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This thread has been linked to the game 'Bulletstorm'.
*Single player only review*
Video games tend to get a lot of negative press and Bulletstorm is everything ‘bad’ about video games today. There is violence, a lot of violence. It is gruesome, it is encouraged and rewarded. And then there is the language. Barely a sentence goes by without vulgarity or curse words. It doesn’t have any sex or nudity so it can’t be all bad.
Set in a science fiction based future you are in control of Grayson Hunt, a stereotypical space marine type, all muscle and no brains. Grayson is captain of a group of outlaws who have a bone or two to pick with their previous boss. The captain likes to keep his throat well lubricated which doesn’t make for some wise choices, particularly when brain cells are not too evident to start with. Grayson’s overpowering desire for revenge against the ex-boss (and his level of intoxication) leads to a questionable course of action which ends with them crash landing on a planet. As luck would have it, the ex-boss also finds himself on this planet and all that stands between are a lot of unfriendlies.
The game sees Grayson set off with Ishi, a crew member who doesn’t quite see eye to eye with Grayson. Other than crash landing, Ishi has some other reasons to be miffed at Grayson and tension fills the air as the two set off on their mission. Grayson’s sole desire is revenge. Ishi is more level headed and knows they need the ex-boss alive in order to get off the planet.
If you are playing the game in mute, the first thing that will strike you about Bulletstorm is how good looking it is. If you are playing with the sound on and can hear the language then the graphics will be the second thing you notice. The game was released in early 2011 but it is still a striking looking game against the new releases today. The characters aren’t anything special to look at but the environments are well detailed and you will visit a nice variety of locations. The planet has succumb to chaos and destruction but you can see it would have been an impressive place in its day.
Bulletstorm is a first person shooter with a melee twist. The ability to kick your enemies is more than just a backup to the weapons, it is a key component of how People Can Fly want you to play their game. Bulletstorm wants you to kill and it wants you to do this in as many different ways as possible. Each kill is awarded points known as skill points. Your traditional kills and headshots aren’t going to get you many points, flair and creativity are the order of the day. You’ll find yourself kicking enemies into spikes on the wall, into huge cactus plants, into man-eating plants, kicking them off high ledges, into helicopter rotor blades and so on. There is a huge array of kill techniques to perform and you’ll need that handy in-game reference guide. Many of the means of death are obvious, many you’ll just stumble across but others will take a bit of reading. It is OTT and proud of it.
Earlier on in the game you’ll gain access to a toy which helps you in your eventful kills, the Leash. The Leash is an energy bolt which allows you to grab an enemy and haul them towards you. The enemy flies through the air in a slow motion just waiting for your big boot to seal their fate. The Leash can also be used for more mundane task like pulling down platforms to create a path in order to proceed but that’s just boring.
The skill points you gather are used at the various canisters spread throughout the levels. The points are a form of currency, the more creative you have been in your kills then the more you have to spend. The ‘shop’ enables you to replenish ammo, buy access to new weapons, unlock the charge secondary fire of those weapons which allow and also allow you to upgrade the capacity of the weapons. You can also buy a one-time use special move for the Leash. If you are short of points then some careful consideration is needed. Weapons range from the pistols to machine guns, sniper rifles to grenade launchers, there is a weapon for all occasions. And if you are out of ammo, there is always the sole of your boot.
There is a wide variety of enemies which want you dead on sight. The locals come in all shapes and sizes but share an equal dislike of you and your companion. You’ll encounter some animal life which is of the large and fierce variety and you’ll also be spending time with some suicidal mutants. The action is fast and frantic, seldom are you faced with one or two enemies, they come in groups and they tend not to wait for you to come to them. The game certainly keeps you on your toes with seldom a quiet moment to be had. All through the action you’ll have skill points on your mind and no doubt have one eye looking for opportunities to unlock new kill methods for bonus points. Each kill technique and its associated technique is indicated on screen upon successful execution. Kick an explosive barrel into a group and prepare for a lot of text and numbers appearing on screen at once. It’s a satisfying moment.
