Review: Bulletstorm and Crysis 2 demos

ln case you haven't noticed, the Bulletstorm and Crysis 2 demos have hit Xbox live today, as well as Bulletstorm on PSN. Both are highly anticipated, so let's jump in and have a look see at what's on offer.

Bulletstorm.

Bulletstorm in the latest shooter from Epic games and People can fly, creators of the epic "Painkiller". Following the adventures of space pirate Grayson Hunt, a man that looks like Hugh Jackman at a Gears of War cosplay party, we see him and his team as they plough through a ruined cityscape bringing hot bullet death to anything that comes in their way. The demo introduces the echoes mode of the game, which i'm assuming from the huge holographic clock at the start is some kind of speed mode, running through the levels and getting the biggest score you can. You start by selecting weapons, from a machine gun, a pistol and what looks like a lawnmower that shoots out spiky bolas made out of metal. Running into the levels, you come across mutants and other such punks that you greet with the business end of your gun.

The gunplay is absolutely fantastic. It's instantly satisfying as in it essentially just blows people apart, but once you start getting into the hang of things it really starts to come into its own. You could go through just shooting people in your usual FPS style, or, as is the point of this game, take them out in the most stylish way possible. As well as the guns you have a lasso, a kind of floppy whip that you can shoot out and people and drag them towards you. Holding down the whip button see you whip an enemy and launch him and any other bystanders into the air, where they hand like string-less marionettes waiting for you to commit horrible things upon their fleshy person. Before you know it you'll be shooting and enemy, lassoing him towards you, sticking eight bullets up his arse and then kicking him onto something rusty covered in spikes!

It looks good, the controls are great, and most importantly it's a very very fun game. I'll be there on day 1 waiting for this!

Crysis 2.

I've never played the first game, simply because I don't have a PC powerful enough to render individual blackheads on a characters nose. But now the Crysis series is coming to console, and you, yes you, can get a taster of the game right now. Playing as.....someone who somehow gets a powerful suit that enhances his abilitys (I told you I haven't played the first game, and NO....don't write in "filling me in" on the backstory), the demo features just one level, a rooftop battle in the "team instant action" mode. The game features a class system, although they are locked at the start. You can choose from assault, scout, sniper, gunner and a custom slot. Included in the demo are unlock modes, so you'll unlock more things the more you play.

It's pretty tight. It plays more like EA's Medal of honour than Call of duty, just in case you were wondering. Usual left/right triggers for iron sights and shoot, jump, reload etc on the face buttons, hold in the left stick to run, hold in right to melee. Other nanosuit functions are armour, which is mapped onto the left bumper, and cloak mode which you'll find on the right.

Again, from the short time i've had with the game i'm quite surprised. It's very solid, it looks the business and i'm sure that with a few more hours, as soon as the suit functions become second nature, you'll be flying through the levels like some cracked up gangster wannabe, popping "caps" at anything that moves. Either that or just camping in the corner with the cloak mode on....and if you do that you DESERVE to catch something sexually. Even though you would probably like that....

So anyway....that's Gamefreaks thoughts on these games. Bulletstorm is a definate, and i'll make my mind up on Crysis 2 after i've put a few more hours into the demo. It does however, look very promising.

So let me know your thoughts. Downloaded them yet? Love them? Hate them?

Have a look at the vids if you haven't seen them already.


Bulletstorm.




Crysis 2