Haze

By Rob Fahey Published 3 April, 2008

Guerrillas in the mist.

It's hard to think of a more hostile environment for a game's launch than the one Free Radical's Haze faces. On one hand, it's viewed as a flag-bearer for the PlayStation 3, a console whose vocal detractors aren't afraid to come out in force online to criticise any weakness. It's also got the misfortune of being billed (although not by its developers) as a Halo-killer (well, it's a first person shooter where some of the characters wear funny looking helmets, what did they expect?) and it's launching at a time when the world's FPS gamers are still in the midst of a torrid love affair with Call of Duty 4.

In other words, Haze had better be bloody good, or it's going to be crucified - perhaps not in the press, and perhaps not even in stores, but its developers certainly need to be worried about a bloody sacrifice on the altar of public opinion. Don't they?

"Yeah, I can see where you're going with that," sighs Haze's creative director, Derek Littlewood. "I mean... I think you can worry unnecessarily about that kind of thing. At the end of the day, any game you make is going to end up getting judged on a lot of different criteria after launch. To a large degree you just have to say, let's just let it go - let's let the gamers judge for themselves."

"I think there's a lot of talk in the media about titles becoming flag-bearers and stuff," he continues, rather presciently we think, "but when you get down to the level of individual gamers, they just have titles that they love. That's the sort of feedback that I'm looking for, and that's the thing we were looking to deliver, which is a great game that gamers can enjoy. I think all of the other stuff about being a flag-bearer for PlayStation 3, or whatever, that's for somebody else to judge."

Make Haze while the sun shines

'Haze' Screenshot 1

These are your buddies - your whooping, idiotic, annoying buddies. Hopefully their Day-Glo yellow helmets make them into easier targets.

Of course, there is one way in which Haze could have faced an even tougher time - and that would have been to launch before Christmas, which was originally Free Radical's plan, before a delay pushed it back to 2008. "It was a very crowded market before Christmas, and I'm not going to pretend like I'm not glad to have a slightly more quiet window to release into," Littlewood tells us. "Releasing up against games like Halo 3, Call of Duty 4 - that's always going to be brutal. But I don't think it's a case of us looking at those games and thinking that we're going to have to make Haze better."

He pauses for a second, then continues. "I'm glad those games came out and were very strong titles, very good games. We're always looking at other titles to try and improve what we do, but I don't think it was a case of us panicking about the quality of Haze at all."

So, given that Free Radical has had almost six months more to work on Haze, what have it done with the time? According to Littlewood, it's mostly been a case of polishing the game - taking on board mounds of feedback from playtesters, and using it to inform a process that has seen them tweaking everything from the balance of the sides through to the actual design and flow of the levels themselves. "It's not that we've added stuff," he explains. "What you're seeing is the delivery of the game we always wanted to make - it's more robust and more polished. The feature set is identical to what we've always been talking about."

In fact, Littlewood is quite enthusiastic about the delay to the game. "Normally, as a developer, you just don't get the opportunity to do that," he says. "Every game that goes out the door, you always feel like you could have made some things better in it, or that here are things that you could have improved. To get the opportunity to spend three or four months fixing a load of those issues, that was a fantastic chance - and I'm really glad that we got to do it."

The question, of course, is whether gamers will be equally glad that Free Radical invested that extra time in buffing the game to a lustrous shine. Like we said, Haze has a lot to live up to - and our chat with Littlewood left us itching to play the game itself and find out just how well it's going to meet those expectations.

Sweet Nectar

Like many other FPS titles of recent years, Haze is seemingly on a mission to rid itself of the dark, enclosed spaces we saw in the "corridor shooters" of the late '90s. It's bright and sunny, set across the jungles, beaches and mountain slopes of a South American tropical paradise, with only the occasional urban section or military environment breaking up the holiday postcard nature of the levels. Well, that and the relentless bombing, shooting, screaming, dying and so on. Think of it as an adventure holiday.

Actually, that's sort of the point. The central conceit of Haze is that you're playing a soldier who works for a private military company, with your instincts and abilities all boosted by a drug called Nectar. You can dose up on Nectar at any point in the fight by pressing L2, and while it's active, it makes you faster and stronger - and also makes your enemies glow brightly, your health bar more resilient, and other such handy things.

The drug has other effects, too. In a somewhat backhanded comment on videogame violence, the bodies of your foes fade out of your vision - allowing you to ignore the horrors of war and get on with the shooting. We're not sure if it's an effect of the drug, but the other main effect seems to be that it turns every Mantel soldier in the game into an utterly repulsive, whooping, idiotic jock - which is presumably how the senior Mantel characters get away with being so downright suspicious at all times.

'Haze' Screenshot 3

These are your new rebel buddies. They wear more sensible clothes, and like all good revolutionaries, talk like they just walked off a Mexican tourist trinket stall.

We were a little surprised when Free Radical started talking openly about the "twist", where you change sides and start shooting for the rebel forces - but having played the game for ourselves, it's clear that this really isn't a spoiler. Anyone who hasn't worked out within five minutes that they'd rather be shooting these odious sacks of testosterone and stupidity rather than fighting alongside them needs their head examined (although admittedly, Gears of War managed to play that one totally straight for the whole game).

Once you switch sides, things are mixed up rather a lot. You no longer have access to Nectar, but you do have lots of interesting tactics to try out. You can rip packs of Nectar from dead Mantel soldiers, for example, and stick them to grenades - or wipe them along throwing knives. Hit a solider with one of those, and they'll overdose on Nectar and go insane, firing wildly at their comrades. In a nice touch, you can also feign death when you're being shot at - and because the Mantel soldiers can't see corpses, you'll be invisible to them until you start moving again.

Both sides have access to a fairly hefty set of weaponry, which ties in with the near-future setting of the game - mostly consisting of pistols, machine-guns and sniper rifles, with the occasional special like a flamethrower thrown in for good measure. Aside from the obviously different ones like the sniper rifles, we had some trouble working out the qualities of the various weapons - we suspect that it'll take players a little while to work out what each one does better than its siblings. The game also boasts vehicle sections, as you'd expect - the handling of those vehicles seems a bit light to us at the moment, although of course, this isn't actually a final build of the game.

Hazy sunshine, scattered showers

As you've probably gathered, the story mode of the game is a fairly heavy focus - although Littlewood thinks that the team might have made a bit too much of the story at the outset. "We focused a lot on the message that we're trying to communicate with it, and in a way, I think this may have distracted people's attention from the ideas that we had to make it a really interesting game to play. Since then we've always been backtracking a bit," he muses.

So, the "message" eh? Well, despite Littlewood's assertion that "the message was never meant to be this overt thing that comes in and whacks you around the head", we did see quite a bit of that going on in the few cut-scenes we got to witness. There's a fair bit of eulogising and a lot of naked anti-war sentiment in the game's script, which can leave the whole thing feeling like the strange offspring of Metal Gear Solid and a John Pilger article. On a tropical island. It's hard to say at this stage whether this is going to grate or not, really, but we can certainly see some gamers making faces at the chest-beating sincerity of it all.

On the plus side, the story seems to provide a fairly good reason for setting up a lot of varied levels - ranging from a running battle around a cargo ship that's running aground, through to an assault on a mountaintop observatory, with plenty of Far Cry-style jungle combat in between. Even better is the fact that the story mode experience isn't necessarily a single-player affair, either.

'Haze' Screenshot 5

Nectar makes everything go a bit mental, but definitely makes shooting the bad, er, good guys easier.

Co-op is one of the things Free Radical has focused on very heavily, with the end result being a "drop in, drop out" system that does pretty much what we've wanted a top-flight FPS game to do for years - allows a friend to join in (either online or in split-screen) at any point in the game, and then to leave whenever they like. You always have three AI companions in your squad, so when a player joins, they just replace one of those - and when he leaves, the AI takes over again.

