History VideoGame / HAWX

* [[GoodGunsBadGuns Good Planes, Bad Planes]]: Zig-zagged, mostly in part by the fact that the player switches sides at a point in the game. As judging by the suggested planes for various missions, Artemis has a preference for non-American jets, primarily Soviet ones (only one mission in the first half suggests an American jet, the F-4G, and one suggests a Mirage while the rest all suggest Sukhoi and Mikoyan craft), and your enemies tend to be non-aligned militias that use whatever they can get their hands on, generally preferring F-5s. Once you switch back to the US military it's played more straight; Artemis jets under NPC control are about 50/50 for continuing to prefer Soviet and Russian craft or going for American ones, while the player's suggested planes for the rest of the game all remain Western (only two levels suggest non-American craft, and in both cases they're still Western, the Eurofighter and then the Rafale) - however, with the exception of the first mission, the Assistance OFF tutorial, and the epilogue, you're never prevented from flying a plane unless it doesn't have a weapon required for the mission (like free-fall bombs for the third mission), so you can keep flying your Su-27s and the like all through to the end of the game.
** Also subverted where the only attack helicopter throughout the game, whether unaligned rebels or Artemis, is the American AH-64 Apache.

* GreaterScopeVillain: Morgunov mentions in the second game that there are "forces more powerful than nations on this earth" and he plans to launch a nuclear strike to destroy them. It is likely this power is Megiddo from ''VideoGame/SplinterCell''.

* HyperspaceArsenal: Just like Ace Combat before it, the planes in HAWX can carry over 100 missiles. Even the supposed "Low Payload" trait still grants the player a whopping 140 [=JSMs=]. The hardest difficulty lowers your overall ammo count, but that's still a good 88 [=JSMs=], which was close to the high end for ''end-game'' planes in earlier ''Ace Combat'' games.

* CameraLockOn: OFF mode keeps the camera glued onto a targeted enemy unless they're directly above or below you, avoiding one of the more annoying aspects of both combat flight simulators and a dynamic third-person camera: enemies flying off the camera and away from your view.
* CavalryBetrayal: The Artemis Battle Group that was supposed to help the U.S. defeat the remaining remnants of Las Trinidad's Navy arrives and promptly betrays the U.S., attacking the James Lawrence Battle Group and causing the HAWX squadron to defect back to the U.S.

The game has the player flying various real-world aircraft on their missions and employs a semi-realistic simulation of aerial combat. Under normal conditions, the game prevents the plane from stalling and limits its maneuverability, but this limiter can be disengaged to allow the player to perform all sorts of funky post-stall maneuvers. The other aspects of the game are more arcade-like; planes carry mountains upon mountains of missiles, even on the highest difficulty levels, and there is no need to keep track of fuel or the effects of physics on the human body.

To date, there is only one other installment in the series, ''H.A.W.X. 2'', which is set more or less concurrently to the events of ''Ghost Recon: Future Soldier'', during a major coup in Russia in 2024 (unrelated to the 2008 coup that was part of the original ''Ghost Recon'' story), although that game's TroubledProduction means it came out several years later and its plot bares only a passing resemblance to that of ''H.A.W.X. 2''.

** The second installment even has this on its box: Fight in the same conflict depicted in ''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Future Soldier''. Although this caused some issues when ''Future Soldier'' came out two years later with a very different plot, though it nevertheless tried to keep the inter-continuity by still overall focusing on a Russian coup and having HAWX flight bail you out of a tight spot late in the game.

* SeriesContinuityError: ''HAWX 2'' and ''Ghost Recon: Future Soldier'' present the same conflict, but there's a noticeable discrepancy in the details of the coup d'état. ''HAWX 2'' shows that the Loyalist Russian president is a frail-looking guy called "Anton Karskazev" and his replacement is a guy named "Alexandr Treskayev", while in ''Future Soldier'', the former president is a grizzled Army veteran named "Volodin" while the usurper is "Sergey Makhmudov". However, this could be explained by ''HAWX 2'' being based on the aborted 2010 build of ''Future Soldier'' rather than the final version.

