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Get in the dick-killing mood with a free Bulletstorm soundtrack
As a "thank you" to its fans, Epic has released the entire Bulletstorm soundtrack for free. Composed by Michal Cielecki and Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz, the music is surprisingly devoid of the profuse, ridiculous profanity associated with Bulletstorm. That said, and you'll know this if you've played the game, it is the perfect music for scaring, killing or otherwise negatively affecting dicks. Head over to Epic to download your own copy. Just be careful about when and where you decide to listen. The dinner table probably isn't the best place to whip yourself into a dick-killing fervor, for example.
PSA: Bulletstorm 'Gun Sonata' DLC out today for PS3, 360
It's been said that one can never tire of gunshots to the groin (well, someone, somewhere has to have said that at some point) but humans, being a particularly fickle lot, are always looking for a change of scenery. Bulletstorm's new Gun Sonata DLC, out today for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Epic's balls-to-the-wall (literally!) FPS, should help satisfy that primal need. The pack, well, packs two new Echoes mode maps (Guns of Stygia and Crash Site) along with three more locales for Anarchy mode (Hotel Elysium, Sewers and Villa) for the sum of 800 Microsoft Points / $10 on Xbox Live and PSN, respectively. The content is up on XBL now and will hit PSN with its weekly update this evening. As for the PC version, EA tells us it's still planned, just without a firm release date at this point. Bulletstorm Gun Sonata DLC ($10) [Xbox.com]
Bulletstorm PC demo now out on Steam and GFWL
If you're a PC user who wanted to try Bulletstorm through legal means, the demo is available now on Steam and Games For Windows Live. A demo for consoles has been available since prior to the game's February 22 launch. For a game that seems to use an expletive-filled roulette wheel for its dialogue, Bulletstorm delivers a clip full of fun. Check out the demo, just make sure that nobody with sensitive ears is around.
Direct2Drive knocking 15% off March's best sellers
In celebration of, um, March, Direct2Drive is reducing the price of this month's top fifteen games by fifteen percent. The list of titles includes the likes of Dead Space 2, Rift, Shogun 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Crysis 2 and Bulletstorm. Fifteen percent amounts to a reasonably hefty $9 discount on $60 titles and around $7.50 on $50 titles, and it also has the effect of lowering Magicka's already ridiculously low $10 price to just $8.50. Head over to Direct2Drive to see the full list of titles, and enter the promo code "MARCHMAYHEM" at checkout to receive the discount.
February NPD: Total sales up, new games come out swinging
Here's something we didn't expect to say in a non-holiday month or one without the launch of a new DS or something: Total US game revenue is up year-over-year, from $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion. Hardware and accessories both saw gains, while software dipped a bit between February 2010 and 2011. There's also good news in software top ten chart -- at least, good news for people who like the charts to look different every month, with top-ten debuts for Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Killzone 3, Bulletstorm, and Mario Sports Mix, all of which launched in the month of February. The dance genre continued to dominate, with Just Dance 2, Michael Jackson, and Zumba Fitness holding on.
Amazon kicks Bulletstorm price down to $40 today
Listen up, jerk-head. If you're not too busy being a stink-face, and you're as terrible as we are at coming up with vulgar smack talk portmanteaus, Amazon's offering a discounted master's class in the form of Bulletstorm -- it's today's Deal of the Day, making it temporarily available for $39.99.
Gears of War 3 beta: Bulletstorm players in April 18, GameStop pre-orderers join April 25
Nobody should have to wait for the chance to carve up their best friends with gas-powered chainsaw rifles -- luckily, interested parties can ensure their entry into the Gears of War 3 beta on April 25. All you have to do to grab a golden ticket is pre-order the Locust-massacring shooter at GameStop, and you'll be eligible to participate in the three-week beta testing process. If you grabbed the Bulletstorm "Epic Edition," you'll be able to get your hands dirty one week earlier, starting April 18. Participants in the beta will be able to unlock not only the Gold-Plated Retro Lancer, but a whole bevy of bonuses (listed after the jump). All that's left to do now is plan what kind of murders you're going to make first. Us? We're gonna shoot a guy, and then stomp on him, then stand him up, and then do something unspeakable to him with a grenade.
