Troubled Skies
Warhawk has all the makings of an absolutely killer online experience... if Incognito can work out the kinks.
Published: September 9, 2007
As a matter of practice, online-only games can't really be reviewed in one go because they're constantly changing -- particularly massively multiplayer online games. Warhawk isn't exactly massively multiplayer, not with a 32-person cap on each server, but it most certainly is online-only (meaning no offline play with bots for practice, and no single-player game). It's also playing host to a ton of problems right now, and I'm in something of a quandary with this review.
On the one hand, the game is just starting out, and problems like this were bound to happen, especially because they're part of the normal growing pains of an online game. Things like complete lock-ups of the PlayStation 3, of servers not showing up or being reported as full when they clearly aren't, the inability to connect to servers at all, stats that don't update or are wiped out completely and issues with clan invites are just some of the bigger issues affecting the game. But hey, it's early, and these things are likely being addressed even as I type this review.
Here's the kicker, though: Warhawk had a closed beta (though once it was discovered the beta could be shared between PS3 owners, it wasn't so much closed as "limited"), a stress test meant to address some of these very issues before the game shipped. That developer Incognito Entertainment is having issues with the game going on almost two weeks after it shipped and had a beta is, frankly, inexcusable.
Now, months after the beta was closed, there are more issues with the game that people have to pay at least $40 for if they buy it online and $60 if they want a headset to talk with other players. This is my dilemma; do I review the game Warhawk is now, with issues that will doubtlessly be resolved because the game can and will be patched, or do I review the game that it could be, with no real guarantees that things will be worked out.
A further wrinkle: while Incognito is working to patch things up to where they should have been at launch, players that can't get into the game are getting ripped off and those that can are getting better. Normally I'd just say buy the game and play the single-player part until it's all up and running or just hold off until the game is fixed, but that doesn't apply here and depending on how long that takes, newcomers could walk into a Metal Gear Online situation where by the time word of mouth on how good the game was had spread around, everyone online are dog fighting savants.
The biggest problem with the game right now is that when it all comes together, it's one of the single best online experiences I've ever played. Again, when everything is working as should, the gameplay is so exquisitely polished and balanced that it's an instant recommendation for anyone who owns a PlayStation 3 right now. It really is that good. It's just that it's not that good right now, and it's incredibly frustrating. All the people that reviewed the game and sang its praises before waiting for the live launch were absolutely right in proclaiming the kind of fun that could be had, but they reviewed what the game could be rather than its current state.
On the one hand, the game is just starting out, and problems like this were bound to happen, especially because they're part of the normal growing pains of an online game. Things like complete lock-ups of the PlayStation 3, of servers not showing up or being reported as full when they clearly aren't, the inability to connect to servers at all, stats that don't update or are wiped out completely and issues with clan invites are just some of the bigger issues affecting the game. But hey, it's early, and these things are likely being addressed even as I type this review.
Here's the kicker, though: Warhawk had a closed beta (though once it was discovered the beta could be shared between PS3 owners, it wasn't so much closed as "limited"), a stress test meant to address some of these very issues before the game shipped. That developer Incognito Entertainment is having issues with the game going on almost two weeks after it shipped and had a beta is, frankly, inexcusable.
Now, months after the beta was closed, there are more issues with the game that people have to pay at least $40 for if they buy it online and $60 if they want a headset to talk with other players. This is my dilemma; do I review the game Warhawk is now, with issues that will doubtlessly be resolved because the game can and will be patched, or do I review the game that it could be, with no real guarantees that things will be worked out.
A further wrinkle: while Incognito is working to patch things up to where they should have been at launch, players that can't get into the game are getting ripped off and those that can are getting better. Normally I'd just say buy the game and play the single-player part until it's all up and running or just hold off until the game is fixed, but that doesn't apply here and depending on how long that takes, newcomers could walk into a Metal Gear Online situation where by the time word of mouth on how good the game was had spread around, everyone online are dog fighting savants.
The biggest problem with the game right now is that when it all comes together, it's one of the single best online experiences I've ever played. Again, when everything is working as should, the gameplay is so exquisitely polished and balanced that it's an instant recommendation for anyone who owns a PlayStation 3 right now. It really is that good. It's just that it's not that good right now, and it's incredibly frustrating. All the people that reviewed the game and sang its praises before waiting for the live launch were absolutely right in proclaiming the kind of fun that could be had, but they reviewed what the game could be rather than its current state.
