Build & Battle, the ingenious model on which Starhawk has been built, is something that never quite stopped grabbing our attention all throughout this review. LightBox Interactive has presented this PS3 exclusive as a third person shooter beautifully garnished with RTS mechanics. On paper, this mash up might be hard to imagine, but the developer has crossbred the two genres in such a manner that fans of both shooter titles as well as strategy games are sure to get a kick out of it. While we’re at the topic of mash ups, we’d like to inform you that this title’s sci-fi western art design too has proved to be quite an eye-grabber. The game’s single-player will keep you busy for a while, but its multiplayer is where the heaven is. Such distinctly crafted online components have made their way into the title that they just deserve hours and hours of your gameplay time.
Its predecessor might have been a multiplayer-only game, but Starhawk has been imbibed with a campaign which is complete with an engrossing narrative. And here’s where you get to apprentice yourself for the massive multiplayer experience that lies beyond the single-player mode. The game’s narrative revolves around the precious Rift Energy which forms the basis of all conflict between humans and those infected by it, called Outcasts. In the middle of it all is Emmet Graves who’s partially affected by Rift Energy, and hence bears glowing scars on his body. Emmet’s brother, Logan however has fully mutated into an Outcast due the effects of the Rift Energy, and is now out to unleash hell upon human colonies. This little plot has you shooting Outcasts into their graves, by making use of some insane tools that are at your disposal. Take for instance the Hawk, a robotic ground fighter which can transform into a jet in less than two seconds, or the Ox Heavy Tank which grants you an infinite amount of rockets.
Perhaps what’s all the more pleasing about getting to use these grand contrivances is that they are available easily, and you don’t have to scrounge all throughout your environments to find any of these. Simple button prompts will spawn them out of the sky within seconds, and they land wherever you want them to. You can do that while on foot, inside a vehicle, or even when you’re flying a jet. It is this complete freedom you have upon your machines that has us praising the Build and Battle system. During single-player missions, enemies come for you in waves, and these situations ask for strategic gameplay. You prepare for enemy invasions by spawning useful structures that include walls, turrets, supply bunkers, vehicles and more. Although thrilling, these situations are presented to you in a repetitive manner which after a point of time, make your missions less exciting. The lack of better level design is therefore felt.
The gunplay in Starhawk can’t be called over-the-top, but it’s sure enjoyable to a certain extent. Swift controls are one more aspect the developers deserve credit for. But we don’t see why a decent cover system didn’t make it into the game. The addition of this little trait could have made the shooting a far more amusing experience than it currently is. When you’re not on the ground frying Outcasts with your small array of weapons, chances are you’ll be the air, involved in intense dogfights. These battles might seem long and demanding, but they certainly are pleasant whatever amount of time you play them for. On the graphics front, Starhawk doesn’t disappoint. A smooth-flowing framerate, detailed character models and excellent environments ensure that you’re always absorbed in the title. Although there are just a handful of cutscenes – which by no means can be branded as well-crafted, most of the story is told through 2D comic book style sequences with voiceovers.
It won’t take you much time to realize that characters behave differently during gameplay and during these sequences. We didn’t quite understand the dilemma behind this. Coming towards the title’s sounds, these have been worked upon a lot. The level of detailing is evident all throughout and the western soundtrack does well to capture the mood at different situations. Most of all, the elements we’ve mentioned above make it into the game’s multiplayer. And that, coupled with 32-player matches, fine customizations and utter chaos on the battlefield, make the multiplayer so brilliant. The usual, CTF, Team Deathmatch and Deathmatch modes are on offer, along with another one called Zones which involves the capturing of various sectors on a map. The Build & Battle system is at your disposal here too, and you’ll be awed looking at all the things you can do within these modes.
Final Word: Had Starhawk been infused with a better single-player campaign, it would definitely have had the potential to give a number of other shooters a run for their money. Co-op fans have something to cheer about in the game’s cooperative missions that support two-player splitscreen and four-player online gameplay, but the heart of this title undoubtedly lies in its 32-player multiplayer battles that take no time to transform themselves into frenzied skirmishes. This PS3 exclusive deserves a go from shooter fans, and can rightfully be marked as a must have. Here’s our score for it.
Sounds: 8/10
Graphics: 9/10
Gameplay: 9.5/10
Environments: 9/10
Replay Value: 8.5/10
Overall (not an average): 9/10