bulletstorm preview

Bulletstorm is less than two months away and I can’t wait to be thrown into this next creation developed by Epic Games, with help of course from People Can Fly. Through the numerous reports and videos I’ve seen, Epic may just have a serious contender for game of the year on their hands. Of course I don’t expect this to rival future games this year in story like Mass Effect 3, but I think it has the potential to provide new gameplay mechanics that could become a mainstay much like Gears of War’s cover system.


In Bulletstorm, you’ll play as Grayson Hunt, a space pirate, who was exiled from a military group known as the federation. Grayson then attacks a federation ship which leads to both crash landing on Stygia. The story is being penned by Rick Remender, who created the Fear Agent series. So there is potential that this game could have an actual story that matters, but after playing the last two Gear of War campaigns, I’m not expecting much.

 

Gameplay for Bulletstorm is going to center around skill shots. Skill shots are the bread and butter of Bulletstorm. The idea is to find the craziest ways to kill your opponents. You will receive point totals for your kills. You can also get combos by stringing your kills together and using the environment. Epic has said there are ridiculous amounts of ways this can be achieved. Some examples include; kicking your opponent into a cactus, throwing him up into the air and then shooting off an exploding barrel, or even something subtle like shooting an enemy in the privates and then kicking in his face while he’s kneeling. Hopefully, Epic follows through and provides endless ways for you to exterminate your enemies.

 

 From everything that I’ve seen, the graphics look gorgeous. When this game was first announced, my initial concern was that the color pallet would be too much like Gears of War. If you can remember, everything in Gears of War was a mixture of browns and darks. This is not the case, as Bulletstorm has a much more vibrant and colorful look to it. Hopefully as you venture around Stygia, there will be a variety of environments that will show off the beauty of the planet. We’ll just have to wait until the game launches to see.


Bulletstorm will also feature a mode called Echo mode. While you’re going through the levels tearing your enemies to shreds, you’ll come across opportunities for a huge combo kill that can result in ridiculously high scores. If you executed properly and score well enough, you can post it to the leaderboards. Your friends will then get the message the next time they get on and your triumph will be exhibited for everyone to see. A similar system was used this past year in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, where you would be notified if your friends would beat your track score. If this system works as intended and there are as many different variables in scoring, as Epic claims, than this could be the coolest new feature.

Multiplayer will also be a little different in Bulletstorm. There will be a four player co-op called Anarchy mode where players will need to defeat the enemies and earn a high enough score to move on to the next level. It looks very much like Horde mode, but the fact that you need to get creative with your kills adds a whole new dimension to the experience. Players will also need to protect one another while performing co-op kills to maximize their total. This will be available for you and three friends.


Will Bulletstorm be a success? Regarding sales, I expect it to do very well. The new gameplay mechanics and beautiful graphics have and will continue to grab the attention of the gaming community. The hype train is in full motion right now with trailer after trailer being released. Also, don’t forget this game comes with an invitation to play the Gears of War 3 beta. That beta key alone will be the deciding factor for most to pick up this title. Critical success is much harder to judge. It will depend if the reviewer isn’t expecting a serious shooter. Bulletstorm isn’t trying to be full of melodrama. It is a game you play with your buddies and just have fun.


Thankfully we won’t have to wait much longer to finally get our hands on it. As always, check back after the release for a full review and hear what we thought of Epic’s latest venture into the action genre.

sources: ng4.com and myself