Just like books, games must not be judged by their covers.
Borderlands
2K Games
Xbox 360
Hayden Meikle
Four Stars (Out of 5)
Borderlands did not initially appeal - not one little
bit - with its comic-style cover and accompanying T-shirt
with images of what appeared to be a futuristic villain
blowing his brains out.
I've seen far too many first- or third-person shooters that
purport to be the next big thing over the last three years to
get too excited about another visceral action game.
But this one deserves a chance.
It has elements of Bioshock, Gears of War and
Fallout 3 - three of the very finest console titles of
the past decade - with a dollop of World of Warcraft
thrown in for the level-up freaks.
Borderlands takes place on a planet called Pandora -
yes, I rolled my eyes too - and you are given the choice to
explore it as one of four character types, all of whom are
mercenaries.
The overall quest is to discover something called The Vault,
because of the immense riches that lie inside.
So far, so predictable.
But Borderlands wastes no time showing how a dodgy cover can
actually hide a vast, varied, surprisingly funny and
immensely playable game.
A few patient tutorial-type movements are quickly followed by
the first lot of quests, all of which are extremely simple
and designed to encourage gamers by boosting their level very
quickly.
A comprehensive map system makes it nice and easy to find
your goals.
The quests flow thick and fast, and so does the combat.
All sorts of critters, beasties and bandits clog the planet,
and all can be dispatched to earn XP and a range of loot.
Here's where Borderlands really starts to feel like World of
Warcraft.
There are bucketloads of rewards to be earned via questing or
killing, and plenty of vending machines to allow the buying,
selling and upgrading of goods.
A decent multiplayer option also allows you to form a group
with three other players and share the responsibilities of
the quests and the rewards of the loot.
What's great about Borderlands is that while it is
intense and quite brutal, it also has a neat underlying sense
of humour.
The carnage has a layer of comedy that propels the storyline
nicely.
Most of all, it's just darn fun to play.
And isn't that the whole point of gaming?
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