Let there be no mistake about the title – Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard is in no way a sequel. The story of Eat Lead goes that back to the 80s, Matt Hazard was one of the iconic characters of the video game industry. He was a treasured figure, starring in all the stellar productions of the day. Since then, he has been somewhat forgotten though, slipping from fame to infamy. When mega game publisher Marathon Megastar come knocking at his door offering the title role in the latest epic, Matt jumps at the chance to reclaim his old mantle. However, little does Matt known that he's only the cannon fodder in some larger conspiracy.
Expect cowboys, zombies, space marines and more.
Those familiar with Shakespeare may know of the 'play within a play' concept. Similarly, Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard features the concept of a 'game within a game'. Players assume the role of Matt Hazard as he ventures through various virtual environments. As Matt, you will come across levels that are reminiscent of games from yesteryear. Matt is also confronted by a range of enemies, including zombies, space marines and cowboys. It is in this variety and reminiscing that D3 hopes that the aforementioned 'game within a game' concept will become clear. Most generic shooters pit players against foes with scaling intelligence, but you seldom come across a game that has such a selection of enemy types. If you were thinking of characters similar to zombies from Resident Evil and stormtroopers form Star Wars, you wouldn't be too far off the mark.
The comic side of the game will become apparent in cutscenes and character dialogue. While we weren't able to sample the script of Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard at eGames (mostly due to the overwhelming sound coming from every other booth), the game already has an impressive cast of comic actors. Will Arnett from 30 Rock and Arrested Development is the voice of Matt Hazard, while Neil Patrick Harris of How I Met Your Mother appears as Wallace 'Wally' Wellesley, the owner of publisher Marathon Megastar. Spoofed characters such as Master Chef and Captain Carpenter are also set to appear, and if Eat Lead is anything like D3's other hilarious endeavour Dead Head Fred, there may just be enough laughs to keep players entertained.
As with most shooters, players can take cover behind walls and objects.
Insofar as gameplay goes, Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard resembles many other third-person shooters on the market. Players can take cover behind walls and objects to recharge their health, fire blindly and carry a range of recognisable weapons. Where Gears of War maps the bulk of character movements to the A button, Eat Lead uses different face buttons to perform different actions, such as moving over, between and around cover. Overall, from our limited time with the game, the gunplay looks very solid. The other element that impressed, even though the code is still early, was the graphics. Indeed, in the visuals stakes, Eat Lead rivals games that are already on the shelves.
Blending comedy with traditional duck-and-cover gameplay, Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard is very different in story and game design to many other titles already available. Possessing solid graphics and dynamic gameplay, D3's shooter is definitely on our radar of next year's upcoming titles. If it can provide the belly laughs to match, Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard on Xbox 360 and PS3 may be one of the more interesting titles of 2009.
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