Borderlands
9.5 out of 10

Let me start off by saying this, I’m not a fan of the FPS. I think they are frustrating because there’s a lot that isn’t in your control, your weapon, your ammo and the face that it’s always one against many, and there’s always someone that’s shooting you from behind that you don’t see until it’s too late. Despite all of those facts, I loved Borderlands. The comic book-like graphics give the world a great post-apocalyptic-type feel. The world is vast, and it was pretty easy to get turned around when on a quest, but that to me was just the sign of another great game. The voice work is fun, especially the little main character quips after a fierce battle. Borderlands is one of those games where the story is probably just as great as the game play.

One of the HUGE drawing points of Borderlands is guns. Usually, in the typical FPS, you are given a handful of guns to work with during a game. Borderlands stepped it up and gave us a Random Weapon Generator that can potentially give us a “million, bazillion guns.” Let me tell you, it certainly felt like it. It seemed like every five minutes, a message would pop up on the screen telling us the stores had new inventory and sure enough, we were back at the vending machines, looking to upgrade our current stock.

Another amazing aspect of the game is the cleanliness of the multiplayer – both online and local. My girlfriend and I went through the whole game locally before I picked up and played solo. The multiplayer enemies are tougher than the solo enemies, so it was fun to strategize how to get these kills playing co-op.

One more win for Borderlands has been the downloadable content. Gearbox has offered us 3 DLC packages so far and I’ve gotten to two of them: The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned and Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot. Both  DLC’s are challenging and vast, well worth the money paid for them. Mad Moxxi’s underdome riot was extremely difficult and to be honest, I haven’t gotten past it yet.

If you like the FPS, you will LOVE Borderlands. It’s clean, the story draws you in and the game never loses focus by putting you on random small quests just for the hell of it. If you aren’t a fan of the FPS, you should give Borderlands a try in co-op mode and tell me what you think. I have a feeling this will be the game to turn it around for you. All things being said…I’m waiting for more Borderlands DLC and Borderlands 2, when they decide to make it.