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

Hawx is a air combat simulator set in the near future, following the exploits of a group of pilots who work for Artimis global defence.
The main point of the game is to blow up enemy planes, tanks and boats, and here the game succeeds well. The game has a variety of weapons (and planes; over 50 of them) from free-falling bombs to locking missiles. Most targets fall to a missile or two, but the game makes up for this with a large proliferation of enemies all across the field.
Two factors set the Hawx combat system apart from the average plane game: the ERS and OFF mode. The ERS (Enhanced Reality System) sets up a series of gates to your target. In a plane dogfight, this means that the gates will lead you straight behind the enemy fighter, allowing you to easily (perhaps too easily) shoot down the enemy plane. The system also guides you to strike ground targets obscured by skyscrapers.
The Off mode system, changes the camera from behind the plane to a sweeping third person view that, while looking nice, makes controlling the plane brutally difficult. In this mode, the plane can turn very tightly, however, you can also stall the plane, causing you to drop like a plane-shaped rock. This mode is not nearly as useful as ON mode, and you will not enter it very often.
The game has a surprisingly interesting plot for a military plane game, focusing on military corporations and, predictably, the American air force. It also ties in to Clancy's Ghost Recon series. I won't spoil the plot, but it has some nice twists so far (I haven't finished the plot yet). Graphically, the game stands up well, however, at close range objects will pixelate badly, especially the trees (when you fly through them). On the positive side, the environments are all designed by Google earth and look beautiful .
The best aspect of the game is the multiplayer. 4 players can play through the main plot, which does make it a far more enjoyable experience. The game also supports an 8 player team deathmatch. While early reports suggested 16 players online, I thought it was worth the trade, as the game runs seamlessly, even when I played with 8 other players from Outer Antarctica. However the multiplayer suffer from a slight unbalance, as the radar guided missiles are virtually undodgeable, while close range missiles can be evaded easily.
Hawx is , in the end, a great game with a few issues that never interfere with the high fun level. Hopefully Clancy will release a sequel that addresses a few of these issues.

9/10 Must have for plane game fans and Tom Clancy fans, Great buy for the average gamer.
My first review, please comment nicely