My buddy bought this yesterday & we killed a few hours. So far, it's like a mixture of Fallout, Pitch Black, & Gauntlet w\ a Diablo-style weapon system (infinity different bonuses/attrs to worry about, tiered items, etc.)
You get to be one of four potential mercs, each w\ their own special trick (one's got a pet bird, the other can phase in & out, another's got a turret, etc.). You live in this shithole place called Planet Pandora, home to umpteen zillion kinds of nasty critters & some scattered patches of humanity. As "merc" implies, you're there to make cash off of it.
Far as the interface goes, it's pretty much Oblivion-like. There's a huge, huge emphasis on damage & killing, though. This ain't a game of defense. You get slots to carry 7-8 different kinds of ammo (each goes to a different class of gun). Everything drops ammo. Even the equivalent of a a rat drops 3 mags sometimes.
Overall, a rather fun beast so far. They seem to have gotten the difficulty just about proper, if a bit on the easy side every now & again. Didn't run into a spot where we were stonewalled, except one mission we tried to tackle which we knew was clearly out of our league, got smoked.
Edited By Malcolm on 1256492556
Borderlands - 360 & PS
Alrighty, about one-third of the way thru this. My buddy & I sat down to knock out a few quests at about 10pm. A few bullets & blinks of the eye later, it was fucking 4am. Last time I had game suck up that much time w\o me noticing, it was KotOR.
The good ...
- The gun/weapon system in this game is extremely deep & detailed -- literally millions of unique weapons.
- It's a trigger-happy combat system ... sure there's ducking for cover & finding a good place to snipe from, but the more ammo you're throwing into the air, generally the better off you are.
- You don't have to go back to town to sell shit. Stores take the form of vending machines that are placed at a few waypoints, in between civilization & the wasteland.
- No retarded, over-the-shoulder view, like Gears of War & others.
The bad ...
- The enemy AI isn't all that bright. It's pretty easy to pin them down in tactically unsound positions.
- The enemies aren't that varied. They mostly take the form of "bandits." Maybe we just haven't gotten far enough in yet, though. Still not even 50% done.
- Determining the relative power of guns -- shit, you'd need to sit down & take a couple days off if you'd like to give the definitive answer. There's dozens of attributes a gun needs to consider, coupled w\ the fact that each base type of gun has different strengths & weaknesses (rocket launchers compared to revolvers, for example).
- While it's entertaining w\ two folk, you can't help but think this was a game designed for four players. & if you ain't got four, there's subtle reminders of shit you're missing out on.
The ugly ...
- The skill system is disappointingly limited, especially compared to the amount of thought & energy that obviously went into weapons. On the upside, there's stations in-game where you can respec your skills if you get bored w\ your current layout.
- There's no mini-map on the screen. You need to switch to your menu to look at it.
The good ...
- The gun/weapon system in this game is extremely deep & detailed -- literally millions of unique weapons.
- It's a trigger-happy combat system ... sure there's ducking for cover & finding a good place to snipe from, but the more ammo you're throwing into the air, generally the better off you are.
- You don't have to go back to town to sell shit. Stores take the form of vending machines that are placed at a few waypoints, in between civilization & the wasteland.
- No retarded, over-the-shoulder view, like Gears of War & others.
The bad ...
- The enemy AI isn't all that bright. It's pretty easy to pin them down in tactically unsound positions.
- The enemies aren't that varied. They mostly take the form of "bandits." Maybe we just haven't gotten far enough in yet, though. Still not even 50% done.
- Determining the relative power of guns -- shit, you'd need to sit down & take a couple days off if you'd like to give the definitive answer. There's dozens of attributes a gun needs to consider, coupled w\ the fact that each base type of gun has different strengths & weaknesses (rocket launchers compared to revolvers, for example).
- While it's entertaining w\ two folk, you can't help but think this was a game designed for four players. & if you ain't got four, there's subtle reminders of shit you're missing out on.
The ugly ...
- The skill system is disappointingly limited, especially compared to the amount of thought & energy that obviously went into weapons. On the upside, there's stations in-game where you can respec your skills if you get bored w\ your current layout.
