OSCAR COOPER
Monsters, loot and 1.8 billion guns, it doesnt get much better than this
Gearbox are a great studio, lets ignore Aliens Colonial Marines for a second and concentrate on the Borderlands series for the moment. Borderlands the original was a strange game to look at back then, I wasn't sure if it was an FPS or an RPG and it had an art style that reminded me of the PS2 Okami days. Cell shading wasn't used much with 7th generation systems, but the guys at Gearbox had really had put alot of effort into the art style with Borderlands, the are quite exquisite and an instantly recognizable colour pallet made it stand out from the crowd, it wasnt until I was googling screens shots for Borderlands 2 that I realised the game looks spectaclur.Don't forget this game was competing with the likes of Gears Of War and Halo 3 so it needed to be strong and it was, but just in a different direction. So it was both an RPG and an FPS at the same time not the sort of Fallout 3 but with a solid hardcore shooting mechanic, gunplay was fast responsive and felt fluid. The key to the whole experience is loot and lots of it, like Diablo it incentivises the player with loot drops that have all manner of juicy upgrades and weapon types in them. It’s the detail in the weapon types that act as the real pulling point for the player, thousands of different combinations exist, the developers wrote an algorithm that allows the game to never churn out the same weapon twice and deliverers a constant array of varied gun, grenade and shield type for the players to switch around. Borderlands was the first FPS I played with a decent questing system, it allowed you to play at your own pace, explore, take optional side missions and quests when you wanted to.
Borderlands 2 built on this idea, giving the player added elemental weapons types like acid, electricity, fire and a new element called slang that works in tandem with the afore mentioned. We also had a whole new bunch of characters to play as, the solider was still in place but we also got a telekinetic siren, a sword brandishing assassin and duel wielding gun manic midget, a great line up and all with loads of unlockable outfits and heads. All these characters came with a special upgradable ability, so trying out new load outs was always fun, if you had a friend with you could complement each other with one another’s powers, a great way to encourage multiplayer and team work. You could also swap and trade weapons with each other, this was a superb idea as someone would always have something you wanted and vice verser . Questing was also fun, doing a story driven mission is optional and there’s nothing better than going on that crazy side mission that just popped up as there could be some gorgeous loot waiting for you at the end. Like Left 4 Dead its built for four players but unlike Left 4 Dead you can still have a great time on your own, NPC’s and story lines are sometimes just brilliantly hilarious as the game has a self-awareness that never fails to bring a smile to your face. There is sooo much content with this game it sometimes becomes mind blowing how they managed put it all on one disc, it’s a true gem in the modern gaming world to have such a ‘Gamers Game’, my is copy still on top of my recent played pile and love grabbing mates for a couple of hours questing and generally mucking about. The DLC is also very strong, four chunks of decent downloads have already come through, I was knocked back at how well the Tiny Tina campaign played out, all themed in an medieval RPG/Dungeons and Dragons style, brilliant side quests and main storyline with new enemy types, weapons and environments to explore.
If you spot the GOTY edition with the DLC included… grab it, there’s a whole lot of fun waiting to be had inside that box, Randy Pitchford, I salute you and can’t wait for more from the team, congratulations on a true modern classic.
Regards Oscar