Hawken releases Predator mech into the wild, adds co-op mode in new beta patch

Hawken's latest beta patch is live, dropping a new mech and a new co-op game mode onto the mech shooter's dystopian landscape. Code-named Predator, the new mech has some decidedly asymmetrical tactics and weapons at its disposal, according to information on the "Invasion" update released by developer Adhesive Games.

A medium-class mech, the Predator has a stalker function that renders your machine invisible while also giving you a limited-range ability to see through walls and structures. It has its limitations, however, as any use of jump jets or heat-generating weapons will knock you out of camouflage for a few seconds. If you take damage or deactivate the stalker ability manually, a longer, 20-second cooldown period is in effect.

A variety of new weapons and items can be bolted to the Predator chassis to take advantage of all that sneaking around . Options include a proximity mine launcher, a scary-looking rail gun and a disruptor device that short-circuits the vision of nearby enemies.

As well as the usual array of balance tweaks and bug fixes, the beta patch also introduces a co-op mode called Bot Destruction. Pilots can band together to take down 25 waves of bot mechs controlled by an out-of-control AI bent on the destruction of a human colony. You can earn XP and Hawken Credits in the new mode, giving players another way to unlock mechs in new leveling system the free-to-play game first introduced in last month's "Ascension" update.

Check out the trailer for the Invasion patch below for a closer look at Hawken's new features.