Product Description

(Region free, Full English language, will play on any PS3 console system)

Set in the year 2048 in a world where governments have outsourced military operations to private military corporations (PMCs), you play as Shane Carpenter, a newly enlisted soldier seeking fulfillment and thrills by fighting for a good cause. As the leading PMC, Mantel Global Industries offers an array of cutting-edge military equipment, including a high-tech arsenal of vehicles, deadly weaponry, and the performance-enhancing drug Nectar.
Your conflict begins in a war-torn country where you have been sent to fight a vicious rebel faction, the Promise Hand. At first all is well, but things quickly begin to look a little strange.

Expose the truth, switch sides, and break away from Mantel.

Evolve from a ruthless high-tech Mantel Trooper to a cunning Promise Hand rebel.

Uncover the truth, switch sides, and break away from Mantels manipulative grip when you join your former enemies, the Promise Hand.

• Impeccable FPS (first-person shooter) credentials
  From the developers of the critically acclaimed TimeSplitters series and the publishers of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Far Cry.
• Play both sides of the war
  Evolve from a ruthless high-tech Mantel Trooper to a cunning Promise Hand rebel, each featuring distinct game systems, weaponry, and abilities.
• You`ll be equipped with the most advanced gear and deadliest weapons.
• Under the influence, a Mantel trooper is empowered by Nectar.
• Experience the power of a Mantel Trooper
  You`ll be equipped with the most advanced gear and deadliest weapons and empowered by Nectar, Mantels battlefield-optimized performance-enhancing medication that lets you boost your fighting abilities and experience the highs and lows of drug-laden warfare. Perform fighting abilities such as Nectar Focus, Ne

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1111 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: UBI Soft
• Released on: 2008-05-23
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platform: PLAYSTATION 3
• Original language: English, French, Spanish, Italian
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish, Italian
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review

One of the reasons Rare are such a controversial developer nowadays (apart from the whole Nintendo selling them to Microsoft thing) is the fact that a lot of people associated with GoldenEye and Perfect Dark left the company a long time ago. Many of them ended up at Free Radical Design, where they created the love-it-or-loathe-it TimeSpliters series and the underappreciated Second Sight. Haze ditches the stylised look of their older games though, with a game set in a future world dominated by mega global corporation Mantel - where you’re cast as one of their soldiers fighting rebels in South America.

Like all fictional global corporations Mantel is up to no good and it turns out their drug NECTAR is doing more than just making you a super soldier with increased speed, strength and accuracy. Highlighting enemies under cover from you, as well as grenades and bobby traps is all very good but the downside is it also turns you (and your teammates) psychotic if you use it too much. Worse it seems to sanitise the world around you, making corpses invisible and even obscuring the true nature of the landscape around you…

Rebel soldiers are able to take advantage of the reality bending powers of NECTAR, such as playing dead to regain their health or using a special "weapons steal" move to make up for their lack of hardware (both of which moves work great in multiplayer). With arguably the most interesting storyline in any current first person shooter and a custom made graphics engine Haze’s future looks crystal clear.

Manufacturer's Description

Play both sides of the same war and experience two unique game systems, exclusively for the PLAYSTATION3 computer entertainment system this holiday season.

Set in the year 2048 in a world where governments have outsourced military operations to private military corporations (PMCs), you play as Shane Carpenter, a newly enlisted soldier seeking fulfillment and thrills by fighting for a good cause. As the leading PMC, Mantel Global Industries offers an array of cutting-edge military equipment, including a high-tech arsenal of vehicles, deadly weaponry, and the performance-enhancing drug Nectar.

Your conflict begins in a war-torn country where you have been sent to fight a vicious rebel faction, the Promise Hand. At first all is well, but things quickly begin to look a little strangeâEuro¦

Uncover the truth, switch sides, and break away from MantelâEuro(TM)s manipulative grip when you join your former enemies, the Promise Hand.

