Warhawk - Operation: Omega Dawn Review
- Posted January 20th, 2008 at 18:43 EDT by Eric Blattberg
- 22 Comments
Review Score
Warhawk - Operation: Omega Dawn
- PSU Review Score
- 8.5
- Avg. user review score:
- 7.3
Summary
Warhawk is revived with the addition of a brilliant new vehicle, the KT-424 Combat Dropship, and the new industrial Omega Factory map. Operation: Omega Dawn is fantastic.
We like
- Awesome Combat Dropship doesn't unbalance gameplay
- Omega Factory map is a blast
- Full support for the 1.2 update
We dislike
- Essentially $7.99 for one new map and vehicle
See PSU's review on Metacritic & GameRankings
Warhawk has had some steep competition in recent months. With brilliant online titles available such as the addictive Call of Duty 4 and the mod-friendly Unreal Tournament III, Warhawk took its time in the backseat for a while. Nevertheless, its first expansion, Operation: Omega Dawn, manages to perfectly complement our newfound case of insomnia… which it caused.
There are two major overlapping features in this expansion; the KT-424 Combat Dropship and the brand new Omega Factory map. We’ll begin with the most major change – the Dropship. Simply put, the thing is a beast. The KT-424 is a massive airborne Dropship which is capable of carrying a pilot, six additional infantry, and a ground-based vehicle. It’s fantastic for Zone or Capture the Flag games, often turning the tide of a battle with cooperation from teammates. Don’t assume that the Dropship is a defenseless transport vehicle either. Under that thick armor plating lays some serious weaponry. While in flight, six deadly swarm missile turrets can be utilized to blast your foes into oblivion. Conversely, in hover mode, the Dropship can deploy six auto-cannons to strategically hold off or destroy any type of ground-laden threat.
As Warhawk is a title built around meticulously balanced gameplay, it would be a shame if the Dropship came in and wrecked the equilibrium. Luckily, this isn’t the case, as the KT-424 manages to fill a fascinating niche without being an overpowered behemoth. Frankly, the Dropship might struggle to beat a tortoise in a relay race, and it would make a lot of noise in the process. The thing is deafeningly loud, so stealthy players need not apply. Anyways, while the tortoise analogy may be a tad of an exaggeration, compared to the agile Warhawks, the Dropship moves quite slothfully. This means you won’t be able to evade those flak cannons so easily, so watch for those no fly zones. Additionally, the Dropship spawns at a reduced rate, so each time you’ve lost one in battle, it’ll take some time before you can hop back into that same one.
The KT-424 Combat Dropship will be available across all available maps, not only the brand new Omega Factory. Speaking of Omega Factory, the map comes as a nice change of pace for Warhawk regulars. Sporting jazzy nighttime visuals, the entire feel of the map is completely different from everything we’ve seen from Warhawk thus far. From the massive industrial pylons to the giant glowing energy cores used in Zone matches (which are reminiscent of those seen in Resistance multiplayer), everything just feels right. It also doesn’t hurt that Omega Factory is possibly the largest of all the complete maps seen within Warhawk.
All in all, while Operation: Omega Dawn doesn’t exactly revolutionize Warhawk, it is certainly a natural evolution which nicely complements what’s already present. With full support for the 1.2 update, it’s easy to see what games are for ‘OD’ (Omega Dawn) players. Add in some new map layouts to the Dropship and Omega Factory, and you’ve got yourself a nice little package, available for a completely affordable $7.99. Don’t hesitate to give this expansion a try.
Comments
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snake_eater |
MetalGearHMN- 6:48pm GMT - January 20th, 2008
- 1
1st, boo ya. Anyways, this came out like 1 million years ago, why are they just now reviewing it.
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Eric2929 |
Eric2929- 7:02pm GMT - January 20th, 2008
- 3
@ snake_eater
It actually came out a month ago, and would you rather we didn't review it at all? It's hard to get to everything, especially an expansion pack. Later is better than never though, right? I'm sure there'll be people who appreciate my review.
