Starhawk simply is a blast to play. The campaign is negligible, and serves as training for the multiplayer action, so it needs to be said that this is an experience you get for online play – period. The second disclaimer is that this is not a casual game. You will need to spend some time and commit to learning how to build and work within a team, as well as utilize the vehicles to your team's advantage. All that said, if you're all about a strategic yet fast-paced online shooter with innovative building mechanics, this game is a must-have.

It really feels like a lot of effort was put into Starhawk, and that effort has certainly paid off. After dusting off my PS3 to play it, it seems Sony have finally found a new exclusive title to show off and be proud of.

Accessible, addictive, and loads of fun, Starhawk gives you plenty of reason to jump in and stay hooked.

The Build and Battle gameplay combines tower defense with third-person shooters in a way that brings out the best of both genres. And that makes for an incredibly addictive experience.

This is multiplayer at its finest, and it's among the best you'll find on any platform.

Starhawk is not exactly a sequel to Warhack, but it can repeat its success and please fans of Warhawk and also many new players. It is not that good as a single-player game as it is too short, but its multiplayer is great and recommended for those who love something new.

A great online multiplayer experience and a rather uninteresting singleplayer campaign. No surprises here.

Starhawk is an ambitious cross-breed of shooter and RTS. When this concept is coupled with 32 player network game and large, open battlefields, Starhawk sure is quite unique. [June 2012]

All in all, the care put into Starhawk definitely shows – but the amount of things that were left on the drawing board or out of the concept phase shows as well. A few tweaks to the combat, vehicle, and piloting system would have made huge steps into making this the premier game of the year as opposed to just the pretty darn good game that we got.

Though its middling campaign falls short, Starhawk's open-ended Build and Battle system offers a wonderfully refreshing break from other modern shooters, both online and off.

Starhawk is a fresh and entertaining third-person shooter, that mainly holds its own in multiplayer. The single player is expendable and works as an introduction for the Build and Battle-system. It is that system that carries the game and makes for wonderfully chaotic battles and an intense, alternative variant of the well-known tower defense. Starhawk is arguably one of the best multiplayer experiences for the PlayStation 3.

Apart from the poor solo game, every other aspect of the game felt well polished. In fact is was a pleasure to play a game without any discernible graphic or control issues. Stetsons off to the game testers!

Starhawk gives new life to the very generic online shooter genre by requiring careful teamwork in this Build & Battle combat system. Don't expect much from the single-player adventure, but get ready to enjoy a truly exhilarating online experience.

Team tactics is something really rare to see in shooters, specially in close combat, but Starhawk provides the tools to enjoy great battles where the strategy is as important as the aiming skills. LightBox Entertainment did a great job redefining the original Warhawk, from the aesthetics to the gameplay.

Cerebral, deep and varied, Starhawk is one of the finest online experiences on PS3. [Aug 2012, p.78]

While Starhawk does have its faults (particularly in the single player campaign), the multiplayer is deep, fun, decisive, and completely innovative. I don't think I've had a much better multiplayer experience in a long time. Starhawk has redefined the third-person shooter genre with intelligent strategy. I credit it with nothing less than successfully shoving itself back into the world of multiplayer gaming. It is arguably the best multiplayer experience the PlayStation 3 has to offer so far in 2012.

Starhawk is a great online experience. An addictive game with strategy, vehicles and shooting.

With a mix of on-foot gunplay, full on dogfights, and strategic base-building, Starhawk lets you find your niche or switch roles at the drop of a hat. While it doesn't leverage this versatility to create new game types to call its own, its territory-based gameplay offers a wide range of tactical options to explore.

The short solo-campaign is hardly worth talking about, even though the action on the ground and in space is well executed. But the multiplayer makes up for it: The battles are as tactical as they are frantic, the troops have distinctive strengths and weaknesses and you can use the surroundings to your advantage.

Support for clans, customisation – even a co-operative horde mode – shows Starhawk is only really intended to be played online, despite marketing gumph that states otherwise. Offline, it's forgettable. Online, it's great fun.

Starhawk is one of the best multiplayer shooters that I have played mainly for its strategic build and battle gameplay. The gameplay style truly brings a lot more to the usual online multiplayer gameplay that is found in other games.

Kudos to Santa Monica for the online code as it's top-notch. We were rarely looking for a match, and although there's only a handful of modes (Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Zones and Capture The Flag, with the latter responsible for many late nights) they're all tried and tested. If you're not online there's a pleasing if short-lived single player campaign and a co-op mode where you'll battle waves of enemies. While the purpose of the campaign is to make you familiar with each of the units in the IKEA-in-the-sky, it's still fun if ultimately forgettable. There's a tale of sibling rivalry, friendship and love lost, but we'd have to hit Google to find the name of the main character. [July 2012, p74]

It is a title with a real time strategic element that is blended into the shooter action that originated from the first game.

