A fun game by yourself, but an excellent game with your friends
With RPG elements added, I bet you'd expect a deep and engrossing story to go along with them, right? Well unfortunately, there's hardly a story to talk about here. You are just one of 4 treasure hunters on the planet of Pandora seeking "the vault" which is said to hold some secret treasure. However, you are also racing for it against other treasure hunting groups that also have their eye on the vault and its riches. That's basically the whole story right there except for the climax where you learn the real truth about the vault. So the story takes a back seat to the rest of the game but the gameplay and mechanics are so enjoyable, you'll hardly miss a good solid story to go along with it.
One great thing about this game is its beautiful artistic style that this game follows. It's not every day we see a full retail game take a chance at such an original style in this day and age and it's a nice break from the gray and brown military shooters that have overtaken the market. Everything from the landscape to the characters models looks very appealing and the atmosphere brings you in almost instantly with the dusty, empty and yet eye catching land of Pandora.
At the beginning you are given the choice between one of four characters, each with their own unique abilities and stats like the Siren (turns invisible), the soldier (lays down a turret), the hunter (calls a flying creature to attack for him) and the berserker (enters berserk mode). Each of them plays different enough for each playthrough to feel fresh and they are all good at certain weapons and skills so you can choose which one best suits your play style. No matter who you choose, the rest of the game is full of an almost endless amount of weapons and tons of loot to collect. You'll have a variety of rifles, shot guns, machine guns and so much more to choose from and you can carry up to 4 of them as you progress, so choose which ones are best with your character and play style. Most of the loot includes attachments that create side effects or improves your health or other stats. There is plenty to collect and there are so many guns, you'll be wanting to progress through the game just to see how many different guns you can find. Of course you also get money for killing badies which can be used to spend at vending machines for weapons or power ups, Bioshock style. When you die, you are taken back to the nearest checkpoint and you lose a fraction of your money.
Killing the large variety of enemies in this game will gain you experience, and upon leveling up allows you to use skill points to improve your abilities. The game uses a skill tree like any ordinary RPG, allowing you to improve your special attack and even give some of your weapons or special power side effects, like healing you as you use your special or having it last longer. It may seem a little overpowering, especially since every area only has certain levels of enemies, but using them is just so damn rewarding.
The game isn't half bad when you're alone, but it is clear what Borderlands was really made for; co-op. You can invite up to 3 friends into your world and the 2, 3 or 4 of you, each with a different character, can take on the world, complete missions and share experience, loot and money upon completion. This is where the game really shines, just completing missions together makes ths game even more satisfying than it already is, and you don't feel cheated out of sharing your loot as it is divied up evenly. What more is you can challenge the other players to a duel which pits the two (or more) of you to fight to the death. The winner gets nothing but satisfaction, but it's a nice little extra regardless. Co-op really changes the way you and your friends play the game and strategize on how to approach your given mission. It is this mode that I recommend the most.
By itself, Borderlands is a good, solid shooter. When you have friends to play with, Borderlands is a fantastic shooter. The single player aspect is fun and all but I highly recommend this game even more if you have other people to play with. The gunplay and RPG elements are enough to make the whole game satisfying, even with the lack of depth in the story telling department, the extras like leveling up and loot feel rewarding and the visuals are some of the most unique and artsy you will see on the market. Pandora is a great place to visit for your "SHOOT EVERYTHING THAT MOVES" needs, just be sure to take your friends with you.