Haze (video game)
| Haze | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Free Radical Design |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Designer(s) | David Doak (game director) Derek Littlewood (creative director) Rob Yescombe (writer) |
| Engine | In-House, with Conspire A.I. |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3 |
| Genre(s) | First-Person Shooter, Action[4] |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Cooperative, Multiplayer |
Haze is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Free Radical Design and published by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3.[5] It has a 'serious' tone, incorporating themes such as oppression and drug abuse. This is unlike Free Radical's TimeSplitters series which provided a more comical and laid-back gaming experience. It was released worldwide in May Template:Vgy. A demo for Haze was released on the PlayStation Network on May 6, 2008.
Gameplay
In the game, Mantel soldiers make use of Nectar, a performance-enhancing pharmaceutical drug that grants the user enhanced speed, accuracy and strength. Mantel uses this drug to control the minds of its soldiers. When administered, Nectar can control--among other things-- what a soldier sees, similar to the effects of a hallucinogenic drug. It makes enemies stand out against the darker grey background because Nectar causes soldiers to see the enemy combatants as an orange color, Nectar also drowns out the surrounding images of death and destruction. An overdose of Nectar is dangerous, with loss of mental control and death being its possible side-effects. A Mantel Soldier experiencing an overdose is shown by a change in their armor, changing in color from yellow to red.
As revealed in an E³ 2007 trailer, Rebel soldiers may go in to a "Play Dead" state just before they are killed, allowing them to regenerate health and disappear from the Mantel soldiers' sight, since they can't see dead people while on Nectar. In addition, they have been given the capability to exploit Mantel's dependence on nectar by attacking the nectar injector, extracting nectar to use on throwing knives from dead Mantel troopers and using the injector to create nectar grenades. These nectar enhanced weapons will cause a Mantel trooper to overdose on nectar, as will attacking the nectar injector. They can also steal a Mantel trooper's gun, and bury grenades in the ground as mines.
Weapons
Haze includes a large variety of weapons for both Mantel and Rebel soldiers, each with their own nicknames. Mantel soldiers have weapons such as the "Diplomat" pistol, the "Blacksaw" assault rifle and the "Donkey Puncher" shotgun. The Rebel soliders on the other hand have weapons such as the "Aguila" sniper rifle, the "Mano del Dios" minigun and the "Dragon de la Gente" flamethrower. Grenades and knives will also be available for use.[6]
Multiplayer
Haze is planned to feature a four-player split screen co-op mode as well as a four-player online co-op mode. At Ubidays, it was revealed that all four squad members were player enabled and could be played co-operatively by joining the game. Multiplayer can be played with one to three extra players through combinations of online, split-screen, or LAN.[7] Multiplayer games will also include narrative-based missions to complete, and the game will accommodate up to 16-player online battles.[8] In addition, the online multiplayer is split among two groups called Mantel and Rebels. Each side has its advantages. Nectar abilities allow Mantel troopers to easily distinguish friend from foe. The Rebels wield throwing knives coated in nectar that cause the Mantel troopers to overdose. In this overdose, Mantels cannot distinguish friend from foe, and may team kill. But, the Mantel side has increased nectar abilities which allow them strong melee attacks. To counter this, the Rebels can play dead. Each side also has their own special gun as well. Mantel has the rocket launcher whereas the Rebels have the Gatling gun and Flamethrower. Despite this, both sides can pick up guns from either side. Video footage is available on here.[9]
Plot
The game revolves around Mantel Global Industries, a multinational corporation with bio-medical expertise.[10] This has led to the development of Nova-Keto-Thyrazine - also called Nectar,[11] a "nutritional supplement" that enables soldiers to fight harder and smarter, but also induces a hallucinogenic effect, where soldiers are no longer cognizant of the real battlefield around them, instead viewing an idyllic, painless environment.
