Haze Demo Impression

by Drew James - 2008/05/07 6:36pm

Haze. The PS3 shooter that's often synonymous with the word "Delay". It first missed a crucial fall 2007 release date and then missed a more expected March release date. This time around, Haze isn't pulling any smokey escapes. But, since its premier the playstation fanbase has turned their heads to other spectacular shooters such as Resistance 2 and Killzone 2. So will Haze be the great prelude to other shooters on the horizon?

The demo immediately drops you into the begginning of a gun fight in a jungle. Quite a drop in. All you hear is your mantle buddy boasting and a wave of bombs and gun fire. Immediately after you are guided on the uses of Nectar (The steriod type of drug that enhances the soldier's combat). In this area of the jungle, the enemy Promise Hand troops are difficult to spot. After administering Nectar they are easily spotted by the orange glow around them. The AI seems to be pretty responsive, rebels duck grenades, their shooting seems sharp and time to time, they'll land a shot on the back of one of your Mantel comrads. Causing them to go nuts and possibly kill you and other allies.

The weapons given are a standard mantle assault rifle, a strong but, slow pistol, and a few grenades. The difference between the pistol and rifle is evident. The rifle feels somewhat sloppy but, gets the job done and doesn't call for pin-point precision. However, the pistol calls for absolute precision. It may be harder to use but, when you're trying to do away with an enemy qucikly it beats firing 10 rounds at one person and forcing Shane to reload in the midst of evading enemy fire. When under the influence of nectar, the melee attacks make for a great laugh. One melee punch sends an enemy a far distance. A perfect remedy for the earlier mentioned rifle drawbacks.



Visually the game doesn't seem like it is going to win any awards. The jungle does look and feel vibrant. But, the foilage isn't standing out and won't make anyone stop and observe. Smoke effects however, do look nice. You'll notice this after a grenade explotion, or upon entering a recently destroyed area. You'll also see some witty, and to some people risky writing take place here. Near the 2nd half of the demo Shane will interact with the pilot of crashed Mantel chopper. Break out the violins as this soldier says his lastt words. People may take this short dialogue as corny,while others may see it as effective writing. But, it's a good thing that they even bring emotion and good dialogue to a genre where it's not cared for.

This demo overall left us yearning for more. We've yet to drive any vehicles, we've yet to get any taste of the multiplayer functionality, and we've yet to play possum with the promise hand. Haze seems like a decent shooter. We still need to pry into more of the game to determine if it'll be the FPS to have for your summer gaming. Stick around later this month for our full review.