Warhawk - PlayStation 1 - Intro, cutscenes & mission 1 & 2 full gameplay [UHD 4K60]
15An early PS1 combat flight simulator from 1995 that helped to showcase the 3D power of the system at the time. It featured impressive 3D graphics set in large environments, a first class music score and acted out cutscenes. Which actually looked very good in terms of presentation and add a cinematic feel to the game even if the dialogue and acting in them, isn't very good.
While Warhawk is a tiny game and can be finished in a matter of hours with only six levels. As a combat flight simulator for console it really was ahead of the curve as few games in the genre had released on earlier systems. The few that had also ended up being rather slow at the time as it was a genre the 16 bit systems like the SNES and Mega Drive couldn't really do well. Warhawk was fast, action packed and full of things to blast at, it got the right balanced of arcade and flight simulator gameplay.
Which suited the joypad of the PS1 perfectly, some PC games from the genre at the time were known for using almost every key on the keyboard, such as Star Wars: X-Wing. Each level has a very different look, with the first stage having you battle a giant pyramid, exploring a huge canyon network and even flying inside a giant enemy carrier ship. The latter occurs on the third stage and is one of the best levels if not the best in the game.
As an early title it does have some issues with level design the second stage is rather long and boring and if you don't take it slow the various mines and traps will just tear you to pieces. There's isn't much structure with the enemies, so you end up battling all sorts of strange things and they don't feel that connected to each other. It's not always clear where you are taking damage from i the first person view. There are other camera views not shown in this video. The game uses passwords to track progress and doesn't support memory cards in any form. The story is totally throw away with you battling the forces of Kreel to save the world
It's easy to see why the PlayStation looked to have out gunned the SEGA Saturn early on when you compare Warhawk next to a similar Saturn game from the same period such as Wing Arms or the terrible Black Fire. It is far to say Firestorm: Thunderhawk 2 which released on both system was a better game, due to it's overall length, but both games are worth owning in any decent PS1 collection.
It also shares the same name as a 1986 arcade style shooter game from Firebird released on home computer. Can't help, but feel a sequel on the PlayStation would have hugely improved the format and gameplay further, unfortunately that never happened. The series was instead rebooted in 2007 with a rather poor third person action shooter that was an online multiplayer only title, that seemed to fill bargain bins very quickly. None of the original developers were really involved and to be honest it's better considered a different game with the same name. Starhawk followed up in 2012 and it had the same problems as the PS3 Warhawk, but did include a single player story mode. Neither follow up seems to have done that well, but both had their fans. It's a pity the developer felt the need to turn both games into below average Gears of Wars clones, taking the focus away from the excellent vehicle combat. Rather than leaving them as vehicle only combat games.
Also known as: AirAssault (Japan) エア・アサルト (Japan) Warhawk: The Red Mercury Missions / AirAssault: The Red Mercury Missions (Full title in-game)
Release: 1995
Developer: SingleTrac Entertainment Technologies
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Format: Sony PlayStation 1 (PS1) / プレイステーション1
The PS1 version of Warhawk is available for download on PlayStation 3, PSP and PS Vita.
Intro and outros included in this video. Template from Panzoid by Magnus DZN, edited by Riven, intro music is Chipper Doodle and outro music is Kawaii! by bad snacks.
Chipper Doodle - Electronic Light by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100854
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
Randomised Gaming blog: http://randomisedgaming.tumblr.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rdmdgaming
Footage is captured directly from original hardware in this case a PAL PlayStation 2, via Component, captured using Elgato Game Capture HD60 Pro with a open source scan converter (OSSC). Upscaled to UHD 4K to improve the video bit rate, watch in HD or UHD for best video playback on YouTube. PAL version was forcing into 60Hz using GSM for this video.
#PS1 #Warhawk #Sony