FOGGY HAZE, by Owen Anslow

Haze

FORMAT: PS3

GENRE: FPS

RATING: 15

OUT: Now

LOOK up the word Haze in the dictionary, and you’ll find: Obscurity of perception, feeling etc. Sadly, this is exactly what you’re left with after blasting through this FPS from Free Radical Design.

At times, it’s thrilling, but at others, it’s just frustrating.  Firstly, the futuristic storyline of two factions battling for control of South American territories is great – but the tale told from then on doesn’t really pull you in.

The weapons are superb, assault rifles handle like a dream and make the shooter a blast. But who needs an accurate arsenal when the enemy are kinda dumb? Yep, the AI is anything but intelligent, meaning that sometimes the bad guys like to dive TOWARDS your grenades and your teammates like to wander into your line of fire.

It’s not all bad news though. There’s a cool little booster where your soldier pumps himself full of Nectar, which leaves him buzzing, accurate and turns the battlefield into a 60’s Woodstock trip. And if you overdose on the sweet Nectar, you go mental, lose control and fire off random rounds that end up mowing down teammates. The game also looks quite good and, at times, this can be a fantastic shooter.

Single player mode doesn’t last that long so it’s somewhat of a relief to get online with your mates (up to 16 of them), who are a lot brighter than the game’s AI, thus resulting in an enjoyable shoot ’em up romp.

Overall, Haze seems a bit rough round the edges. What looks like a potentially mind-blowing experience ends up falling a little short. Instead of a rush, it looks like a rush job.

VERDICT: Hazed and confused

SCORE: 6.3/10

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