Jan 31, 2011

Read this, Dick Tits!

I just finished playing the Bulletstorm demo and I have to say this is one OUT FUCKING STANDING GAME! Let me be very clear, this is not your Mom’s brand of shooter.  While at first glance it might look like a straight up first-person shooter, Bulletstorm is really all about torturing your opponents and using both your body and the environment to kill them in as unique a way as possible, hence the logo “Kill with Skill“.

Your primary weapons are your gun, your big-ass, sized 13 boot and an energy whip/leash; all of which you will use to kill, kick and dismember your foes in as many ways as humanly possible. That is correct, you can run up to opponents, kick them into the air, shoot them, and then leash them back only to kick them again or shoot them in the face.  Re-read that last part, that is what the game is all about  so make no mistakes about it. Sure you could still play the game just like any other shooter –  hanging back looking for quick kills with your rifle — but why the hell would you want to when playing with your prey and finding just one more way to destroy them is so much fun?  To that end, the combo’s and use of the environment to pull off insane kills is seemingly limitless and when you start experimenting with chain reactions, forget it, the combo multipliers go off the charts!

Bulletstorm urges you to combine kill after kill into a grand dance of death, rewarding you with points for doing so. Simply shooting an enemy gives you with the minimum of points ( 10 ), while more creative kills are rewarded appropriately. For instance, detonating a bolo mine ( no idea what else to call it – think spiked grenades tethered together by a chain ) near an enemy might get you a kill, but wrap him up in it and kick him into his buddies and you will see the points hit your score as the bodies hit the floor . Other rewards are given for things like impaling enemies on parts of the environment and gives you the “Voodoo Doll ” kill, or even for shooting them in the nuts just before finishing them off.  The purpose of points — and the whole reason to not just play Bulletstorm like a typical shooter — is to get upgrades. Not much is known about the upgrade system at this point, but they will be used for both offensive and defensive purposes on your character.

Like the upgrade system, not much is known about the game’s story either. From what I can find, it’s about a group of ex-mercs-turned-space-pirates, but the demo showed little of how the plot would actually be told or what themes it would touch upon. The main character, Grayson Hunt, is your typical gruff leader with a chip on his shoulder, only he uses a more colorful venacular than most heroes, but that keeps with what Bulletstorm seems to be going for — rude, crude and lots of low brow humor.

So, are crazy kills and a scoring system going to be enough to keep people engaged for several hours? Will the ridiculous one liners really make you laugh over and over? For me the answer is resounding HELL YES!  But I guess it’ll really come down to what you’re looking for in the FPS experience. If you want a serious game that tries to tell a deep and meaningful story, well then Bulletstorm might not be shaping up to be what you like. If, however, you want something ridiculous, something that puts absurd kills and over-the-top combat above all else, then People Can Fly’s Bulletstorm might just be the game you have been looking for.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to toss more mutties into live electrical lines and watch them sizzle!