CAMBRIDGE– October 27, 2008 – D3Publisher (D3P) today announced that award-winning Hollywood actors Will Arnett, best known to audiences for his roles on television’s “30 Rock” and “Arrested Development,” and Neil Patrick Harris, currently appearing on television’s “How I Met Your Mother,” will voice the main characters in Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard™. This original third-person shooter with a sense of humour is anticipated for release in Q1 2009 for PLAYSTATION®3 and Xbox 360®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®.

In Eat Lead, Will Arnett will bring to life classic 80’s videogame action hero Matt Hazard. Matt gets his chance to prove once and for all that he is the king of shooters when Wallace “Wally” Wellesley, new owner of mega game publisher Marathon Megasoft, voiced by Neil Patrick Harris, gives Matt his comeback role starring in a new next-gen title that pits him against all of his memorable foes from videogames past. In the world of Eat Lead, however, everything stops being a game and becomes reality when players discover through the original storyline brought to life by Arnett’s and Harris’ voiceover that someone is using the new game to bring about Matt’s death once and for all.

“Eat Lead parodies some of the most beloved genres of games and pop culture, so it was important that we find the perfect voice talent to bring both Matt Hazard and Wallace Wellesley to life,” said Pete Andrew, vice president of product development, North America, D3P. “Both Will and Neil are life long videogamers and their experiences playing games combined with their comedic genius and superb voice talent will make Eat Lead a must-have title for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION®3 system.”

I just received a box full of random crap. At first I thought someone must have sent the box to me by mistake and was really trying to send it to Niero for his crazy little contest. But it really was meant for me.

So what was in the box? A crudely done Photoshop of three little boys, a wristband, a dogs chew toy (Or it could be a retarded comb. I don't know, I've never had a pet), studded fingerless gloves and a letter from the founders of the Unofficial Matt Hazard Fan Club. The letter, which you can check out in the gallery, tells me that this box is a time capsule that highlights everything great about the Matt Hazard Fan Club.

The letter goes on to say that the Fan Club made a Matt Hazard game in their Apple IIE Basics class called Super Adventures of Matt in Hazard Land Extreme Alpha Advance. Near the end of the letter, there's a phone number telling me to call Michael, the Communications Director of the Fan Club, so he can tell me where to find this game. Calling the number took me to an answering machine where Michael's mom was telling callers to stop harassing her and go to MattHazardExtreme.com to find the game.

Going to the MattHazardExtreme Web site gives you Super Adventures of Matt in Hazard Land Extreme Alpha Advance, which was TOTALLY made in Apple IIE. It's a pretty simple side scrolling shooting game and the first boss is a flying cyborg unicorn creature ... RADICAL!

I have high hopes for Eat Lead. I saw the game last year and was impressed with the game story wise. The gameplay is what I'm worried about though. Hopefully the game turns out to be radical, dudes.

D3Publisher is really hamming up the whole Matt Hazard thing. In just a few weeks, the publisher will ship Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game follows the exploits of a fictional "legendary" videogame character, its tongue firmly planted in its cheek as it pokes fun at staples of the games industry.

This publisher has now announced that a "classic" Matt Hazard title is rumored to be coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network later this summer. Yeah, seriously -- the publisher sent us a press release saying "Hey, did you hear these rumors?" Crazy bastards. They also passed along some artwork which makes the game look like a ridiculous Contra clone, with Hazard fighting weird yeti creatures, ninjas, and a robotic dinosaur.

Of course, all of this sounds completely f**king bonkers, and that's the point. It also sounds totally awesome, am I right? Want to know more? Check out our early preview of Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard.