Borderlands Review

The weaponry in this game is definitely an aspect that takes up most of the player's time. We've enjoyed the practically unlimited amount of unique pistols, revolvers, combat rifles, shotguns, grenade launchers, snipers and grenades. Upgrading the grenades always gives you quite a bit to ponder. For instance, certain upgrades give your grenades the ability to heal team members, in addition to dealing damage to enemies. Another solution is adding diverse improvements that add corrosive damage, shock damage, fire damage, etc. No matter which weapon you're upgrading, it requires a tactical approach, especially if you're not playing alone.

The pre-release change of the design and art style of Borderlands was one of the smartest decisions Gearbox ever made. The characters, environments and the animation are quite good and have a certain appeal that's been refreshed with an added dose of humor. The humor is also present in some of the wacky voiceovers, which is why we regret the developers didn't spend extra time creating more cut-scenes and voiced dialogue.

Is it something we said?

I can't steer this thing!

Frankly, Borderlands can use a richer character backdrop and a generally better narrative. Everything players might be interested in knowing about Pandora is written in quest logs, although these are often restricted to the specific tasks at hand and offer precious little about the regions and inhabitants in Pandora. This is one of the greatest flaws of the game that excels during single-player mode. Now, apart from having a blast in co-op, I did experience a large portion of the main campaign in solo mode (so much so that my character reached level 33). The gameplay was still very satisfying, but if you hunger for a decent narrative and deep characterization, I'm afraid Borderland may come as a disappointment.

Borderlands has other flaws. As it usually is with games nowadays, the first issues are related to AI. In Borderlands, the AI generally behaves acceptably, giving you plenty to tackle. Even so, enemies get confused or just forget they have to attack and even occasionally ignore the fact that they're being fired upon. As it turns out, vehicles are not entirely up to par with other satisfying aspects of the game. The physics don't always work out and there are plenty of unexpected hindrances on the road that tend to spoil the fun. The technical issues on the Xbox 360 continue in the form of sudden and severe frame-rate drops - these usually occur when players are fighting in larger areas and there are a lot of objects that need to be rendered in the background.

There are only a handful of negative elements that keep this game from getting an Editor's Choice Award from us. It's safe to say I had my doubts at first, but now I'm really glad I played it.

Overlooking certain flaws, Borderlands ultimately delivers what players are bound to expect from it - pure and addictive RPG-flavored FPS action, extremely engaging co-op and altogether a vast and mysterious world waiting to be explored. Gearbox made a great foundation for potential DLCs and sequels. We only hope that the next installment brings more substance, with a richer history of Pandora, additional work poured into some of the characters and generally a more detailed story.