New interview of Free Radicals game HAZE. The story is that there is a corporation in control of everything. The company has its own army which it uses to help settle the constant civil uprisings. The company produced a chemical called nectar that the soldiers take to boost up their senses. Click the link for the full interview and a new video.

We last saw Haze a year ago during E3 2006 when Free Radical's latest title was premiered to the world. The game certainly caught our eye at the show with its fantastic visuals that really showed off the lush jungle setting that the demo was set in, and it certainly didn't hurt that we are all fans of the developer's Time Splitters series. But that was a year ago, and oh how things have changed since then...

Gone are the somewhat generic looking soldiers of yester-year, now replaced with squads of advanced men dressed in bee-themed gear with yellow and black masks, suits and so forth. Also gone are the squad controls with the game more focused around your individual actions now (though you are still part of a squad). Indeed, Haze is a different game than we'd seen before, but it's also tighter, more engaging and, most importantly, looks a good deal more fun.

The story of Haze is based around a conglomerate called Mantel, a pharmaceutical/weapons/you-name-it company that has its fingers in everything from the water we drink to the shoes we wear to perhaps even the air we breathe. Mantel even has its own private army which it uses to help quell the constant civil uprisings commonplace in this not-too-distant future.

One of Mantel's most advanced, and perhaps unstable, technologies comes in the form of Nectar, a serum that its soldiers use to heighten their senses. This ties directly into Haze's gameplay as you're able to tap into the Nectar tank on your back at any time and get a number of sensory boosts. Your aiming will be increased with a bit of lock-on help and enemies will stand out from the environment as glowing figures. Coolest of all though is the foresight that you'll gain that will warn you of incoming dangers. For instance, when a grenade lands near you you'll see a distortion wave emit from its location a second or two before it goes off, giving you just enough time to back away and at least lessen the damage, if not avoid it entirely.

Just as your surroundings in Haze won't only be foliage and trees, you also won't be walled-in at all times. Some open spots in the game will make room for vehicle use, such as a heavily armored buggy that we saw. Looking extremely agile and deadly at the same time, the buggy has separate spots for a driver and a gunner who can man the turret on top. Likewise, the open doors on either side allow two additional soldiers to hitch a ride while free-wielding their weapons to take out broadside enemies.

Sayyed via ps3.ign.com »