Haze box art steps out of the ... haze

by Colin Torretta { Jun 21st 2007 at 5:00PM }

The final box art for the European release of Haze has just been revealed by Free Radical. Sporting the now iconic image of Shane Carpenter with a smashed helmet, it's nothing overly special but still manages to pull off a certain amount of cool creepiness. Something about the guy's insane stare from behind the shattered front of his helmet is a little unsettling.

Interestingly, it appears that the main character getting his face smashed in is a key part of the storyline in Haze. If you download the European PSN Haze video that was released last week, you'll see how it actually happens and the importance of the event in the storyline. This combined with hints dropped in various interviews by Free Radical suggests that the beatdown delivered to your character will massively change his view on the world and the direction of the game.

It's great to see the developers putting a lot of attention and care into the storyline, their previous efforts, the Timesplitters series, were fantastic games but had just the lightest fluffiest storylines ever. Meanwhile Haze looks like it's going to rival the Metal Gear Solid series in political and moral complexity. Bring on the Machiavellian plot twists!

Tags: free radical, FreeRadical, haze, metal gear solid, MetalGearSolid, timesplitters

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Dustin @ Jun 21st 2007 5:08PM

Man, I can NOT wait for this game. The graphics look equal to Crysis! Box art is beautiful, to bad it will most likely change for the US. I really hope this game stays exclusive, though from the looks of it, its a timed (probably a month or two) Anybody know what the resolution of it is ad FPS? probably 720p @ 60. lame, bring on 1080i/p

BulletToothTony @ Jun 21st 2007 5:22PM

i am very much looking for this game also.. even thou please don't say that it compares to crysis.. cause it just don't, even thou crytek seems to be working on something for the ps3.. so THAT will be worth comparing.. unless they get lazy of course

havi @ Jun 21st 2007 5:55PM

ok, so it may not look quite as good as crysis does, but i never enjoyed far cry much, so i doubt crysis will really get me going at all. However, haze looks amazing so far, plus the article fails to mention second sight, which unlike time splitters and its mp focus had an amazingly deep character-driven story. To those who missed it, give it a play-through and you'll have some idea of what haze's story-driven gameplay will be like

humpty @ Jun 21st 2007 5:54PM

Whats the difference between an 18+ rating and Adults Only?

Colin.Torretta @ Jun 21st 2007 6:00PM

Humpty:
If I remember correctly, 18+ is the European equivalent of a Mature rating here. And I don't think the Europeans have an AO rating -- I believe they just refuse classification entirely.

-Colin.Torretta

Andy @ Jun 21st 2007 6:50PM

I could get Crysis but I would also need $4000 to pimp my 2001 computer.

Or you can spend $600 and get Haze. tough choices ahead for some people

I am looking foreward to this game, as long as it was devoloped on the PS3 it will be good and I don't mind seeing it ported to the Wii.(just kidding...couldn't handle it anyways)

Brian @ Jun 21st 2007 6:51PM

Dare I say this trumps GTA4....

BulletToothTony @ Jun 21st 2007 7:00PM

@7, well it depends.. it seems that gta4 is more appealing to most people cause they have played the previous ones. but to others haze may be a better game.. someone like me, i did like gta but i found it too repetitive, they're 2 different games. So if they put them both in front of me and say pick one, i would say haze, even thou we haven't really seen much gameplay..

on the other hand each gta has improved A LOT, so i'm guessing this one is probably gonna get some great reviews

upz @ Jun 21st 2007 7:27PM

I've thought that was an awesome shot since I saw it as the banner for the Euro PS store. Let's hope they keep it for America.

Speaking of which, they better keep the European boxart for Heavenly Sword: http://ps3focus.nl/sitee/upload/upload/screenshot22.jpg

This placeholder I saw for pre-orders at Gamestop looks terrible. Something like this: http://www.vgboxart.com/browse/title/5579/

BlackBeltJones @ Jun 22nd 2007 3:56AM

@7
Don't dare, it's probably safe to say that the sales of GTA4 will trump haze by millions of units. Haze, even though it's interesting, is an unproven IP. GTA is a huge part of what PS2 is today. Plus the writer for haze that does interviews is an very annoying.