Line #41 VideoGame/HAWX


1	[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s_H_A_W_X__1661.jpg]]
2
3	->''Though I Fly Through The Valley of Death, I Shall Fear No Evil.\
4	For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing.''
5	-->-- SR-71 USAF Base (Kadena, Japan)
6
7	'''''H.A.W.X.''''' is an arcade flight combat game and part of the Creator/TomClancy brand. The story is set in [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture the near future]] where PrivateMilitaryContractors are recognized as lawful combatants by the fictional Reykjavik Accords.
8
9	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 ''VideoGame/GhostReconAdvancedWarfighter2'' 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?
10
11	Well, who are we kidding? Life in fiction never stays good.
12
13	After a war breaks out between U.S.-friendly Brazil and "Las Trinidad" (an anti-American alliance of South American countries), U.S. involvement within the conflict hurts Artemis's bottom line, causing them to [[FaceHeelTurn backstab]] the U.S, side with Las Trinidad, and [[InvadedStatesOfAmerica launch a full scale invasion of the U.S]]. This, of course, didn't bode well with the patriotic ex-Air Force pilots, who defect back to the U.S. and have their old HAWX squadron reactivated as a result. Now they must work together with U.S. military forces to beat back the invading PMC military.
14
15	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 after an early mission 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.
16
17	If this is all starting to sound familiar to you, chances are you have played ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' before, and you would be right. The gameplay is almost identical to that of the ''Ace Combat'' games and there is a degree of overlap between the fanbases of the two. On the other hand, both ''H.A.W.X.'' games are all multiplatform, including PC releases, whereas with the exception of ''VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon'' and ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'', every installment in ''Ace Combat'' has been exclusive to a single console.
18
19	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 ''VideoGame/GhostReconFutureSoldier'', 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 bears only a passing resemblance to that of ''H.A.W.X. 2''.
20	----
21	!H.A.W.X. contains examples of:
22	* AcePilot: The eponymous squadron is made up of these, but they're not the only ones. The US Navy and Japanese pilots are also pretty damn good in Operation Typhoon. Ace pilots are also semi-frequent enemies, being more agile than normal {{Mooks}} (though they still die from the same amount of damage). However, there are no real named Aces, save for a "Paco Flight" that shows up barely-announced in Operation Glass Hammer.
23	* UsefulNotes/AirForceOne: There's an EscortMission involving it after Artemis betrays the U.S., where Crenshaw must escort the President to a secure location, fighting off enemy fighters that try to shoot it down. The mission gets harder toward the end when Artemis brings in radar jammers that make it harder for your aircraft to lock on and stay locked-on.
24	** A trailer also depicted Air Force One, where a cruise missile was hurling toward the plane and Crenshaw maneuvers to shoot it down. It's a cool sequence, but [[NeverTrustATrailer it never actually occurs in-game.]]
25	* AirStrikeImpossible:
26	** {{Subverted\|Trope}}. 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]].
27	** The sequel has a straight example: In the last mission, you fly through a narrow tunnel into a bunker and detonate a bomb inside of it.
28	* AirborneArtillery: The F-14 Tomcat's loadout in the game includes "Radar-Guided Missiles" that can be fired at targets from extreme range, which are suggested for 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. Other planes that can take the radar-guided missiles include the F-15C Eagle, F-16A Falcon, and Rafale C.
29	* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent:
30	** Operation Typhoon has you playing a random U.S. Navy pilot, err [[InsistentTerminology aviator]], that was stationed in Tokyo. You still have all the skills and hardware of Crenshaw, though.
31	** After the capture of Burj al Nasr in the second game, the Russian storyline suddenly begins.
32	* AntiAir: [=SAMs=] constantly fire missiles at your plane, and can deal a lot of damage, too. They become a lot more annoying during Operation Thunderbolt, when you're restricted to a small area to avoid being detected by enemy radar.
33	* 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.
34	* AppealToForce: Artemis manages to control ''all'' of America's nukes, and naturally uses that to blackmail the U.S. into complying with its demands. The final mission involves you trying to prevent them from carrying out their threat.
35	* ArtisticLicenseGeography: {{Averted\|Trope}}. Thanks to the [=GeoEye=] imaging, all of the locations are geographically correct.
36	* 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 up to eleven 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.
