Gaming In A Winter Borderlands!
GAMING IN A WINTER BORDERLANDS! So it's all rather cold, snowy and wintry in dear old England at the moment. But that hasn't stopped me from actually getting in some gaming now that I have a new Xbox 360. Now I spoke in my previous blog about getting the Modern Warfare 2 Super Elite 360 console, well that didn't exactly go to plan for a few reasons. While many of the stores sold out of that ver...
GAMING IN A WINTER BORDERLANDS!
So it's all rather cold, snowy and wintry in dear old England at the moment. But that hasn't stopped me from actually getting in some gaming now that I have a new Xbox 360. Now I spoke in my previous blog about getting the Modern Warfare 2 Super Elite 360 console, well that didn't exactly go to plan for a few reasons. While many of the stores sold out of that version rather quickly, I had decided that I probably wouldn't get the full benefits of the larger 250GB hard drive just yet. So I decided to purchase an Elite and eventually pick up a bigger hard drive once Microsoft started selling them separately. Anyway to the point, as part of that deal I also received Gearbox Software's Borderlands and I've decided to talk a little about that rather intriguing game.
This is certainly not World War Two, I don't recall reading about Claptraps in History lessons. When some folks think of Gearbox Software, they'll no doubt think about a World War 2 game with squad controls. That's fair to be honest, after all the Dallas based developer as been mainly remembered for the Brothers in Arms franchise. A series of games that were somewhat forgotten in the endless flood of World War 2 related junk we saw a few years back. While I was a fan of said franchise, it's still nice to see Gearbox Software ply their skills to an whole new product, one that as the potential to be a great success for both developer and publisher. Now onto the game itself, I shall admit that my first experiences with this co-operative shooter/RPG didn't go to well. I joined a co-op match with a few friends and it was all rather hectic and messy, I knew little of what was actually going on and I actually grew a slight dislike for the first few hours of the game. But I'm a fair gamer, and was willing to give such a title a second chance, so prepared and ready I decided to go solo and experience Borderlands at a pace that would suit me. While I'm still only a few hours into the first play through, I would highly recommend that if your not the best at co-operating with other gamers often, you'd be best experiencing Borderlands on your own.
Having spent the time travelling around Pandora at my own suited pace, I've quickly grown fond of the overall package on offer here. It's imperfect to say the least, but it offers a first-person shooter feel that's different to many of the other styled games in that rather over packed genre. I'm still not sure what exactly makes it different, hopefully it will come to be before I write my review. But there's something different there for sure, and it's something that feels both refreshing and unique. What isn't so great is the fact that one of the games most talked about features is one of the most unpleasant for me personally, that being the co-operative action. Maybe, just maybe these thoughts will change once I complete my first play through but right now co-operative Borderlands is a no no for me.
Borderlands certainly thrives on being different, a good thing in a over saturated genre of games. One thing that can be said about Borderlands, is that it certainly offers a unique visual style. One that at first I found rather unpleasant, again I'm not sure if this is due to the game lowering graphical quality for the smoothness of framerates in multiplayer action or some other voodoo work in operation, but when I took the time to appreciate the lands of Pandora I quickly grew fond of the odd and wonderful styles found in Borderlands. True I'm sure I'll soon be experiencing it's gritty beauty at 4 frames per second at points, sadly it seems Borderlands as become known for it's choppy framerates. But I shan't let that get in the way of what seems like a worthy entry in a now rather dull genre of games. That'll do for now, I'm hoping to review quite a few games soon. Though to be honest I'm so far behind with my gaming that I don't expect to write much any time soon. I'm still playing Assassins Creed 2 (which I love, though I'm still unconvinced by Ezio) which I shall also hope to review at some point. This will probably all happen in the new year, it's one of the reasons I've decided to delay writing any Game of the Year lists until I feel I have experienced the games worthy of my time. Here's hoping that doesn't take to long either. But for now I leave you with thanks for taking the time to read my blogs. It is always hugely appreciated.
Thanks for Reading.
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