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Many PlayStation2 owners are already learning to
love one of the most exciting publishers to arrive on the scene in
recent years; 505 Gamestreet. Not only are they bringing new titles
to the consoles at undisputedly fantastic prices - nobody is likely
to argue with games for nine pounds – but they’re also bringing
titles to the Uk that otherwise European audiences are never likely
to see. However, these games do have to meet the expectations of
gamers. Largely, the titles they have released have done this; not
only have they brought Harvest Moon and Legend Of The
River King (repackaged as
Harvest Fishing) to these
shores, but have also released enjoyable titles such as Aces of
War,
Bujingai Swordmaster,
Gungrave Overdose and
Guilty Gear: Isuka. However some of their publications such as
Panzer front Ausf.B have been less than delightful. I
personally approached 10,000 Bullets with something verging
on trepidation. At first glance it seemed like a typical Shoot-‘Em-Up,
whose only distinguishing feature was that it had looked to rip of
The Matrix. I quickly discovered there was a lot more to it
than that.
10,000 Bullets is a highly
story-driven game, based around the concept of Gunslingers. These
exceptional individuals are natural born killers who become more
powerful by consuming the blood of other Gunslingers, each of which
has a specific power. Whilst all the characters the players uses
have the same power, namely the Bullet-Time ability: slow-down the
game speed and then dodge bullets and attack multiple enemies.
However, the Gunslingers who operate as Bosses throughout the games
have a
 multitude of powers. These range from creating self-replicants
to throw-off the gamer, to teleporting a few feet - one character
even appears to be carrying a giant Kevlar-esque fan. The storyline
starts off with the player in control of Crow, a man on a search for
vengeance. His revenge is however gained relatively quickly. He is
quickly betrayed, however, by that which he had believed to be his
closest friend, the appropriately named Judas. The rest of the game
is largely taken with fighting various Gunslingers before a final
face-off with Judas himself, to avenge the murder of Judas’
girlfriend and beloved of Crow, Keiko. In the process the gamer
takes control of a new love interest of Crow’s and various other
Gunslingers who join their course on the way. In a piece of a subtle
social commentary, it is the insurance industry that seems to be the
major force in the world throughout out the game, and use Crow and
his associates for their own purposes.
The game itself consists of choosing
a location to go to until you find the correct one for the
next-stage of the game. The player must then fight of a huge number
of enemies before fighting-off one of these Gunslingers usually
flanked by a few of his or her cronies. The fighting itself is the
main feature of the game and is competently executed. The player has
several moves at his disposal, and the main character, Crow, carries
two guns and is an expert with them, Lock-Ons are performed using
the R2 Trigger and fires with a tap of the Circle Button. The
majority of the pleasure of the game however comes from The
Matrix-style bullet-dodging enabled by slowing down time. A tap of
the Triangle Button slows-down time for a limited period enabling
some amazing acrobatics. Various button combinations produce some
visually stunning bullet-dodging; the player can find himself or
herself engaged in some of the most outstanding stunts, shooting
constantly, and killing huge numbers of enemies. The number of hits
made in a short space of time is displayed in the top right-hand
corner of the screen as Combo numbers. The play system allows a
player, once accustomed to the game to create amazing combinations
of well over 100 Hits. It is however a great shame that there is no
facility to watch a replay of the Level at full-speed after
completion.
Whilst the in-game graphics look
good for a PlayStation2 and the slow-down effects are excellent, the
Cut-Scenes look relatively poor. The characters look very plastic
and the Lip-Synching is pretty abysmal. The faces remain
emotionless, making it much harder to feel any sort of empathy with
the characters. It does seem strange to find a Taito game in which
the in-game visuals seem better than the Cut-Scenes.
The sound is not bad, but is nothing
terribly special. It certainly doesn’t add anything to the game that
wouldn’t be there without it. The music is instantly forgettable and
the Voice-Acting is unconvincing.
It would be very easy to label the game as a
The Matrix rip-off, but this would be rather unfair. The game
 has limited similarities with any of the The Matrix games,
and those aspects are pulled-off much more competently in 10,000
Bullets than in either Enter The Matrix or The Matrix:
Path of Neo. It is a fun challenge, with a real sardonic streak,
best summed up by the names of the Gunslingers; most memorable was
fighting a massive guy named Little John on a bridge. Although not
highly original in concept or gameplay, 10,000 Bullets is
definitely a game worth playing for any fan of Third-Person Shoot-‘Em-Ups.
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