Customer Reviews

2008's Biggest Disappointment
Early previews of Haze, (the once promising but heavily delayed PS3 exclusive) seemed to give away all its secrets.
Sadly there are no twists or surprises for anyone that has paid attention to Hazes excessive previews. The much publicised defection to the rebels; Promise Hand would have been far more enjoyable without prior knowledge. The twists following are non-existent, with only a discovery in a cargo container providing any highlight for lead Shane Carpenter.

From the opening moment, Hazes visuals are disappointingly shoddy; the jungles look weak, especially when compared to Uncharted: Drakes Fortune. Its laughable this is the best Free Radical could manage. There is nothing here, apart from a few fancy, ultimately pointless effects that couldn't have been done on the previous generation.
Animation is also a joke, especially when reviving a fallen comrade. Bodies also levitate in mid air. Vehicle sections are just awful, so broken they should have been left out entirely.
In fact only the shooting is solid throughout; and in parts above average. But surely this is to be expected from the makers of TimeSplitters. Strangely, Haze doesent have a very large weapon selection.

The whole game would be seamless if it wasn't for split second blackouts that occur after every "cut scene". This is one of Hazes most frustrating elements and clearly used to hide loading times. Rather than use cut scenes to set up the story, Haze insists on telling every scrap of narrative from Shane Carpenters eyes. This can work, as Half Life 2 proved. But the plot is clunky and amateurish at best, the half second blackouts completely ruining any immersion this approach so desperately tries to create.
There are too many moments where a cut scene would have worked better. And they can't be skipped, much like Assassins Creed. In the days of Call of Duty 4 and Bioshock, where so much is experienced by the player, these forced "cut scenes" feel prehistoric.

The voice acting and sound is also a major failing. Carpenter has a different accent in-game to the demo video shown. The same, quotes are used every couple of seconds. "This way", and "No surrender" are heavily overused. By far the most cringe worthy however:
"Is there a medal for being the most bad ass gangster, cause that me".
Even worse is the fact many quotes are used by both Mantel and Promise Hand. It's only a small point, but when both sides are spouting the same macho cliché, it's difficult to believe they are fighting for anything different. Music is average at best.

In the early levels whilst fighting for Mantel, it's even obvious when there are no enemies, as the gun disappears from screen. For me this ruined any tension or suspense.
Early previews also suggested that overusing Nectar can lead to hallucinations and side effects, with Carpenter struggling to separate friend from foe. This does sound exciting, yet my first overdose happened without having used Nectar?? This section was even played twice, with it happening at EXACTLY the same point. So nowhere near as subtle or refined as Free Radical have suggested. Nectar is even too scripted to be considered a game-play mechanic. Its also a massive disappointment. The yellow glow caused by this drug is essential to even see the enemy. There are some nice touches, like when on Nectar; the sniper aim is much steadier.
Landmines are very well designed. The levels, most notably the cargo ship have flashes of brilliance. But sadly this is too little, far too late for such a high profile game.

Switching sides thankfully provide new gameplay options, but Haze remains a mediocre experience. New options include the ability to play dead. Nectar grenades can also be removed from Mantel soldiers and used as a chemical weapon.
The games climax (aboard the Mantel Land Carrier) had the potential, in spite of everything to give Haze a memorable climax. Yet, much like the rest of the game, it disappoints in a big way. Once aboard, the level involves lots of backtracking, with atrocious signposting and design. Example; wandering back to the start of the level, and finding (purely by chance) that a door has now opened. The ending is also abrupt and unsatisfying for such a narrative driven game. In fact, many levels end suddenly, leaving the impression large chunks have been cut to finally get this game on the shelves.
Haze would have been a terrible game if it'd arrived suddenly and without hype. It just hurts when such a big game fails to deliver, once again.

This game has surely been released unfinished.
I cant believe this is a title that Sony want to market as a PS3 saviour.

