Figured I'd replay this since its been about a decade and a new version is available and was on sale for cheap
Well the second time around it doesn't really hold up like I thought it did in my memory.
I played it on the second hardest difficulty and here are my basic thoughts:
+ The graphics can look pretty with some nice draw distances and big vistas
+ The gameplay is fun and arcadey, mostly sliding all over the place going really fast and seeing all your kills get scored was fun
+ The controls are fast and fluid
+Enemy variety is decent, many different types with distinct features such as radioactive guys that will burn you if you kill too close, suicide bomber guys, big monsters that you need to damage their weak parts, regular soldiers, snipers etc..
-None of the levels are memorable and the overall variety isn't that great. There are some cave areas, some ship areas, but everything else is just the same destroyed city street
- While the enemy variety is decent, theyre so bullet spongey that it just isn't all that enjoyable to fight them. Even the damn characters in the game have a quote "Wow these guys are just bullet sponges" . I mean it's probably because I put it on the second hardest difficulty but I don't know, it just wasn't all that fun. It means that the only viable weapons are some powerful handcannon and a shotgun. The machine gun that you always carry is basically worthless, taking 100-200 bullets to kill a single enemy.
- The weapon variety is disappointing. There is a handful of weapons, but I only found a pistol, shotgun, and this spike shooting gun viable. The guns just aren't all that exciting in general to be honest with you. They can get this charged shot ability but still it kind of just feels like a chore going through the enemies sometimes. I guess the actual shooting isn't all that fun?
- The story and dialogue is pretty bad. It's all just corny dick and fart jokes that 14 year olds would find funny. Halfway through the game I just muted it, put it in windowed mode, watched youtube videos / listened to music and played like that. It got too lame and stupid. The characters aren't all that interesting either.
- Game dragged on, Even though its only an 8 hour game, I was left feeling like I was ready for it to be over around the halfway mark.
- You're not ever really 'doing' anything objective wise. It's all just go room to room area to area, kill enemies, and then the next dialogue part. No objectives stand out or anything. Its either that or just walk up to a wall and kick it / flip a switch.
Overall its a decent arcade shooter game but not one that will be on my top charts or anything, just some OK filler. The game ends on a cliffhanger and a high emphasis on a Bulletstorm 2, but I don't think that will be happening lol.
6/10