Haze - 5/10
When you look back to mid last year, Free Radical's *of Timesplitters fame* Haze should have been released amongst the Assassins Creeds, Heavenly Swords and Bioshocks of the gaming year and really should have blown everything away with everything it promised. When you think about Haze as a FPS, it should have been perfect, for starters, its created by the monkey loving fellows at Free Radical who have bought us the insanely fun and frantic Timesplitter games, during its E3 and gameshow displays, we were injected with exciting gameplay info left, right and centre from the ace cartoon style visuals, the novel looking Nectar idea and inventive weaponry that looked like it would put Resistance and Ratchet and Clanks crazy arsenal to shame, then we were prodded with 4 player co-op news and vehicles ranging from desert buggy jeeps and futuristic air carriers to inflict havoc in. Remember, all this is going back to late last year, when everything about Haze was looking rosy.
The question was ushered: will HAZE be the first PS3 exclusive to sway gamers to the PS3? Will it be the black beasts first true killer app? It was looking VERY likely for the time being......until a formula such as this came along. HAZE official release date = delay, Haze official release date = delay, anticipated/excited gamers started turning into impatient whingers as every gaming sites headline news was the same: Haze delayed yet again, or, Haze due out next year. By early this year in the 08, people were just over it, Resistance 2 was announced, Killzone 2 is looking more stunning as it progresses, Bioshock is recently announced for PS3 and that once amazing Haze game is at the back of everyones mind, forgotten. Everyone had moved on with the times, and Haze was still back into yesteryear still trying to grasp for everyones attention. Until it released a less than amazing demo that looked like an unfinished preview code of the game, atleast that is what i was hoping.
Well we're approaching June now, which means Haze is finally revealing itself, defeating the plethora of delays and arriving on shop shelves with Kojimas masterpiece, MGS4 just on the horizon. Its horrible timing and a sure swift army boot to the rear for Free Radical and Haze considering GTA IV came out abit before and has already won every gamers mind, its an uncomfy position to be in when your game has been released between GTA IV and MGS4, almost like a sloppy muddy bunker you cant dig yourself out of. And after experiencing the full retail copy of Haze, all i can say is, bring on MGS4!
I can't explain enough how bitterly saddened i am with Haze as a video game, im more cut that this game was developed from such a highly praised development team, Free Radical. After years of PS2 madness with Timesplitters, there is simply no excuse for them to deliver a watery dud like Haze. Haze's downfall will most certainly put a permament dent in Free Radicals records and certainly make many gamers nervous about the eventual outcome of Timesplitters 4. I for one am worried about the future for this once brilliant company.
Sadly, Haze's negatives clearly outwiegh the positives, so why is this game such a let down? Was the staff nervous about the constant delays? Under pressure from next generation gaming demands? Over marketing such a shameful title that promised so much and delivered merely 50%? Maybe the fan requests and impatient gamers on internet blogs were forcing the guys to rush out Haze? Who knows, but the sad truth is that Haze has failed and was utterly crushed by media hype and has crumbled under the weight that titles such as MGS4, Killzone 2 and Resistance 2 have now taken. A confusing plot, shallow minded AI, extremely average graphics and embarrassing voice acting act as the killer punctures in Haze as a title.
The storyline centres around Shane Carpenter, a Mantel trooper whom having just witnessed the yellow substance known as Nectar *a honey style liquid drug developed by Mantel Global Industries* and the startling effects it has on his soldiers, encourages him to switch sides and fight along side a barrage of jungle rebels known as *The Promised Hand* in a bid to berid of Mantel, its black & yellow troops and its bio-lab full of Nectar. Hardly a storyline worth remembering to be brutally honest.
To Haze's credit, Nectar is a unique idea that works quite well, this golden acid, once injected into grunts can improve your ability in a number of ways, from speed enhancement, steadier accuracy with your weaponry and inner body strength giving you more muscle as an advantage over your enemies. Vision wise, the background gets awashed in a yellow blur and the characters on screen are high lighted a different colour making identifying friend from foe much easier. Its not all immortal super natural bliss though, as if you overdose on Nectar can result in you having hazy hallucinations, decrease in health and stamina as well as a severe lack of mental control and balance. The most enjoyable part about the Nectar feature is being able to dip your weapons in it, dipping your knife into some Nectar and use it against the Mantel can result in the Mantel soldiers going against eachother, you will know if your Nectar blade has worked its magic, as a Mantel trooper will start frantically flailing about, blasting his machine gun in all directions killing his own men, and his yellow helmet will change into red, these unique styles of melee attacks result in your enemies overdosing on the yellow drug and killing eachother, its one gameplay moment i never get tired of watching. Overdosing on too much Nectar yourself can result in the screen turning blood red, with everything on screen resembling a black shadowy silhouette, during this sequence, your gun will automatically fire itself in all directions, it is an awesome effect and really makes you feel like you're losing control as the Nectar drug takes over your body and controls your movements.
