Hi. Yes I'm back cuz I had some issued with staying away from anything DIABLO RELATED so, you know, sue me.
So here's another review. Like the 'risen' review I did last month this is all purely based on my experience and I disclaim any mistakes I make. It was reviewed on PC that set everything at Full Spec.
Here goes...
Borderlands is a cool game. It is fun, it is surprising, it is graphic, but by no means is it 'fresh'.
Basically after you install you're prompted to make sure you're online so that a release date check can be done. Two seconds later the splashscreen pops up (it is a splashscreen, of course, of a raider mimicking his brains been blown out all along the screen) et voila, you're in the intro. The problem with the startup vids (2k, gearbox, nvidia) is that you can't skip them, yet I'm pretty sure you can delete them once they start boring or irritating the crap out of you - I'll then try that when I get home.
Singleplayer is great. You select your character in the game's introvid (on a bus full of new recruits) which is very upbeaty and badassy, sucking you in. After you select your guy (Roland for me), a story element happens which is kind of a helpline in the game. Then you're thrown into the deepend of a very shallow tutorial. Basically: Kill.
You level up and guess what? No skill points! That's right! absolutely none! You only start getting one per level after level five and you only get one skill you can physically activate. For Roland, It's his turret machine gun.
You then have different columns of skills (buffs and passives actually) which enhance the way your turret performs and supports as well as upping your own personal ante: which is to me the most important because the turret can only be used once every 100secs, and honestly, you occasionly forget you have it but totally go insane when you remember to flip (or accidentally hit) the 'F' key.
The most awesome aspects of the game in singleplayer are: KILLING, LOOTING, KILLING ELITES, LOOTING AWESOME STUFFS and ROLAND's voice acting (eg. a snooty "Elite my ass..." and ghetto-ey "Critical Biyatch") and a couple of other things like the vehicles and there weapons.
Once jumping into the scheme of quests and levelling up you gradually awesomise your character with awesome weapons and awesome mods.
The cool thing about the enemies is that they're random and elites are WAY elite; this one time, at bandit camp, this elite berserker comes out of nowhere with blue-fire eyes and beats the absolute crap out of me. The screen goes dark as Roland goes down on one knee, barely able to hold his gun, then; "FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE" jumps on-screen. I managed to kill the elite in the couple of seconds chance you get to do so and "SECOND BREATH!" jumps on-screen. You could do this forever - if you've got the right weapon and enemy that is.
The vehicles are great. Nuff said. They add to the experience rather than quicken or dull it. With spots for 2players in each, MP becomes like BF2.
The quests themselves are not all "Kill five Bandits" or "Kill five Skags" or "Travel to Leicester Square and come back again" ala HG:L. Because this game is not HG:L and I wish people would stop comparing. I know I mention Hellgate a lot but that game was a disappointment as google describes it: "a feeling of dissatisfaction that results when your expectations are not realized; "his hopes were so high he was doomed to disappointment"..."
Short of a bug-fixer patch: Borderlands doesn't disappoint.
Moving on... To multiplayer. Most of Everybody who is hosting on Borderlands still have slots left for 3 more players (bringing it to the Max of 4). So all those guys are playing alone with games named like "PLZZZZZZZZ JOIN!!!!" or "HELP PLZZZZZZ GOD HELP!". I promptly named mine; "SOUTH AFRICA 01". Noone joined. I tried to join others but nope. So i checked the forums for reference to any errors and found; port failures and such and no patch yet to fix the issues (amongst others), but useful tips on how to forward your ports. So I did and now I'm MPing. Problem is; not everyone knows how to address the port issues so it is still a little no-go - but the ones I have played are awesome. You don't have to start at the beginning. You can play with your single-player in MP character anytime which is cool.
I've left some stuff out becuz of time constraints but I can assure you It's a good game, not a great game. No new ground has been broken save the fact that It is affirming RPFPS's in the market place... And, as with any young game-genres, It needs work. Borderlands defines RPFPS's but doesn't refine it.
