Bullet Storm, An overall ..meh

[Kopikatsu]

What I'm surprised about is everyone giving complaints about the point system, honestly, it's not about "having the highest points" it just seems to be about killing as many dudes as possible in fun ways. I haven't played the game yet, so I might not know fully why people are complaining about it, but come on? Does a toll booth stop you at each level and say you need a certain amount of points to proceed? Just kill people, have fun with it, if you can lasso a guy, plant a grenade on him, kick him, shoot him in the ass and then watch him explode into a thousand gibs, would you really be more worried over whether you got enough points?

I'm not trying to offend anyone, but scores are just like achievements, you don't need to have the highest amount possible, and it would probably make the game feel less fun if you spend more time hunting down every achievement you can instead of just playing it.

Actually...yes. You do need a certain amount of points to proceed in most of the game modes. In the single player, you STILL need a certain amount of points to proceed because you use points to buy guns and ammo. If you don't sit there and figure out how to ream every single enemy in the level for maximum points, then you'll burn through ammo faster than you get the points to buy that ammo back.

That would be my main issue with Bulletstorm. The skill point system makes brutalizing legions of baddies into...a chore.

 

[Faladorian]

This is not surprising. since the demo was horrible.

The demo to Half Life 2 was terrible, and that was a good game.

The demo to Dragon Age II was pretty shitty, but I've yet to see BioWare make a game I didn't love.

Demos really don't tell you much. I don't base my opinions on them... ever.


With that said, I'm considering buying this game for the one reason of spiting the retarded clowns over at Fox. A game being ripped apart of Fox News is actually good publicity.

 

[RowdyRodimus]

I'm really not trying to troll here since this is an honest question from an outsider (aka, not a FPS player) but what can a FPS do that hasn't been done? Other than the guns, settings and enemy types aren't they pretty much the same no matter if it's a WWII or Sci-fi FPS? I mean really, what did you expect to be different this time? (That last question was a real question and not a "Duh, what'd you expect, dumbass" type statement. Sometimes that type of question is read wrong when typed. Like I said, not trolling just curious.)

Singularity brought some new stuff to the table. Being able to age or revert enemies and objects with interesting enemies and weapons was a joy. Unfortunately the MP was a disaster (not because it wasn't interesting but because it suffered from severe technical issues). Unfortunately because it didn't have COD or Halo in the title it was overlooked.

Bulletstorm is a solid rental game from the SP side (I haven't touched the MP yet). I am actually digging the story but it pisses me off. The story is the one big problem with it so far. It ties you too at least 2 AI partners who will steal your kills. And for a game like this that is the last thing that should happen. That and you can only kill a guy by sticking him to a cactus or other pointy object so many times before it gets old. And the sniping is the cheapest thing I have ever seen. The bullets slow down and the enemies will try and dodge it every time like they are NEO. You on the other hand get no such option when you are on the wrong end of the barrel.

Thanks, like I said I wasn't trolling it's just that as someone who doesn't play FPS but see lots of people saying they want innovation in them I was just curious as to how innovative they can be. Sort of like when I complain about the new WWE or TNA (if they ever release a new one) game and people who don't keep up with wrestling think that it's just a new roster every year. To someone who doesn't play FPS they just look like the same game with a palette swap for guns and enemies.

 

[squid5580]

I'm really not trying to troll here since this is an honest question from an outsider (aka, not a FPS player) but what can a FPS do that hasn't been done? Other than the guns, settings and enemy types aren't they pretty much the same no matter if it's a WWII or Sci-fi FPS? I mean really, what did you expect to be different this time? (That last question was a real question and not a "Duh, what'd you expect, dumbass" type statement. Sometimes that type of question is read wrong when typed. Like I said, not trolling just curious.)

Singularity brought some new stuff to the table. Being able to age or revert enemies and objects with interesting enemies and weapons was a joy. Unfortunately the MP was a disaster (not because it wasn't interesting but because it suffered from severe technical issues). Unfortunately because it didn't have COD or Halo in the title it was overlooked.

Bulletstorm is a solid rental game from the SP side (I haven't touched the MP yet). I am actually digging the story but it pisses me off. The story is the one big problem with it so far. It ties you too at least 2 AI partners who will steal your kills. And for a game like this that is the last thing that should happen. That and you can only kill a guy by sticking him to a cactus or other pointy object so many times before it gets old. And the sniping is the cheapest thing I have ever seen. The bullets slow down and the enemies will try and dodge it every time like they are NEO. You on the other hand get no such option when you are on the wrong end of the barrel.

Thanks, like I said I wasn't trolling it's just that as someone who doesn't play FPS but see lots of people saying they want innovation in them I was just curious as to how innovative they can be. Sort of like when I complain about the new WWE or TNA (if they ever release a new one) game and people who don't keep up with wrestling think that it's just a new roster every year. To someone who doesn't play FPS they just look like the same game with a palette swap for guns and enemies.

I know exactly what you mean. I used to never play them either (I was a rpg gamer). And I thought the same thing. Some of them are surprising on how unique they can be though. Sure the word gimmick gets used alot (like bullet time is just a gimmick) but when used properly by the developers it adds alot of depth to them. I don't care for COD or Halo personally but games like FEAR and Singularity and even Bulletstorm that add something more than just shooting guys in the face are quite fun and unique. Since you need those powers for puzzle solving as well as killing people.

 

[Joshica Huracane]

I played the demo for this recently, and was looking forward to picking up the full game soon. Just don't have the money yet. But what I like about the game (that I've played/seen so far) is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, and the guns are pretty awesome. Reminds me of an insomniac game almost.

 

[The3rdEye]

Sorry if im a tad high-speed...Its "kill with skill" amounts to nothing more than a check list of "ok now i have to line this guy up like this .. and shoot that.." ...laundry list... im surprised how many scenes it nearly deliberately rips off from it

I'm sorry, but ragging on an FPS for being "same-y" or repetitive is sort of like saying "Hey, this ice is wet! That's water's thing, ice shouldn't be wet!" To go further, patting yourself on the back and then grading a game based on your own expectations of gameplay rather than what is executed kind of opens the door for things like;
- "You're not highspeed, short of RPGs and their ilk many games can be finished in one sitting... if that's all you need to do today"
- "Calling the "Skillshot" system a pause and check affair is rather redundant. You can make the same argument for CoD:BO and it's perk system (I'm sure it's prevalent in other games, but Colon of Distention: Bowel Odor is the only other FPS I play atm). Really, short of the Hardened Pro perk why the hell would you shoot an aircraft with bullets when you have rockets?"
- "Nearly deliberately... is that anything like Mostly dead?"
- "You're right the ending is kinda... wait... Mjolnir-clad avatar? And you're saying that having a poor/sequel ridden ending makes a game worthy of damnation? Are you just disappointed there's no giant telepathic plant?"

This is the game that should have tided over the "Spoof/Lowbrow" market while we waited for DNF. It's fast, gritty, makes fun of absolutely everything including itself... it just feels enjoyable to play, not because of any kind of mechanic that you're supposed to stand in awe of, it's a list of cool shit and raunchy humor for when you want to turn your higher brain functions off and hook something directly to your pleasure center. That's all. Failing to live up to your own individually constructed expectations of a good FPS is no problem of the games.

 

[The3rdEye]

This game isn't even worth the time of day. That it's sales are relying on the use of the GoW beta to shift copies says it all.

How does the content swap between Deadspace 2 and Dragon Age 2 factor into that exactly?

 

[VincentX3]

I beat the game on the PC, everything Maxed with little to no problems
Personally I loved the game, it was great! Maybe a tad short but it was very different and worth it.

People seem to be such dicks these days and cant appreciate good work and are just graphic whores.

 

[tzimize]

Can't say I'm surprised, after the lackluster demo.

Agreed, short, dull, repetative and terrible dialogue.

Did I miss the part where they advertised Bulletstorm as an epic tragedy, the likes of which would rival Shakespeare?

I think the title alone kinda throws that out the window. Seriously, it's like complaining that Heavy Rain didn't have enough jetpack-equipped rocket launcher duels.

Hahah!

Now I'm imagining those duels in Heavy Rain. This'll keep me going for an hour, at least ^^

 

[EHKOS]

I beat it the first night
But yeah the general went a little all out on the sexual crap huh? I got to really hating him after a while. But for the gameplay, I just used the skill shots that I thought were fun, used the revolver almost the entire game and just fell back on the heavy stuff when not dealing with grunts. I really enjoyed how fast paced and shoot shoot shoot kill kill kill it was, kept my adrenaline up and my immersion tight. And I enjoyed the scripted scenes alot, like the big "...holy shit...wow" moments. Like the

Spoiler

Giant-ass grindwheel chase sequnse. Unfortunatly I found the giant dino robot mechanic annoying and inaccurate but I liked the little song he sang and the name he gave him.

I was about half an hour in when I realised one of my favorite voice actors was the lead and was jumping for joy whenever he talked....I'M NOT GAY. But after all I've just said, I still found the game short, meh, and the story kinda nothing special. Which looking back at the massive wall of text I just created shocks me. The uh, QTE's weren't very annoying either, you just didn't get as many points and I was never low to begin with.It was always to the very end satisfying to kick someone and send them flying.

But yeah, it was different and very entertaining and I enjoyed it. I just wish that it didn't screw over my sleep schedule...and Dead Money didn't help either.

 

[Netrigan]

What I'm surprised about is everyone giving complaints about the point system, honestly, it's not about "having the highest points" it just seems to be about killing as many dudes as possible in fun ways. I haven't played the game yet, so I might not know fully why people are complaining about it, but come on? Does a toll booth stop you at each level and say you need a certain amount of points to proceed? Just kill people, have fun with it, if you can lasso a guy, plant a grenade on him, kick him, shoot him in the ass and then watch him explode into a thousand gibs, would you really be more worried over whether you got enough points?

