HAZE
Review of HAZE
Haze, from the launch of the PlayStation 3, has been one of the consoles most anticipated flagship titles. From renowned FPS developer Free Radical and gaming giants Ubisoft, the title certainly has the credentials to do the job and become something that show’s off the power of the PS3 like never before. From the beginning the graphics looked delicious and crisp and the game play looked incredibly fun, but has Free Radical delivered on the early, high expectations. Have they created a game that will truly blow you away?
Haze is set in the year 2048 in a world where Governments have outsourced military operations to Private Military Corporations (PMC). You play as Shane Carpenter, a man with an unknown past who has newly enlisted in Mantel Global Industries in a bid to seek fulfillment and thrills by fighting for a good cause. Mantel is the world’s leading PMC and one of the richest corporations on the planet, with an army that stamps fear into the hearts of every terrorist, dictator and political enemy that stands in its way. At first, Mantel is a seemingly honest and legitimate corporation which strives to ‘fight the good fight’, but as the story of Haze plays out, things begin to feel a little strange.
As a Mantel Soldier you have at your disposal a high-tech arsenal of vehicles, the latest and greatest weaponry and above all, Nectar: a performance enhancing bio-medical drug that ‘enhances’ the skills and senses of every Mantel Trooper in their service. Your story begins in a war-torn country where Mantel has been sent to ‘liberate’ the land and destroy the vicious rebel faction, the Promise Hand. At first glance, all seems fine, but events slowly unfold that envelop you in a deep, compelling tale, full of twists and turns and adrenaline-rushing action!
The graphics looks great from the start, and you can really see that plenty of time and effort has gone into the cut scenes in an effort to tell the game’s story. With great flow and smoothness you are propelled into your first mission- and of course your first taste of the action. As you are dropped into a very colorful and attractive looking jungle environment, the first thing that comes to mind for many PS2 veterans out there is how much like Timesplitters (Free Radical’s previous videogame franchise), Haze feels like, and even looks like. If you are wondering whether this is good or bad, in terms of the game play, this is very good indeed.
As you progress through this first area you realize how incredibly easy this game is to handle. You don’t need to be an experienced FPS player to jump right into this game and enjoy every second of it. Enemies become increasingly satisfying to dispose of and your first impression is- this game is going to be FUN. There are plenty of weapon’s to choose from and plenty of ways to kill your foes. In a nutshell, Free Radical seem to have kept to their FPS roots and created a game that has great pick-up and play value, which brings to you a great mix between an arcade and simulation war game.
Progressing through the first few areas is easy enough; it’s fair to say it leaves you with a thirst for more Haze action. This leaves me to mention a truly great feat that Haze has achieved- the non-existence of any between level loading screens. This makes the whole game run like clockwork and keeps you hooked to the story for hours upon end. You, as the player, now begin to run through one half of the story very quickly. Within no time you are accustomed to using every advantage a Mantel Soldier has at your disposal, mainly Nectar. Once you dose yourself up with this drug, you become faster, stronger, more aware. Enemies become glowing silhouettes, allowing you to easily locate and kill your enemies, a very effective advantage in the battlefields Haze has you encounter. There are countless situations where you find yourself having a huge amount of fun with the tools Mantel has supplied you with. Using these high-tech tools is not complicated at all, which greatly in keeps with the element of simplicity this game oozes and, it seems, succeeds with. You also quickly become wizened to your enemy, the Promise Hand, who are a very intelligent and resourceful foe that keep you on your toes at every possible second. The AI is good, and some parts of the game now start to become very challenging yet still very enjoyable. New features start to surface, such as the introduction of the driving phases and several changes from the adrenaline-packed run-and-gun action you have experienced so far. The game begins to come into its own; well worth the money?
Throughout the game, you will encounter several areas which require you to race through them on many different vehicles. As both a Mantel and a Promise Hand fighter, you have several vehicles at your disposal, all equipped with powerful weaponry and plenty of useful features. All of the driving phases require you to, pretty much, do the same thing. Race across a set route to your objective with of course hordes of enemy soldiers and obstacles in your way. These driving phases are a refreshing change from the action, at times they can be annoying and sometimes strangely difficult, but all in all this is an area where Free Radical have excelled in with Haze.
Around about half way through the game, everything changes. The story begins to churn out its big-hitters, and this of course changes the way you play the game. After a very beautifully engineered piece of story telling, Shane Carpenter is now set free from the grips of Mantel and becomes a fighter for the Promise Hand. This is the highlight event of Haze. By this time you, as a player, may have had your fair share of being a Mantel fighter and might be worried that the game might start becoming repetitive, possibly turning out to be one of those over-hyped big titles that do not deliver. But then the story plays on your thoughts about Nectar and Mantel, and you are thrown into the world of a Promise Hand fighter- a clever feature that turns the game on its head, and things now start to become very interesting. Even more game play options are opened up, the action begins to become much deeper than the raw excitement of a Mantel Trooper you experience in the first half of the game.
As a Promise Hand fighter, the world seems a lot different. You can scavenge for ammo; kill your former comrades in a variety of ways; but most of all you have to work harder to kill the more advanced, better prepared Mantel Soldier. The difficulty has been upped; the game really begins to become more than a Next-Gen Timesplitters, more than just another FPS. The game seems different- what was a fun, adrenaline-packed FPS before now evolves a highly innovative new concept. It’s still an FPS down to its core, but it has something extra- that X Factor at times. The journey to the end of the game now becomes an irresistible prospect; you will find it difficult to take your hands off the controller, you have to keep on playing right till the very end!
With an Epic singe-player campaign behind it, Haze also delivers an online mode into the mix as well. As well as a 4 player co-op campaign mode and a two player splitscreen feature, there also comes a 16-player online option. With 3 different game modes to choose from (Team Deathmatch, Deathmatch and Team Assault) the longevity factor of Haze is now hugely increased. The main mode is Team Assault- this involves the side who are Mantel trying to eliminate any of the opposing side, who are prisoners, that are trying to escape from the Mantel Jails to several escape zones. The mode itself is very fun, very entertaining and is definitely the highlight of Haze’s multiplayer. One of the great things that Haze achieves again is the implication of both Mantel and Rebel sides. Like in the Single Player, each side has its strengths/ weaknesses and the inclusion of these in the multiplayer adds a whole new depth to the gameplay. There are also promises of future downloadable content to greet Haze owners too, which is a big plus for the game's online community. The online gameplay is solid, though it’s not as great and as satisfying as other online games on the market. It is a far step away from being boring. There is also a reward system within the online world, being in the form of various awards you can receive after each round. These do not count towards anything however, except maybe bragging rights to your friends at the end of a battle, but there is a Stats and leaderboard feature to keep you online for a long time after you're done with the single player.
Gameplay wise, Haze is brilliant. It delivers (to an extent) on the cutting edge, next-gen, innovative gameplay that was promised and is plain and simply a hugely entertaining and satisfying game. The inclusion of an online mode also adds a huge deal to the Haze experience. Though Haze is a great game to play through, it is still not perfect however. There are a fair few glitches and non-impressive aspects to the game, such as the appearance of your enemies being the same across the board along with the random appearance of enemies and allies out of thin air at checkpoints. The game does not have great replay value even though the game does seem to end quick- there’s not enough to tempt you into playing it again, such as special rewards, etc. None the less, it can still be said Haze is a top-notch FPS experience.
Visually, Haze is somewhat sketchy. The game does look stunning, but at a closer glimpse, things do not look as crisp as they first seem. The textures are visibly lacking quality in some areas and some character animations are not as ‘next-gen’ as would have previously been hoped for. There are areas where Haze excels graphically, the weapon animations being one of them. It’s always a pleasure to shoot a weapon on Haze, as it is very satisfying to watch a bullet penetrate a Mantel soldiers Nectar gauge and just watch the ensuing events unfold. But, on the whole, the game gives a mixed image, one of quality and detail at times to then some cheap-looking poor quality graphical work that nowhere near takes advantage of the power of the PS3. This is definitely a step in the wrong direction for the game!
Thankfully, the game is complimented by some great sound work. Background music is exhilarating at times, especially when you're right in the middle of the action, and the character dialogue is of a good quality (even though over the top at times). The game will take full advantage of any high-end audio equipment you may have, which undoubtedly enhances the experience.
OUR PLEDGE: We promise that we have fully played 'HAZE' before writing this review. The scores given above are our honest opinion and were not influenced in any way by the manufacturer or distributor of the game.
This review was written by Rob C STAFF © Absolute PlayStation
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