A perfect game for the 13-year old in me
I get the criticisms leveled against Bulletstorm's ridiculous, completely over-the-top dialogue. I know there are a dozen groan-worthy moments in the game. And you know what? I don't care! The game is pretty damn hilarious, and has a certain panache for male testerone-fueled moments that really haven't been seen to this degree since Duke Nukem 3D.
From a pure gameplay perspective, you'd think the gimmick of "kill with skill" would get boring after a while. But with the various weapons introduced slowly throughout the game, the inclusion of alternate fire modes, and loads of ways to utilize the environment, the idea never really falls flat. Finding new ways to kill people and chain 'em together just doesn't really get boring, and it beats the hell out of trying for nothing but non-stop headshots.
It doesn't hurt that the game is built on a hell of an engine, too. There are certain problems with glitched environments, but for the most part, the gameplay is fluid and fairly dynamic. The level designs are often times amazing, with one particular battle set around water wheels being the game's standout. The gun battles feel ferocious. Every gun feels just about right, with a good kick to them that sends enemies flying (often literally). The enemies themselves are mostly of the "charge until he's dead" variety, but this works to the game's favor. And some of the later enemies do tend to take more intelligent steps to solving the problem of you, but they'll still mostly follow the wave mentality. Weapon upgrades and a surprisingly sparse amount of ammo will leave you in some terse situations, but the game never feels completely unbeatable. Having the option to go back through and complete the game's best gunfights in the Echo mode is fantastic, though the multiplayer really could have used some more work (and is what is keeping this from being a perfect review).
This game's not going to be for everyone. If you're the type of person who poo-poos at poo-poo humor, or if in fact you have a shred of human decency in you, you might be turned off by the brilliantly mad machismo of the dialogue. The gang will cuss worse than a drunken sailor, string together expletives in new and unusually juvenile ways, and will often fall kind of flat. But for the most part, the game is pretty goddamn hilarious. "Come lick on the salty taint of doom" will forever be imprinted in my mind as one of the best bits of dialogue I've heard in a game, period. So if there's an inner child in you that wants a brazenly balls-out game with tons of action and enough awesomely bad dialogue to shame Bruce Campbell, then pick this game up and at least give it a gentle rubdown.