Tom Clancy’s latest upcoming series starter H.A.W.X. was already looking technically promising before the latest news of the incorporation of US satellite imagery company GeoEye’s technology within the game engine.

Apparently Ubisoft have teamed up with GeoEye to include real life satellite images of terrains and landscapes for use in each and all 16 locations throughout the game for an “unparalleled, dog fighting experience”.

More like lazy environment artists.

They’ve said ‘all locations’, but how much and to what extent this imagery will be used per location is still unknown.

Either way it’s a nice idea and something that when incorporated effectively could serve as a very realistic and interesting foray of scenery for the upcoming high skies dog fighting action game.

Apart from environment decal, H.A.W.X. is looking very promising and a refreshingly different angle for Mr. Clancy’s seemingly never-ending series of espionage based on-foot games. It looks set to incorporate a nice mix of the technical aspects of flight simulation and technical dog fighting while holding true to Clancy’s action filled styles.

Set to feature 8 player Team Deathmatch and 4 player Co-Operative over XBOX Live, Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. is scheduled for an ‘Early 2009′ release on XBOX 360, PlayStation 3 and PC from Ubisoft.

Ubisoft Press Release -

Developed by Ubisoft’s Bucharest studio, Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X delivers an intense and authentic aerial combat experience by fully leveraging the benefits of the next-generation platforms. The story begins in the year 2014. As the era of the nation-state draws quickly to a close, the rules of warfare evolve even more rapidly. More and more nations become increasingly dependent on private military companies (PMCs), elite mercenaries with a lax view of the law. The Reykjavik Accords further legitimize their existence by authorizing their right to serve in every aspect of military operations. While the benefits of such PMCs are apparent, growing concerns surrounding giving them too much power begin to mount.