Borderlands
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Game Reviewed: Borderlands
Publisher: 2K
Games
Developer: Gearbox Software
Reviewer: Shaun
Graves
Platform: Xbox 360 (also on PS3 & PC)
Category: Shooter / RPG
ERSB Rating: M
Game Description
First and foremost Borderlands is a first-person shooter, but
it also has a heavy emphasis on character-building elements from action-rpgs
such as Diablo, Titan Quest, and Too Human.
The story centers around a group of treasure hunters on the
arid planet, Pandora, seeking the legendary “Vault” that is said to house
legendary alien weaponry and riches. The
opening cinematic is quite stylish and makes one think that the story is going
to be really entertaining, but it ends up taking a back seat to the actual
gameplay and winds up being largely forgettable.
The graphics in Borderlands are downright breath taking and
very stylized. It uses a cell-shaded
approach but features a lot of detail.
This gives the game a very unique visual appeal that needs to be seen in
motion to be truly appreciated.
The game is played from a first-person point of view, think
Call of Duty or Halo 3. You begin the
game by selecting one of four different type characters that each have unique
abilities and are more skilled with certain types of weapons compared to the
others. Once you make your choice you
enter the world of Pandora and begin your quest to find the “Vault,” either
solo or online with up to three other players.
The game consists mainly of missions that certain characters or mission
boards will give you. This is standard;
“Go find this monster and slay it” or “Go fetch this and bring it back” type
quests. Usually you will receive a
reward like a new gun, or grenade mod.
As you kill the monsters of Pandora and complete quests your character
will gain experience points and level up.
You can then enhance the abilities of your character by spending skill
points in several different categories such as the ability to increase the damage
given by your weapons, have your character be resistant to certain elements, or
attain skills to heal. The main draw of
an action-rpg or in this case a shooter-rpg is to level grind to build a more
powerful character while constantly finding better weapons to be able to take
on ever increasingly difficult monsters and bandits.
What Parents Need to
Know
Violence
Despite the unique visual art style this game features, it is
also very bloody and violent. This comes
off as more cartoonish than anything, but still quite violent. Blood will spray from enemies, heads and
limbs can be blown off or apart. The
amount of blood can be quite staggering considering the large amount of enemies
that are required to be killed in some missions.
Language
The following words will be encountered in this game: Damn,
D**ckbag, F**king, P**sy, and Sh*t.
Also, you will hear enemies taunting by swearing how they will kill
you.
Sexual Content
One of the character
classes the player can choose to be is a Siren. This character class wears a
low cut shirt and skin tight pants.
Also, there is a
character the player can encounter in the game named Scooter who uses some
crude language.
Spiritual Content
This game does not
get into spirituality, religion or anything of that nature.
Reviewers Thoughts
Borderlands is a visually unique and genre blending
experience that most gamers who are fans of first person shooters will find
themselves drawn too. Parents, however,
should keep in mind the M rating and the above mentioned content when deciding
if Borderlands is an appropriate game for their children or not.
