Starhawk (2012 video game)



Starhawk is the Spiritual Successor to the online-multiplayer-only Warhawk, both of which are Playstation3 Exclusives. While still heavily focused on multiplayer, Starhawk features a single player campaign focusing on one Emmett Graves, a hired gun who was partially mutated by exposure to Rift energy. He finds himself fighting the Outcasts who don't have his special implants to mitigate their rift-induced transformation, worship Rift energy, and viciously attack those that try to mine it across the galaxy.

But, at least he has his friend, Cutter, to drop buildings down on the battlefield, as do players online. Players are given an entirely unsettled landscape to riddle with bunkers, turrets, barriers, and vehicle depots. The developers specifically wanted to capture the fast pacing of pulling a trigger on a gun when building an encampment.

The Official Trailer can be found here.

Starhawk provides examples of:
"Emmett: "It all started with a spark. A flash of blue gold.""
 * Beam Spam: Beam turrets, though fairly high in rift expense, are still largely seen in clusters to the chagrin of any unwitting hawks.
 * Book Ends:


 * The Corruption: What rift energy does to humans. It makes them look stereotypical voodoo witchdoctors, but replaced the paint emulating skull and bone with actual exo-skeletons and eerie blue glow between chitinous plating. There's a reason rift-mutants are called Scabs.
 * Crapsack World
 * Expy: the Hawks look and transform like Decepticons.
 * Death From Above: All combat equipment is dropped from the sky, even if a person or giant robot is standing on the landing zone.
 * Kill Sat: And the delivery is from orbit.
 * Drop Ship: Annebelle, it drops everything from soldiers to vehicles to buildings.
 * Eldritch Abomination: Rift energy. Its used as a highly efficient power source, but its actually an amorphous Energy Being that compels those exposed to it to worship it, protect it, and keep others from harnessing it. The exposed becomes Scabs, exoskeletal mutants who's flesh is gradually replaced by Rift energy.
 * Eldritch Superpower: Scabs, especially the Apex Warriors.
 * Frickin' Laser Beams
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom: Emmet and the Outcast, who becomes somewhat like conduits for rift energy.
 * Ground Pound: The melee attack of the hawk is a powerful stomp. Even if you dodge the foot, a you may stile bite it from the shockwave.
 * Jet Pack
 * Macross Missile Massacre
 * Made of Explodium: Including buildings and walls. Taking back a friendly dropped structure even displays the option with a little bomb in the recycling symbol.
 * Mini-Mecha
 * Preorder Bonus: Those who pre-ordered the game at Gamestop in North America got a new co-op map, some multiplayer skins, a new Multiplayer Homeworld Lobby, as well as the soundtrack and the original Warhawk for PS 1.
 * Recycled in Space: Its a game made to appease Warhawk fans. Set in space stations and other planets.
 * Ridiculously-Fast Construction
 * Scarf of Asskicking: Emmet
 * Sickly Teal Glow. Rift energy and those mutated by it.
 * Shotguns Are Just Better: Even the Transforming Mecha has one in the Flak Cannon, which, like all of its weapons, can be used in flight or ground mode.
 * Short-Range Shotgun
 * Sentry Gun: Come in small, anti-personell and large anti-vehicle varitites.
 * Smash Mook: Apex Warriors.
 * Space Battle
 * Space Fighter
 * Space Western
 * Spiritual Successor: To Warhawk, but the base and vehicle building is reminiscent of Battlezone.
 * Stuff Blowing Up
 * Tank Goodness - The OX tank, which can fire regular explosive shells and switch to an artilery mode.
 * Transforming Mecha
 * Tower Defense: The build and battle system has some elements.
 * Voice With an Internet Connection: Cutter.
 * Volcanic Veins - The Outcasts, who have been exposed to rift energy,known for its its persistent, flashy blue glow. Emphasis on Emmets right arm, which still lacks bulk in the chitinous armor.
 * Weekend Inventor: Cutter, who invented insta-buildings dropped from orbit and the technology to keep Emmett's mutation from taking over.
 * Zerg Rush: Scrapper scabs come in the largest hordes of any wave of enemy, but only melee attacks.