Matt Hazard eating lead on PS3, 360

D3Publisher and Dead Head Fred dev Vicious Cycle lampoon gaming history with third-person actioner, due next year.

Matt Hazard may not be a household name, but D3Publisher would like to convince everyone otherwise. Today the publisher announced Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard, a game billed as "the return of a classic 80's videogame action hero." The third-person shooter parodies its own history--an entirely fabricated past, it should be added--which just so happens to resemble a few classics, such as Duke Nukem and Super Mario Bros.

In an interview with GameSpot last week, D3 and Maverick Public Relations explained their unusual marketing tactic of inventing a storied past for Matt Hazard. "As a gamer, I'm continually frustrated when interesting new games get swept under the rug by the clutter generated from hundreds of mediocre sequels," said Maverick's Brandon Smith. The solution, the team felt, was to build a grass-roots campaign faking the franchise's past through teaser sites such as the gaudy-enough-to-be-legitimate WeaponsOfMattDestruction.com.

Eat Lead tells the story of Matt Hazard, an aging action hero who returns to the gaming scene again courtesy of benevolent publisher Marathon Megasoft. However, Marathon's intentions prove to be nefarious, and Hazard must battle his way through a host of equally fictional action heroes of days gone by. Eat Lead's script was penned by Writer's Guild Award-winning author Dave Ellis.

Players will have a number of tools in their arsenals to combat Hazard's foes. Playing up the blockbuster action angle, Eat Lead gives players a variety of high-octane weaponry. At the same time, the game acts as a throwback to classic gaming and will feature such reverent enemies as zombies and space marines. Developer Vicious Cycle (Dead Head Fred) has also aimed for a faux-nostalgia feel with level design and promises environments that change on the fly in response to hacking from Hazard's Marathon Megasoft archnemesis.

Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard is expected to arrive for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the first quarter of 2009.

43 Comments

  • PodXCOM

    Posted Feb 3, 2009 4:01 am PT

    Don't buy this game! It's made by the same guy who killed X-COM: Dave Ellis!

    He makes nothing but crap like x-com: Interceptor.

  • agentzero23

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 10:41 pm PT

    agreed there are too many sequels and new games get hidden in this

  • nobeaner

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 11:48 am PT

    Nostalgia meter reading is HIGH!

  • icym

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 11:41 am PT

    This looks great, the idea is funny and looks like its beyond a basic Duke Nukem type of humor. It looks like it takes shots at Mario, MGS, and probably more. I'm not saying its like Tropic Thunder, but if it takes the idea of sterotypes and generalization like Tropic Thunder did into a game format, I think it will be a pretty good game.

    I'm looking forward to it

  • necronaux

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 11:38 am PT

    Could be interesting, if they don't go all cartoon-y with it.

  • AFTERLIFEJOSH

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 9:54 am PT

    could be cool

  • Sins-of-Mosin

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 7:13 am PT

    I'll have to put this game on my list for future releases.

  • jogunther

    Posted Oct 6, 2008 2:22 am PT

    I'm psyched too, bring on the shooter. I've loved action shooters like Ratchet and Clank.

  • PuhJesus

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 8:44 pm PT

    After looking at the fake site, i'm totally psyched.

  • FAcorp

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 7:34 pm PT

    I like it!!

  • Myokai

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 4:54 pm PT

    All i can say is lol

  • briph24

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 4:23 pm PT

    ...wont live up to the hype.

  • chevydriver1123

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 4:14 pm PT

    Ill be keeping an eye on this a parody game does sound interesting.

  • maaly81

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 2:39 pm PT

    who?? what?? well as long as EA has nothing to do with it.

  • Sheiko

    Posted Oct 5, 2008 10:25 am PT

    It is thats why it'll be such a great game.

  • king_bobo

    Posted Oct 4, 2008 11:01 pm PT

    This should be jokes...

