Haze Gameplay Questions and Answers on PS3



GameSpy: Why two sides in a single game?




Derek Littlewood: It was a multiplayer decision first and foremost, although at the same time there was this idea floating around of having a story that explored the idea of presenting the player with the dilemma of "Maybe you're on the wrong side of this war," which clearly worked well with the idea of having two very distinctive factions in the game.

GameSpy: Does the game address turning on people who trusted you? Even if your co-op squadmates turn to the rebels with you, there must have been someone you got along with in Mantel, right?

Derek Littlewood: Yes, the game definitely deals with the consequences of Shane turning his back on Mantel on a personal level (as well as from the more obvious military perspective). In fact in some ways the finale deals more with the personal impact of Shane's decisions throughout the game as it does with the bigger picture. I think that's one strong aspect of the narrative in Haze: it's about the people first, the war second, not the other way around.

GameSpy: How does the game's difficulty scale as you add players in co-op? More hit points for the enemies? More of them? Is it a different process for the two sides?

Derek Littlewood: We've employed a variety of approaches to ensure that co-op players will enjoy as much challenge as lone players; one thing we didn't want was for four players to just be able to walk over the opposition. Rather than simply introducing more enemies into the mix we've concentrated on adjusting their behaviour and attributes, which on a mundane level means things like additional hit points, but the more interesting thing is that you'll see their tactics and intelligence alter too. For instance, Mantel troopers will dose up with nectar more often if they feel more under threat, so against four Promise Hand players you can expect them to be dosing up with nectar far more than against a single player.

GameSpy: How will the AI differ between the rebels and the Mantel troopers?

Derek Littlewood: The troopers are generally far more aggressive than the rebels, particularly when they're dosed up on nectar. Because they're heavily armored and more invulnerable to damage thanks to nectar, they're very partial to headlong charges at their target, which as a rebel player is often pretty terrifying!

The rebels thrive on a more cunning approach, so you'll see them flanking and using cover far more than the troopers. I've found myself surprised by rebels jumping out of jungle undergrowth on far too many occasions!

GameSpy: What can Free Radical fans expect to find that's familiar in the gameplay?

Derek Littlewood: I think the feel of the controls is very close to that of TS, although Haze is definitely slower paced, and with the additional abilities feels more involved. I'd also say the higher difficulty levels -- particularly extra hard -- will remind people of TS as well, as it's pretty brutal!

GameSpy: Is there any other appropriate nickname for the Mantel troops than Bee Troopers? Or Evil Bee Troopers?

Derek Littlewood: One guy christened them "Banana Troopers" at one point, but I think that's a bit too cuddly for my liking!


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mublakcor's Avatar
#3 - mublakcor - 309w ago
seems you gonna need 4 players to coop, its always fun with split screen coop it think, beside that the game looks great, think ill try it out.

Selech's Avatar
#2 - Selech - 310w ago
Sound pretty good!

I'm hyped about it, and my friends are too! Mostly because of the splitscreen-story-mode.

JJCOOLX's Avatar
#1 - JJCOOLX - 310w ago
Idk if its just me, but for some reason i cant get as hyped up about Haze as i can with Killzone 2 or Resistance 2