Killzone 3 holds off Bulletstorm for top UK sales spot
Killzone 3 beat out the other high-profile FPS premiere, Bulletstorm, on the UK charts last week, but it didn't out-debut its predecessor, Killzone 2. According to Chart-Track, Killzone 3 is the "14th fastest-selling" Sony title in first-week UK sales -- Killzone 2 is the fifth. More shooting, and some kicking, got it done for third and fourth place in last week's sales ranking, as Call of Duty: Black Ops and FIFA 11 took the spots below the two debut shooters. The previous week's almost top title, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, slipped from second down to seventh. Where's Just Dance 2, you ask? In fifth, of course. Unstoppable beast!
Joystiq Podcast 171 - Better than we deserve edition
Shooters continue to bro it up with varying levels of success in Killzone 3 and Bulletstorm, but we know what you came here to hear about ... Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, right? 3DS game price talk pads a news section that really only needs to cover one thing: Skyrim. SKYRIM! Production note: Chris Plante had a mic problem at around the emails section so his audio is dicy from there. Just consider it some "flavor." Thanks to Alan Black for this photoshop of the boys shooting **** **** and ******* ****. Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast in iTunes [Zune] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace [RSS] Add the Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Hosts: Justin McElroy (@justinmcelroy), Ludwig Kietzmann (@ludwigk) and Chris Grant (@chrisgrant) Producer: Jonathan Downin (@jonathandownin - Game Thing Daily) Voice Talent: Bob Ball (@BobBallVO - BobBallVO.com) Music: "Bassoforte" by Diego Stocco For fans: Joystiq Podcast Facebook group New to the show?: Listen to Episode Zero The Do It Line!: 1-(877)-JOYSTIQ See all of this week's links after the break.
Bulletstorm's 'Red Ring of Death' easter egg exposed
While it may be lost on those playing Bulletstorm on the PC or PS3, Xbox 360 gamers will instantly recognize the cheeky jab at Microsoft for that whole Red Ring of Death thing.
Bulletstorm 'Gun Sonata' DLC coming this spring
With Bulletstorm just arriving on store shelves today -- and possibly in your disc tray -- EA has announced the first batch of DLC. With the surprisingly unexplicit title of "Gun Sonata Pack," the DLC will add three new maps to the co-op Anarchy mode: Sewers of Stygia, Hotel Elysium and Villa. The pack will also add two new Echo maps: Crash Site and Guns of Stygia. The DLC will be available for the Xbox 360 and PS3 "this spring" for 800 Microsoft Points and $9.99, respectively. While the press release (after the break) doesn't mention a PC release of the DLC, an EA representative confirmed that the PC version of Gun Sonata is coming this spring for $10, as well.
Metareview: Bulletstorm
People Can Fly's over-the-top shooter Bulletstorm received high marks in our hot-off-the-presses review -- but was everyone else as willing as we were to overlook the game's juvenile overtones and frequent mistreatments of the English language? Let's take a look at some highlights from other critics' write-ups! Game Informer (9.25/10): "Epic Games/People Can Fly's sadistic opus arrives at a time when most shooters do little more than let you blast dudes in the head while things explode. Bulletstorm has those things, but also lets you shoot a man in the testicles and kick slide his head off." Eurogamer (9/10): "On the surface, People Can Fly has delivered a sustained rumination on what it feels like to really boot somebody in the nuts. Yet beneath all that is a design built on years of watching audiences play outside of the rules in other shooters." Wired (7/10): "The game is rated 'M' for mature, which means that children under 17 cannot buy it, which is a shame because teenagers would crack up playing this game. What demographic likes penis jokes more, I ask you?" 1UP (B-): "When it lets itself, it's a fantastic adrenaline rush through well-constructed set-pieces and gloriously fun-to-watch violence. But it too often drags itself down with overly structured situations and restrictive, strategy-heavy gameplay."
