Beautiful art style and fun gameplay, but is that enough to save this game?
For the first 15 hours of this game, I was hooked. I chose to be Mordecai, a hunter character that had a bird companion. He was one of four characters, each specializing in hand to hand combat, another in assault rifles and lastly damage over time/stealth.
The opening for the game draws you in with slightly cheesy yet spunky music that makes it feel like a cliche action film. At this point you only know one thing; you are a vault (treasure) hunter, and you have visions of a woman guiding you towards it.
Borderlands is very loot and quest oriented. It feels old-school in a way, in terms of loot and how random it can be. The items seem to scale with your level somewhat, although you can get very lucky or the later in the chests of goodies. The boss fights are quite intense, and sometimes you wish you had your friend playing with you -- yes, this can be a four player co-op game!
I like the idea of this game, I tried to enjoy it, but I simply could not in the end. I kept thinking to myself "it will get better, just a bit longer" but I was let down. The art style and humour of the game is what kept me playing it for as long as I did.
That which was most important to me is what this game lacked: a good story. So as I asked in the title; "... beautiful art style and fun gameplay, but is that enough to save this game?" my answer would be: Just barely. Worth a try? Absolutely, you are kept busy for many hours of gameplay, and for even more fun, purchase it with a friend.