The Post-Game: Bulletstorm

First, let's get the Games for Windows Live (GFWL) thing out of the way. When I started the game, I was asked to login to GFWL (I already have a profile I have used for other games). I logged in, and GFWL downloaded an update that required me to restart the game. Restarted, and was able to login and play without issue.

On to the review:
Bulletstorm is a superb shooter, with some unique mechanics, SUPER colorful environments and great weapons. I would even say that it is worth the asking price, except the multiplayer is barely populated, making the single-player campaign the primary draw.

+ The kick and slide mechanics are first rate, and easy to execute. You'll be sliding around in no time.
+ The "leash" mechanic is also fun, though Red Faction Armageddon does the same thing better and with more variety
+ The assortment of weapons is great, each requiring different methods to execute kills. My favorite was the homing sniper rifle; fire a shot, and you control the bullet with the mouse, guiding it around cover to kill enemies!
+ The level design is good if linear. Don't be expecting alternate routes to go anywhere - there aren't any - but the path twists and turns enough so that directionality becomes confused.
+ Though there are plenty of check-points, the game can be very hard if you want it to be.
+ Plenty of variety in the enemies you fight, with lots of mini-bosses even on Normal difficulty.
+ The graphics are COLORFUL. The opening levels happen aboard a ship, and feel confined, but once you get out into the countryside and city, the vibrant color will hit you in the face. Detail and design of the graphics is great too. Some of the enviroments reminded me of a sun-lit Bioshock.
+ Bulletstorm is easy on system resources, making this game playable on a lot of machines. I never saw more than 500MB of video memory used; most of the time it hovered around 250-375MB
+ People probably don't buy shooters for the voice-acting, but it is very good, especially the always-excellent Jennifer Hale.
+ The single-player story embraces an entire genre of B-movie action stereotypes. Everyone fully commits, and the game succeeds well at it.

- Few people in multiplayer. Get some friends together, and I'm told it will still work. But don't purchase Bulletstorm thinking you'll be able to join random online matches. I wasn't able to find any.
- With the multiplayer a dead end, the single-player campaign needs to carry the game's appeal. And it is very appealing, but it is too short. My first play-through clocked in at 8.9 hours. Replayability appeal relies on upping the difficulty and "restricting" yourself to specific weapons.
- No manual save system. The entire game is saved via checkpoints.
- The final boss is a series of QuickTime events. Always knock a point off for that. There are several non-QTE bosses in the game; I guess this is just how the developers wanted the game to end.

Not everyone has the GFWL issue; I suppose I was one of the lucky ones. As a shooter, Bulletstorm carries my highest recommendation. But get it on sale just in case GFWL screws you over; then you won't have wasted much money.*

*Early reports indicate that users on Windows 10 no longer have the GFWL issue. I'm on Windows 7 x64.