* ShoutOut: One of the trophies/achievements in ''HAWX 2'' is named "[[VideoGame/{{Portal}} Still Alive" and its icon depicts a cake]].
** One of the missions in the first ''H.A.W.X'' consists of defending a space launch first against cargo planes dropping tanks to assault the launch pad, then a combination of ground-attack aircraft and cruise missiles attack the launch pad and vehicle. This is almost identical to a mission in ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'', "The White Bird (Part 1)", with a hint of ''VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies''[='=] namesake mission in that it's a regular satellite launch and not a mass driver.

* SquadControls: There's in extremely simple one in this game, with the only two controls being attack and defend. Attack causes your wingmen to attack your highlighted target, and defend means your wingmen return and fly behind you.

* UniversalDriversLicense: {{Hand Wave}}d by you being in an "elite", experimental squadron, but it's still pretty ridiculous to be able to fly many different planes (including rare or non-existent ones) with ease.

%%* WashingtonDCInvasion

* WithThisHerring: You start with dinky planes and have to work your way up. [[NewGamePlus Planes that are unlocked, however, stay unlocked, allowing you to refly old missions with the best hardware.]]

** In a more minor fashion, the mastermind behind the Russian civil war in ''HAWX 2'' is called "Yuri Treskayev" in his first scene (as in ''Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars'') and "Alexander Treskayev" for the rest of the game.

* FollowTheLeader: Primarily to ''Ace Combat'', though as obligatory for around the start of TheNewTens ''HAWX 2'' has quite a bit of overt inspiration from ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' as well - there's an AC-130 gunnery mission, the bad guys are ultranationalist Russians, and the plot keeps switching between the POV of several pilots from different nations.

* AirborneArtillery: The F-14 Tomcat's loadout in the game includes missiles that can be fired at targets from extreme range, which are used in one of the mid-campaign missions to destroy radar and SAM sites without alerting the enemy to your forces' presence. This is loosely based on the real-life AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missile designed for use in the F-14's role as a carrier-based interceptor to destroy incoming Warsaw Pact bomber groups: during the UsefulNotes/IranIraqWar, an Iranian Air Force F-14A shot down three Iraqi [=MiG-23s=] with a single Phoenix from over 80 kilometers--before its own radar had even resolved the radar contact as ActuallyFourMooks.

* CameraScrew:
** All damage on your vehicle causes a fuzz on your screen, even the weak anti-aircraft guns (it's pretty much the only thing keeping them from being simple annoyances). This fuzzing could cause you to crash or get hit again if you're in the middle of a heated battle.
** While OFF mode tries to avoid this by keeping its camera pinned to your target and quickly transitioning between targets mid-combat, the initial transition can also be jarring at times, due to the game wanting to be "dynamic" and thus causing your camera to focus on your plane from a front angle first before ''very slowly'' panning over to your targeted enemy. This causes a delay between when you switch and when you can actually fire (since what you can lock onto is determined almost entirely by what's on-screen - you can also usually lock onto targets at angles you can't possibly hit them from with the standard missiles by holding the target-switch button to focus your camera on them), which can be pretty jarring when you're trying to attack something. This also makes switching targets a bit harder, especially when the game decides, since you switched to OFF mode, [[UnwantedAssistance that means you clearly wanted to change targets]] to whatever happens to be behind you at the dynamic angle it switched to. However, the game is smart enough to realize that if you switch in the middle of a heated battle you're ''probably'' preoccupied with something more important than bullet points on the back of the box like dynamic camera shifts, and the view will just immediately change.

** AluminumChristmasTrees: It ''is'', in fact, very possible to get a plane to "drift" in a manner similar to what's capable in OFF mode, though not nearly so tightly, not at all so controlled, and with so much sudden change in g-force that it will likely black out the pilot in seconds. It will also likely stall the plane, cause a flat-spin (exceedingly dangerous), and is more or less prohibited by any rational air force in the world. But still... possible.

%%* LightningBruiser: The best planes (like the [[CoolPlane F-22 Raptor]] and the [[RareVehicles Su-47 Berkut]]) are like this.

