14 DAY TRIAL // It’s pretty safe to say that 2011 was dominated by many sequels, each managing to impress by refining on what their predecessors already did, so it was pretty hard to go through the already few all new releases and find a concept that truly stood out but, thankfully, I remembered Bulletstorm, the stylized shooter that appeared at the beginning of the year.
While the game made by People Can Fly under the guidance of Epic Games wasn’t that huge of a success, the novel Skillshot mechanic made it a classic, proving that you can breathe some new life into the extremely stale genre like the first person shooter one.
While at first things kick off pretty gimmicky, with you playing as Grayson Hunt, a gun for hire leading a rag tag team of mercenaries in a sci-fi universe, things quickly evolve once you get a hold of the special Skillshot system, which rewards the player for imaginative kills using his variety of different weapons as well as his energy leash or even his boot to kick enemies.
From drawing in your enemies with your leash to pumping them full of bullets only to kick them into a field of electricity or a bunch of metal spikes, while throwing chained bombs or miniature rockets onto their friends, combat in Bulletstorm never feels stale.
This sort of sequence is what makes going through the game feel like an exciting adventure instead of a boring old campaign, as you can mix up tactics, use all your weapons while upgrading them for even more powerful attacks, not to mention lead your enemies into traps created by the environment or by yourself.
Compare this to age old shooters like Call of Duty or Battlefield, where you mainly use the same weapon over and over again, or if you do switch it up the differences are minimum, and you really get the feel like you’re playing an evolved experience.
Couple this novel Skillshot concept with great graphics and some unforgettable, albeit a bit too foul-mouthed, characters, and you have Bulletstorm, one of the most novel experiences of the year.
Check out the game in action in the video below.
