“Bulletstorm,” available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, is a game which is not perfect and has many areas that could be improved upon. But despite these problems, the game is very fun.
“Bulletstorm” tells the story of revenge gone wrong. Grayson Hunt, or Gray, is seeking revenge from his former boss General Victor Sarrano. As a hired killer, Sarrano tricked him and his team, known as “Dead Echo,” into killing innocents. His friend Ishi Sato, the only person left in his crew, had to become part robot in order to survive. The robot part of him is evil and threatens to take over his body.
They are aided by Trishka Novak who is only helping them to get off the planet alive and take revenge on Sarrano for her own reasons. Her origin is mysterious, and you learn about her throughout the story.
The game has been promoted as a gleeful piece of excess, but it takes a bit of time to get there. The game immediately turned me off, by playing the opening of the story a bit too seriously. It was jarring to have Gray say funny lines filled with four letters words, then see Ishi almost die. But by the middle of the game, I was invested in the story and found it thrilling and entertaining.
It also takes too long to get to the fun part of the gameplay. Before the leash and skillshots are introduced the shooting action is ordinary and too repetitive.
One of the defining characteristics of “Bulletstorm” is its in your face sense of humor. Every character has some dirty outlandish quip to say about the action.
Once I got used to the crazy dialogue I found it funny, but still annoying at times.
Between the skillshots system and the weapons given to you, it gives many ways to kill your enemies. The skillshots system gives you points for killing your enemies in creative crazy ways, like throw multiple enemies into spiked walls. Often you can do a combination of these things.
The weapons given to you are fantastic, from the grenade powered flail gun, to the four-barreled shotgun the Boneduster.
The feeling of seeing the body parts fly after you had killed them in mind-bending ways is sublime and brings a perverse joy that I found made a strong impression. You have to be a specific person to find this fun, but if this sounds like a ride you want to take, it is a great ride.
It gives the game variety and you approach each group of enemies with sense of adventure, a feeling of “how can I kill them this time?”
The graphics are a frustrating mixed bag. The environments are at times beautiful. But the character models are plastic and during cut scenes, this takes away from the drama. The game is also buggy with enemies clipping and one moment where you can get stuck.
Despite all its problems, I recommend “Bulletstorm.” The combat is just too much fun not to recommend. If you can get into its in your face style, it is worth it for the fun gameplay.