Out with the old, in with the new

   I am going to take some time out to write about a few old titles I recently played for the first time. Yesterday, my friend brought around a few older Playstation 3 exclusives which we decided to play of both curiosity and response to hype. The first of which was Resistance, the original Resistance that is. Now I didn't realise at first just how old this game was, but noticeably it hasn't aged well, so that was the first clue. Immediately it reminded me of Call of Duty 2, both graphically and in the way the controls were handled. To be fair I think the two titles must have been released around a similar time. However I had heard comparisons between Resistance and Halo, claims that Resistance was Halo for the PS3. So I decided to persist with the graphical issue for a short while. Now I'm not sure whether this is simply down to nostalgia for me, but in my eyes Halo is just leagues ahead. In design, gameplay, Halo even seems to have aged better and it was a title from the original Xbox. My main issue with Resistance was the AI- the enemies are eager to just stand still in the open and fire wildly in your direction. And when you have an assault rifle that can track marked targets, it quickly became a turkey shoot. The gameplay reminded me of Unreal Tournament- though to be fair any game where you can run and gun and still be as accurate as using controlled aimed fire will remind me of Unreal Tournament. Considering the game seems to be going for a serious tone, this was not a good thing. After 3 missions of shooting the same enemies in the same way we decided to call it a day. Maybe I should give the game a chance to improve, or perhaps play the sequels and see how they went down. 

     The second game in question was Haze, which I was looking forward to playing because of the mixed reviews it had received. Also being a more recent title I had less concerns about eye strain. From the offset, Haze struck me as loud and obnoxious. You play as a guy in a bright yellow suit surrounded by other annoying macho idiots also in bright yellow suits. Now these guys aren't winning any awards for their fashion sense, but that's not the first issue that sprung to mind. Wearing florescent armor and shouting at the top of your lungs is a great way of asking for a bullet in the face. Sure enough, you stand out like a day time drunk- which as far as the single player goes is not a real issue as the AI is basically psychic anyway, but I could see it being a problem in multiplayer as the other team takes the roll of the rebels who are actually freaking hard to see in the jungle. This made the first mission interesting, I liked how half the time you couldn't see who was shooting at you. Just like Nam, maaaan. You weren't there. Quickly things progressed beyond the interesting jungle environment however, and predictably it wasn't long before we were exploring drab gray industrial areas. Que tedious monotony.

      Basically, it turns out you and your entire squad are pumped up on some kind of super drug. Its like steroids, crack and PCP all rolled into one. Injecting yourself with this drug enhances your reactions, your pain threshold and ability to perceive danger. But take too much and you go crazy and start shooting everything- walls, raccoons, teammates, nothing escapes your drug fueled rage. Also judging by your buddies, it turns you into an unbelievably insufferable prick. The first half of the game I was just waiting for the opportunity to shoot my goddamn teammates in the back of the face. Fortunately the plot twist allows you to silence these morons once and for all. The drug injection is quite interesting as a game mechanic but I don't think its enough to redeem the game entirely. Everything just seems somehow unfinished. Haze strikes me as the type of game that could benefit from a sprint feature- often you find yourself in wide open areas with sporadic cover, and as soon as you start taking fire you are dead in the water. It would be nice to be able to double time it to the conveniently placed waist high cover but instead you will have to make do with flailing your extremities and sponging 500 bullets in a bloody frenzy. It just doesn't feel right being all drugged up and not being able to run around like a maniac.  Remember kids, stay in school.

In Haze, your main weapons are not satisfying enough. Well, in my opinion. The assault rifles are rather bland and lacking features, plus the holo sights are useless as they have no reticule. My response to this issue saw me using the handgun for the entire game, and sniper rifles whenever I could find them. Being that the damn pistol is a hand-cannon that could link to a zoom function in your visor, I saw little use for anything else. And considering my friend was running around trying to take everyone on with throwing knives, between us we ran into some issues when it came to grouped enemies. I have a gripe with the scripted events in Haze as in one instance this led to arguably the most ridiculous death in gaming history, its gotta be in my top five at least. Basically after clearing a town square of enemies, we were tasked with taking down an enemy dropship. After firing off roughly 200 rounds at the damn thing with a fixed LMG, the pilot had the clever idea to fly above me and hover around in my blind spot. My buddy loosed off three rockets into the dropship, but this wasn't enough to bring it down. So I bring out my handgun and let out two rounds into the cockpit- now I don't know if the game even registers the cockpit as a weak point or if it was just a case of dealing attrition damage, but this was enough to bring the dropship crashing down. My celebrations were short lived as the wreckage collides with a church and the bell tower collapses directly on top of me. I was glad we were playing co op because if I had to re play a particularly frustrating section just because I stood in the exact area that a building collapses during a scripted event through sheer dumb luck,  I would be pissed. Suffice to say that was the final nail in the coffin, Haze is probably a game best enjoyed in the same state of intoxication as your character. Otherwise its just one big yellow headache. 

    Now from old titles to a relatively new release, and a game I have not even played. Following a recommendation from an online contact, I have been looking at an intriguing PS3 title called Journey. Now I know what you are thinking and no it has nothing to do with the band. Well, to the best of my knowledge. Either way, this game looks amazing. It is visually breathtaking, and a completely unique concept. This game looks so abstract that I am struggling to find anything to compare it to, its like Wind Waker and Prince of Persia had a love child... through immaculate conception. And it was baptized in melted chocolate and gold. I know you are probably confused. Watch this quick IGN review and all shall become clear. I will definitely be picking up this title, so stay tuned.