Borderlands

Borderlands is the type of game that it first glance might not look like a very impressive game, but that first glance could not be further from the truth. The truth is that this game will have you glued to it through at least one if not two complete play-through. The story is that there exists this place of power, wealth, and women, and if you can reach it, all can be yours. In order to reach it though you're going to have to go through some real nasty enemies to collect pieces for the Vault Key. Along the way you're going to be guided by a mysterious woman that only you can see, what is her purpose, why is she helping, well that's for you to find out in the end.

Graphically this game has a slight cel-shaded look to it. At first I felt like I was getting a bit jipped by it, but as I played I discovered that this fit just perfect with the overall game. The different enemy models will definitely give you a clear idea of what you're about to get yourself into. Now of course there's always the bad-ass versions of these, and I'm not talking cool or awesome here, which are basically take the base models of the enemies and puts them on super-drugs. The different characters that you can play as also have very distinct looks to them giving you one hell of a time playing the game. Finally the NPCs that you'll be taking quest from all have a very specific look to them, and though there will be times when you don't really get to see them any more they have a lasting impression on you.

The sounds of the game fit. Its really hard to say more than that. Each enemy definitely has their lines that they are going to recycle over and over again, and yeah it gets a bit old, but it also can tell you if your about to be attacked by someone who might be standing out of the camera. 

The controls work in this game, and to me that is a huge thing. After just a little bit of time deploying my character's special action, throwing grenades, and firing my weapon became second nature to me. There are some issues with the jump mechanic in certain issues, but that I think has to deal more with collision detection and less about the controls.

So you're going to be dropped off in this small town with only a doctor present and from there you're going to have to fight your way through junkyards, wastelands, and caverns. The best part of this game is the crazy weapons you're going to be able to use. I say crazy because of all the combinations that your shotgun, rifle, SMG, pistol, and more can have. There's a chance that weapons will have added effects to them, such as corrosive damage (there's nothing quite like watching an enemy disintegrate right before your eyes), fire damage, electrical, and more. This game can be played single player but it is really something when you get to co-op in this game. One of the nicely done pieces is the way that the game scales when there are more than one player present in the game. The leveling of the characters is pretty straight forward, you're going to take quests on, you're going to kill enemies, and you're going to get experience. When you level up your going to get skill points that can be used to mold your character the way you'd like for them to be. There's also enough content in this game that it really is worth trying to go through the game a second time (even though the quests might not be the best).

This game was a surprise to me, and I have to say that I recommend that you play it. There's a lot to be had by this game. Sure the storyline kind of has its shaky moments, but at the end of the day blowing up enemies and getting to the end is enough for most. This game gets a 8.8 out of 10.