Power-up your giant flying robotic mechs, people; it’s time to take to the skies for battle! Starhawk is a game like no other currently on the market. At its heart, Starhawk is a 3rd person shooter, but it flirts with several other gaming genres; including real-time strategy. In this title you are able to not only control and command large machines and forces, but you can also use orbital drops to alter the very design of your battle environment. Whether you are placing strategic turrets to use for bottlenecking your enemies, or calling out for orbital drops to use in battle, Starhawk is an entirely different take on the 3rd person multiplayer-enabled action shooter.
Visuals
Most gamers are going to be drawn to this game simply because it presents them with outstanding visuals. In all honesty, the backgrounds and locations in this title are truly breathtaking to behold, and the action, well it is chaotic and awe-inspiring in its own way. Visually speaking, great attention was apparently given to ensure that things look as good on the micro scale as it does on the macro scale. To make a long story short, Starhawk is a really attractive looking title that will not disappoint in terms of visuals.
Gameplay
One of the coolest aspects of Starhawk is that it allows players to complete objectives in multiple ways. In fact, you are really only limited by own creativity when it comes to crushing the opposition. The single player campaign (while entertaining in its own right), really only serves as an “introduction” to the craziness that you will experience through the multiplayer. Given this reality, you can expect to spend hours upon hours battling with your online buddies in ever-increasingly intense situations that will test your gaming, as well as critical thinking abilit
ies. But before you get the wrong idea here, Starhawk isn’t really about problem solving as much as it is about action. However, you need to remember, we are talking about action on multiple levels, large scale tank based warfare as well as knife attacks from sneaky enemy combatants.
Verdict
The strongest aspects of Starhawk are definitely its multiplayer and gameplay, while the weakest is arguably its story. The simple fact of the matter is that the story and characters really don’t ever show true depth and therefore it’s almost impossible for players to empathize with, or connect with them. In many ways, the characters of Starhawk merely serve as placeholders for allowing players to understand and explore the environment of the game itself. Does this mean that Starhawk is a big miss? Absolutely not; in fact, a lackluster story shouldn’t deter you from further investigating what is one of the most fun and innovative online multiplayer games to come along in quite a long time. Starhawk is really more of a thinking man’s action shooter; a game for people who might have grown tired of the derivative shooters that are currently permeating the market. In other words, Starhawk is a much needed breath of fresh air.