* RareVehicles: Many. There's the typical ones like the Su-47 Berkut (which is just [[RuleOfCool too]] {{cool|Plane}} to pass up) and the YF-23 Black Widow II/Grey Ghost (likewise), but it's the most ridiculous with the A-12 Avenger II. Although it's just a PreOrderBonus, the A-12 Avenger II in RealLife never had a working prototype before it was [[ScrewedByTheNetwork cancelled]] by the government due to [[AwesomeButImpractical cost overruns and delays]].
* RealLife: One of the main things that HAWX had differently from Ace Combat was the fact that HAWX took place in the real world, albeit TwentyMinutesInTheFuture. It seems like Ace Combat has {{follow|TheLeader}}ed with ''VideoGame/AceCombatJointAssault'' and ''VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon''.

* UniversalDriversLicense: {{Hand Wave}}d by you being in an "elite", experimental squadron, but it's still pretty ridiculous to be able to fly many different planes (including [[RareVehicles rare or non-existent ones]]) with ease.

The protagonist is a Captain in the U.S. Air Force named David Crenshaw, who is part of the titular High Altitude Warfare Xperimental Squadron. He begins the game on his last day on the job, supporting covert operations being conducted south of America's border (''VideoGame/GhostRecon'' fans [[ContinuityNod should recognize the mission]] as being a part of the ''Advanced Warfighter 2'' storyline). Afterwards, the H.A.W.X. squadron is deactivated and subsequently headhunted, along with Crenshaw, by Artemis Global Security. The team quickly proves themselves to be one of Artemis' most valuable assets and helps secure them a place as one of the richest and most powerful [=PMCs=] in the world. Life has never been so good. Right?

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: This game is in no way, shape, or form a realistic flight simulator. Aerodynamics and gravity are complete non-issues within the game, with stalling dependent solely on speed. The game then brings this trope UpToEleven with OFF Mode. In OFF Mode, the game more or less defies physics, pulling off moves that would kill the pilot and overstress the plane in real life. In the words of Mark from WebVideo/ClassicGameRoom, the only thing the planes don't do in OFF mode is turn into [[HumongousMecha giant robots]] and smash things with their fists.

* CoolPlane: The cover and cinematic intro feature the extremely cool [[UsefulNotes/GaulsWithGrenades Dassault Rafale]]. In game, you can fly over ''50'' different aircraft from around the world. DLC increases that number to ''[[UpToEleven over 60]]''. This game probably has the highest number of cool planes in any one game (''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'', the ''Ace Combat'' game with the most planes in it before the release of ''HAWX'', had about 53). There's even an internet tool to help you manage all these planes and find the one you want to fly. You can find it [[http://hawx.max-worlds.net/ here]].

** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. Operation: Backhand involves Crenshaw having to pilot an airplane through a heavily guarded, captured military base. The sheer number of [=SAMs=] and AA guns Crenshaw would have to avoid would put this mission squarely in this trope... if it weren't for the fact that the ERS plans the route out for you, allowing you to perform the airstrike by simply [[PassThroughTheRings flying through the rings]].

* {{Anticlimax}}: The PlayableEpilogue, gameplay-wise. It consist of an easy trench run around Adrian Dewinter's weakly defended hideout before destroying his residence (which takes only one missile to destroy). It's mostly meant to tie up the loose ends of the plot.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. Thanks to the [=GeoEye=] imaging, all of the locations are geographically correct.

* BigBadDuumvirate: In ''2'', [[spoiler: Morgunov and Treskayev.]]

* CoolBoat: The US Navy employs many in this game. Artemis also has these. Their typical Destroyers and Cruisers can fire [=SAMs=] that deal twice as much damage as normal missiles, and their flagship, the ''Myrmidon'', has cruise missiles that outrange an entire US Naval carrier group. All these boats are MadeOfIron, and, Aircraft Carriers especially, can take many missiles before finally going down.
* CoolPlane: The cover and cinematic intro feature the extremely cool [[UsefulNotes/GaulsWithGrenades Dassault Rafale]]. In game, you can fly over ''50'' different aircraft from around the world. DLC increases that number to ''[[UpToEleven over 60]]''. This game probably has the highest number of cool planes in any one game (''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'', the ''Ace Combat'' game with the most planes in it before the release of ''HAWX'', had about 53). There's even an internet tool to help you manage all these planes and find the one you want to fly. You can find it [[http://hawx.max-worlds.net/ here]].

