Borderlands PC Review

Introduction

You’re a mercenary. You have your reasons for coming to this god-forsaken planet, but those plans changed when a mysterious woman contacted you. She tells you the legendary vault hidden somewhere amongst the wastelands of Pandora is real. Said to contain vast amounts of alien technologies, it’s been hidden and protected by the ancient race for centuries. She wants you to find it. Treasure hunters from all over the galaxy have come and gone, looking to make their fortune. Most have died trying, but you have a guardian angel…

Borderlands is a new breed of shooter from Gearbox, known for their work on the Brothers in Arms series, Half-Life expansions, and the PC port of Halo. It blends fast-paced FPS action with RPG-like character progression and loot collection. The PC version has vastly superior graphics, a control scheme better fitted for the frantic twitch gameplay, and free online multiplayer, all while tugging a bit lighter on your purse strings. You can still detect a faint consoley odor, but is it enough to make you break out the Claritin? Keep reading to find out!

Gameplay

Borderlands plays just like a traditional shooter – you can strafe, jump, point, and shoot to your heart’s content. Aiming down the sights or through scopes will help your accuracy, which happens to be pretty much unaffected by movement. Quake or Unreal-style running and jumping evasion tactics work just fine and won’t artificially hinder your ability to hit your target. Headshots are automatic critical hits, while non-humanoids have weak spots in other places. Littering the environment are explosive barrels adorned with various colors that indicate what type of damage they’ll do when spectacularly ruptured.

You have a set amount of HP that increases as you level up or with bonuses from certain equipment. Personal shields are upgradeable and behave just like they do in Halo, recharging after you haven’t taken any hits in a while. When your health is depleted, you have about 10 seconds before you bleed out to be rescued by a teammate a la Left 4 Dead, or else you may kill an enemy to gain a “second wind” and revive yourself. If neither of these things happens, you simply respawn at the nearest checkpoint location and are charged a fraction of your wealth.