First Level: Borderlands (PS3)
A hands on impression of Gearbox's latest adventure.Published 23/10/2009 at 20:00 by tom_lord
New Borderlands DLC Confirmed [13]
Borderlands Character On Twitter [13]
Borderlands DLC Gets Disked [10]
If I am being totally honest, Borderlands would not normally be my sort of game. It claims to be neither an FPS nor an RPG, but a RPS. So is it genre defining stuff? Well, lets start with the most prominent feature, the visuals. It reminds me of the old PS2, Xbox and Gamecube game, XIII. It is certainly different from any new game in recent times and should be applauded for being outside the box. There is a living, breathing world out there to explore, all in stunning cel-shade-o-vision.
Then there are the guns. Lots of guns. Lots and lots of guns. Snipers, pistols, SMGs, the list goes on. You name it, Borderlands has it. The majority have a very meaty feel and respond exactly as you expect. However, having so many guns is a little daunting and I didn’t find it especially clear as to which guns are best for which scenario. Every kill gains you precious XP to level up which is always addicting. In fact, the whole game revolves around the score chase for XP, leveling up and even bigger and better weapons.
But one thing is for certain, this is not your usual shooting game. First up, it is an open world, like Far Cry 2 only smaller and with loading times between each area. You complete various missions and side quests in order to progress through the story. At times is can be a grind. Traveling between each level or marker point will mean confronting enemies and little Skags (annoying, jumping mutated dogs). Sometimes this can be a drag and drains health and ammo before you actually get to the main mission.
But this is reduced with the introduction of vehicles, and while they speed up long distance traveling, their handling takes a little getting used to as you steer and aim the cross-hair of your gun with the right stick at the same time. So you drive forward and not so much as steer round corners but aim round them. It’s a little clunky but can be acclimatised to.
Also, sometimes the mission structure can be a little repetitive. Go here, kill these people, get that and come back is pretty much how each level pans out and the inventory isn’t the clearest of things to navigate. Certainly, shooting droves and droves of Skags, Midgets and Bandit Raiders can get to be a bit of a drag, however the sense of achievement after a level is over is always great. Plus, being able to play co-op throughout is always a major boon. I for one am glad to see another co-op game and when you both work together to defeat a rival, it tastes all the sweeter for doing it alongside a friend. The online co-op works a treat too, but playing alone is missing the point and it all feels desperately lonely doing so. Not a game for people with no friends then.
So far I have enjoyed playing Borderlands. The leveling up and grinding elements of gameplay very much mimic an RPG, while the massive guns and explosions are from more straight forward shooters. A unique visual style and co-op play all add up to something that is very different in a market full of sequels and movie tie-ins. I haven’t even mentioned the massive, mutated monsters that you will encounter. A breath of fresh air, but it won’t appeal to everyone.
Comments
Please note that all comments are the opinion of the individual author and not TheSixthAxis.
Yung Jones | 23/10/2009 20:10
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882 TSA Points | Member since: Mar 2009
Yeah, I was looking into getting this game but I think i’ll stick with Fallout GOTY. Oh yeah nice review
stingraz | 23/10/2009 20:20
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same, ‘cept i’ll be keeping ALL my cash! It sounds tome like i predicted it to be – lots of guns – repetitive. i’ll pick it up when it is very cheap.
cc_star | 23/10/2009 20:24
Team TSA: Writer
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Can’t see it being any more repetitive than other RPGs which require some grinding, or even the hallowed Fallout 3, which was the most boring I’ve ever had the misfortune to play for 20mins and then sell to my brother.
Doddsy | 23/10/2009 21:23
Totally Oscar Mike
728 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
THe first 20 minutes of Fallout 3 do suck, the rest of it is pure gold
Ripperfish | 25/10/2009 01:13
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To be honest i agree with CC i have allways hated RPG games and i descided to stop being biast and i played throuhg over half the story of fallout 3 and still thought it was a terrible game. So i deffinatly wont be buying boderlands.
Though the cover art is awesome
rht992 | 23/10/2009 20:21
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I heard the endings terrible but i still want this game. it just looks like something slightly different and quirky compared to all the fancy AAA’s coming out but i have to save for assassins creed 2 at the moment and my little brothers birthday
stingraz | 23/10/2009 20:29
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spoil it for us all – tell us the ending!
mynameisblair | 23/10/2009 20:38
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no don’t
cc_star | 23/10/2009 20:44
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No untagged spoilers on TSA please, else someone may have to find the key to cupboard where the ban hammer his kept.
rht992 | 24/10/2009 12:00
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no i don’t know the ending lol but everyone who’s played the game says its just awful but the games about the journey not the destination
cc_star | 23/10/2009 20:25
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“sometimes the mission structure can be a little repetitive. Go here, kill these people, get that and come back is pretty much how each level pans out”
Sounds like you’re describing GTA IV or Fallout 3 or any number of games of really.
Ryan1991 | 23/10/2009 23:46
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A lot of games are repetitive. You got GTAIV, InFamous, Call of Juarez, etc
Oh and racing games. They’re too repetitive.
tom_lord | 24/10/2009 02:26
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Yes, a lot of games can be “repetitive” on a basic level. A racing game will always have cars going round a track, for example. But for the first 4 hours in Borderlands, each mission feels very similar. So, in a GTA the structure can be similar throughout, but you tend not to realise it because things mask the structure, or you forget about it. I felt with this game that it really is omnipresent and something that I couldn’t really overlook.
cc_star | 25/10/2009 01:43
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No I’ve always loved GTA right from the first one though to Vice City possibly being my fave game of all time, Didn’t like San Andreas much, and IV just plain sucked, EVERY single mission is identical… was boring as fuck.