37	* BigBadDuumvirate: In ''2'', [[spoiler:Morgunov and Treskayev.]]
38	* BigBadassBattleSequence: The most memorable levels in the game (Rio De Janiero and Washington DC) both feature this.
39	* CameraLockOn: OFF mode keeps the camera glued onto a targeted enemy, in an attempt to avoid one of the more annoying aspects of both combat flight simulators and a dynamic third-person camera: enemies flying off-screen and out of your view. It doesn't ''completely'' succeed, however, since the camera will not pan up or down to let you see enemies that are directly above or below you, despite the fact that this is a regular occurrence in a flight simulator such as this.
40	* CavalryBetrayal: The Artemis Battle Group that was supposed to help the U.S. defeat the remnants of Las Trinidad's Navy arrives only to announce Las Trinidad has bought out their contract, attacking the James Lawrence Battle Group and causing the HAWX squadron to defect back to the U.S.
41	* ChasingYourTail: The ERS actively moves you in this sort of maneuver to attack your enemy. Of course, if an enemy tries to do this to you, you can easily switch to OFF mode, spin around mid air, and nail 'em.
42	* CodeName: You only know your wingmen, Casper and Talon, by their call signs. Strangely, Crenshaw's own call sign of "Shade" is rather underused - you're not even guaranteed to hear it ''once'' across an entire playthrough - with most people calling him by his real name or his rank.
43	* ContinuityNod: ''H.A.W.X.'' contains a handful of references to other games in the Tom Clancy brand, including ''Ghost Recon'', ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'', and ''VideoGame/EndWar''.
44	** The nod to ''[=EndWar=]'' also helps make the plot stretch the SuspensionOfDisbelief less. Read the discussion in the Fridge section for more details.
45	** The second installment even has this on its box: Fight in the same conflict depicted in ''Tom Clancy's VideoGame/GhostReconFutureSoldier''. 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.
46	* 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.
47	* 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 ''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]].
48	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Adrian Dewinter and presumably the other Artemis executives, who are willing to start a war against a world superpower...because American intervention in foreign affairs is cutting into their profit margin.
49	* CrewOfOne: {{Averted\|Trope}} in the JustifiedTutorial, played straight in the rest.
50	* DamnYouMuscleMemory: Ace Combat and HAWX on consoles have almost the exact same controls... except for the teensy fact that the missile and gun buttons are switched. The PC version, however, allows you to change controls... but it also has an issue where, in spite of the customizable controls, it is primarily designed with a 360 controller in mind and is as such hard-coded to count button #1 (A on the 360 controller) as your "confirm" button and button #2 (B on the 360) as your "back" one, regardless of your bindings or which physical buttons those actually are - unless you're using an actual 360 or other Xinput controller, you could end up with the ''top'' face button as the "confirm" button.
51	** A few weapons also work differently between the two series, which can lead to wasted ammunition when switching between the two.
52	*** Radar-guided missiles: In ''Ace Combat'', they are not counted as "missed" until they either run out of propulsion or hit something, meaning you can do things like launch one early at a target out of the maximum lock-on range (the [=PS2=] games) or launch at multiple targets so long as they're all within the circle (PSP and later games). In ''HAWX'', radar-guided missiles are counted as a miss as soon as you switch targets, if you ever lose the normal lock-on, or even as soon as you ''fire'' if your target isn't in range.
53	*** Multi-target munitions: In all ''Ace Combat'' games until ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon Assault Horizon]]'', when multi-target weapons are fired at a group consisting of fewer than their maximum number of targets, any missiles that weren't fired are still available to immediately be reused while the rest reload. In both ''HAWX'' entries, firing any sort of multi-target munition will trigger a reload timer for ''all'' of them, even if you only fired on one target out of four.
54	* DeathFromAbove: You become this for the enemy when fighting ground targets. However, many ground forces have plenty of AntiAir to knock your bird outta the sky.
55	* DiscOneFinalBoss: The battle at Burj al Nasr in the second game. [[spoiler:You probably even forgot that some of Russia's nukes were missing.]]
56	* DiegeticInterface: Multiple features within the game are actually directly mentioned in the story, from the ERS to OFF mode.
