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Haze coming 2007 for PS3, may only be timed exclusive
In the haze of battle, one soldier has lost his two comrades. Ubisoft's Haze will debut this fall on the PlayStation 3 only but may show up later on Xbox 360 and PC. Speaking to GameSpot, representatives for the publisher said that "Haze is leading on PS3, but no exclusivity for any platform has been officially announced."The sci-fi first-person shooter was initially announced for PS3, Xbox 360 and the PC. According to a Q&A with developer Free Radical's director Steve Ellis, Haze is being made with all platforms in mind, Pro-G reports. "The challenge for us has been in designing a solution that will work well across the platforms," he said.Ubisoft is calling PS3 the "lead platform" for the shooter. All signs point to a timed exclusive; don't be surprised if PC and Xbox 360 owners are "hazing out" in 2008.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Haze becomes a PlayStation 3 exclusive?
In a press conference today in France, it appears that Ubisoft announced Haze will be released exclusively on the PS3, initially at least. This suggests that Haze is most likely the exclusive they mentioned last week. It appears that it will be a timed exclusive, like Virtua Fighter 5, though nothing has been confirmed on that front yet.Little is known about Haze at this point outside of a vague release date of later this year, but considering it's from the developers of Goldeneye and TimeSplitters, there is a lot of excitement building for the game already. The highly unusual move of switching from multi-platform to exclusive will surely bring additional attention to this title as well so expect the hype to increase. We'll have more information as soon as Ubisoft can confirm Haze's exclusiveness. [Via N4G]
Haze will have four-player co-op campaign
Although Ubisoft's Haze was always expected to have four-player co-op campaign, apparently it wasn't confirmed until today. Free Radical (Time Splitters) studio head David Doak confirmed at the Ubidays conference in Paris that the game will allow for the co-op campaign both online and off. Now that we're starting to see this four-player co-op concept take flight in games like Haze and Too Human, is there a chance it'll show up in Halo 3?Doak also rehashed some of the information from earlier that Haze is "not just about war itself, it's about your perception of war". They're really pushing this mature "make you think" angle of the game. Listen, we'll be more than happy to debate the merits of war with our friends online as long as the four-player co-op runs smoothly and gives us a truly great squad game in campaign mode.
Hazed and confused: Haze writer disses Halo
If you want to grab some attention for your game (or just in general) one of the easiest things to do is publicly mock something that's successful. In the case of videogames, a sure way to get your game noticed is to mock Halo. Speaking to Edge, Rob Yescombe, scriptwriter for Free Radical's upcoming shooter Haze, has some choice words about the king of console shooters. According to Yescombe, new-gen games are about more mature, compelling content: "Halo is brilliant, you're a teenager - the next-gen is about becoming more mature ... in Haze you become an adult." Yescombe adds that games should take a page from world events as inspiration, saying, "It's about what's happening in the world today - it's ludicrous, and how can you make something that doesn't reflect that? Well, you could bury your head in the sand and make Halo 3, but the fact of the matter is there are more important things at stake." Haze, it seems, is a satirical work aimed at modern warfare, though Yescombe admits that some may not see the satire.Naturally, we here at X3F are card-carrying Halo 3 fanboys, so Yescombe's comments sting a little. However, regardless of Haze's merits, for Yescombe to imply that Bungie is socially irresponsible for creating Halo is asinine. Escapist fiction has always been a part of human culture and is just as important as any piece of satire or non-fiction. We need our action movies just as much as we need our documentaries. We need Stephen King just as much as we need Johnathan Swift. Without some escape from the world's problems, we'd all be nothing but bubbling piles of depression. To quote Sergeant Johnson, "People need heroes, Chief. To give 'em hope."[Via Joystiq]
In a 'Haze' of modern issues
In a small, barely ventilated, room of E3 last year Ubisoft showed off the very promising game Haze. A first-person shooter that obviously, even at that time, had something to say about the politics of war -- without politics getting in the way of gunplay. Well, Haze scriptwriter Rob Yescombe says that while Halo is great, it's not the most mature subject matter and he wants Haze to up the ante in meaning. Yescombe tells Edge magazine he believes developer Free Radical is using Haze to do that, he says, "It's about what's happening in the world today -- it's ludicrous, and how can you make something that doesn't reflect that? Well, you could bury your head in the sand and make Halo 3, but the fact of the matter is there are more important things at stake."Yescombe does say that their job is still to "entertain." Haze, although being an incredibly short demonstration, did stand out from the crowd at last year's E3. At the time it felt like a mix of FarCry, Ghost Recon (at the time they said it would allow for four-man simultaneous campaign) and a dose of Deus Ex morality. This is definitely one title we're looking forward to seeing more of, especially if the story enhances what was already some sweet looking gameplay.
Haze gets its own viral website!
