Review - Borderlands

This was a Borderlands Review that I did in December of 2010, and I am just posting it here for posterity's sake. Originally posted at http://www.gamersinfo.net/articles/3534-borderlands


The lines of first-person shooter and role-playing game are blurring with every new year in the videogame world. Leveling up, unlocking new gear and getting sweet loot are no longer solely the domain of the RPG world. Having grown up being a fan of both genres, I can say without a doubt, I am impressed when a game pulls off this merger with such skill and grace.Borderlands from Gearbox Software is one of the latest attempts at merging the FPS and RPG genres, and they have done it so well you can’t help but be addicted to it. Borderlands takes the best of both worlds without making the game too heavy with RPG elements to scare off the twitchy FPS gamers but allows enough choice in character customization, weaponry and specs to keep the most meticulous RPG gamers. All that being said, this game is just plain fun. Hordes of monsters and a nonstop spray of bullets kept my heart pounding from the beginning to end.


Borderlands starts with the four playable character types (Brick, Siren, Soldier, Hunter) being driven to the city of Fyrestone on the planet of Pandora by Marcus Kincaid, an arms dealer and generally shady character. The playable characters each have a different set of skills and preferred weaponry. The Brick likes anything that explodes and can send himself into a berserker rage, enabling him to smash anything in his way with his fists. The Siren has zeal for elemental-based weaponry and can turn invisible for some stealthy twists on combat. The Soldier has a love for a good old assault rifle and can drop an autonomous turret for some added support during play. Lastly, the Hunter is an expert with revolvers and sniper rifles and can launch his pet bird, Bloodwing, into battle at a moments notice.
I took the Siren on my first run through, having a craving to do all things sneaky and devious. All the playable characters are looking for an ancient artifact known as the Vault. After choosing a character, I was encountered by a vision of a mysterious woman known as the “Guardian Angel.” I was instructed by her to follow her directions, and she would help me on my journey to the Vault. Now, the Vault is something of legend. No one really knows where it is, and no one is really sure what is contained in the Vault, but legend has it that it contains vast riches and power.
The journey starts by befriending Dr. Zed, the local Fyrestone defunct physician. Dr. Zed sent me off to deal with some local thugs and monsters as a favor to him and to gain his trust. The missions are fun and difficult for beginners, but the pacing is great. For the gamer that is new to the FPS genre, the first few mission make it easy to bring yourself up to speed, and for the veteran of the FPS world, you should blow through these missions with ease. Eventually, after I had completed all of the tasks for the doctor, I was sent off into the next zone looking for more clues as to the location of the Vault.


Just when I thought this game was going to be endless horde of monsters and bandits, I encountered a set of ethereal beings known Guardians. These are the creatures that are on Pandora to protect the location and contents of the Vault. Admittedly, I was a little frightened when the Guardians popped up the first time. After dealing with a bunch of similar monsters for the first two areas, I really didn’t know how to handle them. It completely captured my attention, though. Having stared at the dirty, gritty landscape of Pandora for a couple of hours, the mystery of the these glowing blue energy creatures made me really curious to find what they were hiding or protecting.
My journey continued on completing more quests and missions and discovering more clues about the whereabouts of the Vault. Throughout my journey on Pandora, a few of the missions were to locate audiotapes of a daily log of Dr. Patricia Tannis. It is clearly evident from the audiotapes she is stark raving mad. She has probably gone insane from the endless searching for the Vault and the isolation on Pandora. She is most definitely not an easy character to pin down. I encountered Dr. Tannis in the later portions of the game, and she was an interesting encounter but questionable at best in aiding my search for the Vault. Meanwhile, I was fighting off the pseudo-governmental entities of the Crimson Lance. They are a group of corporate-funded super soldiers trying to install a martial law on the planet. In addition to that, they are trying to get to the Vault first and stop any of the treasure hunters that are on the search for the Vault.


I don’t want to give away any spoilers to the ending of Borderlands, but the solid, albeit one-dimensional, storyline kept me guessing and asking for more. The characters are funny and interesting, a mix of backwater hillbillies, treasure hunters and corporately funded mad men. Borderlands kept my attention and always had me coming back for more. The depth of the gameplay mixed all the right aspects of the FPS and RPG genres, and as a fan of both, I could not ask for more. This game was an interesting story paired with exciting gameplay, and the ending was so difficult and fun that I went back again and again to try out the other classes. If you haven’t already played this game, it is definitely worth going back and playing one of the best games of the year for 2009. I would highly recommend that anyone who loves FPSs and has a penchant for RPGs buy this game immediately.

Stop Trying to Hit Me, and Hit Me

 The other week I was browsing through one of my favorite gaming websites, and the advertisement video that plays before the video I was looking for was for Rift the game. The trailer showed some sweeping cinematics and what looked like some very detailed in-game footage, but something bothered me about the video. The tagline was “We’re not in Azeroth anymore”. Now my presumption is that they are referring to Azeroth from the World of Warcraft universe, and a nod to Frank Baum’s classic The Wizard of Oz. I assume that Trion Worlds, makers of Rift, are trying to establish Rift as “the next WoW killer,” but it didn’t show me enough about the game to really get me enticed. Aside from showing me very well done cinematics, the only thing that I glean from this advertisement is that Rift is not WoW.

It seems to me that every MMO to come out is hyped by the media or the fan base to be “the next WoW killer,” but very rarely is it hyped directly by the company that makes the game. Trion Worlds is looking to capitalize on that consumer base to turn a profit. A solid idea in theory, but the overt advertisement of that fact turns me off. What else about the advertisement shows me anything that would make me interested in the game? There is no other information about the gameplay, story, structure or design that entices me to play. Let’s look at what they do have. Sweeping cinematics? Check. In-game footage? Check. A big monster that I presumably have to defeat? Check. Anything else? That about covers it. Oh wait, there is also a dragon. I look at this advertisement, and it seems that they have put the cart before the horse here. Trion Worlds is setting Rift up to be the next WoW killer, but we don’t know much about the game.

Now admittedly, I have played my fair share of WoW as well as other MMORPGs, and I have quit playing WoW to go play other MMOs, but never solely due to the fact that the new game isn’t WoW. I left for other reasons: play experiences, different classes, different skill structures, and new world to explore. So based on the advertisement, I guess they nailed one of those four, but why only concentrate on the one that everyone nails. It’s obvious that we aren’t in Azeroth anymore. It’s not the same game. Now, I know that they can’t fit an in depth run through of game mechanics in an advertisement, but I don’t even know what happens in Rift at all.

Sell me on your game because it’s awesome, not because it’s different from on of the leading games in that genre. To quote Morpheus, “Stop trying to hit me and hit me.” The problem that I see here is the competition of video game sales. I like the fact that Trion Worlds advertising is direct and to the point, but the only point that they are making has nothing to do with their game. Advertising for a video game should sell that video game, and not just compare itself to other video games. I think that they are admitting that their game is inferior simply because of the comparison. If you are going to make a game that competes with WoW, then the advertisement for it should not even consider WoW. If you are better, then the public should be able to play your game and know that you are better. It shouldn’t have to be directly pointed out to them.

It seems like Trion World’s advertising is writing a really big check, and their game is going to have to cash it. It’s a gutsy move, and I do hope that it works out for them, but the pandering to WoW players turns me off. If you are going to be better, then just be better. To go a little Yoda on this, “Do or do not, there is no try.”

Link to the video on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpXoNaiPfT8