When I first played Borderlands, I found it a fun if flawed game. Most of all, I complained about the lack of story, as well as the repetitive nature of the gameplay.I rented the game and took it back, not giving it much more thought.But then something strange happened. I began to have the itch to play some more. So I rented the game once again, finishing it this time. And eventually, I bought the game, and played through it with another character, as well as lapping up all the DLC.Borderlands doesn’t have a narrative arc that will move you emotionally. It isn’t technically brilliant, and the framerate lags quite a bit at times (though the cartoony art style is inspired).
But what the game has going for it is this: it’s both fun and incredibly addictive. You take quests, kill enemies and gather loot, all the while levelling up one of four character classes. The gunplay is solid, and it should be, since the controls are carbon copied from Call Of Duty.
The new game of the year edition comes with the codes to download all four DLC packs, which feels a bit cheap, to be honest. Perhaps Gearbox had some spare discs floating around that they needed to get rid of.But other than that minor gripe, this is a must-buy game. Borderlands itself is a ton of fun, and with the DLC, Gearbox really discovered it’s style. The Secret Armoury of General Knox in particular is off-the-wall and hilarious. This is not a perfect game, but it is the perfect game to zone out with, grinding through levels and feeling like a total baddass.
Play it.