57	* DisproportionateRetribution: Artemis is more than willing to invade the U.S., assassinate the President, and detonate nukes in several highly-populated areas simply because the U.S.'s involvement in a war cost them a few points on the stock market. Granted, this is because they are being hired by a terrorist group as their main assault force in a world where most warfare is outsourced.
58	* DoABarrelRoll: Thanks to the OFF Mode, the planes can perform so many cool maneuvers to the point that it [[ArtisticLicensePhysics defies the laws of physics]]. These maneuvers are both [[RuleOfCool cool to watch and perform]] (many Website/YouTube videos consist of nothing but flying tricks), and actually useful in outmaneuvering your enemy and dodging incoming missiles.
59	* DodgeByBraking: You can do this in OFF mode.
60	* 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]].
61	* EagleLand: Las Trinidad views America as Flavor 2.
62	* EarlyBirdCameo: The SLAM system prominently featured in ''VideoGame/EndWar'' make its debut in this game. The Ghost's XA-20 Razorback jet from the same game is also available as a VIP download.
63	* EasyLogistics: The only explanation for how Artemis managed to invade the US.
64	* EliteMooks: Enemy aces are pretty much the only pilots that will be able to give you a run for your money.
65	* {{EMP}}: The satellite control center and its generators are protected by [=EMP=]s. The EMP in the game avoids the "temporarily-disabled only" aspect of the trope, but still isn't completely realistic as it causes your plane to [[MadeOfExplodium explode in a spectacular burst]] of [[ArtisticLicensePhysics electricity]] instead of simply disabling your plane and causing it to crash.
66	** [=EMPs=] are available as a support ability in the second game's multiplayer, where they do indeed force enemies caught in the blast into a stall for a short period.
67	* EnemyDetectingRadar: It's even "advanced" enough to [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience differentiate color]] for you. However, there are numerous instances in the game where the enemy show up with radar jammers, which fuzzes up your radar and even causes your targeting system to malfunction.
68	* EscortMission: There are a few missions that have these, though none of them are extremely bad. The fact that enemies will ignore your target and attack you if you manage to get within their "target circle" helps.
69	* FogOfWar: If your opponent is using radar jammers, your radar and Tac-Map will be obscured in an effect that's very similar to this trope in RealTimeStrategy games. This is especially apparent during Operation Iron Arrow, where the only area that's visible (and defensible, as your missiles don't work in the "fog") is the area surrounding your AWACS plane. Luckily, this area gets progressively bigger the more jammers you destroy.
70	%%* FragileSpeedster: Most of the air superiority fighters are like this.
71	* FreeLookButton: You can use the right stick to control the camera, even during the Replay mode.
72	* FriendlyFireproof: Bombs, missiles, machine guns and other forms of damage will not affect allies, whether NPC or [[CoOpMultiplayer human]].
73	%%* FunWithAcronyms: The eponymous squadron.
74	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: The game features many cool planes to fly that would not make any sense story-wise. It's handwaved when you're employed by Artemis by saying that they can buy any aircraft from anyone, but when you defect back to the US, that no longer works. The Air Force and Navy missions still give you the same options as the Artemis missions (and possibly more due to the missions taking place later in the game), which leads to the odd sight of the US Military using planes from different branches (like flying Navy missions with the F-15, or Air Force missions with the F/A-18 - the latter is even forced in the first level, even on a NewGamePlus replay), retired planes (like the F-14 and F-117), foreign planes (like the Eurofighter and all the different [=MiG=] and Sukhoi aircraft), armed versions of tech demos (like the Su-47, also foreign, and the F-15 ACTIVE), and concept planes (like the A-12 Avenger II, which was cancelled before any prototype was developed). Even the handwave of the squadron being [[ElitesAreMoreGlamorous elite]], and could possibly have access to planes that would be unavailable to the average pilot, would still be a weak explanation story-wise. Additionally, every aircraft is equipped with a machine gun even if it's real world counterpart lacked one, the most egregious example of this being the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane which famously had ''no offensive weapons at all'' and relied solely on raw speed to avoid threats.
75	** The ''real'' explanation to this whole craziness is RuleOfFun. We have over 50 awesome airplanes to fly around with, and we'll use 'em anytime we damn well please - the sequel restricting this to the extent that it did (you don't get a choice in your first time through a mission, and even when replaying later some missions still don't give you a choice or restrict you from using certain planes) is part of why it was less well-received.
