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HAZE - First Look Mini Preview
Jon Wilcox
07/06/2007
TVG sips the Nectar in this first look preview of Ubisoft's 'PlayStation3 led' first-person shooter...
Currently in development at Britsoft studio Free Radical Design, HAZE looks set to push the thought processes in first-person shooters when it gets released on PlayStation3 later in the year. In a genre where everything is very black and white, HAZE aims to muddy the water, changing the player's perception of the enemy together with the morality of their actions. It doesn't quite sound like the light-hearted shooters we've come to expect from the Timesplitters guys, does it...
Set in a future where the multi-national, multi-market corporation Mantel Global Industries is the world leader of private militaries and medical research, HAZE charts the three days of Mantel trooper Shane Carpenter that changes his life. Sent down to South America as part of a taskforce to obliterate a guerrilla organisation known as The Promise Hand and its leader Gabriel "Skin Coat" Merino, Carpenter and the rest of the Mantel Military group are given the stimulant Nectar, which provides them with enhancements and advantages over their opponents. But this so-called 'bio-medical' support isn't quite what it seems to be.
Following a brief introduction to the world of HAZE at E3 2006, where it was revealed to be the original IP spawned from a deal between Ubisoft and Free Radical, both publisher and developer have been beginning to peel away the secrets in recent weeks...not least the name change for protagonist Carpenter, who began life as 'Jake' not 'Shane' over a year ago. In a bid to prove the strength of the storyline, Free Radical has also confirmed that the voice acting in HAZE will be comprised of members from the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Academy of Performing Arts - perhaps it's a case of 'make luvie, not war...?'
As part of a massive drive to give their soldiers the edge, MGI's Nectar formula endows the troops with a number of super-human enhancements, which have recently been unveiled by the developer: Nectar Perception (the ability to see enemies in the undergrowth of the South American jungle), Nectar Foresight (which gives Mantel Soldiers a 'sixth sense'), and Nectar Focus (the ability to hold a long breath for sniping). Nectar also makes the soldiers quieter, faster, and stronger. In short, Nectar gives Mantel troops a decisive and deadly edge, and is administrated manually by players.
But whilst Nectar is a Mantel soldier's ally, it can also be their weakness, and not only because of the risk from self-inflicted overdoses. Enemies can exploit the Nectar administrator, the device found on the back of the Mantel Military uniforms, to deliver an overdose. Administrators can also be removed from the suit, combined with a grenade, and sent into a bunch of Mantel personnel to overdose a number of soldiers in a single blast. But what does an overdose actually do? In short, it stops the soldiers (including Carpenter) from differentiating between comrades and enemies; with the battle armour glowing orange from the overdose, the soldiers fire relentlessly on anybody in their sights - that change in the armour's colour is an important indicator of when to get the hell out there and lay low.
Changing the player's perceptions of the battlefield has been key to Free Radical, and this is something that's been demonstrated at recent events. Adhering to 'traditional' videogame design, enemies disappear when they've been killed, and there's no sign of blood when they're shot. This changes quite dramatically during the current demonstration of HAZE, throwing in an original sense of morality to a first-person shooter. For example, after a round of carpet-bombing by Mantel jets, Carpenter and his squad go into the ruins of a village in the jungle. Making his way through the destroyed settlement, the scene changes in front of the Mantel soldier for a split second, to reveal the remains of bodies and incredible suffering, before the environment returns to its 'normal', censored state. A later section set in an industrial area sees the Nectar administrator go offline for several seconds, draining the environment of colour to show the dark and foreboding weather conditions, together with the bloodied bodies of fallen opponents, further muddying the water and throwing up the true nature of war. This startling contrast between the 'real world' and the sanitised Nectar-induced vision of reality is part of HAZE's proprietary "Disparity Rendering System", and is already shaping up to be a decisive element in the game's push to stand out from a congested fourth quarter release schedule.
HAZE will also feature various multiplayer modes, not least a four-player co-operative mode, allowing gamers to team up and discover Carpenter's story together. Additional modes will also include the usual mix of gametypes from Deathmatch to Capture the Flag, but hopefully Free Radical will build some of the more interesting technologies of HAZE into the online multiplayer experience so it feels a bit more original. One of the more unique features of the multiplayer modes will be a series of what Free Radical Design describes as 'miniature narratives', which help to create the links to the single-player storyline. Not only creating a stronger link between both modes, the question remains over the potential opportunity for additional mini-storylines being laid out via PlayStation Network or Xbox Live Marketplace in the months after the release of the game...
For now, HAZE will be released during the fourth quarter of the year on PlayStation3. Xbox 360 owners needn't worry about being left in the cold however, as Free Radical Design also has a version of HAZE working at their studio in Nottingham even as we speak. How long it'll take before Microsoft's console will get their chemical induced HAZE after the game's initial release on PlayStation3 is anyone's guess for now - and as for the originally announced PC version, for now Free Radical are keeping their options open.
One of the most exciting looking FPS titles for some time, HAZE is looking to push barriers, and every indication is that it's going to do just that when it arrives on PS3 towards the end of the year. Not only is the prospect of four-player co-operation an exciting notion (and the natural evolution from the likes of 2006's Gears of War), but Free Radical's attempts to push the boundaries of perception in a videogame is incredibly compelling.
Glyndwr
Date Added:Tue 3rd Jul 2007 01:54