Inbetween the action, there is plenty of chit chat between the characters. The conversation is polluted with curse words. It is rare for a sentence to go by without cursing. There is so much cursing in the game that it feels wrong to write a review without a single swear word. The volume of swearing in itself is not shocking but the language itself is dreadful, absolutely dreadful. It has clearly been written to appeal to an audience which are too young to play the game. It is vulgar, it tries to be amusing by using phrases you aren’t likely to have heard before but it tries way too hard and a lot of the time it actually doesn’t even make sense. I have to admit, at times I paused the game to take in what I’d just heard and question why on earth anyone would say that. Perhaps I’d understand if I was a space marine. Further into the game you’ll pick up some female company. Trishka is as foul mouthed as her male counterparts, gives as good as she gets if not better but again, it is constant swearing and simply irritating. It is completely unnecessary.
Towards the end of the game there is a feeling that the developers ran out of ideas. You’ll suddenly find wave after wave after wave of enemies running at you, a wave or two too many to keep things interesting at times. The gun action is broken up at times to keep things fresh, controlling the giant robo-lizard is a highlight but in the latter stages of the game there is a need for something to break up the relentless shooting.
Outside of the campaign there is a multiplayer offering which I have not played as I am an anti-social gamer these days. The single player aspect doesn’t end here though, there is Echoes mode for those of us who don’t want to mingle. Echoes is a time and score based mode where you need to rack up as many points as possible before the end of the stage. The stages are based on sections from the campaign which is a little disappointing as it would have been nice to have seen some other locations but on the other hands offers some instant familiarity. Based on your performance you will be awarded a points total and a star ranking up to 3 stars. Global leaderboards allow you to compare your results to those on your friends list.
The language is a black mark against the game but aside from that, Bulletstorm is action packed, fast and frantic at times and I certainly enjoyed it more than I thought I would do. It is far from the best in its genre but it is a very playable game. The story is nothing special but somehow I feel it is quite fitting with the language and obsession with killing people in spectacular ways.
7
Video games tend to get a lot of negative press and Bulletstorm is everything ‘bad’ about video games today. There is violence, a lot of violence. It is gruesome, it is encouraged and rewarded. And then there is the language. Barely a sentence goes by without vulgarity or curse words. It doesn’t have any sex or nudity so it can’t be all bad.
Set in a science fiction based future you are in control of Grayson Hunt, a stereotypical space marine type, all muscle and no brains. Grayson is captain of a group of outlaws who have a bone or two to pick with their previous boss. The captain likes to keep his throat well lubricated which doesn’t make for some wise choices, particularly when brain cells are not too evident to start with. Grayson’s overpowering desire for revenge against the ex-boss (and his level of intoxication) leads to a questionable course of action which ends with them crash landing on a planet. As luck would have it, the ex-boss also finds himself on this planet and all that stands between are a lot of unfriendlies.
The game sees Grayson set off with Ishi, a crew member who doesn’t quite see eye to eye with Grayson. Other than crash landing, Ishi has some other reasons to be miffed at Grayson and tension fills the air as the two set off on their mission. Grayson’s sole desire is revenge. Ishi is more level headed and knows they need the ex-boss alive in order to get off the planet.
If you are playing the game in mute, the first thing that will strike you about Bulletstorm is how good looking it is. If you are playing with the sound on and can hear the language then the graphics will be the second thing you notice. The game was released in early 2011 but it is still a striking looking game against the new releases today. The characters aren’t anything special to look at but the environments are well detailed and you will visit a nice variety of locations. The planet has succumb to chaos and destruction but you can see it would have been an impressive place in its day.
