Bulletstorm: Duke of Switch Edition (NSP, XCI) ROM

Bulletstorm: Duke of Switch Edition is a 2011 first-person shooter game developed by People Can Fly and Epic Games and published by Electronic Arts (EA). The video game is distinguished by its system of rewarding players with “skill points” for performing increasingly creative kills. Bulletstorm does not have any competitive multiplayer modes, preferring instead to include cooperative online play and score attack modes.

Set in the 26th century, the game’s story follows Grayson Hunt, a space pirate and former black ops soldier who gets shot down on a war-torn planet while trying to exact revenge on General Sarrano, his former commander who tricked him and his men into committing war crimes and assassinating innocents.

Development of the game began in June 2007. Adrian Chmielarz and Cliff Bleszinski served as its director and designer respectively, while Rick Remender, the author of Fear Agent, wrote the game’s story. It was originally envisioned to be a cover-based third-person shooter, though the core combat loop and gameplay perspective went through multiple revisions.

Pulp magazines, Burnout, Duke Nukem, and Firefly all inspired the team during Bulletstorm’s development. The team experimented with competitive multiplayer modes and campaign cooperative multiplayer modes during production but decided to remove them because of technological constraints.

Upon its release in February 2011 for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, the game received positive reviews from critics who praised its setting, graphics, action, pacing, and gameplay but was criticized for its story, writing, and multiplayer modes. It amassed a great deal of controversy with Fox News during its release window for its depiction of sexual jokes for humor. Bulletstorm was a commercial failure for both Epic Games and Electronic Arts, selling one million copies by 2013.

Gearbox Publishing released a remastered version of the game titled Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition in April 2017 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and a version for Nintendo Switch, titled Bulletstorm: Duke of Switch Edition, in August 2019. A sequel was put on hold as the studio reallocated its resources to work on Gears of War: Judgment. A virtual reality version of the game, titled Bulletstorm VR, was released on December 14, 2023.

GAMEPLAY

As a first-person shooter, Bulletstorm focuses on combat. The game features eight weapons, each with their distinct behaviors. In addition to standard firearms such as shotguns and assault rifles, the game features unusual weaponry such as the “Bouncer”, which shoots explosive bouncing cannonballs, and the “Flailgun”, a cannon that shoots bolas weighted by grenades. Each weapon has an alternate fire mode that uses “charges”; for example, the Screamer revolver’s “charge shot” turns the weapon into a flare gun that ignites an enemy and sends them into the air.

The playable character is equipped with an “instinct leash” that allows him to pull enemies towards him; an upgrade unlocks the “Thumper”, which slams down a ball of energy that launches all nearby enemies and explosive barrels into the air. The player can also kick enemies or run and slide into them. If an enemy is launched into the air from the whip or by being kicked/slid into, they go into slow motion, allowing players to perform “skill shots”. Skillshots reward the player for killing opponents in the most creative and unusual ways possible.

Points are awarded for various actions, such as killing enemies in midair, making use of environmental hazards such as kicking enemies towards spikes and impaling them, or using a weapon’s distinct feature. The more complicated or unusual the skill shot, the more points players acquire. Points are used as currency at “drop kits” scattered across the planet to purchase firearms, ammunition, and upgrades. Dropkit checkpoints are also the sites where players can swap their weapons, access the Skillshot database, and view players’ statistics.

Besides the single-player campaign, players can access two additional modes. In “Echoes”, players must play through a single-player level and kill the enemies in the most unusual ways possible within a fixed period. Each player is given a rating on their performance, which is then uploaded to a leaderboard. Another mode is “Anarchy”, a four-player co-operative multiplayer mode. In Anarchy, players must fight through waves of enemies and perform skill shots. When the group of players gains enough skill shots, they can then unlock new levels and arenas. The Anarchy mode has its own set of skill shots and a unique progression system.

