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Voice of the Last Fenix

A Weekend With Bulletstorm - First Impression.

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9 Comments
by
OmegaFenix
, 28-02-2011 at 08:55 AM (1539 Views)

For those of you who don't know during the lead up to the release of Epic & People Can Fly's Opera of Vulgarity & Violence we, here on the forum, had a bit of a debate about the title, here is a rundown: (Full thread here: Here are some Bulletstorm Reviews) I felt that a game as juvenile and pointless shouldn't be what we aim for in gaming, needless to say MANY disagreed with my feelings, saying that I am too serious and that Bulletstorm wasn't meant to be taken seriously, instead it should just be enjoyed for what it is, senseless, pointless violence that is fun.


Hearing the mass outcry that I was plainly and blatantly wrong made me consider, even if just for a few minutes, that I might be. So I decided the best way to prove that I am right was to get it, play it and the criticize it. So here is my first impression of Bulletstorm.

Campaign wise, though the plot is alot more fleshed out that I anticipated, simply does not reward. I am about, Im guess from the 6-8 hour expected time mentioned by multiple reviewers, that I am about 3 quarters of the way through possibly less, and while some of Grayson Hunt's dialog is genuinely funny I have lost interested in the main plot. The set piece aim to convey a sense of epic scale which it manages for the most part.

I have however fallen in love with Echo Mode, where you replay specific sections of the campaign with the aim of getting the highest score. I never thought myself a score junkie until I tried Echo Mode and saw myself 2nd on my local leaderboard. With a few hours of play and replay I am now sitting atop the leaderboard, though not for long I hope as this would destroy any motivation to keep scoring.

While echo modes scoring does draw me in there are a few design issues that I must confess bring the experience down significantly. The way the weapons are unlocked in the campaign makes sense, you don't want the played to have a superpowered weapon the moment the game starts but in Echo Mode, where the focus is on reply why not make it that players could experiment with different weapons, instead you are stuck with the weapons that where available in that specific section during the campaign. If this was done in favor of balance or to give everyone a fair chance, which makes sense, why not use the stars you earn as a currency that unlocks weapons for use in any Echo Mode Map. That way everyone would start out equal and when enough stars have been earned you can unlock a specific weapon for use in any map. As it stands the score and stars have no real value outside of the leaderboards and some bragging rights to your friends.

I have not played the Anarchy Multiplayer mode so can not as yet comment on that.

Once I have finished the main campaign I will post a full review of it.

To be Continued...
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  1. Tank's Avatar
    hrmm....

    sounds like it'll be a better use of my time to just re-install Painkiller and play that instead...
  2. Sou1Co11ector's Avatar
    I'm all for senseless violence in games, it's what makes the world go round and stops me from committing acts of senseless violence against whomever is pissing me off today.

    But I do get where you're coming from. I have played games for 19 years and I have sadly seen the decline of games over the past 2 decades. Remember when you actually had to think when you played a game and not just point and click... Actually most games back then were either DOS-based or early windows based and point and click was the method of the day.

    But you actually had to think of what you were doing. Not just aim and click.

    Sure there were certain exceptions, but most games have been dumbed down and made to a cookie-cutter mold, i.e. Call of Duty, Need for Speed, etc. Yes, they are the same game you been playing for years, just a different name, stop buying it and play COD4 and Most Wanted, you don't need the new one...
  3. OmegaFenix's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Sou1Co11ector
    I'm all for senseless violence in games, it's what makes the world go round and stops me from committing acts of senseless violence against whomever is pissing me off today.

    But I do get where you're coming from. I have played games for 19 years and I have sadly seen the decline of games over the past 2 decades. Remember when you actually had to think when you played a game and not just point and click... Actually most games back then were either DOS-based or early windows based and point and click was the method of the day.

    But you actually had to think of what you were doing. Not just aim and click.

    Sure there were certain exceptions, but most games have been dumbed down and made to a cookie-cutter mold, i.e. Call of Duty, Need for Speed, etc. Yes, they are the same game you been playing for years, just a different name, stop buying it and play COD4 and Most Wanted, you don't need the new one...
    I need to disagree with you, we do need a new one, if all we did is play games from 10 or so years ago the industry would die. This industry is a business and like all businesses its here to make money, obscene amounts of money. So yes there are alot of Call of Duties and Need For Speeds etc but there are also some great games. Heavy Rain, God of War, Demon's Souls, Enslaved the list goes on. But titles that break the mold aren't always well received, mostly because people are by design creatures of habit. So don't blame the devs, blame the gamers who pick up a copy of the latest Call of Duty over something like Homefront or Heavy Rain. Blame the gamers who are so stuck in their gaming comfort zone.

