Bulletstorm Review

What's not to like about a game that rewards you the more enemies you splash bloodily across the screen using a gun that shoots explosive flails?!

Bulletstorm is an FPS developed by Epic studios using the Unreal engine, and the fact that is comes from the makers of the Gears of War franchise is apparent straight from the beginning. The same brutal and bloody combat found in Gears is taken out of the 'duck and cover' context and is simply splayed out in front of you, decapitations, dismemberment, blowing the enemy into tiny chunks, it's all here and the best part is that the game is constantly encouraging you to find as many different and violent ways as possible to dispose of the ravenous hordes in your way.

The game utilises a 'skillshot' system, in layman's terms it's a point-scoring system similar to that found in the Halo series but with a lot more focus on multiple kills, using the environment to devastating effect and variation in your weapon use. By earning combos and points as you move through the level you gain the ability to purchase ammunition (the enemies through drop only basic and small amounts) and upgrades to your guns. You therefore have to strive to make as much of a bloody, explosive mess as possible in order to afford the next shiny upgrade, of which there is one for each weapon in your arsenal.

Another important gameplay mechanic in Bulletstorm is the leash. Think of it as an electric whip attached to your left arm, you can use it to pull enemies towards you from a great distance, during which the game will slow time briefly allowing you to perform headshots, groin-shots, or simply line the enemy up with something else to perform multiple kills with a single shot. You can also upgrade the leash later on to launch all enemies in the area skywards, buying you time and allowing you to perform some of the more complex combos. The 'B' button in Bulletstorm allows you to kick enemies and send them flying either to buy you time, or to propel them off a ledge or into something....spiky.

All this blood and gore shouldn't stop you staring at the scenery though, because the world of Stygia is beautiful. The textures are superb and the artwork is incredible, you really do feel immersed in the locations which range from crumbling cities with collapsing tower blocks to riverside paths that overlook raging water torrents. Epic have done a great job in creating a game that looks the part, lighting, textures and level design are all spot-on and varied throughout the campaign.

As for the story, it involves space pirates, spaceships and a tale of redemption, to be quite honest it's about par for the course with FPS games these days. The script is full of cursing, immature language delivered in gruff, angry tones, it will completely depend on personal preference as to whether you find it funny or whether you cringe uncontrollably. Add this to the drinking references and frequent use of the work 'dick' and you have a game that isn't taking itself seriously for anyone.

In terms of multiplayer you have a cooperative 'Anarchy' mode (think of Horde from Gears 2) but no competitive modes, as a result the overall experience of Bulletstorm will be quite short for many player, although I would suspect that Epic are focused on Gears 3 by this point to bring in the multiplayer crowds. Anarchy itself is well-built and 4 players in the Bulletstorm world at once is great fun if you have a good team. But the scores and skillshots required as a team are very tricky, and the game occasionally refuses to recognise when you've done a team skillshot properly, resulting in frustration and repetition.

All in all Bulletstorm is a really great experience. The single player campaign is a bit short at around 9 hours but the point-storing leaderboards mean that for those-inclined the replay value will be high. The graphics and gameplay are superb, even if the scripting and characters leave a bit to be desired, and I fear the lack of competitive multiplayer will leave little lasting appeal. But as a single player experience Bulletstorm is a lot of fun and has a serious amount of entertainment value, it's definitely worthy of an 8/10.