Price: $5.99
Original Release Date: November 10, 1995
Not Recommended.
It seems unfair to capitalize on the popularity of the PS3 multiplayer game, Warhawk. Although largely heralded when it first arrived on PS1 more than a decade ago, it's clear that this PS1 legend hasn't aged well. Every aspect of the game feels antiquated, from the dated visuals, painful cinemas, and frustrating controls that simply don't translate well on the PSP (the PS3 controller works far better).
An ominous feeling sinks in when you experience the game's introductory sequence. Real actors are rarely used in modern game cinemas -- for good reason! While there is a certain charm in the camp on display, the cinematics do little do actually further the paper-thin story that's being told. The PS1 original has as much narrative as the PS3 sequel (that is, none at all).
The controls simply don't work without the extra shoulder buttons found on normal PS1 controllers. We used control Type 4 for the game, which maps the D-Pad to the analog nub. This felt the most comfortable, and allowed us to adjust our speed using the left and right button on the D-Pad. Analog control of the ship feels solid, but the sluggish nature of the controls make it hard to do evasive maneuvers. Playing from first person perspective doesn't help either.
Even if you can adapt to the sluggish controls and lackluster visual presentation, there are still a few more flaws that make Warhawk simply not worth the $6 that the Store asks for. Firstly, the use of passwords for progress is ridiculous for a portable game. It may have made sense back then, but it just doesn't work anymore. Finally, there's only six levels, and not much variety amongst them. Warhawk may have been considered a classic back then, but there are simply much better options for PSP owners.
Retro Review: 5.5
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-11-2008 @ 5:38PM
NoBullet said...
I was going to agree with you until you said "not much variety amongst them".
The levels in Warhawk are by far the most creative and fun. A dogfight with huge airships, then you have to fly through the big airship to destroy it. Then the next level has you flying around a volcano in the middle of the sea, going above and below clouds, then after the boss you have to fly down through the volcano. Not sure what game you played, but the level count may be sparse but they made up for it in variety. May not work well on a psp (like i'd imagine), but its still a fun game.
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1-11-2008 @ 7:38PM
MrDaBucket said...
Wow....harsh. I liked the ocean level and disagree with the comment you made about no level variety.....as a PS3 Warhawk fan, I found it cool to see what Incognito was attempting to remake in the pre-2007 "Warhawk 2" builds.
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1-12-2008 @ 7:16AM
Alien said...
Its not that bad ... but I think the score is overall good . It was a classic , but as many PSone/N64/Saturn games , it lost its touch in time ...
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1-13-2008 @ 6:31PM
navstar said...
I still have this game on PSX disc. It sure ain't pretty, but if memory serves, it was released pretty soon after the PSX launch, so it's a 1st gen game. They were ALL fugly. But at the time, there wasn't anything like it!
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