Day 213, Game 213 - Bulletstorm

I didn't want to write about this game yet. I was really trying to finish it before I wrote about, for reasons I will explain in just a little bit. And while I got extremely close to finishing it, I didn't quite make it there ... yet. But to write about anything else would be an injustice to this game, as I sat down and had a good, long play session of one game for the first time in, well, a very long time. 

I didn't buy Bulletstorm. I didn't rent it, nor did I borrow it. I didn't Redbox it or Gamefly it. No, this game was a gift, to not only me and my gaming addiction, but to the blog itself. I opened the mailbox one day a little while ago and saw a package with my name on it, c/o The Noyse. It was from Cleveland, Ohio. I opened it up, and there was Bulletstorm for the PS3, packaged in with a hand-written note. 

The letter explained how he thought this was a game I would love, despite my cautiously pessimistic attitude about the game that I had on podcasts without ever playing it before. Basically, he felt my early judgement without context wasn't fair to the game, and he wanted to prove me wrong about me convincing myself that I wouldn't like it. And the only way to prove me wrong was to make me play it. But I wasn't to write about it until after I finished it. Unfortunately, I can't handle not writing about it any longer. I have to get this off my chest, and now. 

Well, I want to say thank you, Bill. You were right, and I was wrong for assuming I would hate this game.

Once I start playing this game (which I have done in three different sittings now), I can't seem to the put the thing down. It is so insanely, ridiculously addicting, it's almost scary. When I talk about a pallet cleanser of a game, this is the ultimate epitome of that. Yes, it has a story, but honestly, I skip right over it. I don't even care. That's not saying anything negative about the game or its story, but rather that when I start to play this game, my mind just shuts off (for a refreshing change of pace), I sit back and just have fun. 

The action is intense. I don't even want to try and describe it. But while I was playing it, my cousin came down the hall to my room to see what I was playing, because it was too loud and he wanted to shut my door. I told him what I was playing, he watched for a few minutes, and then said, "well, that explains why all I have heard was shooting and bullets flying everywhere nonstop all night." 

Yeah, that would be Bulletstorm. 

The different and creative ways you kill and can enemies is fun, but not forced. It's very much like Mad World, where the more creative you get with your punishment, the more points you score. Not only that, but those points translate to in-game currency used for ammo and weapon upgrades. Getting points isn't necessary, as you could run through and kill guys in the most basic ways if you wanted to, but honestly, what fun would that be? Besides, the game practically gift wraps you points whether you want them or not, so there is no point in trying to avoid getting them. If you're doing that, you're not playing the game the way it was intended to be played, plain and simple. 

Like I said, I almost - almost -  done with this game. By the time I turned off the game, my head was spinning and my adrenaline had reached it's limit. I literally had to stop playing just to relax from having too much fun. That's the kind of game that is making the daily grind of this project enjoyable, for sure. 

Just goes to show that you can't always judge a game by its box art, or preview videos, reviews or the labels placed upon it by the internet Sometimes fun games are just fun games, and over analyzing them is pointless. Just shut your mind down, sit back and rain down bullets on your enemies. You'll thank me later, like I am thanking my favorite pizza delivery guy with this blog. 

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