What, you haven't heard of Matt Hazard? Well, don't feel too bad, because even though Eat Lead is his "return" to video gaming, he really hasn't been around very long. He is, however, leading the charge on a humorous video game tale spanning many parodies and game culture. So how good is Matt Hazard's return? Let's have a look shall we.
Graphics 7
The graphics behind Eat Lead are really about as average as a next-generation shooter can be. Eat Lead really doesn't have the same class of graphics as, say, Uncharted 2 (Yeah, I'm mentioning that game again), but it does it's job well enough.
The environments are often themed, but have plenty of detail and often include a number of exploding objects you can shoot.
The most unique feature that you'll notice is that enemies and entire levels will suddenly appear (which is supposed to simulate the programmers programming in new content). So, even though the theme of the level may be, for example, a western theme, you'll see enemies and cover from another location or level.
I didn't really like the Matt Hazard character design... It looks kinda weird to me, but I can't quite place my finger on it. He definitely looks weird in his default costume, kinda like his head isn't big enough. Hmm, maybe he's just too bald. Other character designs are good, but could have used more development time (especially the antagonist).
Enemies are also recycled heavily, but there is a good variety of enemies to fight so it's not bad. All in all, the graphics aren't spectacular but they do their job.
Gameplay 7
Eat Lead is, as you would guess, a shooting game.
You'll view Matt in an over the shoulder view as you blast your way through eight different stages. Matt has all the moves of most standard action games.
You can carry up to two different weapons, use cover to hide behind, fire from behind cover (while aiming or not aiming), and melee when you're up close. The cover system reminds me of Gears of War, since you can press certain buttons to jump to new cover and even advance to a closer position automatically.
Weapon choices are mostly based on what your enemy drops, as guns have limited ammo forcing you to change them out every once in awhile (some of the weapons are weird).
Also, there's no meter for health, as the game does the ever popular screen fading to grey when you're getting hurt.
All in all, Eat Lead is a fairly standard shooter.
Some boss fights have you press certain buttons to do things (think God of War), and others actually have you use your brain at times (just a little).
You can also utilize special bullets (either fire or ice) when you fill up a certain meter. There are also two special power up items Matt can use: one that provides defence and another that gives you enhanced attacks.
Matt's downfalls, in this game at least, are the sheer repetitive nature of the game. Clear the room and move forward. Rinse and repeat.
Granted there are a great deal of games that that is all you do, but the majority of other games out there have many different quests or things to do in between, especially since people get bored of that type of shooter.
I also found the enemy re-enforcements to be awkwardly placed, such as coming from directly behind you, or other equally frustrating places that can lead to an easy and cheap death.
One of the major down-falls of Eat Lead is how short it is.
You'll go through eight different chapters, each of which will take somewhere around 30-45 minutes to get through (add in more time for higher difficulties, some of those enemy placements can kill you). After that, there really is nothing else to play for. You can go after trophies or try a harder difficulty level but that's it.
Sound 9
Making humour the primary drawing factor in a video game is risky. You have to have someone who can deliver, and thankfully Eat Lead delivers in spades by having Will Arnett voice Matt Hazard. They also hired Neal Patrick Harris to voice the antagonist.
Both voice actors do a superb job in portraying their characters in both scripted events and in the myriad amount of random comments they make. Being the hero, you will of course hear Will Arnett throughout the entire game.
Enemy voices were well done as well, and had their share of funny quips to say. My favourite was "These goggles look cool and all, but they don't do shit!"
Many a time this game had me chuckling to myself.
The music in the game was almost entirely composed of guitar riffs.
In short, it was awesome! The music picks up when the action starts and is mostly quiet when you're alone, but since the action is only a short walk away you'll mainly be listening to non-stop guitar riffs throughout the entire game.
Story 8
You really don't see many fictional characters pretending to be fictional characters (parodies) in main stream video games these days (you see them mostly in comics and maybe flash cartoons), but that's exactly what Eat Lead is bringing to the table.
Matt hazard is a video game icon, having stared in several blockbuster games for Marathon Megasoft in the past decades. However, years ago Matt made the mistake of staring in several spin-off games such as Haz-mat cart racing, and several bad sports and party games (think Mario Party... Ew....), which led to his downfall. He's now starring in his first new game in years.
Being a seasoned veteran, Matt Hazard is starring in a new adventure as a detective assigned to retrieve money from the mob, which takes him to a Japanese steak house.
Several dead thugs and hilarious comments about tutorials later, Matt runs into Sting Sniperscope (who sounds exactly like Arnie) who, it appears, is stealing Matt's game from him in the opening level! As the finishing bullet is flying towards Matt's face, he is saved by a programmer from Marathon, QA, and allowed to continue the game, left to discover who is out for his head.
Eat Lead is chock full of video game parodies and gaming culture.
Matt Hazard's career spans all the way back to his early days in 8-bit side-scrollers, and so he has many friends and enemies.
As you play you'll meet a few of his friends, which are mostly all parodies of popular games (such as the space marine Master Chef, and the portly Captain Carpenter who's into mushrooms). Matt's main nemesis in the game was also a surprise. overall, the writing and dialogue is excellent.
The only thing I could have gone for more of, or thought was missing, was more insight into the bad guy's hatred for Matt and the powers he has over Matt's world, which was a little bit lacking. But in the end, Eat Lead is made for life-long gamers everywhere. As Matt would say, It's Hazard time!
Overall 7
Overall, Eat Lead is an average game with strong humour, great voice acting, and poor re-playability. Thankfully, it is cheap, and you should be able to pick it up for minimal dough.
Or you could just rent it and play through it in one afternoon.
Either way, Eat Lead is without a doubt Matt Hazard's best game yet. Have fun and keep playing.
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