PLOT

Bulletstorm takes place in the 26th century when the universe is run by the “Confederation of Planets”. Grayson Hunt (Steven Blum) is the leader of Dead Echo, a black ops team under the command of Confederation General Victor Sarrano (Anthony De Longis). Dead Echo assassinates a man named Bryce Novak and accesses his files; they discover Novak was not a criminal “separatist” as they had been told, but a civilian reporter, documenting evidence of Sarrano’s corruption and his use of Dead Echo to eliminate his political and personal enemies. When Sarrano tries to have them killed for questioning him, Grayson and his team desert, flee to the edges of the universe and become pirates. Ten years later, the ship carrying Grayson (now struggling with alcoholism), and his comrades Ishi Sato (Andrew Kishino), Rell Julian (Chris Cox), and Dr. Whit Oliver (Robin Atkin Downes) is intercepted by Ulysses, Serrano’s flagship, near the ruined planet of Stygia. In a drunken rage, Grayson attempts a suicide attack on Ulysses. Both ships crash land onto Stygia, fatally wounding Ishi.

Oliver sends Grayson and Rell to find an energy cell to power the ship’s medical equipment so he can operate it. Grayson locates an escape pod from Ulysses and retrieves its energy cell and a device called an “instinct leash”.They return with the cell, and Doc manages to replace most of Ishi’s body with cybernetics, including an AI processor for parts of his brain. However, in the middle of the operation, marauders break into the ship; Doc and Rell are both killed and while Ishi survives, he is left permanently disfigured by the incomplete surgery. Grayson and Ishi decide to work together to get off the planet, despite Ishi blaming Grayson for their friends’ deaths. As they work their way toward the nearest city, the AI processor in Ishi’s brain takes over several times, fueled by his anger at Grayson’s selfishness and refusal to give up his vendetta. The instinct leash leads Grayson to another escape pod, where they find Trishka (Jennifer Hale), a member of Final Echo, the unit that replaced Dead Echo. She agrees to work with Grayson and Ishi on the condition that they help her rescue Serrano.

Grayson eventually learns that Trishka was Novak’s daughter; after Dead Echo inadvertently saved her life, she joined the military to hunt down the “separatists” who killed him. Grayson tells her that Sarrano was responsible for her father’s death, but lies about his involvement. The three fight their way to Sarrano’s escape pod, which landed on top of a skyscraper. Trishka holds Sarrano at gunpoint and demands answers; he manages to throw her off the roof and informs Grayson and Ishi that Ulysses is carrying a “DNA bomb” designed to wipe out all life on Stygia so it can be repopulated. He claims that the bomb is damaged and that if it is not disarmed soon, they will die before help arrives. Reluctantly, the two fight alongside him to reach the wreckage of the Ulysses. Sarrano tricks Grayson into arming the bomb and escapes, leaving him and Ishi trapped. Just as it seems they are about to die, Trishka, who turns out to still be alive, rescues them.

The three race to Sarrano’s rescue ship and get on board just as it takes off. They fight their way through Sarrano’s “Heavy Echo” troops and confront him on the ship’s bridge. Trishka demands to know who killed her father, and Serrano reveals that Grayson and his men did. An argument ensues, and Sarrano then uses his instinct leash to hijack Ishi’s body and force him to attack Grayson and Trishka. Encouraged by Grayson, Ishi manages to wrest back control and winds up taking a bullet meant for his friend. Enraged, Grayson impales Sarrano on the wall, but Sarrano can eject him and Trishka from the ship back onto Stygia’s surface. Grayson and Trishka race back to the Ulysses and board an unused escape pod. They launch it into low orbit, with the explosion of the DNA bomb propelling the pod into space. As Stygia is slowly consumed by the blast, the two talk about Grayson’s revenge, the loss of his team, and Serrano still being alive. Trishka asks Grayson what he is going to do about Sarrano escaping, and the screen fades to black. In a post-credits scene, it is revealed that Sarrano is now a cyborg due to the extent of his injuries. Ishi also survives, albeit under the full control of his AI processor.