Game talk: BULLETSTORM

Bulletstorm is rude, brash and full of attitude, but a whole lot of fun. So if you're looking for a great looking First Person Shooter (FPS) for the year 2011, you can't go wrong with this game. Developed by People Can Fly and available on the Xbox 360, PC and PS3; Bulletstorm is a futuristic sci-fi shooter that tells the story of Grayson Hunt, an over-confident, self-obsessed yet passionate protagonist. As you play through the tutorial, you learn through a series of flashbacks that Grayson and his fellow mates were once part of an elite band of soldiers called Dead Echo. And under General Sarrano Dead Echo's job was to clean up the mess of the universe such as, drug traffickers and terrorists, etc. But when during an assassination mission Dead Echo finds out that they had been used to kill innocent civilians, such as reporters and journalists, rather than bad guys they decide to go rogue and take revenge from Sarrano. Fast forward to present day and you find Grayson leading his men into an epic space battle with Sarrano which doesn't go as he planned, and which ends with both of them crash landing on the hostile planet of Stygia. And thus begins a race to get vengeance and get off from the planet alive. Although the single player campaign isn't very long it is jam-packed with fast-paced and frantic action, and while you have the usual arsenal weapons at your disposal like assault rifle and shotgun, a few unique weapons, your electric leash and 'skillshots' are what set this shooter apart. Skillshots are simply put executions with style. You can kill enemies by simply shooting at them but if you become creative with how you dispose of your enemies such as, kicking them off a cliff, or throwing them into cacti, or feeding them to flesh eating plants and so on, you not only get a skill shot but you also earn points. You earn points for performing new and unique skill shots and you can combine two or more skill shots to earn more points. The points earned are used to purchase upgrades for your weapons as well as ammo. As mentioned earlier, you also have an electric leash which you can use to grab enemies and pull them towards you. And as you pull enemies, they come towards you in slow motion, thus allowing you to line the poor souls for the perfect skill shot. The combination of the leash and skill shots is what makes this game so enjoyable. For example, you can use the leash to yank an enemy towards you and then kick him into the fire or you can use the leash to pull an explosive barrel towards you and then kick it into a group of enemies for some explosive results. And with each weapon having its own unique skill shots, the combinations and the possibilities of how to finish off enemies is almost limitless. The fact that you don't only fight one type of enemy but various types with each having distinctive abilities and have some impressive set piece, battles change the pace nicely and keeps the action fresh till the end. Graphically, Bulletstorm is a treat to look at. The planet of Styiga has been beautifully created and as you travel from one desolate section to another, you will notice vegetation growing over structures, crumbling buildings, waterfalls, the magnificent shoreline and more. Combine with the gorgeous graphics, sound effects of explosions, gunshots, Grayson's taunts, etc., and you've got yourself an FPS that delivers on all fronts. Unlike other FPSes, Bulletstorm is not a sophisticated shooter and neither does it pretend to be. What Bulletstorm is, is a simple action-packed shooter that's cool and very enjoyable. — Sohail Saleem Note: PC Gamers should visit www.systemrequirementslab.com to find out whether their PC can run this game or not.