I wonder what it's like... so much hype... so seemingly an average shooter...

Post impressions people.

Will Kotaku be doing an "impressions" piece on this?

I play XBL and PSN, the reason there's less ass holes on PSN is because in games of 16 only 3 people have mics.

@okenny :): Honestly I don't even think it's worth it. Sometimes I wish companies like Ubisoft and EA had less money so we could be spared of hype and over-advertisement. There's no other PS3 exclusive I'm more skeptical about that Haze.

I totally agree with BlackDove on this one... haze doesn't really seem like it's going to be the AAAA title that it's been hyped up to be. It's just a old story, and older gameplay with a new coat of paint.

Well at least they're not so ashamed that the demo hits after the game is released :)

I'm confused. Who's been hyping this game up? Last time I checked the press was only talking about how much it's been delayed...

Its ok..Playing it gives me a slight Haloish feel.I guess because of the soldiers and the dropships.The nectar bit seems a little unnecessary imho.I do like at the setup screen you hit triangle and it goes to the friends list/messages on the xmb.That's only a slight step away from in game xmb.
Its not better than Cod4 or Resistance,but better than what I expected.

On the surface level, Haze seems like a horribly generic FPS, but there were enough intriguing undertones to leave me, well, intrigued.

Fuck it though, download it and decide for yourself!

I love demos, makes it alot easier to decide if i want a game or not. For instance if i hadnt played the demo i might have had to suffer through turok.

It is..

...meh.

It's ok, just not enough of it to get me interested.

1400mb DL for...like 10 minutes.

I loved the demo, I was on the fence on this one. The demo was going to be the dealbreaker for me. Gameplay is fun as hell, which is the ONLY thing that matters the most. While graphics aren't on the level of Uncharted, it's still good enough for me, especially when you consider how much shit is going on the screen at once. These aren't just a plant here and there, theres a LOT of stuff on screen.

Rebels blend in really well, so Nectar actually becomes something mantle needs to rely on. At first I was worried that Nectar might become something that makes it way too easy, but in the end it actually balances out the game.

I also like how it appears to force you to work as a team, if someone is hurt badly, you can't move at all and rely on a teammate to come over and heal you, otherwise you just die. When you die, you can't play again until after the next cut scene, which in my opinion encourages teamwork, because no one wants to be left there waiting. So if you help someone, they'll for sure help you out when they get notified that you're down.

Not sure how the rebels side approaches this issue, I wish it had some rebel gameplay in it, because playing dead and stealing weapons sound like a big plus.

I would say the voice acting is just fine, although I do agree with the overacting on the pilot part of the demo, seemed to be trying too hard. My favorite teammate is easily Peshy, he made one retarded ass comment, but was funny as hell.

In my opinion if you really want a graphics comparison, I would say its on the same level as COD4.

Lastly, Co-Op (online, LAN or splitscreen) is a friggin MONSTER PLUS for me, the game works SOOOOO damn well in co-op, I can't wait to play through the entire single player campaign with my friends.

@snakepliskin: QFT. Love demos. Double-edged sword though because it apparently takes away from development time. I think demos are only totally necessary for PC games. After all, you can just rent any console game to try it out. I guess you could torrent a PC game to try it, but then there's no incentive to buy it.

I should also mention if you listen hard, you can hear this line in the background...

"LEEEEEEROOOOOOOYYYYYY JEEENNNNKIIIINNNNSSS"

Glad to see there are people who believe the game is actually quite worth a look after playing the demo. I was definitely goign to give it a go tomorrow but now I'll just be that much more interested

Sweet - I've been looking forward to this game...

I will try the demo tomorrow out, this game has always seemed interesting with the different abilities on both sides.

Hmmm...I called it again, or what?
I said Europe wasn't going to get anything special, and I was right.
NA gets the same stuff as Europe, they just catch up on some other parts.

