In a way, I’m tempted to draw parallels between Bulletstorm and the Max Payne series. The possibilities are endlessly entertaining. I can activate the leash’s thumper mode to fling everybody in the area into the air, slide forward and use the four-barreled shotgun to remove bad guys’ legs before they have a chance to respond, or hit the bouncer’s alt-fire to shoot a cannonball that keeps bouncing on the ground for massive damage to nearby enemies… then kick it around the room. Other, suitable targets for leashed or kicked enemies include ledges, cacti, barbed wire fences, and fans. His body is disintegrated as he comes into contact with the radiation. I press Q to bring up the energy leash and fling him in my direction. Farther back, tucked behind a barrel, a mutant is taking shots at me. Here I am amid a radiation storm, dangerous-looking purple lightning coming out of a gaping hole in the ceiling in front of me. I can also use the environment as a weapon by kicking or leashing enemies into certain death. A similar result could be achieved with the screamer pistol’s alternative fire mode, which shoots out a flare that sends enemies flying back, exploding for substantial damage shortly thereafter. All three are turned into a mess of guts and gore as the game awards me with skillpoints aplenty for the creative kill. As he tries to wrestle free, I kick him backward within splash damage distance of his friends, then activate the remote detonator. I can pull out the flail gun, fire an explosive chain that wraps around the first mutant, pinning his arms to his chest. Say a mutant runs up to me while two of his friends fire from cover a few yards behind. The skillpoints system, the wild and wonderful weapons, the energy leash, the kick action, the sliding, the way bad guys begin to fall in slow motion when you kick or leash them, and the sheer number of ways you can kill those bad guys with or without guns… it all comes together to make combat fun, engaging, and thrilling. Epic Games and People Can Fly’s new shooter doesn’t draw me in quite the same way, but it really gets the core gameplay right, despite featuring a healthy number of cut scenes and a somewhat conventional, story-driven progression. Sometimes, when I’m bored, I’ll still load it up and just soak in the beautiful decor, listening to my character’s feet slamming against concrete as I jump from ledge to ledge, dodging bullets and outrunning enemies. However, once I got the hang of it, the game’s core gameplay felt truly enjoyable. Mirror’s Edge wasn’t a huge commercial success, and there are many good reasons for that-the steep learning curve and dreadful storyline come to mind. To put things in perspective, I’ve spent more hours re-playing Mirror’s Edge than playing either of those games, and that title is all about running away from the bad guys. I suppose one could say their unpleasantness added to the immersion, but I remember a distinct element of frustration that really didn’t need to be there. At the other end of the spectrum, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Prypiat created amazing atmosphere and a sense of immersion, but encounters with enemies were unforgiving and often unpleasant. The whole experience was still amazing, but the playable shooting that made up the bulk of the experience felt more like a chore than anything. Not to knock it, but Modern Warfare 2, for example, made me feel like I was slogging through wave after wave of generic bad guys only to progress to the next cut scene or set piece. However, I think one key ingredient to single-player shooter success has been missing from popular recipes for much too long now: genuinely fun combat. series, the awesome, twisted puzzles of Portal, and the engrossing, story-driven action of the Modern Warfare series, Bad Company 2, and their imitators. I dig the experimental, indie vibe of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Now, let me take a step back and say I’m a sucker for first-person shooters in general-and ones with solid single-player campaigns in particular. After beating the single-player campaign over the weekend, I think I might go so far as to say that Bulletstorm is one of the most fun games I’ve played in a long, long while. If I’ve seemed a tad out of it lately, it’s because I’ve been spending much of my free time over the past few days viciously slaughtering hordes of mutants, bandits, and other assorted creatures in Bullestorm.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |