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Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard

EMAIL PRINT ps3

7.5 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 38 critic reviews
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Based on 12 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: D3Publisher of America

Developer: Vicious Cycle

Genre(s): Third-Person Shooter

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: March 3, 2009

Summary

In Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard, videogame action hero Matt Hazard gets his chance to prove once and for all that he is the king of shooters when the new owner of mega game publisher, Marathon Megasoft, gives Matt his comeback role starring in a new title for next-gen consoles that pits him against all of his memorable foes from videogames past. In the world of Eat Lead, however, everything stops being a game and becomes reality when it is clear that someone is using the new game to bring about Matt’s death once and for all. With only the mysterious QA to help him, Matt must fight against a legion of Marathon Megasoft catalogue of videogame characters to keep it from being Game Over forever. Eat Lead pays homage to the games of yesteryear with a menagerie of classic enemies such as zombies, space marines, cowboys, genetically mutated super snipers, and more and an expansive level environment design that reflects videogame history in a next-gen package. The game fires on all cylinders with explosive artillery and combat moves to help gamers escape from a variety of predicaments including radically-changing environments during gameplay via hack effects Hazard's nemesis uses by altering the game’s code on the fly. Throughout the adventure, players utilize a strategic cover system dubbed point and cover, upgradeable weapons and different interactive melee moves to attack and outsmart foes. [D3Publisher]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

GamePro

Matt Hazard is not a great game. It falls victim to a lot of the cliches that it pokes fun at and Matt Hazard doesn't have the star appeal of a Duke Nukem or a Marchs Fenix. It doesn't take the spoof thing far enough-they totally waste the voice over talents of the awesome Will Arnett-and the action needs three more coats of polish but it definitely has its moments. Despite its faults, I more or less enjoyed it.

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Game Informer

It comes out of the gate with a strong opening set and sprinkles in a good joke every time the audience gets restless. But the gameplay itself is as diluted as a happy hour special in an 18-and-over club.

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Gamers.at

Vicious Cycle had a great idea. Sadly it remained an attempt. Thanks to Dave Ellis the story is really funny but technique and game design truly come from retro time.

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XGN

Eat Lead is a funny game to play, nevertheless the gameplay doesn't function properly. Thanks to the large amount of humor in it, the game will give some satisfaction. Although it doesn't have a high replay rate, it will get you laughing.

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Kombo

Hazard walks the line between poking fun at games and being a game fairly successfully. The problems come from the wide net that the game cast and a few things slipping through the cracks.

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PSM3 Magazine UK

A likeable shooter with character and some solid mechanics. [May 2009, p.76]

Playstation Official Magazine Australia

After a weekend with Hazard, you may want to return him. [Apr 2009, p.77]

Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)

More frustrating than funny. [May 2009, p.84]

GameSpy

The purpose of parody is to comment on a topic, by means of humorous or satiric imitation, and Eat Lead manages to pull this off admirably. I enjoyed playing this game, not because it was a very good shooter, but because it made me think (and laugh) about the other games I play.

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GameSpot

Eat Lead's humor carries its lackluster gameplay for only so long.

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Games Radar (in-house)

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard is trapped in many of the clichés it seeks to skewer, but it’s still a fairly adequate shooter and occasionally gives you a chuckle. It’s just that we were hoping for something truly unique.

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ZTGameDomain

Probably the most disappointing game I have played this year. It had potential to be one of the most original titles to come along in quite some time. However, the mechanics of just about everything are not the punch line and truly make the game unplayable in certain portions and outrageously frustrating in others.

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PSX Extreme

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard is a great concept that was executed very poorly and seems rushed. With more attention to detail such as better A.I., more fluid gameplay mechanics, multiplayer, and better visuals, D3 could've had a solid game on their hands.

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SpazioGames

Ugly graphics and bad gameplay totally ruined a good concept. Despite this we recommend you try Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard because it’s a funny game based on a histrionic character that will make everyone laugh all the time.

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Armchair Empire

Eat Lead has an excellent premise and a superb voice cast, but the gameplay leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

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Game Over Online

There are laughs to be had, and for that it might be worth a rental, but anything more will only be Hazard-ous to your wallet.

