I was expecting something immature, dumb and more than a little strained. And I got it. Fortunately, I was also lucky enough to find my way through some very silly dialogue to an interesting take on the FPS with a couple of new mechanics that freshened things up a bit. Here’s an extract from my review way back at the end of February last year:
Bulletstorm is the spiritual successor to Duke Nukem, although using the word “spiritual” with regards to the Duke or Gray Hunt goes against our better judgement. It’s not just the frequent and necessary use of your boot that harks back to the Duke either, it’s the wisecracks – in as much as they are – and the setting. Mutant aliens infesting an entertainment complex while a wisecracking, foul mouthed meathead stomps and shoots his way through swathes of them. So far, so Duke.
There, that’s me quoting me… which is either very meta or a little bit sad. Either way, just re-reading the review I wrote almost a year ago is making me want to go back into the brash, over-saturated world of Bulletstorm and shoot some dickfaces in the ballsack. Or something. Ah yes, the dialogue. I said this about it in the review:
The dialogue is awful. It’s delivered well, believable and confident but it sounds like it was written by a thirteen-year-old boy who doesn’t quite understand what those words mean. We’re certainly no prudes here and would rarely object to a well aimed curse word but in Bulletstorm they are neither well aimed, nor often intelligible.
To their enormous credit, this is an issue that People Can Fly later picked out themselves as something they wish they’d addressed more fully but I read plenty of people who praised the devil-may-care disregard for language as ironic. I’d love to hear what you think.
So, go ahead and throw your thoughts down in the comments below. Tell us what you liked, what you didn’t like and what you remember best about Gray Hunt’s journey into a mutant-infested personal hell. Don’t forget to add the words BUY IT, RENT IT, AVOID IT or BARGAIN BIN IT to your mini review so we can tally the totals for next Monday’s round up post.
Go on then, bum-munchers, get stuck in.
Omac_brother
I like a flawed protagonist as much as the next man, but I just couldnt finish this game because I actually hated the main character. His actions in the first 15 mins of the game set me up to really dislike him and from then on, I prefered walking blindly into fire just to watch him die rather than ducking for cover. Not even the reasonably fun gameplay and unique game mechanics could rescue this game for me. Avoid It.
JohnnyBoy
Bought it day one and loved it.
Had a smile on my face all the way through it.
Fantastically over the top dialogue, ridiculous weapons.
Just switch your brain off after putting the disk in and enjoy the ride.
I traded it in after finishing it and am still regretting that decision.
Buy it.
yogdog
Loved this game, very enjoyable and even though the character you play is a bit of a tool, the gameplay is so enjoyable you can just forget about that. Verdict: buy it.
Deathbrin
Can’t do without dialogue, and in the core the game is just a points game, Tetris-like high-score setter, simply mechanical thing. :/
Deathbrin
I must admit though the colours are very nice. Just look at that image there!!
yd
Bloody great big robot dinosaur thing? Ability to shoot someone in the balls then kick them into a cactus? Lots of swearing, which as we all know is not only big but also clever? BUY IT
Unless you’re old enough to know better. In that case, you probably want to find some justification for buying it, like it actually being rather a good FPS. Then BUY IT.
Or just buy it because it’s a lot of fun and kicking people into cacti NEVER gets boring. Ever.
Pritchie101
Despite some comments, Bulletstorm is brilliant. It takes nothing seriously, and is just a fun game to play. The Skillshots are hilarious in a strange way, and can keep you playing for hours. The story is average length, but I got attached to this game. You get to know the characters, good and bad. The graphics are spectacular, especially the level where you climb the skyscraper. With a cliffhanger ending, I’m expecting a sequel. Day One for me!
For me, it’s a definite BUY IT!
shields_t
Sadly part of my “pile” so I can’t really comment. It has nice sellophane though, and a well printed cover.
I’ll take the verdict and make my choice about where to go after I’m done with Rage.
Mickey2010
Going to keep this short!
It’s insane it totally innovated the FPS genre with awesome weopons,laugh out loud diologue and it looks brilliant not so much the graphics but the colours it’s like an orgasm for you eyes!
retro_
Day 1 purchase for me, loved it, the last third of the story become a swearfest which made me laugh out loud as it was totally fitting. Buy It!