Borderlands

It seems that post-apocalyptic worlds ruled by legions of outlaw gangs is something many people are into these days. People love the lawlessness, the gun play, the gangs and everything that goes along with it and that is exactly what Borderlands delivers. This game is first and foremost a loot hunting game, much like Blizzard’s huge hit Diablo. This game doesn’t ease you into it either, right off the bat you are thrust into this open world environment with a handful of quests and mass amounts of gang members that are trying to keep you from killing their beloved leader.

When you start off, your weapons are, to put it nicely, less than desirable. They are old, rusted and don’t work too well. But they don’t last long as you find new weapons that have better functionality, better fire power and a better appearance. The farther into the game you go the better weapons you get like shotguns, handguns, sub-machine guns sniper rifles and even rocket launchers that glow with an elemental fury like fire or lightning or even ones that shoot a corrosive substance that literally eats your enemies alive! And that’s only the human weapons, there are crazy alien weapons later on in the game that are even more insane. The more you use a weapon the better your character becomes with it, allowing you to better become a more intense fighter blasting, shattering and burning your way through any obstacle that obstructs your path.

This game is an action RPG which means you will be leveling up and upgrading your character the entire time. each time you level up you will want to swap out gear and weapons for better ones so you are always outfitted with the best stuff. There are four different character classes and each class gets one and only one primary action skill. The soldier class can drop down a sentry turret to assist in a firefight, the Berserker class can charge forward and smash foes with fists of fury, the Hunter Class throws out a bird to attack from a distance and the Siren class can enter a temporary state of invisibility. As you level up your selected character, you will earn points that are attributed to your skill tree. Your skill tree changes how much damage you can do, how much damage you can take and helps make your action skill even deadlier, and they mean deadlier. The Siren has a phasewalk ability that can be upgraded with shock damage and can also drastically shorten the abilities cool down period or turn into a contagious inferno after every kill made.

While the skills and level progression are great, this game’s true call to glory is the weaponry. This game feels, plays and moves like an FPS and you spend most of your time shooting people and experiencing fast-paced gameplay. You have a variety of different enemies to fight against and dispose of in your own sick and demented way. When you begin you will face off against your typical, low-class bandit type enemies who bounce between cover and shoot back at you. Then you will come across some bruiser characters, some of which carry bigger, badder weapons and others you just charge straight at you, sometimes while on fire, trying to take you out with blunt, rusty weapons. Some of the smaller bandits, who carry shotguns, get thrown on their back with each shot and some snipe from a distance. Others have shields and then again some do not. The way all the enemies move around during a firefight is frantic and chaotic which makes it exciting to be a part of. Sometimes, however, the fighting can be unrealistic, especially when you are standing toe-to-toe with a group of enemies unleashing head shots galore and not taking down a single one. But that’s what you get when yuo take health bars over realism.

If you get bored of taking down the crazy humans in the game, then you can take a stab at taking out the crazy, spiky skags, dog-like creatures that jump, spit, slash and overall make your life difficult. There are also winged beasts that soar high above the world before swooping down to gauge your eyes out. In addition to these there are worms that burrow underground as well as armored insects that hurl projectiles at you and roll across the battlefield at high speeds. Overall there is a very nice mix of enemies in Borderlands. They also have a tendency to attack in large groups, which makes defeating the lot of them by switching weapon types and activating action skills in one all out charge extremely satisfying. If, by now, you are thinking that fighting these little humans and weird creatures is going to get old then slow your role because there are some pretty intense boss fights in this game as well. The bosses are totally monstrous and include things like a gigantic, lumbering quadruped and even a flying, fire-breathing behemoth. These fights serve as a welcome change of pace in the game and some of the bosses even drop unique loot that you can’t get anywhere else in the game.

Some of the environments feel similar to each other but then you come up on a boggy swamp, dockyard or clustered urban environment which gives you a nice sense of variety. There is a nice transportation system that has quick-spawn vehicles or a rapid transit system to help you traverse the world better. The vehicles in the game do help you travel faster and some can be outfitted with rockets or machine guns to help kill annoying foes but running over or into things is much easier. Two people can man a vehicle, with one driving and the other manning the turret. Which brings us to one of the best features of Borderlands, the multiplayer.

While you are completely capable of exploring the game, finishing quests and fighting off enemies alone and have a great time doing it, you receive some of the best entertainment by playing with other people. As more players join your game, your enemies get stronger and drop more valuable loot. This makes you want to bring in as many of your friends as possible so you have a better chance at getting better stuff. Praise needs to be thrown on Gearbox, developers of the game, because they created it so that all of your quests you completed, items you received and experience gained from playing in a friends game is carried over to your game when you switch back. Assuming you and the person you are playing with are at the same point in the game, it is possible to do the same quest together. Up to four of you can go out and venture the game world together. Players should give the four player scenario a try due to the mass chaos that ensues when playing. It is suggested, however, that you play with people you know and trust because there are no looting rules in Borderlands. Any item that drops is free game to whoever can get to it first. A statistical pop-up appears whenever you pan over an item in range showing you how it rates according to your skills and other weapons. If you get a weapon you don’t want, then you can always sell it at one of the games many vending machines or just drop it back on the ground for another teammate to acquire.

Gearbox took replay value into great consideration with this game. After you complete your first play through, you will probably be in your mid 30’s with character level out of a possible level 50. You can start a new game with your current character with everything other than quest progression carrying over. The best part is that your starting enemies will be upgraded to fit your character’s level, so you are not just going through slaughtering ridiculously weak enemies. After you and everybody you know has maxed out to level 50, it will be time to see which of you is better. The game gives you the option of melee attacking a teammate and trying to initiate a duel. After that it is possible to head to special dungeons for some player on player combat. This mode is strictly for fun and adds a nice mechanic of seeing how your weapons and armor stack up against another actual player.

Borderlands is a surprisingly accessible game although gamers who are not familiar with loot drop games may need to take a little extra time to get used to the game’s mechanics. There isn’t a punishment system either for when you die. Before you die, you enter a bleed-out-state where you can kill your attacker and then come back to life. On the other hand, if you are playing with other people, they can simply come over and revive you with no need of special healing skills. However, should you actually bleed out and die, the game restarts you at a convenient respawn point and only deducts a small amount of cash from your inventory. You do not lose any skills, weapons or armor. Some other great features of this game include the visuals. The sharp and stylish visuals make the gameplay interesting and entertaining. However, the framerate on the console versions can be a bit jittery with large scale fights. Enemies also react realistically when being shot. Their head snaps back, the get sent reeling and occasionally trigger some nice elemental deaths. The large open, environments have very nice detail as well as the large variety of weapon designs. The game also has a nice humorous aspect to it. Some of the recurring characters in the game offer witty and snappy remarks which make for an enjoyable experience.

This game plays like a shooter but is built on statistical progression, character customization and holds item acquisition high above everything else. Borderlands doesn’t lack in content with four player co-op, four different classes, an insane amount of weapons and around 20+ hours of content with the ability to restart your game after completion with stronger weapons and enemies. Convenient and accessible, Borderlands offers action-RPG gamers a solid title to sink their teeth into. A definite game to try this year. Borderlands is available now for the PC, Xbox 360 ans PS3.

By: Zack Duncan