Something went wrong. Try again later
    Follow

    Bulletstorm

    Game » consists of 21 releases. Released Feb 22, 2011

    Stylish, ludicrous kills net big points in this ridiculously over-the-top first-person shooter.

    Short summary describing this game.

    Bulletstorm last edited by Marino on 10/11/19 09:29AM View full history

    Overview

    One of the bigger things to shoot in Bulletstorm!
    One of the bigger things to shoot in Bulletstorm!

    Bulletstorm is an over-the-top first-person shooter developed by People Can Fly (in collaboration with Epic Games) and published by Electronic Arts for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on February 22, 2011. Focused on a "kill with skill" system, players are encouraged to make creative use of their vast array of weaponry (including their mighty kicks and their unique "instinct leash") and the environmental hazards to earn big points and earn upgrades.

    The main story follows Grayson Hunt, a crude space pirate and former leader of a black ops team known as Dead Echo, as he journeys through the planet of Stygia (with his cybernetic partner Ishi Sato) to gain revenge on his old commander, General Sarrano. The game also includes a four-player cooperative multiplayer mode called Anarchy Mode, in which players must endure waves of hordes (and can only progress when the team earns enough bonus points through co-operative skillshots).

    To promote the game, a short freeware game, titled Duty Calls: The Calm Before the Storm, was released on February 2, 2011. It is a parody of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series and takes the series' tropes to their most simplistic, absurd extremes (especially their reliance on scripted gameplay events). The game itself makes no reference to Bulletstorm until the end of the game, which shows a trailer.

    The game includes two pieces of paid downloadable content (both 800 msp or $10), both including two new maps for Echoes, three new maps for Anarchy, and five achievements/trophies. The first DLC, Gun Sonata (released on April 12, 2011), also adds two new "Leash" colors for Anarchy. The second DLC, Blood Symphony (released on June 10, 2011), also adds a new game mode called "The Ultimate Echoes".

    Limited edition copies of the Xbox 360 version (known as the Epic Edition) includes not only new in-game content, but also access to the public beta for Gears of War 3.

    Gameplay

    Example of
    Example of "Skillshots" from a early build

    The game revolves around the idea of Skillshots, where the player is forced to dispatch foes in awkward ways rather than simply shooting them until they die. Cliff Bleszinski has talked publicly about his desire to create a system where the player isn't forced to rely purely on headshots, and this philosophy appears to be reflected in Bulletstorm. The environments are set up with many deadly objects like spikes, open electrical generators, exploding barrels, burning cars etc.

    Points accumulated from Skill Shots can then be used to purchases upgrades for all the weapons and the leash. The upgrade system seems to be similar to the one found in the Ratchet and Clank series, where upgrades not only improve base stats but also allow for special abilities unique to each gun.

    Weapons

    Players can use these weapons in many creative ways to get different kinds of skill shots. In addition to the following arsenal, players can always use the default melee attack (the boot) to kick enemies away.

    • Energy Leash - This versatile whip-like energy rope is always available on Grayson's left arm. Players can use it to pull enemies towards themselves, causing the targets to float in slow motion for a limited amount of time. The leash can also be used to interact with most objects in the environment.
    • Thumper - The leash can be charged and slammed on the ground, causing all nearby targets to be thrown up in the air.
    • Peace Maker Carbine (PMC) - A basic assault rifle can be modified with attachments. The PMC also be charged in order to fire a single burst of 100 rounds which will leave little more than a glowing skeleton behind. The gun also has an ironsight mode, similar to red-dot scopes in most modern military shooters.
    • Screamer - A powerful revolver capable of one-hit kills. The charged shot is a firework that sets nearby enemies on fire.
    • Minigun - A standard gatling gun with a high rate of fire. Carrying the gun slows down player movement.
    • Boneduster - Four-barrel shotgun that shoots high-impact air and pushes enemies away at great speed. The charged shot incinerates the target with super-heated air.
    • Flail Gun - The flail fun fires two grenades tied together by a chain. The grenade explosion is delayed by default. The charged fire superheats the chain, causing it to burn and instantly cut through enemies.
    • Bouncer - A portable cannonball launcher. The plasma grenade can be charged up to bounce around before a delayed detonation.
    • Headhunter - Bulletstorm's stock sniper-rifle. It fires slow-mo bullets that can be manually directed, the charge fire will allow the user to pick up and carry an enemy with the bullet before being manually detonated.
    • Penetrator - A gun which fires rocket propelled drills, once imbedded into an enemy they are thrown across the room and impaled on surfaces. The charge shot is able to designate a second target for the drill after it has hit one enemy, also once the shot is charged, running into an enemy causes them to explode.

