Pandora, a distant planet long rumored to contain riches beyond imagination, has been colonized and fortune seekers from all walks of life flock to this opportunity for riches beyond their dreams. But when this interplanetary “gold rush” proves to be nothing more than legend on the remote planet, those who were wealthy enough left, and the outpost degraded into desolation and lawlessness for those who remained. Thus is the world of Borderlands, the new sci-fi/action RPG video game from Gearbox, makers of the Brother in Arms series.
This is not your typical RPG. Combat in most RPG’s is relatively easy. RPG game developers want players to concentrate on exploring an open world and developing their character. These games often help you along by offering not-so-subtle clues as to what you are expected to do or where you are to go. Action games require a higher skill level from the player as combat is generally more difficult and often the player must rely on his or her own problem solving skills to determine where to go, following clues and discoveries found in-game. These two genres, with differing skill sets and unique fan bases, are as different as night and day. But with Borderlands, Gearbox has seamlessly combined the two, giving us what promises to be a truly spectacular game offering single player, multiplayer and online campaigns that are not to be missed.
Admittedly there is no shortage of either action games, RPG games, or science fiction games. What sets Borderlands apart from the all the rest is the way in-game content is produced. The buzz surrounding Borderlands’ revolutionary new content generation system, which allows for an almost endless collection of weapons, enemies, item drops, and so much more, has set the gaming community on fire. Unlike other games where you can play a quest and if you didn’t like the outcome you could simply re-load from a previous save point and play it again, Borderlands’s content generation system will produce different set of circumstances and randomly generated maps and map features make for a new experience as you play it again and again.
RPG games depend upon the continual leveling of characters as they complete quests. Borderlands builds on this foundation by including both story-driven missions and side quests unlocking items exclusive to the individual quest. Literally thousands of weapons will become available to you and the numerous playable characters each have unique leveling trees so no two characters will develop in the same way. Not only do you have enormous control over how your character develops, thus how the game will play, but Borderlands adds even more to the mix with some elements missing from some action games and some recent RPG games, most notably Fallout 3. Adding to the fast-paced style of the FPS, you can engage in high speed vehicle combat, complete with high octane explosions and head-to-head combat with enemy vehicles.
Borderlands promises to be revolutionary not only in game design but in gameplay style as well. In years to come we will be able to look back and say that quite possibly the next generation in video gaming started with Borderlands. By not only giving us a way to replay the game with randomly generated, disparate content and combining the freesyle tactics of an RPG with the skill based tactics of a FPS action game, Gearbox is proving that someone is actually listening to what gamers are saying they want. I absolutely love Fable 2 but the game is too easy. Hopefully the hype with Borderlands won’t disappoint and it proves to offer the challenge most fans of RPG are desiring.
Available on: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
