Overview

Epic Games' Bulletstorm is all about violence and explosions. Grayson Hunt, a vet turned pirate tries to escape from Stygia, a former resort planet now overrun with meat-eating plants, feral mutant tribes, criminals, and Godzilla-sized monsters. It doesn't get any manlier then that. The music to this bombastic game has been written by Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz and Michal Cielecki. It was released free of charge to the general fans and public on the games official website. The downloadable soundtrack contains a total of 24 tracks, which are all played in game.

Body

The soundtrack relies heaviliy on orchestral performances, which are seldom mixed with electronic tones. It begins with the iconic main theme of Bulletstorm. The theme is everything a main theme should be — memorable and exciting enough to last a strong impression on the listener. Although Grayson and co. are self proclaimed tough guys, the main theme penetrates that by mixing fast paced violin and brass riffs with elegant vocals. This sheds light on the more heroic nature and emotional bonds of the team.

Most of the sounds and themes heard in this game are a definite nod to the Gears of War franchise and modern action scores in general. The action tracks in this soundtrack are similar, as they create suspense with pounding percussions, fast instrumental hits and intense vocals. The perfect examples of this are the "Quit being Cute" and "The Breaks are Out", which never slow down and use explosive instuments throughout; it creates the feeling of being outnumbered and outgunned by violent enemies.

Although the action tracks are exciting and enjoyable to listen to, they are not exactly memorable. One of the main reasons is perhaps because of the absence of any prominent melodies in these tracks. In fact, it would have been desirable for such tracks to have integrated the main theme in places. Indeed, the main problem with this score is that there are too many generic action scores but not enough memorable themes for characters or places.

The soundtrack is not completely filled with action. "A Moment Of Luck In The Sea Of Misfortune" and "Hostiles on Our Tail" provide exceptions with their slower tempo and suspenseful strings. Tracks like "Gotta Be Out" use quiet sounding instruments and suspenseful electronics akin to most stealth games. They create an ominous sounding ambience that forces the player to be on full alert at all times in the dangerous and unknown planet.

Summary

Although an exciting listen, the Bulletstorm soundtrack is nothing special and the only unique and memorable track is the main theme. The action tracks are definitely intense, but sound very generic and nothing separates them from the hundreds of similar sounding action tracks from most games. It is suiting nonetheless and, given it is freely available, still worth a try.