The Warhawk Movie and Endings
Warhawk (the 1995 original, not the new remake) was one of the two first games Singletrac ever made. All told, we released something like 11 games. But for Warhawk and Twisted Metal, we had very little clue what we were doing, but we had a lot of fun doing it. The producers out at Sony helped us stay on target and make sure nothing fell between the cracks...

But nobody's perfect.

A great deal of money was spent on a really horrible movie that would tell the story of Warhawk (aka Warhawk: The Red Mercury Missions). It was definitely worthy of Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment. In fact, one game, by Psygnosis I think, actually did that to their own movie once they realized how bad it was. After seeing the movie countless times, I'd just start making up my own lines to go with it. At the beginning of the video, Commander Jassic faces Hatch and Walker in front of them, and states their names. I'd always say something like, "We are gathered here today to witness the Holy Matrimony of Captain Hatch and Corporal Walker..." at that point in the video.

Man those videos were cheesey. But one thing that was missed was having actual ENDINGS. I think Sony expected us to do some cool CGI stuff and call it done. We weren't really paying much attention. I think there was a brief clip of Kreel doing a slow death-rattle, but it sucked even worse than the rest of the videos. So at last minute and at great expense came up with a solution:

Text. Plain ol' scrolling text.

Oh, we had CGI endings too, for the final level. But they were too brief to offer much explanation. So we included text. And as long as we were using text, we may as well use it for ALL endings. Including the failure endings. It was more fun than a generic "Game Over" anyway. We invited the entire company to submit endings. Some were funny. Some were bloody. Some were over-the-top dramatic.

For your entertainment, here are some sample endings from Warhawk. If I remember or suspect the original author, I'll mention it. No, I can't remember all of the ones that are mine. Some were just amalgams of ideas from two or three interesting concepts.

By way of explanation - the Icarus is the mothership that launches your fighter. Kreel is the bad guy who is using the powers of Red Mercury to warp reality. Commander Jassic is your really wenchy-acting commander. Captain Hatch is the pilot, and Corporal (?) Walker (first name rumored to be "Sky") is the co-pilot / weapons officer who is constantly getting yelled at by Jassic.

There was also a trick to "winning" the game against the final boss, Kreel. The obvious approach - just overpowering Kreel, would result in his being able to get off one final act of vengeance, launching the last cannister of Red Mercury up and into the mother ship, blowing up everyone on board. Since this included Commander Jassic, this could be considered the "best" ending.

Alternate win scenarios included suiciding by ramming your ship directly into the mouth of Kreel's skull-ship. Kreel would be destroyed, but so would your pilots. The "best" ending was the "intelligent sacrifice" - you eject just as you slammed your ship into the skull's mouth, thus gaining the advantage of the surprise attack AND living to tell about it.

So here are some of the ending variants:


Canyon Variant A (I think Mike Mason did this one)
Kreel's forces find your remains smoldering in the wreckage of the Warhawk. Your head is brought back to Kreel and mounted on a pole outside his command center as a reminder to others of the futility of opposing him. Within days his forces have conquered the planet, establishing Kreel's position as godhead and subjecting the world's population to a long and
malevolent rule.

Back in the Icarus, Jassic views your demise with doleful impotence. Her hope of stopping Kreel
has been smashed along with your body, and she ponders the wisdom of pinning her hopes on a
green pilot and a sarcastic weapons officer.


Airship Variant B
The Warhawk plunges into the cold, dark water and plummets like a rock.

One hundred meters: the sea around you grows darker as you tumble into the depths.

Two hundred meters: the cockpit groans and creaks under the building pressure.

Three hundred meters: the canopy shatters and you are crushed instantly under the abyssal pressure.

Your bones have long been scattered by the sharks when Kreel crowns himself emperor of the wasteland.


Airship Variant C
A rescue plane from the giant air transport retrieves Hatch just before he drowns. His copilot is not so lucky.

Hours later, Hatch is taken before Kreel. The madman uses the mysterious power of red mercury to twist Hatch's mind, turning him against those he once trusted and loved.

