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Originally this was going to get an average to poor review in the VFM section. It's a below standard shoot 'em up that is tired and dated in both presentation and gameplay. Still, it did have the saving grace of being cheap. Only it isn't. A quick call to the Codemasters office confirmed my fears. Firehawk is as overpriced as they come.

The game casts you as a gunship pilot with a limp, hired by the government to get in, complete a series of tasks and get out again. Missions include such inspired stuff as rescuing hostages and collecting paratroopers. All of this is done using a rotating helicopter flying over a 360 degree scrolling battlefield with few weapons, limited fuel and a poor defensive shield. All in all, it would be a poor man's Desert Strike, were it a lot cheaper.

The bulk of the game involves flying about the puny maps (four screens by four screens) shooting anything that moves and searching for hostages, whom you'll probably find in your first five second scan of the map. Move the helicopter over them, and lines will begin closing in around you to form a box. This is to tell you that the hostage is getting ready to board. As soon as the lines join, you can move into the really dire part of the game.

Cast your minds back to a game called Hypersports. In it was a clay pigeon shooting event which featured two gunsights. These only move up and down and automatically tracked the vertical position of the nearest target. You pressed the joystick left or right to fire the appropriate gun. It was a poor system, and one only acceptable because it was released in 1984. Nine years later it's a crime to use it again. What a terrible game.
John Mather

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