@Gigith: LOL. i believe you are right my friend

I'm seemingly with a lot of people on this string where I just don't get where the excitement for this game comes from. Maybe it's because I just don't get the whole multi-player FPS thing . . . AT ALL. My kid bought COD4 and I certainly think it looks great and he friggin loves it and I know everyone else friggin loves it but I just don't get it. This does remind me to go see what's new on the Japan store at least.

People are excited about this game because its by Freeradical, and they know FPS.

Co-op is the sexy icing that they do well too.

The demo is fun. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as a shooter fan I've become quite sick of the average games coming out, and I was really worried about Haze. At least, visually. Turns out, I was right to worry about its visual quality.. but then the game's "feel" made up for it. While it might not mean much to some people, I felt what pulled me through was the way guns were handled. They don't seem like cheap pea shooters, and there aren't any silly alien weapons, and theres a certain satisfaction when you get a kill. I feel like this is a game I would like to buy, but I think some of you looking for something a little more inventive might just want to rent it.

@xbandaidx: Wow, thanks for that. =)

I find myself really skeptical of FPSs these days. They always claim to add new and fun gameplay, but more often than not, it's the same ol' shit.

Can't wait to download tomorrow. (With the PJM expansion! Yes!)

Thanks for the impressions people- many of my fears are laid to rest. The co-op is the big draw for me, and the ability to have a private co-op session is icing. I'm also liking the messaging/friends list access. If all the online games had this (seemingly) simple feature there would be more happy PS3 gamers out there.

@ Gigith: i started with my mic from ps2 the got a bluetooth but i still don't say much. i don't play team based modes much so maybe thats why

You know, i have played through about 5 times now, and its really growing on me and playing Co Op was really, really good fun. People have been a bit harsh, but then again, i remember playing the Uncharted demo, and for that matter the Resistance demo and finding my experience in the full version of those games being far superior..

I already cheated and downloaded it off the UK store. Ironically, I don't even care to play it yet - damn you, GTA!

I'm gonna bring this to work and screen 100 peoples impressions, I'll bring the good back Friday night.

Sweet, can't wait! Hopefully this will be good.

@enewtabie: Actually, the Nectar's the coolest part of it for me. If there were no Nectar I probably would have gotten bored early on.

First impressions of the game weren't great, but they weren't necessarily bad. I've been expecting this to be pretty generic but I hoped it would bring something to the table. The gun feel and shooting mechanics are solid and very smooth (although damn it's hard to hit rebels without nectar). The graphics have very smooth and dull (as in lacking luster) in appearance. They do the trick but it probably won't be winning any graphics awards. As for sound, the voice acting didn't impress but the sound effects were good.
I haven't tried online co-op but did play split screen which is nice to have.
I'm definitely waiting for the reviews on this one. If I had to make a decision now on buy/don't buy, I wouldn't buy it, but the demo may not showcase everything that well.
also....worst jump animation ever.

Firs play through I thought it was nothing special.But their was just somethign about the demo that made me come back to it again,and then again and this kept on happening till I had played it about 10 times.

my only complaint is that it didnt show off any of the rebel gameplay,but still,what I played was fun and theirs enough of a story on display to grab my attention so im definetly in.

@LX: Well it is made by the same people who made timesplitters...and those games didnt have a jump button,theyr new to this whole concept so cut them some slack :P

Seems like gameplay is intriguing enough for most that people are going back to it after playing though once. That's a very good sign. I think with every game it takes a little while to get accustomed to anything, and by the 4th time around you should have a good idea of whether you like it or not.

Still it is a demo, and they're not always representative of the full game.

I got the demo on the European PSN as soon as it came out and I love it.

The Nectar mechanic is very interesting. One Nectar shot only lasts a short while, but killing people while "high" will replenish the Nectar gauge. So if there are enough people on screen, it's possible to go on a pretty decent killing spree with just one dose of Nectar. And as others were saying, it's sometimes necessary to be on Nectar to keep up with the action.

It's hard to tell how much they will use this play mechanic in the full game, but it sure has potential.

