Superbuu3's Review: Starhawk

Starhawk is the much anticipated spiritual successor to Warhawk. Whereas Warhawk was solely multiplayer game, Starhawk tries to establish itself as a more complete package including a campaign as well as a new coop horde mode.

Starhawk uses an innovative building system to separate itself from all other shooters currently on the market. Allowing players to build base structures and deploy them anywhere adds a new level of complexity, uncommon in online shooters. Buildings will provide players with defences, weapons and vehicles, establishing an effective base can make or break a game, requiring teamwork and strategy. Changing positions of walls and turrets can have a profound effect on a match and with time learning how to best utilise all your equipment adds to the experience. Starhawk can be extremely chaotic at times, due to the games redeployment method it is possible to destroy an enemy as you respawn, which can be incredibly satisfying and help turn the tides in battle. Simple changes to the tried and tested formula of current gen shooters make Starhawk stand out and it is very easy to get drawn into battles for several hours when the game is working well. Battles can contain up to 32 players and may feel slightly overwhelming to newcomers. Fortunately the single player campaign serves as both a tutorial and an introduction to the games complex multiplayer.

The campaign teaches the player how to use the various weapons, vehicles and explains base building. There are four difficulty levels providing a challenge for even the most hardened veterans Warhawk. Having a good grasp of controls will be essential playing multiplayer. It’s hard to criticise the campaign mode when it is little more than an extended tutorial containing ten missions. The campaign serves its purpose well and the biggest criticism is that it could have been more. There has certainly been some thought put into making a backstory for the game, but due to lack of character development, players may not really care for Emmett and his friends. However, the campaign is still entertaining and is longer then would be expected for a game with an almost complete online focus. The story mainly focuses around rift energy, and involves themes that could be considered a parable of the gold rush.

Rift energy is collected from either standing near your base or destroying enemy units or buildings, this is then used for building structures. The idea works well and means that offensive players are still able to build, and players trying to defend there base a chance to earn energy without having to worry if the enemy isn’t making it to them. There are currently four types of vehicles in the game ranging from solo manned hawks (which transform into mechs) and bikes to the more team orientated tanks and jeeps. The vehicles are very easy to utilise, but hard to master allowing for even more tactical options.

Multiplayer modes include deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag and zones (which involves scoring points according to how many bases a team has secured). There is also a coop prospector mode, which players can choose 4 different difficulty levels for. It is noteworthy that difficulty is scaled depending on the number of players in your party and is fairly steep, requiring a high level of cooperation to complete the mode with a full team of four players. The object of the mode is to defend a Rift extractor from waves of enemies. Split-screen is also supported allowing two players to sign into separate accounts on the same PS3 and play in any of the multiplayer modes on offer. The game also involves a perk system that thankfully seems more balanced then certain games. Perks are unlocked by completing certain challenges and then purchasing them in the skills menu. This means a player will unlock perks which reflect their style of play, helping you expand your skills from there. As only one perk can be equipped at a time this again adds another level for tactical play and a team equipping perks planned with there team mates can be considerably more lethal.

Whereas the single player campaign may provide the player with only a few hours of entertainment, the online multiplayer can entertain players with potentially hundreds of hours of play. Clans are supported in this game allowing easy access to additional people to play with if you already have a full friends list. So far the community appears to be friendly and cooperative enough to play as a team. LightBox appear to be monitoring the game carefully using game statistics to establish what changes are needed to correct any balance issues. The main problem while playing Starhawk is base camping a problem for any online game and LightBox has stated that they are rectifying this. There are team balancing problems occasionally, but by joining a clan this can be reduced as playing with people you know reduces the likelihood they may leave the match unannounced. LightBox Interactive shows willingness to continue supporting Starhawk by launching patches to address problems that the community are concerned about, providing notes on upcoming patches for the community to discuss. If that wasn’t enough, LightBox have already stated on their blog that all map packs will be released for free to all players. This news certainly makes Starhawk a worthwhile investment as many other online games have divided the community, by forcing users to buy map packs, if they want to play with their friends. Other content is also on its way, but pricing information was not released at the time of this publication.

The Starhawk beta was available to play by a large number of people, and may leave misconceptions of the game itself. It is certainly worth noting that a beta is released to help improve the game before it was finally shipped and having played the beta and the final product, this process appears to have been a huge success. The game feels considerably more satisfying and feels like a huge leap forward in terms of gameplay. Players not interested in the beta may still feel that the final game has changed enough to reignite interest.

Overall Starhawk is a game that is highly recommended for fans of multiplayer action providing intensity while maintaining a high level of strategy. The final boost to an already great package is LightBox Interactive’s dedication to their game and fans, in an age where DLC can destroy or divide an online community, LightBox has taken these factors into consideration.

Starhawk is a refreshing multiplayer experience, innovating in a saturated shooter market 9/10