Borderlands takes place on a desolate planet called Pandora. You play as a vault hunter searching for a legendary vault full of treasure. There are four classes for the player to choose from. Each class has its own strengths and special abilities. Quests are completed to gain experience, equipment, and access to new areas. Characters level up and are awarded skill points to spend on various improvements. There are many eccentric characters who help and hinder your progress. You fight your way through scores of insane bandits and monstrous creatures that plague the land all while finding new weapons and getting rich.

My first impression wasn’t great. In the opening menu, I’m greeted by some robot singing, dancing, and being generally annoying. The intro sounds like it’s narrated by Roman Bellic from GTA IV. Then “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked”, a song I really don’t like, starts playing… Damn. I thought. Had I wasted another $60 on a crappy game? I choose my class and get control of my character. I follow the annoying little robot named “Clap Trap” on a tour of the town, shooting bandits and looting containers along the way. I’d be doing a lot of this. I get a quest to kill x amount of y. I’d be doing a lot of this too. My biggest fear was that Clap Trap would be by my side throughout the game and so I was very glad when he got hit by a rocket. Then I was sad when I had to fix him. But luckily, once he opens the gate, he leaves you alone! This is when I finally started enjoying the game.

Borderlands has a good look and feel for the most part. The cel-shaded graphics add a comic book quality that fits well with the theme. Many textures, especially rocks, have a cool hand sketched look. Characters are well designed and animated. There are are a lot of original enemies and characters in the game. One of my favorite bosses is the Rakk Hive, a giant tetrapod that shoots pterodactyls out of its back. The controls are easy to pick up, very similar to many other first person shooters. Jumping feels a bit clunky but fortunately there isn’t much jumping. Vehicles are nice for getting around but are awkward to drive. Steering, especially while the boosters are on, is difficult and if you run into anything the car completely stops which gets annoying after a while. Besides the intro song, the music is alright but not very memorable. The voice actors did a good job, I laughed a few times.

Unfair.

Gearbox, the game’s developer, calls this a role-playing shooter. It does have RPG elements. You level up, open chests, and get better equipment but the story is sub-par for an RPG. There are no dialogue options or alternate ways to complete objectives. The story is typical for a shooter. The game’s a good length, not too long, not to short, juuuuust right. My first playthrough, which i played alone, took me around 15-20 hours doing every quest and some exploration. In playthrough 2, I played online a lot and it took me about half the time. Quests push you through the story. Most of the quests are collecting or killing x amount of y. It can get monotonous doing it over and over but the lure of a new gun will keep you going. There’s enough replayability to get you to level 50 with one or two characters. After playing through a few times, you get the point. If the new downloadable content raises the level cap, there might be more of a reason to keep playing.

The difficulty of the game can fluctuate a lot depending on your class, what level you are compared to enemies, and how good your equipment is. “Shoot and loot” is the perfect description for this style of game. You don’t have to use your brain very much in Borderlands. You are told exactly where you need to go and what to do. The closest thing to a puzzle is pushing a few buttons. Thankfully, there are a few quests that require you to look around. The AI isn’t realistic but it does work well for this game. Enemies will pop up out of holes, caves, and doors to attack. Enemy movement is predictable, melee attackers run at you while gunners find cover and shoot. Badass enemies are a bit stronger than their regular counterparts but usually require the same tactics to kill. Some of the bosses take a few tries to beat but once you figure out the pattern, they’re a breeze. I found the final boss battle pretty disappointing. It was ridiculously easy. I’m sure it had something to do with my character being a few levels higher and I had just bought a really nice Desert Anarchy SMG right beforehand. The boss, called The Destroyer is a gigantic squid monster that shoots lasers and whacks you with its tentacles. I literally just ran up to its left side of it started unloading. Within what seemed like 30 seconds, it was dead. I didn’t move from my position or die once, even on my first attempt. The game becomes easier and easier as you progress.

No matter what class you choose, you will get crabs.

If you are with the right group, multiplayer is awesome and may be the best part of the game. Playing with friends is best but many of the random people I played on Xbox Live with were well mannered and helped each other out. Even if you don’t like your party, you can leave and join another or create your own. The more people in a game session, the more difficult and numerous the enemies become. Competing for loot and weapons is a blast. Dueling is entertaining. Usually in level matches whoever shoots first wins, most duels don’t usually last more than a few seconds. The multiplayer arena is kind of a joke since the classes are not well balanced for PvP combat, but it can still be entertaining.

Overall, I ended up really enjoying Borderlands. The graphics and sound are good. Characters are interesting and funny. Other than driving, controls are comfortable and responsive. Combat is sometimes challenging but becomes almost too easy towards the end. Anyone expecting an intricate story will not find it here. I recommend this game to any shooter fan who likes playing co-op with friends, leveling up, and finding lots and lots of new weapons to try out.

Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 2, PC
Similar Games: Fallout 3, Diablo, Call of Duty 4