I get the feeling a new internet phenomenon has just started, that is the use of the term ‘Boosh!’ to parody totally inappropriate levels of self-confidence and machismo. View this video to see why.
Comical meme-forming quotes aside, I feel sorry for Free Radical. It’s clear the development of Haze had some problems, and they’re being utterly crucified for it around the Internet now - some of that isn’t their fault, some of it is just because they were a console exclusive so every fanboy from the opposite camp takes pleasure in using it to bolster their arguments. My main thought is that sure, the game might not be the ground-breaking title it was sold as, and it might look pretty weak in an environment populated with COD4 et al, but nevertheless a lot of people put a lot of effort into it over an extended period and it must be heartbreaking to see it getting urinated all over. I haven’t played it, but to me it doesn’t deserve all the panning it’s getting about the visuals - they don’t look bad to me. It also seems that much of the criticism is about what it doesn’t do (innovate at the level of its peers) rather than saying that what it does is awful (although the cutscenes are pretty awfully scripted, but the animation seems very good) - the bottom line seems to be that people just expect so much more in 2008. The quality bar is so high now in the FPS genre that even an experienced developer with a ton of resources and an exclusive deal can find it tough to compete, which is a little sad.
Is it any wonder developers are finding solace in WiiWare et al? At least if things go awry with one of those projects, it’s not such an expensive disaster.