Borderlands: game review (ps3/360/pc)

Borderlands is a game I over looked for quite some time, the reason? – graphics. I never really did like the idea of it being almost in the style of a cartoon because i thought it would lack real detail and depth but I was wrong it doesn’t hold the game back instead it pushes it forward. I’m sure to a lot of people this would be something they are not used to seeing but to dismiss it because of this would be a really bad idea and here is why.

Set on the planet Pandora the game gives the player a chance to feel what its like to be a bounty hunter in search of fame and glory. what was once a rich planet full of rare minerals and materials is now an almost post apocalyptic world ruled by psychopathic gangs of cannibals, heavily armed criminals and deadly creatures that all aim to make your stay on Pandora very short and unpleasant. The game is for the most part a first person shooter but it also blends in RPG elements that enhance your overall experience of how you play and how the game reacts to your character.

You can’t cosmetically build a character but you can build it up with stats and skills, by doing this you become a more powerful force to be reckoned with. There are four main categories in the game, The Siren/The Hunter/The Soldier and The Berserker. Each character has unique skills attributed to their class, The Hunter for instance is good with sniper rifles and can be upgraded to carry a hawk which he uses to attack his enemies. The Sire uses speed and cunning rather than pure muscle, The Soldier uses firepower first while the Berserker uses his fists to pulverise and pound. All of the characters carry weapons but the skills do become very useful when faced with too many enemies at once, even with bosses skills usually help to tip the balance in your favour.

Pandora seems to be a gun runners paradise. For a shooter its got all the guns and weapons you could ever ask for, pistols/smg’s/rifles/machine guns/sniper rifles/rocket launchers and high powered shotguns are all on offer. Located all over the map are hundreds of weapons and weapon mods. Guns can be found not just on dead enemies but also in lockers/boxes/vending machines/rooftops/even toilets, the list seems to be endless but there is a catch. Guns are colour coded and level coded, this means if you are not the level the gun requires you can’t use it. Its not such a big problem because most of the guns you will find in single player will be aimed towards your character, and even if they are higher than your current level they might be worth holding onto as you level up quite fast. When it comes to fire power in the game the thing that really impressed me was the inclusion of environmental guns, some guns will cause explosions/fire damage/electric shock and my personal favourite acid bursts. The more you play you learn what weapons are good for certain tasks, acid weapons are good for getting through an enemies armour – I found this especially good when faced with area bosses.

I find it hard to call Borderlands a shooter, sure it has that element and at its core it is one but there is a lot more on offer for fans of free-roaming and exploration. The maps are big enough to hide all sorts of items from stacks of cash to weapons, and their is no shortage of secondary tasks. Along the way you meet characters who offer you jobs and missions, these missions can be very varied though some might feel a little repetitive after time. Its worth doing extra missions and exploring as it builds up your overall experience in the game allowing for new skills and weapon usage. Navigating the map is easy and straight forward enough but you get around quicker using vehicles and fast travel stations, both are unlocked through story progression and make getting around less of a task. The levels themselves can be fun and are mostly large, the map has many interconnecting areas that lead to other regions containing different enemies and loot. At first the graphics don’t really succeed to impressive but over time i found myself falling in love with the visual style, it wouldn’t work with all games but i find it hard to imagine Borderlands without it.

The game features a whole host of ultra violent bad guys and creepy crawlies that will have you either grinning or running for your life. At first you encounter basic raiders with little or no armour but when the game really gets going you will be treated with all kinds of cannon fodder. I’m used to shooters being busy and full of targets but Borderlands really packs them in. There are lots of types of creatures, some are easy to dispatch while others will really put up one hell of a fight. Its a while since I have seen so many fun and challenging level bosses, there is no shortage here. The game didn’t at any time really feel unfair nor did it feel like too much to handle, it always felt like the situation I was in or enemy i faced was something i could deal with. It was in no way a walk in the park but the learning curve is extremely easy and you don’t have to be good at shooters to enjoy the game.

I don’t usually spend much time on multiplayer features of a game because most of the time you are thrown into a match with 20 or so people, some want to play seriously while others don’t care. Borderlands stands out here, you can only have four players per game but it works brilliantly. The experience is Co-op based with characters working together in story mode to progress further, I wondered if more players meant less enemies to deal with but instead the game adapts and scales up making it challenging for everyone involved. Online is a great way to help build up your character, if you are playing in another persons game and they are a higher level than you a lot more experience points are awarded. If however you don’t like the idea of online Co-op there is also a very well put together offline Co-op mode where you and a friend can go split screen, there is unlike most games no need for two consoles as its all done on just one. If that’s not enough the replay value is exceptional, my second play through had me facing harder enemies with even better loot rewards, its a lot more challenging but its worth it for the new weapons and loot you amass.

I loved Borderlands and many things about the game really stood out. For a shooter the story is very deep and you do find yourself wanting to know what’s going to happen next. The mini games and missions scattered around the map gave me hours of extra playtime, but its easy to just go exploring for loot and weapons. Lately I seem to be constantly finding games I overlooked in the past because of either bad reviews or just chatter, while not all turn out to be gems there are the select few like Borderlands that really hit the mark. Everything it does it does brilliantly, the style is amazing and the hours of gameplay on offer are astronomical. I normally don’t try and platinum a game because 100% is time consuming and not something a lot of gamers aim for but Borderlands was the exception. After spending days playing the game both in single player and in online Co-op i finally reached 100%. It doesn’t end there, Borderlands has a lot of DLC available for the game each one adding a little more to an otherwise perfect game. I’m giving Borderlands a 9 out of 10 – I’m taking one point off for some of the mini missions feeling a bit too familiar and a lack of other vehicles. If you are looking for a shooter than dares to do things differently in a stylish and funky manner then I’d recommend Borderlands. I was looking for a refreshing change and I think I found it.