As short as the world is on decent multiplayer mech games, I think the main reason so many people have been so excited for Hawken is the look of the thing. Taking a cue from awesome Japanese model series Maschinen Krieger, its dirty, megacity take on the future would look amazing in a blockbuster, let alone something coming out of a tiny indie studio.
So don't be too surprised to learn that, before the game is even out, it's been snapped up to appear in a series of live-action shorts. Which, in keeping with the video game theme, are being directed by Jerry O'Flaherty, the art director on Gears of War (and former director of the cancelled Thundercats movie).
The decision to work with O'Flaherty isn't just a creative one, either, as the shorts will combine filmed footage with effects produced in Epic's Unreal Engine 3.
The first short will be shown at E3 in June.