So the embargo has been lifted on Haze and the reviews are pooring in…to much shenanigans.  IGN has posted a review, giving the game a 4.5.  The reaction has been a mix of “Microsoft is paying IGN off” to “I expected this from the demo”.  Others have just been consfused as to why Famitsu would post 34/40 and PSM Italy gave the game 9/10.  My thoughts?  First of all, remove any score that has the company’s name in it, thus PSM (Playstation Magazine) no longer matters.  Then look at the other scores.  So far we have a 4.5/10 and a 34/40 which is 8.5/10.  I’d say the spread is quite large.

Secondly, review the site history.  Famitsu is known for hard hitting and critical reviews EXCEPT when it comes to RPGs (at least that’s been my opinion of them).  IGN has been known for it’s, well to be frank, shenanigans and nonsense.  Perhaps many gamers have forgotten the fact that games such as DMC3 were given lesser scores because the reviewer was a less than effective player (Read, the reviewer sucked at the game).  A commenter on the IGN forum also noted that while Haze does have teammates that run in front of you and boring and repeated troop comments, that Halo 3 had the same and got a 10/10.  Obviously the commenter has not played Haze, but could have easily played and noted the same knocked details in Haze in Halo.  Comments have also gone to “guess there are no good exclusives for PS3″ which is obvious fanboy crap.  Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, Uncharted, Ratchet and Folklore would all like to speak with you sir

With all this being said, know that I don’t plan to buy Haze, I did when I first saw videos, but the delays have killed most of the interest I had in the game.  I did play the demo and since you can actually play the game, I’d think it warrents more than a 4.5.  I also will rent it at very least to play as the promise hand faction as they are the side that drew me in to begin with.  I also don’t get paid by Sony or anyone else for that matter, I am a gamer that like all of you, has opinions.  I will use my opinions to decide what move to make with Haze and any other game.  I believe that anyone else should do the same since opinions and our likes and dislikes all differ.  Being a reviewer is nothing more than a paid opinion (not saying that any company pays, but the reviewer is obviously not writing for free so one way or another that review is paid for).  Follow you own thoughts and get the games you want.  Until next time, Game on!