The game takes place over a three day period as Mantel battles a group of rebels, known as "The Promise Hand" which is led by Gabriel "Skin Coat" Marino, with the player assuming the role of Shane Carpenter, a 25 year old Mantel soldier. After Carpenter witnesses the effect Nectar is having on his fellow soldiers, and after a twist in the storyline Shane then turns rogue and teams up with The Promise Hand to take on Mantel.
Development
Haze was first announced at E³ 2006. It makes use of a proprietary graphics engine that was developed specifically for the game. Though purchasing an engine would reduce the development time, the team chose to create their own in order to have more freedom in the features and game design.[12] The engine provides various graphical effects. Lighting is mainly baked but the Haze Engine also has support for Real Time Lighting and has a high-dynamic range. Particle and fire effects help give the illusion of volume along with motion blur and real time depth fields, the engine supports color Specular maps, Normal Mapping and Parallax Mapping technologies. The game runs at 30 fps because the team felt that 60 fps was not needed for the pacing of the game.[7] The AI system, "ConspireTM", is designed to allow enemies to dynamically react to other characters and the environment.[12]
The game was originally set to be released simultaneously on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC in Summer 2007. However, the release date was pushed back to Winter, and it was announced at Sony's E³ 2007 press conference that Haze would be exclusive to the PlayStation 3. The game was then delayed further and eventually given a May 2008 release. However, Free Radical have stated that the delays have allowed them to include several new features into the game.[13]
On October 22, 2007 Ubisoft announced that rock band Korn had written and recorded an original song inspired by Haze.[14] The song, which is also entitled "Haze", is due for release to coincide with the game's launch in May. "Haze" will be released and promoted as a full-fledged single and music video, not just as an exclusive download with the video game. On February 26, 2008 a new trailer called "Nectar trailer" was released and featured the song.
On April 15, 2008 Ubisoft announced a playable demo would be available on the PlayStation Store in early May. The demo included the 4-player co-operative mode that appears in the final game.
Reception
Haze has recieved a mixed reception from critics thus far. It recieved a 4.5/10 from popular website IGN, criticizing the "horrible plot, weak gameplay mechanics and visuals that are truly underwhelming".[15] Gamespot gave the game 6/10 saying "This madly inconsistent shooter offsets a number of thrilling moments with terrible artificial intelligence and an awful story."[16]
Swedish magazine Gamereactor gave Haze a score of 6/10, but Ubisoft requested the review be taken down from their website until the game is released.[17]Gamespot gave the game a 6.0.
Early reviews from Japanese magazine Famitsu awarded the game 34/40, and PlayStation Magazine Italy awarded the game 9/10.
References
- ^ http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/52223
- ^ Gamefaqs's Haze information page. Retrieved on May 16, 2008.
- ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=131081
- ^ "Haze Profile Page". GamePro. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- ^ http://ps3.ign.com/articles/854/854877p1.html IGN - Haze Targeted
- ^ The Weapons of Haze [http://blogs.ign.com/HazeGame/2007/10/10/68587/
- ^ a b Hwang, Kaiser (June 2007), "Haze: Taking Care of Business", PSM, pp. pp. 8 - 17
{{citation}}:|pages=has extra text (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ http://blogs.theage.com.au/screenplay/archives/007218.html
- ^ Through the Haze [1]
- ^ YouTube - Broadcast Yourself
- ^ "MANTEL GLOBAL INDUSTRIES: WHAT'S NEW". Mantelglobalindustries.com. Retrieved March 2008.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ a b Hwang, Kaiser (June 2007), "A Personal Chat with Free Radical's Derek Littlewood", PSM, pp. pp. 22 - 26
{{citation}}:|pages=has extra text (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ "Haze is NOT Duke Nukem Forever". Retrieved 2008-02-18.
- ^ "Korn To Release Original Song For Ubisoft's Haze Video Game". Games Press. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
- ^ IGN Haze Review [2]
- ^ "Gamespot PS3 Haze Review". 2008-05-20.
- ^ "Haze, var är recensionen?". Game Reactor. 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-20.