Hatch becomes Kreel's right-hand man. Flying an improved, red mercury-powered Warhawk fighter, he singlehandedly destroys the Icarus and the last remnants of the world's defensive forces.


Volcano Variant C (Mike Badger, lead programmer)
As Jassic watches the Warhawk sink into the water, she realizes that the situation has become hopeless. Although her reputation as a tenacious fighter is widespread, she knows that it is only a matter of time before she must surrender to Kreel's might. She ponders the treatment that she will receive at the hands of her captors, and is unable to face this prospect. She opens a secret compartment and removes a lone cyanide capsule. Taking a deep breath, she places it in
her mouth and performs her final duty. As death takes her, her final thoughts are of Hatch and Walker.

Three days later Hatch and Walker's bloated bodies slowly rise to the surface, their body armor no longer able to keep them in their watery grave. The sea birds feast upon their tenderized
flesh until the sharks move in to finish the job, crunching through their armor and ripping them to pieces. What little is left sinks to the bottom for a second time, never to rise again.

(Note: I think we all had some level of hostility towards these characters by the end of the game's development....)


Volcano variant B
In the end, kreel was defeated only after a costly nuclear war. Millions of innocents died, and much of the world lay in ruins from the devastating holocaust.

Rescue parties searched the water around the volcanic spires for days, looking for any remains of the Warhawk. What little was found left no doubt that the officers had died almost instantly.


Volcano variant D (I think this one was mine, too)
As the fiery magma in the
heart of the volcano is
the Red Mercury in my blood.
It maketh mine arm great,
that I might pluck thee from
the sky, and in my wrath
I do plunge thee into the
depths of the sea. Such
is my might and my glory.
Amen.

-- Book of Kreel 11:17


Gauntlet Variant D (Mine)
kreel watches the demise of the two would-be heroes in his "Gauntlet of Pain." He laughs as the warhawk erupts into flame on his closed-circuit monitor in his dining room.

Then he realizes that he is choking to death on a chicken bone from the meal he was eating.

Kreel has died. You were indirectly responsible, but no, you have not won Warhawk. The best is yet to come.

Try again.


Overpowered Kreel Epilogue, variant B
"No!" Hatch cries impotently as he sees Kreel destroy the icarus with a dying gesture. The combat took too long, gave Kreel too much time to prepare. Hatch plays the episode
over and over in his mind, trying to learn what he could have done differently
to spare the lives of his comrades aboard the mother ship.

Walker shrugs. "Well, Hatch, i guess you won't be getting that promotion after all."


Win By Intelligent Sacrifice Epilogue (I think this one is mine)
The escape pod is tossed like a feather in a hurricane as the red mercury detonates inside kreel's battle-fortress. With repulsors screaming from battle damage and overload, the cockpit slams into the moist earth three miles from the site of Kreel's defeat.

Hours later Hatch regains consciousness. Hearing voices outside the canopy, he cries out to the rescue party, led by Commander Jassic herself.

Soon the two heroes are celebrated all over the world. Hatch is promoted to general. Walker re-
kindles his romance with Jassic. All is well.

Until something fouler and more devious than Kreel's tormented mind surfaces...


Win By Intelligent Sacrifice Epilogue, StormLand variant C
The mad overlord Kreel was destroyed by captain Hatch's brilliant tactical move. After ramming the warhawk directly into the red mercury containment chamber, Hatch and Walker ejected in time to be transported back to the Icarus, avoiding being engulfed by the firestorm that destroyed Kreel.

Hatch went on to become commander-in-chief of the world's defensive forces, and had a long and distinguished career.

Walker finally married Commander Jassic, and the two went into business selling tie-died t-shirts and "I survived the Red Mercury War and all I got was this lousy baseball cap" baseball caps.



(Vaguely) related posty-thingies:
* Easter Eggs
* Warhawk Flies Again!
* Warhawk Re-Imagined

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Labels: Mainstream Games, retro

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