7/10.
I actually disagree with you and think a 7/10 is pretty harsh. I myself think the game IS great and without a doubt it is fresh. Now i am not about to say the game is perfect because its not, but for the most part it does it right. How you can say the game is not fresh is beyond me. I personally do not know of any other "RPFPS" that is this good...or feels like this. many people will disagree with me, but the gameplay and feel in this game blows fallout 3 out of the water. It actually feels like a shooter and it is intense. fallout was very slow, annoying, and i always wanted to treat it like a shooter but never could as VATS was the best (and slowest most repetitive) way to play the game.
Presentation- 9.5 / 10
Definitely a highlight for this game, the presentation is so entertaining and likable. The art style really makes the game unique and more enjoyable then if it had not been implemented.
Audio - 8/ 10
Good but not too much is done to really set itself apart from other games. everything from music too sound effects are well executed, just not as memorable as games like Metroid.
Graphics - 9/10
Unreal Engine 3 is beautiful but is also loosing its place as the best among today's graphics. That being said the game is rather easy to run and the art style pulls it all together into a beautiful and fresh piece with some bugs here and there.
Gameplay - 9/10
The game does what hellgate, fallout, and others should have done (at least in my opinion). The fighting is fun, and takes skill, but certainly feels as though loot and rpg elements matter. The running, shooting, and other elements are reminiscent of battlefield and make for a great chaotic and tactical experience.
re playability- 8.5 / 10
An awesome game that depending who you are is rather re playable and will last you many many hours. The problem is that character classes are not different enough to necessitate making many many characters (with four being the most you'd ever need to make). The areas in the game are fun, well made, and offer enough variety, but not as much as I would have liked. As to where Diablo II managed to make the progression of tile sets more enjoyable then most. When compared to normal games the re playability is among the best, but when compared to Diablo II (most re playable game every IMO) it falls short.
Overall - 9/10
While the game has its quirks here and there and certainly isn't as re playable as games like Diablo II, it still offers a very similar feeling that any FPS and Diablo II fan will love every second of.
I actually disagree with you and think a 7/10 is pretty harsh. I myself think the game IS great and without a doubt it is fresh. Now i am not about to say the game is perfect because its not, but for the most part it does it right. How you can say the game is not fresh is beyond me. I personally do not know of any other "RPFPS" that is this good...or feels like this. many people will disagree with me, but the gameplay and feel in this game blows fallout 3 out of the water. It actually feels like a shooter and it is intense. fallout was very slow, annoying, and i always wanted to treat it like a shooter but never could as VATS was the best (and slowest most repetitive) way to play the game.
Presentation- 9.5 / 10
Definitely a highlight for this game, the presentation is so entertaining and likable. The art style really makes the game unique and more enjoyable then if it had not been implemented.
Audio - 8/ 10
Good but not too much is done to really set itself apart from other games. everything from music too sound effects are well executed, just not as memorable as games like Metroid.
Graphics - 9/10
Unreal Engine 3 is beautiful but is also loosing its place as the best among today's graphics. That being said the game is rather easy to run and the art style pulls it all together into a beautiful and fresh piece with some bugs here and there.
Gameplay - 9/10
The game does what hellgate, fallout, and others should have done (at least in my opinion). The fighting is fun, and takes skill, but certainly feels as though loot and rpg elements matter. The running, shooting, and other elements are reminiscent of battlefield and make for a great chaotic and tactical experience.
re playability- 8.5 / 10
An awesome game that depending who you are is rather re playable and will last you many many hours. The problem is that character classes are not different enough to necessitate making many many characters (with four being the most you'd ever need to make). The areas in the game are fun, well made, and offer enough variety, but not as much as I would have liked. As to where Diablo II managed to make the progression of tile sets more enjoyable then most. When compared to normal games the re playability is among the best, but when compared to Diablo II (most re playable game every IMO) it falls short.
