Haze Rebels Hands-on
April 2, 2008 - If you're looking for details on being a Mantel soldier, check out Gamespy's coverage of the game. On the other hand, if you're looking for info regarding the rebels and multiplayer, look no further. To avoid spoiler details, no level details will be given.
In the world of Haze, there are the haves, and the have nots. The haves are easily Mantel Corporation's soldiers, who frequently inject themselves with a strange pharmaceutical substance known as Nectar. But the have nots are the mysterious rebel faction known as the Promise Hand, a bunch of miscreants based in South America that want to create anarchy across the world. Lead by a mysterious figure known as Skin Coat (so named for the article of clothing he's cobbled together from his victims), no country is safe from the significant threat they pose to life.
Or are they?
Shane Carpenter is a Mantel soldier that follows orders and fights against the Promise Hand for the company's cause. However, one mission causes him to rethink the reasons for fighting, and as events spiral out of control, Shane defects from the company and joins the rebel cause. Unlike Mantel, the Rebels are a rag tag bunch of individuals that are struggling against overwhelming technological odds. While they have larger numbers of ground soldiers, their materials are pretty much cobbled together from whatever items can be scavenged from their environments or the bodies of their opponents. If Carpenter's ammunition is running low, he can immediately scavenge the bullets from a fallen soldier's weapon for any firearm he currently possesses. He can also steal the weapons from the hands of Mantel soldiers and turn them on their former owners with quick melee attacks, or make traps with grenades that are set in the ground to explode whenever a Mantel soldier walks near.
This resourceful nature also comes in handy when you are taking out Mantel soldiers, as you and your fellow Promise Hand comrades have discovered the easiest way to weaken them, which is make them overdose on their precious Nectar. By blasting the regulators set between a Mantle soldier's shoulder blades, you can immediately make them overdose and lose control of their actions. You can also make dangerous Nectar grenades that will cause any Mantel soldier within range of its detonation to overdose on fumes and potentially turn their guns on their compatriots. Making these grenades will also coat any throwing knives you may have, known as Razor Tongues, which will impart the same hallucinatory effects.
As a Rebel, Carpenter has to rely solely upon his wits to survive, especially because they don't have Mantel's super suits or the regenerative effects of Nectar. To this end, all Promise Hand rebels can quickly roll out of the way of incoming fire, giving them an opportunity to minimize the number of bullets that could hit them. If you do manage to sustain a large amount of damage, however, you can avoid further bullets by playing dead. Since you won't register in the line of sight of Mantel troops that are high on Nectar, you'll have a chance to heal a certain amount of damage and return to fight again. With good timing, you can pop up behind enemies and safely take them out before they knew what hit them. While you can use this to avoid damage, you'll find that your teammates will sometimes take too much damage before they can attempt this deceptive maneuver. In these cases, you'll need to revive them by running over to them and hitting the square button multiple times to bring them back to their feet.
What we discovered during our playthroughs is that reviving troops is perhaps one of those key elements of play that you'll become accustomed to, especially if you decide to take on a co-op multiplayer game. Connecting to a co-op match is extremely easy -- up to four players can enter and exit the campaign mode of the game at any time, and players can specify whether they want their co-op matches to be restricted to friends that you've invited or open to anyone of the PSN. However, be warned: Mantel soldiers really take no prisoners on Hard and above, and rebels will need to exploit every roll, false death and Nectar overdose to help their comrades survive. Fortunately, during multiplayer, the advantages of personnel do wind up coming in handy, as some AI controlled troops can act as gun fodder for the Mantel soldiers while you and your friends mop up your enemies. We also found that the ability of the Rebels to make traps is truly invaluable, especially in tightly controlled areas. For instance, one level we played took place in the narrow corridors of a ship, and placing grenades in front of doors effectively eliminated charging soldiers.