Simple - well, sort of. "To be fair, three AI characters are not the same as three players," says Littlewood, "so the game also auto-balances against that. If you've got two human players, it will start ramping the difficulty up to compensate for that. On lower difficulties, it doesn't get much harder - but on the harder settings, it really ramps up the difficulty as you add extra players. That way we enable all ranges of gamers to get a good experience, from the most casual to the most hardcore."

In graphical terms, Haze looks pretty good, thanks to Free Radical's in-house developed engine - it lacks some of the slickness and graphical detail we've come to expect from modern shooters thanks to the ubiquity of the Unreal Engine, but Littlewood claims that developing its own engine gave the team much finer control over things like lighting, which lend hugely to the atmosphere of the game.

'Haze' Screenshot 6

This month's photoshoot for "Idiotic Combat Gear Monthly", we suspect.

We're not sure how that one is going to be judged, in the final analysis - the game certainly looks good, and some of the environments, like the jungle areas, are incredibly lush and packed with foliage. The visuals aren't by any means a leap ahead of what we've seen before in FPS titles, though - if Haze is going to win over hearts and minds among gamers, it's going to be with great gameplay, not with flashy visuals.

As to whether this game can really hold the flag high for the PS3 - we're reserving judgement. We're looking forward to getting our teeth into the multiplayer modes later this month, and our appetites are certainly whetted for the final game. Haze has its fair share of interesting ideas, but we're very conscious that this is expected to be a lot more than just a decent shooter; it's expected to be brilliant. Whether it can reach that lofty goal or not remains to be seen.

Haze is due out exclusively on PS3 (or is it etc etc self-harm) in May.

Picture of Rob.

About Rob Fahey

Rob Fahey is a former editor of GamesIndustry.biz who spent several years living in Japan and probably still has a mint condition Dreamcast Samba de Amigo set.

Read more articles from Rob by visiting the Rob Fahey archive page.

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Comments (147) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Les #1 4 years ago

    "the PlayStation 3, a console whose vocal detractors aren't afraid to come out in force online to criticise any weakness."

    Why would they be afraid?! It's one of their main goals in life. Why one bothers about their mindless opinions is the real issue.

    " the "corridor shooters" of the late '90s"

    As well as 2007...

    "it lacks some of the slickness and graphical detail we've come to expect from modern shooters thanks to the ubiquity of the Unreal Engine, but Littlewood claims that developing its own engine gave the team much finer control over things like lighting, which lend hugely to the atmosphere of the game"

    A good thing in my book. I can't stand the sterility and blandness of UE3's lighting. Even if Bioshock had had a proper way to tell a story, I couldn't have worked my way through it because of the awful engine.
    Edited by 2 at 02/04/08 @ 08:41

  • Les #2 4 years ago

    "Les: Not too many corridors in the best shooters of last year though."

    One of the more high profile ones (Bioshock) was nothing but corridors...

  • kmittal82 #3 4 years ago

    Saw this running at play.com LIVE, and had a play at the demo as well.

    Nothing exceptional, bog standard shooter. Looks good, but stiff animation and poor AI brings it down.

  • rotmm #4 4 years ago

    I also played it at Live.com and came away unimpressed. Still, 15 mins isn't enough to judge a game and I hope that the full release gives a better impression.

  • green_nifta #5 4 years ago

    Unless you've complete freedom of movement, as first seen properly in Operation Flashpoint IIRC, then it's still a "corridor shooter" (whether it's literally a 'corridor' or an '1930s art deco underwater ballroom', you're still being funnelled towards your desitination)

  • BonzoBanana #6 4 years ago

    Definitely want this game but I'm one of those annoying punters who waits for games to hit about £15 before buying. I much prefer open out door action to enclosed limited area type games like bioshock.

  • Big-Swiss #7 4 years ago

    no hate no love, so it would be a "meh"
    For some reason, i don't see this being fairly judged, the opinions are aleready made, either you already know you are gona like it or not, even the first impressions sound that way. And the word idiotic is used too much.
    All I would wish for is a online FPS, that works decent and that makes friends invite and stuff easy, then i could imagine joining the crowd, but this will defenetly not be bought on release date, i'll wait for your opinions and then we will see.
    Good thing I don't care too much for Haze to be awesome, even if it is exclusiv, MGS4 is much more important to be decent!-)

  • Goodfella #8 4 years ago

    For those who played it at Play.com.

    You're criticising a 5 month old build of the game.

  • Machetazo #9 4 years ago

    Will a demo be released for this, before the game's out?
    Edited by 1 at 02/04/08 @ 09:10

  • The-Bodybuilder #10 4 years ago

    >"you can also feign death when you're being shot at - and because the Mantel soldiers can't see corpses, you'll be invisible to them until you start moving again."

    Erm...but he's not actually a corpse though. So why wouldn't they see him?
    Anyways, this game looks.....

  • Triggerhappytel #11 4 years ago

    @ Goodfella

    Well that's Ubisoft/Free Radical's fault for demoing an old version of the game. Quite stupid really when they want & need to generate some positive hype about it.

  • betahoven #12 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:36:16 17-12-2011

  • Machetazo #13 4 years ago

    When will we actually start seeing representative gameplay clips, as opposed to CG and montages?

  • Eighthours #14 4 years ago

    In a nice touch, you can also feign death when you're being shot at - and because the Mantel soldiers can't see corpses, you'll be invisible to them until you start moving again.

    It's an interesting idea, but this Nectar stuff is really, really rubbish if it lets that work!

  • mattigan #15 4 years ago

    I don't think it's the nectar that deletes the corpses rather than the HUD on those yellow visors they all wear, hence the cracked visor of the promo poster.

  • Widge #16 4 years ago

    Hoping the story mode is good. I would like to delve into something which is quite heavy on story.
    I can't comment on Bioshock at the moment. Booted it up, liked the intro, impressed by it all.... but for some reason didn't pick it up again and moved onto C&C3, and then back to FFXII!

  • syphaa #17 4 years ago

    Interesting preview.

    I had a short hands on with it when they gave an exclusive preview at Nottingham Game City. To be quite frank, I was disappointed, after wanting it to really impress, being Free Radicals new IP, it just looked and felt a bit clumsy. It was a very early build though I think.

    I will definitely be keeping an eye on the dev of this title though, I want it to be a really good title!

  • Daxxy #18 4 years ago

    @The Bodybuilder. Ye its the HUD on the Visors and the nectar that goes with it that causes the corpses to be ignored.

  • brooza #19 4 years ago

    I glanced at the picture and thought it was a belated review of Time Shift

  • Prodigy_BE #20 4 years ago

    It's from FRD, who are almost all ex-Rare guys. They brought us fun with Goldeneye, Timesplitters 1, 2 and 3, Second Sight (hugely underrated) and they will do so with Haze.

    I hope for them that one day they'll strike gold with one of their games, getting it to sell 6 million copy's or more. But until that day, I hope they're happy with making tons of fans and hardcore gamers happy, and earning a decent living. I know I would. I've met that David Doak bloke a few times, and from seeing the way he dresses and shaves, he's probably happy where he is now.

    I'm buying this day one, because as a PS3 gamer, this 'll be loads of fun.

  • andromeda #21 4 years ago

    yeah the engine looks pretty kak

    the lighting is non existent, the textures look shoddy too

  • gizmo #22 4 years ago

    If that guy was my creative director I'd have fired his ass for sounding so downbeat. He sounds like he's expecting a critical mauling, does he not?

    If he can't get fired up about his game, why should he expect anyone else to?

  • asphaltcowboy #23 4 years ago

    So tell us about the actual gameplay then! Yo'veu just retread old ground, story mainly and the fact that it's got some stiff competition... normally your previews are gushing (regardless of the final review score). This one was incredibly reserved (is that a bad sign?)!

  • Snooz #24 4 years ago

    Haven't read the whole article nor comments but from an earlier video here on EG I got the impression that they've made a story that will make soldiers dumb "for a reason" hence they do not need that good an AI after all. Why are the soldiers stupid and just standing there like older games? "Because they're high on nectar!" But, still that was an old developer interview.