  • Petri87

    Posted Oct 4, 2008 10:45 am PT

    Ïf they keep up whit the parodys i think this game will be really funny

  • BioShockOwnz

    Posted Oct 4, 2008 9:59 am PT

    Dead Head Fred is great, so I don't doubt these guys.

  • GeigerdolylWodd

    Posted Oct 4, 2008 7:41 am PT

    I've read it from start to finish and realize its a parody videogame that aims to lampoon the history of videogames with its own made up past but wouldn't it be a pain in the but if this game got released before Duke Nukem Forever?


    When is Duke Nukem Forever coming out anyway? I downloaded and played Duke Nukem 3D's trial game earlier today. They (3d realms) hint in an interview that some features from Duke Nukem 3D like the 8player co op might be in Duke Nukem Forever.

    What if at the end of this Eat Lead it all turned out to be nothing more than an elaborate commercial so you never even played the game. Wouldn't that suck.

    That game is coming out by the way in 2009 its a game that lampoons videogame history but it never had any prequels nor true history of its on. To begin with so this will be Matt Hazards first game.

    I guess the only other question is wil they include God mode among the game's features its been absent from fps for so long. Well at least console ones.

    No duh sherlock jinx flame shield on

  • DecadesOfGaming

    Posted Oct 4, 2008 7:13 am PT

    I welcome anything new when it comes to gaming.. But it doesn't sound all that interesting at the moment.

  • Grimripper_nec

    Posted Oct 4, 2008 4:46 am PT

    how bout idiots they really are coming out with matt hazard lol

  • zhivago_x

    Posted Oct 4, 2008 3:54 am PT

    Do you people read? Or you just watch pictures and videos? The story and the characters are a parody. On the side note it does look like a interesting project.

  • GhostWolf7

    Posted Oct 4, 2008 12:53 am PT

    Wow people seriously get a clue its a joke there never was/is any "Matt Hazard". They're spoofing the history of video games.

    Figure it out.

  • Vote_For_McCain

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 11:36 pm PT

    Yea I've never heard of Matt Hazard either.

  • drumbreak1

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 4:34 pm PT

    no clue, sounds like another cheap action hero, can you duke nukem ripoff?

  • ocdog45

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 4:30 pm PT

    who the hell is matt hazard?

  • explosivo57

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 4:04 pm PT

    weaponsofmattdestruction? as in Dr. Matt Destruction the bass player from The Hives?

  • AngelCage-2

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 3:28 pm PT

    Matt who?

  • SethandJeremy

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 3:07 pm PT

    I like the idea that this game won't be like most games.

  • ZombiePanic

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 2:58 pm PT

    This ad campaign fails miserably at attempting to be funny.

  • konradak

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 2:01 pm PT

    This actually sounds pretty decent.

  • jmford_1

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 1:53 pm PT

    The Matt Hazard website is hilarious. Full of knocks on other games and gaming related stuff.

  • Wik_Wanderlust

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 12:33 pm PT

    Seems very unique.

  • MattF

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 12:29 pm PT

    My, that interview they linked to is fantastic! Those guys are pretty smart. You should check out http://therealmatthazard.wordpress.com/ for more info...

  • baystatethrashr

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 12:21 pm PT

    i like the fake series idea.

  • Spartan1017

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 12:14 pm PT

    this is so dumb i think it might truly achieve greatness...

  • Finishing_SA_Qs

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 12:00 pm PT

    Well it sounds good....lol

  • JaY_MaC102

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 11:54 am PT

    If it'll be anything it'll be funny....hopefully...

  • SEEDman_X

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 11:54 am PT

    This is a funnest way I've seen a product being advertised in a long while :-)

  • Phylyn5151

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 11:44 am PT

    Sounds nice, now lets see how they do on delivery.

  • Clonemenace

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 11:38 am PT

    If they stick with the humor/game parody approach this could be very good.

  • dark_gender

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 11:04 am PT

    I can't wait for that return in 2009?

  • OfficialBed

    Posted Oct 3, 2008 10:51 am PT

    i guess it has potential

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