Borderlands Review - Xbox 360

9

Gameplay: 9
Graphics: 9
Audio: 8
Multiplayer: 9
Innovation: 8

Using Gearbox’s very own slogan, First Person Shooter + Role Playing Game had a baby. Role Playing Shooter. Wait, what? Lots of role playing games have guns. The main one that stands out from last year is none other than Fallout 3. What makes Borderlands the first game ever to do this? Nothing. That doesn’t mean Borderlands isn’t one of the best games to be released pre-November. We all know nothing competes with the Christmas line-up, and there are games due out very soon that will challenge the Game of the Year title, which currently lies somewhere between Batman Arkham Asylum and Prototype, but let’s be honest, gamers have short term memories. No matter how awesome a game is, if it’s released in March it will be forgotten by Christmas. This comment may be put to the test next year with the release of games such as Splinter Cell Conviction, God of War 3, Gran Turismo 5, Mass Effect 2, Red Dead Redeption and Bioshock 2 all due in the first few months, but for now, and as proven in the past, Christmas launches win over everything. Enough about that though, let’s discuss Borderlands. It may have fallen just short of being a Christmas release, but it definitely still has reason to be a Game of the Year contender. Read on to find out why.

Gameplay

Borderlands is essentially a first person shooter with role-playing elements. It handles quite similarly to games such as Half-Life 2, but has a whole element of leveling up and upgrading to higher level weapons and items as you go. There are talent trees as well, and you earn a point to spend on talents every time you level up. It sounds similar to a MMORPG but plays like a typical shooter. It’s not sluggish like Fallout 3, there are no moments where you feel lost in an immersive world, but the world is pretty big. Gearbox has created something that stands out from the crowd, and with cel-shaded graphics, it’s a game that once played, won’t be forgotten.

Once you choose your class, you meet a claptrap. Claptraps are scattered throughout the game and are there to assist you with certain parts of the game. You’ll have to rescue some which have gotten themselves stranded in enemy territory, but most of them will be telling you where to get more missions and offering guidance. The first claptrap runs you through the basic tutorial and helps you master the controls. Everything is fairly simple here, as once again, it’s a first person shooter. One button shoots, one button reloads, and one button throws grenades. That’s about it.

As you start off on your journey through the Borderlands, you come across an annoying creature known as a Skag. This alien-like bug will come out of holes in the walls just about anywhere for the first 15-20 levels and will annoy the hell out of you. There aren’t too many types of enemies in Borderlands, Skags, Bandits and Spiderants make up ...