Haze PS3

[Altimus]

Re: Haze PS3

But do we really trust the Europeans?




J/K

hahaha

More so than New Yorkers.

Either way this game is sitting pretty at number 1 in my GameQ as I want to try it out.

[CaptainZombie]

Re: Haze PS3

More so than New Yorkers.

Either way this game is sitting pretty at number 1 in my GameQ as I want to try it out.

Plus Famitsu gave it an excellent review across the board.

[rock85]

Re: Haze PS3

I thought the demo was ok at best. I am holding off on this one

[Altimus]

Re: Haze PS3

Plus Famitsu gave it an excellent review across the board.

Seems like a love or hate it game. We'll see soon enough.

[Flawless]

Re: Haze PS3

IGN Review - 4.5

Haze was touted as a great PS3 exclusive from a developer well versed in first-person shooter mechanics. While Free Radical does have a solid pedigree, Haze does not live up to the company's reputation thanks to a horrible plot, weak gameplay mechanics and visuals that are truly underwhelming. While playing with friends is enjoyable, not even those are enough to bring this lackluster title around.

[Altimus]

Re: Haze PS3

IGN Review - 4.5

Wow, sounds terrible. All these delays for this? What were they doing all this time?

[Pared]

Re: Haze PS3

I played the demo and holy cow... the story and voice acting is absolutely TERRIBLE!

The graphics sure are phenomenal though!

[ThaGenecyst]

Re: Haze PS3

Dev responds to IGN's Haze review - "MEGAowch"

With early reviews for Haze looking good (Famitsu 34/40 and Italian PSM 9/10), it came as a bit of a shock when IGN bestowed a dreaded 4.5/10 on the game in their review this morning. In curiosity, PSU.com contacted Rob Yescombe of Free Radical to hear what he had to say.

"My thoughts are "Owch". No, wait - MEGAowch," wrote Yescombe. "Haze has had mixed reviews, but even GoldenEye got a 4/10 when it first came out. With a 9/10 in the Italian PSM, and an extremely positive review in Famitsu, we're looking forward to people playing Haze and making a judgment for themselves."

According to IGN, Haze suffered from "a bland story with weak characters... [and] tons of visual issues, from texture tears and non-descript environments to pop-in and odd animation problems."

This comes as a surprise to us because back in March, PSU was given hands on with a near final build of the game and we thought the title looked fairly good. The graphics in particular looked crisp and the framerate was smooth.

With Haze releasing today in the US, and Friday in Europe, we'll see how well gamers will jump on board with the new PS3 exclusive.

http://www.psu.com/Dev-responds-to-I...0003714-p0.php

[boomhauertjs]

Re: Haze PS3

It's disappointing to hear that Free Radical put out such a bad game. The Timesplitters games are great. Sounds like they are struggling to make the transition to the next gen. Hopefully, Timesplitters 4 and whatever game they are working on with Lucasarts (Battlefront III?) will be better.

[Pared]

Re: Haze PS3

Actually... play the demo. It's very reminiscent of TimeSplitters. I'm sure the multiplayer will be phenomenal.

The story mode though... is just... terrible. Wow... guys converse like this:

"How are you?"
"Are you ok?"
"How are you?"
"I'm fine."
"We need to get to the landing strip!"

It's not terrible... it's beyond terrible!

[boomhauertjs]

Re: Haze PS3

That makes sense since the Timesplitters games were strong on multiplayer while the single player was less than stellar (except I thought TS3 had a fun, if not spectacular, single player mode).

[bkfount]

Re: Haze PS3

I was keeping an eye on this even before it went ps3 exclusive, as it looked cool, and it's from a good developer. They may be right about goldeneye getting mixed reviews as well, but goldeneye wasn't touted as a big console exclusive like Haze was, often delayed, or wedged between GTA 4 and MGS4 as huge releases competing for $60 each. All mixed reviews will do is either make people rent the game, or overlook it completely as they instead put in a hundreds hours into GTA and MGS4 each. That equals poor sales, which is disappointing.

[Flawless]

Re: Haze PS3

Tom Chick: Quarter to Three

Haze + You = out there in the cold

Okay, it's after midnight so the embargo is lifted on the review copies of Haze that went out last week.

I've played through the whole thing and as much as it pains me to say this -- I've loved most everything these developers have been doing, and I wish them all the success in the world -- Haze is utter and complete tripe. If I can prevent just one of you from throwing away money on this underdone turd of a shooter, I will be happy.