Shines as a tactical blend between third-person shooting and serious strategy - but is eclipsed by Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare. [July 2012, p.104]

We keep returning to Starhawk's RTS-flavored feature because it's truly what elevates the game above familiar third-person shooter fare. [July 2012, p.74]

Cynics will point out the shortcomings of the single-player campaign and lament the fickle nature of the online experience, but both criticisms struggle to stand up to closer inspection; the former fulfils its role well enough and the latter is (sadly) a given with any game of this type. Through Starhawk's dynamic arenas of combat and broad, deep and well-implemented toolset, LightBox Interactive has delivered a call to arms that deserves to be heeded.

The game is kind of a spiritual successor to the 2007 title Warhawk, and although based on the same structure, it offers a set of new features that improve the formula.

It's far from perfect, but nevertheless this is a great and addictive online shooter gamers will not mind spending months of their lives on. The singleplayer feels like an obligation rather than an inspired part of the package, but then again, nobody buys Starhawk for the offline experience.

The complex tactical nature of the title won't appeal to everybody, but it's ultimately what sets it apart. If you're looking for a new shooter with a deep single player campaign, then Starhawk isn't it, but if you're in the market for a clever and fundamentally different multiplayer game, then this should absolutely be on your radar.

If you love online shooters, need something refreshing and are willing to think outside the box; don't hesitate to pick up Starhawk. It is definitely not your standard third-person affair.

Lightbox delivers a much welcome refinement of Warhawk with this greatly enhanced Starhawk. With far better production values, more content, a solo campaign, and many other improvements wrapped up in a new universe, Starhawk is great fun for online TPS lovers.

While its plot may be undernourished, the campaign does contain a series of worthy action set pieces, and really, it's not a bad way to spend an afternoon. But the single-player's main purpose seems aimed at familiarising players with Starhawk's mechanics before setting them loose in the game's online battleground, which, as has been mentioned, is where its true longevity lies.

This is a true multiplayer experience, which despite its accessibility, demands commitment and communication to enjoy to its fullest. It's also a game, though, that deserves to be loved.

An action game on a grand scale where you can fight on the ground, build defenses or pilot a mech. The single player campaign and online games with to few players are somewhat boring, but it's a fantastic experience when the servers are full.

Exhilarating space battles and overall an intense multiplayer experience.

To have transformable jets in the follow-up game to Warhawk feels like a natural evolution for Sony's flight combat series. Starhawk's multiplayer showcases this with superb results, so it's that much more of a mystery that the same can't be said about its other modes.

A diverse and well balanced multiplayer game, given extra value and intrigue through its single player mode.

A boiling pot of real time strategy, vehicle combat and third person shooting, designed for gruelling tugs of tactical war. If the space setting appeals and you like shooters with a cerebral bite, there's plenty to love. Just don't buy it for the solo campaign alone – the story is thinner than the lunar atmosphere and essentially an elaborate training tool.

One of the most unique multiplayer experiences we played in a long time. The RTS elements create significant strategic depth and the action is a blast. Once we got a hang of the somewhat complicated gameplay systems of building bases and driving the various vehicles we didn't want to put the controller down. If you've been looking for engrossing, chaotic, large-scale multiplayer battles, Starhawk is going to satisfy your needs.

Despite flawed controls and disappointing graphics, Starhawk delivers a great online multiplayer experience with a varied gameplay and innovative features.

Starhawk is a decent shooter adventure game on the PS3 that is slightly hampered by the short campaign mode. The main aim of the game is multiplayer that is starting to develop a good community. Overall, it's a decent game and there's plenty of action to be found online and in the multiplayer co-op modes.

Starhawk is definitively a fresh breeze for the multiplayer online shooters. Building mechanics work fine. Unfortunately game modes are too few and the single player campaign is a little bit boring in the end.

We are afraid that a lot of newcomers will give up on Starhawk because of its sometimes overwhelming action. And they would be wrong, because once you fully grasp the Build & Battle concept, there's a very unique multiplayer experience waiting to be discovered. [June 2012, p.94]

A great multiplayer game that should've shipped without a single-player option. If you want to give us a multiplayer tutorial, then just do that. The story is weak, I don't really care at all about the character, and there's very little difference between the campaign and the online action.

Starhawk is truly a gem in the PlayStation lineup of 2012. Frantic and addictive multiplayer combined with some unique gameplay elements make for one of the best multiplayer experiences available in the industry today. It's just too bad that the multiplayer experience fails to carry over to the single-player campaign.

A good multiplayer game that could have been amazing with some balancing tweaks. Still great fun when it works, and a must have for those who love large scale battles online.

StarHawk is a pleasant surprise. Predicted as a very multiplayer TPS, it reveals a nice campaign, which is a true advantage in this kind of game. Multi is a little bit disapointing : game modes are far too classic and you'll have to fight with your friends to establish a real strategy. That's too bad, with its nice graphics and its versatile gameplay, StarHawk could have been one of the very best.

Figuring out these tactics and tricks makes Starhawk a lot of fun to play, but it's a shame that the transitions between modes are so rocky. Learning harsh lessons and recalibrating your approach isn't a pleasant process, but it's well worth pushing through. These online battlefields are unlike any others.

While I appreciate the large player counts and wide-open battlefields, the on-foot gunplay and lack of multiplayer modes are disappointing.