  • el_pollo_diablo #25 4 years ago

    Why are all the links to page 3 broken?

  • Snooz #26 4 years ago

    Bah, got a 404, sorry for repost...
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/08 @ 09:18

  • Tejstar #27 4 years ago

    Why was this article pulled yesterday?

  • krudster #28 4 years ago

    Embargo, basically. We messed up.

  • Tejstar #29 4 years ago

    Ah, fair enough. Nice preview - I'm actually looking forward to it (mainly for the co-op play) but can't help wondering whether it will arrive for the 360/PC at some point (despite what they say...)

  • X201 #30 4 years ago

    Krudster failed his Management New-Speak course, what he meant to say was...

    To facilitate maximum customer/client satisfaction, Eurogamer facilitated an earlier than expected customer interaction phase. This resulted in a negative client happiness scenario, requiring the temporary suspension of the aforementioned interaction phase. Now that the client chronological retardation phase has been completed Eurogamer are delighted to announce that they can now restore the customer interaction phase.

    Eurogamer thanks you for your patience in this matter.

  • Xerx3s #31 4 years ago

    " the "corridor shooters" of the late '90s"

    As well as 2007...

    Q2 is a corridor shooter. Played it this week again. It still is by some margin one of the best games ever made. What's your point?

    A good thing in my book. I can't stand the sterility and blandness of UE3's lighting. Even if Bioshock had had a proper way to tell a story, I couldn't have worked my way through it because of the awful engine.

    I dislike UE3 as well. Not because there is something wrong with it but because everybody uses it. I seriously can't tell the difference between COD4, RB6v, etc. You're wrong about bioshock though. It's a fantastic story that is told in a great theatrical method. Technically, the way they tell the story is 100% solid.

    One of the more high profile ones (Bioshock) was nothing but corridors...

    And it was a fantastic game. What's your point?

    You're criticising a 5 month old build of the game.

    But he said himself that they did nothing but polish for the past 6 months. Kinda m00t.


    Oh well, really looking forward to playing this, if only because it has coop.

  • Killerbee #32 4 years ago

    Nice. Looks decent enough and all that, but I'm still not quite sure whether it has quite enough to tip it over the 8/10 mark that seems to be fairly ubiquitous for every "decent" shooter that comes along.

    Nectar seems to be the key, but the idea of simply making yourself faster, stronger, able to take more hits and not being able to see dead bodies just doesn't - to me - seem to pack the same degree of (for want of a better word) coolness as a gameplay mechanic when compared to Crysis' stealth mode or F.E.A.R.'s slow-mo.

    That said, Timesplitters 2 and Black still remain two of my favourite console-based shooters of all time and neither of them had such gimmicks, so whether Nectar hits the spot or not, I do hope FRD manage to deliver in the gameplay stakes.

  • Darren #33 4 years ago

    I've been saving up what little enthusiasm I have left for the somewhat stale FPS genre for the "creme de le creme" exclusive games like Haze, Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2 (I can't see Killzone 2 coming out this year though). The footage I've seen from Haze looks fine and I'm pleased that the game is not using the Unreal Engine 3 as there's a tendency for games that use it to look rather samey, bordering on bland IMO. You can spot a UE3 game a mile off by the texture pop in issues and complete lack of anti-aliasing!!! That Haze is using a custom engine means that it has its own unique look plus it's designed to run well on the PS3.

    I'm a bit puzzled at the hostility toward the game though considering it's by Free Radical, the developers of the TimeSplitters series, but even if it is only as good as Resistance, a game I really enjoyed, then I'll be happy. A game doesn't always have to be ground-breaking to be fun, just a little different and playable. Hopefully Haze will be that.

  • Xerx3s #34 4 years ago

    Right on queue.

    What are you saying, that I'm a ps3 fanboy because I want to play haze? Did you even read what I wrote before expressing your hypocrisy?

    squarejawhero: Fair enough.

  • Les #35 4 years ago

    “You're wrong about bioshock though. It's a fantastic story that is told in a great theatrical method. Technically, the way they tell the story is 100% solid.”

    Maybe it gets significantly better as the game progresses but I was completely underwhelmed by the start:

    - The whole plane crash thing, being surrounded by fire on all sides except where the entrance to Rapture is, is rather hilarious
    - You arrive in Rapture, a splicer kills someone in front of the bathysphere, hits it and then lets you get out and find a weapon first
    - When the little sister and big daddy are introduced the game doesn’t allow you to use weapons for a short period (and personally, making them little girls so it would create a moral hazard when having to decide whether to kill them or not is so contrived and not working at all)
    - You find a syringe and without knowing what it’ll do inject it immediately into your arm
    - As you are unconscious creatures intent on killing you leave you alone
    - Lots of people get killed but for some reason there are vitachambers that only resurrect you if you die


    Didn’t get to the end of the demo because it crashed after my PC woke up from standby but couldn’t really be bothered TBH. Maybe it gets better and there’s an explanation for all this further down the story but the start for me was very disappointing. Especially after it was hyped so much: I’ve played many games that were better in telling a story. E.g. currently playing HL: Source and that is much more engaging.

  • Prodigy_BE #36 4 years ago

    Am I the only one who was disappointed by the fact that Bioshock never game you the opportunity to soak up the environment?
    There were ALWAYS enemies lurking. You had to move, and move fast, constantly. If you'd ask me to draw a map of Rapture, I wouldn't know where to start.

    But I still know the layout of System Shock 1.

    Apart from that, great game. Room for improvement, but great none the less.

  • Xerx3s #37 4 years ago

    Oh I'm sorry, I mistook you for someone who actually played the game.

  • Goodfella #38 4 years ago

    Jesus, Les. It's a game, not real life.

  • BillyBrush #39 4 years ago

    Hmm...i'd like to play it...middling shooters of this gen tend to be a lot of fun still...shame it's single plat imo it has to hurt their sales, oh well

  • The-Bodybuilder #40 4 years ago

    @ Daxxy

    So essentially, people could just lie motionless from a distance and just keep firing on the mantel soldiers, and they would never see them as they are motionless "corpses" on the ground? O_o

  • PearOfAnguish #41 4 years ago

    I guess camouflage isn't a concern for futuristic soldiers? Those bright yellow helmets are like a big target.

  • bad09 #42 4 years ago

    The problem with Haze for me is not its exclusive to PS3, it's that it's just another FPS. These days it's gotta be something really special to interest me (thanks for that IW!). For me Haze has never looked anything other than just another FPS just like all the others that have come along in 2007 and 2008 that are saturating the genre. Besides anyone who has actually played it have not really raved about it anyway.

    To be honest I am so tired of FPS games that apart from Condemned 2 I really don't think I'll be buying an FPS for quite a while no matter the platform and no matter how well received it is.

  • Xerx3s #43 4 years ago

    Oh dear, headbog you really are a sad person aren't you. So what's next? The "I was only baiting routine"?

  • justsomeone #44 4 years ago

    rarely have i read a preview, or first impressions, on eurogamer where it was so clear the author was unimpressed, and struggling to find something, anything, positive to say. to be honest, i can't see anything to suggest this isn't going to be an immensely derivative shooter, devoid of anything new or innovative. the only hook they have is a suit that pumps some sort of drug into you to enhance your performance, that must be used tactically in case of overuse...now where have i head that before???

    it's a shame really, but i suspect this isn't going to be very good. (i have a PS3, BTW)

  • The-Bodybuilder #45 4 years ago

    Wasn't nectar just called a "power up" in other games? I remember even sonic turning to "nectar sonic" on the mega drive.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/08 @ 10:20

  • miiiguel #46 4 years ago

    Les, you obviously didn't play BioShock, not even until 2/3 of it, because if you did, you'd know why Jack injected the "unknown substance"...
    would you kindly play the game ? (to proprelly support that verbosity towards it, that's all...)

