The game features a story campaign which can be played solo or with cooperation of three other players. The player is often in control of Major Alex Hunter, a pilot from High Altitude Warfare – Experimental (HAWX) squadron but gets to play one or two missions as other pilots, including Captain Dimitri Ivanovich Sokov of Russian Air Force, Lieutenant Colin Munro of the British Royal Navy and Colonel David Crenshaw of HAWX squadron. In most missions, the player pilots a combat aircraft, but occasionally, the player gets to remotely control an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Also in one mission, the player assumes the role of a guns operator in an AC-130 Spooky. The gameplay experience has significantly changed from that of the previous game. Unlike the previous game, the player is no longer given an option of a plane or weapon load-out for the story missions. In addition, the player assumes the role of a wingman while flying as part of a flight, as opposed to a flight leader; therefore, it is no longer possible to issue orders to other wingmen. The game adds takeoff, landing and occasional aerial refueling. Landing allows the player to rearm. The game has changed focus from fire-and-forget missiles towards operator-guided or unguided ordnance. New weapons include stand-off missiles, precision missiles and precision bombs, all of which are forms of operator-guided weapons with slight differences. Joint Strike Missiles, anti-air and ground missiles which were available in all planes and configurations of the previous game, are no longer available in the story campaign and have their damage and range reduced in other modes. Multi-target anti-ground missiles are no longer available. To further discourage the player from using guided missiles, some enemy planes constantly dispense an endless supply of flares, making guns the only option. H.A.W.X 2 puts more emphasis on co-op games. According to G4TV, "it feels like the game is primarily intended to be a co-op game."The game adds a new class of electronic warfare planes designed specifically for co-op games. These planes carry ECM devices but do not have guns. In a co-op game, a player flying these planes must keep a distance from the action; his or her participation amounts to a rather dull job of keeping friendly planes within the support range of his or her ECM device. The game also features a multiplayer deathmatch in which up to eight players can play against each other. The PC version of the game supports mouse and keyboard for controlling planes; however, only keyboard may be used to control AC-130 guns or operator-guided ordnance.

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2

Platform
uplay

Region
Worldwide