    BulletStorms Plot maybe be low-brow but its mechanics are not, real skill and creative thinking is required to pull of skill shots, especially in the campaign as Skill Points is the currency with which you buy ammo, upgrade your weapons.

    Games like Bulletstorm, I'll be the first to say, damages the industries image with the general public. From its marketing campaign down to its very core design, the sexually named skill shots, the vulgarity of the character, it all declares to the world "We are a bunch of children, don't take us seriously." And this is sad as like I said the gameplay side of it is actually pretty good, sure it wouldn't work in every shooter but it does give the player a certain freedom, like the freeform fighting mechanic in Prince of Persia Warrior Within.
  4. Duke Dude's Avatar
    So would you recommend this?

    I must say that I have the exact same opinion you had before you bought the game. I am put off by the fact that the game aims for (I might be mistaken) the lowest (Morally) demographic of gamers out there, hence the vulgar kill shot names and immature script. To me it also looks like the story is not existent/forgettable and the MP (Based on the reviews) is busted, buggy and broken. Now I'm not saying that all games need to have puzzles and an awesome script like Uncharted, but maybe a little bit of intelligence would be nice? But then again I've only played the demo.
  5. OmegaFenix's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Duke Dude
    So would you recommend this?

    I must say that I have the exact same opinion you had before you bought the game. I am put off by the fact that the game aims for (I might be mistaken) the lowest (Morally) demographic of gamers out there, hence the vulgar kill shot names and immature script. To me it also looks like the story is not existent/forgettable and the MP (Based on the reviews) is busted, buggy and broken. Now I'm not saying that all games need to have puzzles and an awesome script like Uncharted, but maybe a little bit of intelligence would be nice? But then again I've only played the demo.
    Its a hard call, it depends entirely on what kind of gamer you are. Yes there is always opening for simple fun, no strings but it shouldn't become a core mechanic.

    Having not played the MP I dunno if its broken, the best "survival mode" I've ever played was in a Halo game with Bungie's OCD perfection but Epic did bring us Horde mode, which I haven't played, so its can't be all bad.

    Honestly if you are not sold by the OTT action wait for pre-played, its still fun but full price might be a bit of a stretch.

    There is an episode of Extra Credits that deals with this exact thing, though it doesn't call Bulletstorm as an example, you should check it out. - http://www.escapistmagazine.com/vide...o-EA-Marketing
  6. Duke Dude's Avatar
    Thanks mate, I checking it out now!

    The only brainless game I ever played and liked was Serious Sam (It even had a story ) . Bulletstorm reminds me of it but I don't wanna spend R600 on a game that isn't like it, or it just plain kak.

    Is it similar to Serious Sam?
  7. OmegaFenix's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Duke Dude
    Thanks mate, I checking it out now!

    The only brainless game I ever played and liked was Serious Sam (It even had a story ) . Bulletstorm reminds me of it but I don't wanna spend R600 on a game that isn't like it, or it just plain kak.

    Is it similar to Serious Sam?
    Serious Sam is more a Duke Nukem clone. Bulletstorm, while it has comedy in it, its not a parody its just over the top. So no, i don't think it's like Serious Sam
  8. Duke Dude's Avatar
    Shot thanks! I think I'm going to give this one a miss, and maybe get it on discount somewhere.
  9. Sou1Co11ector's Avatar
    I used to buy 3 to 5 games a month on PC and Xbox360, but games have started to get repetitive for me. If you've played games for more than 10 years or so you start yearning for something original and something that will get you hooked on it.

    I always played FPS games and neglected many other games in the past, but then moved on to a fad where I favoured RTS games. Then back in the day there was games like Sam and Max, Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, Police Quest, Kings Quest, Quest for Glory, etc great games and extremely fun to play.

    I loved the simplicity of the games as well as their well thought out humour and problem solving, many games today lack problem solving. The most awesome game I ever played will have to be Portal, short sweet, puzzles and epic fun with the best ending ever!

    I can understand the need for gamers to keep playing something they love, like COD, I used to play it a lot as well, but left it behind because the multiplayer scene got to annoying for me. You spawn, then someone shoots you from across the map with a rifle through 3 walls without even seeing you..? That's bull!

    I want more games with puzzles, use of physics in a more creative way than just more realistic rag-dolls or buildings falling down.

    Don't get me wrong there are good games coming out every year, but here's the thing, how many of them am I actually going to spend my money on if I have the money for them?

    Top of my list for this year is TES: Skyrim, Guild Wars 2 (HOPEFULLY), Dungeon Siege 3, Crysis 2 (Just so I can weep because I will need to upgrade my PC), Duke Nukem For(N)ever and Gears of War 3... They will hopefully get my money, but the rest, not sure.