Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard

(D3 Publisher for Xbox 360)
By Mike Delano

Eat Lead is a game that relies almost entirely on its humor. It’s a parody of video games told through the story of Matt Hazard, a fictional Duke Nukem-esque gaming icon who, as we learn through the “Behind the Music”-style introductory cutscene, has fallen on hard times after his brand was run into the ground. Since you guide Hazard through a gauntlet of enemies from his past games, it lets the writers get in some good shots at video game clichés like the absurdity of Quick Time Events and Japanese RPG characters. The gameplay that has to support the story for several hours, however, is in the mold of an utterly generic, repetitive, and predictable third-person shooter with boring level design and weapons that aren’t satisfying to shoot. As a parody, the game can be funny at times, but only for hardcore game fans that can recognize all of the references. For everyone else, the writing isn’t nearly witty enough to pull off the premise, and the comedic talents of Will Arnett and Neil Patrick Harris are largely wasted in their bland voiceover roles.
(www.d3publisher.us)