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As the first chapter of an episodic adventure, Blues and Bullets accomplishes everything it needs to—great writing, interesting characters, hints of a compelling story, and engaging gameplay are all present. I can't predict whether this level of excellence is going to be maintained, but as it stands, it is absolutely worth playing for anyone with even a passing interest in detective stories or Telltale-style interactive movies. They simply don't come any better. 

Blues and Bullets acaba de asomar la patita con el primer episodio, un episodio que tarda en arrancar pero que, cuando lo hace, no nos soltará hasta el final, y que, de seguir el ritmo, competiría de tu a tu contra las aventuras de Telltale.

A conti fatti Blues and Bullets - Episode 1: The End of Peace si conferma un titolo visivamente evocativo e soprattutto coraggioso nel proporre tematiche così drammatiche. Sebbene la fattura tecnica e la difficoltà generale lascino a desideare, complice un sistema di controllo e di mira rudimentali, il comparto artistico in stile fumettoso funziona alla grande e arricchisce molto l’atmosfera, ulteriormente enfatizzata da una colonna sonora spettacolare. Il team spagnolo A Crowd of Monsters ha dimostrato con questo primo capitolo di saperci fare, proponendo quella che sulle prime sembra un’improbabile rivisitazione storica ma che ben presto rivela la sua vera natura malvagia, conducendo il giocatore in un dedalo di brutalità e violenza psicologica tra omicidi, mutilazioni e torture. Spero che anche i capitoli successivi si dimostrino all’altezza e che alcune sbavature vengano corrette; per ora il verdetto è comunque positivo.

Au final, je peux vous confirmer que j’ai adoré mes deux heures passées dans le jeu. Je me suis laissé porter par ce qui m’était offert à l’écran. Cependant, j’en aurais pris beaucoup plus. Ouais, je sais que c’est un jeu en format épisodique, mais ça passe trop vite. L’investissement vous en coûtera que 5$ alors, svp faites-en l’achat pour encourager l’excellent travail de ce studio indépendant. Monsieur Capone, on se donne rendez-vous dans quelques semaines.

All I can say is I am incredibly pleased with Blues and Bullets: Shaking The Hive. It delivers on almost all fronts. It still suffers from some technical difficulties that can at times be jarring, but the storytelling and character development is so brilliant and well done that it almost outweighs the one con it has. I hope they can use the luxury of having episodic releases to patch up some of these technical issues, especially if they’re going to take months to release them. Regardless, I can’t wait to see how this epic story unfolds as time goes on. I have nothing but faith and hope in A Crowd of Monsters at this point as they have proven they can tell a masterfully crafted story with nearly flawless execution.

Blues & Bullets finaliza su primer capítulo de una manera muy emocionante que nos deja con ganas de más, pero habrá que esperar unas semanas para ello. Pero hasta el momento hemos podido disfrutar de esta aventura creada por A Crowd of Monsters, aunque se nos ha quedado corta en cuanto a su duración. Es cierto que hay momentos que nos resultará con poco ritmo, y técnicamente no termina de ser una maravilla, todo lo contrario en cuando a su diseño artístico, pero su historia te engaña. Con buenas voces originales, no hubiera estado mal en nuestro idioma. Deseando estamos de conocer que nos depara Eliot Ness.

El único pero que podríamos ponerle a esta primera parte es que las decisiones que hemos tomado durante su transcurso, no han tenido una incidencia directa en lo que hemos visto, aunque yo personalmente pienso que veremos sus efectos en los próximos capítulos. En total completar al cien por cien este primer tramo de la historia han sido unas 3 horas y la verdad es que se me ha hecho realmente corto.

Essentially, Blues and Bullets: Episode Two is just what you’d expect; more of the same. When the focus of the game is on its storytelling however, and it’s just as solid as it was in episode one or maybe even better, that’s absolutely fine.  Running a little longer than the first episode at just less than three hours, the pacing lets it down a little due to the overlong shooting scenes, but it remains an absorbing experience from beginning to end nevertheless. Adding yet more layers to the web of intrigue, episode two of Blues and Bullets offers us few answers to the questions on our lips at the end of the first episode, but it doesn’t leave you dissatisfied; it just leaves you eager for the next chapter of the chilling and mysterious tale that’s unravelling to arrive. For a story-driven experience, surely that’s the highest praise that can be given.

Blues and Bullets is not without its flaw and suffers from a slight case of over saturation when it comes to player choice. But it’s without a shadow of a doubt, an incredibly well-crafted game loaded with charisma, a mature edge to story telling with some pretty entertaining gameplay and set pieces. Blues and Bullets is definitely worth checking out whether you a noire fan or love games with a great story and some engaging game design.

