Norm and I headed out to the offices of 47 in Los Angeles to check out two new games coming out from D3 Publisher.
The first game we looked at was the new Matt Hazard game coming to the XBOX Live Arcade and the Playstation Network, Matt Hazard: Blood, Bath, and Beyond, a sequel to this year’s Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard (XBOX 360/PS3).
Matt Hazard is a fictional retro game character that had his heyday in the mid-80s. In Eat Lead, he was able to prove that he was the king of all shooters when Wallace “Wally” Wellesley, the new owner of game publisher, Marathon Megasoft casts him in his comeback role starring in a new game for the next gen console, in this case, the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Eat Lead is a “third person shooter with a sense of humor” and received lukewarm reviews.
Now Matt is back in Blood, Bath, and Beyond where he faces off with General Neutronov. Hazard travels back in time to save the 8-bit version of himself while progressing through his previous games like The Adventures of Matt in Hazard Land and Chest of the Pirate Queen.
While Eat Lead was a 3D third person shooter, you progress through Blood Bath and Beyond in a 2D side scrolling world however, enemies can attack from not only the right and the left but from the front and the back of the screen. You are able to shoot in all directions, including into the game, you cannot, however, shoot outside the game (towards the actual game player). Each player gets a weapon and a grenade. The default weapon shoots slowly but has infinite ammo. You can pick up other weapons like the shotgun, the machine gun, the flamethrower, and the RPG. You can also engage in melee combat in some instances. The game can be played as a single player campaign or as a co-op game featuring Matt’s pal, Dexter Dare. The game can only be played as a Local Co-op as online co-op is not supported. The decision was to focus more on the game mechanics and development.
The game features three difficulty modes: Wussy, Damn This is Hard, and Fuck This Shit.
Norm and I watched as a level was played for us, to showcase what the game offers, and then the controllers were handed to us. The demo was played on Wussy mode so we decided to step things up a notch and try it on Damn This is Hard. Norm played Matt Hazard and I played as Dexter Dare. As we dove into the game, there was some story beforehand, using the character’s avatar and a speech bubble akin to the Castlevania games. We skipped through that and started the level. The graphics looked great, I think a little better than expected considering this is a downloadable title. It was very reminiscent to the Contra series of gameplay and is obviously paying homage to that series among others. The side scrolling action is similar to that of Shadow Complex and Bionic Commando: Rearmed, which were released this year. There is plenty of blood and gore, the game received an M rating, as blood splatters and flying body parts are abundant in this game. You start out with 5 lives and 3 continues (sorry no Konami code for 30 lives, or at least they aren’t telling), in the Damn This is Hard mode, and the continues start exactly where you died so the gameplay is seamless. If you die more often than your partner, as I always do in these types of games, you have the option to steal lives from your partner. You can earn extra lives throughout the game, either by pickups or earning points. Once both players are out of lives, if one dies, they can’t play until the other player dies and a continue is used.
April’s Impressions:
The game was not so difficult, as we were able to complete the level. We died a lot while playing but we were able to complete the entire level with the use of our continues. It may be more of a challenge in the single player mode or in the Fuck This Shit mode. The controls were simple enough and intuitive enough that one could pick up a controller and be on the road to fun in a matter of minutes. It was a lot of fun to play the game with Norm. We play similar old school games like Lifeforce or Contra and the experience is very similar only the graphics and effects are a hell of a lot better. The game boasts bringing Matt from the 8-bit and into the advanced graphics of 9-bit. While the game is playing homage to some of the classics, it is also making fun of them and features a slew of inside jokes. For example, in the level that was demoed for us, the boss character was Old Berney, a mechanized lighthouse. As funny as an evil, missile spewing lighthouse is, it also has a deeper inside meaning. Vicious Cycle Software, the game’s developer, is located in North Carolina which is home to many lighthouses, including the tallest lighthouse which stands over 200 feet tall – but doesn’t spew missiles! We went through a level of ninjas, undead skeleton warriors, crazy anime characters, and the cute but lethal Death Wuzzles (wtf?). Not to mention that our boss was Rhino-zilla, a 200 foot tall mechanical rhino! The game has about 8 levels and offers roughly around 2-3 hours of gameplay to complete. The game has enough going on that I think the 2 player co-op will be popular. I know there will be a lot of disappointment that an online co-op mode is not available. You can still track your high scores with the online Leaderboards and Achievements (360)/Trophies (PS3). This game would be best enjoyed in the company of a partner. You can play co-operatively or co-operatively competitively where the players try to grab any pick ups before their partner, like I do. In this case, don’t sit too close to each other because the thief will get punched in the arm at least once.
Norm’s Impressions:
I couldn’t help but thinking that this was a total Contra rip off, and that is a compliment. As far as level design is concerned, it was a little chaotic. This made it difficult to know if you could jump to a certain area, or if doing so meant certain death. Shooting into the background is a neat mechanic that makes this a little unique. Another feature that sets this apart is its sense of humor. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a few of the jokes, and the ones I did get weren’t all that funny. I loved the lighthouse boss that we watched, and was marveling that the lighthouse was a missile-laden fortress of doom. Then I was informed that the lighthouse boss was an inside joke for the developers. That kind of killed the fun of it for me. This game does not feature a “spread”-like weapon that is overpowering in a single level. While I miss that, it’s not a bad thing as it keeps the challenge going regardless of the weapon you have. The control over your character is a little loose, and might cause a few senseless deaths. Based on the two level we watched and the level we played, if you like Contra, you will find something to like in Matt Hazard: Blood, Bath and Beyond.
Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond is rated M for Mature and will be available for download on XBLA and the PSN in Winter of 2010. No price point has been revealed.
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