Parents' Guide to Hawken

This futuristic robot-arena title is fun in doses, but eventually, the decision to either pay for gear or repetitively play for hours for the same item starts to drain the fun out of the game. Now, in video games, you might take the pedal to the metal in the driver's seat of a high-performance sports car one minute, and the next you're doing aerial acrobatics from the cockpit of a fighter jet. But neither of those activities can compare to strapping into the pilot's seat of a massive mechanized war machine, duking it out against your foes in an epic modernized version of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. At least, that's the premise behind Hawken, the free-to-play first-person shooter that's made the jump from PC to consoles. While the game makes the transition fairly well, it's still a bit rough around the edges. The real question is whether or not there's enough to keep gamers' interest and help them overlook some of those frayed bits.

On the positive side, there's no shortage of action in the game. Matches are fast-paced, brutally destructive battles that test all your skills as a pilot. Balance is important in Hawken, too, with each model of mech designed with a particular set of strengths and weaknesses. A light mech will never survive taking a heavy mech head-on, but by using your speed and keeping distance, you can chip away at that behemoth until it's ready for the recycle bin. But the free-to-play nature of the game is a bit of a mixed bag. Short of cosmetic additions, there's nothing in the game you buy with real money that you can't eventually unlock in the game. Unfortunately, that means you'll be spending a lot of time grinding in matches to get a good stable of playable options if you're not willing to shell out some extra cash to get access to those new items early. But you'll earn enough in trickles to always at least feel like you're making progress. The game's biggest hurdle is that it's starting to show its age a bit. Although the visuals have a realistic and gritty appeal, they aren't exactly pushing the limits of what consoles are capable of. Still, considering the entry price, Hawken is worth checking out if you're a sci-fi fan looking for a unique shooter experience to play with friends online.