PS3 Fanboy hands-on: Haze
PlayStation Day 2008 is over but our coverage continues! We're also enjoying the spoils to be found on the European PlayStation Store. In particular, we're talking about the Haze demo which we fired up and took out for a spin. North Americans without Euro accounts can get their nectar dosage tomorrow. While we've played the demo and have written our thoughts here, reader Chris G. shares his gameplay footage through the Haze trial play. So read our thoughts and check out the vid (or not the vid, if you wish not to spoil the experience before you give it a go).
The demo starts off with a firefight in the middle of the jungle. There's no real explanation as to why you're there but that doesn't matter too much for a demo. The controls are standard as far as shooters go, move with the left analog stick, aim with the right, and fire with a shoulder button. Left-handed players will be glad to see control options for them.
Anyway, the thing that deviates from the typical formula is the inclusion of the nectar drug which heightens one's senses and actually makes killing easier. When you inject yourself will a limited supply of nectar, you can zoom in farther, your melee attack is stronger, and enemies glow a bright orange giving away their position. While this is a strategic enhancement, at times it does tend to feel more like a distraction deviating from the main action. We're sure the story aspect of nectar will be fleshed out through the final game, but it doesn't come through in the demo, which feels a bit like a heavy weight dragging the experience down.
Gallery: Haze
Another note on nectar input, we noticed that not injecting oneself after awhile caused a "nectar distortion" message to flash and everything going hazy. What exactly happened and the consequences of this are not entirely certain as a real-life panic attack ensued and we quickly injected nectar into our computerized character's system to stabilize. Unfortunately, we couldn't get it to reappear.
The single player campaign was an average experience. It's what you expect from the genre, but there's nothing really more to it. The online four-player co-op is, on the other hand, a much better experience as it conjures up the feeling of really working as a team and being a specialized squad. The four-player co-op campaign took place on the same mission as the single player, if anyone wants to know. The two player split screen is divided vertically. There appears to be no way to change that in the demo.
Overall, the demo was fairly fun, though it does seem like a genre generic title ... and by the merit of this demo alone, shooter fans probably may have felt the experience seemed a little too close to another shooter by a single name of four letters (well at least the very beginning). Can you guess which one?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
wisconsinista @ May 7th 2008 3:05PM
It'll be a great rental.
frankym @ May 7th 2008 3:09PM
My sentiments exactly
BananaBoat @ May 10th 2008 7:37PM
I'll go so far as to say that I won't even bother renting it. Wasn't this the game that was supposed to look as good as Crysis, but on a console? Was that not the hype? It looks like a dumbed down version of Crysis, in every possible way. I'm not saying Crysis is some sort of gem, or anything like that, but Haze oozes mediocrity, and after all the hype, that just isn't good enough.
This is another case of a Demo ruining sales for a game. In the future, companies will probably rethink the strategy of giving us pre-release demo's, if their game isn't excellent.
catonmyhead @ May 7th 2008 3:13PM
What a completely average looking game. Behold the power of the PS3!
Juthan @ May 7th 2008 3:21PM
Funny how when a game doesn't look that great, it is because of the PS3. It has nothing to do with the devs that...oh, I don't know...MADE the game. Nope! It's the PS3's fault, folks! Now there's some genius insight.
wicko @ May 7th 2008 3:25PM
Don't pay any attention to him. He's just jealous because he doesn't have a PS3.
anonim1979 @ May 10th 2008 4:05PM
Quaz51:
[quote][b]Haze is 1024x576 no AA[/b][/quote]
http://forum.beyond3d.com/showpost.php?p=1157872&postcount=812
Full 720p - 1280x720 = 921,600 pixels
Some games:
Lair 800x1080 = 864,000 pixels
Metal Gear Online 1024x768 = 786,432 pixels
GTA4 (PS3) 1152x640 = 737,280 pixels
Halo3 1152x640 = 737,280 pixels
Dark Sector (PS3) 1152x640 = 737,280 pixels
Call of Duty 4 (PS3 , X360) 1024x600 = 614,400 pixels
Haze (PS3) 1024x576 = 589,824 pixels
Poor poor Haze - its "HD" is nearly SD in PAL = 720x576
LOL
warlock7 @ May 17th 2008 12:54PM
Wouldn't a 4:3 screen at 576i be running at 768 on the horizontal if it's 576 on the vertical?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL
The term PAL is often used informally to refer to a 625-line/50 Hz (576i, principally European) television system, and to differentiate from a 525-line/60 Hz (480i, principally North American/Central American/Japanese) NTSC system.
