Borderlands Review

Borderlands has seen quite a bit of change in its design since it was first seen back in 2007. What was once a moody and story-centric open-world FPS, is now reborn as a stylized cross between role playing games and first person shooters. So much so, the adverts for the game claim the two genres "made a baby"... and what a damn fine baby it is.

The story in Borderlands is relatively simple. There's a legend on the planet Pandora which tells of a fabled "vault" filled with precious alien weaponry, technology, and riches. Of course, the whereabouts of this vault are shrouded in mystery, with only a select few even aware of its existence. You play as one of four treasure-hunting mercenaries on a quest to find the vault by any means necessary; a task which typically entails running errands for the bizarre locals. The plot is pretty thin, consisting mainly of the occasional narrative tid-bit and more interestingly, back stories for some of the NPC's in the form of quests. Though I'm a sucker for a good narrative, this lack doesn't hurt the game since it lets the player explore and progress at his or her own rate.



The controls should be immediately familiar to anyone who's played any recent popular FPS title. They're mapped very much like the Call of Duty series, with running assigned to clicking the left analog stick. Jumping is admittedly more Halo-like, if slower, as if Pandora has less gravity than our home planet. Overall the controls work well, though there are definitely times where it seems like the X button (Square on PS3) isn't as responsive as you'd want when picking up items. This is because you have to see the item and its description box before snatching it up. You'll grow to thank the developers for this, since it forces you to get into the habit of comparing your equipped weapons with the ones you come across before blindly shoving them into your backpack. Though if you're like me, you'll probably end up collecting inferior guns anyway just to sell them.

Selling items and loot is just one aspect of the myriad things you can do in Borderlands. The basic structure of the game is based on completing missions given by the many residents of Pandora, ranging from clearing out gang infestations to shooting fecal matter off of wind turbines. These missions allow you to traverse the land and loot as you see fit, which gives you a chance to get some good weapons early on. Nearly everything you collect can be sold for cash at  the vending machines you come across, allowing you to then purchase weapon upgrades, ammo, or health.

Over the course of the game, your character levels up and gains access to better skills and abilities via an RPG-like skill tree which also allows you to change your class and rank. If you don't like how you've spent your skill points you can reset them for a fee and reassign them as you wish. This, combined with the individual attributes of the weaponry you equip gives the game a custom RPG feel.



The weapon selection in Borderlands is incredibly diverse, with attributes such as firing rate, accuracy, and even perks like randomly-generated exploding ammunition. This allows for virtually thousands of different types of guns, though they do all fall into one category or another, such as Assault rifles, Shotguns, and so on. As the game progresses, you get introduced to even crazier variants in the form of alien weaponry, which make shootouts even more fun. One issue I ran into during my first few hours with the game was that most of the weapons I came across were substantially weaker than those I had previous acquired, leaving me to wonder if I had "maxed out" my firepower too soon. Of course this turned out to be wrong, but I couldn't help but worry while torching people left and right with my sniper rifle equipped with combustible ammunition. Still, shooting "Badass Shotgun Midgets" and other enemies is just plain fun with nearly any weapon you can get your hands on.

One of the biggest things Borderlands has going for it is style. Coincidentally, this is the main reason the game missed its original release date, as the team had to go back and literally redesign the visuals when the game was nearly 80 percent complete. While such a drastic alteration that late in production can often be suicidal, Borderlands benefits from it, now presenting a look and feel that separates it from an admittedly overcrowded shooter lineup.

Planet Pandora is a dusty wasteland complete with gorges, junkyards, and caves. The graphic novel approach and gritty Western appeal that the game flaunts create an identity that isn't like many other games out there. There's a sort of dark comedy to the narrative that keeps the game from getting too serious, like the way an enemy's mask floats in the air for a second after its owner is literally burned to ashes. Though slightly cel-shaded, there is gore-aplenty in this game. Limbs are severed, heads burst, and nearly all enemies can explode into juicy goodness. This is a mature game through and through. The main characters are cleverly-designed takes on well known clichés—fresh and new, despite their adherence to well-known stereotypes. Each has its own individual ability that makes it stand out from the pack and this creates greater variety overall, a thing that serves to make multiplayer more tactically interesting.



The mechanics of the game are also very well-designed, as developer Gearbox has gone to great lengths to ensure that the game flows smoothly regardless of what's going on. The campaign supports up to four players online (or two players splitscreen), with the difficulty curve adjusting on the fly to accommodate players leaving and entering the game. Money and XP are shared among all the players in the game no matter who finds it, so if one person keeps finding all the cash, you don't have to worry about him hoarding it. Missions and quests come with level rankings to help you determine if you're ready to take them on, and environments are ripe with randomly-generated adversaries and safeboxes that respawn each time you return to the area. One odd thing to note is that vehicles can only carry two people per unit, despite support for four players. This isn't a big deal as you can easily obtain more vehicles at their spawn point, but it is a peculiar design choice.

While it's a great game, Borderlands does have a few rough points as well. The worst offense it commits is that Pandora is almost completely non-interactive. Nothing can be knocked off of shelves, the NPC's can't be manipulated in any way, and water has no reaction to anything you do in it. In fact, in certain areas of the game, the only thing that let me know I was even standing in water was the reflection from the sun. While this doesn't break the game, it makes Pandora less exciting than it could be. Also, the AI in general is stupid. While enemies can be overwhelming at times due to number and firepower, there really isn't much of a tactic to killing them beyond shooting and taking cover. In no way does this make the game less fun, but it's something the developer might have considered. The bare bones story could also have played more of a role in the game. As it is, it's barely noticeable.

Borderlands is a brilliant take on the traditionally rigid FPS formula; something all other developers should look at carefully before releasing another "standard" shooter. It pushes the envelope on what a game in this genre can do, and I would love to see some of its genius incorporated into other franchises. While the game's AI and environmental interactivity does leave something to be desired, it's fun, it's long, and it's well worth the investment if you crave more than your average FPS.


Fun Factor: It's a massive open world with plenty of cannon fodder.

Game Length: Your first playthrough can easily pass 30 hours, though you can stick to main missions if you want to get through it sooner.

Difficulty: The enemies are admittedly dumb, though their weapon variety and ability to overwhelm you keeps things interesting.

On the Negative Side: Static environments and a thin narrative can make the world around you seem bland.

Bang for your buck: The replay value in the game is tremendous, and there is always new and better loot to get.