The year is 2014 and more and more countries begin to contract private
military companies instead of their own armies to fulfil strategic objectives.
Because of the increasing amount of competition between those companies for
the best contracts, the fight even extends to the battlefield themselves.

David Crenshaw, a former US Navy pilot, is hired by such a PMC as the US Army
sets him free after saving the Ghost Recon team during their operation in
Juarez (Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2). Ordered to do a
series of different aerial missions scattered all over the world, he soon
realizes that he is getting sucked deeper and deeper into the war for global
military domination in which he even engages in combat against his old
employer. Becoming more than a simple mercenary, matters soon fall into his
hands and his decisions will dictate the outcome of the war.

Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X is an action-oriented flight simulation similar to
Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions of WWII giving the player control over an
airplane either in first- or third-person view. Set in a near-future scenario,
the player has access to several different kinds of licensed planes ranging
from real world aircraft like the A-10A Thunderbolt II to prototype machines
like the F-15 Active used by the NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center. In
addition, the player can choose a different weapon load-out for each plane
before the start. Both the weapon load-outs and the airplanes are unlocked as
the player advances in rank during the campaign. Each kill as well as
completing objectives and challenges grant the player experience points to do
so.

While the mission objectives range from defending Air Force One against enemy
attacks to destroying ground targets, the challenges on the hand require the
player to destroy 50 enemies only with his canon or get 300 aerial kills
during the campaign. During the course of the game, the player will also get
help from up to two other pilots who he can order to attack specific targets
in his view. The on-board computer also helps by calculating optimal intercept
or rocket evasion routes.

In addition to normal keyboard, mouse, gamepad and joystick-support, the game
also features voice recognition, allowing the player to fire missiles or
change the target just by shouting a keyword into the microphone.

Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.