PAX East has a ton of games for all of us to delve into (if we are willing to wait for a shot).
Spending some time in the Hawken line up, I got to meet up with a few gamers doing a second run. Mixed reviews, but is it enough fun to make us keep coming back? let’s dig in!
What is Hawken?
Its a fast paced mech-based FPS. Giant robots to pilot. Missiles. Guns. Free to play. so far so good.
That being said – IT IS IN BETA, so things may change drastically
Free to play?
Thank Riot games (League of Legends) for proving to the world that free to play is a very workable business model. It offers gamers a chance to jump into the game really easily and without ponying up a typical retail price. Personally, I dig the model, because I’m tired of paying for games I rarely play or regret having purchased. there is a dark side, and that is micro-transaction-unlocked content. The difficulty is being able to make money as a business without punishing the player who isn’t willing or capable of purchasing all the premium content.
Enough about money – what about the game?
This game has a faster pace than most other mech-based games, and so more action in a much shorter period. I played a single death-match game, and got my share of stomping and getting stomped. Fairly straight ahead use of your mechs weapons and systems, dash and hover jets make you something more than a slow moving death machine, and you have a few mechs to choose from (though you start your career with only one).
How does this game fare?
Based on what I’ve read and seen the game still needs to balance out the matchmaking in order to keep people feeling like this is a “pay-to-win” type scenario. The game itself feels a lot more like an FPS using mechs than a standard mech game.
Besides those details, if you are looking for something a little faster paced, but still feeling like a Mech battle, go download it. IT’S FREE.
