The latest patch from Adhesive Games for their mech multiplayer shooter, Hawken, not only adds coveted Achievements to help with your bragging rights, it also packs with it a neat in-game reward system built around the bragging tool.

Heroes don't seek out medals and glory, but who doesn't want recognition--especially when it puts credits in your pocket? HAWKEN's Service Award achievements not only recognize your in-game skills, they unlock in-game rewards, including HAWKEN and Meteor Credits.

The new patch also introduces the medic support mech, a class that has been missing from the game since it was launched officially in December of last year, along with a whole new large-scale map called Front Line:

Front Line is a large-scale map that provides space for long, running battles and tight places for hiding in and ambushing from. The new map supports all game modes. Learn its secrets early because you'll be fighting on the Front Line often.

We haven't had a chance to dabble in any of the new content yet, so feel free to drop a note about your experience with it in the Comments section.

Adhesive Games has today revealed that their upcoming free-to-play Mech title Hawken has now moved into Open Beta phase after a few initial hiccups caused the launch to be delayed a few hours. The Open Beta phase is now allowing anyone eager enough to try their hand at the robotic shooter the chance to get a taste of what is to come, but also to help developers squash those bugs.

HAWKEN is a free-to-play, online, multiplayer, mech-based first-person shooter that puts you in the pilot seat of a giant robotic war machine.

Customize and upgrade your mechs the way you want, then join your friends on the battlefield to rain destruction across HAWKEN's beautiful and immersive alien landscapes.

You can find the Open Beta launch trailer below that shows off the robotised gameplay, and you can march your way to the signup page on the official website for the Open Beta.

Meteor and Adhesive Games have now added a platform of locally hosted dedicated servers for Australian participants of the Hawken closed beta test to get their low-latency mech-combat action on --a gift similarly bestowed upon Asian players with local servers now also available in Japan and Singapore (thanks Gloth).

Closed beta players can access these servers by selecting "Australia" from the region drop down box in the game's multiplayer matchmaking menu.

A limited number of Hawken closed beta keys are still up for grabs here on AusGamers (while stocks last), ahead of the free-to-play open beta launch on December 12 2012.

Courtesy of the folks at Meteor Entertainment and Adhesive Games, AusGamers has a stack of closed beta keys for their upcoming multiplayer mech combat game Hawken.

A free-to-play, online, multiplayer, mech-based first-person shooter, Hawken puts players in the pilot seat of a giant robotic war machine to rain fire upon their enemies across alien-like landscapes.

There are two kinds of mech pilots -- the quick and the dead. Combat in HAWKEN moves fast, no matter which mech you choose. Sharp instincts and a hair trigger will see you striding over the smoking wreckage of your enemies.Thrusters give your mech limited flight, adding another dimension to your battles, and in-depth customization of loadouts gives you the flexibility to fight your way.

To grab yourself a closed beta key, simply head over to our giveaway page and you'll see the button to claim a unique key. Follow the instructions on the page to signup for the game and download the official client. The beta is scheduled to commence today, November 8th, but presumably not until US Pacific Time, which will be later on this evening for Australians.

However, beta codes can still currently be redeemed at the official site in preparation, and you should receive notification once testing goes live.

Hawken is due for release on December 12th 2012, and also promises to be one of the first games to support the hopeful Oculus Rift head-mounted display via patching after launch.

For more on the game, swing by our hands-on preview from earlier this year.

Ambitious indie mech multiplayer shooter, Hawken, will enter a closed beta from the 26th of this month, the team has revealed via the game's official forums.

This test will have a much larger tester pool than Alpha 2 and will include participants of our previous tests. Invitations will start to appear as early as this week and can be applied to your account by logging in to PlayHawken.com and clicking "Redeem Code". This will be the first of a series of Closed Beta tests, all of which will allow you to capture footage and screenshots and share them publicly. These Closed Beta tests will lead up to Open Beta on December 12, 2012.

If you've been missing out on getting into the game, you don't need to worry as they'll be dropping access codes via Twitter and Facebook, while anyone else who was in the last Alpha sessions will automatically be invited to the beta.

Check out the Hawken forums for more info. The game is due to release proper this December and is also one of the few games currently signed up to work with Uculous Rift.

The incredible HMD Oculus Rift is very slowly garnering developer support, with Hawken studio, Adhesive Games, pledging support for the tech when Hawken releases this December, making them the second developer to officially come on board.

