Since the release of Borderlands, I have been clocking up quite a number of hours with the game. It is a very good game, albiet lacking a certain something, which I have since identified. Regardless, it is a game I would recommand everyone to get, even if it doesn't quite fit into the MMO genre.

But first, here is a quick review of the game.

What is it?

A very common occurance in Borderlands. Pew pew pew all the way!

Borderlands is an FPS at heart. Adding the RPG elements of Levels and Talent trees, it adds a new twist to an otherwise rather generic shooter. If you have seen any of the Borderlands' ads, you will know that one of the biggest things that is touted is the millions of gun combinations available.

A simple Skill Tree (or Talent Tree) for you to specialize your character.

That is certainly true, as so far, no two guns that I have layed hands or eyes on have the same statistics. You thought Diablo was rather random with equipment? Well, meet Borderlands, the game that takes it to a whole new level.

With multiple manufecturers with signature traits yet randomized stats, you can be sure you will soon have your favorite manufecturer!

On the same note, if you are one of those who would spend countless hours and gold trying to get that perfect weapon in Diablo 2, well, you are pretty much going to go insane in Borderlands if you tried to acquire a weapon with the exact same stats as the one someone bragged about on the internet.

The Sights of Pandora

Always "Wastelandish", yet, somehow, beautiful. Sidenote: It's impossible to find a screenshot without someone shooting something.

Borderlands is set on a planet called Pandora. Pandora is pretty much as "wastelandish" as any planet can get, and as far as I got, I can quite figure out how it has reached this state. Signs of high technology, and even alien influences are ever present, hell, there's even sewage systems, but even the biggest town I have seen so far are put together with scrap. Quite ironically, I felt that Borderlands portrayed a better Fallout (As in, Fallout 1 and 2) then Fallout 3, just with a rather zany twist when it comes to characters.

In Pandora, all you will see is an endless desert with cliffs, mountains, canyons strewn with "wastelandish" stuff, scrap mainly.

The Treasure Hunters

Perhaps, not totally impossible. Presenting, the team.

You start out as one of the four Treasure Hunters that came to Pandora (who knows how) to find a mysterious vault (hmm...) that is said to contain riches, technology, women; essentially, everything that would allow you to retire lavishly.

The four Treasure Hunters all have their specialty, though they are not limited to weapon types like other games. Think that a rocket launcher would be better in the situation you are in even if you are Mordacai, the sniper dude? Whip it out from your inventory and fire rockets with impunity. I played the Siren due to her unique ability to phaseshift. Imagine cloaking, but with a loud bang for both entrances and exits of the state... a loud bang that deals decent damage.

Yeah, so she's hot too. But it's all about the skillz, yo.

The game mentioned that she excels with pistols and SMGs, especially those with elemental effects. I found out that I much prefer a combination of repeater pistol/SMG, revolver and sniper rifle suited my play much better. Perhaps, it's how the Siren worked, allowing flexibility with weapons, while not giving her the bonuses one of the other more specialized characters bring... yet with a bonus to elemental damage, which brings her back on par with the rest of the dudes, assuming, she has a weapon with elemental attack, which becomes rather common as you progress.

Fighting The Fight

In Game Screenshot. Yup, it DID happen.

Quests, that is the main thing that brings you from start to end, is not quite unlike Warhammer Online, with a clear main "plot quest" with supporting side quests. It is the age old quest system at the end of the day; Kill x# of x, get x# of x, pick up x, activate x, whatever. It does have a few scavanger hunt quests, which is a nice diversion from the usual if anything. It marks out a general area for you to go to to find for some parts which can be hidden rather well (yet in plain sight).

However, as monotonous as that sounds, the action that the quests take you to inevitably just kept me playing. You can be sure you will be racking up hundreds and even thousands of raiders kills in a matter of hours. Borderlands did a wonderful job of placing loot everywhere. And I mean everywhere. Money ammo and items can be found in lockers, small safes, small lockboxes  and even closed toilet bowls. At key locations, you can expact to find huge boxes which contains weapons of varying rarity, which adds to the fun.

The fighting is fast and furious, regardless of playstyle. Be it sniping from a far or getting into the thick of it arms swinging and guns blazing, you can always expect a challange, with enemies finely tuned to your level, as long as you do the quests in order. No one time do you feel that you have to grind aimlessly, though on more then one occation I did indulge (If I can use that word!) in some pointless killing, just for fun.

The Missing Factor

Moar peeplz plox,

Throughout the game though, I felt something was missing, something that subtracts from the "soul" of the game. It took me a while to realize, but I felt lonely. Playing the game solo, it feels like you are really in a wasteland, where people are short on words and high on mistrust. Perhaps, it's a feeling the developers want to convey, or perhaps, I am just too used to having human interaction in MMOs.

Granted, there is a co-op mode in the game, but still, I do miss meeting random people, even if no words were said, even if we just see each other for a brief moment as we run pass each other, fulfiling our own objectives in the game.

Have I taken that common occurance in MMOs for granted I start to wonder, as I thrust my energy covered hand into a bandit's skull. Perhaps, that is the best part of MMOs in general, the interaction, and even lack thereoff with people... the fact that people is around I mused, as I watched the brain matter of a raider's head which I put a sniper round into fly high up into the sky.

So there you have it, Borderlands, do give it a shot if you have a chance, especially with friends!