This is strictly an arcade game. You can't land or takeoff, there seems to be two speeds, fast and marginally fast. You can't slow down and all the planes seem to have the same general dynamics, some difference, but very small.
Some plane speeds inaccurate. The A-10 can hit over 800 mph. Even an afterburner kicks in, but I don't think it has an afterburner. Some of the planes can go over 1000mph, but it doesn't look like that when you drop at tree top level. More like helicopter speed. Very disappointing.
Targets markers appear on the HUD and then through your cockpit. Not very realistic. Dropped bombs explode on the ground target before you even pass over them, in fact you can see them in front of your cockpit. I guess they wanted you to see what you hit for fun.
Very limited outside views of plane. Only top, bottom, front and back and no in betweens! Not very cool. When doing high speed G manuevers no blackouts or redouts appear. Like I said just an arcade game.
Sometimes I think even A-10 Cuba with all it's cartoon views was a lot more fun. You could bomb things that moved unrelated to your target, and you could see all kinds of outside views of what happened and see the manuevers of the PLANE in various positions. Really cool. You could watch the enemy take off and you could even land on their airbases, streets (and actually drive your plane around) or shoot the planes while still on the ground.
For game play you have to play an enormous amount of the same scenarios, (of which there is many) to get to different levels. After you completed all levels, you have to play them again to get to higher levels with different or "unlocked" weapons and planes. I still have not unlocked many levels yet.
For a more realistic fighter SIM Flanker 2.0 was more "pilot" realistic and almost like the A-10 Cuba. It is REALLY COOL to take off (or land) the plane and take a quick "realtime" outside view of it taking off or landing. Too bad HAWX chose the kids route of an arcade game. Otherwise this would be "it".
PRO: realistic bomb and fire effects. Very nice scenery, the best of I have seen. Very good imagery and very realistic "cloud" views, and a great asortment of planes, good sound effects.
CONS: just an arcade game, target markers appear in cockpit, very limited outside views of both in and out of the cockpit, not realistic speeds, no ability to land or takeoff, no interaction or view only of cockpit instruments, must be in combat zone or game gets terminated, joystick controls still too finicky with recommended joystick.
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