Was the hype all it lived up to be? Haze was in development for a long time until it was finally released in May 2008. I don’t know what Ubisoft have been doing with their time but they, along with Free Radical, didn’t put enough effort into this game.

Haze is set in a future of secret wars, blinding the real world to a private army of “Nectar” induced warriors going out of control. You play the unsuspecting Sgt. Shaun Carpenter who is shipped out to the Boa region of South America to fight off the “Bad Guys” and the “Evil” Skin Coat.


You start of onboard the Mantel Land Carrier; which comes under attack and as a result, you are sent to the location of Skin Coat. The first mission acts as an introduction to the controls and the Nectar system. Your life as a Mantel trooper is short lived as you start to have problems with your Nectar Administrator and question your superior; “Duvall”. He see’s your actions as disrespectful and spreads word that you don’t want to be part of Mantel. From this point on you are taken in by Skin Coat aka Merino.

Free Radical seems to have spent lots of time on the Mantel part of the game with the Nectar system and the Gameplay. But everything then on they seem to have slacked on. The Gameplay is boring as you find yourself doing a rinse and repeat sort of thing. Same old troopers and same old locations.


There are many problems with sound. You can hear squad members talking clearly even if there nowhere to be seen. In one cut scene where somebody shoots themselves you can see the gun fire but no sound of a shot.

There are many other bugs. I had to reset my PS3 twice due to the map completely disappearing. Not impressed. This I’m sure can be fixed with a small patch but still is very annoying for players who waited so goddamn long for the game; for it only to come out glitchy. QA anyone?


On the other side of things there is the multiplayer mode. This offers the regular types of match such as Death Match and Team Death Match but also offers Team Assault; this involves a scenario for each of the 6 maps. There is Defend/Kill Merino, Defend/Destroy the Nectar Crates and my favourite: the MML game. The Match starts with an MML (Mobile Missile Launcher) in the center and each team has to get to it first, steal it, take it to their base and launch it at their opponents to win.

If you’re going to buy this game I suggest that you spend your time playing the multiplayer rather than the story. Despite the glitchy co-op and boring gameplay, Free Radical ended the game in a way that suggested a sequel was coming. Please don’t bother.

5/10

Gr1mmy

Labels: Haze, Review

Discuss this article in our friendly forums

Sign up to our community today and discuss our articles, debate over upcoming games and organise matches and playsessions with like-minded people just like you.

Liked this? Spread the word - share with your friends!