bulletstorm

Bulletstorm Review

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Toting an electric whip, a mean “Sparta” kick, and a potty mouth that would make Howard Stern blush, style is the name of the game in Bulletstorm. Taking heavy cues from Devil May Cry, you’re constantly encouraged, and rewarded for creatively dispatching your foes. In one minute, you could be lassoing enemies towards you, kicking them in the air, and shooting them in slow motion as they fly away. In the next, you could be steering sniper bullets around obstacles to hit enemies in the butt – a 50-point feat that the game aptly calls “Rear Entry”.

Though style is at the forefront of the experience, there’s more to Bulletstorm than its overboard machismo. In fact, it’s this excess swagger that’s gotten everyone in this mess in the first place.

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Check Out My “Cure for the Summertime Blues” Now on Splitkick

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It has been a slow summer for new releases. Instead of twiddling my thumbs, waiting for Borderlands 2 to ruin my life, I’ve been playing a bunch of backlog titles. Though some of these have been duds, I’ve played some awesome titles that I would have missed if I was jumping from one hot new release to the next.

In my latest Splitkick article, I highlight a few of these bright spots I’ve come across, such as Bullestorm, Trine 2, and Asura’s Wrath. If you’re interested in learning more about these titles, how I’m working through these slow summer months, or want to discuss how you’re spending your summer gaming time, head over to Splitkick!

Check out “Cure for the Summertime Blues” on Splitkick.com!

Bulletstorm and the Economics of the Single Player First-Person Shooter

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A few days ago, I picked up Bulletstorm. It’s clear that the developers behind it really wanted to push the bounds of what a first-person shooter could be. Everything from the weapons, to the level designs, and the enemies themselves, have been tuned for you to pull off fancy juggle combos, and kills that would make Devil May Cry jealous. However, it’s also clear that their single player innovations don’t work within the context of traditional multiplayer deathmatch. Instead, the game offers its own version of horde mode that feels like a throwaway mode meant to to meet check multiplayer off as a feature on the back of the box.

Though the game was a critical hit, the it didn’t live up to sales expectations, and its sequel was shelved. Did Bulletstorm fail as a commercial product because of it’s de-emphasis on multiplayer?

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