Producing something completely new by combining the first person shooter and role playing game genres may be difficult given its not an entirely original concept, but Gearbox Studios have succeeded in doing just that with it's shooter-RPG Borderlands. The game combines the quest structure and item system from Diablo with the co-operative focus and weapon spawn intelligence of Left 4 Dead, bundled up into a cartoon world which genuinely separates Borderlands from the competition.

The opening begins with an flashy introduction to the characters who have just arrived on Pandora, a planet of endless wastelands with unstable inhabitants. You choose your character and begin a quest to locate the Vault, a legendary alien base containing highly sophisticated technology. From here the tale continues through a series of meetings with important characters, mission logs and boss fights.

Borderlands' strong creative direction and high production values are quite pronounced. The cell shaded cartoon graphics look great and I am particularly fond of the game's music. The matching sense of humour and writing is surprisingly full of character considering the unrealistic route the game's story and theme actually take. The biggest indicator though of how much time was spent building this game would have to be the length and re-playability.

Pandora is structured like many other online role playing games. Most of your missions are acquired from characters and the Bounty Board in town, though you can find them virtually anywhere. These missions give you cause for exploring the large expansive wastelands to locate underground mines or to journey into large canyons that make up the game's dungeon like raids. The missions range from scavenger hunts and assassinations to some some very strange ones like shooting Rakk droppings off of a windmill. Each mission tries to be unique and has some form of story attached to it.

The story is optional though there's enough character, plot and humour to make it worth your while. Nobody is untouched by Pandora's maddening atmosphere including my favourite Patricia Tannis, the insane alien rune researcher who helps you to find the Vault. She has decided to hide her tape recordings from her jealous and possessive tape recorder and littered each one around most of the explorable areas in the game. Accepting her quests provides you with an opportunity to explore the region, listen to her (often humorous) decent into madness and enjoy the excellent voice work.

The environments are as diverse as you can get considering Pandora is one giant wasteland; garbage dumps, deserts, canyons, shanty towns, mines and other brown and grey locations make up the majority of locales. The cell shaded art goes a long way to compensate for the dull environmental colours, but the locations ultimately have to use their unique architecture and mission objectives to instil diversity. Which they do quite well.

During your campaign defeated enemies, completed missions and hidden chests will present you with new loot. Item acquisition is very similar to Diablo, although Borderlands introduces an artificial intelligence to decide when its time to mix up your load out. An assortment of SMGs, shotguns, revolvers, grenades, snipers and other shooter regulars are on offer. Weapons are generated by blending a variety of weapon models, colours, scopes and statistics like magazine capacity, damage, accuracy, critical hit modifiers and firing rate. Some of the more inspiring combinations include a sniper rifle that lacks a scope (handling a lot like a shotgun), pistol with infinite ammo and shotguns that fire rockets. Gearbox Studios have estimated an astonishing 17 million combinations of weapons in their game.

Attached to the combat is a simple elemental system that includes flammable, electrical, corrosive and explosive capabilities for both weapons and character abilities. There are four playable characters in the game: the Soldier, Berserker, Siren and Hunter each fitting into the standard video game archetypes of support, tank, assassin and marksman. Each have their own unique power skill and upgradable talents to encourage playing the character as intended. You may break the mould if you wish though. A Berserker makes for a fine sharpshooter though his berserk abilities will go to waste if you don't charge into frequent melees.

The primary way in which Borderlands distinguishes itself from competing first person shooters is through its drop in and out co-operative play. The entire game can be played uncompromised beginning to end with friends, either two on the one machine or up to four players over the internet. The game increases and decreases enemy strength and item drops as players join and leave matches on the fly.

When playing online the host is in control of the active mission, which becomes the group's primary focus. You are able to complete or accept any mission on your own list provided the current host's game doesn't make doing so impossible. Such as when your mission directly conflicts with the host's due to story or game progress incompatibilities.

My grievances with online play come down to simple human nature. Most players have zero patience for following the game's story or to give you the time you need to make character building or equipment decisions. Even worse, if a high level player joins they tend to rush ahead killing and completing all obstacles making the game quite dull. If you play solo or with a group of like minded people you will minimise these problems but differences in character levels lead to the former problem even amongst friends.

Remarkably, Borderlands manages to deliver both its solo and multiplayer offerings in such a way that neither overshadows the other. I have often chosen to play alone when games with friends were available. Likewise I enjoy it when friendly strangers accompany me on my own journeys. If you do not play your games online do not make the mistake of assuming you won't get the most out of Borderlands. Its a genuine single player and multiplayer package.

Borderlands is a whole lot of fun to play as you lose hour after hour to it. It is easy to get into and you do not need to play for dozens of hours before the fun starts. There is a great sense of character growth and strong re-playability here that forms into something really addictive and hard to put down. Its mixture of item acquisition, combat and multiplayer have created something new that most shooter fans should enjoy. Borderlands is one of the leading co-op experiences of this generation and a is must buy for those who like to play through games with other people.

Platform reviewed: Xbox 360

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