Modern military shooters are in a strange place at the moment.
Currently running a month-long Alpha, Hawk Ops provides access to two of its three game modes.
Nearly everything in this mode is structured according to the gospel of DICE.
In other words, not particularly original.
But fried chicken isn’t original either, yet it still tastes great when it’s done right.
And Hawk Ops certainly seems to have all the correct herbs and spices.
The Recon character, for example, can be played as a standard backline sniper.
The other area where Hawk Ops has the potential to define itself is in its map design.
There were two maps on offer.
This saw players fighting over a mountaintop fortress on a rugged volcanic island.
It’s a gratifying mixture of ideas, flowing between rocky open spaces and gnarly interior gunfights.
In short, I’m entirely happy to see more of Havoc Warfare.
But that’s only half of what Hawk Ops' alpha offers.
There’s also much less room for individual players to hide in this mode.
Sound plays a particularly important role in Tactical Turmoil.
Not only can gunfire be heard from a distance, both player and AI footsteps can too.
Questionable ethics aside, there are a couple of interesting twists to Hawk Ops' take on Extraction Shooting.
Extracting from the map also has a surprising amount of nuance.
Unlocking it also sets off a loud alarm, which is like ringing the dinner bell for loot-hungry players.
This is the one mechanical choice I’m not entirely sold on.
I worry it overcomplicates matters a little, and somewhat contradicts this mode’s aspirations to authenticity.