Another big plus for me in gameplay was the use of traps, some of these are pure class and will hopefully provide other FPS to follow suit in these refreshing ideas. For example, you could kill Mantel troops by making them inhale the fumes of gas grenades you attached to an enemies Nectar pack, or you can even bury grenades into the ground. These Nectar fuelling moments can be a pure joy and a delight to pull off, sadly its a novelty that quickly wears thin when it becomes the only interesting method of disposing of your enemies. The only other form of attack worthy of mention would be the disarm melee move, which has you snatching your enemies rifle from them and shooting them in the face. Some of the weapons on offer are also quite bizarre and very fun to use, my faves would be the rib kevlar shattering Donkey Puncher shotgun, the Hard Candy rocket launcher which can blow Mantel grunts skywards, the Razor Tongue throwing knives that allow you to stab and slit enemy throats, the Dragon De Le Gente flamethrower that turns flesh into crisp ash and makes enemies look like a damp pile of soot, and finally, the PinPoint sinper rifle which pops Mantel troopers yellow helmets like soft egg shells full of warm yolk. So there is quite a juicy array of weaponry to get your mitts on, but nothing here compares to the inventive weirdness of Resistances arsenal, the sticky mine gun that blasts pus balls still beats anything in Haze.
Vehicles also become an intrical part especially in the story campaign and more importantly, in online co op modes. Some of these rides are fantastic, the Boxcart is like a black armoured V8 that speeds at break neck pace along the jungle terrain, you also have the Macho rebel truck that is heavily equipped and great for crushing hordes of oncoming soldiers. My fave vehicle would be the Mula rebel dirt quad bikes, hiking over desert terrain in one of these bad boys is incredible fun and can also be a great escape tool to escape frantic gun battles or jungle shoot outs.
Visually, the game is far from next gen, its quite a drab display for a PS3 game, what happened to the stunning looking jungle environment in early preview codes? The bright green awashed forest and photo like water effects are replaced by a sketchy jaggy bush populated by paper thin cardboard cut out trees and dull white flowing waterfalls, very disappointing. The textures are also very blurry and, excuse the pun, hazy, i think this is due to the dismal 576p resolution which is simply inexcusable for a next generation game on a next generation console. Many of the games environments lack any real polish, the jungle looks flat and dull, the murky swamp, the mountain-side landing facility, and the chemical plant facility environments shows off a dull palette of greys and light blacks. It's very average to look at and compares to eye burners such as FEAR, Viking and Kane & Lynch, which isnt something to be proud about.
Vocally the game fares abit better compared to its visuals.....but not much better, the inclusion of the band, Korn, as the soundtrack adds some nice tunes to the game, but the voice acting is downright laughable, the big offender being "its like taking candy from a crippled baby" wether this line was meant to be for abit of comical relief from the game as a whole or wether the game testers were trying that little bit too hard to make the one liners funny, it didnt work either way, resulting in pub like one liners that are cringe worthy, wear ear muffs while playing Haze, because honestly, its fairly embarrassing and just a severe pain on youe ears.
Overall, Haze missed its window of opportunity last year, releasing it this year was a bad decision and the results are there for all to see, but Haze's demise will be shortlived with titles such as Resistance 2, Bioshock and Killzone 2 all coming soon in the not too distant future. So for the majority, most of us will let this crawl to the bargain bin where it belongs while we all get back into GTA IV and wait for MGS4. But which ever way you want to look at it, Haze is a massive disappointment, right up there with echoing flops that Turok and Lair left us some time ago. Its probably a blessing in disguise, not only can we gamers rest from the never ending spiral of Haze delays, but it wouldnt surprise me if Free Radical port Haze to the Xbox 360 in a desperate bid to grab some lost dollars and gain abit of a fan base. By all means give it a rent, you may like it as the 4 player co op can provide some good thrills, just dont expect the holy grail of gaming. Its time for Free Radical to go back to the drawing board and start beginning work on Timesplitters 4, which im sure will be a sure fire hit and a big improvement over Haze. Bring on those monkeys and that multiplayer brilliance!
Submitted by callan5
27/05/2008
33
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