Blues & Bullets tiene una oscura historia que engancha desde el principio que además deja con ganas de saber más sobre la misma y sobre lo que pasará con tus decisiones, si te gustan los juegos del estilo de Telltale Games más que a un tonto un lápiz no dudes en comprarte este primer capitulo como mínimo para probarlo.

El episodio 2 de Blues and Bullets constituye una continuación interesante, intensa y que no pierde el ritmo del primero, sino que añade algún elemento no visto hasta ahora, y esto resulta de agradecer. Un juego pausado, pero tenso, y una experiencia muy cinematográfica.

Blues and Bullets sigue por el buen camino y nos presenta un nuevo capítulo –de 2 o 3 horas de duración- que sigue haciendo las cosas francamente bien. Su mezcla de géneros nos gusta, su historia nos tiene atrapados y su magnífica puesta en escena audiovisual no hace más que redondear lo buen juego que es. No es un juego perfecto, ni mucho menos. No profundiza en ninguna de los géneros que toca (aventura point and click, tiroteos, etc.) y tampoco los resuelve de forma brillante, pero consigue que el jugador no pueda soltar el mando mientras dura y, lo más importante: que se divierta. Y eso es lo mejor que se puede decir de un videojuego. Nuestra enhorabuena para A Crowd of Monsters por su Blues and Bullets. Ya tenemos ganas del tercero.

En resumen, un pequeño aperitivo (es el primero de un total de cinco capítulos) de menos de dos horas que, por apenas 5 euros, todo el mundo debería probar. Juego español, calidad de sobras y una historia realmente buena. ¿Te lo vas a perder?

Titolo investigativo che fonde in se parecchi stili di gioco: a mio parere, da provare!

Este nuevo episodio de Blues & Bullets posiblemente no nos dejará tan impacientes y sorprendidos como sucedió con el primero. Aún así quieres continuar con la historia para conocer qué va a ocurrir. Eso sí, para eso habrá que tener paciencia y esperemos que esta vez el tiempo entre episodios sea menor que la última vez. A Crowd of Monsters está haciendo un gran trabajo con esta aventura y seguramente lo que resta seguirá siendo así. Una lástima que su duración sea tan corta y su rejabilidad nula. De lo que estamos seguros es que todos los jugadores que disfrutaron de la primera entrega, lo harán con esta. Aquellos que aún no lo han hecho ya están tardando, merece la pena.

Overall the story hooked me, and while the gameplay wasn’t too impressive, the visuals and presentation helped push me through the beginning of this unique story. I do have a soft spot for the film The Untouchables so I might be a bit biased, but I would recommend this game for fans of the episodic adventure genre. It’s not as polished as a Telltale game but the story is unique and I’m intrigued to see where it will go in episode 2.

The first episode of Blues and Bullets has built up enough interest to keep players curious in a second installment. The game’s story, confident art style, and engaging crime scene investigation puzzles give the game enough intrigue to stay around. Unfortunately, in its current state, hiccups such as long load times, empty environments, and weak shooting sections hold it back from being something great.

En conclusión, el primer episodio de Blues and Bullets sirve como presentación, dos horas en las que nos darán muestras de lo que nos deparará en el resto de episodios, la historia es su punto clave y todo parece indicar que en los capítulos venideros tendremos más y mejor. 

Blues and Bullets isn't perfect, but Episode 1 definitely left a positive impression on us. The visual style is infectious and atmospheric, and while it takes more than a few cues from Sin City, it adds a surprising amount of immersion to the storytelling. The first episode is also nicely balanced between casual exploring, action scenes, and a lengthy but satisfying crime scene investigation. There certainly seems to be a lot of adventure games around these days, and we're happy to state that Blues and Bullets is yet another one you should keep your eyes on.

If you've played a Telltale game, you should have a basic understanding of how Blues and Bullets plays out: tightly scripted scenes, moral choices, QTE battles, and not all that much interaction from the player. But its well-crafted film noir atmosphere—along with some honest-to-god puzzles—make this adventure more than just another copycat.

A Crowd of Monsters ha demostrado con este primer capítulo de Blues and Bullets que tienen potencial para desarrollar títulos de un altísimo nivel, algo que se echaba en falta en nuestro panorama nacional. Mezcla lo mejor de cada género, aunque tal vez este cóctel podría haber dado más de sí, con un poco más de libertad en las mecánicas y no siendo un juego con escenarios tan cerrados. Tendremos que estar a la altura de nuestra fama y resolver asesinatos explorando el escenario y recopilando pistas, echando un falta cierto nivel de dificultad a la hora de resolver los casos. Su estética lo convierte en una de las grande sorpresas de la temporada, con ese ambiente noir que encaja a la perfección con la historia, todo en blanco y negro a excepción a ciertos objetos con tonalidad roja. Artísticamente aporta un suspense y drama cinematográfico que hará que no perdamos el interés en ningún momento, llegando a hacerse el primer capítulo hasta corto. Todo esto acompañado de una excelente banda sonora digna de una gran superproducción, hacen del juego una sorpresiva joya que ha llegado a Xbox One para quedarse.

