Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard
| Developer(s) | Vicious Cycle Software |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | D3 Publisher |
| Series | "Matt Hazard" |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC |
| Genre(s) | Third person action |
Eat Lead: the Return of Matt Hazard is a 2009 action video game for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC gaming platforms. The game is being developed by Vicious Cycle Software and will be published by D3 Publisher.
Matt Hazard pits players in the role of the title character, a "legendary" gaming hero who is "returning to glory" in a new video game, some 25 years after his debut game and 6 years after his last game. In reality, the Matt Hazard character is in his first video game, with a history made up by D3 Publisher to chronicle the character's rise and fall in popularity. The Return of Matt Hazard marks Hazard's fictitious "comeback" to the gaming scene.
The game itself is to be a parody of action-gaming cliches. The October 2008 debut trailer was done as a Behind the Music spoof called Behind the Game complete with Jim Forbes narration. It chronicles Matt Hazard's successes and hardships, including Matt claiming he "nailed that English chick who raids catacombs", directly referencing Lara Croft, stating it's "how she got the job".[1] It also is the first real game in a fictional series mirroring the progression of the Duke Nukem series of games, from early 8-bit to modern consoles.
Development
In September of 2008, a pair of websites appeared. The blog, "The Real Matt Hazard", as well as the website "Weapons of Matt Destruction", served as a viral marketing campaign to promote the game. Each would serve to establish Matt Hazard and his fictional video games as major influences that have shaped video gaming into what we see today. For example, a blog post identifies Matt's first arcade game, 1983's The Adventures of Matt in Hazard Land, as "the original 8-bit side-scroller", while other Hazard games are responsible for such gaming events and annoyances as "the Steamy Coffee Controversy", the ability to jump in a game, and longer development cycles. They also established the series' fictional developer, Marathon Software. Matt Hazard was "resurrected" by D3 Publisher when they announced the newest game in the Matt Hazard series, Eat Lead.
On October 3, 2008, Eat Lead was officially announced, alongside a third Matt Hazard website, "Matt Hazard :: The unofficially OFFICIAL guide to the world's greatest game hero ever created!!!". The site details the history of ten of Hazard's games, which all focus on a different gaming stereotype or parody other similar games of the era:
- 1983 - The Adventures of Matt in Hazard Land (The first side-scrolling shooter that invented jumping. Similar to Contra, with a Matt Hazard sprite that bares a resemblance to Contra's player characters)
- 1987 - A Fistfull of Hazard (The second game in the series. Originally a typical Western game, it had Hazard added to the game to boost sales, but also eschewed all of the hallmarks of a typical Matt Hazard game. Similar to Super Mario Bros. 2)
- 1990 - Conflict of the Deities (Featuring Matt Hazard) (Matt's first 16-bit adventure, which put him in a mythological setting. Similar look to Altered Beast, which was released alongside the Sega Genesis, the first 16-bit console released in the United States)
- 1992 - Matt Hazard 3D (The first Matt Hazard first-person shooter. It features Matt infiltrating a German lab ala Wolfenstein 3D. Likewise, the game has a legacy similar to Duke Nukem 3D and Duke Nukem Forever: a follow-up titled Matt Hazard Gold, which "might STILL be in development today (behind closed doors) after more than a decade of redesigns and technology upgrades" and will be finished only "WHEN IT'S DONE".)
