Bulletstorm is a sci-fi based FPS following the alcoholic, potty-mouthed main character of Grayson Hunt on his quest for revenge against General Sarrano on an alien planet called Stygia.  At first, I didn't think I was going to like this game.  On the surface it looks like a rip-off of Gears of War, however it is anything but.  The storyline is solid and contains some real moments of soul-searching on the part of Grayson.  Grayson acts like a macho, no-holds barred type of guy, but he is actually more complex than he lets on.  However, the game's best character is Grayson's partner in crime Ishi, an android battling his own internal demons.  In between moments of ass-kicking and dick jokes, the two allies have some pretty insightful conversations in which Grayson actually feels guilty for events in his past.  What really sets this game apart though is the built-in reward system for kills.  You find a piece of technology left on Stygia, called a leash, that keeps track of not only your kills, but also how you kill the enemies--this is where the skillshots come in.  Skillshots force you to kill your opponents in new and exciting ways because the points you gain can be spent on anything from ammo and upgrades to new guns-unlocking even more ways to kill people!  These skillshots range from gun related--"Trip Wire" (shoot a running enemy in the legs and then kill him while he is down) to environment related--"Pricked" (kill an enemy by flinging them into a cactus).  You'll look forward to finding sadistic new ways to kill your enemies with the skillshot system.  After finishing the campaign you'll still have plenty to do in Echoes mode and multiplayer Anarchy mode.  I would definitely recommend Bulletstorm if you are somewhat tired of the mundane shooters out there. (.86)

-Jeff