This week is going to be HUGE for Warhawk. So huge in fact that it’s sure to entice old players back into the game and maybe even draw in a whole new crop of fans. You see, this Wednesday and Thursday mark the launches of two major game updates: the free v1.5 Update adding trophies, custom soundtracks and a host of other features, and Operation: Fallen Star, the game’s third booster pack expansion which includes a new map environment and jetpacks.

As he always does when something big is going down in the world of Warhawk, the game’s Director, Dylan Jobe popped in over at the PlayStation blog earlier this afternoon to fill gamers in on all the details regarding the new expansion. As now confirmed, it will be released this Thursday on the PlayStation Store for $7.99 individually or as part of a bundle of all three booster packs for a mere $15.99. For the $8 you’ll be given the keys to your very own Icarus Mk.1 Rocket Pack and get the Tau Crater stage with 10 different layouts. On top of all that, a whopping sum of 30 bonus layouts will also be included to bring new jetpack-ready maps to all of the game’s previous stages.

Jobe also goes into great length describing how the Icarus Mk.1 Rocket Packs are used in the game, like how you obtain them through special vending machines and how they can be equipped while riding a vehicle so you can use them like an ejector seat to bail out. Read up on every last detail at the link below.

Warhawk Operation: Fallen Star [PlayStation.Blog]

Warhawk GC 2008: Operation Fallen Star Trailer HD [GameTrailers.com]

Warhawk update 1.4 isn’t even a month old yet and already update 1.5 is nearly finished. Warhawk directorial wingman Dylan Jobe popped in on the PlayStation blog today to drop official details on the next free game patch. Update 1.5 is tentatively scheduled for release on August 27th (it’s still going through the final testing phase so the date can’t be officially officialized quite yet), bringing with it a number of oft-demanded features, including trophies, XMB custom soundtrack support, an offline tutorial mode, and other goodies like new paint schemes and insignias. Before signing off, Jobe also dropped this little hint about the game’s next booster pack:

“With one of these equipped, a soldier can escape quickly…even bail out if needed!”

Sure sounds like parachutes are their way to Warhawk. Sweet!

Warhawk v1.5 Update “Free Never Gets Old!” [PlayStation.Blog]

While most of the gaming world is focused on all the hot new games at E3 this week, Warhawk front man Dylan Jobe popped in over on the PlayStation blog today to dish some dirt on the plans for the game’s 1.4 update. For starters, patch v1.4 has a date: July 16th at 3 AM PST. At that time, Warhawk gamers will be treated to two all-new gameplay modes — Hero and Collection — a new Quick-Join feature, enhancements to the mini-map to make objective points easier to pinpoint, tweaks to the awards system to make ranking up and earning certain medals and badges a bit easier, and a few other minor updates.

The two new gameplay modes are clearly the standouts here. In Hero, one member from each team will be randomly designated as their team’s “Epic Hero” and be granted increased damage dealing and resistance. Teams score by killing the opposing team’s Hero or by having their Hero kill the other team’s standard soldiers. Collection, on the other hand, is essentially a large-scale Capture the Flag battle. In a Collection match, four energy cores are spread throughout the map and two teams battle to capture these cores and return them to their reactor for points. Oh yeah, both sound like a blast to me!

All this new content will be available to all Warhawk players completely free of charge. And best of all, now that update 1.4 is being finalized, update 1.5 and trophy support is one step closer to fruition! Warhawk just keeps getting better and better.

Warhawk v1.4 Update “Free Gameplay Modes!!” [PlayStation.Blog]

Great news avid Warhawk players! Now that PS3 firmware 2.40 is here and the new Trophy system has been activated, Warhawk head honcho Dylan Jobe decided to drop in on the game’s message board with an update on the plans for Warhawk trophies. According to Jobe, a total of 56 trophies will be patched into the game, 34 for the core game not based on current stats, ranks and awards, 4 trophies each for the two booster packs, and 10 trophies based on the game’s current ranking system that will be awarded retroactively to all players meeting the requirements.

The thing is, we don’t yet know when to expect these trophies to become available. Patch v1.5 will be the one to introduce all the new trophies, but patch v1.4 has yet to even be officially announced. Jobe does say that patch v1.4 is “very, very, very close to being released” and that “v1.5 patch isn’t that far behind,” so fortunately it sounds like we’ll have all the answers soon enough. Stay tuned…

UPDATE : Warhawk Trophies — July 1st, 6:00pm MST, 2008 [Warhawk Forum at PlayStation.com]