76	* [[GoodGunsBadGuns Good Planes, Bad Planes]]:
77	** Zig-zagged, mostly by the fact that the player switches sides halfway through. Judging by the suggested planes for various missions, Artemis has a preference for non-American jets, primarily Soviet ones - you're only required to fly an American jet for one mission (the Assistance OFF tutorial puts you in the F-15 ACTIVE) and only two others suggest a jet that's either American (the F-4G for mission 3) or otherwise Western (the Mirage 5 for mission 7), while all the rest suggest Sukhoi and Mikoyan craft - and your enemies tend to be non-aligned militias that use whatever they can get their hands on, most commonly old 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 like F-15s and F-16s, while the player's suggested planes for the rest of the game are almost universally American jets, with even the exceptions still being Western (the European-in-general Eurofighter for mission 15 and the French Rafale for mission 16). However, with the exception of the first mission (the F/A-18C), the Assistance OFF tutorial (F-15 ACTIVE), and the epilogue (F-22), you're never prevented from flying a plane of your choice 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.
78	** Subverted in the cases of attack helicopters, where the only model used throughout the game, whether by unaligned rebels or Artemis, is the American AH-64 Apache.
79	* GratuitousSpanish: The name "Las Trinidad" shows a lack of understanding of Spanish literacy from Ubisoft's part. The name should had been ''La Trinidad'' or ''Las Trinidades''.
80	* 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. Considering the heavy focus on inter-franchise continuity spearheaded by this game, it is likely this power is Megiddo from ''VideoGame/SplinterCell''.
81	* GuyInBack: The instructor who teaches you how to use OFF mode in the JustifiedTutorial sits in the back of your plane. He even tells you that since he's sitting in the back, it is advised that [[TryNotToDie you don't crash the plane, for his sake]].
82	* HeroicMime: Crenshaw never talks in the first game. He finally gets a face and a [[SuddenlyVoiced voice]] in the second.
83	* HighAltitudeBattle: It's an airplane game, after all. Special points go to the Rio De Janeiro and Washington D.C missions, where the sheer amount of planes to dogfight with puts this as one of the most triumphant examples of this trope.
84	* HighSpeedMissileDodge: The OFF mode that this game uses makes this pathetically easy, which is good considering [[MacrossMissileMassacre how many enemies you have to fight]] sometimes.
85	* HoldTheLine: One of the mission types is to protect a fixed location for a certain amount of time, until the enemy calls off the attack from too many casualties or TheCavalry can arrive. These missions typically end up the most frantic, as the enemy will barrage the area with planes, tanks, and other sorts of military equipment.
86	* 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=] with "Low Payload", which is just beyond the high end for ''end-game'' planes before ''Ace Combat 6''.
87	* ImprobablePilotingSkills: Due to the game's arcade-style gameplay, this trope is a given. Then, the game {{exaggerate\|dTrope}}s it by introducing OFF mode, which, while adding the ability to stall, turns your plane into a super fast, super maneuverable death machine.
88	* InitialismTitle
89	* InterfaceScrew:
90	** Any damage causes your screen to go fuzzy, which can be very distracting. This is also what's keeping the anti-aircraft guns from being simple annoyances.
91	** Features heavily during ''Torchlight'' as well; early on, you're subject to CameraAbuse due to moderate rainfail. It escalates during the latter parts of the mission as Artemis begins jamming your systems, interfering with the ERS and lock-on (rendering the radar-guided missiles the mission suggested you take useless and making the regular ones harder to use).
92	** Also happens at the very tail end of "Backfire", where your systems suddenly go haywire to the point the only weapon you still have available are your guns. Amusingly, this one isn't because of deliberate enemy action but rather because of a simple in-story code error that caused the system to crash.
93	* InvadedStatesOfAmerica: America gets crippled when its satellite network is jammed, opening the entire East Coast to a massive surprise invasion.
94	* ItsAWonderfulFailure: Failing some of the objectives will show an extra cutscene to rub it in, before the extra dialogue explains how screwed the heroes are afterwords.
95	** [[spoiler:Failing to disable the nuke in time in Los Angeles will simply show you getting vaporized along with the rest of the city.]]
