Don't wait for a Warhawk demo (it won't happen)

by Andrew Yoon { Sep 10th 2007 at 4:44PM }

Sony's been really good about making downloadable demos for all of its first-party titles. However, both Warhawk and Lair have released, sans demo. Why is that? Considering Warhawk's incredible quality, we thought that Sony would want to give players a taste.

Well, it looks like a demo will never come out for this online-only game. SCEA responded to GameDaily BIZ: "Warhawk was designed to support up to 32-players online simultaneously. In a demo version of a multiplayer only game, there is little control over how many players will be on a dedicated server at a time, potentially leading to smaller online battles that do not fully do justice to the title's fast combat and frantic play. Additionally, Warhawk development underwent an extensive beta trial that included nearly 10,000 participants, which offered a wide audience ample opportunity to experience the game and provide valuable feedback to during Warhawk's development."

So, it looks like the beta was the only free chance you had at the game. You're just going to have to trust us: Warhawk is good, and you will like it (provided you can actually sign in on firmware 1.92 ... )

Tags: demo, warhawk

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Justin @ Sep 10th 2007 4:52PM

makes sense...

now if it had a single player campaign...that'd be different.

YouFaceTheTick @ Sep 10th 2007 4:54PM

Hmm, got Warhawk this weekend. It's fun but it has some issues and the biggest one:

You can't sneak up on people. Lying in wait does not work as the game broadcasts your position to the world. No sniping, no surprise kills...it's mostly just people unloading on each other.

Beyond that, the sniper rifle kills with one shot, while all other weapons take forever to kill anyone. So essentially you can find a sniper, pump him with rounds and while you're firing he just simply aims at you and drops you with one shot. Dumb design.

JL @ Sep 10th 2007 4:55PM

For those on the fence:

Jump off it. Buy the damn game.

JL @ Sep 10th 2007 4:58PM

@youfacethetick

Rocket launcher, Grenade and Sniper Rifle all kill in one shot.

Jumping around works wonders when they're trying to snipe you up close. Just take out your knife and jump around until you get near them. ;)

Phil @ Sep 10th 2007 5:05PM

A beta with that many people prbably would provide more than ample information.... however... it doesn't help someone decide if they want the game.... which is the idea of the demo???

Who can argue with this title's price anyway? ^^ I'm extatic over how much it was! worth every penny left in my PSN account...

Justin @ Sep 10th 2007 5:07PM

1) the knife is also a one hit kill just about.

2) sneaking up is possible, but only on snipers, and people looking thru some sort of scope or on a turret because the game shifts from 3rd person. I love walking up behind the snipers posted on tops of the round pillars and knifing them.

3) and an essential to any up close battle is GRENAAAAADESSSS...shoot, throw, repeat.

chris.westermann @ Sep 10th 2007 5:08PM

Kind of weak. I don't think necessarily having 32 players on the same map makes the game more enjoyable then 8, and I think most people will find Warhawk fun to play, at least get enough enjoyment from a few minutes of gameplay on any server, enough to want to buy the game or not. With the popularity of Warhawk currently, there are plenty of servers maxed out or near maxed at 32. I think the tune will change once the sales of Warhawk start to drop, then they will do anything necessary to try and convince the last few hold-outs that the game is worth their money.
As for Lair, I won't buy it period until I can play a demo. There is way too much ambiguity right now about whether the game is good or not, I will have to judge for myself, and that means downloading a demo and playing it for a few weeks.

James @ Sep 10th 2007 5:18PM

@2:
Sneaking up on people is very possible - I do it all the time. Just take out your knife and walk up behind them - works great when they're capturing a flag. One hit with the knife and they're down for the count.

Sniping, by the way, is tricky but it's good that it's tricky. I wouldn't want to see Warhawk descend into a huge snipefest. It took a little time but I'm getting better with the rifle. As someone who likes to snipe, I enjoy the challenge.

This game isn't counterstrike or DoD, it's more like Battlefield. I don't remember sneaking up on too many people in Battlefield...or sniping that much for that matter.

WxC @ Sep 10th 2007 5:19PM

You can sneak up on anyone in the game. Equipping the knife makes you invisible on radar after a few seconds. The thing is you have to be quick about it because the game is so fast, people are often turning every which way in order to avoid death. It can be done though, just don't go thinking you're playing Metal Gear or something. You're dealing with real humans here.

Zim @ Sep 10th 2007 5:26PM

I wasn't invited to the beta, though I still managed to DL a copy. In all I think its a great game and worth the £20.

upz @ Sep 10th 2007 5:32PM

Something else ironic is that Sony never released a demo for Super Stardust, their best PSN casual title, but instead opted to release ones for Blast Factor and Nucleus.