    About this game I have no feelings at all, just find it funny the "going to happen/not going to happen" thingy, which is a weirdo way to hype a game, and I suspect it's not working.
    Edited by 3 at 03/04/08 @ 10:37

  • kangarootoo #47 4 years ago

    "I'm buying this day one, because as a PS3 gamer, this 'll be loads of fun"

    That sentence makes no sense ;)

  • penhalion #48 4 years ago

    @Xerx3s

    You haven't put headbog on ignore yet? Get with the program man!

    As for Haze. I was never interested in it from the start so I may rent it for a weekend. Seems like one of those love it or hate it style games.

  • kangarootoo #49 4 years ago

    "Right on queue"

    Right on cue.

    Fixed.

  • kangarootoo #50 4 years ago

    @Les

    Jesus dude, did you even play the game?

    "Didn’t get to the end of the demo..."

    Ah, that explains EVERYTHING.

    If you had actually played to the end of the game ALL your questions would have been answered. As it is, you just look rather foolish.

  • bitesize #51 4 years ago


    well i think haze is looking and sounding fantastic. shame i'll never get to play it unless they do in fact do a 360 release after all...

    have some faith in free radical!

  • Apostle #52 4 years ago

    Give the game a chance people.

  • miiiguel #53 4 years ago

    "and from seeing the way he dresses and shaves, he's probably happy where he is now."
    That doesn't make any sense also, but hilarious, nevertheless...

  • IAmBatman #54 4 years ago

    Q2 is a corridor shooter. Played it this week again. It still is by some margin one of the best games ever made
    This is why people pay no attention to your opinions.

  • tnomad #55 4 years ago

    Spent 3 hours playing this co-op yesterday. Dull dull dull. Lots more boring corridors full of the same 2 types of enemy than Rob's initial preview hinted at. Awful reuse of the same 5-6 stock phrases from soldiers around you. Average gameplay and none of the impressive and dramatic set piece goodness we've been spoiled with in recent shooters like Halo, CoD and BioShock. Really DULL DULL DULL!

  • BiscuitBase #56 4 years ago

    My prediction : 6/10

    One of those marks will be a consolation mark "because it's from the team that brought us Timesplitters"

  • klem578 #57 4 years ago

    @ tnomad :where did you play it man if i may ask?Just curious...

    Well guys,as many people mentioned already, in this day and age of constant "i shoot you, you shoot me" in first person, something has to be REALLY special (or extremely ultra fun) to make an impact on the already over saturated gamers (fps ones mostly) .

    Unfortunately, haze doesn't seem to provide/present absolutely anything new, and even from a gameplay standpoint, most previews have been extremely unenthusiastic and "meh" about it.

    It's a shame because i really want it to be good,never bought the hype, it's just that i need a good "smooth", story driven shooter with co-op (had enough of Halo3 and COD4), thing is though, i can feel than even F.R knows that the game is destined to fail, it's just a gut feeling i have...
    Edited by 2 at 03/04/08 @ 11:52

  • Prodigy_BE #58 4 years ago

    "I'm buying this day one, because as a PS3 gamer, this 'll be loads of fun"
    That sentence makes no sense ;)

    Hm... you're actually right.

    Point is, it's Free Radical Design ffs, they haven't let gamers down in over 10 years.
    I'm not saying this game will break new grounds, but it'll be somewhere between good and very good.

    Drop in, drop out 4 player co-op is new for me, so I'm looking forward to that the most.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/08 @ 12:06

  • Monkey_Puncher #59 4 years ago

    Looks okayish, nothing special.

    Give me Timesplitters 4!

  • BM #60 4 years ago

    As a 360 owner I'm a bit jealous, to be quite honest.

    Anyone with the track record of Free Radical (I have owned and loved Goldeneye, Perfect Dark and Timesplitters 2. In fact I STILL play Timesplitters via my Wii) should in my mind be making a top class game. A bit gutted it won't be on 360

  • Widge #61 4 years ago

    I like the Co-op methodology, thats quite good. I haven't got the time to sit down and set up Co-op games, so being able to dive into one would be ace. I think RSV2 does this does it not? Really hoping that Resistance2 also follows this path.

    Graphically, its looking nice, storywise it seems ok. Will it be good or will it just be average? The big questions there.

    Sadly I've just sat and read through the ign feature from some bod who has got to play MGS4 right through and that seems a hell of alot more tempting at the moment.

  • Gaol #62 4 years ago

    @Les

    '- You find a syringe and without knowing what it’ll do inject it immediately into your arm'

    I remember this, thought it was bloody hilarious; totally broke suspension of disbelief.


    On Haze: Preview told be bugger all really, in fact it's a bit worrying when a previewer 'reserves judgement', But then, I loved Timesplitetrs, so fingers crossed.

  • Widge #63 4 years ago

    3rd person, well at least it offers a VAGUE bit of difference. I mean the camera is slapped behind Drake on Uncharted and that certainly doesn't play like an FPS.

  • Retroid #64 4 years ago

    Might give this a go on my PS3; it'll give the thing a rest from Super Stardust! :D

  • Darren #65 4 years ago

    @Prodigy_BE - "Point is, it's Free Radical Design ffs, they haven't let gamers down in over 10 years. I'm not saying this game will break new grounds, but it'll be somewhere between good and very good."

    Free Radical did make Second Sight though and that was poorly received if I remember correctly plus TimeSplitters 3 got some mixed reviews. There's a possibility that Haze might be a disappointment but I'm quietly hopeful that it won't be.

  • PearOfAnguish #66 4 years ago

    "I remember this, thought it was bloody hilarious; totally broke suspension of disbelief. "

    It's explained if you actually play the full game. Comments like this only make you look like a tit, just like Les.

  • RustyBullet #67 4 years ago

    @headbog Haze = not a 360 shoter so therefore shit.
    Wait for the 360 fanbois to turn up and state how meh this is.

    I have all 3 next gen machines and still this game just looks so generic. Give me the corridors of Bioshock any day @ least the gameplay was good.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/08 @ 13:03

  • bodypopper #68 4 years ago

    Considering Timesplitters, will there be bots in the Haze multiplayer?

  • Les #69 4 years ago

    "Jesus, Les. It's a game, not real life."

    I'm fully aware of that. But when a game is all about atmosphere and story, I expect the story itself to be consistent and convincing in relation to the game world. Look at HL. Totally ridiculous story but game world and story are perfectly merged, soaking you in. And if there's something that isn't consistent (like dying but being able to continue the game) don't try to window-dress it (as with the vitachambers) unless you can do it in a way that makes perfect sense in the game world.

  • Les #70 4 years ago

    "If you had actually played to the end of the game ALL your questions would have been answered. As it is, you just look rather foolish."

    Might be but a game has to be enticing to me from the get-go. It's like with a good book. If it doesn't capture me in the first few chapters I'm not going to labour through it just so I can experience a finale that puts everything in its place. Bioshock did nothing for me while HL grabbed me from the start.

    But I must say that I am intrigued by an apparently perfectly reasonable explanation for it all. That's quite an achievement. I guess it's more the sort of story for people that love detectives (which I hate).

  • miiiguel #71 4 years ago

    "from the get-go"
    From the "get-go" is one thing, but you seem to opinate from the synopse of the games' box. And you love to hate, it seems.

    And believe me, it has nothing to do with detectives.
    Edited by 2 at 03/04/08 @ 13:23

  • glaeken #72 4 years ago

    I don't get where the hype for this title comes from. It seems like a generic FPS to me.

    I must admit though I am having problems getting excited about yet another FPS these days. There just seems to be a new FPS every few weeks these days and it’s all beginning to feel like shovelware.

  • bad09 #73 4 years ago

    Everyone is knocking old Les but remember just because he didn't like the Bioshock doesn't mean it's a bad game (although you're reasons for not liking it are pretty weak Les!). He sites HL as great in one post but personally I found HL2 so dull to play I couldn't finish it.

