Bulletstorm strikes me as quite possibly the most supremely epic mannishly manly game for manly men. Released in February 2011, the seemingly non-traditional first-person shooter has enjoyed it fair share of commercial success and highly positive reviews despite having been heavily critiqued and scrutinized for containing 'inappropriate' content.
GRAYSON'S STORY
Bulletstorm is an outrageously goofy and violence riddled science-fiction 'epic' (sort of) set in the 26th century. The game primarily follows the story of black-ops operative turned space pirate, Grayson Hunt, and his rebel crew. Following an alcohol induced and ill-fated attempt at revenge against his former commanding officer, General Sarrano, Grayson ends up stranded on Stygia, a planet formerly colonized as an interstellar resort now overrun by mutants. With half of his standing crew lost to the aftermath of his drunken recklessness, Grayson embarks on a desperate search for a means to leave the forsake planet, all the while enduring the perils that Stygia has to offer.
Story wise, while Bulletstorm isn't exactly simplistic in nature, there isn't a whole lot of substance to be had beyond Grayson's journey and motivations. For the most part, the over-arching plot devices are pretty typical, predictable even at certain (if not most) junctures. On a slightly positive note, the story does occasionally shine with a handful of epic, surprising, deeply engaging and outrageously funny moments, especially so when accentuated by the personalities of Grayson's companions (the remote controlled dinosaur segment made me 'lol).
Given the seemingly light-hearted nature of the game, the shallowness of Bulletstorm's overall plot seems oddly appropriate. The games tells a story that is no-nonsense, no-frills and ultimately straightforward, not to mention violent. For all its one-dimensionality, it very aptly plays on notions of survival, vengeance and redemption, notions that anyone, gamer or not, can easily relate to.
NOT YOUR TRADITIONAL SHOOTER
Unlike most (if not all) leading titles in the genre out on the market today, Bulletstorm isn't exactly what one would strictly consider a traditional first-person shooter.
For starters, Bulletstorm is heavily and creatively stylized, so much so that the trend of realism in modern mainstream shooters doesn't quite apply to the fullest extent. For example, as a combatant, Grayson can soak in an astonishingly inhuman amount of futuristic lead, which, when coupled with the sheer destructive potential of Grayson's armory, renders tactical movement and cover somewhat of an afterthought. Suffice to say, taking into consideration the fact that your companions don't actually 'die', it takes quite a bit to fail at this game.
Grayson's armory definitely takes offensive and violent gameplay to the extreme. As the game progresses, players have the option to outfit Grayson with weapons spanning the likes of quadruple barrelled shotguns, sniper rifles that fire homing explosive rounds, portable launchers that fire cannonballs and explosive chain flails, not to mention his pair of physics defying gravity boots and energy leash. Very excessive, very violent, and all the more fun for players willing to temporarily suspend themselves in the action packed spirit of the game.
With all that in mind, it has to be said that Bulletstorm isn't a game that requires much in the way of deadly accuracy or situational/tactical awareness. Rather, for all its crudeness and violence, Bulletstorm is a shooter that encourages speed, wanton destruction, and more importantly, innovative killing methods, which brings us to the topic of Skillshots.
SKILLSHOTS
The skillshot mechanic is essentially Bulletstorm's primary selling feature and a key gameplay element that sets the game apart from its FPS compatriots. With each passing kill, Grayson chalks up skillpoints (SP). These skillpoints serve as in-game currency and may be used to purchase weapons, upgrades and ammunition from dropkits scattered across Stygia.
The number of skillpoints Grayson receives per kill is predominantly based on the method by which players take out their adversaries. To start with, a simple run-and-gun strategy will likely net players a measly 10 points per assault rifle kill. However, players will sow kills of exponentially higher skillpoint value should they creatively dispatch their enemies while adhering to certain conditions. Killing an enemy while intoxicated or by kicking an enemy into an electric fence for example nets 100 and 500 skillpoints respectively.
Skillshots add a great deal of dynamic and entertainment to Bulletstorm's already aggressive, fast-paced and combative gameplay. For the most part, skillshots are immeasurably fun to experiment and wrought destruction with, especially so at the expense of Grayson's many varied opponents. It is a mechanic that is very player dependent, visual and provides instant feedback. It is, in my opinion, a creatively clever mechanic that was designed to be undeniably necessary in order to succeed and yet extremely fun to work with.
