Hawken (Closed Beta 2)
NullenVoyd
Orlandish Icrontian
in Gaming
Thanks to @Primesuspect and Mushkin for the beta key, I've had a chance to poke my nose into this fairly fast-paced mech combat game durring the Closed Beta 2 event going on now.
First impression is "Ooooh!" then "Ouch!". The style is something I really dig - this gritty, unkept rusty future tech landscape, with mechs that look cobbled together with whatever metal was around. The play is fast and explosive, and I think you really need to have a useable grasp of fast FPS gameplay to survive enough to even learn to play.
Seems to me, to get a feel for the game, get in on a team deathmatch game and follow around your mates and see how they do it. Looks like right now there is a mix of old and new blood, and the old guard is not afraid to wipe the floor with you with their built-up machines. Getting in on some team combat at least gives you a few seconds to get used to the controls (VERY FPS-y) and try out some tricks.
For now I'm mostly sticking to team DM to get my feet wet, and am going by my handle here. Hope to see some other Icrontians running around, and join the conversation if you're giving this title a whirl, let us know what you think of it!
First impression is "Ooooh!" then "Ouch!". The style is something I really dig - this gritty, unkept rusty future tech landscape, with mechs that look cobbled together with whatever metal was around. The play is fast and explosive, and I think you really need to have a useable grasp of fast FPS gameplay to survive enough to even learn to play.
Seems to me, to get a feel for the game, get in on a team deathmatch game and follow around your mates and see how they do it. Looks like right now there is a mix of old and new blood, and the old guard is not afraid to wipe the floor with you with their built-up machines. Getting in on some team combat at least gives you a few seconds to get used to the controls (VERY FPS-y) and try out some tricks.
For now I'm mostly sticking to team DM to get my feet wet, and am going by my handle here. Hope to see some other Icrontians running around, and join the conversation if you're giving this title a whirl, let us know what you think of it!
0
Comments
Pros:
MECHS!
It's not MWO!
It's not MWO!
Did I mention it's not MWO? Because it's not MWO. Thank gods.
The graphics are really, really nice. And it performs well despite being a beta.
Does NOT require RootWyrm to build giant multi-system mecha cockpit of doom!
Cons:
It's only.. sorta mechs. I miss my crazy loadouts.
Seems more FPS than Mech. Which isn't necessarily bad, but kinda.. takes away from the Mech part.
The points system is very confusing right now. I have no idea how I get HP, I know how I get XP but not where it goes, etc.
It's still only sorta Mechs. This makes me a sad panda for srs. But it is beta - so maybe more options coming?
It's hard to recommend against trying Hawken though. And I will probably drop some cash on it too. Not because it's Mechs. Because it's actually really damn fun. (Even when you're getting your ass handed to you by a developer. And then you ambush and kill them. REVENGE!)
Remember when games were about fun? Yeah. Meteor did. And this game is really damn fun. And doesn't require me to build out an insanely expensive Mech cockpit. (By the way, take the time to look around at the signs. There's a whole bunch of hilarious hidden things in the graphics.)
Also agree that custom loadouts are fun. I used to spend more time strategizing builds for pen and paper Battletech than actually playing.
It IS fun though! I get frustrated with PVP generally with the exception of TF2 and Hawken. Even when getting rolled, there's still something engaging about running around and trying again.
Far as credits, they seem to be randomly spewing forth both currencies so you can try different things. I started out not even being able to buy one thing and after playing tonight for a bit I've been granted enough credits to have all the mechs and a few upgrade options on a couple. I'm sure once beta ends they'll reset everything, but it's nice to go crazy with it while one can.
Edit: Oh! and you can get this puppy running the Steam overlay, just need to path the shortcut to Hawken\InstalledHawkenFiles\Binaries\Win32\HawkenGame-Win32-Shipping.exe
It's cool, I'll play it again, but generally I'll stick to MWO. It's not perfect, but it's getting better, and it's actually mechs.
The shitty handling and the repair mechanic are about the only indicators that you're actually in a mech game: very different from the likes of MechWarrior but fun none the less.
One thing I did notice is that the mechs look like they were cobbled together out of scrap, except the assault:
which looks like Nordom:
But you got why I play it exactly, Basil. It's FUN. FUN! Holy crap, when was the last time a game was about having fun instead of (highest kill count, all about the graphics, some convoluted yet entirely linear plot, etc.)?!
- Natural Selection 2. Which largely consists of people going "HA HA U SUCK LOOK AT MY K:D" and ragequits.
- SimRaceway. Which has far too many people who start deliberately wrecking if they can't win.
- Rock Band 3. Run into lots of folks who if they miss a single note, immediately ragequit.
- TF2. Where I hear no end of people absolutely obsessed with their K:D and hats.
- PAYDAY: The Heist. Which not unlike Hawken, is about having FUN. (And shooting cops.) But lots of ragequitting, too.
- UNDISCLOSED CLOSED BETA. Where people deliberately cheat the matchmaker so their 8 person team can roflstomp a PUG. And all bail out if an evenly matched group shows up. And that's the least worst behavior I see. Rage TKing is the 'in' thing now.
By comparison, I've seen zero ragequits in Hawken, even when people have been getting totally pwnt. Most of the folks with insane K:Ds don't brag excessively, and amazingly, don't freak out when somebody kills them. Hell, they're actually happy when somebody manages to kill them. People aren't obsessing about winning or the highest K:D or any of that stupid crap. They're just having fun. It was a very refreshing change, to be honest.
"If you're itching for more time on the battlefield, you'll soon have it. Our third and final closed beta event starts November 20th and runs until December 6th! If you've been in any of our Alphas or Betas you're automatically added to CBE3. If you're still in need of a code, stay tuned for even more chances to nab one."