16 cert, Sony, PS3 16 cert ****
No offence to anyone called Emmet, but it’s not a typical action hero name (neither is mine, of course). In Starhawk, the troubled Emmet Graves is in the middle of an interplanetary battle between mutated “Outcasts” and humans. Starhawk (a sort-of sequel to Warhawk) has a sci-fi western feel; based around new frontiers, with a sometimes- cheesy western score, but slathered in hi-tech sci-fi toys.
It’s a commendable mix of real-time strategy and third- person shooter: as Emmet engages in a fire-fight, he can summon and position instant, self-rising buildings and make forts, cannons and barricades. Starhawk has an online multiplayer and offline single- player campaign. Each works well; the campaign has a just-right level of difficulty, and the multiplayer can take up to 32 participants. It might look like a game from a previous generation, but Starhawk is elaborate, rewarding stuff, y’all.