Bulletstorm review: It's raining fun, hallelujah
I've come to a conclusion: Bulletstorm wasn't so much developed as it was raised on human growth hormones and taught the English language by a group of sailors and truck drivers. It was also shown every '80s action and sci-fi movie ever made about a dozen times, given a bottle of whiskey, handed a gun and instructed to shoot anything that moves. The people who clearly felt that the first-person shooter genre was skimping on the "S" in "FPS" and taking itself too seriously birthed it; the sort who've made the likes of Painkiller and published Unreal Tournament and Gears of War. It's clear in everything from its distinctive style to its disregard for the plausible. Yes, Bulletstorm is ridiculous, but in the way that the very best guilty pleasures are.%Gallery-92124%
PSA: Bulletstorm disc required for Gears of War 3 beta access
Tomorrow (or midnight tonight, depending on your level of enthusiasm), Bulletstorm will launch across the country. For a select group of Xbox 360 owners, this purchase will be partially driven by the desire to play Gears of War 3 early -- specifically, the Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta that's included with Bulletstorm's "Epic Edition." Epic's Rod Fergusson warned Twitter users that a code alone wouldn't secure early entry in the multiplayer beta. Entering the code actually adds an option to Bulletstorm's main menu, which will grant access to the multiplayer beta when it becomes available. Just like Crackdown hosted the Halo 3 beta, the Bulletstorm disc is needed to play the Gears 3 beta. While we're on the topic, Fergusson has also promised more news on the multiplayer beta will be available later this week. Keep your eyes on the 'Stiq for it.
Buy Bulletstorm, get Gears of War triple pack for $5 at Best Buy
As if you needed more incentive to pick up Bulletstorm outside of the Gears of War 3 beta inclusion (and, you know, all of the dick-scaring you crave), Best Buy is offering a special deal: the Gears of War triple pack for $5. It's $15 off the usual asking price, only when buying People Can Fly's private parts pounder. The Gears of War triple pack comes bundled with Gears of War, Gears of War 2 and the All Fronts DLC collection. Caveat: the items may ship separately, so you may not receive both at the same time.
Bulletstorm PC demo coming after game's release
If the anticipation for the PC version of People Can Fly's over-the-top shooter Bulletstorm is absolutely killing you, then ... well, we're sorry to hear that. We wish we could assuage the tension by telling you that you'll get a chance to play the game before its release this Tuesday but, unfortunately, Epic Games' Mark Rein recently explained over Twitter that the game's PC demo "won't make it in time for ship date but should be available shortly after." We'd like to suggest an activity you can indulge in while you wait for the game to arrive, but what could potentially serve as a substitute for kicking, shooting, grenading and whipping? Shuffleboard, perhaps?
Cliff Bleszinski talks Bulletstorm's development, canned co-op
Speaking to the Telegraph, Epic's Cliff Bleszinski discussed the development process of Bulletstorm. He noted that the game began as a cover-based, third-person shooter akin to Gears of War "but in a world that felt like you were eternally in a factory that manufactured sparks." Over time, the team came up with the leash and sliding, and changed over to the first-person perspective that we see today. The leash in particular changed the gameplay, with Bleszinski noting, "we realized people were playing with their enemies like a cat plays with a mouse before he takes it out, so we thought why not reward people for that, and so the points system came along." Another interesting tidbit: Bulletstorm originally had campaign cooperative play, but it was eventually removed. According to Bleszinski, co-op killed the game's pacing: it "just broke down, and it was a situation where people would race through the game, ignoring the vistas and they wouldn't set up as many skillshots," he said. That's probably for the best, because we're not sure today's processors could have handled the profanity generated by another Bulletstorm character anyway.
Killzone 3 & other pre-orders net $20 credit on Amazon
The frugal folks at Thrifty Nerd have informed Joystiq that Amazon has upgraded some of its pre-order deals; specifically, pre-ordering Bulletstorm, Top Spin 4 or Killzone 3 will now snag you a $20 credit instead of $10. The credit will be applied to all Bulletstorm pre-orders regardless of when they were placed, so don't worry if you pre-ordered before the deal went into effect. Thrifty Nerd notes further that both Gears of War 3 and FEAR 3 pre-orders are good for a $20 credit, and there are a number of $10 credits available as well. Check out Thrifty Nerd's pre-order credits page for all the deals.
Bulletstorm's latest trailer doesn't care whether or not you're ready for 'the boom'
There are only a handful of days left before you'll be whipping, kicking, and shooting humanoid cretins on a distant galactic backwater in Bulletstorm. Between now and then, we suggest imbibing a minimal amount of P.O.D. music -- contained entirely after the break.
Gears of War free with Bulletstorm on Games For Windows next week
Microsoft's Games for Windows Marketplace is having a buy one, get one free sale on Epic Games shooters starring guys with really big arms. Specifically, the digital storefront is giving anyone who buys next week's foul-mouthed FPS Bulletstorm a free copy of the original Gears of War. The deal will be valid from February 22 -- Bulletstorm's on-sale date -- through March 8. People Can Fly's game will carry a sticker price of $59.99, while Gears normally goes for $19.99.