Overall - 9/10
While the game has its quirks here and there and certainly isn't as re playable as games like Diablo II, it still offers a very similar feeling that any FPS and Diablo II fan will love every second of.
You know what? you have a point... But what I mean is that RPFPS's are a new genre; much like diablo established ARPG's way back when. My point is nobody has ever come close to bettering Diablo. At all. Except Blizzard themselves!
My only hope is that someone, whether it's gearbox or not, perfects the RPS.
You know what? you have a point... But what I mean is that RPFPS's are a new genre; much like diablo established ARPG's way back when. My point is nobody has ever come close to bettering Diablo. At all. Except Blizzard themselves!
My only hope is that someone, whether it's gearbox or not, perfects the RPS.
But you have a good point.
I hear ya, but IMO its almost not fair because Diablo is like a 20/10 : P. I Love DII so much and have by far got more time out of that game then any other and when patch 1.13 comes out, I will play it more. That being said, that is definitely borderlands weakness is that it could have had things done to it to make it as awesome and replayable as diablo, but instead falls short of it and hits along with other titles that are awesome but not nearly as good as diablo II haha. I can't wait for DIII!
p.s. - Does anyone feel like respecs in borderlands is a good or bad thing? I know that for me, it takes out the point of making more then one version of a character.
You know what? you have a point... But what I mean is that RPFPS's are a new genre; much like diablo established ARPG's way back when. My point is nobody has ever come close to bettering Diablo. At all. Except Blizzard themselves!
My only hope is that someone, whether it's gearbox or not, perfects the RPS.
But you have a good point.
Right.
This is the first FPS ever to include RPG element?
Even Deus Ex is very much a mix of RPG and FPS, and its 9 years old. And games before it did it.
Just because it adds random stats to weapons and the boring mmo style quests system hardly makes it a new style of game, or even less anything "original".
Been playing this since the PC release, have a level 30 Siren right now. SF Jake you are right; there have been other RPS games before this (Deus Ex like you said is a great example which btw they are working on the third installment).
On the other hand I feel that the way Borderlands presents this world to us is unique and unlike other games. By that I mean the art style; even the taunts and voice acting by the enemies and characters. It is just a visually beautiful game and there is an insane amount of loot (an example, I can count on one hand the amount of duplicate guns I have found and most of those are quest drops anyways) Yes the idea of a post-apocalyptic alien world isn't exactly the freshest idea; but this game is fun as hell whether you are playing by yourself or with friends. Plus, i felt, something to tide me over on the road to D3.
To Robiwan, good review. Yes you can delete the intro movies...if you need those ports (or anyone needs them) just send me a PM and I'll give them to you. There are a bunch and I didn't get my multi-player hosting abilities until I opened all of the ports which most are not even listed on the BL forums.
I am currently a Lvl 50 hunter in Borderlands, and although a great PVE ownage game, i have to say i was very disappointed, with not only the ending, but with the lack of interest i now have towards the game after beating it a second time on play through 2.
I hope the zombie island DLC comes out soon, so i can actually get my moneys worth from this game.
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Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could
First its none of anyone's business how im downloading it, second not its not illegal. There, you happy now?
I don't usually post on this part of the forum. And only noticed this thread a couple of days ago.
I don't understand why you are getting angry about it. I'm just saying, it's not cool to illegally download a game. But if you did pay for it, then it's all cool. Thanks for letting me know.
I don't usually post on this part of the forum. And only noticed this thread a couple of days ago.
I don't understand why you are getting angry about it. I'm just saying, it's not cool to illegally download a game. But if you did pay for it, then it's all cool. Thanks for letting me know.
Sorry, its just that people have been asking me about these kind of things too much lately... /anger
Edit: I just finished the game
Why the hell the ending sucks so much... didnt expect it to be this way -.-
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So here's another review. Like the 'risen' review I did last month this is all purely based on my experience and I disclaim any mistakes I make. It was reviewed on PC that set everything at Full Spec.
Here goes...
Borderlands is a cool game. It is fun, it is surprising, it is graphic, but by no means is it 'fresh'.