Bulletstorm is a first person shooter with a melee twist. The ability to kick your enemies is more than just a backup to the weapons, it is a key component of how People Can Fly want you to play their game. Bulletstorm wants you to kill and it wants you to do this in as many different ways as possible. Each kill is awarded points known as skill points. Your traditional kills and headshots aren’t going to get you many points, flair and creativity are the order of the day. You’ll find yourself kicking enemies into spikes on the wall, into huge cactus plants, into man-eating plants, kicking them off high ledges, into helicopter rotor blades and so on. There is a huge array of kill techniques to perform and you’ll need that handy in-game reference guide. Many of the means of death are obvious, many you’ll just stumble across but others will take a bit of reading. It is OTT and proud of it.
Earlier on in the game you’ll gain access to a toy which helps you in your eventful kills, the Leash. The Leash is an energy bolt which allows you to grab an enemy and haul them towards you. The enemy flies through the air in a slow motion just waiting for your big boot to seal their fate. The Leash can also be used for more mundane task like pulling down platforms to create a path in order to proceed but that’s just boring.
The skill points you gather are used at the various canisters spread throughout the levels. The points are a form of currency, the more creative you have been in your kills then the more you have to spend. The ‘shop’ enables you to replenish ammo, buy access to new weapons, unlock the charge secondary fire of those weapons which allow and also allow you to upgrade the capacity of the weapons. You can also buy a one-time use special move for the Leash. If you are short of points then some careful consideration is needed. Weapons range from the pistols to machine guns, sniper rifles to grenade launchers, there is a weapon for all occasions. And if you are out of ammo, there is always the sole of your boot.
There is a wide variety of enemies which want you dead on sight. The locals come in all shapes and sizes but share an equal dislike of you and your companion. You’ll encounter some animal life which is of the large and fierce variety and you’ll also be spending time with some suicidal mutants. The action is fast and frantic, seldom are you faced with one or two enemies, they come in groups and they tend not to wait for you to come to them. The game certainly keeps you on your toes with seldom a quiet moment to be had. All through the action you’ll have skill points on your mind and no doubt have one eye looking for opportunities to unlock new kill methods for bonus points. Each kill technique and its associated technique is indicated on screen upon successful execution. Kick an explosive barrel into a group and prepare for a lot of text and numbers appearing on screen at once. It’s a satisfying moment.
Inbetween the action, there is plenty of chit chat between the characters. The conversation is polluted with curse words. It is rare for a sentence to go by without cursing. There is so much cursing in the game that it feels wrong to write a review without a single swear word. The volume of swearing in itself is not shocking but the language itself is dreadful, absolutely dreadful. It has clearly been written to appeal to an audience which are too young to play the game. It is vulgar, it tries to be amusing by using phrases you aren’t likely to have heard before but it tries way too hard and a lot of the time it actually doesn’t even make sense. I have to admit, at times I paused the game to take in what I’d just heard and question why on earth anyone would say that. Perhaps I’d understand if I was a space marine. Further into the game you’ll pick up some female company. Trishka is as foul mouthed as her male counterparts, gives as good as she gets if not better but again, it is constant swearing and simply irritating. It is completely unnecessary.
Towards the end of the game there is a feeling that the developers ran out of ideas. You’ll suddenly find wave after wave after wave of enemies running at you, a wave or two too many to keep things interesting at times. The gun action is broken up at times to keep things fresh, controlling the giant robo-lizard is a highlight but in the latter stages of the game there is a need for something to break up the relentless shooting.
Outside of the campaign there is a multiplayer offering which I have not played as I am an anti-social gamer these days. The single player aspect doesn’t end here though, there is Echoes mode for those of us who don’t want to mingle. Echoes is a time and score based mode where you need to rack up as many points as possible before the end of the stage. The stages are based on sections from the campaign which is a little disappointing as it would have been nice to have seen some other locations but on the other hands offers some instant familiarity. Based on your performance you will be awarded a points total and a star ranking up to 3 stars. Global leaderboards allow you to compare your results to those on your friends list.
The language is a black mark against the game but aside from that, Bulletstorm is action packed, fast and frantic at times and I certainly enjoyed it more than I thought I would do. It is far from the best in its genre but it is a very playable game. The story is nothing special but somehow I feel it is quite fitting with the language and obsession with killing people in spectacular ways.
