Haven’t really played a real-time mech combat game since the days of the Mechwarrior. I even spent some time in those VR capsules that made it feel like you were in the cockpit (circa late 90s, so probably bleh by today’s standards). So Hawken harkens (haha) back those days in a way that’s totally refreshing at the same time.

The game starts you off in their free mech. Later you can sample other suits or buy your own using in-game credits which take a while to earn or use your own money. They do play very differently: different special powers, different default weapons, maneuverability, health, etc. From what I’ve seen and played, the spec’ed out mechs (high offense and defense or speed) seem to kill my average build more often than the other average builds.

Controls work very similar to any mech game. The one new addition I’m not used to is the dash button which lets you quickly dodge left, right, straight ahead or turn around. Combine that with the slow jetpack and you can actually be quite mobile. A primary and secondary weapon make up most of your attacks. Primary is a machine gun of some sort while the other is a missile, though I haven’t liked anything beyond the default weapons. I’ve played around 15 games, but I am still a ways away from unlocking everything. There’s a lot to explore here if you are willing to put the time in.

I say Hawken is a successful game, especially for its price point of free, but you certainly have to enjoy online competitive play, because you will be doing a lot of it.