Borderlands

Nevertheless, the repetition in Borderlands is basically unavoidable, because the game is so long and so huge. While most shooters are over in a few hours, Borderlands demands considerably more time to get through. Despite the pay-off of ultraviolent gun action, it does get grindy, especially in a solo game. I lost track of quite how long it took me, but I'd estimate 30 hours, possibly less. This is enough time to get to the mid-30s, at which point the game is reset at a higher level. It's quite possible, therefore, to keep playing up to the level cap at 50, against a much tougher gameworld. This should allow you to max out the skill trees, which define the focus of the special abilities you exhibit in-game.

There are some other problems too, such as the character design. The four archetypes really aren't different or interesting enough. Sure, they all need to be suitable for single-player, but they're not cut out for classic character status, nor do their powers extend much beyond simply pumping out damage in different ways.

Mordecai, the hunter, has probably the weakest special ability, which is a bird. Initially I found this useful because it deals a significant amount of damage, but as time goes on it seems relatively unimpressive and often fails to connect with a target. I abandoned it and respecced (yes, you can reset talents and spend your skillpoints again, like in an MMO) for a more sniper-focused build.

The soldier character, Roland, has a turret. That alone makes me think that plenty of co-op games are going to see gangs of Rolands (as you can play with any mix of characters) running around together. The turret can pump people's health and ammo back up, as well as acting as cover. Lilith's phase walk, meanwhile, where she becomes a damage-dispensing ghost, is an interesting idea, as you can end up electrocuting and burning people with an hybrid area-of-effect attack. It's an odd mode of play, however, and some players are definitely going to focus on guns.

The one character who genuinely seems to play differently in an entertaining way is Brick, who can smack the living s*** out of anything with his berserk mode. Pump this up as you play and you end up with a close-range punch-monster, or a tank. Either makes for an entertaining mode of play.

I should also mention that I spent most of my review time on the PC version of the game, but also spent some time on Xbox 360. I've played a range of characters across both, and finished the PC campaign with a Mordecai - who I think gets an easy ride on the final levels due to his sniper spec. Anyway, I believe that this review will serve reasonably well for both platforms, as they seem suitably balanced towards their particular control styles.

The PC, obviously, ends up looking a bit better, but it has a few tough edges. There's some menu-weirdness which means that you're expected to use the keyboard some of the time, and the mouse the rest of the time, which results in confusing inconsistency. Hardly a fatal flaw, but it's there. The PC version also needs some voice options (it's always-on, voice-activated only), and if it's not patched within a few weeks of release I'll eat my hat.