96	* JackOfAllStats: The multi-role planes tend to be like this.
97	* JustPlaneWrong: There are some inaccuracies within the game, most notably with the multiple variants of planes. These planes look almost exactly alike, differing only in weapons and sometimes paint schemes, despite real life variants having numerous differences from each other.
98	** The first mission has the player working for the Air Force... piloting F/A-18s. Unlike the GameplayStorySegregation entry above, the game chooses the aircraft for you in this mission even when replaying it in NewGamePlus, meaning there's no excuse. Similarly, the mission where [[spoiler:you defect back to the US]] has the captain of a carrier suggest clearing off some space for you to land at the end, but the game's suggested plane for that mission is the [=MiG=]-33, which is ''not'' carrier-capable (though this time you have a choice, at least).
99	** The game's arcade nature also means that the planes feel like weird mixes between spaceships and flying cars that shoot magic. For one there is apparently no gravity and aerodynamics modeling: diving/climbing doesn't increase/decrease your speed so most real-life maneuvers lose all significance. Stalling is not dependent on aerodynamics but instead purely on speed and whether or not you're in OFF mode. Angles of attack, sideslip and lift are complete non issues. Missiles just work: forget about ground-clutter, radar modes, TVM pixel hunting, Rpi, or engagement aspects. G-forces are not simulated and turning off the assistance mode grants your plane an exemption from the laws of physics. It is basically a classic shooter with gravity disabled and autoaim turned on.
100	*** The assistance off mode leads to the ludicrous image of a YF-12 or A-10 Thunderbolt II outmaneuvering an F-22 Raptor or Su-47 Berkut in a dogfight... yeah... one can tell that the developers weren't exactly going for realism on this one.
101	* JustifiedTutorial: The mission that teaches the player OFF mode is worked into the story.
102	* KaizoTrap: It is still possible to crash your plane and die after you've completed all the objectives in a mission. The sequel has landing sequences, which makes this trope happen even more often; there's actually a challenge for landing on a carrier without taking damage.
103	* KillSat: Different in most respects as the particular kill sat in question is actually on the side of the good guys (for [[ContinuityPorn more information]], play ''VideoGame/EndWar''), and must be repaired and reactivated after Artemis used an EMP to disable it for their invasion.
104	** The Ultranationalist Russians in the sequel have access to a kill sat as well, and kill many of your allies with it.
105	%%* LightningBruiser: The best planes (like the [[CoolPlane F-22 Raptor]] and the Su-47 Berkut) are like this.
106	* MadeOfIron: Enemy bombers and transport planes are like this. Planes that you can fly that are like this include the A-10 Thunderbolt II and the Su-25 Frogfoot.
107	* MacrossMissileMassacre: Some points in the game has you constantly dodging missiles. Thank God the game gives you the ERS and OFF mode. Of course, due to the exorbitant amount of missiles you can carry, it's easy to return the favor.
108	%%* MightyGlacier: The ground support planes, particularly the A-10 Thunderbolt II, tend to be like this.
109	* MisguidedMissile: The point behind the Target Override Pod. The missile is redirected from another plane to yours.
110	* [[ArrowCam Missile Cam]]: Holding down the missile button will allow you to follow the missile or bomb to its target.
111	%%* MissileLockOn
112	* MotiveRant: In the final mission of ''2''.
113	-->'''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.\
114	'''Drachev:''' If we're not your enemy, then who is?\
115	'''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!]]
116	* MonumentalBattle: Due to the amount of famous locales that you fly in, this is a given.
117	* MultiTrackDrifting: You can drift with ''airplanes'' in OFF mode. It's actually very useful as it allows you to basically spin on an axis instead of turning in a circle in mid-air, reducing the amount of time needed to do a 180° turn and allowing you to lock on to an enemy plane much quicker. Drifting ability varies between planes, from the incredibly slow and sluggish A-10 Thunderbolt II to the extremely maneuverable Su-47 Berkut.
118	* NGOSuperpower: Artemis Global Security apparently has the resources to maintain its own air force and navy, complete with a state-of-the-art battlecruiser and cutting edge cyber weapons.
119	** They also manage to have enough resources to ''invade America''.
120	* NoEndorHolocaust: The final "true" mission has you blowing up a nuke in Los Angeles. General Keating acknowledges the inevitable radiation, but then says that they managed to evacuate everyone in time.