ultima_omega @ May 7th 2008 3:17PM
This game is nothing like Halo. I don't understand why people are comparing it.
adolson @ May 7th 2008 3:54PM
That's what I thought when I was playing it too.. It's not like Halo at all, but for some reason, it feels like Halo. I can't put my finger on it... But at the same time, I did not like the Halo games (never tried 3 though), and I enjoyed Haze.. Weird, huh?
Rated-G @ May 7th 2008 3:18PM
The "Nectar Disruption" part of the demo is actually a scripted part of the level, it appears at the same point in the demo every time, regardless of your nectar usage...
I made this comment in the article about the demo coming tomorrow but it works better for this article...
I made a European account just to play the demo... At first I didn't think it was anything special... it's not the prettiest game on the PS3.... but I don't let graphics get to me. The controls were kinda weird at first, but it has a lot of alternate control schemes and of course the option to completely re-map the controls.
Considering Free Radical claimed that the game would run at 30 fps because it didn't need 60, the game runs as smooth as butter, even when I played 4 player online co-op, there wasn't an ounce of lag, everything in this game flows smoothly.
I know I said I wasn't impressed at first, but after playing it once, I went on to finish my homework, and I had to take like 8 breaks to replay this demo because I kept getting the itch to play it. It feels a lot like Halo, only more realistic in the lack of aliens and "pyew-pyew" guns....
It's a good sized demo guys, it's short, but it gives you just enough of the gameplay to leave you wanting more and enough of the story to get you curious.
The acting in the demo seems a tad melodramatic at times, sorta cheesy but not in a bad way... it kinda gives the demo a sort of charm.
The sound effects are good and the guns pack a punch, the nectar effects are great and zooming on this game is at it's best. The music sounds like it's going to be pretty good too.
I'll be picking up the game as soon as I've paid off MGS4, just because I have an itch for an FPS now because of this demo, and this game looks adequate to say the very least.
jahd5000 @ May 7th 2008 3:36PM
hum, i think you did a way better review of the demo than the main poster. You said what we ppl wanna hear, not like many others, that talk too much of how the game progress is, instead of how its elements.
Ill play it tomorrow then decide if I really want it. I hope i do. Well at least i hope it is good enaugh to mention it as an exclusive when defending PS3 in some debates lol, and not so bad that they port it to X360 XD
proog @ May 7th 2008 4:11PM
Thank you! You should really write full reviews because in your comment, you are doing it so well.
jitty @ May 7th 2008 7:34PM
Do you work for free radical? You made the demo sound very good :\ Even though it wasn't really that great...
Rated-G @ May 7th 2008 11:24PM
Hahah, no I don't work for Free Radical... I'm just not so quick to bash things. I liked the demo, it, for the most part, met my expectations. I've had fun with this demo, therefore I'll probably have more fun with the game itself...
wicko @ May 7th 2008 3:22PM
I have also been playing the demo, played through it 3 times now. Twice on Normal, once on Hard. I didn't die in Normal, but a few times in hard.
A note, that nectar distortion is *not* a random occurence, it is scripted in, and it happens when you reach the bombed out area every time.
My personal thoughts on the game, well I still plan on buying it. I haven't been impressed by the story telling so far, and kind of found the main character's voice actor a bit annoying, but the game is a lot of fun to play. The guns feel right, they are nice and loud and not wimpy pea shooters. The only issue i have with it is that i have to use a controller instead of a keyboard and mouse.
I haven't tried coop or multiplayer, as I live in canada and just made a euro account. But I think coop will make up for any lack of story, coop makes games much better (I'm looking at you, Halo).
This isn't what I would consider a "Halo-killer". Certainly not a demonstration of the PS3's capabilities. Still worth at least a rental.
adolson @ May 7th 2008 4:08PM
I am also in Canada, but I could still play co-op. It did take several attempts to connect online, though.
