1, 2, 3, I'm talkin' 'bout, D, L, C!
Gameplay
If you would have asked me my opinion on the game after playing for the first 25 minutes, I probably would have said, "Borederlands". It takes a while to really get into the game, and it really gets exciting after you beat Nine-Toes and get your first vehicle.
There are a lot of guns in Borderlands. "Well duh, it's a shooter!" No. There are more guns than your average shooter. There are more guns than any other game ever made (I think). There are something like 10 million guns in Borderlands, because they took a few different gun models and changed up the stats to call them different guns. Yes, it misleads you into thinking each gun looks and handles different, which is partially true, but all in all there are about 7 different types of guns, and about 20-40 different models in each category - still a lot.
Now, if you really like this game, you'll end up playing it through a few times with different characters, but if you're trying to master just one character online and offline, then here's how to know what you should choose.
Roland (Soldier)
Roland is the ideal choice for the average player, because he mainly uses Sub-machine guns and combat rifles. The weapons are very easy to use, but he is the worst at melee (For melee, Brick>Mordecai>Lilith>Roland), which isn't that big of a deal. He is best early off in the game, and is needed for a good team when playing online. In the later levels he isn't as good as he was earlier on, but he's still probably the second best overall. Roland is best for someone who wants a bit of everything.
Lilith (Siren)
Lilith is the obvious choice for girls, because she is one. Most guys won't choose her because she looks quite weak. She isn't the strongest character when it comes to weapons, but she has lots of special techniques that make her needed for success in big missions, like her fast boosts and invisibility. Lilith is best for someone who likes to go really fast and be incredibly stealthy, and use Sub-machine guns and pistols.
Mordecai (Hunter)
Mordecai was my first choice. He is probably the second hardest to use, but he is probably the most powerful character later in the game. He is great with every weapon, and his main weapons are sniper rifles and revolvers. Mordecai is best for someone who is stealthy and patient.
Brick (Berserker)
Brick is the most powerful character, especially with his melee. The only two characters that can actually take down a number of enemies with just melee are Mordecai and Brick. Brick is meant for melee, so he has a ton of health and is super fast. He can rush in and pound the enemies, and the weapons he mainly specializes in are heavy and deal a lot of damage. Brick is best for someone who likes to rush in and fight, but doesn`t like to use gun combat as much.
Graphics
The graphics are very unique. They look very comic-esque, but if you don't really like comics, or the look of comic-books, you'll probably think the graphics don't look great. If 2K Games wanted to go for a realistic feel, they would have. They wanted to try something new, and it worked. There are quite a few glitches, unfortunately, some that can cause you to die or restart the game.
Sound
The sound-track isn't really great, nor is it awful. It's a bit above average, I guess. The songs they used on the intros were amazing, and the music in-game is kind of a let-down if you expected to be listening to "No Heaven" and "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked" while cruising around. It's kind of a generic "rock 'n roll (ft. no lyrics)" kind of thing. This is one of the only games that has better sound effects than it does music. I was playing this game in the dark really late at night, a few hours after purchasing it, and I actually got kinda creeped out. I would hear the sounds of some of the monsters screeching behind me, and they sounded really realistic, especially with head-phones/surround-sound. It might just be the best job on sound-effects I've seen on the PlayStation 3.
Story
The story is also quite bland and uninteresting. By the end of the game, you'll probably remember everything but the story. It isn't terrible, but it doesn't add much to the game's fun-ness-ness. The DLC kind of connects the story together, which makes it a bit better.
Multiplayer
I recommend not playing multiplayer until you've beaten the singleplayer or gotten bored with it, because if you play with people who are a higher level than you, you'll level up too fast, and it will make the singleplayer too easy, and it will also make it harder - here's why:
When a higher level player joins, I believe this is a glitch, but, sometimes you will get all of the missions they have unlocked, which makes it harder to figure out what to do once you get back to the main story, because you won't know which mission you need to complete or where to go next, etc....
It's fun playing online, though. The best parts about tee DLC are definitely boss battles and the DLCs. Each and every DLC is best played online, and will really improve your overall experience.
Longevity
Overall, here's how much you'll probably get out of each part of the game:
Singleplayer + Split-screen = 25 hours
Multiplayer (online) = 40 hours
Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot = 8 hours (offline), 16 hours (online)
Zombie Island of Dr. Ned = 10 hours (offline), 25 hours (online)
The Secret Armory of General Knoxx = 10 hours (offline), 25 hours (online)
Claptrap's New Robot Revolution - 8 hours (offline), 16 hours (online)
That's just around how much time you'll spend, mostly because of boss battles like Crawmerax and slaughtering zombies, both of those will never get old.
The Verdict
Gameplay: 9.0
Graphics: 8.0
Sound: 8.2
Story: 7.0
Multiplayer: 9.4
Longevity: 9.0
8.5/10