    Horses for courses people, try not to take it personally or you'll end up like Headbog! :)

  • The-Bodybuilder #74 4 years ago

    >"As a 360 owner I'm a bit jealous, to be quite honest."

    Don't worry, you have your own average, over-hyped exclusive from a team that brought you goldeneye, it's called "Perfect Dark: Zero" (the zero standing for zero out of 10).

  • miiiguel #75 4 years ago

    Yeah, you're right, I tend to get a bit personal when it goes BioShock, because I love it so much. Well, I do.

    Of course, he's entitled not to like (I wouldn't entitle him to "hate" though) it, but I wish he didn't mention the "reasons".

  • Aloominum_man #76 4 years ago

    'I'm taking the piss out of all those XBOT fanbois who piss on Haze but go gaga over Gears.'

    To be fair though Headbog, Gears is actually out and has been enjoyed by many, whereas Haze isn't and hasn't. Personally, I hope it's great, but in the current climate, there doesn't seem to be much about it to get aroused over. Apart from it being on the PS3, if you own one and therefore don't have much else in the same genre to shout about.

  • glaeken #77 4 years ago

    @headbog

    It was never on pre-order as I did not like the first one so I really doubt the second one is going to sway my opinion.

  • Apologie #78 4 years ago

    Haze is shaping up to be a very solid PS3 exclusive, visually it's got its own unique style, with four player co-op (Haze's campaign will be a blast with three friends online), big levels, lots of vehicle driving, turret firing settings and some spectacular set pieces these game is gonna rock, the jungle scenery is much welcome too... we're getting a bit bored of identikit Unreal Engine 3 shooters, so Haze's aesthetic should prove to be a selling point, it should keep PS3-owning shooters happy until big-hopes Resistance 2 and Killzone 2 arrive later in the year... to me, Haze is a must buy and will place somewhere between 8/10 and 10/10.

  • Widge #79 4 years ago

    you can't give a game a rating until its released!
    Thats almost as bad as the swarms of people who reviewed Fifa 08 1/5 with their review argument essentially being "wait until PES2008 comes out, that will kick arse"... and then PES2008 turning out to be a total travesty.

  • glaeken #80 4 years ago

    I am guessing Apologie has got that from a PR release for the game. It does not seem like the sort of thing an actually person would write.

    I do agree though that visually the game does have a unique style apart from Halo, Timeshift, Turok etc. and every other game where you play a space marine. Hold on what does unique mean again?

  • Les #81 4 years ago

    "Jesus Les, you've not even played it so you have absolutely no friggin' idea what you are talking about.

    Would you kindly STFU."

    Don't really understand what everybody gets so worked up about. I played (I guess a significant) part of the demo and didn't like what was in there. It didn't click with me and whatever story devices the creators have worked out later on in the game come too late for me. Maybe it's a game for which a demo shouldn't be released. For me it was all poor story, unbelievable world and ugly engine (loved the sound though). No reason for me to get back to. There's plenty to play so I'm not going to labour myself through a game that I don't like instantly (especially if it didn't cost me any money as in a demo; had I bought the full game I might very well have pushed through).

    But back to Haze: I don't think I have the stomach to play through another FPS after HL for quite some time. Have played too much of them recently. And a Free Radical game without monkeys... I'm curious how they handle serious story telling.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/08 @ 13:56

  • crazyhorse174 #82 4 years ago

    Is this coming out for the 360 as well? Its just that I went to the release dates on this very site, and Haze is penciled in for the 360 as well? For some reason I though this was PS3 only...

  • Vin #83 4 years ago

    Man, I've got such a Pariah vibe off this.

  • kangarootoo #84 4 years ago

    @Les

    If Bioshock just wasn't for you, then fair enough. No one can tell you were wrong not to like it. But if you are dismissing it because certain things in the opening areas don't seem to make sense, you are honestly cutting off your nose to spite your face.

    Rent it and give it another blast. It may still not do it for you, but it may just impress the socks off you once it gets going. No harm in spending £4 and finding out.

  • ParanoidZombie #85 4 years ago

    This looks a lot like some sort of a timeshift - turok - dark sector thing (generic stuff with a cool few gimmicks inside, be it time-bending or stealth killing dinosaurs), but it has coop, and a good coop mode can really turn an average game into a good/very good one.

    ... Now I'm gonna copy this sentence and paste it into all the incoming Killzone 2 - RFOM 2 - Socom 3 - GeOW2 comment threads, ah ah ah ah. Wait, does Killzone 2 actually have coop? If it doesn't, my devious plan falls apart!

  • kangarootoo #86 4 years ago

    "It does not seem like the sort of thing an actual person..."

    That seems like a fair summary of Apologie to me. More sock than person.


    @Les

    "Don't really understand what everybody gets so worked up about."

    The thing that people were getting stroppy about (me included of course) is that your main critisisms were of aspect of the game progression that appeared not to make sense, too many coincidences and unexplained actions and so on (you now seem to have moved onto saying it looked crap too, which smacks of diversion of a little, though your opinion is valid). IF you had played the game, it would have all made sense. That is the key thing that got people upset.

    Many said at the time that the demo was not an ideal introduction to the game, because without the wider context it just didn't come across "right". I would agree, though I rather liked the demo and didn't worry too much about the suspension of disbelief it demanded.


    I do agree with many that say it got a bit repetative btw. I'm not singing its praises blindly. For me the repetition was not a deal breaker and I still enjoyed playing the game to completion. There were still strong moments throughout most of the title, and no game is perfect.

  • The-Bodybuilder #87 4 years ago

    I've got such a deus ex 2: invisible wars about this.

  • The-Bodybuilder #88 4 years ago

    @ Les

    I didn't like bioshock either, but your comments are still ridiculous. I mean really, attacking early elements of the story, without completing the story is absurd. That's like playing the first half of shenmue, and claiming how ridiculous it is for some mysterious chinesse guy to fight and kill your dad over a freakin mirror? Or playing the first quarter of MGS and saying the storyline is ridiculous because because why is there a cyborg ninja in it? (the storyline become ridiculous from MGS2 onwards).

    You can attack the gaming mechanics you got from the demo, sure. But you can't attack a story you haven't played.

    You mst have a serious problem suspending your beliefs.
    You remind me of a friend whom I watched cloverfield. From beginning till end, he constantly mocked why the guy would still be recording from his camcorder, when the real thing to do was to just run away. WELL IF HE STOPPED RECORDING, THERE WOULDN'T BE A FREAKIN FILM TO WATCH NOW, WOULD THERE?

  • Prodigy_BE #89 4 years ago

    Am I the only one wondering how many controllers this "the bodybuilder" bloke wears out a year?

  • JYM60 #90 4 years ago

    If this is crap I may* cry.

    *will

  • JYM60 #91 4 years ago

    @darren
    "Free Radical did make Second Sight though and that was poorly received if I remember correctly plus TimeSplitters 3 got some mixed reviews."

    Um, no.

  • Gaol #92 4 years ago

    @PearofAnguish

    Erm, please fuck off mate; I did get involved in what plot there was of Bioshock, most of it was window dressing; you're defending it like it was Shakespeare; which is rather pathetic. A lot of the references are just smoke and mirrors.

    The manner in which he injected himself with a needle lying about was hilarious, he hardly considered it, just picked it up and stabbed himself. Sure, the powers were explained in the various adverts and voice overs but it still looked funny to me. 'Hmm, a needle, might make me uber 'STAB!'

  • Waldo #93 4 years ago

    This isn't a PS3 exclusive: it'll be on the PC and 360 too.

  • Prodigy_BE #94 4 years ago

    Second Sight was Ace. But without PR muscles, you cannot survive the harsh world of videogames. (no, really, you can't)

  • Bumhug360 #95 4 years ago

    The manner in which he injected himself with a needle lying about was hilarious, he hardly considered it, just picked it up and stabbed himself. Sure, the powers were explained in the various adverts and voice overs but it still looked funny to me. 'Hmm, a needle, might make me uber 'STAB!' .

