Gaming column: Tom Clancy’s Hawx

Tom Clancy must be rolling in the dough from these video games. Now that his gaming franchise has entrenched itself in the shooter realm with its “Ghost Recon” and “Rainbow Six” series, the brand is taking to the air. It’s a welcome addition to the not-so-friendly skies.

First off, don’t expect a flight simulator here. This is pure arcade-style dogfighting. Stalls are few and, for the most part, it’s best to just keep hurling missiles and dodging those from enemies until you are the last plane standing. “HAWX” does nothing original with its gameplay, but all the parts you need (intense action, outstanding sound effects, etc.) are all present and accounted for.

The strongest aspect of “HAWX” is its visual design. Instead of pretend countries at war, the plot takes you from Rio de Janeiro to Washington, D.C., and beyond. While not perfect, a massive dogfight over D.C. was awfully cool to watch, save all the destruction I caused. A beefed-up multiplayer would have been nice, but what is there is enough to entertain you.

For close to a decade, it seems, the “Ace Combat” franchise has dominated the aerial-combat genre. “HAWX,” at least, provides some worthy competition.

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