After buying Borderlands when it first came out in 2009, I fell in love with it. While not a perfect game it was fun, and even more important, it was funny. While exploring the world of Pandora and the lore of The Vault was enticing, the humor is what sold the game.
Users will not likely forget first attempts to take down Nine Toes or Sledge. Those encounters are anticipated every time I play through the campaign, which I try to do often. It never gets old, I laugh at the same jokes every play through. It’s that good.
The compulsion to talk about Borderlands comes about in the shadow of its sequel, which comes out later this year. It is also important to discuss because it is a great example of what a game can do right.
Borderlands casts players into another world with only a little bit of background info, and a gun. From there the world of Pandora is yours to explore, if you can find a gun powerful enough to deal with the enemies in that area, and there are always more powerful enemies with more powerful guns. Always.
While single player mode is great, the multiplayer feature is really where Borderlands shines. This option allows players to play not only against, but with other players to work together and get through quests. By adjusting the difficulty based on how many players are currently in the game it also increases the challenge, ensuring that gameplay stays exciting.
Although it does get a little bit repetitive after hours of shooting and looting, the compulsion for more powerful guns and the joy of playing with friends make that a non-issue. Playing with others keeps it fresh, and Pandora is conducive to forming lasting bonds with friends.
It is hard to determine whether lightning will strike twice and if Borderlands 2 will be just as good as the original, but Gearbox, the studio who worked on both games, is still going strong, and everything looks good so far.
For more in-depth coverage and discussion forum about the topic visit Cameron’s blog.
By Cameron Simek
Staff Writer