    You didnt really understand the story then, or missed a very key point

    The character you play was born in rapture and is only 2 years old and been genetically modified to mature rapidly, memories he thought he had didnt actualy exist had just been planted in his head. The reason why he injects himself was just natural instinct, it had nothing to do with the adverts at all was just a natural reaction as that as what he had been brought up to do

  • glaeken #96 4 years ago

    I think part of the problem with getting the Bioshock story is you had to actually make quite an effort to gather all the facts from the various voice recorders and other bits and peices lying around the environment. I can imagine someone could have just played it as a straight forward shooter and missed most of the recorders and other story cues. If the game never grabbed you from the begining then you can see how some would not have made much effort to get the full story.

    Personally I rate the story very highly but then I treated the whole thing more akin to playing an adventure game.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/08 @ 16:18

  • tnomad #97 4 years ago

    I think the most important thing about Haze is that everyone in the comments thread should argue about BioShock as much as possible.

  • Machiavellian #98 4 years ago

    Gameplay wise, Bioshock was not the best experience I have had but I can also say that Bioshock is among the few games where I actually cared about a digital character. Throughout the game, like Les, I also wondered why I was doing the things that I was doing. All are explained in such a manner that if you did not feel any type of emotion your heart must be made of stone or you are as dense as a block of wood.

  • bitesize #99 4 years ago

    isn't there a bioshock thread somewhere for those who want to have this argument YET AGAIN?

    The nectar is quite novel though

    yeah exactly. can't see why most people have written this off as generic when it's got the whole nectar thing as a major gamplay point which hasn't been done before in games (at least, not this way)...


    nb. i haven't played every game in the world, ever, so it may have been done something like this before - but i haven't seen it...


    edit: shocking grammar.
    Edited by 2 at 03/04/08 @ 16:43

  • Apologie #100 4 years ago

    Bioshock value is short (good story and graphics, gameplay is ordinary and no multiplayer), no one cares about the game anymore, just a very small percentage of people still have the patience to play trough the campaign again... (i don't mind playing corridor shooters as long as the A.I compensate for it, for example, FEAR is a very linear shooter, but the impressive A.I kept it interesting during the campaign, every battle get's different, and that is not presente in Bioshok) good game though just nothing to writte home about.

    But, as someone said, these is "Haze comment section", why talk about Bioshok in here???
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/08 @ 16:49

  • BillyBrush #101 4 years ago

    come boi moine and eat some of moi potatoes, sure ya will ya cheeky fella, me lucky charms me lucky charms!
    ....
    you durrty rat, are you lookin at me, i don't see no one else in here, follow me while i toin into a rootin tootin final boss (OD's on plasmids) ok oim ready...are you lookin at ME?

    A summary of Bioshock written in new game journalism by Billy Brush

  • Les #102 4 years ago

    "(you now seem to have moved onto saying it looked crap too, which smacks of diversion of a little, though your opinion is valid)."

    No, complained about the UE3 look from the start...

    "IF you had played the game, it would have all made sense. That is the key thing that got people upset."

    I contest it all makes sense: you lot got me intrigued and as I have no intention to get the full game I did a sneak peek at gamefaqs... ;) The story is too contrived for me, though internally reasonably coherent.

    edit: So, to clarify, I take back my earlier comments about some of the poor story elements.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/08 @ 16:59

  • Widge #103 4 years ago

    Multiplayer isn't necessary to make a game good. Bioshock didn't need it. I enjoyed Heavenly Sword and Uncharted, again no multiplayer there.

  • Gaol #104 4 years ago

    @Bumhug360

    Yeah but we didn't know that at the time, it was revealed later on that he had grown up there. Hence the hilarity. I thought it was funny anyway, maybe cause I'm from Glasgow originally...

    PS. I understood the story perfectly, it's anyone that gives it any literary credence I worry about :p

  • PearOfAnguish #105 4 years ago

    "@PearofAnguish

    Erm, please fuck off mate; I did get involved in what plot there was of Bioshock, most of it was window dressing; you're defending it like it was Shakespeare; which is rather pathetic. A lot of the references are just smoke and mirrors.

    The manner in which he injected himself with a needle lying about was hilarious, he hardly considered it, just picked it up and stabbed himself. Sure, the powers were explained in the various adverts and voice overs but it still looked funny to me. 'Hmm, a needle, might make me uber 'STAB!'"

    How am I defending it 'like it was Shakespeare'?* I was simply pointing out that it works within the context of the game. Of course it isn't going to make sense if you don't get further than the demo. Lest you believe that I'm some demented, wild-eyed fanboy, I suppose I should mention that I enjoyed Bioshock but that it isn't without flaws. It is, however, silly to dismiss the entire thing from a short demo.



    *Why is it impossible to have any kind of discussion on the internet without someone immediately assuming that you're frothing at the mouth while you type?
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/08 @ 17:33

  • kangarootoo #106 4 years ago

    @Wonga

    I agree. I enjoyed Bioshock a lot, but my second playthrough just kind of burned out after a few "levels".

    I rarely buy games these days, I tend to rent stuff unless I know I am getting a sack load of hours out of the title.


    Sorry everyone to keep adding to the Bioshock discussion on a Haze thread. I guess it says something that many people aren't even interested in arguing about haze :(

  • Gaol #107 4 years ago

    @PearofAnguish

    Think you need to reread your own post pal, you were spouting off about me being a ' dick like les' cause I disagreed with you on a single scene of Bioshock. It works in context only after the fact, doesn't make it any less funny at the time. I thought Bioshock was pretty good though.

    If you have now stopped 'frothing' /peace.

    Edited by 1 at 03/04/08 @ 17:53

  • samaran #108 4 years ago

    "I dislike UE3 as well. Not because there is something wrong with it but because everybody uses it. I seriously can't tell the difference between COD4, RB6v, etc. You're wrong about bioshock though. It's a fantastic story that is told in a great theatrical method. Technically, the way they tell the story is 100% solid. "

    COD4 isn't a UE3 game. if military shooters look the same then...well, they're probably achieving their goals.

  • Phily50 #109 4 years ago

    can't wait til timesplitters is out really, I just hope the mistakes they make(if they do) with this game will be rectified for when they bring out timesplitters on the PS3.

  • Apologie #110 4 years ago

    Multiplayer isn't necessary to make a game good. Bioshock didn't need it. I enjoyed Heavenly Sword and Uncharted, again no multiplayer there.

    ----------------

    thouse games you mentioned aren't shooters... in a FPS, multiplayer is more then necessary, Bioshok had none and that's a shame, that's why no one gives a f*** about the game nowday's, it's replay value is almost zero except for the hardcore fan base. It's gameplay adds nothing to the genre and the A.I is nothing speciall... the only really strong point is the story and the atmosphere/art direction (not the graphics).
    Edited by 3 at 03/04/08 @ 18:39

  • miiiguel #111 4 years ago

    Major spoiler ahead!:

    "The manner in which he injected himself with a needle lying about was hilarious,"
    Man, he did all those things because he was beeing mind controlled, would you kindly play the game proprelly!

  • George-Roper #112 4 years ago

    @Apologie

    "Haze is shaping up to be a very solid PS3 exclusive, visually it's got its own unique style, with four player co-op (Haze's campaign will be a blast with three friends online), big levels, lots of vehicle driving, turret firing settings and some spectacular set pieces these game is gonna rock, the jungle scenery is much welcome too... we're getting a bit bored of identikit Unreal Engine 3 shooters, so Haze's aesthetic should prove to be a selling point, it should keep PS3-owning shooters happy until big-hopes Resistance 2 and Killzone 2 arrive later in the year... to me, Haze is a must buy and will place somewhere between 8/10 and 10/10."

    OMG. Did you just put a score on a game you haven't played, because its a PS3 game?

