Writing about Bulletstorm is a surprisingly difficult task for such a direct game. It’s pretty much exactly what the ads, promotional videos and demos suggested it would be – a hyper-violent, blood-drenched, vulgarity-filled sprint through a destroyed resort on a planet rendered uninhabitable by solar radiation. The plot? Getting even with a former commanding officer. And by getting even, the game means hunting him down and trying to kill him in as spectacularly creative a manner as the player can imagine. And shooting just about everything else that happens to cross the player’s path. Or kicking it. Or blowing it up. Or drilling it.

Yes, drilling it.

Wait … were you under the impression that Bulletstorm was a game of subtlety and nuance?

Bulletstorm is not a subtle game. Bulletstorm doesn’t know the word nuance exists, much less the meaning of it.

Bulletstorm is a game in which players use an impulse-controlled leash to grab enemies and pull them close or toss them in the air (which, if you plan on using enemies like clay pigeons – and really, you should plan on that – is a pretty valuable feature). Once you pull them close, you should kick them in the face and then shoot them. Or fire a flare at them and set them on fire, then head shot them with your carbine. Or wrap explosive charm bracelets around them. Or kick them off the edge of a cliff. Or devise some other, equally inventive (and gruesome) fate to help these freaks take their leave of this mortal coil. Or pause the game to see what skillshots remain and which ones you can check off your list with the equipment you have on hand.

And really, that’s the game. Repeated for 15-20 hours or so, depending on how much the player wanders and explores.

Seems simple, right?

It isn’t.

Bulletstorm may not be subtle, but it offers an unseen degree of complexity which makes the over-the-top violence challenging – it isn’t just sowing mayhem by emptying clips, reloading and emptying the clip again, it’s sowing mayhem by emptying clips with style. We’re talking about the difference between Sammy Hagar – whose music is well-crafted and enjoyable – and David Lee Roth, who wears pants that don’t cover his backside while he dances with girls in bikinis and fireworks go off.

The key mechanic in the game is the skillshot, the game’s term for dispatching an enemy in a certain way. As a very basic example, a head shot, something every first-person shooter player is familiar with, is one type of skillshot, and a basic, elementary one. In fact, it’s one of well over 100, and that’s just in the single-player campaign. The cooperative multiplayer mode adds more skillshots which are unique to each level. Skillshots give points which allow players to purchase weapons, upgrades and ammunition. Performing a variety of skillshots with an assortment of weapons will help players gain points – and upgrades – more quickly.

Skillshots depend on a player’s equipment and most skillshots seem to be restricted by weapon (head shots are one skillshot which appears to be available across several weapons). Skillshots are further classified by the type of ammunition used, as well as how the player interacted with the enemy before their frequently bloody demise. Did the player, for example, wrap a flail gun round around a mutant before kicking them off a ledge? Did the player use their leash to toss multiple enemies in the air, then fire a charged shotgun round at them? Was the player drunk or recovering from being gassed by spores at the time? Had the enemy been gassed with spores or had a parasite kicked at their head? Did the player happen to shoot the enemy in their bathing suit area(s)?

And once you start thinking about these things, you’re probably already hooked on the sheer, unadulterated, hilariously excessive violence that Bulletstorm offers.

Make absolutely no mistakes – Bulletstorm carries an M rating for a reason. The absurdly and endlessly inventive combinations of swear words in the dialogue actually taught me a few new insults (comics scribe Rick Remender, known for Fear Agent and The Punisher, really outdid himself here). The violence, while taken to such an extreme that it becomes little more than a cartoon, is still significantly more graphic than games such as Call Of Duty. This is not a game for people who object to foul language or ultra-violence (and Bulletstorm really does require using terms like that to explain how insanely bloody it really is). Even the skillshot names are frequently offensive.

But that is also part of the joy of this game, and make no mistake – Bulletstorm is a joy to play. It’s absolutely unrepentant. It shows players what it is and never apologizes. It does what it says and it says what it does. Much like “Snakes On A Plane,” people know where they stand immediately and, also like that movie, the game often feels like it was developed by some kids who decided to see what they could get away with only to find out they could get away with everything. Almost the entire game leaves players laughing from profanity, cartoonish violence and the sheer absurdity of it all.

Furthermore, there’s a moment in this game when a player has an opportunity to take control of a robotic ally that is already one of the very best and most enjoyable gaming moments in 2011, and likely to wind up as one of the best moments in any game slated for release this year. I can’t say more without spoiling the surprise, but – to put it in technical, game design terms – it’s totally freaking sweet.

The recommended purchase price varies based on a player’s tolerance for first-person shooters – Bulletstorm is essentially a one-trick pony, but it’s a really enjoyable trick which is a lot of fun. It features a relatively linear single-player campaign, while the Echoes mode treats levels from the campaign like an arcade game and encourages people to beat each other’s high scores. The Anarchy mode allows up to four players to attack maps in cooperative play, which introduces the idea of team-based skillshots like Tug Of War (one of the more politely-named team skillshots).



