Customer Reviews

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazzard

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Hello all, like my title says this came out at a bad time, most of you will be buying killzone 2 or halo wars or saving up for resident evil or recuperating from repetitve stress syndrome from street fighter when this little sure to be overlooked gem came out.

are the graphics good?-no
are the controls good?-no (but i got used to them couldnt figure out how to zoom at first)
is the story good?-not really (it is funny just convaluted and makes little sense)
is the game fun?-YES IT IS!!

I cant explain this game i put it in and played for a bit and i kept going cause i wanna see what happens next, after all it makes fun of some of my most loved games.I'll sum it up in one sentence, I got this shortly after getting killzone and i am playing this more than killzone. (thats not a jab at killzone, while killzone is fantastic on all fronts this game has just kept my interest, well that and im working alot of overtime and i want to invest all my attention on k2).

Summary: while this game is not great it is by no means bad it just came out at a bad time so i tell you all write the name down and pick it up later it is worth a play through.

P.S.- please email d3 and ask them to really make a water pistol game!!!

The run and gun gameplay gets repetative, but the story is fun and never takes itself seriously. From the Shatner sounding Gandalf looking character to the video games that it parodies, this is an enjoyable game that makes many pop culture references. If you've never seen a Schwartzenegger movie, some of the jokes will fall flat, but what are the chances that you haven't? Worth a rental, but no replay value.

Premise
*You play Matt Hazzard, a video game star who's being cheated out of his own game. A hacker helps prevent him from being killed off in favor of a different main character.

The Good Things
*Graphics are not too bad. They aren't as detailed or intricate as other games, but they look slick. The sound quality seems good.
*Gameplay is a simple, straightforward third-person shooter.
*Controls are not too bad, but they are not the same as most other shooters, so there is a bit of a learning curve.
*Level design is not bad. They are very straightforward, but they have a lot of places to find cover and some destructible objects in the environment.
*The story is not bad. It is basically a parody of other video games and movies. It is quite witty at times, without being too over-the-top.
*The main character is fun to play; he's always talking about the gameplay while you're playing him, adding to the parodic comedy. He also gets to fight some interesting bosses. Not to mention, he reminds me a bit of Jason Statham...
*Cool music.
*Has trophies, some of which are ridiculously easy to get.
*Appropriate for teenagers and adults. Rated T for language, suggestive themes, and violence; none of it is very graphic at all.

The Bad Things
*No multiplayer games.
*Not for those looking for complexity or challenge. Enemy AIs are not terribly challenging and the levels are straightforward.

It's simple, straightforward, and brainless, so it's perfect as a shooting-game parody. It has quite a few funny moments throughout, but gameplay itself is a parody, as you fight against a ridiculous amount of bad guys and take on some ridiculous bosses. And the whole time, your character is making some funny comments. It's pretty fun in the end; it'll do until "Duke Nukem Forever" finally comes out...

This game is a bargain bin item and it plays like one: the graphics are OK, the gameplay is average, the story is so-so and the music score is typical. But the main character quips and comments humorously in spades, and the sound effects seem pretty good. Just don't expect anything much from this title beyond some genuinely average videogame entertainment. 3 stars

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard is a parody of the video game industry. Anyone having grown up with video games in the past 20 years will probably find something humorous in Eat Lead. Though developer `Vicious Cycle' is quite possibly making fun of its own heavily clichéd and flawed game.

The setting for Eat Lead is simple: Washed out video game actor, Matt Hazard is recruited by his employer for a comeback to recapture his former glory (and profits). Though once his adventure begins a series of events and a mysterious helper indicate that not all is at it seems. I'll leave out any major plot twists and spoilers. But suffice to say that anyone who has a shred of common sense will see the plot twist coming well in advance.

Graphically, Eat Lead is competent. The game won't win awards or wow anyone with its graphical prowess, however, that's not really the focus of the title.

