PS3 Fanboy

It's being reported by various UK based news sites that Free Radical, developer of the TimeSplitters series and Haze, has closed its doors for good. No one has received confirmation from the developer either way, as they don't seem to be answering their phones, but judging from anecdotal evidence, it's not looking good. Forum-goers over at Eurogamer are saying that the locks on the doors have been changed and Develop's sources are saying "something" happened at the developer this morning.

Develop is posturing that the closure, if true, is probably a result of Haze being a commercial and critical flop. Not only that, but the word is that their Lucasarts collaberation (Star Wars BattleFront 3) is reported to have been cancelled and they were having trouble finding a publisher for TimeSplitters 4. Sadly, it seems that game will now never see the light of day. We'll update this story as soon as we get confirmation either way but, as we say, it's not looking good. It's a sad day and we feel for anyone who has lost their job -- especially this close to Christmas.

[UPDATE] We've received confirmation that Free Radical has, indeed, closed its doors. This is no longer a rumor. GameIndustry.biz is reporting that Star Wars Battlefront 3 has been passed on to PSP Battlefront developer Rebellion.

Well, what do you think is going to happen? The ever-popular Yahtzee gets his hands on the PS3 FPS Haze. Guess what happens next. Tons of comparisons to Halo (and Turok) will be made ... and no one will be left standing.

Watch it here.

One of our biggest qualms about Haze , apart from the wasted potential of the story, was that its biggest selling point (four player online co-op) didn't work properly. Bizarre error messages asking people to install a non-existent patch would pop up and prevent friends from playing with each other. Incredibly frustrating. Thankfully, the patch seems to have been released yesterday. A 51MB download updates the game to version 1.04 and removes the nasty co-op glitches.

The patch plays around with your save file, so that you have to start from the beginning of the last level you got to, but that's a negligible annoyance to suffer in return for finally being able to play with all your buddies. It's just a shame about the timing. With Metal Gear Solid 4 now out in all territories, we don't suspect Haze is going to get much of a look in for a while.

Well, that didn't take too long, did it? Just a few weeks after the critics tore Haze apart, it's getting a discount at GameStop retailers. Originally $60, the Free Radical FPS is dropping down to $40, with the guide dropping down to just $10. Sale prices don't go into effect until next week, so we're certain you can restrain yourselves just a few days before rushing to GameStop in total excitement.

Update: Haze is already $40 at amazon.com

[Thanks, Mike!]

Developed by Free Radical, the ex-Rare employees responsible for the excellent Timesplitters series, Haze has been a long time coming. The game has suffered from multiple delays as well as exclusivity confusion over the last year. Haze promised to deliver an immersive story, balanced multiplayer and seamless online and offline co-op play. It was also backed up by some excellent live-action trailers.

Unfortunately, it becomes apparent whilst playing the game that, while the team at Free Radical may have reached for excellence, they have either fallen short or made some bad decisions with regards to the execution of many aspects of the title. Haze isn't a bad game and, despite some shortcomings, can be enjoyable and thought provoking. But is it as good as the hype suggested? Frankly, no. Read on to find out why.

Tired of hearing bad things about Haze? Played the game and thought it wasn't all that bad? Or just looking for a new outfit that just screams "you"? Check out Universal Designs' new Haze Costume: now you can be a Mantel soldier overdosing on some mad Nectar (sold separately in your neighborhood grocer; the label says Honey just to trick the masses). Our only issue is a design flaw meant to keep you comfortable: the helmet is insanely huge compared to the cranium-hugging ones in the video game. Otherwise, nice.

Our comments section exploded yesterday, when we ran a piece about Haze's initial reviews. The first reviews were rather scathing towards the PS3 "exclusive" FPS, and many accused us of anti-PS3 sentiment (in spite of us not having written any of those reviews). To make you feel better, we've chosen only the best reviews from Haze's Metacritic page. We won't tell you that Haze's average Metacritic score is 54.

• PSM3 Magazine UK (70/100) - "There is a certain charm to it ... almost on par with the perfect Call of Duty 4 mechanics.
• GameDaily (70/100) - "Yes, it's true, the game runs at a dwindled 576p resolution instead of 720p, but we still find it attractive ... Haze is a good first person shooter."
• Game Informer (63/100) - "Haze's saving grace is its co-op gameplay, which can be fun when you shoot a friend's Nectar tank from behind to watch him freak out."

As a few readers pointed out, apparently the Japanese magazine Famitsu awarded its lucrative Gold rating to the game. Considering how much the Japanese love FPS games, this is a rather stellar accomplishment. With the game on store shelves today, we'd love to hear more about your Haze experiences in our comments section.

Many PS3 gamers are excited for Haze, the PS3 "exclusive" FPS from Free Radical. Since the launch of the playable demo, opinions have been mixed: some loved the instant-action multiplayer offerings, while others were underwhelmed by the core gameplay mechanics of the game. While these initial reviews aren't necessarily representative of the critical mass, they do point towards a less-than-favorable outcome for this anticipated game.

