I wish the game had a deeper weapon upgrade system. It's easy to max out all your upgrades within the first half of the game. By the second half, you're only spending your points on charges for your secondary firing modes, which lessens the motivation to try risky new skillshots.

That aside, I thought the game was enjoyable (though not worth $60). Took me about 7 hours to complete on the highest difficulty (you can't take a lot of damage so you'll die often when trying to do new skillshots). I wasn't offended by any of the gratuitous profanity and was even amused by it at some points. The story was decent. Nothing particularly profound but generally more interesting than the stuff you find in military shooters.

What does this mean

Means the plot should have been a little more fun.
It wasn't a bad plot, necessarily, but it should have been way more ridiculous and over the top.

People really ragged on the voice acting of the cyborg, but he acted way differently pre-cyborg, so it struck me as fine. He was ok, then he was half robot and lost his personality. Makes enough sense.




My biggest peeve? The stupid loading screens showed a hint of what was to come. In several instances it was a spoiler that ruined what would be a sweet surprise. Why? So many games do that now. Do it like Saints Row 2 - show me a cool shot of what I just did, not what I'm about to do.

SpectralMeat wrote on Feb 26, 2011, 16:54:
That's because I think most people here are older, and most of them are not interested in trolling (except Verno ) but to have a discussion.

Nah I don't troll, I just have diverse interests

Beamer wrote on Feb 26, 2011, 19:36:
Was the plot a little too little fun? Sure.

What does this mean?

Just finished.


Game was awesome. Short? Sure. But it was more full of "holy crap I can't believe that just happened" moments than any I've played in a long, long time. Just pure, unadulterated chaos.

Was the plot a little too little fun? Sure.
But the set pieces (which didn't feel like set pieces) kept such a huge smile on my face the whole damn time. And when I was afraid a stupid, pointless, game-killing enemy was about to be introduced... it wasn't. As a whole it was just a lot of "did I really just do that?" going on.

I don't know what kind of longevity I'll get out of other modes, but single player was just a whole lot of fun. While I missed jumping at first, I'm pretty sure I'll miss kicking more in every other FPS I play.


Also, despite some heavy aliasing at one point (only noticed it that once), and despite some issues loading lights in one 15 second area (whenever I turned there were bright yellow flashes), the game was pretty beautiful. No texture loading issues, either, which is surprising. Didn't notice it once.

StingingVelvet wrote on Feb 26, 2011, 12:47:
I like the people here and even when I disagree with them most are very intelligent and write their opinions well.

That's because I think most people here are older, and most of them are not interested in trolling (except Verno ) but to have a discussion.

And for the record I am not saying that means this site sucks or anything, I obviously like posting here or I wouldn't do it.

You just said the site is more negative by a factor of 10. I don't really consider that a positive statement about the community or this site. You didn't name a single other blog or forum, so it's difficult to compare their relative negativity. There's nothing wrong with this site, it has more PC gamers so when news that's not good for PC gaming is posted then people won't be happy about it. That's no different from consoles or other interest groups who are just as reactive to topics that interest them as well. RPS goes through the same thing all the time for example. Go have a gander at the Gamefaqs forums (if you dare, shudder).

Now if you want to say that PC gamers in general are more pessimistic about the industry's massive PR machine, that's a statement I could agree with. Though I would add that I feel there's significant precedent and justification for those feelings.

This comment was edited on Feb 26, 2011, 13:55.

Verno wrote on Feb 25, 2011, 17:18:

StingingVelvet wrote on Feb 25, 2011, 17:09:

Well "reasonable" is relative, same as everything else. And if you don't think Blue's is generally much more negative than other gaming news blogs I have a bridge to sell you.

I'm a member of several communities just like this one, though this is the one I actually post in for the most part. Everywhere from Arstechnica to Somethingawful to Shacknews and so on. Blues is no more or less negative than pretty much anywhere else on the internet. Generally speaking people are more likely to air their negative concerns on the Internet than their praise anyway. The community not agreeing with a particular opinion doesn't say much about it in this context.

