Borderlands -- Initial Impression.

My next game is going to be Borderlands for the Xbox 360. The game was developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games. Borderlands is a first person shooter and RPG hybrid. You have a game that plays like a traditional first person shooter with a class and skill based leveling system straight out of any western RPG. Gearbox Software isn't a stranger to the genre of first person shooters. They've had a long and somewhat storied carrier in the genre going back to the now infamous fully completed port of Half-Life for the Dreamcast that was never published. They ported Halo: Combat Evolved to the PC and also developed the Brothers in Arms series. Borderlands itself isn't without a little back story. It was delayed for roughly a year to receive a graphic overhaul going from a standard looking title to a celshaded and highly stylized title in the process. The game also reportedly received an overhaul in its newly added comic voice. From the time I've spent with the game I can say the delay was well worth it. The game looks good. The stylized visuals and humor come together well to produce an eye-pleasing and initially interesting world. There was a lot made of the game's loot system before the release. The game randomly creates its weaponry with the mathematical combinations numbering in the millions of unique weapons. In just the few hours I've spent with the game I've seen hundreds of item drops. Items come spewing out of killed creatures like candy from a pinãta. It seems the game will more than satisfy the inner loot-whore in anyone. The overall initial draw to Borderlands came from the game offering full four-player online co-op throughout the entirety of the campaign. The experience there initially seems great. No issues with lag or the like. With four players the game can get rather chaotic in the best sense of the word. We've essentially played through the tutorial up to the first boss and already the game has shown moments of chaos. It'll be interesting to see how the end game plays out when they're really throwing everything at you. I'm looking to see how the class diversity plays out. It initially seems well diversified. You do get the sense of playing tactically different from what everyone else is doing. And that's a good thing. I'm also looking to have the humor stay throughout the entire game. The controls initially come off well. They don't initially feel Halo perfect but they're definitely a step above merely workhorse. I had mentioned in a previous post that I thought maybe Borderlands might be the hidden gem this year. The real gem turned out to be Demon's Souls, but Borderlands is on track to being a great overall experience. As always, we'll have to wait for the flip side to be sure.