Difficulty:

Easy

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Check your bargain bin"

First of all I'll make it clear, I bought this game largely for the Gears 3 Beta. A few days before the 18th of April, when the Beta would open early for owners of the BS Epic Edition, I bought a copy of the game so I could secure access to the beta, and to keep myself entertained until then! That's not to say I didn't want Bulletstorm though, the game interested me at first, but to be honest I wouldn't have got it had it not come with an invitation to try out one my most anticipated games ever!

So anyway, on to the game!

First I played through the single player campaign. All reviews I read told me that it was quite short, even for a shooter. However I didn't find that at all. It still only took me 2 and a bit days (obviously not constant playing) to complete, but compared to other shooters (Halo Reach took me a night, and most Call of Dutys took 2 days for me) it seemed relatively lengthy. It was fun as well, the set pieces and locations you visit throughout were often highly original and impressive, the environments look as beautiful and astonishing as those you would see in games such as Halo or Half Life 2. The story wasn't particularly brilliant or groundbreaking, but it was good enough to keep the game interesting throughout.

But the most important thing in Bulletstorm (or indeed any game) is the gameplay. It controls like a typical shooter, but where it stands out from the genre is the scoring and combo system implemented. The game encourages you to 'kill with skill', rewarding you for making 'skillshots' ranging from the typical (headshot), to the violent (kicking a bosses head off, impaling an enemy) and the absurd (killing an enemy by 'shooting him in the ass'). The skill shots add another dimension to the gameplay, which is used nicely in the Echo modes, where you go through past levels and try to rack up as high a score as possible. Despite all these differences though, Bulletstorm is still a typical shooter at heart, for example practically all the levels in campaign begin with some sort of explosion or fall sequence, leading to a blurred vision/shellshock cutscene before you are launched into a firefight. This got tiresome and predictable after a while.

As mentioned, the new scoring and skillshot system is a great addition to the game, and seems perfect for some potential exciting multiplayer modes! How about a co-op campaign, you could choose to team up with your friends and combine scores, or you could compete with each other and see who is the most skilful? Or some competitive multiplayer modes where you actually fight other players, or at least find yourself in separate arenas killing enemies, seeing who can get the most points? No, Bulletstorm only offers ONE multiplayer mode, named 'Anarchy'. It's a wave based mode where up to 4 players work together to defeat waves of enemies, the waves get harder and a lot more points are needed in the later waves, meaning co operative killing is essential, and a lot of skill and communication is needed to beat the higher waves. Anarchy mode is great and I had a lot of fun on it at first, but it is the ONLY other mode apart from Campaign, meaning the multiplayer options on this game are very limited. It's extremely apparent that the creators knew most people would be happy with the Gears 3 Beta, so they wouldn't have to put in any effort in making a multiplayer side of the game!

As I mentioned, the score system which was already implemented could make a great competitive co op campaign, so there is no reason why the campaign is single player only. Echo mode is also only single player, meaning unless you have the EPIC Edition and don't want to play the Gears 3 Beta (or you are reading this after May 2011, meaning the Beta is now over) Bulletstorm is possibly one of the worst multiplayer shooters you could buy.

Review Round Up

Graphics/Sound – 8/10 – The graphics are decent and the environments look amazing. The music suits the purpose well and is epic in many places. Sound effects are fine, and the voice acting does the job (and can be mildly funny at times, but for the most part the humour involves cock/swear/ass etc. jokes).

Gameplay – 9/10 – Fans of the shooter genre should pick it up quickly, controls are good and the scoring system adds a lot to the fun of the game. The weapons are also interesting and offer many different ways to kill and destroy enemies.

Lifespan – 6/10 – Although the single player campaign is a lot longer than I thought it would be, Bulletstorm really falls down with only one multiplayer mode. Echoes mode will keep you playing, but the high scores aren't particularly hard to beat. Campaign is fun and you'll likely play it twice if you like getting achievements.

Overall – 7.5/10 – Overall a good game. If you are looking for a single player experience, it's worth buying or at least a rent. If you are looking for solid multiplayer and already have the Gears 3 Beta however, look elsewhere.