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Good afternoon,
so I finally decided to try out Hawken (because Angry Joe made me) and I must say it isn't too bad on it's own but is it better than MW:O ? Read on and find out what I think !
(I will try to make it as relevant as possible and maybe throw a few things which I would like to see improved in MW:O.)
Graphics:
Both games look pretty good, almost the same, explosions look really good in both games so this is pretty much a draw. There are a lot more ways to show the graphical capabilities in MW:O but if the same things were in Hawken I am sure they would look just as good (8/10 for both).
(I would like to see some cockpit effects added to MW:O, like scrathes, burns etc.)
Sounds:
The sounds in Hawken are average, your standart mg, rocket and explosion sounds (5/10) while on the other hand the sounds of missiles, lasers, MGs and AMS in MW:O are awesome (8/10)
The computer voice in Hawken is pretty bad and I can't understand it most of the times, it has this pretty awkard filter which makes it almost incomprehensible (2/10).
MW:O's computer voice is excellent, it provides relevant information, has excellent pronounciation and is loud enough, sometimes it does stutter but that is improving a lot with each patch (9/10)
MW:O has no soundtrack so I can't rate it here, but Hawken's soundtrack is pretty boring and uninspiring (no rating, depends on your taste I guess)
Some music would be nice for MW:O, the ones we had in previous MW games were mostly very good.
Maps:
Both games have pretty basic maps but the ones in Hawken are extremely sterile, boring and don't add to the atmosphere (no weather for example), they are your average FPS maps and don't augment the game in any way, however, they were definitely made my competent map designers so they are pretty easy to navigate and the layout is easy to remember (6/10).
UPDATE: A lot of people say that Hawken map look good with lots of detail, which is true, but that is only the 1st 3 points of the score, if your maps look good but play like poop then they are useless. Maps in Hawken are detailed (maybe a bit too much, that it almost looks silly) and have a fine layout (another 3 points) but they don't have any of the ascpects of MW:O's maps which make them in my eye much better (weather, day/night, heat, etc.)
The maps in MW:O are also basic but you have a lot of things which make them interesting and fun to play and they actually directly influence the pace of the game(weather, day/night, dark caves, signs of battles in the distance, different heat dissipation in specific spots or on maps in general etc.), we could, however, use some more wide-open maps like Caustic Valley (8/10)
Matchmaking:
Both games have a pretty darn fast matchmaking so il give them both 10 in regards to their speed. Click and play is as good as it can get.
Regarding player levels and skill I am not sure if I can comment on this, in Hawken the teams were sometimes ok, sometimes way off just like in MW:O so I will leave it at that both games could use some work (no rating here, pretty much a tie though)
Netcode:
This is the place where Hawken shines, no lag shield, no lag in general (surely due to the fact that they have about 10 servers, one of which is in UK so that is pretty close to me) (10/10)
MW:O, yeah, well, we all know... (4/10) Build us some servers, mates !
Balance:
Hawken seemed pretty balanced as far as weapons went, I did a lot of kills with a lot of weapons and I didn't saw any weapon as OP. (10/10? I guess, maybe there are some cheesy combos but I didn't encounter them)
MW:O, yeah well if I disregard lagshield than most weapons are ok with few exceptions. PPCs are still too pathetic compared to the other weapons. Gauss on the other hand is just too good in too many situations. (7/10)
Gameplay:
Both games play very well, you are told what to do and where. In both games you have very easy and intuitive controls (no need for tutorial unless you are really really really new to video games). Weapons are a lot more fun to use in MW:O, in Hawken you just have some mgs, rockets and grenade launchers so nothing interesting. Nothing beats laser burns on night maps and missiles flying high above the battlefield before crashing down on the enemy. Hawken is a bit faster when it comes to combat, you can evade and jump around like there is no tommorow (Quake style) but it is mostly fun. In MW:O the engagements usually take a lot longer so you can think a bit more where to shoot, in Hawken there are no legs or such, you just point and kill.
Hawken 7/10
MW:O 8/10
Customisation:
In hawken you can switch and level your equipment and paint your mechs (which is free as far as I gathered) including changing their patterns (which are darn expensive btw.) 6/10
In MW:O you have the same as above (except you have to pay for paint) but a whole lot more of it, the level of customisation in MW:O is truly awe inspiring (cockpit items, upgrades, dozens of weapons, sub systems, modules etc.) 9/10.
Only thing missing is graphical representation of switched weapons in MW:O
Mechs:
Mechs in Hawken look really bad, atleast for me and a friend I talked about it with. They are just big pieces of junk with arms and weapons (something like the ones in Matrix 3) You just don't feel like a total boss when you have them in your hanger, you feel more like a junk collector. 4/10
MW:O's mechs are astounding and beautiful, can't possibly get any better than that ! 10/10
Final verdict:
Both games are really good, I enjoy them both but I can't imagine myself paying for anything in Hawken ( a few games here and there and that is it). It is fun with it's fast paced combat but most of the things there are so blend, boring and uninteresting in general. Playing MW:O gives me this feeling of really being a pilot of a huge war machine with so many weapons that I could devastate a city.
Hawken 6/10 (a good game)
MW:O 9/10 (an amazing game !)
What do you guys think ?
p.s. If you find any mistakes please don't shout at me for being a noob or something
This is how I see both games and I stand by my opinions.
Edited by Chief 117, 24 December 2012 - 01:31 AM.