El inicio de Blues and Bullets deja con ganas de más y de que salga pronto el segundo episodio, lo cual es bastante bueno. Sin embargo, sus problemas de ritmo pueden hacer que más de uno se aleje de esta historia de Elliot Ness, y ese es sin duda su principal problema. Lo peor es que ese problema de ritmo viene por una parte de exploración, que luego continúa en otra parte de exploración mucho más interesante. Si para los siguientes episodios consiguen mantener el ritmo que se consigue tanto al principio como al final del episodio, además de avanzar la historia de forma interesante, podemos encontrarnos ante una buena propuesta de aventura noir episódica.

Blues & Bullets no busca diversión ni acción frenética si no meter al jugador en una película de gangsters y convertirle en un auténtico detective.

So there are noticeable dips in the experience, and the game remains a little jagged in technical terms (Capone still looks like a half-melted waxwork of himself). Ness and the world he inhabits resemble history less than ever here, too; the episode would work just as well with a cast of entirely fictional characters. The story nonetheless remains intriguing, and we’re keen to see how things develop. A Crowd of Monsters’ ferocious determination to set the game apart in terms of style also, again, benefits the experience greatly. The mostly black-and-white presentation still looks cool, and one section that breaks from form for overtones of horror is tense and memorable. The decisions we made in the post-credits sequence were quickly regretted, and we’re eager to see what consequences, if any, follow. Let’s hope it’s not another seven months before we can find out, eh?

So is Blues and Bullet’s Episode 2 worth your time?  The majority of you reading this will have already played Episode 1, in which case you pretty much know what to expect from Episode 2.  The story, having been laid out so well  in the first episode, does start to pick up momentum here, and some of your earlier choices do begin to have an impact, but many of the problems that were apparent in the first episode still remain.  The game does benefit from a few quicker, more action oriented set pieces, which does serve to counteract the games overall pace problems, and as such Episode 2 does improve (slightly) upon what came before.  Hopefully these improvements will continue to be made by the time Episode 3 comes out later in the year.

Blues and Bullets has a very rough start, but it has enough shining moments to keep players intrigued to see where Ness’s story will roll. If the developers work more with the gameplay, fine tune the controls and add some difficulty with the sleuthing sequences, and continue to ramp up the story, then they will have an indie sleeper hit, even with the low quality character models. They also need to prove that the choices players make for Ness mean anything, because it’s hard to say how any of it at this point matters at all. Even as it is now, however, it’s well worth the $5 an episode.

It's hard to recommend Blues and Bullets Episode 1 because it feels like two games in one. The first half feels tedious, confusing and poorly paced, but then the second really shows the promise that A Crowd of Monsters has put into the game. If Episode 2 can really keep up the momentum that the second half of Episode 1 had, we're in for a treat. Otherwise, this is one cold case you probably shouldn't open again.

I really want to love Blues and Bullets. It could have been a good start to the series, but there are some really frustrating elements, and it baffles me how the developers looked at them and said, “yes, this is the product we want to release to the world”: the terrible semi-fixed camera that moves in an unpredictable manner as you move around, the boring gunfight segments, and the fact that, for a standalone episode, pretty much nothing actually happens. But if it capitalizes on its strengths, polishes its mechanics up, and fixes those issues I mentioned, then future episodes of Blues and Bullets could definitely be winners.

The story and voice acting do a great job of quickly laying out whatever it is you have to do, so much so that I was confident with my decisions that I made when playing as Ness. It is for this reason that I am tempted into buying episode 2, in order to see how the choices I made impact the story further down the line, provided Ness buys a pair of trainers to make him move a bit quicker.

Episode Two has lost some of the magic I admired in the first one. Becoming more of an action-orientated affair with bland cover-based shooting, tacky QTEs and daft animations. But, it’s still interesting due to its highly engrossing narrative, visual style and even though simple, the investigation was powerful in heightening the tension and impact of the story. The gameplay mechanics aren’t the strongest here, as the game has clearly expanded, and by making things bigger the faults have become more apparent. I hope that the next episode would focus a little more on the investigation with more depth and a little less action. Introduce some dynamic elements for the action, such as bosses, to increase the tension to make the investigation a little bit more challenging. 

A neo-noir aesthetic, gruesome investigations, and pending showdown between Eliot Ness and superhuman cultists separate “The End of Peace” from its genre rivals. However, awkward dialogue pauses, no worthwhile choices, and an inexplicable alternate timeline stop this episode from surpassing them.