The coop makes this game, and to be honest, this is a holdover game until Resistance 2 when the 8 player coop with full seperate campaign hits...

The textures are pretty bad, but I hear it's just the old build they're using.

The Nectar mechanic works really well, too bad we didn't get to see it from the rebel's side...

I played about 4 or 5 times through the coop, and the biggest problem is stupid team killers... There's a guy named cuban (some numbers) that got on there and killed everyone... So, when someone revived me, I got up and killed him... Someone thought I was just a team killer and killed me, then Cuban killed them... Haha, so if it's possible to block people from a game even if you're not hosting, it'll make things a lot easier, but I have a feeling it's not...

Played the demo, I was interested in this game from day 1 since Free Radical has a good track record with their games.

It isn't exactly groundbreaking stuff but it is very well done, without Nectar the game is a nightmare, rebels blend with the foliage making kills nearly impossible unless you get close to them, and guess what? You'll be dead by the time yo manage to get into a reasonable shooting distance (Which I find very interesting since the Mantle guys do stand out from the jungle, it makes perfect sense).

With Nectar you do get that feeling that you are an unstoppable killing machine but I started having second thoughts after each dose.

I think they managed to convey their point, on one hand you feel powerless but if you indulge you get this nagging feeling that something isn't right, so kudos for that.

The shooting mechanics are quite old school (More Halo than Quake in speed though) and the jumping? Well, it's awkward but that's just nitpicking.

Hope the single player campaign is long enough, need to try co-op.

@zoesch: You forgot to mention we can see our guy's legs!

I think this game has been delayed so much that many people who were initially interested probably arent by now. When i first heard of this game i was pretty interested and might have actually picked it up since around that time there wasnt a whole lot to choose from. But now i have my hands tied with GTA4, DMC4, COD4,BO Paradise and soon MGS4 (wow so many 4's). Im sure Ubisoft lost alot of potential sales due to the constant delays... oh well.

is haze still going to be released for xbox, or have i not been paying any attention!

@if_deez: The last I heard was that Haze was going to be a "timed exclusive". So it will be available only on the PS3 for now, but we can probably expect them to announce a PC and Xbox 360 version once they feel that they can tactfully do so.

I'm curious about this game too, but it's not something that's going to make me run out and buy a PS3 for. Especially if I know a PC version will be available eventually.

I thought the trial level was astounding, and seem to be the opposite of all this criticism that seems to be going on.

This game does have a very scripted feel when referring to the screenplay and situations. However, the game benefits from this type of approach as it is very arcadey.

The interface and gameplay also compliments the context well, and provides a very fun and suspensful level.

This is a game that needs to be played before judged, and unless you do, you will not understand how this game feels epic rather than generic.

9/10.

@obonicus: I think this comment pretty much sums up Haze.

Having played the demo the only thing I could think the whole time playing it was "meh". The graphics are good, but we've seen better from FPS's, the gameplay is solid, but again not quite up to par, and the forced plot line seems pretty mediocre. If it weren't for the "nectar" element this would just be any other simple FPS.

The whole time I was playing it I kept thinking of Far Cry instincts, which seemed to do the whole "special abilities" thing in a far more interesting way.

The 'without Nectar' comments are weird. It's part of the gameplay, so why is it being singled out like it is? It's like saying a first-person shooter would just be another platformer if it weren't for the guns. I can understand pointing out the difference from other games of the genre, but that's the one of the points of the mechanic to begin with.

The demo seems to be the same build that they showed ages ago, so I'm still hesitant to say either way. My only real disappointment is the voice acting; after getting familiar with the actor's voice in the trailers, why is Carpenter whiny?

I don't see the demo in the PS Store.

*cries a little on the inside*

Guess I'll gta it up till it gets here.

@JKPierce: I think the reason it is being singled out is that is the one thing that makes Haze: Haze.

