Basically, you shoot everything in sight.
Story:
The Evil bad guy (Fill In Blank) must be stopped, or the world is doomed. Only a single, lone pilot can save the world from the cockpit of an experimental super fighting machine. Stop me if you've heard this plot before.
Review:
Sure, it's the oldest basic idea in games. Fly around and blow stuff up. But what Warhawk does, it does well -save perhaps for the awful acting in the video sequences. The 3D is smooth and effective, the vehicle reminiscent of the drop ship from the movie Aliens, the weaponry satisfying and the environment interesting.
I really object to the action being interrupted to show off a video clip of a building blowing up -this is the Playstation, fer Krsna's sake, so just BLOW UP THE BUILDING! The Playstation is, if anything, a wonder of 3D graphics power, so I expect everything to be done in real time action. Blowing up a building, then cutting to a video of the building blowing up, then jumping back to the action, is….well, rather a poor design decision. It destroys immersion. What were they thinking?
On the other hand, the action that is not interrupted is smooth and enjoyable. The weapons do a fine job of basic and advanced massacre, and the explosions and destruction satisfy. Targets must be chosen strategically, and everything looks fine -except that they forgot to give the ship a shadow. The ship has a reflection over water, but no shadow on the desert. Go figure. The lack of a shadow makes low flight difficult. This is a foolish exclusion.
Warhawk is impressive, and fun, but it could have been great. I just wish that a few more weeks had gone into perfecting it. Sometimes the little touches can matter, especially when approaching the superior.
Reviewed by Jennifer Diane Reitz, Dec. 23 1995
Jennifer Diane Reitz is a Game Designer and Computer Artist, and one of the founders of Happy Puppy. She is the creator of numerous games and software products, including Boppin' , Shark Chums, Elsewhere, and many others. She has worked for such companies as Activision, Sculptured Software, Epyx, SRI, and Electronic Arts, and founded Accursed Toys. She has been active in the computer gaming industry since it's earliest days. She considers games to be works of artistic merit and achievement, and views computer entertainment as the most important media of our era.