This is one of those games that has a really great concept but not so great execution. First off, the good part is that the presentation and concept are executed well. The basic plot is that Matt Hazard is a retired game hero who comes out of retirement for a new game, only to have several attempts on his life by the company that makes his games. The humor is pretty funny and the characters are all likeable. Will Arnett and Neil Patrick Harris both do an excellent job and are very funny to listen to. Matt himself has a lot of personality and more depth than other comedic shooter characters, such as Duke Nukem or Serious Sam. We actually get a good feel for his backstory, his motivations, who his friends are and why he cares about them. Personality is definately this game's strong point. Minor characters, such as Master Chef and Captain Carpenter are clearly one-offs, but in the short time we see them, they become really likeable and I'm kind of dissapointed that we don't see more of them. What kind of cooking adventures did Master Chef go on? We'll never know. It's clear that Matt cares about these people, so it would be nice to know more about them. Unfortunately, the gameplay isn't close to being as good as the rest of the game. The overall shooting and cover mechanics are okay. The cover system in particular deserves praise for its mechanics of letting players automatically run from one cover point to another by pointing at where they want to go. The AI is pretty decent, with enemies calling out strategies to others and ducking behind cover. Unfortunately, the level design nullifies these good points by frequently featureing hordes of enemies, but not enough cover. Often, players will have to stay in one point and wait for a good portion of the level's enemies to come at them because it's too dangerous to advance otherwise. Also, Matt doesn't take much punishment before he dies, so he'll need to duck behind cover a lot, which slows down gameplay. Aiming also feels stiff, which slows down the gameplay. Overall, it's worth it, but don't pay more than $10.
VideoGame Eat Lead, but don't eat too much of it
This is one of those games that has a really great concept but not so great execution. First off, the good part is that the presentation and concept are executed well. The basic plot is that Matt Hazard is a retired game hero who comes out of retirement for a new game, only to have several attempts on his life by the company that makes his games. The humor is pretty funny and the characters are all likeable. Will Arnett and Neil Patrick Harris both do an excellent job and are very funny to listen to. Matt himself has a lot of personality and more depth than other comedic shooter characters, such as Duke Nukem or Serious Sam. We actually get a good feel for his backstory, his motivations, who his friends are and why he cares about them. Personality is definately this game's strong point. Minor characters, such as Master Chef and Captain Carpenter are clearly one-offs, but in the short time we see them, they become really likeable and I'm kind of dissapointed that we don't see more of them. What kind of cooking adventures did Master Chef go on? We'll never know. It's clear that Matt cares about these people, so it would be nice to know more about them. Unfortunately, the gameplay isn't close to being as good as the rest of the game. The overall shooting and cover mechanics are okay. The cover system in particular deserves praise for its mechanics of letting players automatically run from one cover point to another by pointing at where they want to go. The AI is pretty decent, with enemies calling out strategies to others and ducking behind cover. Unfortunately, the level design nullifies these good points by frequently featureing hordes of enemies, but not enough cover. Often, players will have to stay in one point and wait for a good portion of the level's enemies to come at them because it's too dangerous to advance otherwise. Also, Matt doesn't take much punishment before he dies, so he'll need to duck behind cover a lot, which slows down gameplay. Aiming also feels stiff, which slows down the gameplay. Overall, it's worth it, but don't pay more than $10.