Bulletstorm - Xbox 360

Instead of reviewing this game on the simple story, sound, graphics, gameplay criteria I will instead review this game based on what it's advertised as being. I find that to be a more realistic scale than comparing every game to each other. Instead I'll just tell you what Bulletstorm delivers from what it promises. The quoted statements below will be comments Epic Games put out to advertise why people should buy Bulletstorm."Incredible New "Skillshot" System - Combine outrageous gunplay with Bullet storm's unique kick, slide and leash mechanics as you kill with skill. Every enemy presents a new opportunity for stylish, over-the-top and ever increasingly bloody ways to take them down."10/10 The skillshot system is everything promised in the advertising and more. It is fun, it encourages fun strategy and is awesome to watch. Basically what this is is when you kill an enemy in a creative way you get more skill points to use for buying guns, ammo, upgrades, and buying new guns. So as you play you find that kicking an enemy into a giant cactus, throwing them off a cliff, or shooting them in the butt is much more cost effective than playing this like a standard FPS and just shooting from cover. Bulletstorm is also kind enough to have a data chart showing you which attack you have done and which ones you haven't so you can focus on new ones. It works wonderfully at encouraging players to develop new playing styles and experiment with new strategies, where so many other FPS's discourage creative play and boil down to hoarding ammo and shooting from cover or running and shooting. That won't work in Bulletstorm since if you play like that you'll get less ammo, and less upgrades, and the game really will be less fun since the skillshots really are quite impressive to look at."The Circle of Awesome - Kill with skill to rack up the points. Cash in these points for upgrades. Use these upgrades to pull off even bigger and better "skillshots" and earn even more points. Bulletstorm's upgrade system truly is a circle of awesome that rewards players who kill in the most creative ways."10/10 My comments on this are the exact same as for the skillshot system. You upgrade your weapons by activating dropkits and spending skill point you get from creative killshots to get better stuff. The two systems complement each other beautifully and it really is hard to come up with such a good system to promote gameplay, the right amount of fun and incentive to make the system work."Badass Weaponry - From your trusty Peace Maker Carbine to the explosive Flail Gun, Bulletstorm delivers an arsenal of the most inventive, death-dealing weapons ever seen that truly put the fun back into the First Person Shooter."7/10 LIES! Lies, slander and blood libel! Not really but they are stretching truth to the breaking point, the weapons are very generic and standard FPS weapons any FPS player should immediately recognize. They have specific names but they're irrelevant, despite their names what the weapons really are, are a machine gun, a pistol, a shotgun, a sniper rifle, a grenade launcher, and one weapon that I didn't unlock. In the game you also get temporary weapons like miniguns. Each weapon has an upgrade which all boil down to a secondary fire/explosion based attack, and while they're really cool looking and good for gameplay purposes Epic games is lying straight to your face when they say their weapons are "the most inventive" they're not. The only reason I didn't make this 5/10 is because one weapon the electric whip you get very early is awesome and inventive and makes some parts of the game hilarious and fun and is in fact "death-dealing" as the advertisements claim. So to recap the weapons are not in any way inventive, but they are fun and deadly, and the whip is new and inventive and the guided sniper rifle set up might be new to some players, but not likely."A Pulp Sci-fi Adventure - Featuring a script by the acclaimed Marvel Comics writer Rick Remender (The Punisher), Bulletstorm takes you on a journey filled with plot twists and turns from betrayal to revenge and ultimately redemption."7/10 This was kind of hard to judge, the story wasn't great by any means, but Epic games came right out and said it's a pulp sci-fi adventure so we know no realism or unique plot devices are going to be in the game. Which is good, this is what us players want; we want game developers to be honest about what they're selling instead of hyping up their product when it doesn't warrant it. The story does require suspension of disbelief, if you're going to sit there and question how humans could mutate into monsters or how a giant metal wheel could stay on a dilapidated train track in the desert than this won't be enjoyable for you. The plot does have twists and turn but all of them are very simple and many of you will subconsciously or consciously know what's coming before it happens. That being said though the story isn't