Haze is an experience that should be missed.
Graphics: 7.0/10.
Haze graphics are the type of graphics that make the game look extremely good when far away. The problem with graphics like that is that normally when you get closer the graphics seem to not be as good and this is true with Haze. Haze has some very beautifully designed levels if you view them from far away but once someone examines them, let's say by zooming in at the ground, the graphics become all blurry and do not seem as sharp.
Story Mode: 6.0/10.
The key with Haze's story mode is that the potential for a great story mode was there. The premise of Haze's storey mode is that you are a Mantel troop who has been told your whole life that "Skin Coat" (Rebel leader's name) is this bad man who must be killed. After main character Shane Carpenter joins Mantel and start to fight for them he realizes that maybe all the things they said are not true. He quickly sees all the problems with the drug that the Mantel troops are using to enhance their speed, strength, and courage in war. This drug has made the troops savages and Shane quickly changes sides only about an hour into the story mode. As you can see the potential for an amazing story mode was there but it is destroyed by the crappy characters and how little this plot unfolds. All this plot unfolds into is a fight over the drug and the rebels trying to survive. Yes, I know major let down.
Online: 4.5/10.
This is once again an area were Haze continues to disappoint. The potential for a truly outstanding online fps experience was there but it is destroyed by how one sided it is. Yes Haze online is extremely one sided. When you fight online, rebel troops have the ability to lie down on the floor after taking loads of damage and pretend to be dead (just like in the story mode). This pretending to be dead is extremely annoying if you are on the Mantel side of things because you can never tell if someone you have unloaded a clip into is truly dead or not. The second major problem with Haze's online is that it is not in depth. With very few maps and only 3 game modes Haze's online is another are were Haze does not succeed in.
Game play: 4.0/10.
Haze game play is your classic first person shooter action with a handful of ups and downs. The only good thing is that the guns are lots of fun to shoot. The guns control life like and they all have a very natural feel to them which adds to the game play. Even with great guns, the game play in Haze is bad. The enemy AI is absolutely retarded. One minute a guy could be unloaded on you and then all the sudden he will turn around and just stare at the wall. Also, sometimes enemies will just run by you without firing a bullet which makes them very easy to kill. Along with bad enemy AI comes bad friendly AI. Your team mates due little to nothing in Haze and if you let the battle go on for long periods of time without doing anything no one will get killed. This is extremely annoying because you expect your team mates to at least help you out a bit during war and they don't. Another r bad thing is that sometimes you can clearly shoot at a guy and he will not die. Oh yeah and I forgot to mention the fact that enemy AI can go from extremely easy to f*cking ridiculously hard in a matter of seconds. Haze does offer some rewarded game play occasionally and some battles are fun but overall the experience is bad.
Immersion: 4.0/10.
Immersion is a category some games capture very easily and some games can not grasp. In Haze the immersion is not eminent at all. Battles are kept to a small focused area and many levels are not well designed. The levels are simple and the designs to the levels are nothing special. Most levels are just simply grass and trees and there is nothing special about them.
Voice acting and characters: 1.0/10.
This is by far the area were Haze sucks the most. The voice acting in Haze is absolutely abysmal. Every character in the game acts like a high school jock and the game comes of as more of a laughable feel rather than a realistic war game feel. The voice acting is so bad that I would go as far to say that it is the worst I have ever seen in a game. Even the main character's voice acting is a disgrace and I know I am being harsh but it feels like they did not even try. Now the characters on the other hand are just as bad as the voice acting. There is not one character in Haze that will stay with you after you are done playing and this is depressing. Some characters such as the rebel leader had a chance to be amazing but were poorly designed and badly scripted.
Sound: 8.0/10.
This is the area were Haze excels the most and it still is not that good. The sound in Haze is great but there is a problem to it. Yes, the game does sound extremely realistic and this sound adds to the feel of the game but the problem is that thee is no main sound track. Most games have at least a core set of songs whether you realize it or not that makes the game come to life and Haze has no set of songs. Instead Haze does not bring much sound to the game while you are playing it except for the bad voice acting.
Biggest Pros:
-Guns are well designed and fun to use.
-Some battles are loads of fun.
Biggest Cons:
-Bad voice acting and characters.
-Terrible enemy and friendly AI.
-Mediocre story line.
-Shallow online experience.
-Little to no immersion.
Final Verdict:
Haze is a FPS that maybe only hard core shooter fans should pick up. If you like the occasional shooter then maybe Haze is a buy you should avoid. It feels like a thrill ride playing Haze because it does have its good things about it but the problem is that the good things are brought down by the bad things. Overall, Haze is an experience most gamers will not enjoy and if you are looking for a solid FPS maybe you should look else were or at least check your bargain bin because Haze is once again a game with loads of potential but falls short.
Final grade: 4.9/10.