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

And you won't believe what the X stands for this time!


No Caption Provided
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.
 


Will you fly with the eagles this fall? Or will you refuse to purchase HAWX to protest the use of game media-endorsed flight puns?

53 Comments

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mattbodega

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Edited By mattbodega

No Caption Provided
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.
 


Will you fly with the eagles this fall? Or will you refuse to purchase HAWX to protest the use of game media-endorsed flight puns?
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JDUB_XL

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Edited By JDUB_XL

woah

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Hamz

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Edited By Hamz

The first game was successful enough that they thought it needed a sequel? I was always under the impression the first game sort of flew by in a fireball as it crashed and burned....guess I was wrong!

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psyborg0815

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Edited By psyborg0815

Great, another crappy Ace Combat clone.
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ozzy4444

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Edited By ozzy4444

I thought the first game kind of blew don't know why they would make another 
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fmprodguy

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Edited By fmprodguy

I keep waiting for a Jet sim/arcade to light me up the way they use to ... we'll see
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Jeffsekai

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Edited By Jeffsekai

I loved the first game, can't wait for this.

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EpicSteve

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Edited By EpicSteve

That's cool.

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sweep

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Edited By sweep  Moderator

It looks pretty cool...
 
ok maybe not "cool" but it sure looks pretty.

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Bionicicide

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Edited By Bionicicide

The first had this weird soft glow that I don't see in these pictures. It also had the coolest "garage".

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jeffk38uk

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Edited By jeffk38uk

The first HAWX was alright I suppose, but I didn't like the whole super far camera angle for the special manouver thing they touted, it just felt confusing. I just went back to Ace Combat 6 instead.

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Oni

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Edited By Oni

I actually laughed out loud when I read the third paragraph. Well played Matt, well played.

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Gav47

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Edited By Gav47

Did the first HAWX really warrant a second one?

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babblinmule

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Edited By babblinmule

One of the funniest articles ive read in a long time. Kudos to you Matt.

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adoggz

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Edited By adoggz

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

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Milkman

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Edited By Milkman
@Hamz said:
" The first game was successful enough that they thought it needed a sequel? I was always under the impression the first game sort of flew by in a fireball as it crashed and burned....guess I was wrong! "
Yeah, doesn't make much sense to me either.
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time allen

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Edited By time allen

matt kessler is actually kind of funny.

but yeah, hawx looks just as bland as ever. preemptive bias ftw.

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Cube

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Edited By Cube

MattBodega: Not funny.

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megasoum

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Edited By megasoum

I don't get why people are freaking out over the X standing in for eXperimental. The X has been used to denote experimental stuff forever. Including most of the military technology that was developped in the last 60-70 years. X-35, X-1 (First plane to break the sound barrier), etc. Actually...it goes all the way up to X-58.
 
 
Still an awesome joke in the article btw lol.

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landon

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Edited By landon

Will it be in 3D?

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assatm

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Edited By assatm

I really like the comedy Matt adds to his news posts, they make them even more enjoyable haha

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ixnay

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Edited By ixnay

The big question is that, being a Tom Clancy game, will it involve blowing up Mexicans? Because if not, it's not a real Tom Clancy game.

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sedition2

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Edited By sedition2

Played the demo for the first HAWX and, to be honest, thought it was pretty terrible. The enhanced reality system, if used at all, makes the game a little too... concrete? Like it just gives you a set guideline to follow, instead you being forced to make your own tactics and decisions. I also thought that the third person perspective (forget what it's called, something about some performance inhibitor I think) was incredibly difficult to use, since it's near impossible to keep your bearings in 3 dimensions when the camera shifts around. I don't have much experience with aircraft games, but it just seems like Ace Combat 6 is infinitely better at making this genre of game entertaining.

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I_smell

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Edited By I_smell

The ONLY reason I clicked on this was to see what the X stood for.
 
You win this round.

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jr0wyant

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Edited By jr0wyant

Meh.
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evildeadron

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Edited By evildeadron

the demo for the 1st game was shit and probably turned people off, the actual game was pretty good and the multiplayer was fun as hell, looking forward to the sequel, really like the takeoff and landing and midair refueling they are adding
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RandomInternetUser

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The first game's demo was kind of fun, I've just never been into flight games.  Maybe I'll give this one a try.

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Zatoichi_Sanjuro

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Edited By Zatoichi_Sanjuro

Poor Sub-arcade game
Sequel news with bullshots X
Cherry Blossom shit.

