Graphics, humorous battle sequences make up for game’s lacking storyline
The environments of “Bulletstorm” are rich with color, its vistas lined with beaches and alien flora washed in warm sunsets. Its world resembles a tropical resort more than a battleground. And appropriately so, because amid the plethora of generic military shooters that currently flood the video game market, “Bulletstorm” is a refreshing oasis of unadulterated, idiotic and violent fun. Unlike the competition, it hasn’t a care in the world.
“Bulletstorm” is essentially a game whose sole purpose is an achievement system and the inane, but frighteningly satisfying, sense of reward that comes with assigning a numerical value to everything. With the game’s list of creative kills (dubbed “Skillshots”), players are encouraged to think outside the box to pull off stylish combo kills. The points earned for completing various acts of comically grisly carnage can then be used to buy more weapons, ammo or upgrades. And then the cycle repeats itself. Everything from kicking enemies into impalement on gigantic cacti to firing rounds into their backsides is encouraged and accounted for.
While the list of Skillshots at first feels contrived and somewhat arbitrary, as the game progresses and more options open up, the system starts to feel strangely natural. What at first is a list of humorously titled mechanics later becomes a sandbox of ideas to draw murderous inspiration from. By the game’s end, wrapping a grenade flail around an enemy’s head and kicking him into a crowd of mutants will feel as second nature as squeezing off a headshot in any other shooter.
The game is, in many ways, a parody. It ironically revels in all the ridiculous machismo and homo-erotic undertones that run through all games about squads of bald space troopers. The dialogue is hilariously filthy and over-the-top, with profanity that defies explanation (and unfortunately, cannot be printed here). Every sentence is snide and self-aware, but it is still difficult not to laugh in disbelief at what is coming out of the character’s mouths.
As far as the tech, game developer People Can Fly is able to create some truly impressive visuals out of the Unreal Engine. “Bulletstorm” has dozens of massive backdrops that seem to whirl by all too quickly given the dizzying rate at which the player is able to sprint, slide and bulldoze through everything. The game also features a few unique set pieces, such as walking down the side of a skyscraper or using a mechanized Godzilla armed with chain guns to mow down dozens of enemies. It’s all lunacy, but it fits right in amidst the immature chaos that is “Bulletstorm.”
The game isn’t without flaws though. There are times when the story (already inconsequential to the game) suddenly and awkwardly takes on a semi-serious tone, which feels very out of place. Late in the game, the blistering pace begins to drag and the drama starts to rely heavily on quick-time events. But these are all minor gripes. For the most part, the game knows what it wants to be and achieves it.
“Bulletstorm” harkens back to the days of “Duke Nukem” and “Serious Sam,” when shooters were all about big, dumb fun and nothing more. The developers clearly have some nostalgia for this bygone age, but that doesn’t make the game’s design feel archaic. Quite the contrary — it feels fresh and wholly its own. And though “Bulletstorm” may be one of the dumbest games ever made, that doesn’t stop it from being an absolute blast to play.