Played on:
Windows
I hadn't gotten very far in Borderlands when I realized Gearbox Software really did manage to combine the first person shooter and RPG without quite nearly the compromise we've seen in other developers' efforts. With the spin and rattle of a revolver's chamber, with the satisfying clicks of dropping new shells into a shotgun, and with the bass-heavy explosion of a sniper rifle removing the head of an enemy downrange, Borderlands is foremost a first person shooter.
"You woke the wrong dog!"
But then the RPG elements sneak up on you. Your character - one of four Vault Hunters, each with a unique class and talent tree - levels up in order to unlock new abilities, hit harder, and find more powerful and accurate weaponry. No, you won't be solving murders by interviewing suspects, juggling opposing factions, or have a band of NPCs following behind you. Borderlands isn't any more of an RPG than Diablo ever was, but for most gamers out there, that's plenty.
You've just arrived on the dusty planet of Pandora to try and find some mystical Vault filled with alien technology that's got to be worth a massive fortune. A strange woman's face appears, telling you that only you can see her, and starts guiding you towards finding your way to the Vault. You'll quickly find out, though, that the denizens of Pandora have heard the legends too, and they're not going to just lie down while you loot the Vault all alone. The mining and industrial companies that tried to exploit the planet's natural resources over recent decades have given up on keeping the peace, so outlaws, psychopaths, and other villains of Pandora's wastes are now holding the pieces of the key required to open the Vault, and the only way you're going to get it from them is by using your little friend to take them out.
One of the most striking things about Borderlands to start is the game's visuals. Described by Gearbox Software as a concept art style, it stemmed from their dissatisfaction in mid-development with how the game looked compared to the original concept art. So what we get is something that isn't cel shading, and isn't fully realistic, but something that kind of acts like a graphic novel brought to life. It's a great look that really brings out the game's light-hearted yet brutally violent attitude.
Whether you're playing Borderlands alone, on a LAN, or over the internet, you're playing the same game. Everything is co-op capable for up to four players, and you'll quickly find that the FPS action gets even more intense when you've got a multiplayer session going. You see, unlike most RPGs, critical hits in this game aren't decided on by a virtual dice roll: they're achieved by hitting enemies in vital spots. For Spiderants, it's the sac stuck to their backs, and the challenge is to get them to expose it. For humanoids it's headshots, and for other creatures it might be a tiny eye that only peers out at you for a second. In a cooperative mode, it's easier to expose enemy weaknesses, so the developers made up for that by making most stuff quite a bit tougher to kill. Frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. And when you do kill enemies with explosions and critical hits, the way bodies kind of disassemble themselves really makes for some very satisfying and gory moments.
"So, you want me to share, huh?"
Some interesting art and technology went into making the game look the way it does, but what's even better is the system that creates the game's "87 bazillion" guns. Following the loot color rules of World of Warcraft of increasing rarity and power from white to green, blue, purple, then orange, Borderlands randomly creates and builds guns with a wide variety of properties that each look and feel unique. So from a Derringer-style revolver with a scope and only two shots (but probably very powerful ones) to a sniper rifle that has a digital scope and sets people on fire, there's a huge amount of variety here. Each of the four Vault Hunters works better with specific weapons and has abilities to enhance their use. In my dozens of hours with Borderlands, I've seen or played with thousands of different guns, and you can definitely find one that suits your style - it just might take some time, is all.
The developers have put together a solid game structure where you'll be getting most of your missions from centralized hubs, either directly from NPCs or through the Bounty Boards that deliver optional side missions. You'll have access to a vehicle to quickly travel around as well as a fast travel system that, once you get it up and running after a few hours of play, allow you to quickly pop between major game areas. Your vehicle is necessary for several missions, as it's got room for a gunner and some missions are designed around having wheels. These objectives don't come often, but you can still grab a vehicle in most of the large, outdoor areas to just tool around and run over or blow up enemies from the comfort of your car.
I should get into a few of the disappointments I've had with Borderlands. First, there's no armor at all. You do get a shield generator that has some generated attributes, but there's not a hell of a lot of RPG-style depth on the defensive side of the equation. On top of that, there's no way to customize or create your own weapons; it's a shame to have such a cool gun-building system in the game and then not let the players fiddle with it themselves. Next, the characters are stored on your hard drive, which means some people on the PC version are will duplicate powerful items with impunity. Joining public games to try and play a legit session may turn out to be a waste of time, as some will jump in with ridiculously powerful characters and possibly try to ruin the experience for everyone. If you're concerned about this, you'll have to either only play online with people you know, stick to LAN play, or yes, get the Xbox 360 or PS3 versions.
And finally, as a veteran of Diablo II, I'm a little disappointed with Borderlands' final boss as well as its ending and endgame loot system. The guns are great, yes, but there's just not enough meat here to keep playing for very long, and you can hit the level cap just by doing the game's two playthroughs. Hopefully, some of the upcoming DLC add-ons will add some depth for level 50 players.
Ain't no rest for the wicked
Overall, I'm impressed with the unique features that Borderlands offers PC gamers. It works nicely on Steam and its GameSpy-based online play may turn off some gamers initially, but remember that GameSpy's middleware usually only falters when trying to browse and filter thousands of servers. Here, you've got a friends list, can invite people to your games directly from your single player session, jump into either public or private games, and you're hosting smaller-scale cooperative games for four players on your own machine. For that, GameSpy works perfectly fine, and it's a hell of a lot less intrusive and annoying than Microsoft's Games for Windows Live.
Beyond that, Borderlands on the PC is by far the best-looking version with great dynamic shadows and advanced features like ambient occlusion that, visually, give Pandora a bit of extra depth - if your video card can handle the challenge, of course. LAN play works great, and just about the only thing I can think of that's missing over the console editions is split-screen action (which PC gamers generally don't care for anyway). Gearbox has included achievements, denoted in the PC version as Challenges instead, although for now they're only visible in-game and do not show up as Steam achievements.
It's easy to create a wishlist of features Gearbox probably could have added given enough time, but when I get in game, I forget about all that and instead find myself hunting down the the next epic gun, taking out multiple enemies with headshots, and enjoying the pop culture and video game references (everything from Diablo and Halo to Quentin Tarantino and Judd Apatow movies are in there). I found Borderlands to be pretty unique in that I was able to forget I was a critic and just enjoy its immensely fun shooter action. I think you'll agree that when you've got guns blazing from four players at once and loot is flying everywhere, Borderlands easily makes up for any perceived shortcomings.