* CrewOfOne: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in the JustifiedTutorial, played straight in the rest.

* DiscOneFinalBoss: The battle at Burj al Nasr in the second game. [[spoiler: You probably even forgot that some of Russia's nukes were missing.]]

* DrillSergeantNasty: Colonel Bruce has shades of this. He becomes nastier after the HAWX squadron disobeys direct orders and refuses to abandon their allies during Operation Backfire, before finally [[spoiler: betraying you in Operation Ulysses]].

* [[GoodGunsBadGuns Good Planes Bad Planes]]: Zig-zagged, mostly in part by the fact that the player switches sides at a point in the game. As judging by the suggested planes for various missions, Artemis has a preference for non-American jets, primarily Soviet ones (only one mission in the first half suggests an American jet, the F-4G, and one suggests a Mirage while the rest all suggest Sukhoi and Mikoyan craft), and your enemies tend to be non-aligned militias that use whatever they can get their hands on, generally preferring F-5s. Once you switch back to the US military it's played more straight; Artemis jets under NPC control are about 50/50 for continuing to prefer Soviet and Russian craft or going for American ones, while the player's suggested planes for the rest of the game all remain Western (only two levels suggest non-American craft, and in both cases they're still Western, the Eurofighter and then the Rafale) - however, with the exception of the first mission, the Assistance OFF tutorial, and the epilogue, you're never prevented from flying a plane unless it doesn't have a weapon required for the mission (like free-fall bombs for the third mission), so you can keep flying your Su-27s and the like all through to the end of the game.

* ImprobablePilotingSkills: Due to the game's arcade-style gameplay, this trope is a given. Then, the game [[ExaggeratedTrope exaggerates]] it by introducing OFF mode, which, while adding the ability to stall, turns your plane into a super fast, super maneuverable death machine.

* MisGuidedMissile: The point behind the Target Override Pod. The missile is redirected from another plane to yours.

--> '''Morgunov''': Attention, approaching forces. This is General Vasily Morgunov, commander of Spetzgruppa Medved. Do not attempt to approach this base. You are no enemy of ours; but if you try to interfere, we'll kill you nonetheless.
--> '''Drachev''': If we're not your enemy, then who is?
--> '''Morgunov''': There are forces upon this earth more powerful than nations. They push us about as they see fit, and sacrifice us when it suits them, Drachev. Men like us are nothing but pawns to them. [[spoiler: They used Treskayev, they used me! They convinced me to violate my sacred oath, and thousands of Russians paid the price. Well, I'm not going to let them get away with it!]]

* PassThroughTheRings: The ERS in this game is possibly the only [[JustifiedTrope justified]] use of this trope. Not only is it actually helpful and not very frustrating to use (and there are only a few instances in the game where you ''have'' to use it), this sort of technology is actually in development right now.

* RareVehicles: Many. There's the typical ones like the Su-47 Berkut (which is just [[RuleOfCool too]] [[CoolPlane cool]] to pass up) and the YF-23 Black Widow II/Grey Ghost (likewise), but it's the most ridiculous with the A-12 Avenger II. Although it's just a PreOrderBonus, the A-12 Avenger II in RealLife never had a working prototype before it was [[ScrewedByTheNetwork cancelled]] by the government due to [[AwesomeButImpractical cost overruns and delays]].
* RealLife: One of the main things that HAWX had differently from Ace Combat was the fact that HAWX took place in the real world, albeit TwentyMinutesInTheFuture. It seems like Ace Combat has [[FollowTheLeader followed]] with ''VideoGame/AceCombatJointAssault'' and ''VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon''.

* SequelEscalation: Surprisingly [[AvertedTrope averted]]. There are actually less planes and less memorable missions in the second installment.

* WingMan: Who somehow manage to fly faster than you when needed, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard even if they have an inferior plane]]. [[ArtificialStupidity And then they refuse to actually do anything useful unless explicitly ordered to.]]