Wouldn't that have exactly the opposite effect from what you'd want from marketing? People don't buy Blast Factor and Nucleus because they've played the demos and know that they're not so great. There's no demo for Stardust, so people assume it's mediocre like the other two.

On the other hand, had they released a Stardust demo while withholding demos for Blast Factor and Nucleus, people would've thought "Hey, these casual PSN titles are great!" and possibly picked up some others too. Now that's some cleverly deceptive marketing! Almost like, say, packing in Wii Sports with your new console?

Andy @ Sep 10th 2007 5:38PM

Maybe a good idea for a demo would be to have the full game but only 3.5 hours of play time before its void. That way you get good enough to be hooked, get the whole game and will make your decision based on that.

Maurice M @ Sep 10th 2007 5:48PM

That's really too bad. A demo was the only way I was going to give the game a chance. Oh well, there's plenty of other games out there.

YouFaceTheTick @ Sep 10th 2007 6:16PM

I know about the knife thing but what I miss from games like Socom 2 are a few things:

1. A real handgun/shotgun that can drop a person dead at close range. This crap of either using a grenade or using a knife doesn't cut it.

2. Radar - the concept sucks in a car/on-foot. It makes sense that radar should see planes and cars/tanks moving but people. No, that's silly.

3. Lack of team communication. Unlike Socom, people do not work together at all. I played for hours the other day and nobody said a word. Lame.

Yeah, a demo would have a made a big difference for me; i'm now out 40 bucks on a game that rewards suicide missions (people put mines on planes/trucks) and idiots running around a base stabbing men armed with guns. I simply don't really dig on the free-for-all nature of the game and the total lack of useful weapons. Ghost Recon's demo is ten times more fun than Warhawk...in an online form I would guess Ghost Recon will be quite fun.

Nate @ Sep 10th 2007 6:24PM

I don't see why a time limited demo would be a problem, but whatever. I bought it because it looked awesome and the reviews were great. I don't regret it for a second. Hell, the 5 hours I played it with my friends over labor day was worth the $40. And hopefully it convince some of them to get a PS3.

I LOVE that sniping isn't as good in warhawk. You actually have to move around. God forbid. I think it's great, it makes the game more dynamic.

Chris @ Sep 10th 2007 6:25PM

I read PS3 Fanboy's great reviews, so I bought it, the Blu-ray version, but I am not impressed with it. Not only that, but I haven't found anyone else who uses the headset, so I'm down $60. I hope I find reason to like it soon. I'd hate to think it was a waste of money.

YouFaceTheTick @ Sep 10th 2007 6:32PM

Chris, at least you can sell the game back to EB. Those of us who downloaded it, we're stuck with the game forever. No recouping even half our losses.

Navstar @ Sep 10th 2007 6:46PM

Can someone compare it to some previous games?

If I liked "_______", I'll love Warhawk!

(I've been disappointed by some games "everyone" said was great. I never could get into any GTA, Tony Hawk or Tom Clancy games, but they always seem to be very popular and score well with critics)

Popfrogs @ Sep 10th 2007 7:00PM

19: It's very close to Battlefield2, however it's a lot more cartoonish. You can survive insanely high drops (on foot), any vehicle you drive off a cliff will survive, take no damage, and flip over onto the tires if you roll it. Yes, this includes tanks.

However it differs from BF2 in many ways. It's very fast paced, there are no squads (only teams), there is no commander. There are no remote-controlled mines (there ARE mines but no C4). There are very few weapons, and everyone has access to them regardless of rank. There are also enough vehicles for everyone which is refreshing. You cannot wrench on vehicles to heal them...if they're doomed you find a sprocket icon and they get repaired instantly. This keeps the pace up. Nothing was worse than being a damn engineer in BF2.

That's about the closest experience I can think of, and BF2 feels really slow compared to Warhawk. I like Warhawk's graphic design alot better since it's arty rather than shooting for realism. Your little dudes have big bobble heads with helmets and giant shoes. But they don't look Nintendo-fruity..I guess you just have to see it.

I really love Warhawk, I just wish it was 100x easier to get into the servers I want to join.

phattie @ Sep 10th 2007 7:08PM

One of the most under rated weapons is the proximity mine.. i LOVE THAT FREAKIN WEAPON!! .. I just plant them on SAMs, vehicles, behind openings, on flags, etc.. then i hide away with a good view.. wait for the other side to approach.. then, KA-BOooooOOM!

:)