I'll have a full review online somewhere in about a week, but I care enough about you guys, and I know that enough of you guys are Timesplitters fans like me, that I just had to warn you, before it was too late. Heck, get Dark Sector, or that cool Viking game, or that cool time travel one whose name I can never remember. But trust me: this is not the shooter you're looking for.

[SidVish]

Re: Haze PS3

Damn I'm going to see for myself but this doesn't sound promising at all.

[Flawless]

Re: Haze PS3

Kotaku Review

Ubisoft's Haze is a futuristic first person shooter from developers Free Radical Design. Set in 2048 and a war torn world in which private military company Mantel Global Industries acts as private peacekeeper, with organizations like the UN and NATO a thing of the past, players control Sergeant Shane Carpenter who has been deployed to the Boa region of South America to help neutralize the Promise Hand rebellion. With the help of a performance enhancing drug known as Nectar, Shane and his fellow Mantel troopers are on the hunt for a man known as "Skin Coat."

For better or worse, Haze carries the distinction of being a PlayStation 3 exclusive and has the development pedigree of being created by the team responsible for seminal console shooters like GoldenEye 007 and the Timesplitters series. Unfortunately for Free Radical—and gamers—Haze won't be as fondly remembered as those two first person classics.

Loved:

Mechanically Sound - Haze is a competent shooter, with somewhat interesting gameplay mechanics and tight—not to mention fully customizable—controls. It's meat and potatoes stuff, but the gunplay works rather well. Multiplayer is similarly competent but dry, with a serviceable, but run of the mill weapons selection.

Four Player Co-op - The pop-in, pop-out co-op campaign mode worked like a charm, turning the single player mode into a full sprint. You'll fly through the campaign mode if you're with a moderately skilled crew. Sadly, cut scenes cannot be skipped and at least one runs a good ten to fifteen minutes.

Hated:

Idiot AI - Even on harder difficulties, computer controlled opponents don't put up much of a fight. AI opponents will abandon cover in lieu of running straight at you, guns blazing. Your teammates are useless for anything but drawing an auto turret's attention, as they'll routinely walk into your line of fire, then turn on you when you accidentally shoot them. Only then do they have any accuracy, resulting in frustrating deaths.

Great Concepts Are Squandered - Haze has some interesting gameplay twists, many that you'll like never use outside of the tutorials. As a Mantel trooper, you're in no danger of running low on Nectar, nor is there a threat of overdosing, outside of one obligatory over-Nectaring that seems to come out of nowhere. As the Promise Hand, burying grenades underground—you have the superhuman ability to dig through metal and concrete with your bare hands—is largely pointless, as you'll be better served sticking to your rifle or super powerful pistol. In fact, you'll probably be doing yourself a disservice, likely dying in the process, trying to take advantage of some of Haze's marketed features.

Bland Overload - You'll be doing plenty of giant lever pulling in Haze while traversing its dull, often ugly environments. There's noticeable texture tearing and you'll see low quality textures and models popping in and out, even in cut scenes and with a mandatory 4 GB install. There's not much variety in the guns, as each side has its own semi-automatic rifle and shotgun, with a boring rocket launcher and flamethrower that spews hideous fire effects rounding out the more interesting weapon diversions. Virtually every aspect of the visuals is underwhelming.

Stupid Dialogue - After you hear one of your Mantel buddies spout out a brain-dead line like "This is the most fun I've ever had with my pants on!" or Promise Hand rebels repeating "Remember your promise to Moreno!" for the hundredth time, you'll wish they were all dead. There's an an odd mix of mangled rap lyrics, heavy handed philosophy and dramatic cut scenes that come off as unintentionally comedic. "Yeah, boyeeee!"? Really?

Dull Main Character - As Shane Carpenter, you're a manipulative rube, a clueless sergeant with a wimpy voiceover who is unconvincing in his convictions. It's difficult to emotionally invest in him as your vessel, because he's not entirely empty, just saying enough to give him a shred of unlikable personality.

Free Radical has an interesting game buried deep within Haze, it's just layered in so much archaic gameplay and so many half-executed concepts that it's hard to get excited about any of the eight hours spent in the single-player campaign. Those eight or so hours feel unnecessarily padded, as you'll spend a painfully long time watching unskippable cut scenes and, later, escorting a slow missile deployment system and clearing a mine field that feels like busywork. Players may find more value in Haze's multiplayer modes, if they've got a thirst for generic Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch after running through the five Team Assault levels.

There's really no reason to recommend Haze over similar titles in the PS3 library. The story is forgettable, the weapons nearly indistinguishable and the seemingly strong concepts so poorly implemented that you'll have a hard time convincing three of your friends to drop whatever else they're playing for a co-op slog through the thing.