VIDEO GAME REVIEW: Bulletstorm

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Published by: Electronic Arts
Developed by: People Can Fly, Epic Games
Release Date: February 22, 2011
Available on: Xbox 360, Playstation 3

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INTRO: Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you with a dude game if there’s ever been one- Bulletstorm. You’re a macho space captain who has to stop all sorts of scumbags in order to save your hide and the fate of the universe practically rests in your hands! You use a gravity leash to help rope dudes in and then rack up some ‘skillshot’ kills. Jump into the 16th century, explore planets full of robots, dinosaurs and other bad guys.

As the company says, Bulletstorm’s array of distinct skillshots produces unprecedented levels of frantic gameplay. The skillshot system rewards players for laying waste to enemies in the most imaginative way possible. The more insane the skillshot, the more points players collect to upgrade and unlock weapons, which in turn allows them to execute even more inventive moves and exaggerated skillshots.

GAMEPLAY:

Bulletstorm is a different game that comes in in a somewhat familiar package, and this threw me off for awhile when I first started playing it. What I mean to say is that if you catch a screenshot of it, you’ll notice that it looks a lot like other FPS games, and because of that it doesn’t seem too special. On top of that, the plot doesn’t seem overly interesting, but it too will surprise you. I’m not usually into ‘space marine’ sort of games but this game had a decent story that kept me interested.

Anyway, about the gameplay. The main point of this game is not to run around and shoot everything immediately. Instead, you worry about how you kill your foes, and the idea here is to “kill with skill”. There are a LOT of ways to kill your foes in this game and this system is fun. I don’t want to give it all away, but there’s a lot of whipping foes in with your whip, giving them a huge boot to the chest, watching them fly away in slow motion, and if you timed it right they’ll land on a sharp object and get impaled. Your huge boot is a key element to your survival, and expect to see it planted firmly in the chest of many enemies. Your gravity leash is absolutely essential to your survival as well, and you will use it for far more things than simply bringing enemies close. And wait until you get to unlock the Thumper, an upgrade that will show you some really, really fun ways to wipe out your opposition.

The more varied your kills are, the more you’ll unlock. You’ve got an accessible Christmas list of kills the game would like to see you accomplish and as you progress through it you’ll earn skill points which will help you unlock more weapons, alternate fire (don’t take those for granted either, there are some nasty second-fire options for weapons you may have thought were just standard) and other things like that. And believe me, you want some of these badass weapons. There’s a standard selection like any other game, but some guns like “The Penetrator” and my personal favorite, “The Flaiilgun” are alternately hilarious and undoubtedly badass.

All is not completely rosy though, I’m afraid. This is not a long game, and can be breezed through in its entirety in almost eight hours. It also isn’t overly hard (and that isn’ always a bad thing because I admittedly am not the most skilled player), and I usually died due to my own greed. There are other difficulty levels though, luckily. Also, this game takes a lot of control away from the player in order to tell the story and when games like Dead Space exist, it is hard for me to just put my controller down for a minute or 5 at a time to watch a cut scene. That’s more  of a personal preference but I feel like things could have been streamlined.

This game feels like an old-school arcade style experience and it becomes addictive to play. Bulletstorm feels fresh, plays smoothly and really makes you want to get better at it. This is a great game engine that is worth your time.

Gameplay: 8.5/10

GRAPHICS:

Bulletstorm uses the Unreal 3 engine and it has a pretty neat artistic style. The game is bright and colorful and sports some decent lighting effects. Unfortunately though, it does seem a bit familiar, and a little dated. Characters are big and relatively detailed but this game could be any ‘space shooter’ if you just look at screenshots. Animation is fluid though and the game moves at a good pace. Not a slouch, but not a powerhouse either.

Graphics: 7/10

AUDIO:

Sound design is pretty awesome in this game, and is coupled with fantastic (albeit purposefully cheesy at times) voice acting. Grayson Hunt is a memorable character and you’ll likely care about him by the time you’re through. The score is well done, the weapon sounds are loud, crisp and clear and enemies sound varied and nasty.

Audio: 9/10

FINAL VERDICT:

This game is more than it might seem and deserves your time. It adds a really FUN gameplay mechanic with the skillshots and is quite enjoyable to play, although you might find yourself blowing through it quite quickly. It is a game of excess silliness and is a welcome distraction from other games that can take themselves so seriously. I wasn’t able to access multiplayer functions due to some internet connectivity issues, but you can play “Echoes”, the multiplayer mode. For what it’s worth, I’ve heard it is pretty basic and repetitive, but I haven’t been able to explore that yet.

Final Score: 8/10

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