Borderlands is described as a role playing shooter because it contains elements of both a role playing game and a first person shooter. But it’s so much more than that, it’s a journey to a planet that’s brought to life with a vivid art style, a killer soundtrack, well crafted characters and a splash of humour in the form of Claptrap thrown in for good measure.

The game kicks off with an awesome intro, really getting you in the mood to explore Pandora and ultimately setting the bar very high for the rest of the game. Luckily Borderlands delivers one of the most intense and enjoyable gaming experiences that I have ever had, never lowering the bar once and keeping you coming back for more.

The story sees four fortune hunters heading to Pandora, a planet wasteland that is plagued by bandits and beastly skags. This is not the first time fortune hunters have journeyed to Pandora in the hope of discovering a vault containing advanced alien technology, and so the local bandits are well armed to put an end to your quest.

Players can choose from one of four characters, each with vastly different skills. Brick is the kind of guy who shoots first and asks questions later, using brute force in his Beserk mode to take out enemies. Lilith is a more tricky kind of dame who is able to Phasewalk, becoming invisible and moving fast to creep up on enemies, and she can definitely take care of herself despite being known as the Siren because she’s pretty hot. The Solider, Roland, favours combat rifles and shotguns, while he also enjoys deploying a turret that automatically fires at enemies and shields him at the same time. And the pet lovers among us might prefer Hunter Mordecai, who is fond of sending out his Bloodwing bird to attack enemies while sniping from a distance.

Each character’s skill tree is completely different too. While you may be able to upgrade the amount of damage that Lilith’s Phasewalking skill does as well as increase her rate of fire and critical hit damage, if you are playing as Roland you will be able to upgrade different abilities such as the damage his deployable turret deals out. Before you start the game take a look at what each character offers, because one is sure to appeal to you more, and once your chosen character has started to level up you are not likely to want to swop during the game.

As you progress in the game, killing enemies and completing missions will earn you experience points and eventually your character will level up. With each level up you will gain a skill point which you can then use to upgrade your skills in your skill tree. Now if you, like me, haven’t played many RPG’s, this may sound a bit confusing. However, let me assure you that it’s very simple to understand and as long as you take care of your fair share of enemies along the way you will be leveling up your character at the same rate as anyone else. You can also choose which skills to upgrade thereby making the character suit your own playing style. The menu system is simple to navigate so you won’t have a problem arranging your weapons, buying upgrades and finding your way around the skill tree.

Fighting and taking out enemies is not going to be a problem thanks to the hundreds and thousands of weapons available in Borderlands. As you explore the different areas of Pandora you will discover various weapon stashes, giving you ample opportunity to try out different guns. Because of the huge choice of weapons in the game, it simply isn’t necessary (or possible) to upgrade your current weapon because before long you will have stumbled upon an even better one. You don’t have to pick up a weapon to compare its stats either, simply hover over the gun to check whether it’s better than your current one. You can also collect ammo, health vials, money and grenades just as easily – hover over one article and press square, holding it down to collect all the goods in the area.

Collecting money is as important as collecting ammo, because money can buy you more ammo! You earn cash for killing enemies and for completing missions, but you can also raid safes along the way to increase your loot. Once your wallet is bursting, head over to a Vending Machine where you can purchase health, ammo or a shield and sell unwanted items. You will also be able to stock up after a gunfight because enemies drop items as they die and you will even find yourself shamelessly sifting through skag poo to discover extra ammo and health!

Pandora is massive with no shortage of missions to take on. You get these missions from various characters in the game and can swap between them at any point should you get stuck or just feel like doing something different. Once you select a mission the navigation system points you in the right direction with the aid of waypoints. The missions are varied enough to keep you wanting more, while you may start out returning food stolen by skags or rounding up a lost leg, you will soon be killing interesting enemies such as Nine Toes and discovering recordings that help piece together what happened on Pandora. And killing loads of enemies, skags and other interesting creatures along the way of course.

Getting around the environment can be a bit tedious at first when you are hoofing it on foot given the size of Pandora. However, once you enable the vehicle transportation system things gets a lot more interesting. The vehicle handling is responsive, allowing you to make the sharp turns required to turn skags into chunky roadkill and getting you from point A to point B much quicker. With one player you drive and operate the turret at the same time whilst with two players the second player is placed solely in charge of blowing things to smithereens while player one is behind the wheel.

Pandora is not only home to a few pretty easy-going settlers, but also to a wild bunch of mean looking, insult hurling bandits and native creatures intent on making you their next meal. In the same manner that your character levels up in the game, so do the enemies. For this reason skag whelps will soon become adult skags who will then mature into elder skags – each progressively harder to defeat. And before you know it you will be facing badass skags and even badass fire skags, as well as my pet peeve the spitter skag, who enjoys spitting acid into Lilith’s pretty face. You will also face a cast of colourful and slightly deranged bandits lurking in towns and behind crags, ranging from Mutant Midget Pyschos to Bruisers, Bandit Killers and even Pyschos who set themselves on fire.

In Pandora it is survival of the fittest and you are bound to get taken out by the enemies at least a few hundred times. When this happens you drop to your knees and start to bleed out, however, if you manage to kill an enemy before you die, you get a second wind. If you are playing a co-op game you can also be revived by another player, if they decide to take the time or the risk to heal you that is.

The single player campaign is very good but nothing surpasses experiencing the action with a friend in the splitscreen mode or teaming up with three other players. It is super easy to find a game that is in progress and jump right into the action. All the expected features are there so you can just join or host a public game or simply hook up with your friends online. Support is included for microphones to allow easy communication which certainly helps when you are dying and need to get someone’s attention to revive you.

Playing online, especially in a full four player game, will allow you to level up faster. As a team you will encounter more enemies, earning cash and experience faster this way. The team can consist of any mix of characters so you are not restricted in any way. I would imagine it would be beneficial to have one of each character classes, however, it won’t stop you from progressing.

Teaming up with friends is certainly the way to go as you will tend to work together to achieve the missions. I certainly encountered some frustrating moments online with everyone doing their own thing, whilst I was getting my intestines removed by some skags. Everyone else was so engrossed in collecting loot and managing their inventories that my death was inconsequential. One challenge with all games supporting online play is lag and I certainly experienced this connecting from South Africa to the games being hosted. I can’t really fault the developers, but with the lag I was getting connecting to what I assume were overseas players, using the sniper rifle was out of the question. I am hoping that once I connect with friends local to my country the lag will no longer be a problem.

Never before have I so looked forward to upcoming DLC in a game (The Zombie Island of Dr Ned will be available sometime later this year), not that I have even begun to scratch the surface of the barrel of content available in Borderlands. When you add the tongue in cheek humour and non-stop action to the four vastly different characters, the online and splitscreen capabilities and high replayability factor, it makes Borderlands a very worthwhile purchase and one of the most memorable games of 2009.

Purchase: