Victim of its own joke
Despite the variation in enemy type, and the occasional appearance of foes in unlikely places (Russian Soldiers in a nightclub for example), Eat Lead is a pretty much a relentless battle against lumbering and inept enemies that re-spawn out of thin air and rush at you haphazardly or clumsily stick their head out of cover allowing you to take them out with consummate ease. Aside from the mini-boss battles, that rarely entertain and generally take the form of QTE's, the action comprises mostly of clearing areas of dumb A.I. before moving to the next level where you're treated to another bout of uninspiring gun-play.The standard weapon-set, which includes pistols, shotguns and snipers, alongside some more unconventional and fairly entertaining weapons, such as the water sub-machine gun, generally lack the impact, both visually and in terms of power, that you'd expect, whereas the weak and miserable-looking melee system also means that it never rarely feels like you're the almighty and powerful killing machine that the game had initially suggested. Get up close and personal to an enemy and you simply need to press ‘square’ and watch a cinematic of your character pulling off a laughable (for all the wrong reasons) three pronged attack where you'll see his hand crudely appear out of the other side of your enemy's chest or his high-kick, which sends your foe sprawling, actually going nowhere near his body. It's unclear whether moments such as these are deliberately an attempt to poke fun at some other game or not. If it's supposed to be the former, it's just not funny. It makes the game visually unimpressive, technically inept and largely unenjoyable.
The run-and-gun formula is made slightly more interesting by a cover system that does its job reasonably well. You can attach yourself to a cover object instantly and then peer over and take a shot at your enemy. Alternatively, you can lean over an object point at another place of cover and click 'triangle' and then watch Hazard run over to it and take up position. You're encouraged to use cover frequently due to the mass of enemies on screen and one time, which adds a small tactical element, but even the point and cover system is essentially flawed. Each time you pop your head up over an object and zoom in, the aiming reticule tends to shift position erratically, even if you haven't moved position. Because moving the reticule with your thumbstick takes far longer than it should take, you end up being hampered by the faulty control mechanic, which essentially ruins the flow of the action.
Eat Lead does have some highlights, most notably its script, and there's the occasionally impressive gaming parody to enjoy, such as when you have to take part in a turn-based mini boss battle against the JRPG effeminate sorcerer, Altos Tratus. Largely though, there's little to smile about in this dull and laborious shooter. Eat Lead is a mix of ideas from other shooters, bought together in a tongue-in-cheek style that ultimately hasn't worked. From the lack of next-gen visuals, to the boring boss battles, to the clumsy A.I,. to the increasingly repetitive gun-play; Eat Lead is actually a victim of its own joke.
Click for larger imagePros
Those over a certain age will enjoy some of the old videogame references and jokes
Cons
Dull combat made worse by an awful melee and faulty cover system
Dumb A.I. Boring boss battles.
Matt Hazard returns for the last time we hope. (4/10)