Basically after you install you're prompted to make sure you're online so that a release date check can be done. Two seconds later the splashscreen pops up (it is a splashscreen, of course, of a raider mimicking his brains been blown out all along the screen) et voila, you're in the intro. The problem with the startup vids (2k, gearbox, nvidia) is that you can't skip them, yet I'm pretty sure you can delete them once they start boring or irritating the crap out of you - I'll then try that when I get home.
Singleplayer is great. You select your character in the game's introvid (on a bus full of new recruits) which is very upbeaty and badassy, sucking you in. After you select your guy (Roland for me), a story element happens which is kind of a helpline in the game. Then you're thrown into the deepend of a very shallow tutorial. Basically: Kill.
You level up and guess what? No skill points! That's right! absolutely none! You only start getting one per level after level five and you only get one skill you can physically activate. For Roland, It's his turret machine gun.
You then have different columns of skills (buffs and passives actually) which enhance the way your turret performs and supports as well as upping your own personal ante: which is to me the most important because the turret can only be used once every 100secs, and honestly, you occasionly forget you have it but totally go insane when you remember to flip (or accidentally hit) the 'F' key.
The most awesome aspects of the game in singleplayer are: KILLING, LOOTING, KILLING ELITES, LOOTING AWESOME STUFFS and ROLAND's voice acting (eg. a snooty "Elite my ass..." and ghetto-ey "Critical Biyatch") and a couple of other things like the vehicles and there weapons.
Once jumping into the scheme of quests and levelling up you gradually awesomise your character with awesome weapons and awesome mods.
The cool thing about the enemies is that they're random and elites are WAY elite; this one time, at bandit camp, this elite berserker comes out of nowhere with blue-fire eyes and beats the absolute crap out of me. The screen goes dark as Roland goes down on one knee, barely able to hold his gun, then; "FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE" jumps on-screen. I managed to kill the elite in the couple of seconds chance you get to do so and "SECOND BREATH!" jumps on-screen. You could do this forever - if you've got the right weapon and enemy that is.
The vehicles are great. Nuff said. They add to the experience rather than quicken or dull it. With spots for 2players in each, MP becomes like BF2.
The quests themselves are not all "Kill five Bandits" or "Kill five Skags" or "Travel to Leicester Square and come back again" ala HG:L. Because this game is not HG:L and I wish people would stop comparing. I know I mention Hellgate a lot but that game was a disappointment as google describes it: "a feeling of dissatisfaction that results when your expectations are not realized; "his hopes were so high he was doomed to disappointment"..."
Short of a bug-fixer patch: Borderlands doesn't disappoint.
Moving on... To multiplayer. Most of Everybody who is hosting on Borderlands still have slots left for 3 more players (bringing it to the Max of 4). So all those guys are playing alone with games named like "PLZZZZZZZZ JOIN!!!!" or "HELP PLZZZZZZ GOD HELP!". I promptly named mine; "SOUTH AFRICA 01". Noone joined. I tried to join others but nope. So i checked the forums for reference to any errors and found; port failures and such and no patch yet to fix the issues (amongst others), but useful tips on how to forward your ports. So I did and now I'm MPing. Problem is; not everyone knows how to address the port issues so it is still a little no-go - but the ones I have played are awesome. You don't have to start at the beginning. You can play with your single-player in MP character anytime which is cool.
I've left some stuff out becuz of time constraints but I can assure you It's a good game, not a great game. No new ground has been broken save the fact that It is affirming RPFPS's in the market place... And, as with any young game-genres, It needs work. Borderlands defines RPFPS's but doesn't refine it.
7/10.
Im Dl'ing the game right now xD
81% 100 kbps
Presentation- 9.5 / 10
Definitely a highlight for this game, the presentation is so entertaining and likable. The art style really makes the game unique and more enjoyable then if it had not been implemented.
Audio - 8/ 10
Good but not too much is done to really set itself apart from other games. everything from music too sound effects are well executed, just not as memorable as games like Metroid.