    Why is it a 'must buy' exactly? What are you basing it on? Previews and Interviews? Or because its a PS3 game?

    Fucking hell, im all for good titles and damn it, the PS3 needs a few, but theres just no basis to go off the rails and make statements like you have done about an unproven game. Wind the fanboi neck in a bit, FFS.

  • miiiguel #113 4 years ago

    LOL, Sometimes I do think about getting a PS3, but then I read Apolol and headlogs' (whole family) posts, and I'm scared to death. Then again, PSN is kinda mute land isn't it?

  • monty2k #114 4 years ago

    Even though it looks a bit generic, I'm still looking forward to Haze. I reckon the 4 player co-op, nectar and Free Radical's pedigree should raise it above average.

    About the whole feigning death thing - surely nectar alters your perceptions of reality like most drugs do? Also most soldiers will see you get hurt before you feign death and "disappear" and therefore just assume you died. I kind of do the same thing in CoD4 when I shoot someone, ignore them and then get killed by their "last stand" perk... something I still havent got used to after playing that game for ages.






  • Les #115 4 years ago

    "I didn't like bioshock either, but your comments are still ridiculous. I mean really, attacking early elements of the story, without completing the story is absurd."

    Like I said in my post about the story elements, it might be that there's an explanation for them further on but by that time the game had already lost me.

    But knowing how everything falls in its place doesn't make it much better to me TBH. It's a bit like with detectives that I can't stand either. I hate it when the main purpose of the story teller seems to be "look how clever I put all this nonsense together". Bioshock reminds me of Dan Brown. That's not a compliment.

    "You can attack the gaming mechanics you got from the demo, sure. But you can't attack a story you haven't played."

    Of course I can. I can attack those parts that I did play. Those didn't appeal to me at all so for me the story failed. For you it didn't, fine.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/08 @ 19:08

  • Apologie #116 4 years ago

    @miiiguel

    Sometimes I do think about getting a PS3...

    --------------------------

    after all you do have some kind of intelligence...

  • Les #117 4 years ago

    "You mst have a serious problem suspending your beliefs."

    No not really. I have problems with stories that don't work for me. Like I said earlier, HL's story is much simpler, more ridiculous but works much better.

  • VMerken #118 4 years ago

    Oh Oh Spaghettiohs... I smell a 6/10 burning.

  • Machiavellian #119 4 years ago

    @Les

    You are making excuses for your own failings not the game. The reason I say that is because you did not PLAY the game. You can reason all you want but in the end, you did not PLAY enough of the game to even FORM a decent opinion on any elements within the game. If the game did not grab you enough to play it then thats fine and thats where it should stand but trying to pass off an informed opinion about something you barely touched is totally not ok.

    You are right you can form whatever opinion you want but you would sound just as silly as people who form opinions about video games who never played them or only saw videos or brief gameplay and deemed them a waste of time.

    Hell, I could have formed a opinion that Dune the book was garbage because when I first picked it up, I could not get pass the part where Paul was still on him home planet. I thought the book was boring, confusing and I could not believe it garnered a best seller. 2 years later, I actually went back to Dune and read the whole book and found out that it was a great book which prompted me to read the entire series.

    I can see you would make a terrible game reviewer because you would only play games that interest you in the beginning never getting to the good parts because you formed an imperfect opinion.

  • Gibroon #120 4 years ago

    Most FPS are generic in their very nature but it does help to have a few stand out moments that make it different from the others. I'm a bit worried that there will not be enough variation in characters and a lack of Big Boss Battles for the masse. Mind you CoD4 has none of these either and is very popular so I hope people don't expect massive purple aliens turning up in Haze cos it ain't going to happen.
    I'm mostly looking forward to the co-op options in the game but the gameplay is where it really needs to be good.

    The hype or anti-hype for this game is always going to make the reviews a bit awkward. If it gets the same treatment that RFOM and ends up being 6 or 7's in reviews it should still be an enjoyable game.
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/08 @ 20:13

  • Apologie #121 4 years ago

    Machiavellian

    You are right you can form whatever opinion you want but you would sound just as silly as people who form opinions about video games who never played them or only saw videos or brief gameplay and deemed them a waste of time.

    -------------------------------------------------

    I said "to me, Haze is a must buy and will place somewhere between 8/10 and 10/10."... these is my opinion and not an absolute truth, of course the game is not out yet, but based on the gameplay videos and overall information gathered, it's shaping up to be a pretty competent and intresting product, i repeat, it's my opinon... now, if it becomes a fact, we will only see after the release... i advise you to read carefully before coming up with silly conclusions regarding other people.
    Edited by 2 at 03/04/08 @ 20:43

  • Les #122 4 years ago

    "You are making excuses for your own failings not the game. The reason I say that is because you did not PLAY the game. You can reason all you want but in the end, you did not PLAY enough of the game to even FORM a decent opinion on any elements within the game. If the game did not grab you enough to play it then thats fine and thats where it should stand but trying to pass off an informed opinion about something you barely touched is totally not ok."

    Like I said, I played the demo and didn't like it one bit. I wasn't convinced by the reviews or gameplay videos and I didn't think it was that great after playing the demo. I never pretended I played the full game and I even mentioned that the full game might very likely give a 'proper' explanation for the ridiculous events but they were enough to put me off and not even bother.

    "You are right you can form whatever opinion you want but you would sound just as silly as people who form opinions about video games who never played them or only saw videos or brief gameplay and deemed them a waste of time."

    Thing is, I don't think those people are being silly. The "you can't form an opinion on something if you haven't tried it" is so old and lame and just plain wrong it amazes me people keep digging it up. I don't have to burn my hand to know that that will hurt. I don't have to read the full Harry Potter series in order to know what I knew after 10 pages: this wasn't something I was going to enjoy. We people are perfectly capable of learning and forming opinions based on information supplied by others or taking small parts of information and forming a view on the whole. That's what reviews are for (the text that is, not the stupid scores).

    Funny you mention Dune. I think I got halfway through to part 4 or 5 before I got tired of it as quality wasn't really improving to put it mildly.

    "I can see you would make a terrible game reviewer because you would only play games that interest you in the beginning never getting to the good parts because you formed an imperfect opinion."

    No, if I was a reviewer I would have to work through all the boring bits and wouldn't mind too much as it would have been my job and I was getting paid for it. As it stands, games are a form of enjoyment for me. There are many games and I have little time. If a game fails to please from the start, why would I continue with the very unlikely hope that it might improve in the end? There are plenty of other games that can amuse me from start to finish. I'd do better to spend my time on them. And as it's my opinion, it's bound to be perfect... :p
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/08 @ 21:14

  • Les #123 4 years ago

    "Mind you CoD4 has none of these either and is very popular so I hope people don't expect massive purple aliens turning up in Haze cos it ain't going to happen."

    But isn't that mainly popular because of the multi-player?

    Ah well, we'll see how Haze turns out. The fact that the 'exclusive' preview isn't hyping it that much might be telling if I cared much for EG's opinion on games...

  • The-Bodybuilder #124 4 years ago

    @ Prodigy_BE

    The answer is 7.

  • Gibroon #125 4 years ago

    The perks and upgrades definitely make COD4 stand out. It is still a very generic game and enjoyable, unless you don't like FPS.

  • The-Bodybuilder #126 4 years ago

    @ Les

    That's fine then. Like I said, I don't personally like bioshock either. But c'mon, how can you honestly justify judging a storyline a failure, when you don't actually know the storyline?

    I mean, you were corrected on why he injected himself, and you withdrew your earlier statements. So then you can you judge the rest of the story?
    And reading FAQs isn't the same as playing the game. That's like reading the script of the green mile (reading the script, not a book) and judging the movie. The story has to be put within the context and framework of the game (story revelation, music, atmposphere, environment. These are things you cannot get from reading game FAQs).

    And for crying out loud, I don't even like the blasted game.

  • Ace_McCloud #127 4 years ago

    "I don't have to read the full Harry Potter series in order to know what I knew after 10 pages: this wasn't something I was going to enjoy."