On a slight downside, as players progress towards Bulletstorm's mid to end game, skillshots begin to lose their novelty as the game begins to increase in challenge, leaving little room for creative experimentation in favour of speed and efficiency, leading to repeated use of the same set of weapons and skillshots. Additionally, by mid to end game, skillpoint usage is somewhat limited as once players upgrade all aspects of their weapons, there isn't much else invest your 'hard-earned' currency in besides ammo-refills. In a sense, it may leave players thinking, 'Alright, it looks cool, but what's the point?'
GRAYSON AND COMPANY
Stygia's plethora of mutants notwithstanding, Bulletstorm features a handful of key plot characters that, at different storyline junctures, accompanies Grayson on his trek across the forsaken planetary resort.
Between the game's leading NPCs (Ishi, Trishka and Sarrano), I can't quite profess to distinctly liking one character over another (Trishka is pretty hot though). As a whole, the game's characters (GraysonMoreoever, not only do they provide a good measure of character contrast next to Grayson's gruff beer-chugging alpha male persona, they contribute a great deal to enhance Bulletstorm's storyline, which is in itself rather uninspiring.
On a related note, I personally found that given Bulletstorm's setting and overall, the NPCs' sarcastic comments and heated cussive exchanges, while not welcomed by some players, greatly add to the crude and gritty nature of the game and aptly depict the frustration and desperation of Grayson's immediate conundrum of surviving and escaping Stygia.
GRAPHICS
Where Bulletstorm strays from or lacks in photo-realism, it makes up for with stunningly beautiful landscapes and dystopian and futuristic architecture of epic scale and design. The game's art direction may be heavily stylized but generally well executed, boasting and distinctly contrasting color scheme (almost pseudo-cartoonish) and great attention to minute details, ambient lighting and 'special effects'.
If anything, for an over-the-top goofy, crude and excessively violent space adventure that doesn't take itself all too seriously, Bulletstorm's graphics are as photo-realistic as the game will allow it to be.
CONTROVERSY
As I've mentioned, Bulletstorm has been heavily scrutinized for featuring what some (or many) may deem as 'inappropriate' content, namely it's crude language, excessive depictions of violence and blatant use of sexual innuendo in its game mechanics (skillshot names).
From where I'm standing, I find no issue with Bulletstorm in those respects. I agree that the game pushes some boundaries with content that may seem intense or risqu to some, but taking Bulletstorm as an entire package experience into consideration, the overall vibe exuded by the game and its characters, while over-the-top, feels very aptly put together.
IN EPIC CONCLUSION
Bulletstorm provided me with a gaming experience that I've not had in a good long while. It intrigues me in the sense that while it was largely enjoyable, it is innately a pretty 'stupid' game, what with its never-ending stream of toilet humor and generally brash attitude. And yet, everything (well, most things) in the game's design seems to have been pretty well put together. In a manner of speaking, it's one of those games that encourages you to leave your brain at 'Startup' and further invites you to simply dive in and lose yourself in the sheer violence.
The story isn't too deep. It's straightforward and predictable enough to keep players on track with a clear goal in mind. Still, while I understand that as much as the game wishes to keep itself somewhat ironically light-hearted, the story still felt disappointingly typical. Very frankly, if it weren't for the performances by its supporting characters, Bulletstorm's story would have easily fallen flat.
Overall, gameplay was enjoyable, definitely engaging, but it was far from brilliant. As a whole, the game doesn't offer much in the way of precision of tactical 'challenge'. Instead, it simply offers a long string of action-packed combat encounters riddled with disappointingly low-AI enemies that, coupled with its skillshot system, is extremely good, sadistic fun to destructively stomp through. Towards Bulletstorm's end however, the process of killing does get rather monotonous, even with skillshots in hand, and doesn't quite invoke any sense of achievement by the game's conclusion (largely in part due to the anti-climactic closing to the story). De-sensitivity or bad content and pacing? I'd place fault on a little bit of both.
Before I wrap up, I made mention as well at the start of this review that this game struck me as extremely manly, and honestly, I say that for good reason. I mean, come on, the game is chock full references to alcohol, violence, guns; pretty much anything that is stereotypically 'male'. If anything, it pretty much adds to the goofy excess that is already so prevalent in this game. Go figure.
Now, if I were to sum Bulletstorm up, I'd describe it as a 'small dose of highly concentrated adrenaline'. I wouldn't place it anywhere close to a masterpiece, but it definitely struck me as undeniably epic, was an all-round memorable (and loony) gaming experience despite certain shortcomings and came across as a bit of a gaming paradox. Great stuff.
An article by Michael Lim Han Kwang (mikelhk), an avid gamer, reviewer, critic, enthusiast and aspiring game designer.
Check out the blog at http://mikeramblesaboutstuff.blogspot.com/.
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