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Worth Playing

The nuggets of genuine hilarity hidden within a few encounters are worth a once-over, but Matt Hazard's reboot should perhaps have been left for a later date.

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Hardcore Gamer Magazine

Eat Lead The Return of Matt Hazard does a good job of creating a cohesive universe. However, the game play is so poorly executed that even its best moments are not worth the time.

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Gamervision

A bad shooter with worse excuses, and there’s little chance you’ll enjoy playing it as much as Vicious Cycle enjoyed making it. The developers relied too heavily on cheap laughs, and didn’t take advantage of the satire nearly as much as they should have.

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3DJuegos

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard is a disappointing effort to obtain a good action game with an original and innovative focus. The bland spectacle of boring and senseless action destroys what could have been an enjoyable and bizarre game.

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GameFocus

While Eat Lead tries its hardest to be a funny game, it never manages to stay funny long enough to be enjoyable. Thanks to the game’s weak enemy AI and frustrating shooting and cover mechanics chances are that you won’t invest the time to see what happens to Matt. This game has Bargain Bin written all over it and even then, I would be hard pressed to recommend it to anyone.

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IGN

The story isn't there, the gameplay is tedious, and there's nothing visually exciting about this one. There are a few laughs here and there and some Trophy padding, but this has "bargain bin" written all over it.

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Games Master UK

A good idea lies buried somewhere beneath a lot of generic levels and abysmal controls. [May 2009, p.68]

VideoGamer

Eat Lead simply isn't a good enough game to make the most of the brilliant script. While you're likely to enjoy Matt's many one-liners and smirk at the sheer absurdness of what's going on, you're not going to enjoy the clumsy combat and generic gameplay.

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GameDaily

Bland shooting, idiotic bad guys and an average story left us disappointed. Developer Vicious Cycle should've spent less time making fun of superior shooters and more time making Eat Lead play like one. That's no joke.

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Vandal Online

Videogame humor is the main -and almost only- strong part of Eat Lead, but it falls to be, in fact, a good game. It is not bad, but actually what it proposes in gameplay has been already made a lot of times with better results.

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Cheat Code Central

I love what Vicious Cycle and D3Publisher tried to accomplish with Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard. Unfortunately, the satire and humor isn't enough to save the title from its contrived gameplay.

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GamingXP

On the whole, you’ll experience a game that takes neither itself nor the consumer seriously. The “humorous” vibe of the game isn’t funny and the gameplay sucks, too.

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GameShark

Matt Hazard’s designers clearly tried to do something interesting here, and the basic concept of a videogame action star as a washed-up Hollywood type is really quite cool. If only the game actually lived up to its premise.

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Gamer.nl

The idea behind Eat Lead sounds more than fine and the humor and self-mockery in the game should be an example for other developers. For the rest there is little to be proud of. Return to sender.

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G4 TV

No amount of clever quips and Master Chief parody characters is worth slogging through a shooter that makes Dark Sector look like an inspired stroke of genius. By the end of the game, no amount of clever enemy character names or profanity-laced outbursts by Neil Patrick Harris can distract you from the fact that you’re simply not having much fun.

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Giant Bomb

Humor is entirely subjective, and maybe some of the stuff I found to be a little easy and dull will get you going. However, I'm a lot more certain about the quality of Matt Hazard's gameplay, which almost feels like it's going out of its way to be mediocre at best. Hey, maybe that's part of the joke!

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Play UK

Matt Hazard was a good idea that could have been something like the gaming equivalent of Naked Gun. Unfortunately, Vicious Cycle messed it up, so as well as a bad game, we must now bear the disappointment of a wasted premise.

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Playstation Official Magazine UK

There's crippling slowdown and the excruciating script. [May 2009, p.102]

PS3bloggen.se

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard is somewhat funny, but not fun. A weak game engine, stupid AI and repetitive gameplay cannot save humour - no matter the quality and depth. Matt Hazard is a Duke Nukem copycat that fails to deliver. Just as the original Duke Nukem, as it turned out in the end.

