First, I have at least 10+ people on my friend's list who LOVE this game. Not one has said they did not.
Second, IMO, this is a classic. And I also feel it is for the 'older' crowd who can appreciate the very cool humor this game has. If your over 40 you will love this thing. (Play on easy trust me)
This is more of a cult game, and, as with most cult movies, they bomb when they come out. They are panned by critics and then, slowly, & with a bit of time, they become classics. This is definately one of those titles.
Playability is smooth no matter what people say. The 'cover' system reminds me a lot of Quantum of Solace (another great game) and the voice overs are very cool. As the number 1 player in the world (XBox 360) said on his blog recently, it's very "refreshing" & "funny" and a nice change of pace.
I feel that the programmers deserve major brownie points for this title. It is so clever and filled with nostalgia that only a gamer from the 'actual' 80s would appreciate this. Truly, because of the new generation of kids, the humor, hidden jokes & level graphics are beyond them (with all due respect).
So, if you are a gamer who was raised with some of the first videogames that *ever* came out (Handheld Computer Football or Pong anyone?) then this title is for you.
It also would, IMO, make a great gift for an Over-40 couple who want a fun drinking game for a Friday night (on easy mode remember!).
One last thought. I've read numerous reviews on many sites as well as this one. After finishing this game to full completion (1000 gamerscore) I've realized that the developers did most of what people are complaining about ON PURPOSE. Namely, the silly 'Melee' attacks, the feminine running style of the character, the absolutely hysterical AI, and most notably, the graphics.
Again, if you're at least 40 or more, you'll appreciate this absolutely wonderful change-of-pace compared to what's come out the last few years. It's the perfect mockery to everything videogames were back in the 80s, 90s and yes, even up to today.
Kudos goes out to the whole team (who I know are reading this) for making something that is truly so refreshing and unique that I say, FORGET the bad rap. In 10 years, people will still be talking about this title for the plain and simple fact that more and more older people are getting into videogames everyday. And that is who this game is truly for.
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Rented this game not knowing what to expect...and was pleasantly surprised. The game is easily beaten on its most difficult setting (there is one more difficulty you must unlock after completion) in about 6 hrs....tops. The game is quite fun, there is a lot of gunplay, and an assortment of maybe 14 different guns...maybe a few more but there is not much to distinguish a .45 from a 9mm in this game...but the variety of rifles, heavy weapons is nice.The game allows for taking cover, blind fire behind cover, jumping over your cover etc. The controls are a bit "loose", but only gets in the way a couple of times. The enemy AI is OK, not great, and the boss battles are interesting, but nothing you cannot figure out after a try or two. The dialog is actually VERY funny, as it makes fun of all genres here. The game certainly never takes itself serious, and it really is a casual 6 hr game that would be best utilized as a rental...but I guess buy it if you cannot find it for rent and list it the next day on amazon to sell.
Best Deals for Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazzard - Xbox 360
I say this a lot: "Comedy is hard." I don't do comedy in my own writing. I throw in some funny here and there, but usually to relieve the tension or because some amusing moment grows out of the larger narrative. But I can't imagine writing a full on piece of comedy. It's just too easy to screw up, because few things grate more than bad jokes. Weirdly enough then, the worst part of Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard is not the comedy. Not that the humor shines or even really succeeds very often, but it's more consistently enjoyable than the actual game play, which is consistently dull, mixed with healthy doses of crappiness.A little background. No, you're not forgetting anything there haven't been any other Matt Hazard games. The conceit of this game is that Matt Hazard used to be a popular action game character from way back in the 8-bit days. The opening cinematic tells his story, voiced by Arrested Development star Will Arnett as Matt Hazard. He does his standard gravely tough guy voice, and it mostly works. The set-up made me chuckle. The load screens gave me a smile. Then it came time to play this ugly, third-person, cover based shooter and I was a lot less happy. It's not horrible, but it's not fun either. There's some interesting variety as the game mixes and matches genres from Hazard's prolific game past. So you might end up fighting cowboys alongside zombies alongside space marines. My favorite baddies are from a kids water pistol game Hazard was in called Soak-em. But there aren't that many of them and the weapons they drop aren't fun. Hazard earns some power up abilities as the game proceeds he can either make his shots freeze enemies or set them on fire. Except the fire's blue (I assume because it's suppose to be pixels disintegrating) and is totally unsatisfying.
There are a lot of jokes in the game pretty much they just throw everything they've got against the wall and hope some of it amuses. Arnett does a solid job as Hazard. Neil Patrick Harris has a much smaller role as the big enemy, but there's nothing he can do to make that crappy character work. It's not a good sign that my favorite jokes almost all happened during the load screens. My favorite was where it said "Tip" and then proceeded to just give dictionary definitions of the word "tip" instead of anything to do with the game. I also like that you get 60 X-box Live achievements for just watching the credits. So there's the game's biggest selling point: easy achievement points and some smiles interspersed with a haphazard arrangement of laughs. Which is to say, not really selling points at all.
Honest reviews on Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazzard - Xbox 360
Within minutes of starting Eat Lead you will learn that Matt Hazzard was a big celebrity back in the 80s where he starred in a string of very successful video games. Since then he has unfortunately plummeted off the charts (due to making a Mario Kart type game) and been out of work. Destined for a comeback he is commissioned by "Wally" Wellesley to star in a new, next-generation video game. But not all is as well as it seems--Wally really wants to destroy him.Allow me to explain: When Wally was a kid he bested every video game he played except for one--Matt Hazzards. Taken as a whole it is actually an intriguing idea for a video game as it leads to an unusual take on breaking the 4th wall.
For instance kicking off the voluntary tutorial leads to Matt Hazzard exclaiming, "Great--an in-game tutorial. God I hate these things!" and "Yeah Yeah! I know how to shoot a damn gun!"
During the beginning of one particular level--in habitual third-person/first-person fashion--the objectives start to appear in the upper right-hand corner. As they pile on they begin to cover the protagonist making him exclaim "Ok! Ok! Can we summarize this or something?" This prompts the list to be consolidated to "Shoot stuff that moves".
It gets even more clever.
In one particular instance Matt Hazzard has to fight some of the enemies from his first game and they are literally 2-D sprites running around shooting at you. The real clever part is they purposefully become more difficult to hit by turning to their sides, thinning themselves.
But all this great material is simply overshadowed by the real issue--the gameplay. Though it replicates Gears of War in this regard, it fails to be engaging. The weapons have little-to-no kickback and lack any sort of originality. The AI is nonexistent and possibly inferior to the PB&J sandwich I had for lunch today. The quick-time events are slow and far too crude to be entertaining. The game is so unbalanced I completed 75% of a level using melee attacks that--when performed at the right moment--seemingly render you invincible.
It would be a bit trite for me to even mention to the readers of this blog that most video games expect you to slip into the boots of their protagonist. But in Eat Lead it's just too difficult to do because the games foundation is so weak. It leaves Matt Hazzard to be possibly the most apologetic video game character ever. He consistently looks back at you winking and nudging his way through the levels in hopes that he will distract you from the real issues at hand.
No More Heroes is a similar game in that it's self-aware (but to a much more mild extent). One of the glaring differences is the protagonist--Travis Touchdown. He is self-assured, hilarious and backed by an extremely robust gameplay model. In contrast I imagine Matt Hazzard would rather crawl out from the TV, sit next to you on the couch and entertain you with his knee-slapping humor. It ultimately makes for an awkward gaming experience that eventually falls prey to the same ridiculous paradigms it sets out to mocks.
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