Haze: Combative New Art

Free Radical's determined, amidst all the hype surrounding the politics and drugs in Haze, not to let us forget about the combat system. Judging by what Free Radical told SPOnG last week and the new artwork below, it does right.

Last week the developer told us about the anti-Mantel techniques used by the scary mega-corporation's guerrilla opponents, the Promised Hand. Below you can see some of the underhanded tactics at work.

Here at SPOnG, our personal favourite's dipping your knife in some of the performance-enhancing Nectar that keeps the Mantel soldiers pumped and then sticking it in them 'til they overdose. SPOnG's going to have a word with Free Radical and hopefully in the final code you'll find us stood over the shoulder of a Promised Hand fighter muttering, "Yeah, go on, yeah, ger 'im Dave".

Here are some of the rebel tactics as outlined to SPOnG last week:

Weapon Steal
Get close enough to a Mantel soldier, and you’ll be able to punch him in the face and grab the gun right out of his hands. Seeing as they’re so damn tough, it’s the perfect way to even the odds.

Play Dead
This one’s really interesting. When the Mantel guys are using Nectar, it censors their view of reality – so they can’t see any blood or death. That means that when they kill a rebel, the body just fades away. So, by pretending to be dead, you’ll disappear, just like any other corpse in a videogame. Then, when the Mantel soldier turns his back, you can jump to your feet and plug one in the back of his head.

Scavenge
As a rebel, you’ll be able to recalibrate ammo from different weapons to fit yours. So, if you happen to find a minigun but it’s out of ammo, you can fix ammo from, say, a pistol to fit that gun instead.

Traps
You can bury grenades under the earth, to leave a nasty surprise for anyone on your tail.

For more on Haze, check out SPOnG's dedicated game page.