Warhawk
A futuristic-styled, aerial combat game, Warhawk started life on PlayStation in 1995. At the time it engaged the player with intense action, amazing graphics, exciting weapons and a wonderfully tangible control system. We had the opportunity to play PSone's Warhawk again recently - using a retro, motion-sensitive pad of all things - and it was a bit of a smack in the face seeing just how dated the game looks. Contrary to our nostalgic view of the game, in today's landscape it's ugly and borders on the unplayable.
When did the series goice cold?
Warhawk started and finished with its PSone outing, despite the game being well received by critics. There was never a clamour of demand for a sequel and, by all accounts, this first-generation PSone effort was quickly forgotten as Sony's console gained a bulging portfolio of games. Warhawk's developer, SingleTrac, closed its doors in 2000, having produced a string of other PSone titles (including Twisted Metal, Jet Moto, Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012 ), although some of its staff had left a year earlier to form a new studio, Incognito Entertainment.
A new king is born!
During Sony's PS3 unveiling conference at E3 2005 (the one with all those internet famous 'target footage' movies), one of the games revealed was a totally spruced and rather fancy looking Warhawk, developed by - you guessed it - Incognito. The trailer showed retro-futuristic soldiers, swarms of high-speed jets buzzing over a wooded landscape and a flying armada of hulking great, battle-ship style craft. Fast forward to Sony's 2006 E3 conference and Warhawk reappeared, this time being used as a showpiece for PS3's non-rumbling, motion-sensing controller. Since then we've seen otherglimpses of the game, showing both ground and aerial based skirmishing.
Does it live on?
Still firmly ensconced within Incognito's development bunker, Warhawk isn't actually due to take flight until later this year. What we haveseen of the game, though, gives us great hope that it's going to hit PS3 with considerable impact - certainly the promise of epic, 32-player battles has got our collective cockpit all steamed up.