Well I don't use any of those sites. Of the forums and news blogs I frequent Blue's is much more negative by a factor of 10. If the sites you listed are similar well... I guess that just means they are too.

And for the record I am not saying that means this site sucks or anything, I obviously like posting here or I wouldn't do it. I like the people here and even when I disagree with them most are very intelligent and write their opinions well. A lot of times I am as pessimistic as they are, so it works out.

It is more negative than the usual internet though, in my experience.

StingingVelvet wrote on Feb 25, 2011, 17:09:

Well "reasonable" is relative, same as everything else. And if you don't think Blue's is generally much more negative than other gaming news blogs I have a bridge to sell you.

I'm a member of several communities just like this one, though this is the one I actually post in for the most part. Everywhere from Arstechnica to Somethingawful to Shacknews and so on. Blues is no more or less negative than pretty much anywhere else on the internet. Generally speaking people are more likely to air their negative concerns on the Internet than their praise anyway. The community not agreeing with a particular opinion doesn't say much about it in this context.

Verno wrote on Feb 25, 2011, 16:52:
[Most people list fairly reasonable complaints around here, sure there are some trolls but they exist everywhere.

Well "reasonable" is relative, same as everything else. And if you don't think Blue's is generally much more negative than other gaming news blogs I have a bridge to sell you.

Jerykk wrote on Feb 25, 2011, 15:48:
Again, significance is relative. What's minor to you can be major to others.

Well that's pretty much what I said yesterday, I guess I am more easy going and accepting than others. Bulletstorm doesn't have a jump function and I think about that for maybe 2 seconds and then go on with the game, I can't even fathom that being something important enough to care about, let alone to eliminate the fun of the game.

As for fun, that too is relative. Fun is what you find entertaining. What you find entertaining is not necessarily what others find entertaining. Therefore, arguing that people should enjoy what you consider fun does not make for a compelling argument.

Yes, of course, and I have made this argument myself when Nintendo fanboys tell me their games are "just fun." I get that.

My thing is more if you find FPS games fun I can't imagine how not jumping could ruin an otherwise fun FPS for you. How can that be that significant? I just don't get it, my brain does not work that way. I like shooters, Bulletstorm is a quality shooter, therefore I like Bulletstorm. I bet any FPS games in the past 10 years with a metacritic score above 60 I have enjoyed.

StingingVelvet wrote on Feb 25, 2011, 15:42:

I'm just saying on this forum, and on PC forums in general really, people seem to concentrate on minor issues that bother them rather than look at the game as a whole and see how fun it is.

Your opinion isn't sacrosanct and neither is mine. Whenever someone whines about something in Demons Souls I have to roll my eyes but I don't make 20 posts berating them about it. I might try to reason with them or ask them to see it another way. You have a lot more success that way than saying the equivalent of "u guys are whiners". Just because you think something is minor doesn't mean that it is. If you're drowning in negativity then it's because you're creating a lot of it. Most people list fairly reasonable complaints around here, sure there are some trolls but they exist everywhere.

This comment was edited on Feb 25, 2011, 16:59.

I'm just saying on this forum, and on PC forums in general really, people seem to concentrate on minor issues that bother them rather than look at the game as a whole and see how fun it is.

Again, significance is relative. What's minor to you can be major to others. For example, some people couldn't stand having a silent protagonist in DAO but that didn't bother me at all. Conversely, I care very much about depth, challenge and choice and DA2 is definitely a step down in those regards.

As for fun, that too is relative. Fun is what you find entertaining. What you find entertaining is not necessarily what others find entertaining. Therefore, arguing that people should enjoy what you consider fun does not make for a compelling argument.

