Borderlands Review [PC]

30 Nov 2009 at 12:45:03 by Paul Younger
Systems used to review this title: (PC)

Borderlands is Gearbox's foray into the world of the RPG shooter set on the planet of Pandora, a post apocalyptic styled game word where adventurers seek out the mythical treasures of the Vault which hold unimaginable power and wealth. Here at IncGamers we have already run our review of the 360 version of the game but we felt that this is exactly the type of game PC gamers would be taking an interest in so we've whipped up another review after playing the game co-op on the PC.

PC gamers will be more than familiar with the Diablo style RPG with its emphasis on loot drops and items, and this is exactly the category Borderlands falls into. What Borderlands has going for it is the fact that its a shooter and not to mention the game's rather unique styling and game world. The RPG shooter genre has not exactly been flooded with titles over the years, Fallout 3 being the most recent, but Borderlands is no Fallout in the gameplay department.

The game features four character classes, the Soldier, Hunter, Siren and Brick but it's not quite that clear cut with all classes having the ability to take on many of the roles of the other classes. For example the Mordecai hunter class specialises in ranged sniping but that doesn't exclude the Siren from becoming pretty handy with a sniper weapon, or any other class for that matter. With only four classes in the game, this flexibility makes each class more appealing when it comes down to selecting a class at the start. However, each class does have their own special skill that can be leveled up and passive skill trees which give an element of uniqueness to allowing for a basic amount of character customisation, but it is pretty basic.

Borderlands has a pretty simple game model as far as an RPG is concerned; pick up quests and deliver them back to the source or specified location while the story slowly but surely unfolds. Complete the quests, level the character and earn some cash along the way while trying out the massive amount of weapons this game offers. Simple.

Like RPG games before it, Borderlands is all about the loot drops and specifically weapons , the amount of weapons which get dropped is vast thanks to the weapon generation system Gearbox has employed allowing for slight variation on weapon statistics on the same or similar weapons. However, this in itself causes problems when it comes to the game's inventory system and interface. It's obvious that Gearbox has designed the inventory and menu systems around the console versions, they are inadequate and clumsy making it tricky to carry out the simplest of tasks. At times the interface had me weeping and asking myself ‘why?' Yes it's pretty poor in places and sadly made me want to stop playing after long spells of trying to deal with it.

All ...

Comment