PlayExclusive: Eat Lead - the Return of Matt Hazard!

Console: PS3, X-box 360
Genre: Action, 3rd person shooter
Players: 1
Rating: Teen 16+



Story
Matt Hazard, the video game king of the late 90's returns from his slump in this next gen 3rd person shooter, Eat Lead: the Return of Matt Hazard!


In this adventure Matt will be pitted up against all the enemies from his old games, from water-gun wielding troopers from his kid friendly game Soak-em, to zombies, to the flat 2.5D sprites from Matt Hazard 3D, all to rescue his friends, and his career from a disgruntled game company CEO!

Plenty of jokes and parodies on video game genre's of all sorts lurk around every corner, and awesome “action hero” one liners keep the laughs going!


Gameplay
With Matt Hazard debuting in his first next-gen 3rd person shooter, once again we get to see a cover system similar to many other 3rd person shooters like Gears of War series, or the more recent Wanted: WoF. The ability to duck behind boxes, walls, and other pieces of cover, becomes one of the most important aspects of Matt Hazard, but at the same time, one of the most impressive


By aiming the reticule at a piece of cover some distance away and pressing the cover button, Matt will automatically make a dash, roll or slide into cover, easily evading enemy fire, and traversing unfriendly spaces with ease.

And just to spice things up, some pieces of cover aren't permanent either, as certain objects like wooden boxes, piles of rubble, or even concrete planters may suddenly “De-res” if they're hit too many times, leaving Matt out in the open! While the concept itself isn't new at all, the execution is quite brilliant!


To shake things up a little, players also get access to power-up's like heat or ice shots by taking down enough opponents, so they can roast or freeze enemies, respectively. Though most players probably won't need such powers, it's still fun to have around!


Graphics
Eat Lead doesn't quite have the same polished look as other next-gen shooters, but what it lacks there, it makes up for it with spot-on voice acting and well written script.

While it isn't the prettiest game around, Eat Lead has some nice little changes made to it, like replacing bursts of code for blood spatter, or the nice “De-res” effect when your cover gets blown away, and while you have bullets whizzing past you, and thugs to punch in the face, the scenery might be the least of your concerns. Just maybe.


Overall
While it's graphics may not be up to par with other 3st person shooters, the smooth controls, well thought out cover system, challenging AI, and awesome script of Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard will make you laugh, cry, and most importantly, Eat Lead!



Review by Johar Aston, TheLAG

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Copyright 2009 Johar Aston, TheLAG