I'm not trying to offend anyone, but scores are just like achievements, you don't need to have the highest amount possible, and it would probably make the game feel less fun if you spend more time hunting down every achievement you can instead of just playing it.

Game modes like Echos are set up for high scores... and like every high score system going back to the Space Invaders & Pac-Man Era there's going to be strategies to optimize your score. Mirror's Edge had Time Trials... it's pretty much the same concept, just with killing people.

But the campaign uses the scoring system for Experience Points. You use you skill points to buy weapon upgrades and ammo. The only real difference between it and a game like Prototype is that Bulletstorm makes the Skillpoint system a plot point.

Personally, I think the first half an hour or so of game play is the weakest because it's obsessed with setting up every last bit of the game. Instead of just giving you the leash at the start, you find it fairly earlier on... then a bit later you discover that the leash is grading you on your performance. Totally unnecessary exposition dumps in a game that's really all about the crazy action. It should just be an unexplained game mechanic not unlike other Experience Point systems. Imagine if an RPG decided that a magician was grading you on your performance and was the reason you physically get stronger every time you level up... the in-plot explanation in Bulletstorm is that ridiculous and unnecessary.

 

[psivamp]

-snip-
Come on, you guys. You suck, you guys. *Clone High reference*

It's okay, Joan.

OP, Cliffy B said him self that looking at the list over and over again is cheating.

You need to use your own imagination and figure out all the skill-kills your self. That's what adds the fun in the game. Not going through the list and just checking it off.

In other words, you're doing it wrong. Play the game how its meant to be played.

On the other hand, what I might consider a skill shot might not be in the list and we end up with the problem with Scribblenauts. Maybe I want to knee-cap a guy and have that be a bonus of some kind, but if it's not what they look for, then my personal skill shot is no better than just pumping rounds into an enemy center of mass. (In Scribblenauts, you might need something big to jump on to get over lava and "Big Boulder" gives you something too small, "Testicle of Colossus" is similarly disappointing and what you need to type is "Huge Boulder" -- it becomes arbitrary and solely based on the developers imagination).

OT: I knew this game wasn't for me from the start. I played the demo; and that sealed it. Seriously, "dicktits"? The demo calls you "dicktits." I just rolled my eyes and deleted it.

tl;dr version: I didn't play it. The profanity is too silly/over-the-top for me and I think the "Kill with Skill" types are arbitrary.

 

[Retardinator]

I really don't see why this site started gushing and losing its shit over it. Epic Mickey was one thing, but this...
It's on the wrong side of the not-serious shooter spectrum, I'd say. It's got all the juvenile jokes, but the gameplay seems to get stale, and the graphics use every single shade of the color 'shit'.

Still haven't played it though, but will soon. Until then, these are just my opinions.

 

[KorLeonis]

You know what my overwhelming opinion of Bulletstorm is? Its fun. That is all. Pure mindless over-the-top fun, and that is more than enough for me. The list of skillshots isn't really a list of things I MUST do, its a suggestion that you may want to try this, because it will be hilarious or gruesome or both. I'm still finding new ways to decorate the landscape in baddie blood or to cause limbs and organs to rain down around me, and that's awesome.

EDIT: Woohoo!! 100 posts!

 

[The3rdEye]

This game isn't even worth the time of day. That it's sales are relying on the use of the GoW beta to shift copies says it all.

How does the content swap between Deadspace 2 and Dragon Age 2 factor into that exactly?

I have no idea what that's supposed to mean.

There was an offer where if you bought and registered a copy of Deadspace 2 then you would get a medieval styled suit of Issac's armor for use in Dragon Age 2 when it released. (I assume, all I've read from Bioware's forum is 'Play Deadspace 2, get Isaac's armor in Dragon Age 2', and I have absolutely no interest in DS/DS2)

Your statement suggests that a game which contains pre-order DLC for a different game only does so because the game itself is weak and needs the sales boost to be successful. I'm saying that's not the case, it's EA giving you reasons to buy 2 good games instead of one. Pretty sly marketing approach imo.

 

[Netrigan]

Hmmm, the story is warming on me as it goes on. Just a whole lot of conflicted loyalties all over the place, so friends might become enemies, while enemies might become friends. And like Gears Of War 2, you're never quite sure what crazy thing they'll throw at you next.

Still wish they had used the flashback as a proper action prologue. It's totally Story Telling 101 with it being a core motivation of a large chunk of the cast, but a fight on the outside of that building would have been so cool, especially if they had made the leash part of Gray's back story instead of something he finds on the surface of the planet.

All I know is that I haven't been in much of a video game playing mood this week and even though I want to put off the game until later, I still keep coming back to it to play for an hour or two. Think I'm up to Act Five (about to head off to find the wreckage of the Ulysses).

 

[OldAccount]

I'm having quite a bit of fun with Bulletstorm. It's a welcome change of pace from the the monthly "realistic" shooter.