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Altrbridge102 |
Rllingstnes102- 7:11pm GMT - January 20th, 2008
- 5
I complety agree with Eric2929, i mean i would rather have a review that would take time to make and at the same time provide very good information. Would you want a rushed review that came out a week after launch? All in all, good job Eric.
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Syphon_Filter |
Syphon_filter2- 7:20pm GMT - January 20th, 2008
- 6
The only new 2 things were map and airplane. And i mustly never chose this map and i dont use the big airplane. I wouldn't care about the reiview beside its not worth 9 dollars. They should released something that will give us more stuff and its more active during the game.
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Dreadnought1275 |
Dreadnought1275- 7:32pm GMT - January 20th, 2008
- 7
it was a steep price for 1 new map and vehicle... warhawk needs a real BIG expansion. I got it but was dissapointed. Its difficult to get team mates to cooperate and use the dropship and its a bullet magnet, lucky if ur up there in it for 5 mins.
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The_Sorrow_Gamer |
The_Sorrow_Gamer- 8:08pm GMT - January 20th, 2008
- 8
Dont u just love it(by-Me,Myself and Irene)
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snake_eater |
MetalGearHMN- 8:38pm GMT - January 20th, 2008
- 9
@Eric
It's only 1 page long, and after maybe like 2-3 days of play you basically have the jist of the expansion pack. I don't see why it'd take a month. Still I apologize for my first comment, I didn't mean to say that your work isn't appreciated.
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knowledge4lfe |
knowledge4lfe- 9:03pm GMT - January 20th, 2008
- 10
very good review. i do enhoy how balanced the game is even with this huge new ship. now im just waiting for some kinda update with the troopers like customize weapons or something.
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Eric2929 |
Eric2929- 9:19pm GMT - January 20th, 2008
- 11
@snake_eater I understand that timely reviews are better, but as you've obviously noticed during your time on PSU, reviews generally take a back seat to up to date news. We've grown a lot over the past couple of months, but we're still no IGN or Gamespot. We only have two full-timers at the moment, with most of us (including myself) working on a paid per content basis. I'm a student in addition to spending time on PSU writing news, reviews, and the like. I had other priorities before getting to this review. Obviously though, the bigger the title, the higher it is up on our list of priorities. This wasn't that big (as it is only an expansion), and therefore took a back seat to a few other things. However, titles such as Burnout Paradise (which I'll be reviewing for PSU), are of far greater importance, and therefore will be done sooner to release. Just so you know, that title is on the way to our PR guy, Justin, right now, and will be shipped to me to promptly review come its arrival. Hope you have a greater knowledge about how stuff like this works now.
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Jezer29 |
Jezer29- 9:43pm GMT - January 20th, 2008
- 13
@Eric Dont pay mind to these ungrateful lames, especially loosers who brag about posting 1st.. Anyways Iike the map its hot and what most people dont seem to understand or miss is that the dropship is also included in the 5 original big maps.. Just b/c you dont use the vechicle doesnt mean its useless.. It brings a whole new strategy to the game which = more gameplay..
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D3v1lwqer23 |
G_PIG79- 11:40pm GMT - January 20th, 2008
- 17
@ snake_eater
First of all, knock of the 1st post crap, it has a tendency to make fellow surfers....upset, and makes you look like a tard.
Second, if you are going to contribute to an intelligent discussion, please limit your exagerations, because you sound like more of a tard. Anyway, it takes them a while to review it is because this is NOT a major game company that has lots of different people to review everything. They are a few guys, that play things through and through, until they are almost sick of it, then they review it. So if you arent going to be intelligent, stop thinking.
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Xdeth |
Xdeth- 9:45am GMT - January 21st, 2008
- 21
First I want to say Warhawk is great game. I bought the expansion and love the new map and the new dropship. However...COD4 has been taking my attention since I got it. All of my friends and Clan also now play COD. Warhawk isnt as fun with out your friends. It also doesnt help when you have tards who like to take off in the Dropship solo on a Rambo mission and get shot down.
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