Starhawk

Starhawk – Beta Review Week 2

This is my second article detailing my Starhawk beta experiences. As i continue to play this game i am starting to understand its mild strategy elements more. But before i get into any impressions i must inform you gamers of the new update this week. Update 1.2.2 which came online January 20 introduces some new elements to the Starhawk beta.

This includes faster, normal and advanced flight controls (double tap R2 for afterburners). Also added was homing missiles ability to home in sooner and swarming lasers begin to home in sooner as well. I noticed that the Gamelist screen has a Refresh button (triangle) added. Apparently there will be a sort and filter button as well. Then again maybe it was there before but i never noticed it till today.

Strategy

Using Supply Bunkers in Capture the Flag: When playing Capture the Flag i immediately whenever its possible create a Supply Bunker in front of the flag on my team’s base. Supply Bunkers are fairly strong structures that you can walk inside  or climb on top. But what i like most about it is that it comes with a respawning Rocket Launcher and a Shotgun inside. The Rocket Launcher can home in on Hawks and people who are flying jeypacks in the air. Its basically like using the Rocket Launcher from Warhawk. Another thing about the Supply Bunker is that you can set up Turrets from inside of it. As my resources built up i constructed more and more Turrets around the bunker creating a solid defensive base for the flag at my base.

Supply Bunkers aren’t perfect however. I played a match where a guy kept landing on top of my Supply Bunker shooting it with rockets till it exploded. To combat that you will have to climb on top of the bunker or like i just typed lay out a bunch of Turrets around it. Players are crafty and will target Turrets first so be aware. Also many players are trying to construct Supply Bunkers close to your base of operations which can cause problems if your team is not aware. Location is important when constructing Supply Bunkers since your teammates will likely run inside them for better weapons and possible camping/playing defense. You do need a fair amount of resources to build one bunker.

To get resources fast what i did was at the very beginning of the match let all of my teammates build there Garages, Walls, Jetpack Stations or whatever (i don’t dismantle Supply Bunkers). After they headed out towards the enemy flag i deconstruct all of there stations and use the resources immediately to build a Supply Bunker in a good strategic defensive position near the flag. If your feeling like a hero you can head on out towards the other team’s flag and create a Supply Bunker near there flag. But keep in mind people over top of the bunker with rockets can destroy it as well Hawks and Jetpack guys. Everytime i played CTF i would come in top three of my team in XP/Points using the above tips. Its mostly pure defense though so keep that in mind.

Other Impressions: Connection freezes are still apparent from time to time when matchmaking. However when choosing games from the game lobby i have yet to have a connection freeze all day. To select different weapons use the Dpad (Duel Shock 3). Just like in Warkawk enemies and teammates drop there weapons and grenades (they look gold). For some reason the sound design isn’t crisp or loud like other games i play on my Playstation 3. I refuse to to compare this Starhawk beta to the full game of Warhawk. The matches in the Starhawk beta are small in nature only 16 maximum.

The full game will have 32 players maximum. So i suggest you gamers that are turned off by Starhawk to keep that in mind. I also noticed how teams (mine and opponets) are starting to implement light strategy techniques to what and where they construct structures. I say light becuase thats what it is. Its also fast strategy considering people can dismantle your structures if they have the means. If you are having problems getting resources fast dismantle your previous structure or a teammates. You can also respawn Hawks, Razerbacks and Jetpacks (press square near yellow screen). Just make sure you are at the correct station. The epic win of the day was when my drop pod landed on a enemy for a badge.

This concludes my second article detailing some of my time with Starhawk this week. Most importantly i have to tell you again this game is fun.  Old Warhawk vets need not worry. Thanks for reading.

Starhawk – Beta Review 1

I remember the early days of the Playstation 3 when everybody would play Warhawk day and night. After playing some of the recently released public beta of Starhawk, its safe to say those days will be returning. I was able to get into the Starhawk beta a week early via Playstation+. People who pre-ordered Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception will be able to get in the beta next week January 21, 2012. Starhawk  is an action game developed by Lightbox Interactive and published by SCEA exclusively for the Playstation 3. The release date is TBA.

Before i get into the factual information i am glad to let players know that enjoyed Warhawk that all of the “LOL OMG” gameplay is in Starhawk. Asides from the occasional long loading times and connection drops this game is pure fun! 1.2.1 Update: Enabled host migration server option, Classic Warhawk arcade flight mode added. Added control panel to sniper tower added. Fixed bug that caused stats not to post. Language support for English, Finnish, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.

Menus: Settings, Matchmake, Create Game, Game List, Leaderboard and News. Maps: Space and Acid Sea. Gamemodes: Capture the Flag and Team Deathmatch. However when you take a look at Matchmake you can see two locked gamemodes ZNS and DM. I assume those two gamemodes will be added later in the beta. Controls: Triangle-item wheel, L1-zoom weapon, R1-shoot, X-jump, Square-reload, O-crouch, R3-melee, L2-grenades and R2-sprint. When operating a Hawk (mech) to transform hit O button. They’re are many more button layouts for the various vehicles. I just wrote down as i played since there isn’t a button layout screen.

Rifters versus Outcast: Rifters and Outcasts are the two main factions in Starhawk, Rifters look like mutated humans and Outcast look like normal humans. I’m thinking since Starhawk will have a single player story campaign i will learn exactly why the Rifters look mutated, probably from some exotic element found on some distant planet?

Gameplay: I’m sure you all seen the videos of huge structures falling in front of players while they are playing. Well those are very important to your’s as well your team’s success in Starhawk. Pressing the Triangle Button lets you bring up the item wheel anywhere. There are many items/structures you can build. Just make sure you see a green outline which means you can build it. If you see yellow outlines means you can’t build it. You just need adequate space. Items that you can build include Walls, Auto-Turrets, Sniper Towers, Pod Beacons, Launch Pads (comes with Hawk), Jet Pack Dispensers and Supply Bunkers. There could be more but those are the ones i built in-game.

Building structures in real-time saves time. You remember having to run around the map to get a vehicle? Those days are over pretty much. Now keep in mind you just can’t build and destroy vehicles over and over in Starhawk. You have to have a certain amount of energy (there is a bar on screen that fills up). You can break down structures which creates room and gives you a chance to build something. Bottomline Starhawk has a better gameplay template then Warhawk in my opinion. Its not perfect and needs to be refined but its better then Warhawk make no mistake.

Other Stuff: Operating the Hawks with inverted controls felt really good. I assumed it would be difficult to control a transforming mech in this game but it wasn’t. The Razerback is like a jeep with a turret. It was easy to maneuver as well. I gotten a few medals in Starhawk including Survivor, Builder and Revenge medals. XP ranks you up just like in Warhawk. When you spawn you are hurled into the map from outerspace (really nice). Long load times and many connection drops are present.

I know its all part of the beta process but its still annoying. All of the “omg, lol, holy s***” moments are in Warhawk. For example a guy in his Hawk was trying to kill me. He was in a mech  and i was close to death. I threw two quick grenades at him and blew him and his Mech up! Stuff like that happens all of the time in Starhawk. Its waht makes the game fun. You always have a chance to survive when it seems you are doomed.

In closing i do plan to write a series of Starhawk impression articles during the length of the beta. As far as fun go this game is primo. Thanks for reading.