What's more, if you play the rebel stages, you'll have to be mindful of the items that you scavenge from fallen soldiers; making a nectar grenade or taking ammo from one soldier won't be shared amongst your fellow players. Fortunately, you'll always have an indicator pop up on screen to give you an idea of where your teammates are, so if you do find one of them in trouble, you can track them down and give them assistance to get to the next checkpoint. Much of this can easily be done via vehicle, such as the 4x4 Macho truck and the 2 man ATV known as a Mula. While it was fun to race around levels, we did detect that there were two significant control issues that could stand a bit of improvement. The first is that the vehicles themselves restrict the view of soldiers riding shotgun or on turrets. The Macho, for instance, has a turret that really restricts your line of sight, making it harder for gunners to hit their targets. The second is that there doesn't appear to be a damage indicator for vehicles, so your machines can explode and kill you quickly with very little warning.
source: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/864/864056p1.html
In the world of Haze, there are the haves, and the have nots. The haves are easily Mantel Corporation's soldiers, who frequently inject themselves with a strange pharmaceutical substance known as Nectar. But the have nots are the mysterious rebel faction known as the Promise Hand, a bunch of miscreants based in South America that want to create anarchy across the world. Lead by a mysterious figure known as Skin Coat (so named for the article of clothing he's cobbled together from his victims), no country is safe from the significant threat they pose to life.
Or are they?
Shane Carpenter is a Mantel soldier that follows orders and fights against the Promise Hand for the company's cause. However, one mission causes him to rethink the reasons for fighting, and as events spiral out of control, Shane defects from the company and joins the rebel cause. Unlike Mantel, the Rebels are a rag tag bunch of individuals that are struggling against overwhelming technological odds. While they have larger numbers of ground soldiers, their materials are pretty much cobbled together from whatever items can be scavenged from their environments or the bodies of their opponents. If Carpenter's ammunition is running low, he can immediately scavenge the bullets from a fallen soldier's weapon for any firearm he currently possesses. He can also steal the weapons from the hands of Mantel soldiers and turn them on their former owners with quick melee attacks, or make traps with grenades that are set in the ground to explode whenever a Mantel soldier walks near.
Die, Mantel scum!
As a Rebel, Carpenter has to rely solely upon his wits to survive, especially because they don't have Mantel's super suits or the regenerative effects of Nectar. To this end, all Promise Hand rebels can quickly roll out of the way of incoming fire, giving them an opportunity to minimize the number of bullets that could hit them. If you do manage to sustain a large amount of damage, however, you can avoid further bullets by playing dead. Since you won't register in the line of sight of Mantel troops that are high on Nectar, you'll have a chance to heal a certain amount of damage and return to fight again. With good timing, you can pop up behind enemies and safely take them out before they knew what hit them. While you can use this to avoid damage, you'll find that your teammates will sometimes take too much damage before they can attempt this deceptive maneuver. In these cases, you'll need to revive them by running over to them and hitting the square button multiple times to bring them back to their feet.
What we discovered during our playthroughs is that reviving troops is perhaps one of those key elements of play that you'll become accustomed to, especially if you decide to take on a co-op multiplayer game. Connecting to a co-op match is extremely easy -- up to four players can enter and exit the campaign mode of the game at any time, and players can specify whether they want their co-op matches to be restricted to friends that you've invited or open to anyone of the PSN. However, be warned: Mantel soldiers really take no prisoners on Hard and above, and rebels will need to exploit every roll, false death and Nectar overdose to help their comrades survive. Fortunately, during multiplayer, the advantages of personnel do wind up coming in handy, as some AI controlled troops can act as gun fodder for the Mantel soldiers while you and your friends mop up your enemies. We also found that the ability of the Rebels to make traps is truly invaluable, especially in tightly controlled areas. For instance, one level we played took place in the narrow corridors of a ship, and placing grenades in front of doors effectively eliminated charging soldiers.
The strength of the Promise Hand lies in its numbers.
source: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/864/864056p1.html
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