Borderlands
Preview
Enter a gunholic's ultimate wet dream
by Elandarex
previewed on PC
Things to do while visiting Pandora
Of course, given the attention being given to not only the weaponry on offer but the story as well, it stands to reason that there will be many opportunities to break out your arsenal and unleash hell. As such, the main driving force behind the plot of Borderlands will be the completion of various quests obtained in the many cities and towns of Pandora. These quests will tend to be of the "Go there, kill what's-his-name, bring back some proof" variety, which isn't necessarily a bad thing when considering the sheer number of methods (read: guns) available to bring down your quarry.
Apart from completing quests and furthering the story, the main focus of Borderlands will obviously be on gathering together one of the most formidable arsenals in the galaxy. How fortunate then that the most efficient way to do so is killing the many raiders that populate Pandora's less desirable locales. It will be easy to single out your mark as well due to them flaunting their equipment out in the open, which you will then be able to extricate from their smoking husks. It is doubtful at this time that the spoils of war will be customizable by players and it is an unfortunate reality to be sure.
Even without weapon customization you're unlikely to experience boredom though, as not only the items, but the world itself will procedurally randomize itself. While the world of Pandora and its major towns and roadways will remain relatively static, every other world object can change location each time a new game is fired up.
It's a good thing then that players will have access to fully customizable vehicles to traverse this dynamic world. Running on a modified version of Epic's Unreal Engine 3, Borderlands' physics engine has been reworked to provide for more satisfying and realistic vehicle control and feedback. You can reconfigure your vehicle's weapon and equipment load-out and even give it a custom paint job. Hoarding weaponry looks to be but one distraction of many and I can’t wait to get the opportunity to have a friend ride shotgun on my sweet wheels.
Raiding is a team sport
At its heart Borderlands will be a single player experience but Gearbox is pulling out all the stops in order to bring a compelling multiplayer experience to the table as well. Rather than separating the two modes of play, Gearbox is implementing 4-player co-op right into the main campaign, with the added benefit of being able to invite other players and join the campaigns of your friends completely on the fly. Guest characters will still level up and accumulate resources as if they were simply playing by their lonesome. Players will be able to trade equipment with one another, and chances are there will be great incentive to do so considering how unlikely it will be that two players will encounter the same equipment. Don't fret if your friends aren't free to play though, as AI characters will be available for hire should your character have need of their company.
Delayed gratification
Borderlands is attempting to be many things, and while it all sounds great in theory it remains to be seen if the team at Gearbox will be able to pull it all off. Still, we will have to wait a bit longer before we are graced with its presence as Borderlands has been delayed until sometime in 2009.
