Overview

Right then, let's startup with the PR snippet first:

Tom Clancys HAWX is the first air combat game set in the world-renowned Tom Clancys video game universe. Cutting-edge technology, devastating firepower, and intense dogfights bestow this new title a deserving place in the prestigious Tom Clancy franchise. Soon, flying at Mach 3 becomes a right, not a privilege.
Key Features of Tom Clancys HAWX:

• ENHANCED REALITY SYSTEM (E.R.S.) - E.R.S. is in-game technology that helps turn novice aviators into elite pilots of the future. The Enhanced Reality System is the backbone of the HAWX flight experience: radars and incoming missile detection, anti-crash system, damage control system, tactical map and information relay, and weapons trajectory control. E.R.S. also allows players to issue orders to their squadron, making this system as iconic to HAWX as the Cross-Com system is to Tom Clancys Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter!
• ASSISTANCE MODE Players can ease into their flight missions and gain a level of comfort with the use of the assistance mode. Once employed, players can take full advantage of their technological support through the E.R.S and gain maximum piloting security. If the situation calls for the player to unleash the full potential of the aircraft, the assistance mode can be switched off and all safety features will be deactivated. This comes with increased risks, but allows the player advanced dogfighting maneuvers and stunning third-person views.
• REVOLUTIONARY MULTIPLAYER - For the first time ever in the air-combat genre, players will be able to experience the entire solo campaign in four-player JUMP IN co-op mode. In PVP mode, players can challenge up to 15 friends in intense dogfighting sessions and find out who's the top gun. Winning players are rewarded with experience points and money to unlock more weapons.
• REALISM AND AUTHENTICITY Players have the opportunity to take the throttle of over 50 of the worlds famous aircrafts, as well as being able to dogfight over realistic modern landscapes that have endured years of post-war trauma.

Fact is, we don't see many air combat games on the market these days and I sincerely don't know how many of you are still into classic flight sims. The famed Ace Combat series was nice. I've did play the latest installment, Ace Combat 6, and I must say it has all the essentials of a decent arcadish-flavored flight game.

With HAWX we enter a new level. There are well over 50 planes in the game, each of which carries a destructive payload. You'll need it, as you'll engage multiple hostiles across war-torn but still gorgeous looking terrain. However, you won't be alone, and you'll have the option of issuing orders to your squad mates, just like we are used to in the Ghost Recon series.

Visually, the game's impressive, especially when flying in close to cities, which really shows off the building details. But it's when the game pulls into the third-person perspective while you dog-fight that the game flaunts its visuals and you really see much of the environment. The genre of air combat games could finally see decent revival with Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., and we like that .. very much actually.

• GeForce GTX 295
• GeForce GTX 285
• GeForce GTX 260 SP216
• GeForce GTS 250 1024MB
• GeForce 9800 GTX+
• GeForce 9600 GT
• GeForce 8800 GTX
• Radeon HD 4870 X2
• Radeon HD 4870 1024MB
• Radeon HD 4870 512MB
• Radeon HD 4850 512MB
• Radeon HD 4830 512MB

So in this game we'll fire off a decent set of quality settings (shown later on) at several graphics cards.