Matt Hazard Has Returned In a Sequel To “Eat Lead” That Seems To Take a Step Backward
| Eat Lead wasn’t exactly a candidate for Game of the Year, and Matt Hazard: Blood, Bath & Beyond repeatedly acknowledges this with self deprecating humor. Where Eat Lead was a true 3D game, BBB has returned to the roots of Matt Hazard and is a side scroller with some depth perception in that it allows you to shoot towards the back of the screen using L2. |
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General Neutronov, one of Matt’s nemeses has reactivated all of Hazard’s greatest enemies from classics like Matt’s original adventure, The Adventures of Matt in Hazard Land and Chest of the Pirate Queen in an attempt to destroy Matt’s former self in the past and end his present. Matt has no time for a leisurely stroll down memory lane as he chases Neutronov through the games of the past in order to save his future. |
The gameplay is basically a side scrolling shooter, with the added feature of being able to shoot into the background. The right analog stick isn’t used, and probably should have been. The left stick is used for both movement and aiming and square is your trigger button and melee attack button. There is no backtracking once you’ve moved past a screen so make sure you grab everything as you progress along.
- Single Player Gameplay
You can choose to play by yourself, or you can play co-op mode if you have a 2nd controller and another player in the house. Online co-op would have been a huge plus, and we can only hope that it will be added in a future update.
- Co-op Gameplay
While the gameplay isn’t exactly groundbreaking, it is fun nonetheless. There are minor annoyances, like respawning into instant death (Dropping into a pool of water when respawning? Really?), and not being able to backtrack to pick up rewards, and an occasional glitch where you can’t move forward because the bad guy that needs to be killed is off the screen and you can’t reach him, but overall the game is fun.
Where the game might be lacking in gameplay, it makes up for it in graphics. The levels are detailed nicely and the death animations of the bad guys are great for a side-scroller. The game plays in 720p on an HDTV, and really looks great.
- Great Graphics
Matt Hazard: Blood, Bath, & Beyond is an entertaining side-scroller that knows how to poke fun not only at itself, but other games as well. Mario, Gears of War, Mirrors Edge, and others all get a few shots at them, and keeps you waiting to see who they take a shot at next. While the gameplay has its flaws, it is still a fun game that is worth the $14.99 price tag. It won’t win any awards for groundbreaking gameplay, but don’t let that stop you from playing it.
7.5
+ Fun gameplay
+ Great graphics
+ Entertaining pokes at other video games
+ Gory death animations
– Occasional respawn into death
– No backtracking
– No online co-op
– Price could be a little lower
* Matt Hazard: Blood Bath & Beyond Was Played on the PS3