Also, it's not like Halo needs to be killed - for PS3 gamers, there is no Halo. This is there instead, and that's fine for me. I'm not going to run out and buy a 360 to play Halo, just as Halo fans wouldn't run out to buy a PS3 for Haze, even if it were deemed a "Halo-killer."
Besides, I always thought that Halo was big mostly because of the multiplayer aspect, and we haven't even seen that from Haze yet.
wicko @ May 7th 2008 5:14PM
Oh you managed to get it working? I got split screen working, but online was just sitting there trying to connect, so I figured it wasn't going to work (or be very laggy).
I agree with you about the "halo-killer" idea. I guess what I was getting at when I said that, is it won't sway people that haven't purchased a console yet. I can see more people going for Halo just because of its inflated popularity and the lack thereof for Haze.
I personally really enjoyed the first Halo, in the single player/coop campaign. So, that to me is what stands out, while its certainly true that the MP is what draws everyone else. Even so, I like the gunplay a lot better in Haze so far, hard to explain but it just feels better to me. I guess alien guns don't do it for me.
Daniel @ May 7th 2008 3:48PM
Just for the record this game is nothing like HALO which I assume the writer of this article was refering to, where the funk is nectar in halo?? Is Halo a squad based game... no is the answer.
Its like comparing GeOW to COD4, yeah they both be 3rdPS but these are completly different games. I'm starting to wonder if this is XBOX360 fanboy at times... if these were true fanboys they shouldn't even know what halo is :p.
Seriously though these games are nothing alike, HAZE is a great demo. Smooth games play. You find your self having to play the demo over and over again, the demo is really addictive. To begin with I thought it was ok... but the I just got the urge to go on a nectar fueled killing spree. I played online co-op, and that was great (although I kept shooting my own players in the back to send them into overdose!)
Nectar is your ultimate weapon as a mantel solider, because once you have got the hang of it you find your self being able to kill 6 people in a row.
JUST A MESSAGE TO THE EDITORS OF PS3FANBOY HAZE IS NOTHING LIKE HALO. The only things are the same is some people have suits and its a FPS.
mathab @ May 7th 2008 3:51PM
Wow. Relax there. Only meant that the demo, not the game, was reminiscent of the beginning of Halo 3. That's it.
adolson @ May 7th 2008 3:58PM
Call of Duty 4 was a first-person shooter, last I checked... But then, I haven't put my disc in for a few days now, so maybe there's a patch out that changed it to third-person shooter...?
mixel @ May 7th 2008 11:59PM
Oh man, it seems a lot like Halo to me! the gun even looks very similar to one of the Halo ones. XD
And Halo is frequently "squad based" like Haze. they play incredibly similarly..
Just wait until the final reviews.. Yes, there are differences, but Free Radical are obviously using Halo as a template.. It's definitely more like Halo than any other game I've played. Which isn't a bad thing btw.
Daniel @ May 8th 2008 12:25PM
yes because halo has a gun called a lobo which you can reload by switchin the mag round... yes why didn't I think of that? The only thing that is similar between any gun from halo is that fact that their is a screen on the gun telling you how much ammo (although guns in haze tell you how many mags you have unlike halo) and that fact they shoot bullets.
My point is that this is nothing like halo apart from the fact that it is a FPS. STOP COMPARING IT TO HALO.
Also the game is produced by an English studio it is nice to see an english studio production quality games, ( aboviously there are other british studio such a evoloution with motorstorm.)
origami kid @ May 7th 2008 3:54PM
I think its really cool!!
Also a funny thing to try!! when a team mate is in front of you in a section of the demo where u arnt fighting, shoot the little circle bit on the back of the neck just a little.
Watch his visor go red and then watch as he goes psyco and trys to kill all his team mates.........its freaking awesome!! seriously...i cant wait to try some co-op and see what happens if u do it to real people lol
:D
cant wait for the 23rd!!
adolson @ May 7th 2008 4:01PM
What's your PSN ID? So I can block you. Do that shit in competitive multiplayer, but not co-op, plzkthx.
origami kid @ May 7th 2008 6:12PM
psn name is my name here dude.
at the end of the day that is one of the cool features of haze, and if u are gonna have issues with it then dont buy the full game.