Graphics - 9/10
Unreal Engine 3 is beautiful but is also loosing its place as the best among today's graphics. That being said the game is rather easy to run and the art style pulls it all together into a beautiful and fresh piece with some bugs here and there.
Gameplay - 9/10
The game does what hellgate, fallout, and others should have done (at least in my opinion). The fighting is fun, and takes skill, but certainly feels as though loot and rpg elements matter. The running, shooting, and other elements are reminiscent of battlefield and make for a great chaotic and tactical experience.
re playability- 8.5 / 10
An awesome game that depending who you are is rather re playable and will last you many many hours. The problem is that character classes are not different enough to necessitate making many many characters (with four being the most you'd ever need to make). The areas in the game are fun, well made, and offer enough variety, but not as much as I would have liked. As to where Diablo II managed to make the progression of tile sets more enjoyable then most. When compared to normal games the re playability is among the best, but when compared to Diablo II (most re playable game every IMO) it falls short.
Overall - 9/10
While the game has its quirks here and there and certainly isn't as re playable as games like Diablo II, it still offers a very similar feeling that any FPS and Diablo II fan will love every second of.
You know what? you have a point... But what I mean is that RPFPS's are a new genre; much like diablo established ARPG's way back when. My point is nobody has ever come close to bettering Diablo. At all. Except Blizzard themselves!
My only hope is that someone, whether it's gearbox or not, perfects the RPS.
But you have a good point.
I hear ya, but IMO its almost not fair because Diablo is like a 20/10 : P. I Love DII so much and have by far got more time out of that game then any other and when patch 1.13 comes out, I will play it more. That being said, that is definitely borderlands weakness is that it could have had things done to it to make it as awesome and replayable as diablo, but instead falls short of it and hits along with other titles that are awesome but not nearly as good as diablo II haha. I can't wait for DIII!
p.s. - Does anyone feel like respecs in borderlands is a good or bad thing? I know that for me, it takes out the point of making more then one version of a character.
Right.
This is the first FPS ever to include RPG element?
Even Deus Ex is very much a mix of RPG and FPS, and its 9 years old. And games before it did it.
Just because it adds random stats to weapons and the boring mmo style quests system hardly makes it a new style of game, or even less anything "original".
On the other hand I feel that the way Borderlands presents this world to us is unique and unlike other games. By that I mean the art style; even the taunts and voice acting by the enemies and characters. It is just a visually beautiful game and there is an insane amount of loot (an example, I can count on one hand the amount of duplicate guns I have found and most of those are quest drops anyways) Yes the idea of a post-apocalyptic alien world isn't exactly the freshest idea; but this game is fun as hell whether you are playing by yourself or with friends. Plus, i felt, something to tide me over on the road to D3.
To Robiwan, good review. Yes you can delete the intro movies...if you need those ports (or anyone needs them) just send me a PM and I'll give them to you. There are a bunch and I didn't get my multi-player hosting abilities until I opened all of the ports which most are not even listed on the BL forums.
I give the game an overall score of 9/10.
relatively to other games being released right now, this game is great.
On a side note... i played deus ex till my eyes bled! 10/10 way back when.
I think im close to the end *Excited*
I gota go discover old haven now... I think the last boss i killed was Krom.
d00d, don't tell me it's an illegal download.
Please for 2K's sake. Buy the game. It is a good game, and worth it.
First its none of anyone's business how im downloading it, second not its not illegal. There, you happy now?
I hope the zombie island DLC comes out soon, so i can actually get my moneys worth from this game.
I don't usually post on this part of the forum. And only noticed this thread a couple of days ago.
I don't understand why you are getting angry about it. I'm just saying, it's not cool to illegally download a game. But if you did pay for it, then it's all cool. Thanks for letting me know.
Sorry, its just that people have been asking me about these kind of things too much lately... /anger
Edit: I just finished the game
Why the hell the ending sucks so much... didnt expect it to be this way -.-