It's sad that, even in 2008, we still have to put up with this amount of sheer mediocrity.
Haze has been looked at as an interesting first person shooter since it
was first announced. Coming from the developers of TimeSplitters,
expectations were a bit high. It's also garnered plenty of attention
from being an exclusive PS3 game. Unfortunately, for every step Haze
takes forward, it takes 5 steps back.
The graphics in Haze are nothing special. While it doesn't look bad
necessarily, I expect more from games after playing through the
powerhouses like GTA IV and MGS4. This game would have looked superb
back in 2005, but in 2008 it does not cut it any longer. The 'Nectar'
effects look nice, but as with the rest of the game, nothing special.
As you already know, Haze is a first person shooter, and it plays just
like any of the rest. Haze plays akin to the original Halo, nothing
more, nothing less. The gunplay feels okay, but is stiff at the same
time. There were points in the game where I was desperately trying to
shoot an enemy, but failed because the cursor on screen decided it
wasn't going to do what I say. It makes for several frustrating moments
that made me want to turn my Sixaxis into a bullet so I could shoot
myself with it.
One of the 'features' of Haze is the Nectar system. Nectar is billed as
a 'performance-enhancing pharmaceutical drug that grants the user
enhanced speed, accuracy and strength'. It really is nothing more than
a mind controlling hallucinogenic. What this means in-game though, is
that you will be able to see enemies more clearly, bodies will vanish
as to drown out images of death and destruction, reduces recoil, and
allows the player to zoom in further while scoped. An overdose of
Nectar is dangerous, with loss of mental control and death being
possible side-effects. A lot of what Nectar does is nothing really
special, and is really nothing more than a gimmick.
The vehicle controls in Haze are primitive, to say the least. It only
utilizes one stick to steer, and it just doesn't work. Remember the M35
Mako from Mass Effect? Now try to steer it with enemies all around you
shooting you every second that there is. Now watch yourself die a lot,
as I did. As much as Haze took notes from other games, they forgot
something very important, vehicle control. I find it to be rather
embarrassing that vehicles can still be controlled this way these days.
The story in Haze is nothing special either. You and your squad of
insecure idiots are sent out to find a rebel group called "The Promise
Hand." Only to find out later in the game that everything that has been
said about the group is wrong. The game is very gritty in regards to
the story, and takes nothing into account when it comes to dialogue.
There were plenty of moments during cutscenes where I was wondering why
certain things needed to be said. Some of the dialogue felt so out of
place that I just shook my head and turned it off, being disgusted by
it all. In a day in age where he have great games with great stories
like GTA IV and MGS4, we still have hundreds of throw-aways like Haze.
After finishing the single player campaign, there isn't much to come
back for. Haze has an online multiplayer mode, but doesn't fix any of
the problems as far as controls, so it is not worth your time. Not to
mention, every game I was able to get into was extremely laggy, making
it unplayable. Haze also has a Four-Player Co-op Mode that went
unplayed by myself. I could not torture myself through the same bad
campaign again.
Haze had potential. I'll admit, I was curious to see where Free Radical
was going with it. Unfortunately, it turned out to be nothing special.
Haze may be worth a rent if you can get past the awful control and
laughably terrible story, but should be strictly avoided otherwise.
