Remember that preview I did last? Ya know, I blasted Dark Void for not being any good. You may remember me mentioning a game called “Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard”. To re-cap, it was a pretty bad game, with clunky controls and mediocre graphics, but it was different because it referenced and made fun of pretty much every single popular video game ever made. The mention to it is surprisingly quite useful for this introduction, since I was reminded of that game when it’s sequel, Matt Hazard: Blood, Bath and Beyond, got released on the Arcade.

The story of Matt Hazard is best explained in the original game (which, honestly, I’d recommend you buy), but to keep it quick, Matt’s a self-aware video game character who was big in the 80’s as a gun-toting, catchphrase spouting action star, but died down after a series of bad games. Eat Lead dealt with his return, but here at BBB it’s some time later and Matt has to save his 8-bit self from a crazy stereotypical Russian crazy man intent on killing the past you to prevent Matt Hazard from ever existing.

It’s a side-scrolling shooter, so gameplay wise you can expect running from left to right (or in some cases, right to left) blasting at bad guys with a variety of weapons, ranging from your standard pistol to machine guns, shotguns, rocket launchers and laser guns. Which is essentially the weapon collection of Metal Slug, apart from a gun that freezes enemies and another that fires plasma bolts. There’s hundreds of enemies to each level, so you’re never short of things to kill, and they all end in a giant boss battle against some stupid robot that’s been seen in every other game made (something the game makes no secret of). It’s damned good fun, and you can even bring a friend along for the ride, but only on the same screen, which might annoy those who like to play over the Internets.

The most important thing about BBB is the use of video game humour, which is fantastic throughout. From the opening cut-scene that mocks itself and its failure of a predecessor, you’re thrown into what is essentially a ‘best of’ the games from the past two years, featuring Bioshock, Portal, and even a little Mirror’s Edge. Each level is a rip-off of a different game, so there’s plenty of variety within, and there’s bound to be a reference you’ll get along the way. Hell, once the credits are over the humour goes on, but I’ll let you see that for yourself.

Graphically the game looks a lot like Shadow Complex, by which I mean you have nice looking, cartoon-ish 3D graphics presented on a 2D plane, so you can ignore the basic character models as the camera’s too far out for any real scrutiny. On top of that, there’s a ton of blood from every enemy, who fall about with rag-doll physics when they die. The rag-doll physics are even used to effect in a mini-game at the end of each level, the aptly named ‘Rag Doll Pachinko’. All in all, the graphics are nice to look at, but probably wouldn’t hold up well if we could see closer up.

The soundtrack is mostly forgettable rock music, but it serves well to fill the space. Matt likes to make a quick quip every now and then, and these are kinda funny the first time round, but get a little old towards the end of the game. Still, the voice actor does a good job of imitating the original Matt, and really brings life to him. Aside from that, the guns sound great, the enemies’ death cries are delightfully over the top, and it all works well together.

There are just two problems with Matt Hazard: BBB. One, it doesn’t last very long. I blasted through in just under two hours on the easiest difficulty, so maybe it lasts longer if you play on the hardest (the brilliantly named “Fuck This Shit” difficulty). And the other is that it’s a little expensive for a side scrolling shooter. Most people won’t be willing to shell out 1200 MS points when Metal Slug 3 is available for 400 points less. Still, if you’ve got the cash and looking for a good time with plenty of laughs and violence, shell out and get Matt Hazard. Oh, and the first game too. Maybe if you buy them, they’ll make more!

Score: 8/10

Think I’m being a bit fanboyish? Really, really hated the first game? Tell us in the comments!