boring, it's easy to follow and does give satisfying explanation on who Grayson Hunt is and surprisingly the game does pose some interesting moral questions. For example is Grayson as bad as the person he seeks revenge against for the people he's killed; this is the first FPS I've played where the main character is called out as a hypocrite for killing soldiers who were following their orders while at the same seeing himself as superior to the antagonist who kills innocents to achieve their own ends, who actually killed less people. You won't get that in most plot driven games, seeing it in Bulletstorm was impressive. Grayson's status as a hero, anti-hero, or just a person is completely open to interpretation from the player. The only major flaw with the games story was the ham fisted way they made it so they could set it up for a sequel. The plot had no resolution and both our antagonist and protagonist are in the exact same position as when the game starts. Because of that I can only give Bullestorms plot a 7/10, if the ending had been better I would have given it an 8 or 9 just because I support the game makers choice to be honest about the quality of the story line, but they ruined it by going for a cheap cliffhanger ending that can only be resolves through a sequel."A Dangerous Planet of Forgotten Paradise - Travel from scorched desserts to tropical forests and an adult playground resort on a beautifully realized paradise defiled, delivered by the power of the Unreal Engine."10/10 This one was easy, the graphics are incredible, the environment is great, the levels aren't too repetitive and it was enjoyable to travel through Bulletstorm. If all you want is good graphics and fun gameplay just read this and buy it. For the rest know that Bulletstorm goes through a decaying planet inhabited by feral humans and mutants constantly warring for food and you have to make it through the large decaying city through the various gangs and monsters in sewers, dams, city streets, disco balls, a horizontally collapsed skyscraper. The game graphics are good, they are bright, colorful, flashy, and are a nice change of pace from the dark grays, whites, and browns so common in most FPS's.In total Bulletstorm has great graphics, awesome skillpoint system and is really fun to play. The story is nothing special and the ending isn't good and the weapons are not unique, but that doesn't take away from Bulletstorm as much as I make it sound. It's a very high quality shooter, with great graphics, and creative game mechanics and honest advertising that should be rewarded over other games that keep releasing the same game over again with new maps and weapons and different characters. Bulletstorm brings something new, it's fun, and that's all I ask for. If you have any questions I'll respond to them in the comments section.

Bulletstorm is a loud, vulgar title that is over the top in almost every way imaginable. Ever wanted to kick a man into a giant cactus? What about shooting a man with a missile and watching him fly through the air only to explode into a shower of meat? If you said yes to either of those things, then this game is for you!This game is absolutely gorgeous, the backdrops and settings are often breathtaking. The voice acting is superb, and the soundtrack is one that is fit for adventure. The gameplay feels refined, and its biggest selling point is something called the leash and its Skillshot system. Your character can use this leash to pull enemies towards him and put them into a state of slow motion, which allows you to do everything from simply kicking them into a deadly part of your environment to simply shooting his head. The Skillshot system is measured in points which you get from killing enemies in a spectacular fashion; the more intricate the kill, the more points you get, the more points you get, the more upgrades you can buy for your weapons.The game also includes timed trials in which you must obtain the most points in the shortest possible time, and a multiplayer component. The multiplayer pits you and up to three others in an arena in which you must kill mutants in ways that allow your team to get enough points to move on to the next round. The multiplayer emphasizes teamwork by setting up random challenges in which two people must work together to complete. As an example, two people must leash an enemy at the same time so he is torn apart; bonus points are awarded for doing so. To complete the higher level rounds, teamwork is an absolute necessity and communication is key, otherwise you might find yourself replaying a round for hours end. The only problem with the multiplayer is that it doesn't have much to offer; you can customize the looks of your character or guns as you progress in rank, but there aren't any incentives to go back otherwise.Overall, Bulletstorm is a game that is well worth the money if you want something completely over the top and different from other first person shooters.