18 cert, EA/People Can Fly, Xbox (also Playstation 3, PC) ****
There are many varieties of videogame violence, from the attempts at realism in boxing and mixed martial arts games to the ugly, organ-spilling in the likes of Dead Space 2. Bulletstorm,a gleeful opera of gory slapstick, is in a category all its own. This bloody, tongue-in-cheek shooter has as much in common with Road Runner as it does with Tarantino.
You play Grayson Hunt, an intergalactic bounty hunter (think Han Solo with a dash of Colonel Kurtz). When a revenge mission goes awry, Hunt finds himself and his friend Ishi stranded on a hostile planet. They need to get home and maybe catch up with their old nemesis (General Sarrano) on the way. To do so, they fight their way through a gang turf war, lethal plants and a few more nasty surprises.
Despite its occasionally dark themes and attempts at moral complexity, Bulletstormis a uniquely joyful shooter. Hunt is a rare game character who actually enjoys the chaos, gloating at his enemies, cracking wise ("worst family vacation ever!"), and at one stage literally singing with sadistic joy.
Gamers are given points for flamboyant kills, so elaborate, slapstick violence is rewarded. Points are cashed in for more weapons and power-ups, so let’s get creative with those kills! The weapons are a mix of the futuristic and traditional. For example, the whip has a number of uses, and you later get a flail chain to fire at enemies’ feet as well as old- fashioned grenade launchers and machine guns. But the world is your weapon, as you kick enemies against spiky walls, knock them down deep holes or nudge them towards carnivorous plants.
The multiplayer function is also innovative, as the gamers are rewarded for collaborating in complicated executions. The narrative would have been ideal to play in a local co-operative mode, but that facility isn’t available. Shame.
Still, this cheeky and profane rampage, manages to entertain, while also forging a distinct identity in a sea of first-person-shooters. Lock and load!
