HAZE - Asymmetry At Work Preview

Set to become one of the prime titles in the congested final period of 2007, Free Radical Design and Ubisoft's HAZE has already managed to garner masses of attention from gamers months ahead of release. An original plot, stunning visuals, and tons of gameplay innovations, HAZE is a timed exclusive for PlayStation3, ahead of a later release on Xbox 360 and PC in 2008.

If you've been following the titbits of information eked out about the game in recent months, then you'll already be familiar with what HAZE is set to hold. The use of the supercharged (and volatile) Nectar juice, and its effects on the Mantel soldiers that use it - carefully - has formed the backbone of marketing for the game since it was first unveiled behind closed doors at E3 2006. First details on how the rebels get to use Nectar against the private militia also dripped out of UbiDays 2007 back in May. But now, Free Radical is taking that knowledge to the next step, outlining the so-called 'Asymmetrical Combat System', the differences between the well-armed faceless militia of Mantel Global Industries and the more humanist rebellion with its guerrilla tactics...

So it was with that in mind that TVG found itself chatting with Rob Yescombe, Head Writer at Free Radical Design, about some of the specifics surrounding the asymmetrical combat system featured in the game.

Taste the amber...

Mantel Global Industries' soldiers are the best bar none thanks to Nectar, a liquid stimulant injected directly into their bodies. More than just a branded isotonic drink to quench their thirst on the front line of battle, Nectar actually endows the soldiers with super-human skills and powers, making them an incredibly formidable force.

Administered and regulated manually by the individual troopers (and therefore by players) with a pack on their backs, Nectar's effects on the soldiers would cause most adversaries to run away even before a fire fight has begun. With HAZE taking place in the heart of South America, the ability to see enemies hiding in the vast greenery of the jungles is one obvious advantage, something that the soldiers get with 'Nectar Perception'. But that's not the only boost - compounding the might of Mantel's forces even further are Nectar Focus, allowing soldiers to hold their breath for long durations, and Nectar Foresight, giving the private militia a 'sixth sense' against possible traps set up by the rebels.

But whilst the Mantel troopers will be more heavily armed than a small European country (I'm looking at you, Switzerland...), the rebels are very much the scavengers of the HAZE world. So without the superman-inducing powers of Nectar feeding into their veins, how will the rebels even hope to stand up to the unified might of Mantel Global Industries? With guile and determination, if Yascombe's descriptions of the group are anything to by...

Without a cause...

Hints and nods as to what sort of tactics are open to the rebels have been dotted throughout first look previews and developer videos in the past few months. However, putting the strategy of the rebels into context for future HAZE gamers is something that Free Radical Design (and by default it's Head Writer) is more than keen to do. HAZE isn't going to be the standard First Person Shooter that certain gamers have become blasé with in recent years, and the asymmetrical combat is just another feature that validates it as one of the most original titles in the genre.

The rebels' tactics of turning the power of Nectar against Mantel's elite, specifically with an explosive mix of a Nectar administrator and a hand grenade or shooting the magic box whilst it's still connected to the soldier have already been confirmed by Free Radical. Both tactics send the balance of Nectar in a soldier's system above subtle levels of tolerance, causing uncontrollable outbursts of violence, where friend and foe become one and the same...and we don't mean that they see the error of their ways; it's pretty much a cascade of advanced weaponry and death. Small doses of Nectar can also be effective against the soldiers, especially on the blade of a knife. But whilst the physical damage may prove to be fairly superficial, the rapid entry of Nectar into the soldier's system has the same effect as a Nectar grenade - a hail of bullets directed at anything in their wake.

Using Nectar in such an offensive strategy isn't the option open to players; instead, it can also be an effective defensive measure. Nectar grenades in particular can be used defensively; throwing one behind you as your rebel tries to escape from a couple of Mantel soldiers creates an effective smoke barrier - the militia won't risk an overdose...

Aside from using Nectar against the soldiers, the rebels also have to use guerrilla tactics - and a little bare-faced cheek - against Mantel's best. Part of the asymmetrical combat in HAZE revolves around a scavenging dynamic, specifically two actions. Grabbing weapons from soldiers before they shoot up on Nectar is one such tactic that the rebels have available to them (affectionately known as 'Weapon Steal'), the other is a much cleverer ability...adapting weapons to suit the ammo they have to hand.

A recent trailer for HAZE also revealed another key feature open to rebel players - the ability to 'Play Dead'. Tapping into the fact that Nectar and the desensitising technologies that 'protect' their soldiers from the real nightmarish scenes of war, death, and destruction (as such, removing blood and bodies from the battlefield), the ability to play dead is an important tactic. Not only a crafty way of disappearing from the menacing gaze of Mantel's soldiers - thereby an effective way to dodge death - the rebels can then sneak behind a soldier after they've passed, or set up ambushes along the formidable jungles and buildings in the game. Additional subterfuge for rebels to use against Mantel includes proximity mines, carefully hidden in the undergrowth. Whether a Nectar administrator planted close to a mine will have a more stationary, but similar, affect to the Nectar grenades remains to be seen - but with the sheer cliff-face of depth open to tactical creativity in the game, we won't be surprised to see that it can indeed be done.

Brain against brawn???

A heavily armed military force fighting against technologically challenged rebels...could HAZE be some sort of historical metaphor for a certain 20th Century War. "It's not a giant leap to take," says Yescombe about the parallels between the two sides of HAZE and the Vietnam War. Whilst it's not a time-shifted metaphor of that conflict, there's little doubt that HAZE is there to challenge players' perceptions of war, and their representation in videogames.

Two very different sides to the coin, Free Radical's scribe actually likens it to packaging two different games, and as such, HAZE should appeal to a broad range of first-person shooters, especially when it comes to its multiplayer modes. Armed to the teeth, guns-a-blazing FPS gamers are expected to head straight to the cold steel of Mantel body armour and the sweet taste of Nectar, whilst the more strategic (or 'reserved', as the studio puts it) of players will no doubt be attracted to the guerrilla tactics of the rebels. It looks like HAZE will certainly throw up interesting online battles across PlayStation Network and Xbox Live on release...