It may not be the most original video game ever, but Bulletstorm knows what it is, what it wants to achieve and what it has to do to bring it there. The game was released February 22 and has the gaming community spinning with controversy.
So far, the first-person shooter Bulletstorm has been successful, despite the harsh words against it. The game scored 9.1/10 from CVG, 9/10 from Eurogamer, 9.25/10 from Game Informer and 10/10 from GamesRadar.
Fox News ran a piece questioning whether or not Bulletstorm was the most violent video game to date. The game was targeted because of its strong profanity, crudeness, and sexual nature.
During the broadcast, Fox had psychologist Carole Lieberman on the show, who stated that videogames have become increasingly violent.
“This has the psychological impact of doubling the excitement, stimulation and incitement to copycat acts,” Lieberman said. “The increase in rapes can be attributed, in large part, to the playing out of such scenes in video games.”
Gamers were angered at such remarks, arguing that because the game was geared towards adults, the accusations were out of line.
Nick Toptine, a freshman in computer science, said gamers are outraged because the game is rated M for Mature, which should be enough of a deterrent to younger gamers.
“Carole [Lieberman] failed to cite any studies or sources with her claims,” Toptine said. “And, it’s been shown that the number of [reported] rapes has been in decline.”
“Bulletstorm has been in no way marketed towards children,” said Toptine, “and shouldn’t be subject to such baseless accusations and false information that negatively impacts the gaming community.”
Hal Levy of the National Youth Rights Association said the game promotes innovative thinking through dispatching enemies in unique ways.
“Plenty of emotionally unstable adults will play [Bulletstorm] and be fine,” Levy said.
In response, EA games said “Bulletstorm is a work of entertainment fiction” and is “an expression of creative entertainment for adults.”
Nonetheless, Sally Highsmith, a freshman in psychology, does worry about the level of violence in videogames.
“There’s a certain point where you need to stop playing videogames if you start to act out or whatever,” said Highsmith. “I’m concerned, because my brother plays videogames, and he seems more aggressive because of it.”
The plot of Bulletstorm is a simple one: It is the 26th century, and space pirate Grayson Hunt, betrayed by his commanding officer, makes a drunken attempt at a suicide mission. The game then focuses on trying to get off of a monster-ridden planet.
The game was censored in Germany due to the crude, vulgar and sexual content. Toptine is surprised that the game was merely censored.
“The game was not outright banned in Germany as many games with as much or more gore and vulgar language have been,” Toptine said. “They are also censoring the ragdoll physics, dismemberment, splatter and blood, taking away much of what the game is meant to be.”
Ryan Palmer, a junior in biology, doesn’t have an issue with the Bulletstorm‘s level of violence.
“I really do not think that the game is too violent,” said Palmer. “I think of all the places for violence, video games is the most proper place for it. They can make it as ridiculous and extreme as [gamers] want, and it doesn’t hurt anyone.”
Some of the skill shots are named after sexual acts, such as the gang-bang, which is achieved by using an explosive flail gun to blow up a group of enemies. Some skill shots are also aimed at shooting enemy genitalia.
“My favorite thing about the game currently is the skillshots,” Toptine said. “Sure, they’re gruesome, but they’re a wonderful change of pace from all the other FPS games out there right now. It’s just a new dynamic that works wonderfully and makes you try your hardest to do as many as you can as often as you can so you can keep your ammo reserves up in the campaign.”
Bulletstorm was produced by Epic Games, the same company famous for the Gears of War series. The Epic Edition of Bulletstorm includes the Gears 3 Beta. The beta was only for players who preordered the Epic edition for the Xbox 360.
“The Gears 3 Beta likely had something to do with its popularity,” Toptine said, “but only for some. Pre-orders for the PC and PS3 were for the Limited Edition, and the lack of beta was the only difference.”
Palmer said he thinks the game sets a great standard for videogames.
“People are attracted to the different gameplay and futuristic setting of the game,” Palmer said. “I have really enjoyed the new developments in the FPS game style that Halo and Call of Duty have brought about, and I am excited for these brand new ways to kill fictional people, with these new and very creative weapons.”
Toptine thinks that overall, the game is a success.
“The graphics and sound design are wonderful, even on my non-HD TV,” Toptine said. “The views are spectacular throughout, and the levels were built perfectly.”
Bulletstorm and Gears of War aside, Palmer is a fan of Epic Games because of their outreach to campuses.
“I really like how Bulletstorm is sponsoring the free Snoop Dogg concert for college campuses,” Palmer said.
Bulletstorm is featuring a voting competition on Facebook to have Snoop Dogg play a free concert at the winning college’s campus. NC State is in third place, behind University of Oklahoma Norman Campus and UNC-Chapel Hill.
Sally Highsmith really hopes that Snoop Dogg will be playing at State in the future because of this competition.
“I think it is so cool that a videogame is doing this,” Highsmith said. “I normally don’t pay attention to videogames, but this is really awesome and students can vote daily for Snoop to come to State!”
Bulletstorm continues to hold a place among the top ten best sellers at game retailers and is expected to earn over $4.5 million.