The controversial new first person shooter, Bulletstorm aims to not only offend you but your whole family. Will its new style of “kill with skill” really be a game changer or is it all bark and no bite?
Created by People Can Fly and Epic Games, companies that brought us Gears of War and Pain Killer, Bulletstorm is in a category all of its own. At first glance, is seems like your typical sci-fi shooter with cheap tricks, vulgarity, and low brow humor. Beneath the vulgarity, however, the game surprises with both its gameplay and graphics.
Story
Grayson Hunt was once a member of an Elite task force known as Dead Echo. General Sarrano forced him to eliminate what he thought were dangerous criminals, but the criminals turned out to be civilians and press agents who knew too much about the general. Grayson was removed from service. Now, it is ten years later, and Grayson’s one goal is to bring the general down and get revenge. After fighting the general, Grayson crashes his ship into the general’s ship, the Ulysses, in a final attempt to take him out and makes a crash landing on Stygia. The once revered and beautiful luxury planet is now a hell hole. Not only must he survive, but he must also and keep his promise to get his newly cyborgenetically-enhanced friend, Ishi Sato off the planet. Grayson and Ishi take on the chaos of mutants, gangs, and carnivorous plants on the once-revered Stygia.
For an FPS, the plot is fairly typical; its uniqueness is the futuristic setting and imaginative characters. The slow-paced start to the plot was surprising, but when the game picks up speed, it is non-stop action.
Gameplay
The gameplay involves attaining Skillshots, which are creative and vicious methods of causing the demise of your opponent. The Skillshots give you points, which are used on upgrading weapons as you go through the levels. Rather than going for head shots or easy kills, this new game design choice encourages you to think outside of the box and then blow the box up. The more creative your massacre, the more points you get.
Grayson goes into the fight with the commonly used FPS weapons such as assault rifles, sniper rifles, and shotguns. They all have a Bulletstorm twist to them. For instance, the shotgun has four barrels of destruction, and its alternative fire creates a giant fire blast, incinerating anything in its path. One of my personal favorites is a gun that shoots a drill bit that can either send the enemy into the air or drive him or her into the ground. The weapon variations get the job done, and you will quickly find your personal favorites. Not only can you use the weapons and Energy Leash, but your body is also a weapon with the ability to kick and slide into the enemy and propel him or her into the air.
In addition to the regular gameplay, there are two extra modes of play. In Echo Mode, you replay certain key points from the campaign, with the goal of achieving a high score of Skillshot points. This is nice, but it feels familiar; the scenarios are taken right out of the game. The main purpose is to compete with your friends on the Leader Board. Echo Mode is great if you are competitive or if you just want to play for a few minutes without any commitment.
Furthermore, the online multiplayer is called Anarchy Mode. Four players take on waves of enemies and try to rack up as many points as they can. Occasionally, an enemy will appear that requires each team member to destroy him or her in a different way, resulting in bonus points. Anarchy Mode is truly about teamwork and fun if you have a good team.
Visuals
As the player propels the enemy through the air or plummets him or her to his or her death, the player notices the stunning visuals. From the beautiful lighting to the horrific dismemberments, the environments are striking. The Unreal 3.5 Engine allows for incredible backgrounds, whether it is crumbling buildings, underground taverns, space ships, or a planet that once was called Paradise. Under all the blood and body parts, Stygia is a colorful visual delight, a difference from the dark, gray appearance for which the Unreal Engine has been used previously. Characters you meet are crafted with exquisite detail. The vegetation takes on a threatening life of its own. Unfortunately, I did encounter two visual glitches. In one instance, a character’s face was stretched out across the map and in another. When my character re-spawned, e was lying horizontally and couldn’t interact with the environment, although he could still move. These are minor glitches, and I never encountered anything else like them.
Audio
The actor who voiced Grayson, Steve Blum, also acted in Call of Duty and Madworld. The General is another strong-voiced actor. The voice of Ishi comes off flat, even though the character himself is very complex and emotional. The script doesn’t give much to work with; in fact, the game has gained popularity for the foul language alone. I didn’t know the word ‘dick’ could be used in that many ways. The script intersperses bits of wise-guy humor and pop culture references, adding to the entertainment value. The sound effects are created well and add impact to the violence throughout. The gunfire and explosions give a sense of organized chaos. The music has an orchestral heavy metal tone and is effective but not soundtrack material. Most of the time, the music can’t be heard over the gunfire.
Overall
Bulletstorm features an estimated five-to-twelve hours to play. I finished it in five, but the game still has life after the credits roll with the Echo and Anarchy Modes. It was no more and no less than I expected it to be. Like a good ‘B’ action film, you can immerse yourself. FOr instance, I enjoyed the implementation of the killshots in the game; they kept me wanting to perfect every kill and think about every bullet that came out of my gun. The Anarchy Mode is enjoyable with friends; definitely check it out. I do see myself going back to this game in the future just for the experience. I definitely want to see more from this franchise. I also recommend it for fans of Epic and People Can Fly. The game would be enhanced with more variety in the multiplayer mode. There is enough enjoyment here; you just have to smear away the blood to get to it.