Gamertell

Title: Haze
Price: $59.99
System(s): PlayStation 3
Publisher (Developer): Ubisoft (Free Radical)
Rating: “Mature” for blood, intense violence, strong language and use of drugs
Pros: Some nice features, good online play, interesting idea
Cons: Boring game play, terrible graphics and textures, poor AI, weak story, terrible supporting cast
Overall Score: One thumb sideways, one thumb down; 65/100; D; * 1/2

Haze is one of those games that had a lot of buzz surrounding its pre-launch but without any real reason. From the start of the game, Haze is as run-of-the-mill as you could expect when it comes to first-person shooters.

Developed by Free Radical, primarily known for its TimeSplitters series, Haze doesn’t have anything under its hood that we haven’t seen done better in other FPSes like Call of Duty 4 or Halo 3.

The story of Haze is the weakest part to this sub-par title featuring faceless, nameless and speechless characters. I never got any real grip on who I was playing beyond that the staring character is an outcast among stereotypical comrades that acted like grade school bullies with assault rifles. There are no perceptibly unique personalities to separate one character from the next.

I found it a bit funny that an elite group of soldiers would wear all black uniforms with bright yellow helmets and shoulder pads. So much for wanting to stay unseen in the cover of darkness.

Game play is pretty straightforward: you point, you shoot, you kill the bad guy. There is some ducking and vehicle combat sprinkled throughout the game, but Haze certain isn’t trying to push any FPS boundaries. This is disappointing as Haze was built as an exclusive title for the Playstation 3 but, graphically, Haze looks as if it was actual designed for PS2.

AI for both allied and enemies are weak as they run out into your field of fire, make stupid mistakes or just stand there while you shoot them, Even though the staring character belongs to some super squad, their AI never support that once you turn to the rebels as they’ll always just stand around waiting for you to kill them, rarely taking use of cover or changing their tactics.

Weapons are generic machine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, etc. Level designs suffer as I found my self running around in circles not really sure where to go. The HUD doesn’t indicate a clear path to go and it isn’t as if Haze is meant to be a open-world game. Other times you’ll see a hill that looks as if you can climb up onto it and take advantage of your sniper rifle, but you’ll hit a invisible wall that knocks you right down to the ground, forcing you to find another path even when your map is indicating that is the way you have to go.

There are a few redeemable qualities to Haze. The Nectar drug that the staring character and his elite squad members take adds a new twist to game play. After you have injected your self with the Nectar, your senses are boosted. You’ll be able to spot enemies at a distance and put more punch into your melee attacks, but you have to be careful to not overdose. If you do, you go into mad craze where you might end up killing your own people.

Also, the game play shifts mid-way through as the staring character switches sides, joining the rebels you were sent in to kill. While you don’t have any say as to whether or not you want to change sides, not too many games in the past have offered such a change in game play. Unfortunately, you have to now go without the Nectar but the rebels have their own tricks too, such as the ability to play dead.

Online play is decent with two factions and their abilities playing heavily in online play. It is nice getting tasks to complete while in a Deathmatch. It isn’t Call of Duty 4 but I am sure players will find a few maps and areas online that they’ll like.

Haze will more than likely become one of the forgotten PS3 titles released this year as better games come out in the coming months. There was some potential but Haze is a case of a game that probably sounded good on paper but just couldn’t be developed to become a great console title.

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