Nector grendaes are gonna feature heavily im sure in the later levels before u turn rebel so im sure it will be happening alot. plus it wuld be cool to see how it impacts a player insted of an npc, i personally would like to see if it makes all people on your screen turn the bright orange colour or if it just makes your gun wildly fire.
But if your gonna be a douche then thats fine, i wont see you on the battlefield
adolson @ May 7th 2008 10:57PM
YOU'RE going to team-kill, and *I'M* the douche? Get real, man.
Maci @ May 9th 2008 11:56AM
Oh no my demo kill/death ratio will go down because of team killing. Get over it!
farfisa @ May 7th 2008 4:12PM
Sounds like some people are already taking the nectar :)
I've actually been looking forward to this one too. Sad that the voice acting is annoying after all the hoopla of it being voiced by the Royal Shakespeare company. ...or was it? Hell, it was all so long ago...
mccomber @ May 7th 2008 4:16PM
Agree that it's not anything amazing, but I think it has potential to be a better than average shooter. I'm really hoping that the Rebel side of the game will be a more strategic experience, tempering the run & gun of the Mantel troops with a more methodical approach, all centered around Nectar.
At the least, it's a solid shooter that could be something more, and is already a fun online experience. If anyone cares to read more of my thoughts on the demo, I've posted them here: http://www.tripletags.com/post.asp?id=549
True_Darknight @ May 7th 2008 4:20PM
Heh I saw the way someone got shot back there and bugged otu too!!! heheheheh...
And BTW i really do like how you can see what your teammates are doing after you die. It's a very nice presentation.
and what is your PSN_ID origami?? I think i need to do that to you all day!
An dyou don't see names in Haze.. only symbols.. names you get when you die or when they log in. Which can get interesting :-)
adolson @ May 7th 2008 4:47PM
You see names if you aim at them for a second.
origamikid @ May 7th 2008 6:17PM
hehe my tag is origamikid
no space or underscore ;)
i cant wait for haze, i hope we get a promo copy at work so i get it alittle earlyer :D
Rated-G @ May 7th 2008 4:25PM
Thanks proog and jhad500, who commented on my mini-review! I would have written a better review but I felt it would have been unnecessary in these comments.
I'd like to write for this site, give me something to do besides homework, as well as a chance to make something a little more constructive out of playing video games, but I don't think they're taking applications anymore.
adolson @ May 7th 2008 4:46PM
I thought they were deciding by the end of March (or was it April?) about that, but so far I haven't seen anyone new here, aside from the podcast merger thing..
Maybe you'll have to just start your own site.
Rated-G @ May 7th 2008 5:05PM
That period where they were accepting applications ended that same week... I had contemplated sending in one but wasn't really 'till now that I realized I could do this.
I would do the columnist thing, but I don't know what I'd do for a theme... so I'd probably end up being a blogger, it could be a tad difficult to make 50 posts in a month, but I guess it just depends. I say that now and I'd probably end up with like 80 posts by the end of the month without realizing it...
adolson @ May 8th 2008 12:50AM
I think you'd make a good columnist (reviews should fall into that, I'd think). I applied for blogging, and heard nothing.. Oh well, I'll keep working on my other sites (when/if I feel like it).
Hey, if you're getting Haze, and you want a friend on your PSN list, add me (same nick as here).
catonmyhead @ May 7th 2008 4:34PM
Actually, I have all 3 systems. The 360 gets the most gameplay gameplay, second is ps3 (pretty much only because of Stardust HD right now.), followed by Wii. On the ps3, I have played through Ratchet and Drakes. The graphics were good, but nothing that left me thinking they couldn't be done on the xbox. I am continuously let down by the ps3. I wish someone would put out a game that really stands out...but I just haven't seen it yet. Even the MGS demo didn't do it for me. I'm sure a good playing, graphically intensive game, will come out soon. But from what I've seen, the two systems are on par.
I give the edge to the 360 for the better the controlller (like the trigger on the 360 better vs. the triggerish thing on the ps3 that you actually "squish" to shoot.
Blue-rays sure do look perty, though!
JaseH @ May 7th 2008 8:12PM
And your comment was relevant to the article... how?
You didn't even mention Haze at all. Geez. Go talk about "teh power of teh consolez" somewhere else.
___________________________________________
JaseH.
