Haze

"One word for the game's name: Haze. One word to describe Haze: generic."

Free Radical Design; what an amazing track record -- former employees from Rare who made the Goldeneye game for the N64. Then, Rare split up and some of the employees formed what is now: Free Radical Design -- the masterminds behind the insanely fun Timesplitters games. Does Haze live up to FRD's first-person track record? Well, you're in for a rude -- or should I say, "generic" awakening with Haze.

Haze is a first-person shooter from Free Radical Design that features a campaign that can be played co-operatively with three other players offline or online. Great feature, but how well does it sustain itself throughout the campaign? The shooting mechanics found in Haze are pretty much what you'd find in any first-person shooter that's out in this already saturated market full of FPS games. A nice touch (or gimmick) as the use of "Nectar" to enhance your vision as well as your speed. There isn't much depth to Haze at all. There's no strategy required, and you can get away from guns ablazin'. Go for it.

Haze's visuals aren't anything special with today's standards. It would pass as a launch title, but there's no excuse for it to not look better than Resistance: Fall of Man or Perfect Dark Zero for the 360. The textures are a mess in certain areas, and the environments are very plastic-like, The overall design of Haze is very uninspired and it's a disappointment coming from FRD; their designs, as well as their level designs were always great and inspired -- with Haze? Not so much. With the PS3's hardware, one would think that FRD would've done much more with the visuals, especially since they delayed the game a few times. Sure, the game plays nice and smooth, but the visuals can't really compliment the smoothness of the game.

If a developer attempts to make an exclusive FPS game for a certain console, at least try to make it stand out to why it's a must-have FPS. Another disappointing thing about Haze is that it lacks playable modes; as generic as it is, it could've featured at least a map maker that FRD is known to put in their Timesplitters games. FRD certainly aren't selling themselves here with a title like Haze. With Timesplitters 4 in development, maybe they can redeem their name and developer status. In the mean time, you may want to skip out on this title unless you want a mediocre experience.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 05/21/08

Game Release: Haze (US, 05/20/08)