Chris Kavan's Game Review of Borderlands

I'm Gonna Pop Some Skags...
Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/19/13

Although I have previously experienced this (mostly single-player) on PS3 - I re-visited this on Steam and it gave me a chance to re-examine things from a different perspective, as well as play the full DLC and play online with other people as well. It exposed both the best and worst the game had to offer and I still thing the overall experience is excellent - though it's not perfect by far. When it comes down to it, a game billed as the one with a bazillion guns gives you a fun FPS experience with plenty of replayability.

Presentation:

Gearbox decided to go with a more cartoon-like look rather than the super realistic look of say a Call of Duty or Halo games. I think this style suits the game well, as the detail is still there. The biggest flaw is that the game relies too much on the drab browns and grays of typical FPS games - meaning there's not a lot of color and the look tends to get boring after awhile. The enemies are much the same: dog-like Skags, bat-like Rakks, insects and the many humans (both the criminal population and more heavily armed soldiers) tend to have too little variation. Even their taunts get old after a bit.

Still, repetition aside, the game looks pretty good. Plus, you can't go wrong with all those weapons (not to mention grenades, shields and character mods). It's not flawless by any means - but I think the look of the game is very unique and Gearbox did an excellent job of making it work.

Story:

Pandora is a pretty unforgiving world full of ravenous beasts and the workforce happens to be hardened (and often insane) criminals - set loose after the company abandoned the planet. It's also home to a supposed vault that holds some immense treasure and thus vault hunters often come to the planet seeking fame and fortune. You can pick from four such individuals - the massive berserker Brick, the hunter Mordecai, the Siren Lilith and the soldier Roland. Each has their own specific action attack and skill tree. As soon as the game starts you are contacted my a mysterious woman who want to help you open the vault. It requires a key - various components of which are in the hands of the most vile villains on the planet. Plus, you start off a level nothing noob with a terrible weapon - luckily the enemies are more than happy to drop theirs and there are plenty of loot chests around where you can find even more.

You do meet a handful of characters on your adventure (Dr. Zed, Tannis the insane scientist, Marcus the shopkeeper, Scooter the redneck mechanic, Crazy Earl, the half-burnt Helena Pierce and T.K. Baha) but most NPCs simply say a simple phrase and that's it. The basic design is used over and over again for most NPCs (even amongst some of the more secondary tier characters who give you missions) so it's not that impressive. Plus, if you choose to pursue the many side quests - you'll run around, a lot. Most are fetch quests or require you kill specific enemies or collect things like recorders and gun parts. The aren't really varied enough to be called "fun" and, although a few standout (like Skagzilla for instance) most are just fluff.

The DLC, however, is some of the best around. Although Mad Moxxi's Underdome is a pure raid battles - the rest, The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx and Claptrap's Robot Revolution - all provide hours of extra fun and flesh out certain characters (Scooter and Marcus for sure) while presenting some new ones (a personal favorite of most of our group was the cynical yet hilarious General Knoxx) and all are recommended.

Gameplay:

It's classic FPS action - shooting enemies in their weak spots for extra damage - collecting guns, shields, ammo and the like to improve your chances - but with RPG element that allows you to build up skills. Each character has a specific strength - Brick is the Tank - massive health and melee damage. Mordecai is your sniper, Roland is your all-around support character and the Siren is your stealthy quick attacker. When I first played through the PS3 version, I liked Mordecai the best, so I used him throughout our game. His action skill is a bird-like creature who will attack - and you can also gain skills that will allow him to heal and cause enemies to drop extra loot. He's also partial to sniper rifles and pistols.

Weapons run the gamut from Rocket Launchers to SMGs, shotguns, revolvers and even alien tech (never runs out of bullets, but is a bit weak and slow). Weapons also have a rarity from basic white to Pearlescent (only found in the General Knoxx DLC). Orange is also legendary - and these give you a distinct advantage. These usually come with super pumped up elemental damage or some kind of added feature like bullet regeneration or a shotgun that functions like a sniper rifle or a sniper rifle that has awesome rapid fire. The story is well and good - but finding an awesome weapon is just as much fun in my book.

We did encounter some flaws through Steam. From games crashing to the Unreal Engine acting up - things weren't always smooth. Some people had issues with missions not showing up as completed as well. The game has its share of bugs - but none of them for me were game-breakers. More annoyances, but nothing completely terrible. The game does require a lot of running (or driving) around - and it can get tedious - so having friends along helps.

Overall:

This is an excellent game that combines classic FPS gameplay with obscene levels of loot collection and even RPG elements. It's not the perfect game, but I still had fun with this all over again, despite the fact I had already played through the game with every character on the PS3 previously. Grab a few friends and have fun on Pandora. Hopefully the second outing will be even better.

Presentation: 4/5
Story: 3.5/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Overall (not an average): 4/5