But if you break it down every single game is repetitive.
Warhawk, just shoot people and steal the occasional flag…
Burnout just race and take stuff down or do stunts etc…
Fifa, just round around and score goals
Uncharted & 2, just jump around various ledges and shoot people
Halo, Forza, GoW, Gran Turismo etc… and etc…
Yeah, ever single game is repetitive, but I suppose it comes down to if you enjoy that particular brand of repetitiveness
mynameisblair | 23/10/2009 20:28
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It is a great game.
I got to level 13, but I’m holding off from playing it untill my friend gets it so wee can play some co-op.
This is why it will be awesome.
tom_lord | 24/10/2009 02:28
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It really is great in co-op. It feels almost like a different game and you can tell it has been designed from the ground up with co-op in mind.
X_Yoshy_X | 25/10/2009 00:14
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499 TSA Points | Member since: Feb 2009
yer the game is maked 100% for co-op. i mean it was never ment to be a sirios game, it was just ment to be a mess about with some m8s game
mynameisblair | 25/10/2009 00:23
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Yes, its maked for co-op.
iNsAnE_gAmInG | 25/10/2009 02:17
* Banned *
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Lol blair. But seriously Yoshy, ‘maked’, ’sirious’, ‘ment’ (although that last one can past for slang), you need to sort out your english skills.
colossalblue | 23/10/2009 20:41
Team TSA: Editor
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This was my “Game of Show” from E3 and while it doesn’t interest me now as much as it did then I’m still hoping to get my hands on it at some point. Maybe if I have a win on tomorrow’s lotto…
TheDeathAvenger | 23/10/2009 21:01
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Not bought this yet. I’m trying to make sure that i really want the game before i buy it, as i end up buying games and sometimes only play them a few times (or very rarely not play them at all).
Anyway a nice first look into Borderlands.
Roynaldo | 23/10/2009 21:06
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Nicely written, can someone point out some more of tom_lords stuff, I think this is the first I have seen….or noticed at least.
Dont think I want this game though tbh.
cc_star | 23/10/2009 21:10
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http://www.thesixthaxis.com/author/tom_lord/
Roynaldo | 23/10/2009 21:15
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Cool….cheers
Sevchenko | 23/10/2009 23:37
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this game is so buggy it hurts to think about. the graphics are FAAAR too mixed between stylized and not. yet this is a fun game. its weird.
iNsAnE_gAmInG | 23/10/2009 23:49
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-1930 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
What is with TSA being negative as possible lately.
Judging by that article it seems like Borderlands does everything it says it does, but still the critisisms overload the positives.
tom_lord | 24/10/2009 02:23
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I didn’t feel like I was being overly negative. Have you played the game? I enjoyed playing it, but it is not perfect and I tried to be as honest and as professional in my opinion as possible. As I said “So far I have enjoyed playing Borderlands”, the graphics/visual style is very intriguing and “ being able to play co-op throughout is always a major boon”. This game will not appeal to the vast majority of gamers by the very nature of the beast and I think the article reflects this.
iNsAnE_gAmInG | 24/10/2009 11:22
* Banned *
-1930 TSA Points | Member since: Jul 2009
I’m sorry tom_lord. I’ll be playing the game later, I guess I was in a bad mood anyway last night and it hit me that all of the games I have wanted to be perfect have not had perfect TSA reviews. Looking back you’re article was fair and was very good (I never said it wasn’t), it’s Nofi who flared up this debate after my initial grumpy comment.
skibadee | 24/10/2009 03:12
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thx good review it is a maybe for now
davidjmclare | 24/10/2009 10:15
always on easy
1094 TSA Points | Member since: May 2009
good review. nice little domestic in the comments… i actually felt awkward even tho im sat safely behind my netbook screen
Tw1sted | 24/10/2009 10:55
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oh man i want i want i want.
the store i’m gonna buy it from is getting it next week. i’m so sad they don’t have it yet
spooferbarnabas | 24/10/2009 12:19
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1598 TSA Points | Member since: Jun 2009
I am loving Borderlands so far but also agree with most of the comments.
The co-op is amazing on it and the feeling you get wen you get a brand new weapon is great. Can be a little bit repetitive but in my opinion is a great game.
Fresh191 | 24/10/2009 20:35
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584 TSA Points | Member since: Aug 2009
Great game so far, level 18 at the mo, had some good co-op with some TSAers last night and although they were levels above me and had already done the mission I was on it was really good! I agree with the solo aspect not being as good as the co-op but its still well worth playing.
cleric20 | 24/10/2009 20:42
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78 TSA Points | Member since: Sep 2008
I have completely fallen for Borderlands – was up past 4am last night playing (and that was solo)… Hooking up with pals to co-op is even better. So Uncharted 2 and now this – I’ve never had such a good time with any console…
Talk about the flaws if you must, but for me Borderlands has been a non stop adrenalin blast… Am itching to get back to it – see you online? Cleric20