CmndrCool


    There are over a half of a million different guns in Borderlands. That seemed to be the main selling point in this first public showing of Gearbox Software's next original IP. Of course, guns aren't the only thing Borderlands has to offer. It's also a four player, co-operative sci-fi shooter with a hefty dose of RPG elements and a bit of Diablo inspiration thrown in for good measure. It also has over 500,000 guns.

Gearbox has been working on Borderlands for roughly 20 months, but the team still has another 15-18 months to go before we'll see the game on store shelves. As such, the early build only showcased a few select areas, story segments, and guided gameplay. The demo was only about a half of an hour long, but it gave a great impression of the direction the team is taking with the game.

Borderlands takes place on the frontiers of humanity. It's a bit like the Wild West, except this is the future and man has colonized numerous planets. The fringe settlements are a bit unruly and untamed, making them a natural sci-fi videogame setting. These borderland planets are colonized by huge, one way ships that simply slam into the target planet. Once everyone debarks, the colony ship folds out to become the walls of the town. Nifty, eh? The town we saw in the demo went by the name of New Haven, though the idea of it being a haven of any sort is a stretch.

The colonists arrived in the winter on this planet. It's a tilted axis sphere, so the seasonal changes in weather are the same as they are on earth. However, the planet is also massive and slow orbiting which make the days and years much longer than we're used to. As such, the winter thaw was a long time coming. But when it came it brought trouble. Animals that were previously in hibernation are now out on the prowl, restless colonists ditched the town to become marauding bandits and things are generally not looking too hot. Enter you, the main character. Described as one part Mad Max and the other Indiana Jones, this Harrison Gibson wannabe has a lot to live up to.

The main problem that the winter thaw has brought are a swarm of flying creatures that have been dubbed "the wrack." The carnivorous creatures have been causing chaos wherever they go and they seem to be arriving in greater numbers and staying for longer. The mission we were shown dealt with their extermination. A trip to a bandit fortress to steal some explosives, a tracking dart in a flying rat, and the troupe was on track. The massive creature that housed the flying minions in a hive on its back that came at the end of the trek was quite the sight and probably not what the group was looking forward to.

A big part of the demo shown to us focused on some of the RPG elements that have been infused throughout the game. Your character will level up through combat, giving him new strengths and abilities. The one we saw enabled him to leap much higher into the air than normal. You can also stroll through town and upgrade your vehicles, buy new weapons, trade and heal your character in between missions.

Ah yes, the weapons. Generated almost randomly, these procedurally created tools of destruction come in a vast range of designs. The classes we saw were all fairly typical, but the appearance and stats on each made them different enough to make seeking out new weapons a cool little prospect. This is where the Diablo reference came in earlier. You won't be able to design weapons yourself from pieces or design specs you collected. Rather, you'll have to find them in the world, meticulously searching for a better or more effective design. We saw a shotgun with an over-the-top strength that could quite literally blast an enemy across the screen. We also saw a variety of assault rifles and pistols that ranged from six-shooters to futuristic high caliber death sticks. If you like collecting, this game looks like it was made purely for you.

You won't have to do your collecting alone, either. The co-op is already running over a network as we watched two players move through the entire playable portion together. In the final game, you'll be able to create an instance, play through it, and then invite a friend in to join at any time. Likewise, you can take that character you've been building up and join into a friend's world. When you return to your game world, your character returns with everything he gained. This co-op play was particularly cool in the few vehicle sections we saw. With one man at the gun and the other holding the wheel, the game looked intense. The on-the-fly swap without stopping was even cooler. The only time co-op didn't look amazing was during a few of the gun fights. The enemy AI at this early stage tended to stand around rather than reacting realistically to an attack. The combined forces of two human opponents were far too much for them. Given the early nature of the game, there is still plenty of time for the AI to be improved.

One thing that is already on the fast track in Borderlands is the visuals. While there is still room for improvement, the enemy design (particularly the aforementioned behemoth) has a nice sci-fi appeal and the environments we saw looked cool enough to warrant a nice exploratory trip. The salt flats where a vehicular combat demo took place were reminiscent of the area outside of Salt Lake City, only much more barren.

Borderlands certainly has enough guns to keep anyone happy. With a long way to go before release, it doesn't seem a far stretch to think that the gameplay will be able to do the same. Borderlands promises to have a huge world to explore and we all know doing that co-operatively is always much more fun.