Bullet Run

{{Short description|2012 video game}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}} {{Infobox video game | title = Bullet Run | image = Bullet Run Logo.jpg | caption = Bullet Run Logo | developer = ACONY | designer = | publisher = Sony Online Entertainment | platforms = Microsoft Windows | released = 31 July 2012<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/games/bullet-run/pc-110097 |title=Bullet Run - PC |publisher=IGN |accessdate=2013-02-10}}</ref> | genre = First-person shooter | modes = Multiplayer }} '''''Bullet Run''''' was a free-to-play online multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by German studio ACONY and published by Sony Online Entertainment in 2012.<ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.giantbomb.com/bullet-run/61-39180/ |title=Bullet Run (video game) |publisher=Giantbomb.com |date=2012-07-31 |accessdate=2013-02-10}}</ref><ref name="Bullet Run">{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/bullet-run/ |title=Bullet Run |publisher=GameSpot.com |date=2012-07-31 |accessdate=2013-02-10 |archive-date=15 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215054239/http://www.gamespot.com/bullet-run/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 1 February 2013, Sony Online Entertainment announced that the game would be shut down on 8 March 2013. The game was shut down at 12:00PM ET. SOE refunded all the platinum memberships starting 1 February 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bulletrunthegame.com/news/article.vm?month=022013&id=108 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150130200913/https://www.bulletrunthegame.com/news/article.vm?month=022013&id=108 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-01-30 |title=Bullet Run - News Article |publisher=Bulletrunthegame.com |accessdate=2013-02-10 }}</ref>

==Gameplay== The game takes place in a staged reality TV show studio where contestants battle in a televised arena with cameras and commentators on the sidelines capturing the battle to be broadcast worldwide. Combatants battle to achieve worldwide fame and glory.<ref name="Bullet Run - FAQ"/>

''Bullet Run'' features online team based multiplayer combat. Up to 20 players can battle in one of the game's 5 maps called 'arenas.'<ref name="Bullet Run - FAQ">{{cite web |url=https://www.bulletrunthegame.com/faq.vm |title=Bullet Run - FAQ |publisher=Bulletrunthegame.com |accessdate=2013-02-10 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116070251/http://www.bulletrunthegame.com/faq.vm |archivedate=16 January 2013}}</ref> The game included three game modes, Team Deathmatch, Search & Destroy, and Dominion (which is similar to King of the Hill). More game modes were also planned until developers announced the game was to be shut down. Players also can wield experimental and exotic weapons. Players may use four abilities called skills that are unlocked as a match goes on. Upon killing another player, players can use the keyboard to taunt the losing player, earning the player "heat", the game's in-game currency.<ref name="joystiq1">{{cite web |last=Schramm |first=Mike |url=http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/13/bullet-run-is-free-to-play-and-worth-the-price/ |title=Bullet Run is free-to-play, and worth the price |publisher=Joystiq |date=2012-06-13 |accessdate=2013-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918140046/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/13/bullet-run-is-free-to-play-and-worth-the-price/ |archive-date=18 September 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Reception== {{Video game reviews | MC = 53/100<ref name=MC/> | GSpot = 5.5/10<ref name=GSpot>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/bullet-run-review/1900-6393228/ |title=Bullet Run Review |publisher=GameSpot |last=Todd |first=Brett |date=24 August 2012 |accessdate=25 March 2018 |archive-date=25 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325171248/https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/bullet-run-review/1900-6393228/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | PCGUS = 32/100<ref name=PCGUS>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/bullet-run-review/ |title=Bullet Run review |publisher=PC Gamer |last=Savage |first=Phil |date=19 September 2012 |accessdate=25 March 2018 |archive-date=22 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122002429/https://www.pcgamer.com/bullet-run-review/ |url-status=live }}</ref> }}

The game was described to be "pay-to-win" rather than "free-to-play."<ref name="Bullet Run"/> The game currently holds a score of 53/100 on Metacritic.<ref name=MC>{{Cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/bullet-run/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |title=Bullet Run for PC Reviews |publisher=Metacritic |accessdate=25 March 2018 |archive-date=7 August 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250807144455/https://www.metacritic.com/game/bullet-run/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |url-status=live }}</ref> PC Gamer reviewer Phil Savage gave the game a review score of 32/100 and stated that the game would "incessantly hound you to purchase SOE’s Station Cash." He also stated that it was an "insipid shooter with limited maps."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/05/bullet-run-cancelled-soes-free-to-play-shooter-shuts-down-in-march/ |title=Bullet Run cancelled: SOE's free-to-play shooter shuts down in March|newspaper=PC Gamer |date=5 February 2013|accessdate=2013-02-10|last1=Savage|first1=Phil}}</ref> Joystiq reviewer Mike Schramm noted the game's lack of balance in his review: "Skills do mix up the action, but they don't seem well-balanced: I went into an akimbo mode at one point, and was able to trounce the entire enemy team without too many problems. Fun for me, not so much for them, I'm sure."<ref name="joystiq1"/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130114100757/http://www.bulletrunthegame.com/ Official website]

Category:2012 video games Category:First-person shooters Category:Free-to-play video games Category:Inactive multiplayer online games Category:Online games shut down in 2013 Category:Video games developed in Germany Category:Windows games Category:Windows-only games