mickster505:
Is it that bad? im thinking of getting as it will only be £22.50 for me, the screenshots when i first got the ps3 looked amazing, but sounds like it hasnt lived up to the hype. Looked a bit like half life which i liked.....
The consensus seems to be that it's terrible, see:
Wikipedia:
Haze had generally received negative to mediocre reviews from critics. As of May 26, 2008 on Metacritic, the game had an average score of 56 out of 100, based on 20 reviews.[15] On the review aggregator Game Rankings, the game had an average score of 57% based on 18 reviews.[16]
Poor reviews included X-Play giving Haze a rating of 2 out of 5 stars citing bad level designs, shallow and stereotypical characters, quirky AI reactions, and a "stupid plot."[17] Giantbomb.com followed suit, also giving Haze 2 stars out of 5, largely due to its many glitches and extremely short single-player campaign.[18] GameSpy criticized the game by saying "It's clear from the bare-bones multiplayer, glitchy graphics and incredibly short storyline that Haze is a game interrupted," and gave the game a score of 40%. Eurogamer gave the title a 4/10 calling it "this year's most significant gaming disappointment."[19] Jeff Haynes of IGN rated it a 4.5/10, criticizing the "horrible plot, weak gameplay mechanics and visuals that are truly underwhelming. Tons of visual issues abound within the game from texture tears and non-descript environments to pop-in and odd animation problems."[20]Greg Damiano of Game Revolution rated the game a C-/A+, citing examples of bland gameplay and graphics, blistering sound, and commenting that the main character "Shane Carpenter, whines and pouts all through the campaign."[21]
The Escapist's Zero Punctuation review[22] by Ben Croshaw was less than positive, citing poor plot, predictable game play and laughable graphics as the main reasons players should avoid the game.
More generous reviews were also somewhat disappointed. Kevin VanOrd of GameSpot gave the game a rating of 6/10, saying "This madly inconsistent shooter offsets a number of thrilling moments with terrible artificial intelligence and an awful story," and "A seven-hour campaign and uneventful multiplayer modes just don't cut it in light of the far better modern shooters available on the market."[23] Swedish magazine Gamereactor gave Haze a score of 6/10, but Ubisoft forced the review be taken down from their website. The reason for doing this is still unknown.[24] Two days after being removed, the review was once again published on their website. Narayan Pattison of IGN AU gave it 6.2/10,[25] while Martin Robinson of IGN UK gave the game a 6.5/10.[26] Edge expressed disappointment that the game fails to make meaningful use of its premise, dealing with issues like the demonisation of the enemy "in such crass manner it tends to undermine the few moments where Haze gets it subtly right". While it stops short of the "nauseatingly distasteful", "[t]here’s simply no complexity to any of the faces you encounter" in the story. Turning to gameplay, the review concludes that the "few bright ideas and engaging set pieces are drowning in an ocean of mediocrity" while the visuals turn "the majority of missions into characterless, barren gauntlets to be endured".
There have nevertheless been some positive reviews. PSM3 magazine gave it a rating of 7.1/10 and said it "fails to better UT3, Resistance and CoD4" and it "feels like a novel idea that missed its window of opportunity," but said "there is a certain charm to it." The review concluded that the game is "worth a look, but shabby visuals, unfulfilling plot and dull set-pieces mean it's not a classic."[27] In addition, Japanese magazine Famitsu awarded the game 34/40.[28]
Lastly, Steve Boxer of The Guardian said "while it's very enjoyable to play, it also disappoints somewhat." Boxer said the "gameplay - combining shooting, Halo-like driving and a few cursory puzzles - never feels innovative, and the graphics are, frankly, awful" but went on to say "Haze is still undoubtedly the best full-blown FPS for the PS3 so far."[29]
that I sold it on everyone's "favourite" auction site for a fraction of the price... to put this in context; I've been buying and playing computer games for over 20 years (i own over 500 games across a dozen platforms) and in all that time I have NEVER sold or traded in a game! If you see it going for a tenner, maybe give it a shot, but please... save your cash and put it towards one of the "4s" - COD4, MGS4 or GTA IV. Right, rant over.
