Game Review: Borderlands

I know this might be a little late, but better late than never. Borderlands is a new game available on PC, XBox 360, and PS3. The game is what could be considered an FPSRPG - First Person Shooter Roleplaying Game. It's very unique, tons of fun, and could possibly be the way to go for the next big MMORPG.

Basics
Borderlands is your standard post apocalyptic setting on the planet of Pandora. The premise is that there are a number of fortune hunters seeking the legendary vault, which is rumored to contain tons of loot that would easily make you a king.

There are four characters that represent four classes. There's a soldier who drops turrets, there's a hunter that has a pet that attacks enemies, there's a bruiser that can go berserk and deal heavy melee damage, and a chick who can stealth and deal heavy elemental damage. Each class has specializations where they can spend points to make them different from each other.

The game is basically about leveling up, killing badguys and collecting cash and guns. There's 7 different gun types that can be used by any and all characters, but some get talents to increase the effectiveness of certain types of weapons.

Graphics: 4.5/5
This game has wonderful graphics. The cell-shading is done very well and the drawings of individual bosses and new characters are superb. The only sore points are the fact that there are few models for enemies (that they use over by leveling up enemies), and the consistant desert scenery gets kind of old.

Gameplay: 4/5
The gameplay is somewhat reminiscent of a mix between Halo and Diablo. The skill system is pretty neat, but it seems like there aren't a lot of choices and many skills are not balanced well. While the combat is a little mindless, there have beeen times when we've had long drawn-out battles with bad guys that make it very fun. This brings another major point - Borderlands is a multiplayer game, and it does multi-player very well. All in all, the original delivery of FPS with leveling, the game is exceptionally well polished.

Story: 2.5/5
I'm not normally a big story guy, but there's almost no story in this game. You do some mindless quests in order to move towards the vault, but this story has been played out time and time and time before. However, with the audience this game is aimed towards, I don't think story was their top priority.

Overall: 11/15
This game is very well made and I'd love to see more like it. My wife and I love to play co-op games, but most of them don't really hold her interest.
Better than: Oblivion (Elder Scrolls IV)
Worse than: Bioshock
Words of Wisdom: Play with a friend or play online for the most out of the game. I would suggest playing as either Roland (Soldier) or Brick (Bruiser).