Why You Should Play Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard

Or, at least I can tell you why I played it. Much of the critical reviews I've read so far have said it falls flat and just isn't funny. I'm not really sure what game they were playing, or exactly how far their heads went up their asses to not enjoy it.

First of all, you have Will Arnett voicing Matt Hazard, and he plays it like a self-aware Solid Snake. And the reason it works is because the story is totally ludicrous, but the laughs are pretty consistent throughout. You see, Matt Hazard is a game character, but once he finishes a game, he goes about his life like anyone else. It's like he's an actor, and his games are movies. When he's done with his part, he goes home. Only he made some bad career choices along the line...let's just say kart racing was involved. This sets the backdrop for an evil publisher who wants to kill him off and replace him with a new action hero (who happens to be a really good Arnold impersonator). But like any good action hero, Hazard doesn't take this lying down. He gets a lot of help from "QA", a mysterious real-life person hacking into the game, who can load in new cover points and provide an exit to each level. The whole scenario is presented well, and while the story couldn't stand up to any kind of scrutiny, it's not really supposed to. It's just a funny riff on the many things we've come to expect from our action games, and it left me with a smile on my face.

As I mentioned, Matt Hazard is self-aware, and he's even aware of the player. At one point, I kept pulling the trigger even though I was out of ammo. Matt noticed, and said "Keep pulling the trigger, maybe it will magically reload." Also, the enemies are supposed to be dumb as hell, constantly screaming out "I have to reload!!!!" at the top of their lungs. It's part of the charm, and actually makes me appreciate well-designed games and A.I. even more.

Matt Hazard's very first adventure. I wish i could play it.

The game itself is very standard, in that you run from room to room, taking out bad guys as you go along. There's a cover mechanic in which you can aim while taking cover (think Rainbow Six: Vegas), and it plays a little like Hitman - only you're supposed to shoot everything that moves. Everything felt fine, but I will say this: the enemies are nothing more than stationary targets for headshots. So the challenge actually comes when there are a bunch of people in a room shooting at you from all angles, and you have to act fast or you're done for (at least on hard difficulty). But honestly, if I didn't enjoy the story so much, I would have been disappointed. Like I said, the game plays fine, but it's nothing I haven't seen countless times before. So there it is - either you think it's funny or you don't, and your enjoyment of the game will most likely hinge on that fact alone. There's a lot to laugh at, such as a boss fight with an androgynous JRPG character, 2D Wolfenstein-like German enemies that, when shot, turn sideways instead of taking cover since they're flat, water gun-toting supersoldiers, and a mage that sounds like William Shatner. I'll leave you with a completely bad ass trailer, the likes of which every game trailer should be made in the image of from now on.