Daniel @ May 8th 2008 12:25PM
I dont think he has even got a PS3.... you never use the trigger to shoot in ps3 FPS's you always use the shoulder or bumper button!!
The trigger is for other stuff.
Dwag @ May 7th 2008 4:59PM
Haze to me looks a lot like a game called Timeshift
Nectar=Time control power
Thus Nectar=Gimmick
Timeshift to me wasn't as bad as it was portrayed by Gamespot I mean Online was solid, go guns and the gimmick was actually good
To me Haze might get a bit more Higher ratings from Gamespot but they fired a guy I liked so they can go suck one This game deserves a 7.5 cause four play coop been done before,and Nectar=Rage mode from RFOM and Time powers from Timeshift its just a gimmick.
Kruegmeister @ May 7th 2008 5:17PM
1) Game does not look bad at all.
2) Game plays exactly like Halo1,2,3 (Which is a good thing)
3) Squad based... Halo 3 and Haze are nearly Identical. You can split screen with Online Co-Op and their are a lot of Soldiers from both sides on each.
My basic point is that this game looks good to me. It looks like Halo which is a good thing. It also looks to bring some neat elements like the Nectar, Playing Dead, etc. which all sounds cool.
Don't get mad if we compare it to Halo. It is a complement to both games. I've played Halo1-3 each on my own and each in co-op several times. I will probably get Haze as well because contrary to the Psycho Fanboys from the 360 camp coming over here trying to slam everything that is not 360 related, it is looking to be an awesome game.
Just Relax...
Go play a game or something people...
Dude!
Alex @ May 7th 2008 5:44PM
I have not bothered to write any comment here but I feel I need to tell people what I think about the game.
Shane Carpenter (however thats spelled) is new to the mantel army and probably the first time he starts using nectar. This is made apparent in the demo from the dialog. Thats also why he sounds like he does.
And the mantel allies seem like they are playing a game, by the way they talk, because the nectar take them out of the battle. Theres no blood, the bodies dissapear, and theres butterflies everywhere, all because of nectar.
as I played through the demo I found that the enemies, the promised hand? or whatnot, they were really hard to see, and hit. so kept taking a full dose of nectar, this made the enemies pop out and the I got this tunnel vision thing going, and they died alot faster.
As the Demo progressed I found that to do any good I NEEDED nectar and I constantly took nectar from the backs of my allies (single-player offline)
I thought that taking the helmet off would relieve the nectar distortion but I realized it was still attached to my neck.
During the bomb site, there is a nectar problem, and for a split second you see what it really looks like, there are charred corpses everywhere, most notably on the grey rock the script is triggered by.
As for graphics, it was awesome. Just think about it, I LUV gta4, but the resolution is real low, I can see all the jaggies and whatnot. Same thing with uncharted, I can see tonnes of jaggies on every edge, no matter how good the game is.
So this game either has some crazy anti Aliasing or its 1080p
and still keeps steady frames, someone said 30fps
As that this is an old build, I believe, hope, the foliage isnt that realistic and I kept seeing the same tree with the big painted on vines and the unsoftened edges. but im sure there are lots of enviroment prop artists hard at work at free radical, as that they pay overtime. (nice, unlike EA)
As a demo, it was a poor show, they shouldnt show a pretty game without it being gorgeous, it will be picked apart, but I understand exactly how hard it is to make a demo.
This demo show what haze and the ps3 is (currently) capable of, as in no enemy limit, (not only 5 enemies at once) large open areas, full 1080p resolution (assumably) and the ability to have 1-4 players between 1-4 ps3s, like warhawk.
Hopefully all of this comes true and we see many enemies in a huge area, with updated everything, cuz the demo is old, all running at 1080.
Must buy for me, and excusive to ps3!
adolson @ May 7th 2008 11:02PM
Actually, the native resolution of Haze is 576p...Higher resolution != Better graphics.GTAIV proved that, when the PS3 version looked better, yet had lower resolution.Haze looks good to me, and from your post, it sounds like it looks good to you too. That's all that matters, not what the resolution is.
Sveakungen @ May 7th 2008 7:00PM
I played trough the demo multiple times and every time the game got better, and I enjoyed more and more of all the details. Story is actually fun, with a twist of Starship Troopers, and the framerate is buttersmooth, with fantastic AA, and very sweet smoke and fire fx. Sound is stellar and so is the music. Im surprised people doesnt feel like this game looks good.... Must buy for me!
