2011 was a pretty shitty year for FPSs in my opinion. I bought and played BF3 for a while, but it’s just sort of stale even with the spiffy graphics. I remember bulletstorm being the only one I was at all interested in, unless you count portal 2. I never bought bulletstorm, but I did play it at a friend’s house for a bit, and I’m honestly glad I didn’t. I was really unimpressed with Bulletstorm, it was just silly to the umpteenth degree. It’s really strange, because I sort of liked Painkiller, the developer’s previous game. There was just too much of Epic’s juice chugging machismo for me to properly enjoy bulletstorm. I feel like they sort of ruined People Can Fly.

Kind of odd, because 2011 was a great year for games in general, but I can’t name a single FPS that was any real good, again unless you count Portal 2, which was a blast.

What’s with all this retroactive love for Bulletstorm? I mean, I was there when the game first came out, but why now?

And yes, I did enjoy Bulletstorm and Crysis 2 more than any of the Call of Duty clones last year (well, except the actual Call of Duty). They seemed like the only two FPSs that tried to do things a little bit differently, and they felt like actual games because of it and not script rides.

@feenwager So, as it turns out, you were right about Bulletstorm. Had a better time with it than Crysis 2. The first hour or so seems real dumb, and it is dumb, but the moment the leash and skill shots click in your head, that game takes on a life of its own. Can’t remember the last time I cared about points to any degree, and I never expected that world to look so amazing.

Also, Jennifer Hale told me she was going to kill my dick.

@rocgaude *clink* Belatedly echoing stated sentiments! To another fine year.

Just wanted to again thank @feenwager for Bulletstorm. He was right in saying this is a game I would have never picked up but would damn well love. So true. I loved the old Painkiller games, but never thought to investigate Bulletstorm. Having a blast. It truly is the shooter for everyone, snobs included. Ridiculous amount of unbridled, chaotic joy and, wonderfully, one of the most interesting, brightest game worlds to grace the genre in ages.

The story and characters, my biggest gripe and hate in gaming for the most part, is one of the years hidden triumphs…did not expect that at all.

Snobs, intelligentsia, Joe Shmoes, all will find goodness within.

@feenwager Just nit picking here, but I wouldn’t really call it trial and error gameplay. Pretty much any path will take you where you want to go, and as far as I’ve seen, you can mess something up and the game will just roll with it (To a point. It’s over if you straight up get shot to death). If you’re trying to be perfect, that’s when the quickload/quicksave cycle starts, but that’s a playstyle choice. Commandos is a series with trial and error gameplay, god those games are a bitch.

Not trying to change your opinion, though. You’re probably better off with all the games that are coming up. What are you gunning for next?

@rocgaude Bulletstorm is still on the list for me as well. Take a sec to drop your thoughts here when you get a chance?

@feenwager I’m pretty sure we’re tied for lack of patience with game challenge.

Reading the fresh reviews of Deus Ex: HR made me want to buy it. Reading/listening to the “the Jeffs” (@feenwager and Gerstmann) has convinced me to shelve it for the moment. Besides, I barely have time for my iOS games these days. Pretty much won’t become a regular on XBL until Skyrim.

…howEVER, we just got Bulletstorm in. I’m totally in the mood for Tony Hawk with guns, whips, and boots to the face. We’ll see how this goes.

Regarding the FS placement game: What the heck was that and how can I recover from subjecting myself to that?? I am looking at you @bluesforbuddha and @bowlisimo :p

@bluesforbuddha I feel the same way about Co-Op. The only good experience I have had so far is getting about halfway through Portal 2 with @feenwager (which reminds me that we definitely need to complete that at some point….). Otherwise, I have no desire to play to go out and play co-op with some random person on Xbox Live or PSN who may or not may have the same perspective and ideas what I view as a good game experience. Another issue with me is that I usually play games some time after their initial release (see my recent playthroughs of Alan Wake and PixelJunk Shooter as examples – not co-op but you get my point…) so most people have moved on to other games anyway. I will definitely get back to you if I ever purchase Ms. ‘Spolsion Man but it may not be for a little bit. Hope you don’t mind waiting…

Somehow today, I managed to spend 4 straight hours finishing up Bulletstorm. The dick and sex jokes definitely got old after a while but at least the game doesn’t overstay its welcome too much – took me about 7 hours to get through the whole thing. Truly dumb and mindless fun but that worked for me at this moment. Always appreciated a shooter where the weapons feel bad ass and this game is no exception….

For my next complete 180-style game experience, I will now move on to Flower. Been looking forward to this for a long while now 😀

I completed Alan Wake and the 2 DLC packs yesterday. In the end, my initial issues with the gameplay were negated mostly through my decision to ignore all the collectables off the beaten path (@feenwager was completely right in this regard) as well as Remedy’s use of more focused environments (i.e less open space for random enemies to appear all around me just for the sake of frustrating me). While an number of set spaces did rely on that mechanic (hello Rock Stage) and did drive me nuts as times (although the Rock Stage actually made that one set piece memorable regardless), Remedy didn’t stick to that so much as to make me put the game down.

My reaction to the game’s ending and subsequent DLC falls much in the same way as @bluesforbuddha described when he first played the game, namely (and I am paraphrasing here so please feel free to correct me if I mis-characterize – I am going mostly on memory): WTF Remedy and screw you for making me pay extra to get the ending I actually wanted and expected! I had avoided spoilers on this game somehow (or at least forgetting them by now), so I didn’t know exactly what to expect here – I just had some vague ideas based on discussion by the Squad. Even if I didn’t have to deal with the initial delay between the release of the game and its DLC packs, the fact that I needed to pony up more cash to see the story through further is horseshit in the highest order…. especially considering that the final DLC pack “The Writer” was actually my favorite episode in the game. I loved the “Ferris Wheel of the Mind” portion of it and the idea that most players won’t actually ever see that part of the experience is ridiculous to me.

