Bombshell (2016)

1. atomaweapon

   Feb 5, 2016

   10

   It boggles my mind how some reviewers can be so hateful and negative, especially professional game publications. The gamespot review was soIt boggles my mind how some reviewers can be so hateful and negative, especially professional game publications. The gamespot review was so snotty and hateful I immediately bought the game and found myself enjoying it. It surely is not earth shattering but it's that mindless fun that you can pick up after a long day and just play. The controls are a little wonky at first but once you get the flow it's fun. The story is a little corny and the main character a little much but is solid. You can't go wrong at 30 bucks for this title if this is your type of game. I actually enjoyed it more than DIablo because of the ability to use a controller. The story is fun but goofy but personally I feel it's better than diablos.
   
   Overall if watching one of the videos remotely entices you, pick it up, it's a fun game by a small developer that will keep you entertained inbetween big budget titles that big gaming publications like gamespot get paid to review high.… Expand

   • 3 of 8 users found this helpful
2. Omid_Zaraki

   May 29, 2016

   10

   wow
   this game is awsome
   very fun gameplay lovely character' beautiful environments and level design hardcore boss fights its all goodwow
   this game is awsome
   very fun gameplay
   lovely character'
   beautiful environments and level design
   hardcore boss fights
   its all good for me and i play bombshell for hours and i enjoy the game
   thanks to 3d realms for bombshell… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful
4. AragornEstel

   Jan 30, 2016

   9

   Bombshell is an action shooter where you get to play as protagonist, Shelly Harrison. The game is a great throwback to the 90's with a lot ofBombshell is an action shooter where you get to play as protagonist, Shelly Harrison. The game is a great throwback to the 90's with a lot of references to that time period . it's clear that the devs went for the kind of cheesy humour that was dominant in many games and movies of that time while still trying to add a serious element to Shell.
   
   The game controls feel extremely fluent - especially using the Xbox Controller on PC feels great. The graphics are beautifully crafted and through the game you get to visit a number of alien worlds with a lot of diversity in enemies and scenery. Bombshell's robotic arm one of the strong elements of this game, and it gives you a bunch of options and choices and you quickly learn that some weapons are strong against certain enemies while being puny against others.
   
   The quests in the game can get repetitive, but I found myself coming back to play more and progress through the story. Also, the story itself is perhaps not the strongest, but it definitely works with the 90s sort of feeling you get from the game.
   
   I would recommend this game to people who enjoy a good action game with a bad-as protagonist.… Expand

   • 5 of 14 users found this helpful
5. Captain_Chaos

   Sep 9, 2016

   6

   Having finished Bombshell, I can readily understand why it has mixed reviews. It's a well-presented top-down, mouse-aim shooter with a aHaving finished Bombshell, I can readily understand why it has mixed reviews. It's a well-presented top-down, mouse-aim shooter with a a diverse range of weapons and abilities, classic action shooter sensibility and a smattering of elements from FPSs, RPGs and platformers that more or less work well together, but it's also a rather messily executed pile of bugs, occassionally of the game-breaking variety. It reminds me of nothing if not EYE: Divine Cybermancy in this regard. Enemies disappearing, Shelly getting stuck in places, weird jump physics, mission critical items not being able to be picked up, preventing progress... most egregiously, completing the quest to get the final weapon in the game bugged, and I had no weapon to show for it. I have played a dozen games like Bombshell that weren't half as broken.
   
   It also drags a bit, padding out it's approximately nine hours of campaign play with oddly spaced checkpoints and forced backtracking to complete sidequests. The combat balance is also odd, with Shelly's power sword ability outperforming most of her firearms. It has an interesting "splitting" mechanic with Shelly's AI-controlled arm, Amiga, being able to detach itself and move independantly of her, but this mechanic is only occasionally used for puzzle solving, and this game has the barest minimum of puzzle difficulty akin to the Duke Nukem games, barring one painful riddle for which the solution can be found here on Steam in the game's only current guide.
   
   That being said, it has lovely visuals and it is obvious that this game had a lot of heart put into it, and it has been patched since launch- which makes me wonder how badly it ran when it first released. One would hope the forthcoming 1.3 patch will address more of these issues. I got it on sale for about $12, which is a reasonble price. As it is, the base price of thirty is far too steep for what you get.
   
   It's quite obvious that it was meant to be a Duke Nukem game, but it's honestly better as is. Shelly Harrison is a more interesting character with actual development and internal conflict, rather just Duke with breasts, as her canceled appearance in Duke Nukem Forever might have portrayed her. The music is excellent, and while the NPC voice actors were really phoning it in, Shelly's own VA is pretty good.
   
