Review: Borderlands

Created by:
- 2K Games

- Gearbox Software

Genre:

- RPG / FPS

Release:

- Oct 20, 2009

ESRB Rating:

- M (Mature)

My Rating:

- 9 out of 10

Borderlands offers an array of different and wonderful possibilities, such as character development, big and open worlds, and fun gun-play.

When I first heard about Borderlands, I was genuinely uninterested. I never liked First Person Shooters until I played Borderlands. I gave it a try because it was promised to be an RPG as well. I fell in love with it. Borderlands offers an array of different and wonderful possibilities, such as development, big and open worlds, and fun gun-play.

The Good:

Borderlands has a cool cast of characters, and great graphics and voices to match. Cell Shaded graphics have always been the best and most creative way to make a game. Cartoon like graphics and real looking characters all rolled into one package. Borderlands is truly a work of art, with huge maps - there's a lot to look at, and big reasons to explore the landscapes.

Borderlands also offers variety to the highest degree. From a variety of enemies, to weapons, to quests, to skills one can develop - you're sure to find a favorite game within the game. The enemies may seem the same at first, but they get even more diverse, and more threatening as the game plays on. You'll always have that sense that the enemies are your enemies, because they are delightfully brutal.

The guns in Borderlands are plentiful, and no one person could possibly collect every gun in the game (Gearbox claims that there's millions). All the quests are fun, and give one a sense of achievement after completing them, also the quests generally reward the player extremely well, which makes leveling up a fun activity. You'll never feel like your "grinding" to try to get to the next level.

Pictured Above: Borderland's level up system is perfect and tightly tuned

The RPG elements of this FPS are amazing. Each individual character has a unique skill tree, and they get one skill point per level up, which makes leveling up even more fun. Also, one can master a type of gun for added damage and perks, not to mention class mods or grenade mods (give certain constant perks). The multiplayer adds fun with challenge, and you can get your friends into the game, and explore the game together.

The Bad:

The maps in Borderlands are humongous, and vehicles are usually around somewhere. But sometimes in a particularly large area, means of transportation aren't around, and one has to walk or run all the way to the objective and back when they complete the objective. This is even more so lonely in single player, as you have no one to talk to on your 10 minute (in game time) stroll to the next map.

Pictured Above: Looks like Mordecai is in for a long jog.

The boss fights are brutal, but sometimes they may only be as brutal as a very strong enemy. It takes little strategy to destroy a boss, mainly it simply means using more bullets and taking more cover, and using your special move a few time more than a big gun fight. This is very evident in the last boss of the campaign, extremely lackluster, it feels like all you've worked for was a very unsatisfying and unsettling conclusion to what was an epic story.

One more very obvious problem that will be evident when playing is the lack of a mini map. Whenever a player needs to get to another side of the map, they'll need to check back to the map by entering the start menu. The objective marker is nice, but doesn't solve getting around certain obstacles in the map.

All in all, Borderlands is just a fantastic game. Congratulations Gearbox, you've made quite the game. I highly suggest this game, even for it $50 price tag, it is well worth the money. Not to mention the constant stream of DLC, all for only $10 extra (reviews coming soon).

1 picture provided by Gamespot.com