Borderlands and DLC Reviews
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RPGWatch goes with a 3/5:
So the bottom line is this: if you are a fan of shooters and also of action-RPG games you are likely to have some fun playing Borderlands. There are plenty of cool weapons, some cool characters, some fun combat, and a big world to find things to kill. As far as the shooter element goes, it is better implemented than Fallout 3 - but that is a pretty low threshold to cross. It pales in comparison to other top shooters of the year such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Red Faction: Guerrilla, Wolfenstein and Left4Dead 2. As far as the RPG elements go, well, it is better than most shooters. It has decent four-player co-op, which is something that has become all the rage lately, and is the second best implementation of that mode I have played this fall (yes, that is second out of two). Overall it is a game that many folks have enjoyed, and personally I had a bunch of fun playing. But that doesn't make it particularly good game, just a mindless fun time-waster of an experience.
Aeropause gives it a 4/5:
The funny thing is that even with all of these problems, I have to admit that I had a lot of fun with Borderlands. Once I opened the ports on my router, I was jumping into co-op games left and right. The game is just a ton of fun to play, and I never found myself getting angry when a glitch or bug would show up. I just worked around the issue and continued playing. It is sad to give Gearbox a pass for such blatantly bad design flaws, but Borderlands is that good. It muscles its way past its faults to provide gamers with a mindlessly fun experience, which is why Borderlands gets a 4 out of 5 Aeropausonauts.
Gamepex gives it an 80%:
After finally uncovering the secrets of the Vault, you are again thrown into Pandora, free to move about and quest on. The storyline was more of a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of the game. The excitement in finding new guns, leveling up, and killing enemies is what really makes this game a gem. It sounds redundant, but the stylish scenery and all the creative creatures that want nothing more than to tear you apart really wrap you up in the world of Pandora. It has character that is definitely a new shade of playful without feeling too childish. The upgrades and combat are so satisfying you'll find yourself losing sight of the quests just to kill enemies and collect loot. Share this game with your friends and, no doubt about it, you'll be sucked in. If nothing else, rent Borderlands just to drive over a few shotgun bearing midgets. The splats in any other game have never been so gratifying. You'll be hooked.
GamesLatest gives it an 8.0/10:
Where Borderlands exceeds is it's brilliant gameplay. The FPS is nigh on perfect, and the leveling system, with constant inflow of loot ensures that the player is always compelled to move forward, and with friends, this experience gets much more fun.
Koku Gamer gives it an 8.5/10:
At the end of the day though, I feel that Borderlands is still a rather unique title that I regret not picking up sooner because it does overcome most of its faults, many of which would only be significant to an RPG nerd such as myself. So, overall, Borderlands is a rather enjoyable experience, but Gearbox when you do make Borderlands 2 (and they've already announced it I believe), just call it an FPS and don't try to pass it off as an RPG, it'll make things better, trust me.
GeneralGames tosses out the scoring idea:
Borderlands tries to appeal to everyone and does so rather well. It mixes RPG and FPS elements in a big pan and ends up with a marble cake game; each of the genres are still represented as their individual whole but taste great together. Combine that with some impressive art direction frosting and you've got a game that is a treat to play. It definitely could use some refinement and a lot more attention to the PC version, but all in all Borderlands is the apex of genre mix gameplay. Borderlands is a constant grind from start to finish, but that good kind of grind you never get tired of. If you want a game to lose yourself in and not know what happened Borderlands could be your game. If you want to drag your friends down with you, there's no better experience for it.
Xbox360Achievements gives it an 88/100:
Offering up an open world with plenty of quests to complete, guns to collect, and enemies to shoot, Borderlands gives players dozens of hours of content to explore. With four different playable classes and online co-op, Borderlands is a highly replayable adventure, and one that will live on in our memories long after the credits roll.
SPOnG gives it a 91%:
Borderlands was a magnificent surprise to have this late in the year, a game worth playing by any gaming fanatic. The ending is a killer, though I am informed there are some complete mentals out there who thought it was actually all right. Yeah, sure. Still, it's worth the buy. Go get it!
Go! Gaming Giant gives the DLC an 8.5/10:
Overall the DLC is a great little package, it's funny, the new area is awesome and the zombies offer up a nice change of pace from the usual enemies. It's a bit short and the quests aren't anything new but it doesn't matter. The drastic change in setting and scenario makes it worth the purchase. I actually like how they made it unrelated to the main story and the new area is so different. It provides great variety. If Gearbox keeps up the DLC like this, making brand new totally different areas and scenarios then they will have one very happy customer in me.
And RPG Site gives it the DLC an 86%:
It works well as a first piece of DLC for those like me who finished the first game but found themselves hungry for more - but Gearbox must ensure the next expansion is much more substantial. If you found yourself wanting more Borderlands though, this is the answer to your prayers.