   I'm honestly on the fence about Bombshell. If you love top-down shooters as much as I do you will probably find something to like in this game, but if you're a stickler for bug-free gaming you'll want to look elsewhere.… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful
6. AbeMC

   Dec 10, 2018

   5

   A deliberate b-movie-style action game, Bombshell promises gritty action and tough characters. What it delivers is a kickin’ soundtrack andA deliberate b-movie-style action game, Bombshell promises gritty action and tough characters. What it delivers is a kickin’ soundtrack and massive levels that are boringly large to traverse, wrapped in - a 3D environment viewed with an isometric camera? It’s an odd design decision that prevents Bombshell from being a lively action romp and instead makes it tedious and distant. If you can get it for around $5 it’s a satisfactory time-waster, but not much more.
   Total size on my hard-drive: 8.9 GB
   
   + Full controller support.
   + Graphics are nice (Unreal 3).
   + Despite the nice visuals, runs well. Max settings @1080p averaged between 75-110 fps on my RX 470.
   + Excellent soundtrack.
   + A number of different weapons to use, and switching between them is very fluid.
   + Stunning environments. From lava to snow and ice to sci-fi wonderhell, there’s a lot of detail.
   + Appreciate the under-stated humor. From jokes about fetch-quests to weapon-naming (Shelly’s chain gun is called the “maxigun,” and the missile launcher is referred to as the PMS), the laughs are frequent but easily over-looked. Those who search carefully in one level will find the Temple of Dopefish...
   
   +/- Voice acting is all over the place, with some great work by Valerie Arem as Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison and the legendary Jon St. John (Duke Nukem) as the villain. The rest vary from average to terrible.
   +/- Even knowing Bombshell is emulating b-movie tropes, the characters (aside from Bombshell herself) mostly fall flat. There’s little that is surprising or convincing, even within the confines of the traditional “evil mastermind” or “misplaced father” tropes.
   +/- Too often you’ll want to pick a weapon and stick with it for most encounters, depending on the level. Like the flamethrower completely wrecks the ice level (as you would expect), and for special powers, why would you use anything other than the bubble shield? Well, the energy sword (basically a lightsaber) inflicts tons of damage, so it makes a good case, but it’s easy to argue in favor of OP weapons. The shotgun (called the “motherflakker”) will be the go-to weapon for most of the game.
   
   - Checkpoint saving only.
   - Bugged achievements. They don’t always trigger. Then a whole bunch will trigger at once.
   - I experienced a few glitches, most of them involving Shelly getting stuck on the environment. Also had a boss spawn outside the boss arena once. Reloading a checkpoint is the only solution. Health orb would glitch, showing full health when in fact the numerical health readout showed much less. Fell through an elevator once, which then glitched on the upper level, while I respawned on the lower, making it impossible to back-track and complete a side-quest (reloading a checkpoint didn’t fix it).
   - Levels are HUGE. Just traversing them takes a large amount of time, and while there are some unlockable short-cuts, traversal becomes a giant chore. Made worse by the back-tracking that side-missions usually require. It’s nice that there are so many nooks and crannies to explore, but that’s a small compensation.
   - Can’t rotate the camera.
   - Little enemy variety. Actually, the variety itself is decent - each of the four episodes has a few new enemies – but with the levels being so large it feels like you’re fighting the same enemies over and over.
   - Soundtrack may be great, but the size of the levels makes the music loop way too much.
   
   The decision to go with an isometric camera angle for what should be an fps is a curious one, and, coupled with the size of the levels, really hurts the experience that Bombshell offers. If it had fit into a more traditional fps mold, it could have been more popular – especially given the weapons available and the potential for an old-school, action-based (instead of cover-based) shooter. Thankfully, the next game in the series, Ion Maiden (a prequel), does exactly that. That’s a game that I’m really looking forward to playing, but Bombshell unfortunately leaves a very mixed impression behind. Pick it up if you see it cheap, but expect it to drag on well past its welcome. 5/10… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
7. Prosmooth

   Jan 29, 2016

   2

   Here's a tip for game developers. If you know you've made a game that's not very good--don't name it something that can be used against you inHere's a tip for game developers. If you know you've made a game that's not very good--don't name it something that can be used against you in reviews. "Bombshell really bombs" doesn't make a very good review blurb. If you're going to go that route though, you might as well have titled this thing Crapburger. This game stinks.… Expand

   • 14 of 20 users found this helpful
8. ThecriticGoD

   Mar 15, 2016

   0

   I've probably never seen a game this bad, where do I start... I mean, do I even have to start? Everything in the game is just bad, EVERYTHING,I've probably never seen a game this bad, where do I start... I mean, do I even have to start? Everything in the game is just bad, EVERYTHING, I'm not even kidding, there's not a single thing that is gonna make this game worth it's price, damn, it's not even worth a single euro. This is the only 0 I've ever given, but a very firm and safe one, this is the worst game I've played in my whole life.… Expand

   • 2 of 2 users found this helpful

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