Gameplay is accomplished via a 3rd person camera similar to Gears of War. Eat Lead even attempts to implement the same cover system featured in Gears though with mixed results. The cover and control system is really where Eat Lead shows its lack of refinement. Mainly the biggest problem lies in the cover system itself. Unlike in Gears, the cover system in Eat Lead is clunky. I found myself frequently fighting with the controls as much as with the enemy. Frequent and frustrating deaths abound because of the flawed cover system. Moving from cover to cover should be a refined experience - in Eat Lead it is not. Matt Hazard frequently gets hung up on the environment or simply doesn't perform the action you're attempting to do.

There are other curious development choices too. For example enemies can use grenades - though Matt Hazard cannot. Your only recourse to enemy grenades is to scramble to a different position. The game makes fun of itself for the lack of the feature... but frustratingly it's still not there, jokes or not. I get the humor aspect of it but ultimately the game suffers for it.

Another issue is the completely unbalanced difficulty. There are three selectable difficulties ranging from the Matt Hazard equivalent of Easy, Medium & Hard. I played through on the medium and pretty much flew through the game until certain choke points where the difficulty spikes. Boss battles are particularly difficult and cheaply frustrating.

Again, though the game is a parody it is squarely making fun of many of the mechanics it uses. At an early point in the game I realized that the basic premise of Eat Lead is to move from room to room, wiping out all the enemies along the way. That's basically all you get for the entire game. In that regard it differs very little from games like `Doom' where you're simply killing enemies, finding keys and moving on to the next level. Again, the game is making fun of a mechanic it employs and actually overuses.

The in game music is mainly comprised of heavy-metal tracks that serve the game well. A lot of the music is completely over the top - and it's meant to be. It has a humorous effect on the game that fits well. The voiceovers are similarly cheesy, over the top voice actors. One particularly memorable wizard you must rescue in the game is the Dungeons & Dragons equivalent of William Shattner. It's hilarious.

I think that the people who will enjoy Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard are those that accept that the game is highly flawed and are playing more for the comedic value than those looking for a good game. I did laugh out loud at various points throughout the game and that is saying something. If only the developer had been able to iron out some of the control and balance issues this game could've really been something.

Ok, Ok, I get it. This game is no COD or GOW, but what it is is...FUN! It has to be the most creative and funny games i have played in a long time. Numerous times I actually found myself laughing out loud at the dialogue. Although it might not be worth the original MSRP, it is definately worth a rental, which is what i did originally, but when i found it for sale on NewEgg for $15, i couldnt pass it up.

It draws in so much humor from other types of games, western shooters, 2D Wolfenstein characters, zombies, etc. a great game now available from multiple retailers at a terrific price. if you can pick it up for under $20, it is a steal.

I started playing shooter games starting with the original side scroller starring Duke Nukem. I've been addicted since. Like many Nukem fans, I've been waiting for "Duke Nukem Forever" to come out, so when I heard about this, I gave it a shot. Very happy I did.

The graphics aren't the best, but this game isn't about graphic, bloody kills, or the like. It's about awesome kill shots, funny one liners, excellent scripting, wacky levels, and everything a gamer is thinking or saying while playing! To actually have your character pretty much tell you you're a moron with lines like "Go on, keep trying to shoot, maybe the gun will just magically reload itself" or something like that, I mean, I couldn't help but laugh! While some of the trophies are very easy, as others have said, there's some you wouldn't even THINK you were going for. Like shooting 30 potted plants...why? Cause there's always an urge to shoot that kinda stuff anyway *lol* So now you get rewarded for it.

The biggest problem I have with this game is there's no multiplayer. The funny part is they clearly had thought about making one, but for some reason didn't. The way you know is at the end of the game you get a Bronze Multiplayer trophy with the description: "What? No multiplayer? Sigh. Well...not like we can take the trophy back NOW..."




