Haze dated for PS3 this Autumn

Ubisoft has revealed that Haze will launch on PS3 this autumn. No mention was made of the previously announced Xbox 360 and PC versions.

The publisher has remained coy on the issue, telling US site Gamespot that, "Haze is leading on PS3, but no exclusivity for any platform has been officially announced." More confirmation is expected soon.

It's in development at Free Radical and will feature four-player jump-in co-op for the first time in an FPS.

The game will take place in 2048, a time when NATO and the UN don't exist. And because of this, most Western governments outsource their military requirements to Mantel Global Industries - an enormous army for hire.

This is where you will come in, as you jump into Sergeant Shane Carpenter's biomedically-boosted shoes and head down to South America to get rid of The Promised Hand rebels. But over the course of three-days your life will change forever.

While no specific details were divulged, Free Radical was keen to point out that this will be a mature and deep experience; one that will have you thinking long after you finish it.

"I can't say too much about it even at this stage, but it asks questions and raises issues that are worth debating long after you've finished the game," said Derek Littlewood, team leader for the game. "Visually, Haze will certainly set a new benchmark, but we believe it will also set a precedent for the quality of writing that we believe should exist in the next generation of games."

"There's more to HAZE than meets the eye, and there's certainly more to Mantel too. In fact, every aspect of the game holds a surprise, secret or twist - the storyline, the gameplay, the graphics. Nothing is safe!"

You'll get all the futuristic weaponry you'd expect, along with vehicles and explosives to fling around. But the real secret to spicing up the gameplay will be "Nectar", a bio-medically engineered nutritional supplement that increases soldiers' performance. It will have clear positive effects on your abilities, but there will also be drawbacks - ones that seem to gravitate towards the underbelly of the story.

Free Radical is also adamant that your experience will be seamless, allowing you to drift from one area of the story to another, without the hassle of navigating menus and breaking your immersion.

"It's a completely seamless experience - no loading screens, no missions select screens," Littlewood added. "This was a core aim from very early on in the project, because we're trying to create a realistic, immersive game world - and there are no loading screens in real life, my friends!

"We wanted to give the player a real sense of continuity throughout the game, so rather than simply jumping from one location to another, you'll catch a ride in a Mantel vehicle to get there instead. Think of it as a road movie through a war."

It sounds like it's shaping up very well, and we'll be bringing your our thoughts on the game from the Ubidays event in Paris soon.

Meanwhile you can take a look at the freshly released trailer, or pop into our Haze gallery for the sparkly screenshots.