7
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*Single player only review*
Video games tend to get a lot of negative press and Bulletstorm is everything ‘bad’ about video games today. There is violence, a lot of violence. It is gruesome, it is encouraged and rewarded. And then there is the language. Barely a sentence goes by without vulgarity or curse words. It doesn’t have any sex or nudity so it can’t be all bad.
Set in a science fiction based future you are in control of Grayson Hunt, a stereotypical space marine type, all muscle and no brains. Grayson is captain of a group of outlaws who have a bone or two to pick with their previous boss. The captain likes to keep his throat well lubricated which doesn’t make for some wise choices, particularly when brain cells are not too evident to start with. Grayson’s overpowering desire for revenge against the ex-boss (and his level of intoxication) leads to a questionable course of action which ends with them crash landing on a planet. As luck would have it, the ex-boss also finds himself on this planet and all that stands between are a lot of unfriendlies.
The game sees Grayson set off with Ishi, a crew member who doesn’t quite see eye to eye with Grayson. Other than crash landing, Ishi has some other reasons to be miffed at Grayson and tension fills the air as the two set off on their mission. Grayson’s sole desire is revenge. Ishi is more level headed and knows they need the ex-boss alive in order to get off the planet.
If you are playing the game in mute, the first thing that will strike you about Bulletstorm is how good looking it is. If you are playing with the sound on and can hear the language then the graphics will be the second thing you notice. The game was released in early 2011 but it is still a striking looking game against the new releases today. The characters aren’t anything special to look at but the environments are well detailed and you will visit a nice variety of locations. The planet has succumb to chaos and destruction but you can see it would have been an impressive place in its day.
Bulletstorm is a first person shooter with a melee twist. The ability to kick your enemies is more than just a backup to the weapons, it is a key component of how People Can Fly want you to play their game. Bulletstorm wants you to kill and it wants you to do this in as many different ways as possible. Each kill is awarded points known as skill points. Your traditional kills and headshots aren’t going to get you many points, flair and creativity are the order of the day. You’ll find yourself kicking enemies into spikes on the wall, into huge cactus plants, into man-eating plants, kicking them off high ledges, into helicopter rotor blades and so on. There is a huge array of kill techniques to perform and you’ll need that handy in-game reference guide. Many of the means of death are obvious, many you’ll just stumble across but others will take a bit of reading. It is OTT and proud of it.
Earlier on in the game you’ll gain access to a toy which helps you in your eventful kills, the Leash. The Leash is an energy bolt which allows you to grab an enemy and haul them towards you. The enemy flies through the air in a slow motion just waiting for your big boot to seal their fate. The Leash can also be used for more mundane task like pulling down platforms to create a path in order to proceed but that’s just boring.
The skill points you gather are used at the various canisters spread throughout the levels. The points are a form of currency, the more creative you have been in your kills then the more you have to spend. The ‘shop’ enables you to replenish ammo, buy access to new weapons, unlock the charge secondary fire of those weapons which allow and also allow you to upgrade the capacity of the weapons. You can also buy a one-time use special move for the Leash. If you are short of points then some careful consideration is needed. Weapons range from the pistols to machine guns, sniper rifles to grenade launchers, there is a weapon for all occasions. And if you are out of ammo, there is always the sole of your boot.
There is a wide variety of enemies which want you dead on sight. The locals come in all shapes and sizes but share an equal dislike of you and your companion. You’ll encounter some animal life which is of the large and fierce variety and you’ll also be spending time with some suicidal mutants. The action is fast and frantic, seldom are you faced with one or two enemies, they come in groups and they tend not to wait for you to come to them. The game certainly keeps you on your toes with seldom a quiet moment to be had. All through the action you’ll have skill points on your mind and no doubt have one eye looking for opportunities to unlock new kill methods for bonus points. Each kill technique and its associated technique is indicated on screen upon successful execution. Kick an explosive barrel into a group and prepare for a lot of text and numbers appearing on screen at once. It’s a satisfying moment.
