Bulletstorm is a near perfect sci-fi shooter save for a few mishaps.
What makes Bulletstorm special when compared against the hordes of other first person shooters is the Skillshot system and your leash. After obtaining your leash and reaching the first dropkit, you can obtain points for killing enemies in unique ways. These kills can vary depending upon how you approach the game. For instance, you can use your leash, pull an enemy towards you then kick them into something in the environment like a cactus.
The variety of these skillshots and the joy of discovering them is what makes the game so fun. Once you acquire enough skill points, you can go to a dropkit, sporadically placed throughout the area, and upgrade you equipment. The upgrades are also a high point of the game, allowing you to increase the strength of your weapons, ammo capacity, and even add new abilities to them.
Sadly, Bulletstorm makes its biggest problem in my eyes: no offline co-op. There are so many games out there that I could mention with it: Gears of War, Resistance, Army of Two, Call of Duty, etc. Bulletstorm is practically begging for it. It could have doubled the skillshots in the game just by having a partner to bounce enemies back and forth. You walk around with Ishi, who outside of shooting a few enemies here and there, is practically worthless. Why not fill that void with a friend at your house?
Still, there is an online co-op mode known as Anarchy. These maps have you working together with up to 3 other players to achieve certain skillshots and goals. It's a pretty good experience all around, but I feel it's a bit lacking. Echoes is the other online mode where you rush through portions of the story mode's levels in order to obtain high scores and speed runs. Echoes is basically a single player affair that one could say functions almost like a training mode. It's fun, quick, and a blast to play. However, these are the only multiplayer modes.
Visually, the game is a mixed bag in my opinion. While the environments look gorgeous, characters modes look a bit strange, especially in the face. That's not to say that they look terrible, just odd. Still, the game is certainly fun to look at. Deranged mutants with blades run wildly at you, a huge lizard monster stomps through a metropolitan area, and explosions galore, Bulletstorm certainly gives its all.
The sound design is very nice as well. Voice work for the game is a joy to listen to. While some people may be turned off by the profanity, I found the banter between the main characters to be hilarious. Grayson Hunt is suitably voiced, sounding and looking like a drunken Wolverine while Ishi's cyborg voice sounds believable without straining credibility. Of course, it's worth mentioning the R. Lee Ermey rip-off General Saranno, where a good deal of bickering comes from.
There's also a good score and fight music that goes along with the game. Plus, suitably stupid psychopaths scream murderous dialog at you and howl in slow motion when you kick them or leash them. All of these moments make Bulletstorm's sound one of the high points of the game.
Value is a bit limited though. While you do have the online modes, they are limited and may grow old pretty fast if this game doesn't thrill you with its six hour campaign. Still, while this is no Call of Duty in replay value, I think most people will be pretty happy with it.
I feel a bit disappointed in some areas of the game. While some parts are a blast like piloting a robot T-Rex, killing enemies and generally causing mayhem, other parts are lacking. Mostly this is narrative related. Some of the funniest lines said in the game are actually from the banter between Grayson and Rell. Sadly, Rell is killed early on and you're forced to help Ishi, who is undeniably boring at times.
The lack of offline co-op really hurts. While People Can Fly developed the game, it has Epic Games slapped on it and plastered about it. Epic did Gears of War, one of the best offline co-op experiences around, and that really set the bar for my expectations. Ignoring that and some of the weaker narrative points, I think Bulletstorm is an excellent game. One can only hope there's a sequel someday and it improves upon some of the more lacking elements.
The Good: Skillshot system is a blast to play, upgrade system is excellent, gorgeous environments, excellent sound design, easily approachable by just about anyone.
The Bad: Limited multiplayer, lacks offline co-op, some narrative moments and choices seem bad.