"I was just thrilled when I tried on Oculus Rift and it was everything I ever dreamed of," said Meteor Entertainment CEO, Mark Long. "I'm psyched to announce that Hawken is going to be Oculus-ready when we launch on 12-12-12.

"We're going to make an exclusive Hawken cockpit interior, so that when you play the game you'll be able to look around and see the inside of your mech," he added.

Watch a full video showcasing the Hawken team's enthusiasm for Oculus Rift embedded below, or click here for a direct link.

For those of you keeping an eye on the development of the upcoming Hawken web series (thanks demon), a new teaser trailer has been released today featuring actor Edi Gathegi, better known as Dr. Jeffrey Cole in House.

Hawken is a multiplayer FPS mech combat game currently under development using the Unreal Engine from Epic Games.

Look forward to the new series by Warner Premiere (a division of Warner Brothers), produced by Copper Media (a division of Silver Pictures), DJ2 Entertainment, and Meteor Entertainment. The series is set for release in 2013 and features Edi Gathegi, Gonzalo Menendez, Dameon Clark, Hannah Hall.

While the trailer isn't as visually appealing as the game itself, it certainly doesn't dampen the eagerness for Hawken that's for sure.

Check out the trailer below for a glimpse into the upcoming web series, and also check out our game page for all the latest news, screenshots and trailers on Hawken.

If you thought there wasn't enough mechanized related movies recently besides your usual Transformers, it seems that is all about to change with publisher Meteor Entertainment and developer Adhesive Games announcing a Hollywood deal for their upcoming Mech game, Hawken.

While details are still being sorted out, director Scott Waug (Act of Valor) is heading the new film with the Bandito Brothers producing alongside. The team will be developing their ideas to present to studios later this year.

“The plan for Hawken has always been to be a transmedia design, which means it is not just a game,” said Khang Le, CEO, co-founder and creative director at Adhesive Games. “We have a whole universe for the player to grasp onto, including upcoming comic books, novels, a movie, an anime, and live action shorts.”

It isn't just movies that the Hawken team want to produce, with Warner Premiere, a division of Warner Brothers, wanting to create a digital series based on Hawken to be produced by Copper Media, a division of Silver Pictures, and DJ2 Entertainment.

"Original Web series have arrived,” said Long. “I think we'll look back on this fall with the launch of the Hawken and Halo mini-series as when the premiere of Web programs became major entertainment events. It doesn't get any bigger than Joel Silver and Warner Bros."

"Also as producers on all the Hawken transmedia content, DJ2 has been able to coordinate a remarkable amount of canon-consistent interrelation between all the various story-lines," added Dmitri Johnson, Partner/CEO of DJ2. "Fans who seek out all the Hawken media are going to gain a deeper understanding of key events and characters in the Hawken-verse."

If that wasn't enough Hawken news, the developers have also teased that a comic series is also in development, though no information has been given yet on what the comics will be based on.

Hawken will be arriving on PCs and Gaikai-ready (in US and EU) on December 12 this year. Check out our game page for more info, screenshots and trailers.

Adding to our HAWKEN coverage from E3, we've also put together a transcript of an interview I did with the game's producer, Jason Hughes.

We talk about where the game came from, what the team has in-store post-release, the dedicated server situation (specifically for Aussies), mod-support, console potential and much, much more.

"We have had a lot of those conversations [but] right now we’re focused on PC only, especially with what we have in mind for the game, and how we want to support it," Jason told us regarding console potential.

"Nothing to me is ever out of the question, but PC is our main focus, but I think also with our Gaikai announcement, you know, people are going to be able to play it on a tablet, on an Android tablet or on a TV."

Click here for the full interview.

There were certainly some big names dancing with punters at this year's E3 on the games side of things, but it was newcomers to the ball that really seemed to get the party going, and from this journalist's perspective, HAWKEN stood out above the rest.

For the uninitiated, HAWKEN is a free-to-play multiplayer mech game arriving on PCs and Gaikai-ready (in US and EU) on December 12 this year. The game is first-person in nature and manages to take away the oft complicated mech controls of previous entries in the hard-to-tap field, by keeping things simple, balanced and approachable. It also happens to have some of the best art-direction or any Triple-A title in the current-gen.

Click here for our full preview.