Inbetween the action, there is plenty of chit chat between the characters. The conversation is polluted with curse words. It is rare for a sentence to go by without cursing. There is so much cursing in the game that it feels wrong to write a review without a single swear word. The volume of swearing in itself is not shocking but the language itself is dreadful, absolutely dreadful. It has clearly been written to appeal to an audience which are too young to play the game. It is vulgar, it tries to be amusing by using phrases you aren’t likely to have heard before but it tries way too hard and a lot of the time it actually doesn’t even make sense. I have to admit, at times I paused the game to take in what I’d just heard and question why on earth anyone would say that. Perhaps I’d understand if I was a space marine. Further into the game you’ll pick up some female company. Trishka is as foul mouthed as her male counterparts, gives as good as she gets if not better but again, it is constant swearing and simply irritating. It is completely unnecessary.
Towards the end of the game there is a feeling that the developers ran out of ideas. You’ll suddenly find wave after wave after wave of enemies running at you, a wave or two too many to keep things interesting at times. The gun action is broken up at times to keep things fresh, controlling the giant robo-lizard is a highlight but in the latter stages of the game there is a need for something to break up the relentless shooting.
Outside of the campaign there is a multiplayer offering which I have not played as I am an anti-social gamer these days. The single player aspect doesn’t end here though, there is Echoes mode for those of us who don’t want to mingle. Echoes is a time and score based mode where you need to rack up as many points as possible before the end of the stage. The stages are based on sections from the campaign which is a little disappointing as it would have been nice to have seen some other locations but on the other hands offers some instant familiarity. Based on your performance you will be awarded a points total and a star ranking up to 3 stars. Global leaderboards allow you to compare your results to those on your friends list.
The language is a black mark against the game but aside from that, Bulletstorm is action packed, fast and frantic at times and I certainly enjoyed it more than I thought I would do. It is far from the best in its genre but it is a very playable game. The story is nothing special but somehow I feel it is quite fitting with the language and obsession with killing people in spectacular ways.
7
Video games tend to get a lot of negative press and Bulletstorm is everything ‘bad’ about video games today. There is violence, a lot of violence. It is gruesome, it is encouraged and rewarded. And then there is the language. Barely a sentence goes by without vulgarity or curse words. It doesn’t have any sex or nudity so it can’t be all bad.
Set in a science fiction based future you are in control of Grayson Hunt, a stereotypical space marine type, all muscle and no brains. Grayson is captain of a group of outlaws who have a bone or two to pick with their previous boss. The captain likes to keep his throat well lubricated which doesn’t make for some wise choices, particularly when brain cells are not too evident to start with. Grayson’s overpowering desire for revenge against the ex-boss (and his level of intoxication) leads to a questionable course of action which ends with them crash landing on a planet. As luck would have it, the ex-boss also finds himself on this planet and all that stands between are a lot of unfriendlies.
The game sees Grayson set off with Ishi, a crew member who doesn’t quite see eye to eye with Grayson. Other than crash landing, Ishi has some other reasons to be miffed at Grayson and tension fills the air as the two set off on their mission. Grayson’s sole desire is revenge. Ishi is more level headed and knows they need the ex-boss alive in order to get off the planet.
If you are playing the game in mute, the first thing that will strike you about Bulletstorm is how good looking it is. If you are playing with the sound on and can hear the language then the graphics will be the second thing you notice. The game was released in early 2011 but it is still a striking looking game against the new releases today. The characters aren’t anything special to look at but the environments are well detailed and you will visit a nice variety of locations. The planet has succumb to chaos and destruction but you can see it would have been an impressive place in its day.
