This is just an experimental review. I went for a more "journalistic" attempt. This isn't a final piece but rather, a quick draft just to see how you guys thought of this compared to my first attempt. Rate and comment. Thanks guys. :)
Haze Review
Usually, I associate the term "could've been", alongside a piece of media which held prospering potential but having said that, one with untapped potential. Haze is no exception. And so you can imagine not just my disappointment but everyone else's to see all that potential get washed away, especially under the surveillance of Free Radical.
It's an absolute shame to see Haze turn out like this for when you look at Free Radical's past projects for example. From the likes of Timesplitters 2, 3 and so forth - they were all fantastic, but it's when you look at Free Radical's final project... Haze, that you wish Free Radical would just pack their bags and get the hell outta' here. It feels like a final last-minute crisis to get one, two more final pay checks for the developers. And it's insulting for us; insulting, that we should have to be paying to play this, because we all know Free Radical were better than this.
It just gets rapped up under completely run-of-the-mill gameplay. Ok, maybe not "completely", but after the first five minutes from shooting several soldiers in another hallway, you'd think I'd be telling the truth. Wouldn't you? Because that's basically it - save for one or two (cool) gimmicks, Haze is pretty generic stuff.
At least the premise starts out strong enough. You play as Shane Carpenter, a trooper of the Mantel Corporation, who like the rest of his team is thwarted by propaganda. The main anecdote of this is Nectar, a mentally, physically enhancing drug that keeps the trooper focused and consistent, but most of all, true to Mantel. Only is it when Shane stops using Nectar does he see the true colours of Mantel – the lies and the bloodshed of the trust that he placed in Mantel for all that time.
Sound familiar? That's because it is. In fact, most of the shooting mechanics are pretty flaccid and unoriginal but they're able to carve a niche thanks to the balanced, satisfying guns present, as well as some distinct, original perks that are also available. Mantel's perk (most obviously Nectar) enhances your physical attributes where as the opposite faction - the Rebels in particular, are more distinct with the ability to play-dead for example. Oh, and you can also drive vehicles.
The environmental and objective variety is also welcomed, and while all locations are fictional, they're all believable, and are rarely moulded into your typical stereotype Afghanistan setting. A plethora of mission variety is also implemented of which is to save the combat from getting more monotonous than it already was. This ranges from driving your derived Halo Warhog to bombarding the beaches of Rebels with mortars (both parts of which are incredibly satisfying by the way.)
But that's as far as Haze's originality goes. The shooting is functional, if also tight and responsive, as is a testament to some finely placed, tuned button placements, but even they are a bit off at parts. Though, what's most grating are the missions, and how horribly they are designed. The level design is often disjointed, as in one instance a part may fail to connect to another as seamlessly as it could've done. And the lack of directional radar only furthers this often bafflement of confusion.
The combat too, honestly isn't half as be wielding as it should've been. This is no thanks to the atrocious AI already implemented. As if standing still wasn't bad enough, the enemies will half-heartedly just let you walk right past them. Having said that, the AI will genuinely try to kill off any bots that may be present, but then again, that just makes your presence feel that much more diminishing.
It does however help that the single player can be played via co-op – offline and online for up to four players. Even the multiplayer itself can be played online with friends which partly compensates for the weak online community. The multiplayer though, just doesn't fair up to as you might expect from other higher-tier multiplayer games. There are no ranks or rewards and though there are after-match allocades they aren't permanent and the only form of competitive comparisons is within the form of dull leader-boards. Ok, I admit, the multiplayer was fun but only because the AI were absolute "noobs" and you could simply rank up your leader board headshots on the leader boards.
Given Haze's domain as a Playstation exclusive, the visuals simply don't do the system justice. While sometimes, the environments can be very well detailed in spots, the overall streak feels bland and effortless in terms of production values, and the fact that the character models resemble the look and feel of Barbie dolls doesn't help either. The dialogue too is goofy and horrible and the voice acting is incredibly cheesy, if lively. The sound effects however, are just plain brilliant as they're just as fun to shoot as they do sound. This is only complemented by a fitting, if unoriginal soundtrack.
Haze is simply not the game it was billed up to be. It's a game with untapped potential, and one with many careless flaws. The premise, though capable, could've made better use of itself, and the gameplay is often unoriginally crafted as it's coupled with some atrocious AI and at that, poorly designed levels. But that's not to say Haze is actually a bad game, because it isn't. It just doesn't deliver the sweeping hype behind it and for what Free Radical's projects were otherwise renowned for – top cla$$ shooters. It feels ripped, and at that, copy and pasted out of your ol' Timesplitter's Playstation 2 Game. That's absolutely fine, but this is on the Playstation 3, and not the other way round. And as bold as this statement may sound, Free Radical have ended their last and final project in an almost fantastic attempt at mediocrity.
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