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If you asked me to sum up Borderlands in one simple run-on sentence, I would give you the following: 'Killing mass amounts of enemies with guns in order to gain experience points and more guns to kill more enemies in more efficient and fun ways.' However, assuming you want a more expanded explanation before you purchase Borderlands, I?ll give the pros and cons so you can decide for yourself if it is indeed worth the money.[br]Story<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>[br]First, it is important to address an issue that I had to come to terms with before I bought Borderlands; The story is not going to be great. It is certainly present, but it?s more of a glaze on the surface than a core game element. As much as I wanted there to be a good story based Borderlands, I knew it wasn?t going to happen. Even the developers seemed to "say it without actually saying it". In order for myself to enjoy Borderlands, I had to accept the fact that I would be buying this game for a shooter/loot/grind-fest, and not a story adventure. With that said, Borderlands is not for everyone.[br]A high point of Borderlands is the art. A post apocalyptic atmosphere that manages to have a colourful graphic novel style look rather than the usual ten shades of grey or brown. The cartoonish look adds to the overall fun of the game, almost never taking itself seriously. Also the music is great and so are all the sounds of the weapons and enemies.[br]
[br]Gameplay<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>[br]
The gameplay elements are what drives Borderlands with several prominent features, so I?ll break them up into a few sections.[br]The combat is standard: enemies vary in strength, have shields, you shoot enemies, they die, you shoot enemies in the head or weak spot, they die quicker. You'll come across plenty of bosses, and mini-boss battles known as "Badasses". Guns, guns, guns, guns, guns, guns. So, are there really that many guns? Yes, lots of guns. Do they vary that much? ...Well, yes and no. Each gun feels, looks, fires, and kills in it's own unique little way, but the majority of the weapons are pretty similar. This isn't necessarily bad though, because once you find that special gun that works for you, after wading through hundreds of clunky firearms, it feels great. There are guns that shoot fire, acid, electrical, and explosive bullets. Revolvers that have knives on them, scoped shotguns, etc. Below are some weapons I found throughout my journey.
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Classes & Levelling<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>[br]
Another strong part of Borderlands are the the classes, their abilities, and their skill trees that make each character uniquely playable for each person. There are four different characters, each with their own special ability, following a skill tree to alter your character in the way that feels best for you. The Hunter with his pet hawk, for the sniper type. Soldier with his turret for the standard fighter or support type. The Brick with his berserker mode for those who like to punch the crap out of things and use explosive damage. The Siren with her phasewalk for those who like elemental damage. Along with that, you can find class mods and artifacts that give your character edge. For example, I found an artifact that allowed my Berserker to punch fists of lightning.[br]
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The visual changes you can make to your character are extremely minimal, you can only change three sets of colour. Myself and many other gamers were disappointed to hear this, especially considering the game is an RPG modification. I can't help to think why they couldn't incorporate more clothing for each class. Even an optional eye patch for Brick or an army helmet for a "Tank Girl-Esque" Lilith would make players go nuts; especially if it was achieved through loot. Maybe this could be a part of future DLC, or at least I hope.[br]
Multiplayer & Co-op<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>[br]
Multiplayer is fun when it works, it is very much a love hate relationship. Getting in an online game is simply a pain in the ass. Even with port forwarding, many players have trouble getting in games, the online setup feels clunky as well. Your best bet for now is to download something like Game Ranger to play games with your buddies.
Playing online is always more fun with friends, however, assuming you and your friends have interceding schedules like most people, you'll have to play with some weirdos you don't know. As with any game, sometimes you get great people and sometimes you get jerks that take all the loot. There is also an arena and duel mode where you can fight other players, which are both decently fun as you get to show off who has the better guns and skill points.[br]
In Summary<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>[br]
Borderlands is a fun and addictive RPG shooter with little story substance. Generally, the type of game you play to blow the crap out of aliens and psychos after a long day's work.[br]
Story: Weak[br]
Graphics & Visuals: Unique and fun[br]
Music & Sound: Well done.[br]
Gameplay: Addicting and fast paced.[br]
Score: 8/10[br]By Zombieturtle01
[br]
The gameplay elements are what drives Borderlands with several prominent features, so I?ll break them up into a few sections.[br]The combat is standard: enemies vary in strength, have shields, you shoot enemies, they die, you shoot enemies in the head or weak spot, they die quicker. You'll come across plenty of bosses, and mini-boss battles known as "Badasses". Guns, guns, guns, guns, guns, guns. So, are there really that many guns? Yes, lots of guns. Do they vary that much? ...Well, yes and no. Each gun feels, looks, fires, and kills in it's own unique little way, but the majority of the weapons are pretty similar. This isn't necessarily bad though, because once you find that special gun that works for you, after wading through hundreds of clunky firearms, it feels great. There are guns that shoot fire, acid, electrical, and explosive bullets. Revolvers that have knives on them, scoped shotguns, etc. Below are some weapons I found throughout my journey.
[br]
Classes & Levelling<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>[br]
Another strong part of Borderlands are the the classes, their abilities, and their skill trees that make each character uniquely playable for each person. There are four different characters, each with their own special ability, following a skill tree to alter your character in the way that feels best for you. The Hunter with his pet hawk, for the sniper type. Soldier with his turret for the standard fighter or support type. The Brick with his berserker mode for those who like to punch the crap out of things and use explosive damage. The Siren with her phasewalk for those who like elemental damage. Along with that, you can find class mods and artifacts that give your character edge. For example, I found an artifact that allowed my Berserker to punch fists of lightning.[br]
The visual changes you can make to your character are extremely minimal, you can only change three sets of colour. Myself and many other gamers were disappointed to hear this, especially considering the game is an RPG modification. I can't help to think why they couldn't incorporate more clothing for each class. Even an optional eye patch for Brick or an army helmet for a "Tank Girl-Esque" Lilith would make players go nuts; especially if it was achieved through loot. Maybe this could be a part of future DLC, or at least I hope.[br]
Multiplayer & Co-op<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>[br]
Multiplayer is fun when it works, it is very much a love hate relationship. Getting in an online game is simply a pain in the ass. Even with port forwarding, many players have trouble getting in games, the online setup feels clunky as well. Your best bet for now is to download something like Game Ranger to play games with your buddies.
Playing online is always more fun with friends, however, assuming you and your friends have interceding schedules like most people, you'll have to play with some weirdos you don't know. As with any game, sometimes you get great people and sometimes you get jerks that take all the loot. There is also an arena and duel mode where you can fight other players, which are both decently fun as you get to show off who has the better guns and skill points.[br]
In Summary<hr size="3" noshade color="#ED761C"></strong>[br]
Borderlands is a fun and addictive RPG shooter with little story substance. Generally, the type of game you play to blow the crap out of aliens and psychos after a long day's work.[br]
Story: Weak[br]
Graphics & Visuals: Unique and fun[br]
Music & Sound: Well done.[br]
Gameplay: Addicting and fast paced.[br]
Score: 8/10[br]By Zombieturtle01
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