Crysis vs. Haze -- unnecessary comparison, or closer than you think?
by Nick Doerr 
{ May 31st 2007 at 2:15PM }
We disagree. The comparison shots show that, in some situations, Haze looks identical if not slightly better than Crysis. Other screenshots lean heavily toward Crysis as being the graphical victor. Especially when it comes to forest foliage. The point is this: the two games aren't that far apart in beauty. This is surprising. We'll leave the ultimate decision up to you, so check out the shots and let us know what you think.
[Thanks, Justin!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Stef Geiger @ May 31st 2007 2:28PM
Hm. The notion that Haze's graphics could even touch Crysis' never occurred to me, but the side-by-sides show that in many cases, Haze is only slightly inferior. I actually like the lighting and filter style of Haze much more than Crysis. Haze seems to have nicer light blooms and avoids using filters that kill all the colour to make the game seem gritty (seriously lame effect).
So yeah, I'd agree that graphically they're almost equal, and when stuff is in motion, you'd never be able to appreciate/notice the differences between the two.
JimyD @ May 31st 2007 2:33PM
Crysis definitely has a sharper look but Haze is looking pretty impressive! It's going to look sweet on a large-screen LCD TV. Enable mouse and keyboard support for it and a lot of PC gamers might consider picking up a PS3, instead of going with a major PC upgrade for Crysis.
xion @ May 31st 2007 2:42PM
compare screenshots? it may appear only a bit inferiror, but in motion Crysis wins easily..
Sy @ May 31st 2007 2:59PM
Come on ...its not even close ...Crysis is so far superior than Haze.
Gapsky412 @ May 31st 2007 3:11PM
ill admit when i first saw the jungle scenes of haze, they reminded me of crysis..
Popfrogs @ May 31st 2007 4:06PM
@poster:
So what? People will go buy a kb/mouse for console shooters if they want to keep up.
There were alot of whiners about Battlefield2 on PC because jet pilots and heli pilots with joysticks could pwn anyone using a mouse/kb. Guess what happened? That's right, people bought more joysticks just to fly with. If anyone even starts to complain, it'll be like BF2 where people say 'bah, buy a joystick and stop crying'.
Once more people start getting the mouse/kb combo on the PS3, more games will support it. It's a win-win for everyone. Hopefully Sony can talk some devs into it and release an official bluetooth set that works well and doesn't cost too much. $50 for the set, wireless on bluetooth, would be perfect.
Breeze @ May 31st 2007 4:15PM
@poster
The game knows when a keyboard and mouse are plugged in and will probably offer bifurcation for online play. So K/M players only play K/M players and gamepad players only play gamepad players.
Breeze @ May 31st 2007 4:17PM
Epic has already stated that UT3 for the PS3 will have keyboard / mouse support. I doubt you would want to leave a feature like that on the table when UT3 drops.
Stef Geiger @ May 31st 2007 4:18PM
@3: Uhh, like I pointed out, when there's motion going on it's pretty hard to notice finer details etc, so I don't see how you can make that statement. Keep in mind we're talking about GRAPHICS. Maybe Crysis has better physics or something and that's what makes you say it looks better in motion, but that has nothing to do with graphics.
massive_98 @ May 31st 2007 6:41PM
Really bad job by PSU.
Go to http://hazegame.uk.ubi.com/screenshots.php
Go to http://www.electronicarts.co.uk/games/8456/Screenshots/
The PSU images look really grainy compared to the ones on the actual site. Good work PSU...not!
adamantypants @ May 31st 2007 7:11PM
C'mon. These screenshots are completely unfair. Watch 10 seconds of any Crysis footage and compare that to Haze. Crysis is a hands down winner.
I will agree that the SCREENSHOTS look comparable, but that's where it stops.
@10: I disagree completely. When you start moving and seeing your environment literally alive around you, it makes a 100% difference. Physics aside, the lighting, textures, draw distance, soft shadows, self-shadowing, the amount of destructability, everything about that engine is amazing.
Unless Haze shows me some in-game footage, I'm not that impressed. And don't call me a troll, because I only own Playstation consoles (PS1,one,2,3,PSP) and read this site like a bible. But I still think that these comparisons are unfair.
Check out the latest vid from IGN.
http://media.pc.ign.com/media/694/694190/vids_1.html
Thomas @ May 31st 2007 7:21PM
In the initial screen shot posted... HAZE looks better. But does it matter if one bests the other... I mean the fact that its even close is good news for me. If they can get HAZE to look that good on the ps3, this early, then I know Crysis can be done on the ps3.
Titty Pink @ May 31st 2007 11:04PM
After watching the Crysis vid, I somehow hoped that the most graphically advanced game ever would be more impressive. It IS the best I've seen, but not by a staggering margin. I'll be happy w/ Haze just to avoid the homosexuality of a keyboard/mouse combo. Man, like tongue kissing your brother I'd imagine. Big up to Haze; it's gonna be sick. Now they need to stagger those sticks...
tyecies @ Jun 1st 2007 5:19AM
as a 360 owner i gotta say, im a bit jealous of how Haze looks. however, those yellow striped helmets are downright hideous, they need to do something about that
TheGuyNextDoor @ Jun 1st 2007 4:56AM
Although Crysis is the clear winner (provided you are blessed with a beefy system, and DX10 - otherwise it'd be closer to call), you have to give credit to Haze, it looks like a damn fine game, and not bad for a first effort.