Verno wrote on Feb 24, 2011, 15:57:
You even go out of your way to say that the game is not designed around jumping amusingly but then somehow claim it's a minor, nitpicky thing. Some people enjoy things you don't and some people don't enjoy things you do. That doesn't make them strange or picky, you just seem to be trying to discredit opinions other than your own. Trying to act like you're Joe Everyman who loves everything and is somehow above the rest of us petty folk who are just unfairly lambasting this shining product is disingenuous. Focusing on that alone is incorrect, people have brought up some valid points about the game and the PC port in particular. If that were my only problem with this game then I'd find a way around it as some of the best games ever made have their own major issues, Deus Ex is a great example of having several large flaws but still being an excellent experience. I'd be happy to name a few other beefs with the 360 version but you seem determined to dismiss everything anyway.

I'm just saying on this forum, and on PC forums in general really, people seem to concentrate on minor issues that bother them rather than look at the game as a whole and see how fun it is. I'm just fucking drowning in negativity and most of it is over small little things most people don't care about but PC gamers seem to focus on relentlessly.

And yes, I know you're going to reply with something like "well we're more discerning and that's a good thing." That's all well and good but at some point to me it just feels like refusing to fuck a hot blonde chick because the lightbulb is flickering.

Anyway... nevermind. Play what you want.

I tried this out last night and it's pretty decent. That said, at first, my computer was locking up constantly at the main menu until I updated my drivers. I think this is the only game I've ever played that requires the latest drivers.

Bulletstorm doesn't support AA?

Don't know who said it doesnt support AA...Pretty sure the references to bad aliasing were meant for the 360 version.

The PC version has AA in the Video options.

Put another hour or so in on the Xbox last night. No aliasing noticed. Not sure what was up in that one scene, again it was probably a lighting issue I suppose, as I noticed it in the space ship full of lights but not outside.


The train sequence, despite being on-rails, is a ton of fun. I died quite a bit on hard, which made it less riveting (redoing the initial helicopter attack got old.) I liked that, similar to the very first bridge you find, it was hinting at giant fucking monsters in a subtle way (you smash several ribcages but you're so busy fighting you may not notice.) Too bad the trailer already ruined that surprise.


It's the video game equivalent of an over the top B action movie turned into a roller coaster. It holds your hand and guides you, but at the same time you're seeing some pretty damn cool and impressive things as everything around you gets blown to smithereens (by design, of course, not by destructable geometry, something that'd ruin the guided feel.)

If you're ok with the occasional very guided game this is a very entertaining one. If you're not it'd be a waste of time. I know this board tends to hate the Call of Duty games, which are similarly guided, hand-holding, cinematic experiences, but this one is much further removed from a normal FPS and may therefore be more palatable.

I'm definitely getting my $38.99s worth.

All I was saying is that while playing, I was wanting to JUMP numerous times, and the fact that I couldn't, pretty much pissed me off.

Jumping seems like a necessity to me in FPS games, so there ya go.

Also, this game is rather shallow as far as I'm concerned. It gets old fast.

The only thing holding it together other than the kick function is some of the level design as well as some graphical effects (such as headshot bloodsplosions).

This comment was edited on Feb 25, 2011, 00:18.

Wait, Bulletstorm doesn't support AA? No jump + no AA + GFWL + multiple online activations + 5 hour campaign + encryped ini files = not worth more than $20. I haven't played it yet but if the game doesn't have proper support for Crossfire/SLI, it loses even more points.

Beamer wrote on Feb 24, 2011, 16:15:

I'd be happy to name a few other beefs

Aliasing is actually really, really bad. Worst I've seen in a long time.


I know you point out RDR, but playing a few hours of Undead Nightmare the other day I only saw aliasing with lighting errors. Like in the opening scene of UN - there was crazy aliasing in any wooden panel that had light reflecting off of the top or bottom, but zero on any that didn't.

Shader aliasing; and it's only going to get worse too. The only effective way to resolve it is to use Super Sample Anti-Aliasing, which still has a high performance cost. AMD's MLAA may also be able to resolve some of it, but it tends to unintentionally make text and other things blurry.