In most first-person shooters, players are taught to kill in order to survive. With Bulletstorm, Epic Games and People Can Fly have shown that it is a whole lot more fun to kill with skill and to feel like an absolute badass.
As you play through the game, players will rack up points for their kills. Basic kills will net you about 10 points, but if you want to get creative and perform some of the game’s several skill shots, the points will be increased substantially. These points will be tracked and tallied through the game’s levels.
The ways to kill enemies in Bulletstorm are numerous. Each skill shot has its own title and can be performed by doing variations of kicking, shooting, sliding, using environments, and making use of weapon upgrades. Two of the main ways to get easy skill shots is through kicking opponents and lassoing them with your whip. Doing both will slow down time, allowing you to make more accurate and precise kills or be creative and expand upon your current skill shot.
Using the environment to your advantage will also earn you several point bonuses. Explosive mines can be tossed, lifted, and shot to create skill kills for single or groups of enemies. The game also has cactus-like plants that players can kick their foes into, impaling them on the spikes.
The weapons in Bulletstorm can be upgraded as you progress through the levels. This will allow your whip to create a burst of energy that will launch groups of enemies into the air. It will also give your machine gun the ability to fire 100 bullets in a single shot, which will render any enemy in its path to nothing but a skeleton. Players will also be able to purchase new weapons during the game, such as the Flail Gun. This gun launches two grenades that are tied together by a chain. The chain will wrap around objects and enemies and when the player pulls the trigger a second time, the grenades will detonate. This creates even more opportunities for improvised skill shots.
Another feature that is quite fun in the game is sliding. Whenever the ground at your feet is wet, players will be able to perform a slide that will not end so long as the ground you are sliding in is wet and you continue to hold down the slide button. This can allow for some excellent moments of slaughter.
Graphically the game looks very impressive. Character models are greatly detailed and the world has a wonderful artistic style. Character animations are also great, as enemies will squirm for their lives when chained up or twitch uncontrollably in their final moments when impaled.
For anyone who has always wanted to just run around and kick ass by killing hoards of enemies in creative, bloody, and often amusing fashion, Bulletstorm is definitely looking to be the game that will fill that void. Look for it when it releases February 22, 2011 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
