Review: ‘Bulletstorm’

If you a play a lot of video games you could be forgiven this year for getting burned out on first-person shooters. The “Call of Duty” games, the misfired “Medal of Honor” reboot and even the hotly anticipated recent “Crysis 2” continue to look and sound better and better, but with diminishing returns where it should count most: as fun and entertainment gaming experiences.

Into the crowded market for shooters enters “Bulletstorm,” guns blazing. What from the outset sounded like a crude, juvenile and bombastic shooting game arrives as… a crude, juvenile, bombastic game that is incredibly polished and fun to play.

In the meat of the game, the fast-moving, lively single-player campaign, “Bulletstorm” is potent. It mixes gorgeous vistas (it’s from the company that produces the “Gears of War” games and pioneered the Unreal graphics engine) with speedy action and a few new gameplay wrinkles that add immeasurably to the experience.

The story, written as it was by comics veteran, Rick Remender, is largely forgettable. Space renegades this, evil warlord that, cyborg teammate blah blah… But once the game gets past its set-up, two things become clear. The “energy leash” tool that allows you grab enemies and fling them toward you (you can also kick them away with your giant boot) is a marvel. It slows time down (strangely without affecting the pace of the game) allowing you to carefully aim “Skillshots” and rack up points for use toward weapon upgrades and ammo.

There’s also a slide your character can do that knocks enemies into the air with a similar effect, but you can also slide through levels to speed through them, making “Bulletstorm” an odd combination of “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “Quake.” Gone is the lugubrious slog of most duck-and-cover shooters, replaced by gleeful, over-the-top mayhem that never feels so out of control that you can’t progress.

Add to this a lineup of great weapons like a controllable Godzilla monster, guided sniper bullets and typical big-blowup guns and you have a game that pushes silly, exciting moments over realism and immersion. And that’s perfectly fine. “Bullestorm” works nicely on its own terms and begs for downloadable content and a proper sequel.

As a bonus, owners of the Xbox 360 version of “Bulletstorm” get access to the “Gears of War 3” multiplayer beta, which recently launched and will be available through May 15. It’s almost worth the price of “Bulletstorm” to get the sneak peak. “GOW3” looks remarkable and plays great, though I found myself getting killed over and over again. An hour of that was enough; soon I was back to “Bulletstorm,” tearing through enemies with blissful abandon.

“Bulletstorm”
Rated M for Mature
For Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC