Bulletstorm (77/100)

Epic doesn't put their name on bad-looking games. 

When People May Fly and Epic Studios first announced Bulletstorm last year, they showed off dangerous environments filled with man eating plants, spiked walls, loose electrical wiring and other potentially fatal obstacles for the player to use as they tear through the games onslaught of bad guys. The story seemed somewhat flat and the characters did not look very inspired, but the gameplay of the game seemed to promise a different type of first person shooter experience.

Here we are a year later and it seems that Bulletstorm has lived up to most of what it promised. The gameplay really makes it unique over others because the object of the game is not to simply kill everything you see, but to kill everything you see in the most ridiculous way possible. The player is awarded points based on their kills which the game calls ‘skillshots.’ For example, a headshot is worth 150 points, kicking a bad guy into a spiked wall is 200 points, or a well timed grenade throw can lead to multiple kills and multiple skillshots. The points work as an experience system that you can spend on new guns or upgrades that will then allow you to achieve even more unique skillshots.

Throughout the game you play as Grayson, a grizzled and experienced soldier who has spent the last several months in a drunken rage fueled by the betrayal of his former employer, General Serrano. The game gets going pretty quickly with a very explosive opening act that sets the pace for the rest of the way. Grayson, while intoxicated, makes a very poor choice and he and his crew are forced to deal with the consequences. The rest of the game is spent trying to undo the damage he caused.

The humor of the game is toilet humor at best, but it goes so far out of its way to do it that one cannot help but laugh. In one instance an act of revenge was referred to as “stroking a murder-boner for you” and in another case an Asian man was repeatedly referred to as “sushi-dick.” In other words, the game is offensive. It’s trying to be, in some cases almost too hard. But there is no doubt that the ridiculous one liners will eventually break down the mature adult in you and make you laugh as if it’s the first time you’ve ever heard these words used in a sentence.

Behind the humor though lies a surprisingly intense game. The characters may be shallow but their motivations are surprisingly strong. Every character has a reason for being in the fight and that makes the overall experience a good one.

The variety in the game was also an unexpected plus. Bulletstorm was obviously built around the idea of killing creatively, but the style of the game changes up from time to time to make the game a thrilling action experience. Early on there is a train sequence where the player must shoot down a barrage of helicopters on the chase. In another scene there was a gigantic robot in which you obtain the remote and use it against the oncoming enemies. (You have to see it to believe it) The only drawback to the campaign is its awful ending. Or lack there of. Bulletstorm ends more like a TV show than a video game. For instance, when a TV show ends in a weak cliff hanger, the audience doesn’t mind knowing the conclusion will air in next week’s episode. But Bulletstorm does exactly this, only the conclusion won’t be seen for another year or more.

Where Bulletstorm ultimately fails is after the campaign has been completed. The campaign takes about 8-10 hours, depending on difficulty, but after you have finished there’s not a whole lot of reasons to go back. And, unfortunately, the multiplayer was a complete waste of time to develop. The game supports no co-op campaign whatsoever. Being that this is an Epic published game and seeing how much success Gears of War has seen from co-op play, it’s baffling that it’s not in this game. The Anarchy mode (Bulletstorm’s Horde Mode) is fun for a few rounds but loses its appeal quickly.

Bulletstorm is worthy of your time, but maybe not your money. It’s a definite rental or borrow, but since Epic has recently announced that pre-orders of Gears of War 3 come with access to the Gears of War 3 beta, the value of Bulletstorm has dropped significantly. The good news? There’s clearly a Bulletstorm 2 coming, so People May Fly will have a good chance at knocking that one out of the park.