All in all, Alan Wake did a lot of things well… the atmosphere, the ridiculously beautiful setting in the Pacific Northwest (note to developers: more of THIS please), the episodic nature of the game which allows for each section of the game to have a nice build-up with a denouement and a cliff-hanger ending to entice you to continue, etc… Will I ever play this game again? No, simply because I have no desire to slog through the woods finding all the collectables as I pull my hair out but I am happy I got through it.

Moving on now, as a palate cleanser, I rented Bulletstorm and so far, it is exactly what I needed after Alan Wake: just some stupid, dumb fun. While there are moments that make me shake my head in shame and be thankful that no one is around to observe my playthrough, it’s still enjoyable and will most certainly worth the 8$ I spent renting it for a week.

@bluesforbuddha I was ready to dig back into the ‘Splosion Man experience with Ms. ‘Spolsion Man but after seeing the GB quick look and reading that, I’m not so sure anymore…. think I may wait until it hits a sale price before I give it a shot.

@redswirl “game-ified”. I like that.

You’re exactly right. Bulletstorm is what happens when a game doesn’t take itself seriously, doesn’t go for “realism” or “grit” and just sets phasers for fun.

Yup, I said that. Sue me.

@unmanneddrone I’m all about the not mucking about. Also, Dragon Age 2 drops Tuesday and I wanted a clear plate for then.

@feenwager Yes. “Fun” is definitely the most appropriate word when describing Bullestorm. They’ve taken the console first person shooter and game-ified it again. I mean, later on in the game it reaches a point where you are very rarely shooting a guy with bullets.

Other than Hot Pursuit it’s been such a long time since I’ve played a console game that was all about, well, a game!, with variables at play and such. After the Black Ops and Killzone 3 campaigns I’m done with super-scripted war shooters that have you do literally nothing but go to that cover, shoot that guy with the ACOG sight rifle, watch that scripted event. I never actually installed and played that Call of Duty riff that Epic and People Can Fly did, but the joke is spot-on. Call of Duty 4 did the narrative roller coaster thing right, but every game since has just come off as a monotonous, barely-interactive slip-n’-slide. Bulletstorm felt so much more varied and had so much more flavor in comparison.

I’ll probably buy Bulletstorm when it’s dropped down to $20 or something just for the Echoes mode, either in a bargain bin or a Steal sale.

@feenwager You don’t muck about!

Just finished Bulletstorm. Most fun I’ve had with a game in months.

@feenwager Yes, I bought it, and it’s a ton of fun. Say what you will about the dude-broness of it, but the skillshot system is unique and provides a nice change to the normal shooter.

@RocGaude Eh. The Dragon Age II demo didn’t really give me any of the things I liked about Origins. The combat will probably be fine but what little dialogue and character interaction I saw was a letdown. I appreciated how Origins felt less bipolar, and DAII has just gone back in the opposite direction. I wish it had been more like The Witcher demo and included the first town or something. The Witcher 2 screenshots and that Skyrim trailer make it harder and harder to get excited about DAII.

@feenwager Weekend roadtrip kept me from rental copies of Bulletstorm and Killzone 3 which are sitting at my house right now.

Howdy Gang! I mentioned this to Pete last night, but a fun little RPG fell across my lap last night that I thought a few of you with i-Devices might enjoy. It’s called “Battleheart.” It’s from the guys who created Zombieville USA and OMG Pirates! and is a neat little point-and-drag RPG. It’s about $3 and, so far, has sucked up about an hour of my time.

I’m also going to be picking up Bulletstorm. It’s intriguing, and the Giant Bomb guys gave it a pretty good nod so, as soon as I can find a Gamestop with one in stock, I’ll be grabbing it. If anyone wants to play the online co-op, just let me know.

@feenwager I can’t figure out how to get more than 5,000 points on that thing. The combo system is a little confusing, and I don’t think this game survived the transfer to a console controller completely intact.

Otherwise, I’d definitely buy it at a Steam sale.

@RedSwirl I’m kinda interested in it, but I think I’ll follow your lead and wait a good long while before meandering to the digital checkout with it. I played the Dead Space 2 demo, by the by, and thought it was…I dunno…*alright*, but I’m not really sure what the massive appeal of Dead Space is, outside of it being a solid horror-themed action franchise. All for new IPs, though. Good sound design, though.

I’ll take one for the team on the Homefront…er…front. Preordered. We’ll see how it goes, narrative-wise. Gratuitous, probably. Deftly handled? Only time will tell. The multiplayer will be terrific, regardless.

Really sad to see THQ becoming something I thought it wasn’t with the recent Kaos Studios “Work ten hours+ a day to get this Homefront game out the door, then relocate to our Montreal studio…or, get the hell out. Keep up the good work!” shenanigans.

After the demo, Bulletstorm seems like the kind of game I could buy at a Steam sale for $20 nine months down the line. At best it could end up being the Devil May Cry of shooters. Autolog is a big plus.

@angryjedi I don’t think that’s legal in my state…

That being said, I’m actually a bit interested in Bullet Storm. The whole concept of getting points for more creative kills is a bit (as far as I know) unique to the FPS genre. “Unique” and “FPS” are two words that rarely belong in the same sentence, but if it brings something to the table that the rest don’t (a la Borderlands) I’ll be willing to give it a try.

@zegolf: Only if you scare your own dick off.

“You about scared the dick off me”
“Last train out of explosion town”
“I predict an imminent getting the fuck out of here”

SRSLY.

But the game is called “BulletStorm”. What did you REALLY expect?