Bulletstorm

I’ve been called many things, but “dick-tits” was not a title designated to me before Bulletstorm came around. I’ll admit, I was a little shocked at the audacity of such a direct attack at the hardcore audience, but maybe that’s why I admire this game. It attempts to set itself apart from popular shooters, and succeeds in many ways. And for a game that spouts more obscenity than Deadwood, Bulletstorm actually manages to give an intriguing, yet brief glimpse into a surprisingly realized world and a visceral shooter experience.

I suppose what will shock players most about Bulletstorm is the fact that the game actually gives context for the game play conventions and foul mouthed one liners. You play as Grayson Hunt, a drunken, ex-spec-ops, d-bag with a heart of gold. He has spent 15 years running from past atrocities he committed while under the command of General Serrano. While floating along on the outskirts of Confederacy space, Hunt just happens to run into his former superior officer and decides to attack the general’s massive battle cruiser (whilst in a drunken stupor no less) to take revenge for the horrors he has incited. Unsurprisingly, this ends up badly with Hunt and his partner Ishi crash landing on Stygia, a hedonistic, Las Vegas-esque planet with extreme botanical, radiological, and tribal dangers. The setting works well, and while Hunt, Ishi, and Serrano are all pretty unlikeable, Hunt redeems himself somewhat. And more importantly, you come to understand that the sophomoric humor that Grayson is more than happy to spew at all times is not serious, and Serrano’s disgusting sexual innuendo is. It is a subtle distinction, but it works well to make Serrano a completely horrible human being. Even towards the end, Gray might not be someone you’d take home to meet your parents, but he certainly isn’t a genuinely bad person.

I can't say the same for Ishi at all. He functions as Gray's main source of redemption-by saving him, somehow Gray will feel better about dragging him into danger's way-but Ishi is easily the most uncharismatic character in recent video game history. All of his dialogue is stern, bland, and completely against the tongue-in-cheek nature of the game. Many times Gray will unleash a string of ridiculous obscenity only to have Ishi say something about how being a cyborg is like living in Hell. Simply put, I didn't care if he survived or not.

Bulletstorm takes a rather slow approach by teaching you each of your melee skills individually during the crash sequence. Using your boot is stripped directly out of Duke Nukem 3D, and lets you kick enemies into spikes, electrical wires, and other environmental dangers, while the leash allows you to pull enemies toward you or bull-whip them up into the sky. You can also power-slide into enemies, which pops their legs out and sets them up for an easy kick or bullet to the backside. The leash compliments all the melee attacks nicely, and I found leashing, then kicking to be particularly effective. Even though kicking is not a new concept, the physicality of Bulletstorm feels fresh. There simply are no shooters on the market that have the same rough, yet new style of execution.

And when it comes to execution, Bulletstorm knows a thing or two, for the linchpin of People Can Fly’s project is the skill shot system. For every crotch shot, rebar impaling, and limb detachment there is a skill shot that gives you points to spend on upgrades, unlocks, and ammo. There are 131 in the game, and I finished the campaign—on hard—with over three fourths performed. This is what really makes Bulletstorm shine among its peers. You’ll want to play around and test out different weapons just to see the names of skill shots pop up above freshly slain tribal bodies. Technically you can play this game without utilizing skill shots in the least, but its pretty boring if you do. There is a comprehensive list of the specific shots for each weapon that you can bring up at any time during the game, but I found it much more enjoyable to come up with creative ways to kill and see if I would be rewarded with a new skill shot. But it is there should you want it.

The skill shots and melee attacks are also complimented by the lack of difficulty in the game. On hard difficulty, there were many situations where I had to take cover, but enemies are lumbering and flat out dumb. I definitely ran into many situations where dudes were asking to be kicked into the glowing, sparking wires behind them. The leash and slide also send the juggalo-like villains into slow-mo which helps to make skill shots easier. I don’t want to make it sound like this game is too easy, but just know that it is catered to make you feel like a powerful badass.

People Can Fly know how to make some of the best guns in the business, and they clearly waggle that fact in your face throughout the game. From four barreled shotguns, to an exploding cannon ball launcher, Bulletstorm has some of the most creative straps of any recent shooters. Every weapon has a secondary fire, which usually just acts as a one-shot kill or exploding round. All the weapons feel nicely powerful, but I just ended up wanting more. It takes a while for all the weapons to unlock, and my favorite, the drill-bit shooting Penetrator, wasn’t even available until the last few acts of the campaign. I suppose I’ll just have to wait for the inevitable sequel, considering how blatant and horrible the cliffhanger ending is. The game is just as slow at the end as it is during the introduction, with the real meat of the game somewhere within the middle of the game’s criminally short, six-hour campaign. It is a shame that the game doesn’t keep its stride going because it has a good sense of momentum during the middle acts, but falls apart during the last hour.

Despite the substandard length and egregious ending, Bulletstorm sets itself apart from the crowd again by actually incorporating color into Unreal Engine 3. Oranges and greens dominate most of the color palette, with blues and purples used as highlights. The lighting is bright and god rays flow over plant life and around buildings. It is simply a great looking game with very few weak points; character models look a little stiff, and little things such as hair and teeth look bizarre. The scale of the game makes up for these weird sticking points. The set pieces are huge, and they don't feel disconnected from smaller objects in the game. They all mesh together to feel pretty seamless, even when massive buildings are falling, giant mutants are stomping, and huge grindwheels are ripping through rock walls. It is an excellent representation of what consoles and Unreal Engine can still accomplish.

In addition to the short, yet sweet campaign is Echoes mode, which essentially lets you run through segments of single player levels to earn up to three stars for high skill shot scores. It is good in theory, but there is no voice acting during any of the echoes levels, making it feel barren and devoid of life. There is also a multiplayer mode, but I didn’t play it.

Ultimately, Bulletstorm is a short, but creatively stimulating shooter that has a rock solid core but little to keep you coming back. It is a shame that Echoes mode doesn’t work, and that the story ends with no sense of closure, but I don’t regret any of my time spent with Bulletstorm. Even if it called me a “dick-tits” more than once…