    Skill Shots

    Every weapon in the game has its own set of Skillshots, with additional melee skill shots for the leash and kicks. There are also team and multiplayer skill shots. Some boss fights also feature their own unique set of skill shots. According to producer Tanya Jessen, the total number of skill shots is currently running in the hundreds.

    All Skillshots scale with the number of enemies simultaneously killed by it. Most of the skill-shots can be combo'd together to earn more points per kill.

    A list of the Skillshots can be found here.

    Story

    Welcome to Stygia, pastey!
    Welcome to Stygia, pastey!

    Bulletstorm is set in the distant future on Stygia, a planet built for tourism that has fallen into the hands of mutants. The main character is Grayson Hunt, an abrasive roughneck space pirate that is out for revenge against his former commanding officer, General Victor Sarrano of the Confederation of Planets.

    The game begins with Hunt brutally killing a bounty hunter who was trying to kill him and his crew. The crew is being hunted by the space confederation and have been branded as traitors. Their ship stumbles upon the Ulysses, a giant confederate ship commanded by Sarrano. Drunk and filled with rage, Hunt orders the ship to be attacked, resulting in both ships crash landing on a tourism planet. Hunt blacks out and the game goes to a flashback where him and his crew were still working for Sarrano and had to assassinate a man called Novak. After killing him, the crew discovers that Novak was not the arms dealer he was said to be but really a journalist who had found incriminating data against Sarrano. All this time, Hunt had been murdering innocent people without knowing it, and his crew decided to desert the army.

    The game flashes back to present day where Ishi Sato, a member of Hunt's crew, has been severely injured by the crash. To save his life, Sato is turned into an android, and the rest of the crew is murdered by the savages who inexplicably have control over the planet. After escaping the savages, Sato blames Hunt for his condition and all that has happened to them. Wanting to make things better, Hunt searches for a stranded soldier nearby that could lead to a ticket off planet. The two track the soldier via the leash that Hunt found near one of the Ulysses' escape pods. They eventually reach the crash site and find that she goes by the name of Trishka. The two manage to convince her to lead them to Sarrano, who has crash landed on the tallest building of the city. Trishka doesn't know that Hunt and Sato want to kill Sarrano, and our two charming protagonists plot to to kill her once the dropship arrives, for no particular reason.

    As the three trek to Sarrano's location, a bond builds between them and Hunt begins to think that maybe what they are doing isn't morally correct. Sato doesn't care as the A.I. in his body begins to take control. The crew finally make it to Sarrano, who pushes Trishka off the building to her death and strikes a deal with Hunt and Sato. Sarrano promises to get them safely off world except that first they must disarm a DNA bomb situated inside the crashed Ulysses that is programmed to go off in a matter of hours. As the three head towards the crashed ship, Serano reveals that the local mutants originated from the planet's radiation storms. The planet used to have shields preventing such storms but the badly treated convict workers destroyed them. This lead to the "mutification" of all the tourists on the planet. Furthermore, all of the planet's inmates were being held underground near nuclear waste, leading to further mutations. As the three advance, Sarrano and Hunt debate on who is the biggest mass murderer since this whole mess is partly Hunt's fault, and partly Sarrano's.

    The three finally make it back to the Ulysses, but when it comes time to deactivate the DNA bomb, Sarrano betrays the two and runs off to the dropship while activating the bomb, which was actually dormant before they arrived. When all hope seems lost, Trishka saves the day explaining that she survived by grabbing hold of a power-line on her way down. The three manage to make it to the dropship and kill most of Sarrano's elite troops and make it to the man himself. There it is revealed that Sarrano ordered Trishka's father, Novak, killed and that Hunt was the man who pulled the trigger. Trishka forgives Hunt, but Sarrano somehow takes control of Sato, who is killed, and Hunt hangs Sarrano on the wall by throwing a spear through him. However, Sarrano survives and locks both Trishka and Hunt in the holding bay and sends them back onto the planet. There the two sprint for the remaining escape pod inside the Ulysses and make it off planet just as the DNA bomb goes off and kills all the mutants. Hunt feels remorse, as it is his fault that all his friends died. Trishka and Hunt decide to work together to get revenge on Sarrano.

    However, in an after-credit cutscene, it is revealed that Sato did survive, but that Sarrano, who somehow survived, rebuilt him so that he could be the General's slave by making him become more robot than man.

    Soundtrack

    Track #Song TitleRunning Time
    1.Bulletstorm Theme2:34
    2.Quit Being Cute2:11
    3.A Moment Of Luck In The Sea Of Misfortune2:22
    4.The Mistaken Signals1:30
    5.The Storm2:32
    6.Hostiles On Our Tail2:10
    7.Trishka Fails2:20
    8.The Brakes Are Out2:42
    9.Hekatonus2:36
    10.A Way Through2:27
    11.No Sudden Movement2:07
    12.Far Side Of The Cavern2:02
    13.Skull Hunting Party2:58
    14.A Giant Cloud Of Impending Doom1:15
    15.Gotta Be An Out1:27
    16.My Cyborg Components2:11
    17.Bound To End2:26
    18.Rumors Were True1:07
    19.Soaking The Ambiance2:36
    20.Cave2:13
    21.Mecha-dzilla1:47
    22.This One Last Time4:54
    23.Too Many To Kill Them All3:03
    24.Fueled Up & Leaving Stygia2:37

    Full Clip Edition

    Gearbox Software announced at the 2016 Game Awards that they would be publishing a remastered version of the game titled Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition in April 2017 for the PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One platforms.

    The remastered version of the game includes an increased texture resolution support for 4K resolutions on the PC and PlayStation 4 Pro platforms. In addition to the graphical upgrade, developer People Can Fly also created additional content for the re-release including an Overkill Campaign Mode which starts players with access to all of the game's weapons. An additional 6 new Echo mode maps were also added to the game. By preordering the Full Clip Edition players gain free access to the Duke Nukem’s Bulletstorm Tour downloadable content whereby players instead take upon the role of Duke Nukem as the lead character of the game. In additional to the changed character model, a new script was re-recorded by voice actor Jon St. John thus ensuring that the downloadable content went beyond a simple character skin change.

    This remastered version was announced to not be given out as a free update for those who have already purchased the game on the PC platform. Gearbox's Randy Pitchford explained in an interview that the license of the game is held by Electronic Arts and that Gearbox merely assisted developer People Can Fly to secure the rights to create a remaster only and assist with the issues in transitioning from the now discontinued Games for Windows - Live platform.

    PC System Requirements

    Minimum

    Main

    • Operating System: Windows XP (SP3), Windows Vista (SP2), or Windows 7
    • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon X2, or equivalent, running at 1.6 GHz or greater
    • RAM Memory: 1.5 GB
    • HDD Space: 9 GB available
    • Video Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible, 256 MB of VRAM; NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS, ATI Radeon HD 2400 Pro 256 MB, or greater
    • Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible, 16-bit

    Others

    • Disc Drive 16X CD/DVD Drive
    • Network Internet (TCP/IP) connection

    Recommended

    Main

    • Operating System: Windows Vista (SP2), or Windows 7
    • Processor: QuadCore 2.0 GHz
    • RAM Memory: 2 GB
    • HDD Space: 9 GB available
    • Video Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible, 512MB of VRAM; NVIDIA GeForce GTX260, or ATI Radeon 4870
    • Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible, 16-bit

    Others

    • Disc Drive 16X CD/DVD Drive
    • Network Broadband Inter (TCP/IP) connection

    Xbox 360 Game Installation

    When installed on the Xbox 360 Hard Drive, the game takes up 5.0GB of space. There are minimal performance gains to be had when installed.

    sizepositionchange
    sizepositionchange
    positionchange
    positionchange
    positionchange
    bordersheaderpositiontable
    positionchange

    This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.