In Warhawk, players experience the thrill of white-knuckle aerial combat with hundreds of enemy fighters, bone-crunching armored assaults and high-intensity infantry combat in a massive, all-out war fought both on the ground and in the skies.

During gameplay, players are tasked with protecting their homeland from the invading Chernovan armada. By doing so, players take command of the most advanced war machine in the fleet, the Warhawk, capable of aerobatic dogfights at high speeds or hovering over ground troops providing tactical support.

Players continue the battle on foot with an arsenal of weaponry including pistols, rifles, grenades and more. Furthermore, players can gain access to an array of ground vehicles and lay waste with powerful weapons mounted on jeeps, tanks and specialty transports.

Fight on Foot, in Ground Vehicles, or in the Sky – Next-gen multimodal design throws players into a deep gameplay experience. Fight in the war as a foot soldier, vehicle driver or ace pilot - whenever you want. Experience an Expansive Online Community – Players can join in epic multi-modal 32-person online battles, constantly evolving with downloadable content and a variety of online game modes. [SCEA]

It’s all been a bit quiet on the PlayStation 3 front for Sony this year, with major attention getter Metal Gear Solid 4 being pushed back into 2008, Home apparently not yet ready, and Little Big Planet also tantalisingly just out of reach.

However, that doesn’t mean the Japanese electronics giant is lacking for ‘oomph’ titles between now and when the above titans do finally arrive… and Warhawk is believed to be one of them. So jump in your virtual cockpit, power up your review engines and let’s take to the critical skies to see exactly what the enemy (or reviewers as they’re more commonly known) think of Sony’s all-action, multi-mode multiplayer fragfest.

Spend or Lend?

Check below for gathered review scores and some sweeping Warhawk trailer footage courtesy of GameTrailers.com.

90% - GameSpy - "Warhawk is an extremely well-designed online multiplayer game. We're sure that once the initial rush at retail has settled down a bit, regular fans of the game can look forward to a solid online experience with the great potential for future downloadable maps, skins and so on."

89% - IGN - "It may be multiplayer only, it may not have bots, and it may have a steep learning curve, but Warhawk lives up to its billing: a AAA experience that is an adrenaline rush for online fans. Large worlds, balanced combat mechanics and impressively deep server mechanics help this fast paced game soar."

85% - GameSpot - "This game has a stripped-down feel, but the exciting gameplay certainly makes up for those feelings. This is blue versus red across multiple modes and maps, in the land or in the air. And it's excellent fun."

80% - GamePro - "The controls for the plane are everything they should be, and echo most every other aspect of the game: a tightly polished product that is simply intuitive. Though the action became intense and sometimes frustrating, I was always ready to jump right back into the mix."

80% - EuroGamer - "Incognito has taken the DNA of Battlefield and crafted a sublime online console game - a virtual battlezone that serves up more than its fair share of wonderful audio-visuals, but more than that, plays beautifully, with every game you play supplying a key gameplay moment that only online gaming provides."

Verdict: Spend