    Harry Potter!? Now you've gone too far Les!

  • The-Bodybuilder #128 4 years ago

    >"I don't have to read the full Harry Potter series in order to know what I knew after 10 pages: this wasn't something I was going to enjoy"

    As someone who also dislikes harry potter, I can tell you this;
    It is one thing disliking the book because you already know it's not a book you will like. It's another to judge the storyline when you haven't read the book.

    See the difference?
    Edited by 1 at 03/04/08 @ 22:28

  • PearOfAnguish #129 4 years ago

    "@PearofAnguish

    Think you need to reread your own post pal, you were spouting off about me being a ' dick like les' cause I disagreed with you on a single scene of Bioshock. It works in context only after the fact, doesn't make it any less funny at the time. I thought Bioshock was pretty good though.

    If you have now stopped 'frothing' /peace."

    Oh my, did I really say dick? Go and read the post again, properly this time.

    And nobody was frothing, but you seem to be having some trouble reading so I'll let you off.



  • Gaol #130 4 years ago

    I must start avoiding these comments threads.

    @PearOfFroth

    You called me a 'tit' for having a different opinion, that's all right then o,O

    PS. Stop frothing

  • Machiavellian #131 4 years ago

    Actually Gaol he called you a tit for not knowing what the hell you were talking about. You still do not know what you are talking about but I am sure you will defend it until the day you die. Anyone who has played the game can see you have absolutly no knowledge of what you are speaking on and it gets worst as you continue to pursue the subject.

  • Machiavellian #132 4 years ago

    I guess this subject is easily argued but One thing I do know Les is that no one ask an opinion from someone on a subject they have little to no experience. So yes you have an opinion but it matters to no one but you because it is uninformed. Uninformed opinions should be kept where they belong, to yourself because they carry no weight.

    As the bodybuilder has said plenty of times, how can you form a opinion on something you have no knowledge about.

  • Les #133 4 years ago

    "I mean, you were corrected on why he injected himself, and you withdrew your earlier statements. So then you can you judge the rest of the story?"

    That I contest (the logic of performing the injection by 'instinct': it was a nice try by the writers but I don't buy it). I don't really judge the rest of the story (just that the demo in my case hurt the game rather than sell it). I am aware that reading a script/faq is a poor substitute for experiencing a story in a game, which is why I have refrained from criticizing it any furhter (except for calling it rather contrived).

  • Les #134 4 years ago

    "So yes you have an opinion but it matters to no one but you because it is uninformed."

    I never expected it to matter to anyone but here we have a full thread about Bioshock instead of Haze, the subject of the story...

  • Les #135 4 years ago

    "As the bodybuilder has said plenty of times, how can you form a opinion on something you have no knowledge about."

    But I do have knowledge about the early parts of the story and I'm perfectly capable of forming an opinion of it: I didn't like it so it didn't entice me to move forward. The story and game failed for me. Like I said before, we humans are designed* to make decisions based on incomplete sets of information because we can learn from earlier experiences and transpose them on new ones. There is a small chance that it will lead to incorrect decisions once in a while but it's a more practical (and safe) approach than trying to experience everything in full before deciding whether it was worth it or not.

    * By 'design' I of course don't mean 'design' in the way that we humans create something for a specific purpose but the process of evolution through variation and natural selection.
    Edited by 1 at 04/04/08 @ 09:41

  • JYM60 #136 4 years ago

    I must start avoiding these comments threads

    This.

  • bitesize #137 4 years ago


    ooh, have free radical got a new game coming out? has it got anything to do with bioshock?

  • Darren #138 4 years ago

    I watched some HD videos of Haze on GameTrailers last night and the game looks very nice, like a cross between Far Cry and Halo, but nothing special in terms in gameplay. However, good FPSs are not as common on the PS3 as they are on the 360 so if it's a solid game then it could do very well, especially if the multiplayer is very good, something that's very feasible given that Free Radical are behind the TimeSplitters series.

  • The-Bodybuilder #139 4 years ago

    >"which is why I have refrained from criticizing it any furhter (except for calling it rather contrived)."

    So you've refrained from commenting on it further, yet STILL had to add an extra comment on it? within the same sentence?

    Whether you "buy" the injection is irrelevant. The point is that you withdrew your statement because you acknowledged it was made out of ignorance (after being corrected). Surely you must be able to see you're still doing it for the rest of the story?

    But either way, this is all pointless.

  • The-Bodybuilder #140 4 years ago

    >"But I do have knowledge about the early parts of the story and I'm perfectly capable of forming an opinion of it: I didn't like it so it didn't entice me to move forward."

    I promis this will be my last comment.
    What you just said is fine. But can you see the difference between not liking the story because the early parts didn't grab you, and claiming the story makes little sense without completing it?

    Like I said, I hate the harry potter books. I can't stand them as I know it's something I will not like (the entire setting, I hate). Yet I cannot comment on whether the story makes sense or not, because I haven't read the book. See the difference?

  • The-Bodybuilder #141 4 years ago

    >"But I do have knowledge about the early parts of the story and I'm perfectly capable of forming an opinion of it: I didn't like it so it didn't entice me to move forward."

    I promis this will be my last comment.
    What you just said is fine. But can you see the difference between not liking the story because the early parts didn't grab you, and claiming the story makes little sense without completing it?

    Like I said, I hate the harry potter books. I can't stand them as I know it's something I will not like (the entire setting, I hate). Yet I cannot comment on whether the story makes sense or not, because I haven't read the book. See the difference?

  • Les #142 4 years ago

    "So you've refrained from commenting on it further, yet STILL had to add an extra comment on it? within the same sentence?"

    No, I refrained from commenting on it further EXCEPT for noting it is rather contrived. That's very possible to do in a single sentence and in no way contradictory. But if I need to explain you the basics of the syntax of sentences and logic, there's indeed little point to this discussion.

    "Whether you "buy" the injection is irrelevant. The point is that you withdrew your statement because you acknowledged it was made out of ignorance (after being corrected). Surely you must be able to see you're still doing it for the rest of the story?"

    No, it isn't, as I was a potential customer for the game. I was put off by the lacking visuals, gameplay and story in the demo. I did acknowledge that the full game tries admirably to fit them in an overall logical framework. That doesn't mean that I think that framework is well constructed or engaging. And it doesn't take away the fact that after playing (part of) the demo I had seen enough of Bioshock (but to it's credit, most demos I download I end up deleting without ever playing them).

  • Les #143 4 years ago

    "Like I said, I hate the harry potter books. I can't stand them as I know it's something I will not like (the entire setting, I hate). Yet I cannot comment on whether the story makes sense or not, because I haven't read the book. See the difference?"

    Yes, which is why, from the very beginning, I said the story within the demo didn't make much sense. I never said the complete story didn't make any sense (read my post again). I even anticipated that the full game was very likely to give a sort of coherent framework that would explain the elements but after playing the demo I wasn't willing to find out.

  • Drumstix #144 4 years ago

    I guess I need to create another account to get the demo...as it stands I can't get it here in Germany (yet) Are demo's region free also? I haven't ventured of of the european realm... lol Lastly I heard that the frame-rate on Haze is capped at 30fps. True?

  • Alf-Life #145 4 years ago

    "Remains to be seen" ...hmm, so does this mean... 'no [we got an exclusive so we won't bash it here].'? :(

  • DjFlex52 #146 4 years ago

    Check out the gameplay on gametrailers in HD.
    eww, this game is ugly....looks like a ps2 game and nectar won't save it.

  • MasterNameless #147 4 years ago

    Wow, the trolls and fanboys are particularly dull today aren't they.

    Been keeping an eye on this game for a while now, and was somehow expecting to be a little more... inspired by the preview. Oh well, let's hope it turns out well for the final release. Not that I have a PS3 yet, but there will be a game to make me want it eventually surely?!?! I don't think it will be this though.