121	** FridgeBrilliance: One way to disable a nuke is to [[CuttingTheKnot shoot it]], because nukes require precisely timed explosions to go critical, with only a small fraction of a second of error. Thus, blowing it up will still cause radiation to blanket a rather large area, but it will not destroy a whole city.
122	* NoIAmBehindYou: This is one of the things you can do with the supermanuverability granted in OFF mode.
123	* NoseArt: Some planes, like the A-10 Thunderbolt II, has nose art. Nose art and wing art are quite common in downloadable mod skins.
124	* OperationBlank: All the missions are like this.
125	* PassThroughTheRings: The ERS in this game is possibly the only {{justified\|Trope}} 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.
126	* ProductPlacement: Not only do the Geoeye satellites gets a fairly extensive publicity blurb in the game's menu, Geoeye 2 is actually namedropped during a briefing in ''HAWX 2''.
127	* {{Qurac}}: A strange variation with the fourth mission of the first game, which explicitly mentions you're escorting bombers across the border from Afghanistan to bomb a terrorist base, but goes out of its way ''not'' to name the country whose border you're crossing - all you've got to go on is that the target camp is in the mountains just past the border, meaning probably Tajikistan or Pakistan.
128	* SceneryPorn: The [=GeoEye=] imaging looks absolutely ''gorgeous'' in this game (that is, until you get too close to the ground).
129	* SeriesContinuityError: ''HAWX 2'' and ''VideoGame/GhostReconFutureSoldier'' 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.
130	** 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 ''VideoGame/GhostReconShadowWars'') and "Alexander Treskayev" for the rest of the game.
131	* SequelEscalation: Surprisingly {{averted\|Trope}}. There are actually less planes and less memorable missions in the second installment.
132	* ShortRangeLongRangeWeapon: Missile ranges aren't as bad as in Ace Combat, but they are still much shorter than in RealLife. Of course, sniping at each other over long distances is much less [[RuleOfFun fun]] than dogfighting, so Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad.
133	* ShoutOut:
134	** One of the trophies/achievements in ''HAWX 2'' is named "[[VideoGame/{{Portal}} Still Alive" and its icon depicts a cake]].
135	** 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'', "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.
136	* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''VideoGame/BlazingAngels'', another series of flight games by Ubisoft Romania.
137	* SquadControls: There's an 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.
138	** On offensive mode, they attack the selected target first then autonomously hunt the map for enemies. If there are no enemies anywhere, they slowly circle at a comfortable altitude until someone to shoot comes onto the map.
139	** On defensive, they follow you around and generally stay out of the way until someone tries to get a radar lock on you or an AA gun starts firing in your general direction, at which point they instantly start chasing the offender. Which means that yes, the AI is smart enough to do UsefulNotes/WildWeasel tactics with you as the bait.
140	* TheCavalry: A flight of F-16s fly in just in time to save Washington D.C from falling to enemy forces.
141	* TimedMission: Some missions force you to complete a series of objectives in a certain amount of time. However, since you're flying a faster-than-sound aircraft, there's usually enough time to finish the mission.
142	* TrainingDummy: The OFF Mode Certification mission has no actual enemies, with targets mainly being flying drones to teach you how to fly in OFF Mode. Even the armed drones fire dummy missiles that do not do any real damage (the effects of taking damage, like the fuzzing screen, however, are simulated).
143	* UnexpectedGameplayChange: The sequel introduced UAV missions where you eavesdrop on enemy conversations and an AC-130 bombing mission.
144	* 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) from several different countries with ease.
145	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: For the first half of the game, Las Trinidad, an anti-U.S South American coalition are your primary enemies. Then they hire Artemis out from under the American government and use them to attack the United States. Despite this, as soon as you fight off Artemis in the Magellan Straits, Las Trinidad vanishes from the plot completely as Artemis continues the fight entirely on their own.
146	* WashingtonDCInvasion: Artemis quickly proves the severity of the threat they pose by launching an attack directly on DC almost as soon as they take up arms for Las Trinidad, sending waves upon waves of fighters into the general area and having several more in reserve to try to shoot down UsefulNotes/AirForceOne.
147	* {{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.]]
148	* 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.

Context VideoGame / HAWX