*****SPOILER***
From the end of the game it's clear there's a chance for a sequel! Really hope there will be!
*****END*****


All in all, this is a fun game. I played it through on Minor Hazard (Easy) just to see how it plays, and it can get difficult by the end. I'm several levels in on playing it of Major Hazard (Medium)and man does it get annoying. For some reason shots don't always work right, but it's still fun. It's not a fast game to get through, gotta take a little time, which is worth it.

This is one worth buying, and I don't usually buy video games (Gamefly!), but this one was worth the money.

Okay so the graphics of this game is not so good, but what this game has (that I feel is more important sometimes than aesthetics) is personality. I mean what other game are you going to play that has a well written comedic storyline, deadly assault via water pistols/super soakers, a cameo by "Doogie," and a (WOW) wizard you have to protect that embodies the soul of William Shatner? It would be pretty hard to find one I'm sure.

If those pros weren't enough, Eat Lead exhibits a well thought out cover system. It takes a little time getting used to, but once you do, you can blaze through a level without getting killed. Just remember to use cover a lot. At times there can be a lot of baddies all trying to kill you at once and sometimes they don't mind blindly charging you (yea enemy AI-not so great).

Another interesting thing about this game is that it has a gazillion trophies in which all are fairly easily attainable. For instance, you get a silver trophy just for watching the credits, bronze for pausing the game, bronze for starting the game, etc. So if you are new to PS3 and you want to increase your trophy levels-this game will certainly help.

I know a lot reviews state that the game is too easy. I'm sorry but if you are blazing through a game in less than 3hrs-try adjusting the difficulty settings to hard or normal vs easy. I started playing the game at Major Hazard which I believe is supposed to be hard. This difficulty mode is then followed by Maximum Hazard (Very Hard?) which is to be unlocked once you complete the game.

On Major, it is indeed hard, but it's not impossible for those that are experienced with shooter games. Just remember to use cover-it only takes 4-5 shots before you are dead. Currently I am about 4hrs through and I'm pretty sure I'm over %50, so it may be pretty short. Maybe, it would've been nice to have had more levels in this game for it is indeed a very addictive game with a TON of variety.

One last con, is that it would've been nice for Hazard to have a flashlight. In some areas, it can get really dark and becomes hard to see who or what is shooting at you.

All in all, I think this game is great and original. There are a lot of tributes to games in the present and past which I find somehow uplifiting. I'm not sure it is completely worth its weight in current price but once it hits the bargain shelves-perfecto!

Buying this game I expected it to be bad but in reality it really wasn't that bad at all. Aside from bad controls and gameplay its a decent game that pokes fun at a made up videogame hero Matt Hazard whose used to be huge during his early years but after a string of bad videogames by his developer Marathon Megasoft he is back to return to his gaming glory. For $20 I couldn't go wrong plus it has easy trophies for those trophy hunters out there and the script is pretty funny it makes fun of Mario, Duke Nukem, RPGs, Halo, Gears of War, Dungeons and Dragons, etc. you name it and it will make fun of it. I just wish the gameplay was a bit better like more variety then just a straight up third person shooter think Hitman or Gears of War. Like i wish you could play the generation of games that Matt Hazard starred in like go kart racing like make it feel more retro. The game does have a sort of retro feel to it, it plays like your early 1990's games and a few of the bosses remind me of playing those types of games. The graphics aren't mind blowing it kinda looks like a launch game for the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube from the previous console generation. If you can find it for under $20 then buy it and if your unsure about it then just rent it for week.

Yeah, the jokes are funny if your really into games, since the 90s.

Game play is generic. Third person shooter with no auto-lock(sucks for you if you need it).

Sucks is that it only lets you have one save slot.

Also sucks that your playing it tight areas and the third person aspect gets in the way.

Could've been more interesting if they had a bigger budgets and more creativity in their gameplay.

Doesn't seem like a sequel is going to happen.

Rent it. Buy it if your into the third person/video game, nostalgic humor.