Epic Games announces Bulletstorm, a brand-new futuristic shooter

In the lead-up to Cliff Bleszinski's big announcement on tonight's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (which wealready knowis Gears of War 3), Epic Games and EA announced a new title: Bulletstorm.

Above:Bulletstorm's reveal appears in the latest issue of GameInformer

The game is being developed by Epic's People Can Fly studio, the creators of Painkiller, and will be released on 360, PS3, and PC in 2011. Today's press release offered a brief synopsis of the plot:

"Bulletstorm tells the story of a futuristic confederation protected by an elite band of mercenaries: Dead Echo. When Dead Echo members Grayson Hunt and Ishi Sato learn they've been working for the wrong side, they're betrayed by their commander and exiled to the far reaches of the galaxy. In Bulletstorm, Grayson and Ishi find themselves surrounded by hordes of mutants and flesh eating gangs in an abandoned paradise. They have two objectives: get off the planet alive, and exact revenge on the man who sent them there."

Know what we're tired of? SPACE MARINES. An intergalactic revenge storysounds refreshing, and we can't knock "hordes of mutants and flesh eating gangs." Also refreshing-sounding is the "skillshot" system, which is briefly described the release. In an era of auto-aim, we're all for games which reward beautifully orchestrated murderizing:

"Bulletstorm’s array of distinct ‘skillshots’ produces unprecedented levels of frantic gameplay and yell-inducing satisfaction. The skillshot system rewards players for inciting mayhem in the most creative way possible. The more insane the skillshot, the more points players collects to upgrade their character and unlock weapons, which then allows them to execute even more creative moves and exaggerated skillshots."

We imagine Bleszinski won't spend much time on the game tonight, focusing instead on his other "mystery" announcement (Gears of War 3). A trailer for one or the other would be nice, though unless Gears 3 blows our minds, we're actually more interested in hearing about Bulletstorm. We sort of know what to expect from the Gears series already.

We're mostly just happy that Fallon and company are forward-thinking enough to recognize the game industry's massive appeal. We'd rather see Bleszinski on Late Night than watch Robin Williams try to get his funny back. Just make sure you find something else to do while waiting for Cliffy's appearance, or you'll have to watch Fallon's monologue.

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is on NBC tonight at 12:35/11:35C. Avoid accidentally catching the end of Leno, or your sense of humor might die.

Apr 12, 2010