Shooters, shooters, are no fun, unless you kill everyone! Hmm. Shooters, shooters, are no fun, unless you give the 360 some! No, no... the PS3 some! Yes, that's right. Well, the upcoming shooter Haze has released a viral site, not unlike the Dharma Initiative sites for the TV show Lost. This site, dedicated to Mantel Global Industries, is pretty fun to surf around and comical to listen to the PR guy talk about his company.The lead character in the game works for this company, so you can see why it's getting the "we're so awesome, check out this dramatic camera angle" makeover on the viral site. Instead of telling you what's on the site, which there's a good bit of info floating around (and some not yet available), we'll let you surf it yourself and tell us what you think. Enjoy.
Welcome back Haze, it's time to go viral
The last time we heard any information about Free Radical's shooter Haze we were a year younger and E3 was in full swing. But now it looks like the Haze team has finally made some progress, because a new Haze inspired viral website has emerged. The Mantel corporation's (the company the main character works for) corporate website launched the other day with virally fake company policies, financial details, and mission statement. All of course set in the not to distant future which is when Haze takes place. The website also has restricted access to a few sections, which will probably be unlocked nearer to a Haze release, but doesn't showcase any new Haze media or information yet. And since the viral marketing has begun, when do you think Haze will hit the streets? This Summer, this Fall, or next year sometime? Heck, all we know is that "Mantel is there, making a difference".[Via IGN]
Free Radical interview is both free and radical
Edge has an interview up with Free Radical co-founder Karl Hilton (no relation, we hope) where he discusses enemy AI, game design, and what it's like developing games in the marketplace right now. Particularly eye-opening is the fact that when they developed GoldenEye, their team was about as dozen people. These days, they consist of about 100 people, which is quite a step up in manpower. The most interesting quote comes when he's asked about the full time scriptwriter they have working there. Hilton says, "The success of the Wii has showed how unimportant writing is to a huge chunk of the games market – and that market sector is growing." We'd have to disagree with that. Sure, you don't need a huge screenplay to make Wario Ware: Smooth Moves fun ... but those explanation screens that show you how to do each new move with the controller are extremely well written and funny. Now, if they could just hire Tom Stoppard to rewrite Cooking Mama. They don't drop any new info about Star Wars Battlefront III, but he does talk about HAZE a bit, and it's worth checking out. They also just celebrated their 8th birthday on Friday, which practically makes them wise adults in the game development world.
Haze wanders past March 2007 release date, may return by 2008
A recent financial statement released by Ubisoft brings news that is unlikely to surprise anyone, with the exception of the man who just realized that Bruce Willis is like, totally a ghost. Free Radical's jungle-bound first-person shooter, Haze, will miss its projected March release date, instead arriving sometime in Ubisoft's next financial year, which concludes in March 2008. CVG reports that the time-cleaving developer should still complete the title before the end of the non-financial version of 2007, but we'd rather not place any wagers on it.
LucasArts joining forces with Free Radical
LucasArts, longtime custodians of secrets pertaining to primate islands, have announced their intention to work with the timesplitting folks at Free Radical on a brand new game. Slated for next-generation consoles, the as yet undisclosed title will benefit from the combined efforts of two experienced studios. Peter Hirschmann of LucasArts labels the agreement as a good idea, since Free Radical "has always been about titles with great gameplay and innovative design." [Opposites attract quip here.] With Raven Software spending most of their time reading comic books these days, it might not seem outlandish to suggest that the mystery game here could be a new entry in the Jedi Knight franchise -- to be more precise, Dark Forces 5: Jedi Knight 4: Jedi Outcast 3: Jedi Academy 2: Jedi Colon. Then again, it could be an entirely new IP. Just as well, since the only other idea we can muster is a first-person shooter starring a despondent Bobbin "Are you my mother?" Threadbare.
Timesplitters devs think Wii is underpowered?
Free Radical Design, which was formed from key members that left Rare after working on Goldeneye 007, has a new title in development for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 known as Haze. In the FAQ at their website, when asked if there will be a Wii version of the game, the company states "There are currently no plans for a Wii version of Haze. Sadly, the cutting-edge technology we're using requires more power than the Wii has available. If we could, we would." This got us to the thinkin' over here at Wii Fanboy.Would this be the case for titles in the future that are being developed on all platforms? Think about Ubisoft's Raving Rabbids, which Michel Ancel has stated during a preview that it is primarily being developed for the Wii, followed by ports to the PS3 and Xbox 360. How would it work the other way? Sure, we know that Call of Duty 3 is another title that will be present on all consoles, but is the game being built on Xbox 360 or PS3 architecture, then ported to the Wii? Is this the wall that Free Radical has hit? The comment brings up some questions, sure, but we doubt that a company who could give us one of the greatest console FPS games ever made could be so disinterested in such an innovative console. Hopefully, the next time we discuss Free Radical, it'll be in regards to their newest project on the platform.