Timeshift would just be another FPS without the ... timeshifting. Far Cry Instincts would just be another FPS without the abilities. Crysis would just be another FPS without the suit (and the ridiculously good graphics). Prey wouldn't be prey without the wall running and The Darkness would just be another FPS if it wasn't for the powers. These are things that set them apart from other standard FPS games when really there is nothing else to them to make them rise head and shoulders above the rest.

Every so often a game can be brilliant on it's own, without a gimmick, Halo, COD4, Bioshock (arguably the plasmids were gimmicky, but they fit with the overall theme well). Usually a medicore game incorporates a gimmick to make it seem to stand out from the pack. From my time with the demo, the nectar seems to me to be the gimmick Haze needs to make it stand out. Without it I feel it would just be another Blacksite: Area 51.

@bobtheduck:

Not sure about blocking, but you can setup a private game with only people you invite. I'm sure there will be more options such as friendly fire and the sort when the final version comes out.

As for the exclusivity nature of this title, as of now it's exclusive, not time-exclusive like some are saying. Of course that could change, but until we actually hear out of the mouth of Ubisoft, it's just exclusive.

I decided to grab the European demo yesterday. After taking forever to download (1557mb), I played it for about 15 minutes. It was decent enough, I guess, but it didn't really leave a lasting impression. I may rent it once it comes out, but I doubt it'll be a must-buy game.

Also, you only get to play as a Mantel trooper in the demo. I would have really liked to have played at least a single level as a rebel. Oh well.

Haze is much better than I expected. The single-player felt mediocre (as in Doom3, Quake4 or COD3 mediocre).

Weapon-wise, from what was seen, it's not interesting. The 2 rifles were too identical, the pistol was nice.

The demo was too short, but the enemy encounters were very well-placed. And the graphics are like Crysis running on DX9c hardware on all-High settings, except for the lack of physics.

The Nectar is very much necessary, as rebels are hard to spot. And it was pleasantly surprising how it actually isn't just a power-up. Blood-stream abnormalities, overdose, underdose - if you're not careful, you lose control and you can die or kill a teammate.

Even though I was not very impressed by the single-player... once you go into 4-player co-op, the fun starts. It's easy to host a game and invite your PSN buddies, and the player-deaths push extra teamwork.

I wanted to see vehicles in the demo, or more weapons ^^, as the only thing that stops me from getting a copy is my currently-thin wallet ^^". (it costs $113 here T_T )

i played the crappy EU demo. very, very mediocre. lame as hell. i'll spend my $60 bucks ($7 in this case [rent]) elsewhere..

downloaded the other day...very meh

enemies are all the same,the foliage(trees and plants)are some of the worse i have seen since conflict Vietnam on xbox 1

i was also hoping it was a bit more open,like far cry,but its just one path from one objective to the other

combat was okay,i like the nectar thing(that WAS very far cry)..but not much else i can say was good

okay,so its only a demo...but this could go like 'turning point'....me being interested before the demo,to not wanting it at all after the demo

@somarix:

the visuals are like crysis on high? what the hell game were you playing? because I played through crysis on high and it looked a fuck-load better than haze does.

@LX: Oh well, the Crisis demo ^^". DX9c card, win2k.

Well...was the demo worth downloading? Sure. Was it something completely awe inspiring? Nah...

The visuals were quite good. I don't know what some others have talked about as far as them being something related to a last gen system. I have yet to see a last gen system come close to pulling off such graphics. That being said, the environment wasn't sufficiently interesting. Unlike many games, I just didn't feel inspired to explore the environment in order to see what there is to see.

Also, I'd read enough about the game that nothing really struck me as being 'new'. I was really hoping to see level where you could play as part of the rebellion force, but that just didn't happen, unfortunately. The demo is a rather large size, and I understand that they probably left out such aspects in order to keep the size somewhere under that of a regular DVD (which isn't saying much).

Overall, after the demo, I feel a need to rent it before I'd consider purchasing it. After playing through until the rebel scenarios, THEN I'll see whether the game lives up to its hype.