There are two things that can make me love a game despite the quality of the game itself: co-operative gameplay and character progression. Throw these two features into a game being made by a well-respected and proven developer and my interest is officially piqued.
Borderlands is the latest from the developers at Gearbox Software, creators of the Brothers in Arms franchise and developers of Half-Life: Opposing Force. A combination of first-person shooter and role-playing game, Borderlands will allow players to develop their characters online with their friends or explore the world alone in single-player mode. Featuring a dynamic content generation system similar to the Diablo series, the game is said to feature a near-endless variety of weapon and item drops.
The key features of the game include:
- FPS Action Meets RPG Character Progression: Players can choose from one of four distinct characters and earn experience and gain proficiency in a number of specialties as they do battle with enemies. Upgrades can be invested in a wide variety of special abilities, allowing players to create a fully customized character that is tailored to their playing style.
- Co-op Engineered Game Design: Borderlands is built from the ground-up to be an exciting and intuitive co-operative multiplayer experience that rewards players for investing in specific co-op skills.
- Radical New Art Style: Fresh and exciting new visual style combines traditional rendering techniques with hand-drawn textures to paint a unique and eye-catching spin on the First Person Shooter genre.
- Gun Lust: Choose from an arsenal of hundreds of thousands of weapons, each with their unique manufacturers, specifications and advantages. A revolutionary new content generation system produces almost infinite tools of destruction.
- Intense Vehicular Combat: Get behind the wheel of and engage in intense vehicle-to-vehicle combat, complete with extensive damage modeling and spectacular explosions.
- Next Big Original IP From Gearbox Software: Experience the action and creativity derived from the pedigree of one of gaming’s most consistent and respected developers.
I don’t know about you guys, but this game sounds like digital crack. Co-operative play? Check. Player progression? Check. Random item and weapon drops? Check. First-person shooter gameplay? Check. Gorgeous graphics? Check. It’s like someone at Gearbox Software made this game just for me. I feel so special.
Borderlands is scheduled for release this fall for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms. In the meantime, check out these dynamically-generated screenshots:
Richard Mitchell is a video game addict living in Toronto. He has been gaming for more than two decades, and despite multiple interventions, continues to game today. He has an Xbox 360, a PS3, a Wii, a Nintendo DS, a gaming PC, and a life, and does his best to juggle them all.