Just looking at a jpg makes my brain lag.
It is very likely that this will be released on the PC, but they have said on their website that they hope to release it on the 360 and the PS3. Dunno if the PS3 or the 360, both 6 year old hardware, can handle this kind of graphical load. I'm hoping they do, though. I'd love to play this thing on the PS3.
I dunno what the dashboard numbers mean in the HUD, but I'm betting all those digits aren't just for show. They're very likely to be functional, so unlike MW or Battlefield where you're a soldier with floating maps, hit markers and a visual representation of the number of bullets you have are floating in front of your face, you'll really feel like the pilot of a mech. That, just by itself as a premise, makes me wet my pants.
There will be at least a Team Deathmatch mode and a Free For All mode. They also mention in their FAQs that they have two exclusive game modes, so that's going to be interesting. I'm particularly interested in the Free For All, because I want to see about 15 dozen missiles flying in all directions and massive chucks of metal flying around my screen. Is there a story mode? They don't say, but there is a backstory to the concept, so there's hope.
There doesn't seem to be any mention of customization or leveling up ones' self with weapon upgrades and whatnot. At the very least, I hope there is a wide enough selection of mechs, with different strengths and weaknesses. Balance would have to be very important. The last thing we'd want is to have one ultimate mech, and everyone will just pick that and have every game composed purely of it. Kinda like the AK-74u.
Hawken comes out when it's good and ready. No one really knows what the official release date is. According to their website, it'll come out when it's done, and the game is still not done. Makes sense to me. But when it does come out, will the retailers be carrying it, especially since they're an independent developer with no major publisher backing? They said this title is going to be downloadable. Here's to hoping it won't cost as much as retail games do, but I would still gladly cough up $30-$60 on this depending on how good it is and how large the community is.
What makes me sad is the fact that Hawken does not have the marketing budgets of a Battlefield 3 or a Modern Warfare 3 to create the hype. That's partially why I wanted to write about it. I want people to know this game exists and will hopefully be released soon. I want people to go legit on this title, especially since the money goes to an independent developer, and probably some outsourced Korean kids.
I beg of you. When this game comes out, buy it and support the little guys. The small game developers are keeping the dream alive.