- 1993 - (IMPORT) Goonzilla Versus Mega-Matt (An attempt at bringing Matt to the Asian market. The game failed, but is seen by "fans" as a collector's item. It represents the "rare" game of the series that fans attempt to acquire for its monetary value, not its quality)
- 1995 - You Only Live 1,317 Times (Matt's first console 3D game, and the sequel to Thunder Eye. The spy game featured highly popular four-player frag fests. The game and its box art are a parody of Perfect Dark)
- 1996-1998 - Matt and Dexter (A trilogy of shooter/platform games which featured Matt with a wacky buddy character, Dexter Dare. A parody of Sony's Ratchet and Clank and Jak & Daxter games)
- 1999 - Matt Hazard: Alien Assassination Arena (A future-based multiplayer deathmatch game with a limited single-player campaign. Similar to Unreal Tournament and Quake 3 Arena)
- 2000 - Haz-Matt Carts (Matt's "cutesy" kart-racer game, developed to branch Matt out into different genres of gaming along with lesser-known characters. It was unpopular among the casual fans, but popular with the hardcore Hazard fans ala Super Mario Kart)
- 2002 - Choking Hazard: Candy Gramm (A failed attempt to introduce Hazard to a new generation of fans while also catering to old Hazard fans which appears to be a criticism of gaming companies who abandon the hardcore fanbase it has created over the years in order to create "casual" fare. The box art for the game features a character similar in design to a Rabbid)
A trailer was released for Eat Lead alongside the announcement. "Gametrailers World Exclusive Debut Trailer". Retrieved 2008-10-04.In the trailer, a modern Hazard sits down for a Behind the Music-style interview (complete with voiceover from Music's Jim Forbes) in which Hazard and other characters (themselves cliches of the "old-school bad guy" and the "mandatory hot chick") reminisce about Hazard's rise in popularity as his polygon and pixel count grew, up until his fall when he was put into "kiddy games". The trailer concludes with Matt stating that he doesn't give up that easily and that he's making a comeback.
The game will be a third-person action game in which Matt takes on all of his old adversaries from his games. It will feature "hack effects", whereby the levels are manipulated on the fly, resulting in sudden and dramatic changes in the game world.
Plot
Little is known so far about the game's plot. Matt Hazard, a legendary video game character with out 25 years of video games to his credit, is attempting a "comeback" of sorts in a new game on next-generation consoles. In the game, Matt will be taking on all of his old adversaries from his previous adventures. In reality, the "comeback" game is being staged by one of his old enemies, who has complete control over the game world and manipulates the game world seemingly at will, similar to the classic Warner Bros. animated cartoon Duck Amuck.
The game is a spoof of gaming and, as such, will poke fun at many aspects of gaming and culture. Pete Andrew, vice president of product development at D3 Publsher, says, "Eat Lead parodies some of our fondest memories in classic gaming and pop culture, so gamers will have a laugh out loud experience every time they pick-up the controller."[2]
Fictional History
The fabricated history shown so far via the debut trailer[1] and official fansite[3] includes Matt's debut game, a NES-era title called The Adventures of Matt in Hazard Land from 1983. It was followed by its 1987 sequel A Fistfull of Hazard and the series' 16-bit debut Conflict of the Deities, all platform-shooter action games. The first-person shooter Matt Hazard 3D (with logos directly spoofing Duke Nukem 3D) came in 1992, followed by Goonzilla Versus Mega-Matt in 1993, available only in Asian markets.[3]
Next was 1995's spoof of the Nintendo64 game GoldenEye 007 titled You Only Live 1317 Times; then from 1996-1998 the Matt and Dexter buddy cop third-person shooter trilogy was released, with Double Whammy, Matt Hazard in Gutpunch! and Murder Force. 1999 saw the release of the futuristic multiplayer deathmatch game Matt Hazard: Alien Assassanation Arena.[3]
Starting in 2000 Matt was then unwillingly placed into kiddie games by 'suits' who owned the franchise, including Haz-Matt Carts, a Mario Kart series spoof complete with N64-style cartidge, and 2002's Choking Hazard: Candy Grimm. 2009's Eat Lead is Hazard's return to form and the thirteenth game in the series, albeit the first to actually exist.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Gametrailers World Exclusive Debut Trailer". Retrieved 2008-10-04.
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b c "Matt Hazard :: The UNOFFICIALLY Official guide to the world's greatest game hero ever created!". Retrieved 2008-10-04.