You'll need more than bullets and harsh language for this guy.
The main campaign, while not incredibly long, is designed to blast through multiple times. There are a few different collectibles, and by collectibles, I mean things to destroy, such as beer bottles and newsbots. Achievement and Trophy hunters will find plenty to go back for. The Echoes Mode offers considerable replay value if you like to chase high scores. This mode allows you to play through some of the more intense moments of the campaign. They are timed challenges where you seek to rack up the highest Skill Shot total. The few I've played lasted about five minutes, so they make a nice, quick, violent diversion.
Quick side note: If you are a family man, (or woman) and want to get your Bulletstorm on, you still can. You can disable the blood, gore, and language. You can even turn off the skill shots, so you don't have"Gang Bang," "Double Penetration," or "Meatspin" spewed all over the screen. I played this way for about five minutes (until it made me sad). The enemy models don't bleed or explode, they simply ragdoll (or disappear when explosions are involved. The enemies still stick to things that impale them, there's just no blood. It's a little unsettling, and the dialog is subdued. All in all, it just felt weird with everything turned off. Oh yeah, and it even nerfs Anarchy Mode, if you want it too.
This is..... Anaaaaaaaaaaaaarchy (Mode)
As you play Bulletstorm it becomes painfully obvious they had co-op in mind for the main campaign. There is always at least one NPC with you. They battle (somewhat ineffectively) by your side. There are no real moments where the single player experience is enhanced by not having co-op. There are some gorgeous, sometimes cataclysmic set pieces, and I would have been happy to witness these in split screen co-op. Even though Epic front man Cliff Bleszinski said co-op broke the game, you can see there was so much potential to have a quality co-op campaign experience. This only becomes more apparent in the game's online-only co-operative gore-fest, Anarchy Mode.
Anarchy Mode is the only co-opportuntiy available in Bulletstorm, and it is awesome. Four players can meet up online in one of six arenas. The arenas in Anarchy Mode have a personality unto themselves. Since environmental kills are so important in Bulletstorm, each map has a plethora of horrible environmental hazards to vanquish your foes. Some of the hazards include turbines, bucket wheels, a car compactor, and an electrified tornado. An electrified tornado? This has got to be the scariest work enviromnent imaginable.
Anarchy Mode is BRUTAL.
Players are tasked with fighting through 20 waves of enemies. Unlike other survival modes, such as Halo's Firefight or Gears of War's Horde Mode, you only advance to the next stage in Anarchy Mode if you reach the skill point threshold. This scales according to how many players are on the map. You can play the mode solo, but then your missing out on 75% of the fun. A single player may only have to get 250 points in the opening round, but a group of four players will be required to get 1250 points. Team kills are the key. If I kick an enemy and then shoot him while he is in the air, that's only a 75 point "Bullet Kick" for the team. If I kick him and you shoot him, we both get 75 points for the "Team Bullet Kick."
Communication is essential, especially when team challenges arise. At different points in the match a blue spotlight will appear on an enemy. If you dispatch him with the suggested Skill Shot you'll be rewarded with big points for everybody. The online matches I played were fast, violent, and satisfying. Between rounds you can buy new guns, upgrade your leash, and resupply ammo. Every skill point you earn acts as XP. As you level up you unlock new looks for your character.
Bulletstorm is not for everyone, but it is a great game. There is a ton of content here for big score hunters. If you like gory arena combat, this is some of the best co-op action around. It's a shame there is no campaign co-op. Still the Anarchy mode itself has plenty of replay value. New DLC was announced the day Bulletstorm was released, promising new Anarchy Mode Arenas and new Echos. The DLC should be out this spring. How the public reacts to DLC being announced for a game on its release day remains to be determined, but one thing is certain, Bulletstorm is a bloody, fresh IP in a land of stale shooters.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: Anarchy is a 4 player co-op mode of Bullestorm that has players working together to stay alive and score big points at the same time.Anarchy will have players working together to not only survive, but to achieve a certain score to progress through the waves of enemies. Not only will players have their own skill shots at their disposal, but cooperative skill shots as well.
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.