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mattbodega

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Edited By mattbodega
@Zatoichi_Sanjuro: I was going to call you out for using "X" as a syllable in a haiku. And then I though about it. And then my mind was blown.
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Jimbo

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Edited By Jimbo

I got HAWX for free
It came with my graphics card
Still deserved refund

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LordAndrew

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Edited By LordAndrew

I totally forgot HAWX existed.

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Jadeskye

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Edited By Jadeskye

XTREME!

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Sil3n7

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Edited By Sil3n7

Does anyone really care?

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Fbomb

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Edited By Fbomb

I didn't play the first one, but I'll play this one. I haven't played an air combat game in a quite a number of years, and I'm in need of something different from yet another FPS, RPG, or Action Game. Then again, I guess this could be considered an FPS with no floors and a requirement to always move forward. So, really, who knows how long I'll end up playing. But, hopefully it'll be a fun changeup while it lasts.

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carlthenimrod

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Edited By carlthenimrod

HAWX was better than Ace Combat 6. The online was actually good. Glad to see a sequel in the works.

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Edited By ltcoljaxson
@Cube said:
" MattBodega: Not funny. "
I agree, this article could have been shortened by half. Takes away credibility from quality articles on the site and is not needed. Also just seems a little too opinionated with not enough meat in the article to support anything - just words for the sake of increasing the word count. Whatever, hopefully this improves in the future - I am just glad that more articles are being posted to the site in general... I just hope the quality improves on those written.
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SuperKcross

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Edited By SuperKcross

ugh. just give me ace combat 7 already bandai so i don't have to put up with this

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meteora

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Edited By meteora

Hopefully they can polish the shit up for the game. Wasn't expecting it to warrant a sequel though.

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Edited By marrec
@SuperKcross said:
" ugh. just give me ace combat 7 already bandai so i don't have to put up with this "  
Yes this, in the absence of any meaningful Ace Combat game we get H.A.W.X. people... do you see what our arrogance has wroth?!
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marrec

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Edited By marrec

Also, 50 bucks this has Night Vision Goggles in it.

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Rockanomics

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Edited By Rockanomics

H.A.W.X. is great only because it leads to people saying Hawwwwwww.

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Redeye

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Edited By Redeye

The first game had this really interesting "crash to desktop" feature.  I can't tell if this is still in the second?  I guess only time will tell!  Can't wait!  Seriously, I really love my desktop.  It contains shortcuts to so many games that actually run properly.

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BillyMethers

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Edited By BillyMethers

Awesome!! I can't wait to buy this game and take it to the skies!

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Zephyr

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Edited By Zephyr

Falcon 3.0 or GTFO

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WiqidBritt

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Edited By WiqidBritt

eh, I was disappointed with the mission design/structure/whatever in the first HAWX... it was very much lacking in levels I wanted to play over and over... just give me a level that's nothing but other jets to shoot down, and don't make me break off from that to do some tedious BS like chasing down tank-dropping cargo planes
 
also don't make it such a pain in the ass to gain levels, I got to level 32 or something and then the progression slowed to a fucking crawl because I didn't have any other challenges to get xp from

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Tylea002

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Edited By Tylea002

Gimme a new Ace Combat over this! Pleeeeeeease world!

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Elazul

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Edited By Elazul

Damn you Kessler! I read this story for nothing!

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haggis

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Edited By haggis

I actually liked the first game, for the most part, but felt the camera angle on the special maneuvers was too irritating. (Honestly, I took advantage of the GameStop deal that had the game pegged at $40 during its release week, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered). Eventually I just stopped playing it. I know quite a few people who loved the game, and it was reviewed well enough. So I don't get the confusion over a sequel. It's kind of a no-brainer. The threshold for sequels this gen has been pretty low. Still, there's a lot of things I hope they fix. I'll need to play a demo before I'd even consider it. With all the other games coming out this fall, it's going to be pretty low down on my list.

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SeriouslyNow

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Edited By SeriouslyNow
@Milkman said:
" @Hamz said:
" The first game was successful enough that they thought it needed a sequel? I was always under the impression the first game sort of flew by in a fireball as it crashed and burned....guess I was wrong! "
Yeah, doesn't make much sense to me either. "
Oh really?  How about some sales figures from both of you?  My guess, sans sales figures, is that the game sold well.  There's always a market for flight sims.
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chrisnadon

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Edited By chrisnadon

Anyone remember Joint Strike Fighter?
This game kinda reminds me of it.