Borderlands

FPS and RPG are two of the most popular genres in the gaming industry. However, a game that blends the two genres into one consistent title was yet to appear. To fill this gap now appears Borderlands, the first RPFPS of videogames. It's an unusual mix, and it works really well.

Welcome to the planet of Pandora, the place where is all the action in Borderlands. An arid, cruel and ruthless planet to the most unwary. You are one of four characters who represent different classes, there is a Soldier (Roland), Berserker (Brick), the Sniper (Mordecai)and finally the girl (Lilith). They all have their own stories that you will discover as you progress trough Borderlands. Your goal on Pandora? Search the Vault, an area of the planet where according to the legend, there are some of the hidden treasures of the universe.

Arriving to the city of Fyrestone, we are thrown right into the action to prevent an attack from killers who are trying to loot the city. This is the ideal time to introduce us to the Borderlands gaming system. To what may at first seem an FPS where you play with the common first person view, Borderlands adds several RPG elements. Depending on the position you hit the enemy, it suffers damage that is deducted from his health bar. As an RPG, you can apply critical attacks that gives more damage, but depending on the weak points of each target.

Like any RPG, Borderlands will also give you the chance of leveling up as you accumulate experience, gained both in combat by defeating enemies, or doing story and side missions. Each time you get stronger you can spend skill points to make your character learn new skills or become more experienced with weapons or even get more damage with a direct attack. You can also improve your character by exploring the thousands of boxes scattered in the map and you can search for all sorts of things such as ammunition, weapons, an energy shield that protects you from direct damage, improvements to the grenades, among other things. What is striking is the ability that Borderlands has to give you new items at an impressive rate. There are thousands of weapons, shields and the like that you can collect throughout the adventure.

When it is time to do more difficult missions, we are led to enter into the dungeons of Pandora. And this is where the real challenge arises, the monsters are much stronger and much better armed human enemies. Logically, it is also in these areas that you may find the strongest weapons in the game and of course, kill a boss always gives the right to own a blue or purple gun, which are the most powerful and most valuable weapons in Borderlands. It is noted the evolution of your character in Borderlands. Enemies who made your life in a living hell are cakewalk targets a few levels later and to catch a rare new gun that turns into explosive bullets is an unparalleled sense of power that makes you want to continue and evolve your character.

Everything is much better if shared, and Borderlands allows you to play with two more people on the same console or four in total online. The cooperative mode does not change much from the single-player, although it is clear that the enemies are quite strong, which also offers more chance to collect better items or weapons. Playing Borderlands is a heavy risk when played alone and entering a random game online is always the best option to progress in late missions. The problem is that we are sucked right off to other side missions, or even the simple search for new weapons, which greatly increases the playing time. If playing alone, you can have more than 20 hours of play, without side missions, but it certainly you may want to repeat with friends and get the best weapons for your character.

Borderlands uses Cel-Shading, where everything seems more cartoon-ish. The design appears at first sight less detailed than the usual, but manages to still provide delicious details which highlight the weapons and all the visibly beautiful and well built surroundings. Also enemies or monsters are molded in Cel-Shading, but what stands out are the same weapons and their models, which are very attractive and different. However do not be fooled by the cartoon look, because Borderlands is a game where violence and black humor are always present. In Pandora there isn't too much value in life and every human being is just another shooting target. The scenarios have bodies in the rocks, and there are dungeons that seem more a butcher than a hide out.

The audio is quite good, however capable of being one of the weakest points of Borderlands. The songs are repeated constantly and the vocal lines are almost always the same. Not bad indeed, but more variety had not been so bad. Here I just want to highlight the testimonies of the main characters that are spoken throughout the adventure, especially when you eliminate an enemy with a critical attack. These are fun and in most cases have style, which is a point in favor.

Borderlands is another big surprise, but still manages to surprise positively with a fluid and functional gameplay and with an evolution system highly engaging and addictive. Want to play alone or with others, there is a lot to do and whether you are FPS or RPG fan, or both, then you shouldn't miss one of the most addictive and rewarding games of  2009.

Marco Cecilio, NoobFeed