The PS3 hardware has to last a good 7 or so years, and shows great signs of promise, so I'll wager the same as was said a few posts up, Haze2 should look pretty great. :)
Ian @ Jun 1st 2007 6:12AM
Let's look at the demographics for the target audience of these games - Probably male and between 21 and 36 (a rough guesstimate).
Now, let's reduce that target audience by 5%.
"Why?" I hear you ask. Well, if like me you are colour blind (5% of the male population - see Wikipedia) then the Crysis comparison shot where an enemy soldier is stood on a tree just a few feet away is just, well, really difficult to make out. It honestly took me a second or two to see the soldier and in that second I would have been splattered.
Whilst the argument might be that Crysis therefore has the most realistic graphics, I would favour Haze as I can actually see all that I need to.
Bored @ Jun 1st 2007 7:25AM
@ tyecies: It will also come out on the 360. They just delayed the 360 release by a few months in order to avoid running into Halo 3.
Andrew GO @ Jun 1st 2007 1:37PM
Crysis looks so much better than Haze. When you see the two games in motion, there is no contest. Haze looks great, don't get me wrong, but Crysis looks insane.
Overgauss @ Jun 1st 2007 1:54PM
Haze is to xbox360 as Crysis is to PS3. Well according to these screenshots anyway.
massive_98 @ Jun 1st 2007 1:48PM
This game is a PS3 exclusive. They don't even have the Xbox logo on Haze's website.
If we could take away all the hype about Halo 3 and compared it to Haze I don't know who would win?
They both look really great and they both have vehicles and cool weapons. No doubt Halo 3 well get much more publicity and sales even if it is worse than Haze.
Wouldn't it cost you like $3000 to play Crysis? (have to get a new computer)
MG @ Jun 1st 2007 7:27PM
First of all, it's stupid to compare screen shots. Video would be better.
Second, the Crysis screens look more detailed. But Haze is pretty close.
Bigdog @ Jun 3rd 2007 4:01PM
I have seen both video's of Haze and Crysis, personally I don't understand how some of you think that Crysis is so far superior then Haze is. Nether of them are that much better then the other. In the crysis video there was nothing that was next-gen about that game. physics? yea right, the jumping was unrealistic and when some people got hit they flew like 10ft away from the attacker, what is realistic about that? nothing. Crysis is going to be nothing but lag central with bugs and glitches, I will bet my damn soul on it. by watching the video's there were tons of bugs and glitches, watch it a few more times really close and you will notice a remarkable amount. I understand this game isn't out yet(I don't think), but damn this game is getting way to much hype about it. The game looks really good graphic wise, but that is all it has. It looks to be just another FPS game with good graphics.
The Haze video shows some newer things implemented into this FPS which Crysis should of offered or at least put into there video. I could see some people getting alittle more hyped up about Haze then Crysis. Personally I just don't see what is so great and insane about crysis. In crysis if they wanted physics they should of made it so when you jump you can't jump from the ground to the top of a damn building or whatever. even more so when you hit them with the butt of your gun they don't fly back about 6 to 10ft., mabey staggering and falling down or standing it one places getting wacked by the end of the gun and watching there head turn to the side while falling down. realistic physics, crysis doesn't have it and I don't think this is should be considered a next-gen game. could be a good game but nothing that surprizes my eye's at least.
Kizza @ Jul 4th 2007 2:03AM
Good, guys! I'm glad to see, despite of this site's name, the fanboism and ignorance isn't as rampant here. Please read my post on the PSU comments for that article to see my rebuttal.
It's worth also mentioning here that the screenshots compared with Crysis are very old and do not indicate the full graphical experience offered by Crysis or even Cryengine 2.
Please see these newer screenshots to get a proper idea of what Crysis will really look like (replace the 'xx' with 'tt':
hxxp://www3.incrysis.com/screenshots/070613-7.jpg
hxxp://www3.incrysis.com/screenshots/070613-6.jpg
hxxp://www3.incrysis.com/screenshots/070613-4.jpg
hxxp://incrysis.com/incgallery/64.jpg
hxxp://www.incrysis.net/screenshots/crytek_parallax_occlusion_mapping.png (good idea of the detail present in Crysis)
hxxp://www4.incrysis.com/images/070516-2_edit.jpg
hxxp://incrysis.com/incgallery/139.jpg (good idea of draw distance)
hxxp://www3.incrysis.com/screenshots/070529-4.jpg (nice sunrays, 3D ocean demonstration)
hxxp://incrysis.com/incgallery/57.jpg (some Crytek humour :P)
Anyway, just decided I'd educate you by showing you some better (high-res) examples of the game. But as a previous poster said, you're probably better off playing the videos to get a real idea of how the game will be like. Contrary to another reply, details really, really aren't lost. It's more graphically stunning and immersive when you see it in action.
Kizza @ Jul 4th 2007 2:19AM
Sorry, I didn't see your reply Bigdog, I didn't know there was a second page of comments.
What videos are you watching? The game is getting better all the time, as we really haven't seen any footage that is beyond pre-alpha development. It's to be expected that Crysis has its bugs when it isn't even in beta stage of development. There will be an open beta, for quality assurance.
Also, have you actually read anything, without looking at the videos? The feature to jump very high is part of the nanosuit strength mode. It takes a lot of energy to do that, so you can't do it very often at all. The same with the amount of damage you take with the armour mode, low-visibility in cloak mode, and running in speed mode. You only have so much energy you can use to exploit each mode.
He's not a super-hero... just a very, very advanced super-soldier :P