(Before reading on please note that this review is purely on the single player campaign)
Its no secret that sony's beloved hawk series is as of late has mainly focused on being an epic multi player experience and starhawk is no exception. However as a I guess you could say bonus the developers added in a single player campaign to starhawk and although not the main attraction of the game its definitely a unique fun experience.
The gameplay consists of many different elements including third person shooter, tower defence, mec control and air combat (yeah I wasn't using the term unique loosely) the main objectives for each level varies. The most common objective is to protect a specific landmark from a horde of enemies this is were the third person shooter and tower defence aspect most commonly comes into play although the third person shooting mechanics are fairly common the tower defence element is were this game really shines. The player can summon several different pieces of equipment to aid them in there fight this includes things such as turrets, allies, new weapons, shelter, a mec (which can transform into a fighter plane) and much more.these items can be summoned at almost any time in almost any place but there's a catch every time you summon an item it costs rift energy and this can be seen as currency the bigger the item you purchase the more rift energy it costs and rift energy comes in small supplies so it needs to be spent wisely however rift energy can be earned from killing enemies and breaking open specific containers so all is not lost if you are low.
Other common objectives include destroying all enemies in the level which is commonly achieved by using landmark defence methods for ground enemies but for air enemies a fighter plane must be used. This is accomplished by summoning a mec which can used as a powerful land weapon to defeat grounded enemies with ease and when the time comes your mec can transform into a fighter plane to take down air enemies.
Graphics are pretty standard for the most part not bad but nothing out of the ordinary. the setting in very unique having a futuristic western sci fi setting which is not a common concept at all. The controls are great with each button doing something different and the controls being easy to use and memorable. the cutscense are fantastic being presented in a unique cartoon like artstyle that you wont be forgetting any time soon. The story is quite fascinating although over time you realise that there's not much too it. The weakest part of the single player campaign is without question is its length with there being only ten levels and although each level is fairly long the campaign can be completed within 5-6 hours but keep in mind that the campaign is more a less a bonus like I mentioned at the start of this review so 5-6 hours really isn't all that bad.
Over all Starhawk's single player campaign is a blast to play with a unique environment fun entertaining gameplay elements bind together to make one heck of an original gameplay idea a somewhat interesting concept for a story that could be better but could be a lot worse and most importantly what this and every game should be pure fun starhawk definitely gets a star in my books.
