May 6, 2010

Hidden Gems - Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard



I'm sure that you, just like myself, ave walked past it in your video game store of choice. A case with a guy holding two massive guns and the large lettering reading "Eat Lead." Well one day I decided I would actually pick it up and take a look since it was a cheap game and I needed something to play. What a surprise this game turns out to be a hidden gem.

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard features the voices of Neil Patrick Harris, who plays the villain in the game, and Will Arnett, who plays Matt Hazard himself. Matt Hazard is a washed up video game star who has done it all and is making a come back in the video game scene. The game is a parody of the silly fads and things that have happened in our world of gaming. The game takes shots at such popular games as Halo by having a character named "Master Chef and plasma weapons, and then takes subtle shots at games like Jack and Daxter by having a character named "Dexter" who was at one time Matt Hazard's sidekick.

The gameplay is that of a typical third-person shooter. You hide behind objects, can blind fire or pop up and shoot at your enemies with better accuracy. What sets Eat Lead aside from all the other thrid-person shooters is the guns that are at your disposal. Within every level you fight so many different enemies that one minute you can be shooting zombies with the Hazard Pistol, and the next you can be shooting Cowboys with an AK-47 rifle. One of the funniest, and most random weapons in the game are the water pistols, and SMG's that kill enemies just as proficiently as the typical weapons.

One of the many ridiculous areas in the game.

The main flaw with the gameplay is the lack of ammo you run into when trying to fight against the boss characters, as well as lack of explanation of what you need to do against them. An example of this is when you encounter a boss on a pirate ship that is a tentacled beast. There is very little room to take cover from the striking tentacles and virtually no explanation of what you are to do. Also, there is only SMG ammo that spawns every now and then. SMG's are tough to aim in the game.

It even has Zombies! Yay!

The game's visuals do let down a little bit. The graphics don't seem to be up to par as the game was released in 2009. It should have been competing with the games that came out around the same time that had far superior graphics. But the game's visuals aren't so bad that it is intolerable to play.

Overall, Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard is surely a game that fans of shooters should pick up. It is at a very budget price now and will provide you with hours of humourous gameplay. Just try not to rage too hard on the bosses that seem impossible to beat.

- Jeremy M.

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