• IGN (45/100) - "While their previous work was quite excellent, Haze is anything but, coming across as a middling, generic first-person shooter with bland visuals, a weak plot and laughable characters."
• GamersHell (65/100) - "Haze is still sitting in the wake of Call of Duty 4, and falls into that category of being just another FPS. The game tries to include different content with Nectar abilities and rebel dynamics, but a confused story, lacking gameplay elements and technical bugs bog the game down from being a stellar PS3 exclusive."
• The A.V. Club (C+) - "More narratively cohesive than the Halo trilogy, but less inventive and compelling than Resistance: Fall Of Man ... too bad it's paired with one of the more pedestrian FPS games to come along in recent years."

[Thanks, blank!]

This is one of the strange, most unique promos we've seen for any video game -- and we love it. Haze Multiplayer Date is a Hazethemed dating show. Yes, strange, no? We don't know who greenlit this promo, but we have to give props to Ubisoft and Free Radical to do something we haven't seen on the internet. And boy, we've seen a lot of stuff on the internet.

Warhawk isn't the only PS3 exclusive to get its own official tournament. Thanks to a partnership between GGL and Ubisoft, Haze will be getting the same treatment. The 4v4 tournament will start properly on June 4th, prior to which a practice ladder will be running for people to get to grips with the game. Again, if you need help finding team mates, a forum has been set up on the GGL website for just that purpose.

The top 64 squads on the ladder when it closes on July 13th will be put forward to the elimination bracket and will compete to win the $5000 Grand Prize. If you fancy signing up, or finding out more, check out the GGL website.

It appears that many games this generation aren't meeting the 1080p HD standard that Sony set on PS3. Heck, many games aren't meeting the standard 720p HD resolution, either. For example, Grand Theft Auto IV runs at 640p on PS3. While these kind of shortcomings don't impact the overall visual fidelity, many gamers are still up in arms about these missing pixels.

Haze is the next game to fall under the careful watch of videophiles. The recently released demo, when scrutinized, is shown to be running at 576p. Free Radical's Derek Littlewood confirmed to Ripten that the final game also runs in a lower resolution. "That's where we ended up with for Haze ... but I don't understand why people care whether there's 20 pixels, 50 pixels, or 100 pixels more."

Other games, like Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 on Xbox 360, have used lower resolutions to improve overall visual effects. It should be up to every gamer to decide, with their own eyes, whether or not the lowered resolution has created a diminished visual experience for Haze.

[Via Digg]

Whether you're intrigued by Haze, but not yet convinced or you've had the game preordered for the last year, PS3 Attitude's Haze week is for you. Promising to deliver exactly what it says on the tin -- a full week of in-depth Haze coverage, there'll be plenty of exclusive content as well as a big competition to come. PS3 Attitude has kicked off the week with an article titled "Five things you may not know about Haze." Be sure to check back to the site for more coverage throughout the week.

PS3 Attitude has also announced that it will be closely affiliating itself with the new UK charity Games Aid. So much so, in fact, that they will be swapping their attitude for a little altitude as they organise Jump 2008, a money raising sky-dive for "the people behind PS3 Attitude, plus a carefully selected crew of gamers and gaming industry contacts." If you want to take part in the event on August 31st, there are a few spaces up for grabs. For full details check out the announcement post over at PS3 Attitude

We applaud their efforts towards such a good cause and look forward to hearing more about Jump 2008 in the future.

Read - Jump 2008 announcement @ PS3 Attitude
Read - Five things you may not know about Haze @ PS3 Attitude

US Games

• SingStar
• Haze [Free $10 gift card at Circuit City]
  

EU Games

• Call of Duty 4 (GOTY Edition)
• Haze
  

Asian Games

• UEFA Euro 2008
• Haze
• MotorStorm Complete
  

Americans can also look forward to the release of SingStar, a game their cousins across the pond have been enjoying since before Christmas. We look forward to seeing videos of drunken Americans popping up on My SingStar Online over the next few weeks. We've noticed that Play.com are already stating that Haze is in stock and ready to be dispatched. No idea if that means you'll get it before Friday, but it's worth a try.

Not that you need to, considering Haze has a global release, but feel free to import any of the above games. Your PS3 will run them all. Release dates are constantly subject to change, so make sure to check with your local retailer before doing anything rash.

You had to have known in some area of your brain that Haze would come with a mandatory install. It's almost a trend and almost always a hassle -- especially when it comes to hard drive space (we're so very sorry, 20GB PS3 owners!). The size of Ubisoft's oft-delayed shooter is going to be in the realm of 4GB's. Time to make a sandwich, huh? Well, love it or hate it, just be ready to let the game web itself into your PS3 for a while before you get crackin' on killin' those Mantel troops. It sure would be a bummer to break it out of its shrink-wrap at a party only to make everyone wait. You've been warned.