Accessibility Issues / Concerns

NOTE: A demo is available, and players should try it before purchasing the game to ensure that Bulletstorm is accessible for them.

Here’s the surprising news – for a first-person shooter, particularly one relying on a game mechanic which encourages players to dispatch enemies in increasingly creative and complex ways – Bulletstorm is reasonably accessible.

First, Bulletstorm provides lots of on-screen help – which buttons to push, which triggers to pull and so on. The tutorial introduces players to the controls, but the tutorial is embedded as part of the game, so players are making progress as they learn how to move and use their gear.

While it is a first-person shooter and it requires some amount of precision, Bulletstorm offers aim assistance and target lock. While some skillshots require using a weapon and hitting a specific body part, many have simpler requirements, like tossing an enemy in the air and shooting them with a flare, or kicking them into a certain object. In addition, it seems possible to complete the game without using higher-level or more complex skillshots.

Using the leash and kicking most enemies causes them to move in slow motion, giving players with precision concerns a very convenient way to target enemies, particularly when using the Thumper, a leash function which throws nearby enemies into the air. Burnouts are not slowed by leashing or kicking, but throwing them into the air with the Thumper will slow them down. Mini-bosses can be more challenging due to their strength and the damage they do, especially one particular type of mini-boss which can only be damaged after the player destroys its backpack, which can be difficult. Mini-bosses are also vulnerable to Thumper attacks, which stun them.

Gamers with precision concerns should also be relieved to know that it doesn’t seem possible to run off the edge of a cliff or inadvertently fall to your character’s death. Sniper rifles may present a challenge because players control the path of the bullet and can steer it toward the target, which is often diving for cover. There is at least one moment that is pure button mashing (i.e. repetitively pressing a button as quickly as possible). Some other elements of game play such as climbing or strafing from a helicopter may also feel a bit like button mashing. Finally, some events in the game are timed – getting away from an explosive device, trying to escape a collapsing building and so on. Generally, if the player doesn’t succeed, the timed challenge just starts over with no real backtracking.

Gamers with use of only one hand will experience greater difficulties. Using alternate control and button schemes, gamers can assign movement and shooting to either the left side or right side of the controller, but will still need to use the A / B / X / Y buttons. Some points in the game require the player to alternate pulling the left and right trigger to emulate climbing hand over hand. Completing these trigger pulls quickly yields points for upgrades but players – at least on easier levels – are not penalized for taking more time.

Quick time events often involve similar actions – at certain points in the game, players are instructed to pull the left trigger to zoom in on what’s happening. Pulling the trigger quickly can yield a substantial amount of points but, again, players are not penalized for not pulling the trigger.

Subtitles appear to be enabled by default, and can be turned on before beginning the single-player campaign. While they aren’t letterboxed, they use a sans serif font for maximum legibility and readability and it’s a reasonable size. Bulletstorm doesn’t seem to use audio cues. Deaf players shouldn’t experience any noteworthy issues.

Players with a form of color blindness should know that as a player is getting close to dying, the edges of the screen begin to turn red, which is a fairly common mechanic, especially in first-person shooter games. On-screen messages instruct players to take cover, providing an additional form of accommodation.

Finally, Bulletstorm uses a checkpoint save system, consistent with many other first-person shooters. It can be difficult to see the on-screen save indicator, so players may not know exactly when the game last saved. However, checkpoints seem to be fairly frequent and almost always seem to occur before a boss fight or major event.

Suggested scores:
Mobility: 4
Visual: 7
Hearing: 10


At A Glance

Precision: Recommend rating of 5 out of 10.
Gamers will need precision to make skillshots. While making skillshots yields point bonuses which in turn enable faster upgrades to weapons and equipment, it should be possible to finish Bulletstorm without using more complicated skillshots, although that will result in a slower upgrade path.

Deaf Gamers: Recommend rating of 10 out of 10.
Bulletstorm does not seem to use audio cues and uses on-screen text to indicate when an event is occurring. While subtitles are not letterboxed, they are in a reasonably sized sans serif font for maximum legibility and readability and appear to be enabled by default. Players can also turn them on before beginning the single-player campaign.

One-handed: Recommend rating of 1 out of 10.
Gamers with use of one hand will likely experience challenges with Bulletstorm. It is possible to use the limited number of stick and button layouts to assign movement and shooting to the right or left side of the controller, but the A / B / X / Y buttons and both triggers will still be used throughout the game.

Subtitled: Recommend rating of 10 out of 10.
Subtitles are not letterboxed but are in a reasonably sized sans serif font for maximum legibility and readability and appear to be enabled by default. Players can also turn them on before beginning the single-player campaign.

Color Blind: Recommend rating of 7 out of 10.
Consistent with many FPS games, the edges of the screen turn red as the player takes damage. Bulletstorm also displays on-screen warnings to take cover if a player is close to death.

Checkpoint / Save System: Recommend rating of 7 out of 10.
Bulletstorm uses a checkpoint system. The checkpoints generally seem to be close together.