Let's face it, free-to-play shooters these days are so prevalent that one could barely sift through a dozen sites without bumping into at least a couple. Yet there are some that stand out, and some that fill in a niche (or not so niche any longer) spot, and these are the mech-stompers. Specifically, Hawken and Mechwarrior: Online, which have been duking it out over the much-coveted niche for the past few months. And Hawken has pulled out the big guns, it seems, with the inclusion of advanced PhysX graphics effects having recently been added to the game.

The level of support that the game receives, considering its status as a free-to-play game, is ridiculous, and this is yet another example of that. Not ridiculous in a bad way, definitely not, but mind-boggling considering the amount of work and investment that must have been put into such a move. All we can do then is to honour the dedication to its fans by logging on - and playing more. Get into the open beta here.