I picked up my copy at Gamestop yesterday and went home to check it out. I started playing SP at 1:30 PM, created a new character (Roland the soldier) and began to get familiar with Borderlands. Jeevz came on shortly after and we started playing co-op. Later, Master and dude joined us, so we had 3-4 players for most of the session. Quests are available from either NPCs or a Bounty Board. Successful quests are awarded with a bounty as you progress through the game. You can use your loot to buy upgrades, med packs, etc. from vending machines scattered throughout Pandora. You can also sell items that you picked up at the vending machines. Borderlands is a sandbox type game. You can go anywhere on foot or by vehicle that is physically accessible. Also, there are teleports that rapidly move the players around Pandora. For me, this game has the right mix of combat, fun, discovery, etc. I didn't notice any lag or major gameplay issues. I fell into a spot between buildings and storage tanks that I could not get out of while trying to get on a roof. Fortunately, dude was able to pull a vehicle close enough that I could board it as a gunner. Later Jeevz got trapped somewhere and we agreed it was a good time to quit. I suppose a player could drop a grenade and commit suicide to respawn in the rare occasion that he or she gets trapped somewhere. Respawns are not free. The player is charged for them and you are returned to the starting point for that level. So you may have to travel for a bit to rejoin your comrades. Dying has consequences. The combat was fun and at times frenetic with each player class showcasing their character's skills.

In summary, I played until 7:30 PM in that session with no breaks and no chow since breakfast. My breakfast was light yesterday, so I was starved. Like most co-op games with team players, there is mutual support and camraderie. Loot that is picked up, quests that are completed and awarded, and XP are automatically divided among the players. Ammo, med kits, guns, etc. that are dropped in combat can be picked up by any individual player. We shared that among the players. The game makes some fun/realism tradeoffs. For example you can sprint forever. There is no stamina meter. You can jump from heights that would cause damage to the player in other games, but not here. Considering the game concept and gameplay, those things don't affect my enjoyment of Borderlands.

If you enjoy shooters with an RPG theme, sprint to a store and pick up a copy of Borderlands. This is going to be one of those games that I play for countless hours. 4 distinct character classes, large maps with the freedom to choose your strategy will provide long legs and replayability for this game. I'm loving it so far and I can't wait to play some more this evening!

Snake find me on Xbox Live Gamertag Raptor8009 Would love to explore pandora with you

I think the game is amazing but it could use a bit more polish. For instance if you go to someone else's coop game without finishing the tutorial you cant finish the tutorial unless you start a split screen coop with a new character and walk your old one through the tutorials section. Still, that is a minor gripe.

I had to leave for dinner around 8:30 ish as I didnt eat anything all day. When I came back I played some coop with a guy from gearbox. He was level 50. he didnt have any high level equipment though. Supposedly there is a way to level your character up automatically with the dev tools but there is no way to spawn loot. You cant even force specific loot into a box. The whole loot system is completely random.

Anyways. Off to work in my gaming coma. My eyes feel like they are going to bleed...

If I can spare the cash I'll pick it up this week but with Forza3 due out early next week I just don't know if I can do it. Plus, CoD:MW2 is right around the corner and then L4D:2.

Damn, it's gonna be a fun winter.

Honestly, it's everything I hoped it would be so far. Gearbox absolutely nailed the action-RPG feel with a shooter. The shooting mechanics are right up there with CoD, Battlefield and even some Halo. Apart from the low level vendor trash the guns really do feel different, it's going to be hard not running around with a nearly full inventory all the time since you find so many cool guns that would be useful in certain situations.

The difficulty ramp seems good, with 4 people the game requires teamwork like L4D since the game is throwing masses of tough baddies at you. With 3 on it wasn't so hectic but still was challenging enough that we had to watch one another's backs or we'd be reviving each other again.

All in all I'm nothing but happy with Borderlands. I'm here at work and already wishing I could check out to go grab more loot even though, like Master, I am a zombie thanks to the "just one more quest" thing Borderlands has going on.

Guys, I wanna try this in co-op.

Add me to your friends list:
RoswaldoAllegre

FR sent. Who's your character?

I made a new guy today, ( off work :P)

Brick! uber-tough! Im level 13 with 445 health and 210 shields , got to love the skill that gives you +40% life and the other one is +16% shields and maxes out at +40......

How is it in single-player? I rarely find the time for longer multiplayer sessions.

It is pretty good in single player. In fact at least the early part of the game (sub level20) is an amazing game on it's own in the single player portion. It is just 100 times better in coop mode.