I was way excited about Borderlands after the announcement of the switch in graphic presentation. I came in to the game with open mind and high expectation that it would satisfy both my need for RPG elements and fast action game play. I believe it was successful. The games opening menu is functional and suffice. The opening video is interesting and captivating. The first problem I noticed is that the story disconnects soon. If you have finished the game then you know that further in the story she informs you that she can’t speak to you without the DAHL communicator that at the time of the first encounter you don’t even possess. A minor flaw but notable none the less. The story feels rushed and tacked on in several places. I didn’t feel that I was very captivated on completing the story to find out what happens next more than the desire for better loot and EXP. I also feel that the end was sort of a let down on the loot side of the game. I walked away with nothing more than an achievement for completion and equipment that was trivial and best worth selling.
The game looks great and for the most part runs smooth. I played the entire game co-op with 2-3 players total and noticed some lag in heavy fire fights. Texture pop ins galore after load screens but expected considering the engine. I stuck my character in a wall a few times but was able to escape without resetting the console and to tell the truth I had it coming with all the attempts to jump to obscure ledges. I found the dialog to be entertaining and witty to extent and had no problems with the voice acting. some time found myself revisiting the audio log just to laugh at what was said. Map size was on the money making things easily assessable and not too hard to navigate.
On the game play level I was blown away. I couldn’t wait to play the game again after I stopped and stayed up way too late one too many times thinking “just one more quest”. The shooting feel very solid and satisfying. I found myself using VEH solely for transport. If I intended to combat I would either stop end battle on foot or simply run enemies over while passing thru. The VEH weapons where terrible and the controls were acceptable if you had no intention to battle in the rides. I enjoyed the loot collection and plethora of it the most. I found myself trying every Item before pawning, and was more excited about collecting the loot in new areas than completing the missions them self’s.
Over all the game is great and fun. It’s awesome on co-op and I recommend it be played that way. The Level cap is a bummer but the opening for DLC is a huge bonus and I hope for more content and intend to keep playing as content is released.