The only game I could stomach was Aion but even that had to be taken in small doses and with a generous coffee or three. I wanted something smooth, something stylish, something with substance, but most of all I wanted something fun. So being the happy-go-lucky lad I am, I walked in to JB Hi-Fi, old copy of Batman Arkham Asylum in hand, and somehow walked out with a copy of Borderlands. Bizarre, I know. I went home, and the next three or four hours were a blur.
We're doin it
live!
And so it began with: Welcome to Pandora! The wasteland with the worst, and your new home and target range. ‘But who are you?’ the cutscene asked. ‘Are you the brawler, capable of pounding bandits to dust with your fists and carrying rocket launchers on one shoulder? Or are you the siren with super speed and invisibility, using elemental guns to wreak sexy havoc? Perhaps you’re the soldier, armed to the teeth with machine guns, your portable turret as your best pal. Or maybe you’re Hunter, dealing deadly criticals with your sniper rifle while your bird picks your enemies with a shriek.’
Choices, choices, choices. Fine, Hunter it is. Let me at ‘em!
Fine, so I’m going to address genre first and foremost, to get it out of the way. On the back of Borderland’s shiny case, the first featured description reads, ‘RPS Role Playing Shooter. Combines frantic first-person shooting action with accessible role-playing character progression.’ And as much as I hate people labelling this-and-that to the point of ridiculousness, I agree with the description. The game does all that it says: frantic, shooting, accessible role-playing. And it does it well. Yes, there are levels and loot. Yes, you’ll face a tonne of baddies, all of which will need to be dealt with by your boomstick. There are bosses, loot, quests and friendly little robots to drive you insane. There’s even a Cortana-like ‘Oracle’ to aid you on your journey to the prize at the end of the road: the vault!
The story is somewhat lacking but that really isn’t an issue with Borderlands. Alright, so your character grew up on folklore about a fabled Vault somewhere on Pandora and in that vault supposedly alien technology can be found, the key to fame and fortune. So naturally you want that, right? Sweet. That’s your character. It’s no Metal Gear Solid, but it doesn’t need to be. Oh, and you sometimes you’ll be visited by ‘The Oracle’ who apparently, you should trust.
There are various characters you will meet on the way but frankly none of them are even as charismatic as the bosses. But to be fair, the bosses are pretty bad ass. Shooting is done incredibly well and definitely wasn’t, as some people and I know I, dreaded, an afterthought or tacked on. And the same can be said for the role-playing elements. They both compliment each other surprisingly well.
The shooting feels professional, with each gun behaving uniquely largely due to the fact that there are, ‘Bazillions of guns’ (Thanks again, shiny borderlands case). Each weapon that drops has a bucket-load of stats you’ll have to take into account, some with fire damage, some with massive scopes, some with blades so on and so forth. Then things like accuracy, fire-rate, reload speed and recoil must be noted. It’s a looters dream and mathematicians paradise.
Anyone is guaranteed to have even a little bit of fun becoming addicted to looting and finding that special weapon that just sits perfectly in their dusty mits. There are a large range of weapons, enough to suit any and every shooter’s play style. Grenades too are customisable, giving you access to bouncing grenades, fire grenade, proximity mines, etc. etc. allowing for great flexibility in disposing of pesky skags or bandits. You can buy shields and class-enhancing modifications to your hearts content as well, that is, if you have the cash.
Cash is obtained fairly easily, but can be lost just the same. You gain money by questing and by looting. Quests are received from either NPCs or ‘bounty boards’ and are similar to those you might find in MMORPGs. Kill X amount of this. Gather X amount of that. Find, X and then defeat Y. And it works well. The quests are varied, and thanks to great level design, are consistently fun. The bosses are imaginative and deliciously fun to kill for that loot drop that comes with it.
Each new area you come across—usually by reaching a specific level or by completing all available quests—is new and exciting and manages to keep your attention and your explorers itch itching.
Something you’ll no doubt notice when during your time in Pandora, especially with HDMI, are the graphics and art direction. It’s as if the wastelands of Fallout 3 were just home to a thousand-year paintball fight and it was compulsory for soldiers to customise their guns with finger paint. Basically, it looks stylish as all hell and is a joy to explore.
My only gripe is with the enemy variation, because simply, there isn’t much. Expect the same types of basic enemies throughout the game. Can you tell I’m being picky because the game is actually pretty damn great?
So far, fantastic. The game’s great… what? It gets better? Nonsense… how? I hear you ask. (Yes, I can hear your thoughts)
Well, grab a friend, sit them down, shoved a controller in their oily palms and start questing. This game really shines during multiplayer. It’s much more fun working as a team and disposing of the pesky mobs than going it alone in the wastelands. Play seriously and you’re you can make some terrific tactical gameplay moves to score the loot.
I know what you’re wondering now. But, wait, how do we decide who gets the loot? Well, I’d hope you gamers out there are civilised enough to settle it verbally: however; 2K games didn’t think so and put in a friendly duelling system, that’s just a melee attack away, to help you resolve your differences.
Whether you’re a fan of MMOs or FPSs, you’re most likely going to love this game. There’s a huge element of skill and organisation you can implement to get the most out of the game, yet if you’re not so hardcore (then shame on you!) there’s still plenty of fun to be had here.
Think Fallout 3—but fun! I’m kidding. I love you, Fallout 3.
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