Flights of Fancy

With H.A.W.X., aerial combat is getting a Tom Clancy-style futuristic but realistic makeover.
6/10/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 2

During Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, there was a mission where your futuristic ground forces were supported by a squadron of equally advanced fighter jets. Now those jets are getting their own day in the sun with Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., an aerial combat game that, befitting the Clancy name, will have you piloting realistically futuristic airplanes. We recently spoke to Thomas Simon, the lead game designer, to get the lowdown on what to expect when Ubisoft releases this game on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC later this year.

Crispy Gamer: Let's start with the basics: What is Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.?

Thomas Simon: It's what you get when you bring air combat into the Tom Clancy ... family, I would say. It's not like you just put "Tom Clancy" on a flying game; you try and figure out what a Tom Clancy flying game would be like. Basically, it's a shooter in the sky. It's a very authentic game, but it's very accessible at the same time.

Crispy Gamer: Where did the idea for this come from?

Simon: We started developing the concept about three years ago. Our creative director is a big fan of air combat games, but he thought there was something missing, and that there was something to the idea of doing a Tom Clancy flying game.

Crispy Gamer: Was the idea always to make a Tom Clancy flying game, or did you start off making a flying game and then realize it would work within the, uh, Clancy-verse?

Simon: No, the point was always to make a Tom Clancy air combat game.

Crispy Gamer: When is the game set, time-wise?

Simon: The game starts in 2014, with a flashback. You're still in the United States Air Force, and you're part of the H.A.W.X., which is a special-forces unit. And you're actually playing a mission from Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, providing air support for the Ghosts on the ground. Then, some time later, you've left the Air Force and have joined a private military company, and this will take you all around the world for contracts. You go to South America, provide air support for N.A.T.O. troops in Afghanistan, etc.

Crispy Gamer: This is, as far as I know, the first time we've seen a crossover between Clancy games.

Simon: Right. And for me, it's not a surprise that this has happened. Especially since these games aren't made by separate people, we all know each other and we all talk to each other.

Crispy Gamer: Has there ever been any talk of doing a bunch of the Clancy games centered around a single story, like where you'd have Sam Fisher sneaking in the back door while the Rainbow Six team storm in from the front and the H.A.W.X. give air support?

Simon: Obviously, there is something great there, and that's slowly where we are going. Look at what [the upcoming real-time strategy game] Tom Clancy's EndWar is doing; they have Ghost units on the ground, they have H.A.W.X. units in the sky -- it's just the beginning. One has to wonder if it will go further. I don't see why it wouldn't.

Crispy Gamer: What other flying games would you say influenced the development of H.A.W.X.?