Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: People Can Fly/ Epic Games
Platform: Xbox 360/PS3/PC
Rated: Mature
Released: February 22, 2011
"Great single-player and very innovative multi-player but repetition becomes a weakness."
Grayson Hunt and his little gang of pirates crash land on Stygia. A marauder and radiation filled paradise. After your failed attempt to take out an old nemesis you have to find a way off world. The story is a hardcore tale of revenge with dirty humor sprinkled throughout. The endings a wee bit dissapointing, but this games story keeps you attached.
This definitely isn't your ordinary FPS. If you stay on point with the main objective(which is "kill with skill") then you'll be fine playing this. If you pick it up expecting to run and gun your way through and if your not paying attention it'll be very easy to run out of ammo and just be stuck. It's a very fast paced game, and it is over pretty quick, you'll probably have about 6 hours tops put into the campaign. The campaign seems to be very easy on the normal difficulty as well so if you want a challenge you might want to start off on hard.
You do get a decent amount of replay value out of this game though. You can always go back and do it better then you did before, try and beat your friends score or try and get the all time best score, and you can unlock more skill shots whether it be in the campaign or the echo mode. There's also plenty to go back on in the campaign. The story in this game could have been more involved then what it was and I ran into a few bugs while playing the campaign, nothing huge, but still. The freedom of movement in this game could have been improved on too. The graphics are nice and the initial design of each level seem great. The characters are very witty and filled with a lot of one liners which are pretty humorous. The weapon designs are great including the add-ons with 'em.
The Echo mode, it times you and allows you to back on each level individually to see how high you can rack points and to see how you do against your friends or on the leaderboard. The multiplayer takes a little getting used to but you'll have it down pat in just one round. If I was to grade the multiplayer I'd give a B-, at times it just a big cluster...yeah, and there isn't much teamwork at all. It also seems that people don't keep to the main objective of the multiplayer either. I do like it though because it has a ranking system, and there is plenty of customizations to your character and to there weapon.
- HOW DOES IT LOOK? Bulletstorm takes advantage of the Unreal Engine 3 and it looks absolutely fantastic. There is a gorgeous artistic look in here and the game is very colorful. From lighting to the blood the visual looks simply amazing. Character models are done very well and the planet of Stygia looks great also. There were very minor, framerate issues and texture issues, but slowdowns were not an issue at all which is very impressive for a game with this much action going on at one time. This is one of the best looking games to be released in the last couple of months.
HOW DOES IT SOUND? The sound is impressive in Bulletstorm. Gunshots sound great, the voice work is one of the best, and Steven Balm did an exceptional job on Grayson Hunt. The soundtrack really puts you into the game. The composers, Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz and Michał Cielecki do a superb job in using the soundtrack to really get you into the action.
HOW DOES IT PLAY? This game has an interesting premise. Kill with Skill. Every kind of kill has a name and a certain amount of points. These points can be used to upgrade weapons. Its an interesting premise. From the main campaign there is Echo mode and Anarchy mode. Echo mode is a leaderboard mode. You blast through an area as fast as possible and when you get to the end your graded. Anarchy is the mulitplayer mode. Four people join up to battle off waves of marauders. Sounds like horde mode from gears of war, but theres a catch. You can't progress unless you reach a certain amount of points. Each level gains you new armor, weapons, and character actions. The multiplayer is fun and addicting.
HOW LONG WILL IT LAST? Bulletstorm has enough packed into it to allow you to play it well after you have beaten the story. The multiplayer can give you a few hours of thrills, but the Echo game mode is where you will spend most of your hours once the campaign is said and done. Overall if you intend to buy and keep this game you will log at least 30 hours if you really want to experience this game.
HOW IS IT PRESENTED? This game is colorful and gorgeous. This game really shows off its engine. The voice acting and color language really hits the spot. Its funny and serious. A perfect combo. The environments look awesome and the world is full of detail. Also alot of the areas are different and make you feel like your somewhere new.
- Final Remarks:
- Bulletstorm is a very fun innovative title, and is one of the better titles to be releases recently. It looks amazing, it plays amazing, and it is amazing. This is a much needed breath of fresh air for first person shooters. If you're a fan of the genre then this is definitely the game for you because not only is it a great first person shooter it is unlike any others ever made. You will spend hours just finding out different ways to kill enemies. You can expect over-the-top, action packed, guns blazing, head exploding action from the first minute you start the game to the very end. With the campaign, Anarchy Mode, and Echoes available at least two of these are sure to entertain anybody. This is a fresh new change for the genre and is highly recommended to buy for any first person shooter fans, and oh yea I can't forget to mention that buying a brand new copy will get you that Gears of War 3 beta code that comes with every new copy of Bulletstorm. Needless to say that just might come in handy in the near future.
Great review! I think I will pick this up on the cheap later this year.
Lol joke game