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PSW Magazine UK

This is its own worse joke. Matt Hazard should have stayed retired. [May 2009, p.93]

Eurogamer

Eat Lead is far from a compelling parody, taking weak, ambiguous pot shots at other games. Even though these attacks are often hard to trace to their intended target, it's fair to say that Eat Lead isn't worthy to mock them, because whatever else it's trying to be this is a howling misfire of a cover shooter, neither funny or enjoyable, and guilty of worse crimes than the ones it's attempting to mock.

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1UP

Like the "real" Matt Hazard, Eat Lead is best left to fade into obscurity.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 12 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Craig M gave it a2:
Eat Lead is easily described by one word: suckish. It is a funny game yes with an interesting story to it, but it sacrifices everything else for the comedy. The gameplay feels very recycled from other games but the company actually ruined it here. It is also extremely repetive, fighting the same enemies over and over, and there are plenty of times where enemies will randomly spawn right behind you. Barely any weapons, pathetic boss battles, and well, everything about this game is pretty bad. You know how the boxart has Matt holding a chain-gun in one hand and a pissed off machine gun in the other? Guess what, you do not even get those weapons. The most explosive weapon that you get is a wimpy looking grenade launcher. Trust me, I would only suggest this as a rental only for the trophies. Nothing else.

J S gave it a10:
I LOVED this game! It pokes so hard at the video game world from Halo to Final Fantasy and even loading screens. The game gets a bit repetitive towards the end,but the game ends before it overstays it's welcome. With voicing from Will Arnett and Neil Patrick Harris,it makes the game even more enjoyable. This game is hilarious and i'm hoping for a sequel.

Cait O'C gave it a9:
I'd love to give this game a perfect score, but I do realize that gameplay and graphics are pretty basic retreads of stuff from the past. However, I have not seen a game with such a brilliant sense of humor and writing in a long time. It's a decent cover shooter whose cutscenes and one line asides will keep you playing. Ignore the critics who couldn't be payed off by the small publishers advertising budget (if they had one).

Daniel G gave it an8:
VERY good music... definitlely lends emotional impact to the battles. It got my blood pumping and makes up for the mediocore graphics. Some of the dialogue is cheesy but it is intentional. The game handles more like Dead Space or Mass Effect than a hardcore FPS like COD4 or Halo 3. Definitely not your bag if you are a competitive shooter player and are expecting something of that nature here. (Multiplayer is non-existent) I rented this game expecting disappointment and was pleasantly surprised by it. This game is a terrible game the way Half Baked and Pineapple Express were terrible movies depending on who the critic is but it has some serious laughs to be enjoyed if you give it a chance.

Bob S gave it an8:
If you, like the magazine reviewers, expect every game to be a $40+ million budget blockbuster like Gears 2 or Halo 3, then this isn't the game for you. The humor is great, the acting is top-notch, the story is meh, but its really just a vehicle for carring the jokes. The environments aren't anything special, since they're intentionally made to be stereotypical shooter locations (how many times in shooter games do you end up trudging through a freakin warehouse? This game has TWO!!) The gameplay is fun, with some minor issues. The AI sometimes seems to get "stuck" trying to find cover, which actually makes them harder to hit since they never stop moving. The controls are standard third-person shooter fare, and are well done, with the addition of a "point-and-cover" system that lets you click downrange cover and Matt will sprint to it on his own, which is pretty neat. There's a "weapon upgrade" system that adds elemental effects to your weapons, but its pretty pointless, since you shouldn't have much trouble with most of the enemies without it; but the ice upgrade has a pretty cool effect that's worth seeing. Other than that, some over the top ragdolling when you see explosions or use the magnum makes up for the badness, they fly around pretty hilariously. I wouldn't say that this is a great game, but with the lowered price point at $50, it's worth picking up for some laughs and easygoing fun.

Charles L. gave it an8:
No it's not the best game ever, no it's not innovative, and it's not trying to be. It's trying to be the Airplane or Scary Movie of the video game world, and that's what it succeeds in achieving. It's got the laughs and the fun... and that's all it needs. I personally enjoyed the game a lot and look forward to a sequel.

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Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard

Game Info

Summary

What The Critics Said

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