Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition Review (PS4)

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this rerelease, but Bulletstorm remains as a solid, different shooter that deserves a second chance. However, terrible business practices by Gearbox keep this great game in the shadows and not worth the $60 price.

Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition Review (PS4)

INTRODUCTION

I was quite the fan of Bulletstorm upon its original release. It really is unfortunate that the game did not receive the financial success that it deserved back in 2011. Having a rerelease with updated graphics and a Duke Nukem campaign is for sure a great way to bring Bulletstorm back to the masses. However, with some very bad business practices and a failure to justify pricing a remaster at $60, Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition holds itself back from being an instant must buy.

Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition is available on Amazon for (unfortunately) $59.99 for the PS4 and Xbox One.

STORY

While the story is certainly in the backdrop of Bulletstorm, that doesn't mean that it isn't somewhat interesting. You play as Grayson Hunt (played by the beloved Steven Blum), a drunkard space pirate who gets the opportunity to exact revenge on his old commander, Star General Serrano when he happens to run into his ship. After ramming Serrano's spaceship with his own, Gray (along with his teammate and friend Ishi Sato) and Serrano crash land on a ruined planet resort and must fight for survival and a way home.

Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition Review (PS4). Get used to this guy telling you what a jackass you are...

Like I said, the story takes the backseat here to the insane action, but it is interesting enough to suspend your disbelief and grow somewhat attached to the characters. There aren't many characters, but the ones that are here are funny and likable. Just don't expect to fall in love with them as they don't have much depth or character arcs. That being said, the performances here are pretty good, all things considered. Steven Blum gives his all here and is very entertaining. The dialogue knows that it isn't some kind of masterwork and aims to purely entertain you with obscenities. If that stuff offends you, then stay away from Bulletstorm, but if you aren't you'll probably love the ridiculous, crude dialogue.

GAMEPLAY

If you've played Bulletstorm before, then you'll feel right at home with the gameplay. There isn't much changed in this area of the game. If you haven't played the game before, the objective in Bulletstorm is to kill enemies in the most creative ways possible. Some of these creative ways include (but are in no way limited to): kicking enemies into spikes, leashing them up to you, blowing enemies up with kickable explosive balls, and so much more.

It's still as satisfying as it was back in 2011. I found myself laughing and smiling with how many crazy trick-shots I could come up with. The weapon variety plays into this as well. Each weapon has their own trick-shots to learn and perform. You can carry 3 weapons at a time, but you're able to switch out your arsenal at any of the Dropkits that are scattered throughout the levels. These Dropkits can get you different guns, ammo, and charge shots.

It's difficult to get a screenshot of one of the special kills. Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition Review (PS4). That and I don't wanna spoil any of them for you

Speaking of the levels, I never got bored of any of them. The game never throws any unnecessary gimmicks or stupid sections at the player. Bulletstorm knows what it is and sticks to what it does best: mindless intense action. Each level contains every item and surface to allow the player to be as creative as possible. There's never any real shortage of ways to take down the enemies in the game; especially the farther you go into the game.

There really isn't much more to say about Bulletstorm gameplay wise. If I had one complaint it would be that the game can get somewhat repetitive due to the fact that it focuses on the mindless action about 95% of the time. There are sometimes breaks from this, such as a level where you control a dinosaur robot, but there aren't enough breaks to break the monotony that the game can fall into. 

Bulletstorm does have a few extra modes that can keep you playing but won't top the main campaign. The multiplayer mode Anarchy makes a return, which can be pretty fun. You and three friends will partake in a horde mode on one of twelve maps. It isn't the selling point of the game, but it can be fun if you can get a group of friends to play it with you.

The game also has a mode called Echoes where the game ditches the story and instead focuses purely on getting a high score. Personally, I didn't find much entertainment here. Playing for a score has never been my cup of tea, but this mode does continue the mindless action that Bulletstorm does oh so well. You'll also get all of the past DLC that Bulletstorm has which includes Gun Sonata, Blood Symphony, more multiplayer maps, and new Echoes scenarios. 

Graphics & Sound

I gotta say, the remastered environments and backgrounds look right at home on the PS4. Levels look beautiful in this remaster; from the crash landing site to dark mysterious caves, each level looks and feels great. However, character models still look pretty stiff and outdated. Animations were not updated at all, making some cutscenes unintentionally laughable. But overall, the game has made significant visual improvements over its initial release.

Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition Review (PS4). Even when engaged with a giant wheel and helicopters you'll be appreciating how good and current gen the updated graphics are

The game is very satisfying in its sound as well. Guns, enemy deaths, and voice acting all sound good here. Not much else to say other than that the sound and graphics here have been updated to the quality that we can expect from current generation games, except for the character models and animations.

Conclusion

Honestly, this game on its own is a very solid experience. However, I cannot give this game as high of a score as I would want to due to the terrible business practices that Gearbox has implemented for this title. Giving Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition a price of $60 and then making players pay $5 extra for Duke Nukem, as well as partnering with the shady G2A leads me to believe that Gearbox does not care whether or not this series gets the recognition it deserves and would rather make a quick buck. Only get this game if you are a diehard fan of Bulletstorm. Otherwise, wait for a price drop.

PROS CONS
+ Intense and creative combat – Sometimes repetitive 
+ Hilarious dialogue and characters – Character models look outdated
+ Decent extra modes – Way overpriced

7.5
Good

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

×