Ubisoft Announces Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2

Sometimes, the title of a game writes the acronym. KOTOR, WoW, GRAW, THUG: all sterling examples of acronyms. High quality abbreviation action. Sometimes, however, the acronym writes the title. Such was the case with Ubisoft's entry into arcade-flight simulation, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. High Altitude Warfare... eXperimental squadron. This was unacceptable. I knew it. You knew it. Ubisoft knew it.

And now, nearly 18 months after the release of the original game, Ubisoft has announced the sequel to its plane-drifting simulator, and they're taking matters into their own hands. They decided to right the wrongs of their franchise, and give make that letter X stand for something that deserves to be part of an acronym as cool as HAWX. So, what does the X stand for now in Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2?

The X stands for "eXperimental squadron." They didn't change what the X stands for in H.A.W.X. I was lying. Sorry.

But heck, this story isn't all lies, because Ubisoft did announce that Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 would be landing this fall on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and PC! Developed by Ubisoft Bucharest, HAWX 2 lets you once again step into the cockpit of your plane and join the High Altitude Warfare eXperimental squadron to...probably shoot down planes. Maybe you'll target planes in the sky and wait for your missiles to lock onto your target's heat signatures. And you'll probably fly with wing men who will also shoot down targets when you tell them.

Ubisoft also revealed some gameplay changes that differentiate the new game from the original Tom Clancy's HAWX. In addition to the return of the "Enhanced Reality System" that guided pilots and positioned them in front of their targets, HAWX 2 will allow you to take off and land planes on runways and refuel your plane in midair. You'll also be able to use UAVs to search for ground targets and send them a missile.

Ubisoft also sent us some screenshots that only confirmed my suspicions that this game has planes in it.