ADPolicenaut @ May 7th 2008 7:13PM
First and foremost, Haze is a game that I've been keeping my eye on for quite some time. There's a certain charisma to David Doak that helped to sell the game, he's got the kind of voice that you can trust with your own children. In addition, there's also his previous experience with such past classics as GoldenEye and the TimeSplitters series. I don't expect Haze to be the tauted "Halo-killer", namely because Halo's success stems from the fact that it was released at a golden moment in the generation when everyone leaped on board and rode the waves.
Haze, like Halo, is yet another first-person shooter. Now, Halo's strength is derived from the fact that it was launched in the right place at the right time. The original was a fun shooter, but in reality it offers nothing new to the genre. The humans versus aliens concept is typical science fiction fare, and I liked the Flood when they were called the Many - and to a lesser example, the Borg. Going back to Haze, I would really hope for it to become a solid exclusive for the console, because right now we really need them. That said, what worked for Halo may work for Haze - the exclusivity could work in Haze's favour. For instance, PS3 owners - seeing it as their own 'personal Halo' might flock to the game in the hopes that it'll give them something to use against their 360 rivals - and to be honest I hope that does happen.
The demo has given me mixed feelings, but considering that it's a demo and far from the finished product (and my faith in Mr. Doak), I'm still planning on making the purchase. The storyline intrigues me, the idea of basing a game around the devious activities of a private military company (as opposed to the human versus alien rhetoric we see so often) and the element of drug addiction has gone some way to winning me over. I'm looking forward to how creative they have been with the Nectar element, such as the 'Nectar Disruption' we saw in the demo. That scared the bejesus out of me when I first had it!
It's difficult to be original with a genre that has a dime a dozen games attributed to it, but I think that Haze may have done it. I'm probably sounding like such a fanboy here, but I've got high hopes for the game. I - like you - just want a good exclusive for the console, something that we can be appreciative of in much the same way 360 fans are of the Halo series.
And that just about covers everything.
mixel @ May 8th 2008 12:00AM
I'm with the guys comparing it to Halo, it plays and looks and feels a *lot* like Halo3.
Which is a good thing in my book..
I find the denial of the similarities by some pretty hilarious. The people so vehemently against anything XBox who've been saying Halo is crap for years.. They're going to lap up Haze despite its huge similarities. The hypocrisy is brilliant. XD
"But it has nectar!" Well.. duh. If it didn't, it'd pretty much BE Halo. Some of the weapons look near identical, the vehicle types mirror Halo ones. It's not a bad thing at all, but sofar it looks like they're more similar than different.
But, I really enjoyed the demo! lets hope Free Radical can do some of the nice web-portal stuff like bungie have too.
wrsmadscientist @ May 8th 2008 10:56AM
I'm curious, is the 4 player co-op option local or network only? One of my HUGE problems with halo3 was that it touted 4 player co-op, but only 2 could play on one machine. You needed another 360 to do so. Will the 4 player co-op in haze be a 4 way split screen, or two people on one ps3 and two on another? Does anyone know?
CynicalStrike @ May 8th 2008 4:13PM
I was really looking forward to this when it was going to be multi-format, but now I'm wondering what the fuss was all about. It was the story and the nectar concept that hooked me, but with voice-acting that bad and the nectar basically a rehash of Farcry's various feral abilities I'm not going to rush out and by a PS3 to play it.
Watch the video again; a lot of the dialogue sounds like British actors putting on American accents, badly.
catonmyhead @ May 8th 2008 4:36PM
dont think he has even got a PS3.... you never use the trigger to shoot in ps3 FPS's you always use the shoulder or bumper button!!
The trigger is for other stuff.
Don't even get me started on using the shoulder button for shooting. That's just dumb. some games (like Resistance), let you map the trigger button to where you want it to be. dork.
I'm on ps3...my game id is "CatOnMyHead". Same id on xbox live.
AlAlso...I have now seen the update for Killzone 2 and must admit it looks pretty good (although, so does Gears of War 2). Hopefully the game is good, and not "meh", like the first one. There's hope for the ps3 yet.