Bulletstorm is a first person shooter with a melee twist. The ability to kick your enemies is more than just a backup to the weapons, it is a key component of how People Can Fly want you to play their game. Bulletstorm wants you to kill and it wants you to do this in as many different ways as possible. Each kill is awarded points known as skill points. Your traditional kills and headshots aren’t going to get you many points, flair and creativity are the order of the day. You’ll find yourself kicking enemies into spikes on the wall, into huge cactus plants, into man-eating plants, kicking them off high ledges, into helicopter rotor blades and so on. There is a huge array of kill techniques to perform and you’ll need that handy in-game reference guide. Many of the means of death are obvious, many you’ll just stumble across but others will take a bit of reading. It is OTT and proud of it.
Earlier on in the game you’ll gain access to a toy which helps you in your eventful kills, the Leash. The Leash is an energy bolt which allows you to grab an enemy and haul them towards you. The enemy flies through the air in a slow motion just waiting for your big boot to seal their fate. The Leash can also be used for more mundane task like pulling down platforms to create a path in order to proceed but that’s just boring.
The skill points you gather are used at the various canisters spread throughout the levels. The points are a form of currency, the more creative you have been in your kills then the more you have to spend. The ‘shop’ enables you to replenish ammo, buy access to new weapons, unlock the charge secondary fire of those weapons which allow and also allow you to upgrade the capacity of the weapons. You can also buy a one-time use special move for the Leash. If you are short of points then some careful consideration is needed. Weapons range from the pistols to machine guns, sniper rifles to grenade launchers, there is a weapon for all occasions. And if you are out of ammo, there is always the sole of your boot.
There is a wide variety of enemies which want you dead on sight. The locals come in all shapes and sizes but share an equal dislike of you and your companion. You’ll encounter some animal life which is of the large and fierce variety and you’ll also be spending time with some suicidal mutants. The action is fast and frantic, seldom are you faced with one or two enemies, they come in groups and they tend not to wait for you to come to them. The game certainly keeps you on your toes with seldom a quiet moment to be had. All through the action you’ll have skill points on your mind and no doubt have one eye looking for opportunities to unlock new kill methods for bonus points. Each kill technique and its associated technique is indicated on screen upon successful execution. Kick an explosive barrel into a group and prepare for a lot of text and numbers appearing on screen at once. It’s a satisfying moment.
Inbetween the action, there is plenty of chit chat between the characters. The conversation is polluted with curse words. It is rare for a sentence to go by without cursing. There is so much cursing in the game that it feels wrong to write a review without a single swear word. The volume of swearing in itself is not shocking but the language itself is dreadful, absolutely dreadful. It has clearly been written to appeal to an audience which are too young to play the game. It is vulgar, it tries to be amusing by using phrases you aren’t likely to have heard before but it tries way too hard and a lot of the time it actually doesn’t even make sense. I have to admit, at times I paused the game to take in what I’d just heard and question why on earth anyone would say that. Perhaps I’d understand if I was a space marine. Further into the game you’ll pick up some female company. Trishka is as foul mouthed as her male counterparts, gives as good as she gets if not better but again, it is constant swearing and simply irritating. It is completely unnecessary.
Towards the end of the game there is a feeling that the developers ran out of ideas. You’ll suddenly find wave after wave after wave of enemies running at you, a wave or two too many to keep things interesting at times. The gun action is broken up at times to keep things fresh, controlling the giant robo-lizard is a highlight but in the latter stages of the game there is a need for something to break up the relentless shooting.
Outside of the campaign there is a multiplayer offering which I have not played as I am an anti-social gamer these days. The single player aspect doesn’t end here though, there is Echoes mode for those of us who don’t want to mingle. Echoes is a time and score based mode where you need to rack up as many points as possible before the end of the stage. The stages are based on sections from the campaign which is a little disappointing as it would have been nice to have seen some other locations but on the other hands offers some instant familiarity. Based on your performance you will be awarded a points total and a star ranking up to 3 stars. Global leaderboards allow you to compare your results to those on your friends list.
The language is a black mark against the game but aside from that, Bulletstorm is action packed, fast and frantic at times and I certainly enjoyed it more than I thought I would do. It is far from the best in its genre but it is a very playable game. The story is nothing special but somehow I feel it is quite fitting with the language and obsession with killing people in spectacular ways.
7