I completed this game within a few hours, it's very short...and very dull.
The actual premise seems quite a good one and I do like story based FPS, but this undelivers in so many ways.
Having recently bought a PS3 after selling my 360, I was looking forward to the exclusive titles due out soon. Drakes Fortune was amazing, so I thought that Haze would be visually stunning with a firm story and a solid multiplayer too.
I had watched a programme about Haze on satellite a while back and thought it was going to be immense. I steered clear of any reviews and I was aware of the previous titles the programmers had been involved in.
Once I started playing, I was completely underwhelmed by the graphics, they were simply dull. Textures were uninteresting; the passing jungle was blurry with no definition... it looked very shabby.
The gameplay wasnt up to much either; enemies seemed to be just sitting and waiting for you; your own team gets in the way all the time; if you leave them behind they miraculously appear from midair right infront of you! How very amatuerish for a game with this much investment.
Quite often when I got killed by Mantel the last save would loadup placing my character suspended in midair as the ground had disappeared.
When playing against Mantel the rebels shout the same annoying phrase every couple of seconds "remember your promise to Merrino" god it was infuriating!
Even the set pieces were uninspiring. A waste of good money.
It gets 2 stars because hidden behind all the shabby programming a half decent game exists, but in no way shape or form is this a next generation game. Save your money, no doubt the shops will already be flooded by second hand games, but certainly dont pay full price for it.
Lets hope MGS takes advantage of the power available inside the PS3.

Haze
It's been a long time waiting for Free Radical's new first person shooter, Haze. After plenty of delays and a whole lot of hype, has it lived up to the reputation that Timespiltters has built for this development team?
Sadly, it really hasn't. There are many small and large disappointments to be had when playing through Haze.

Haze's storyline was revealed a long time ago, so I'll keep this short. Shane Carpenter joins Mantel, a private military organization, hoping to make a difference, to fight the good fight. You notice quickly however that he's not fitting in well with the other Mantel troopers and seems to disagree with a lot of what they're doing. Fact is everyone apart from Shane is arrogant and trigger happy thanks to their supplementary drug, Nectar.
So a few crazy events after another and we see our hero defecting sides against Mantel, fighting for the `real' good guys. You'd think that would mean that people would start being nice to you, but your leader, some guy named `skin coat', is constantly screaming at you. It's annoying. It seems like no one likes Shane Carpenter, and this ends up with you not liking him much either. In fact, he's a bit of a wimp, always complaining about something, and then being screamed at for it by someone else.
Aside from your wimpy main character however, the story of the game does play out pretty well, with a just above average dialogue (although badly performed), that keeps you interested in the main campaign.
Problem is, the campaign is about 6 hours long. I finished it in one sit-through and was definitely disappointed with the length. It's definitely too short and too easy.
Another of the disappointments of Haze is the multiplayer. Although it's one of the first PS3 exclusives where the multiplayer actually works properly on release date, it all feels a little uninspiring, especially considering Free Radical where behind the excellent multiplayer of Timesplitters 2. It's just that it doesn't feel like it has anything special, and there are a definite lack of modes, the best probably being the campaign co-op. With only 6 maps, this won't make the game last much longer.
Another thing that doesn't work quite as well as it should is the gimmick of two sides with very different skills. It usually just comes down to shooting each other endlessly, as opposed to using the differently skills tactically. Plus, the play dead thing rebels do is really frustrating.

Graphically, Haze ranges from pretty good to pretty bad. Some of the textures are so bland and unimaginative, you really can't help but wonder why you're seeing this kind of thing on a next-gen game, but then characters look pretty good, and the some of the set-pieces look awesome.

Gameplay is also pretty solid, and feels different in pace from most FPSs. Playing as a mantel trooper, gunplay is great and you'll find yourself getting `addicted' to using Nectar, as it helps you pick out enemies, and, more importantly, punch them like, 15 feet away!
As a rebel, the gameplay pace picks up, you run faster, and become near invisible because of the `playing dead' skill, which makes Mantel troopers ignore you.
Whilst gameplay is fun, the AI does ruin it a little, facing the wrong way or running into walls. This happens with both people fighting with and against you, and it's quite aggravating, and just adds to the ease of the game, when you walk up to an enemy and he decides he'll just run straight past you.

So, Haze is definitely a very flawed game, especially when you look at all the hype that was made for it. Still, it's not the worst, and though a little short, the campaign is tightly told and engaging, and while it lasts there's some fun to be had.
I'd rank it alongside the likes of Turok. It's flawed, it's fun, and it's for fans of the genre.

6.5