Borderlands

"Best shooter out there. PERIOD!"

I was looking for some games on my new Playstation 3. I wanted a good shooter and a good RPG. I picked up Borderlands because I thought a RPG and shooter mix could be interesting if done right. This was definitely done right. The game is absolutely incredible. One of the top games on any system and a must have. I have expanded my collection now and I still think it is one of the greatest games on any system. It is definitely better than any shooter out on any console. I think this should revolutionize how shooters are done. The graphics are good, the game play is great, the story is decent, and the replay ability and fun factor are through the roof. Me and my buddies can waste hours sitting there playing this game and not even realize it that's how into the game you can get.It is great as a single player but even better if you play it with friends to help watch your back. You can play co op split screen locally or you can play online. The difficulty increases if you play with more people, which is always a good thing. You don't play a game to breeze through it in a day without any difficulty. It also isn't tear your hair out and shout because it's so hard.

The graphics are good. They aren't supposed to be incredibly realistic, they have a sort of cartoony feel about them which seems right in this case. It's a good use of this style of graphics unlike some other games like Madden 10 on the Wii. It's great that you can change the color of your characters clothes and your vehicles armor. There is a little load time but thats alright. The characters are well done and drawn up very well. Their different features seem to go perfectly with their personalities and what they do. The sounds are great. I love the howl of the skag or the laughing of the psycho that makes you look around left and right for the enemy. The music is good as well.

The story is fairly generic. You are treasure hunters searching for the Vault. You have the guardian angel to help guide you along in your quest. You end up helping the towns people by taking different quests and taking care of some of the bandits. It's a good story, slightly average though. I think the character's like a TK Baha, Doctor Ned, and your own characters help spice the story up. The characters are great and the story slightly generic but the characters make it worth your while.It has a better story than almost all other shooting games.

The game play is what really makes this game incredible. The mixture of RPG and shooter is absolutely perfect. Your characters raise levels as you gain experience with kills. You can customize your characters by using skill points in different categories. Every character has different skills they can level up. The more you use your weapons, the higher your skill level in that particular weapon raises. Since we are on the topic of weapons, this game has one of the largest variety of weapons I've seen. There are main categories with the weapons like sniper, shotgun, rocket launcher, and so on, but there are also things that make the weapons different. The weapons have different scopes and do different damage with faster or slower reload times. They can hold different amounts of ammo at times. They also have different abilities like some light things on fire burning them while others blow up in electric flashes dissolving the enemies shields. The shields also all vary greatly. There are shields that are resistant to electricity and fire. Some have more hit points while others recharge faster. Some even slowly regenerate health. The grenades can even be customized in various ways. You can make them blow up in electricity or make them bounce and split apart before blowing up. This game is great about letting you customize how you want to play. You go through the game doing various missions like blowing up fuel tanks, killing bandits, killing monsters and finding items. They are spread out in various different areas. The areas you get to fight in are very different from one another and help make things more interesting. That is what I really love about this game. The designers definitely knew what they were doing when they made all the twists and turns and places enemies pop up. It makes it interesting and fun in a unique way. It adds a little difficulty when you have guys popping out of doors and over walls left and right. There is also the vehicle to get into. The vehicle is fast and can help run over enemies. It also has a rocket launcher and a machine gun to take care of enemies. It will save you in many situations. If you are playing co op then one player can ride while the other player can shoot out of the turret on the back. It has a boost to go even faster and it helps you move around in some of the larger areas from end to end. There are also different things you can put on your characters that will change them depending on what specific class they are, such as you can put a Mod on to change it so Bloodwing, the bird that aids the snipe, Mordecai, will do Incendiary damage and light opponents on fire. You can also buy downloadable content to have extra areas and missions unlocked like an arena to fight in and a whole island to explore for fairly cheap. Your characters can continue to grow and you can continue to fight in these extra areas.

It is a great co op game. Who wouldn't want to sit back, relax, and go bounty hunting with your friends? I play this mostly split screen with my room mate and we have a blast. You can also duel one another and duke it out for fun. It is the perfect multi player game to play with a buddy. The split screen is great except for a couple technical problems like having to pan while using the menu in split screen. The online is great as well. You can team up with tons of people online and go through the journey together. It helps to have someone watch your back. It also helps when you are searching for things and can spread out and search. Single player is great but it's always more fun with more people.

So final verdict is GET THE GAME! It is a must have! If you enjoy shooters or RPGs, you definitely should love this game. Incredible game play, the perfect mixture of shooter and RPG, good characters, and you can play with friends, what more could you ask for? I can't think of many ways to make this game better than it already is. This is an amazing game that anyone should add to their collection. XBox 360 or the PS3, it doesn't matter, it's still great.

Graphics: 9.5
Sound: 10
Game Play: 10
Story: 9
Multi player: 10
Final Score: 10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10 | Originally Posted: 01/26/10

Game Release: Borderlands (US, 10/20/09)

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