Warhawk is one of the PS3's top online titles and by the look of this article it's going to stay this way. IGN being the lucky bastards they are managed to weasel their way into a game or two including the content of both the 1.3 update and booster Pack Broken Mirror and everything seems to looking good so far. Broken Mirror in particular looks to be loads of fun with the new vehicle the 'APC' being a blast to use

US, February 22, 2008 - It's well known that we're Warhawk fans, so any time we get a chance to check out updates for the game, we're ready to take to the skies. At GDC 2008, we were able to talk to Dylan Jobe via PlayStation Eye video chat, and also get a chance to run through the upcoming version 1.3 and Operation: Broken Mirror booster pack. Dylan pointed out that the key elements from his initial PlayStation Blog have been implemented. That means that new paint schemes and insignias from the Warhawk contest have been fully integrated into the game, along with a host of VOIP changes for players headed up by the ability to toggle between push to talk and open mic settings. Home integration has been coming along as well, so players will be able to pull out their virtual PSP and immediately create and launch into a game of Warhawk. Speaking of Home, Jobe mentioned that they would love to support trophies within Home, although if they are integrated into the game, he would like to see possible new trophies for Warhawk players aside from the standard rankings and rewards that players currently receive.

Version 1.3 will also feature two new soldier weapons: the bio field generator to heal troops and the mechanics field wrench that can be used to heal vehicles. Finally, there are additional tweaks that will be made within Version 1.3, such as improving the effectiveness, damage, cooldown rates and other issues associated with the .50 cal guns that board members were griping about. The invisible tank glitch will also be addressed again, so players should no longer have that issue pop up in games. Apart from those tweaks, Dylan went on to describe the sneak preview of their upcoming booster pack, Operation: Broken Mirror.

While the new level for the pack wasn't being shown, Dylan did stress that the new vehicle puts a new spin and twist to the gameplay that could have a larger impact on the game than the inclusion of the dropship. In Broken Mirror, Eucadian and Chernovan players will gain access to an APC that can seat six soldiers. These six soldiers can pop out of port holes akin to that on the tank and protect the vehicle when necessary. However, like the dropship, the APC is useful for more than simple transport missions. It can ram through just about any vehicle or emplacement (with the exception of tanks), instantly killing or destroying its target. It can deploy a electromagnetic bubble shield, which your troops can fire out of, but will neutralize incoming fire. It will also short out enemy vehicles and make aircraft critically fail if they come into contact with this shield, protecting ground troops from dive bombing attacks.

Bale Fire via au.ps3.ign.com »