- There's no mini-map on the screen. You need to switch to your menu to look at it.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
More annoyance ...
Well, maybe this is just consoles in general, but, goddamn, this game is missing hotkeys for inventory items. You'd think there'd be an quick-use item button or something in the controller interface, though. Died about three times w\ five med pacs on me.
Well, maybe this is just consoles in general, but, goddamn, this game is missing hotkeys for inventory items. You'd think there'd be an quick-use item button or something in the controller interface, though. Died about three times w\ five med pacs on me.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Getting close to the end. Has gotten way too easy. When/if a replay happens, it's time to jack up the difficulty to maximum. Said it before, but it bears repeating ... had Gearbox dropped as much energy on the critters/skills/quests systems as they did on the weapons, this game would be immortal. As it stands, it's just a pleasant, mindless distraction. Albeit an entertaining one.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
I've played this game on the X-Box 360 3 out of th3 last 4 Friday nights over at a cousin's house and I think it's a blast.
The controls suck, but I blame that on the X-Box controller. (This is available for PC and the superior mouse/keyboard combo.)
Other than that, it's a ton of fun. Great firefights.
Malcolm has a good point about the story, and the place is sort of a graveyard aside from enemies.
This game is fun for three reasons:
1. Co-op is a blast. (And yes, the difficulty is upped big time for each player you add.)
2. The hunt for the next great weapon is so captivating. You'll check the vendors every time without hesitation.
3. The bad guys aren't very varied, but they are awesome, and you'll know they're bad ass because they have names like "Bad Ass Psycho".
4. The gameplay is fun.
If we were able to organize more co-op nights, I would seriously push this one to enter our line up. Especially once it hits the bargain bins.
The controls suck, but I blame that on the X-Box controller. (This is available for PC and the superior mouse/keyboard combo.)
Other than that, it's a ton of fun. Great firefights.
Malcolm has a good point about the story, and the place is sort of a graveyard aside from enemies.
This game is fun for three reasons:
1. Co-op is a blast. (And yes, the difficulty is upped big time for each player you add.)
2. The hunt for the next great weapon is so captivating. You'll check the vendors every time without hesitation.
3. The bad guys aren't very varied, but they are awesome, and you'll know they're bad ass because they have names like "Bad Ass Psycho".
4. The gameplay is fun.
If we were able to organize more co-op nights, I would seriously push this one to enter our line up. Especially once it hits the bargain bins.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
Finished the first playthru. The big boss was disappointing. However, started the second playthru to check what would happen. Same weapons, same cash, same characters, same levels. It appears that all the critters have been bumped up a notch or two. Something tells me it's relative to whatever level you start out as, but it's a nice touch. Definitely missed a few quests & the critters are starting to fight back.
By the by, every Eridian weapon I've found has sucked.
By the by, every Eridian weapon I've found has sucked.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Halfway or so thru the second playthru. Holy fucking shit. Some of what used to be plebe critters are routinely knocking the living fuck out of our setup. The guns are doing a decent job trailing behind the mob strength. We can still pretty much destroy anything (particularly w\ our special skills maxed out), we just need to be careful.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Played a bit last night. We took down the Rakk Hive (awesome) and Taylor Kobb. Entering Old Haven to free the claptrap was one of the best firefights I've seen. We activated the transmitters and were told to kill Stella(?) when we shut down for the night at 4 a.m.
Not sure how close to the end we are?
Couple of notes:
-My cousin, whom I'm running through it with, DLed the new DLC and is checking it out right now. He just texted saying it's cool.
-Last night he came up with a great description of the game: "It's an FPS Diablo"
-Having so much fun with this game that I'm actually considering a purchase. This would be my first FPS for a console. Might trade in Assassin's Creed 2 so I can grab a pre-purchased copy cheap.
-This game was the first game ever made by it's developers. Impressive.
-This game, more than any other, highlights to me how badly developers need to link PC gamers and console players. I want to play this on my PC along with my cousin playing on his X-Box.
Not sure how close to the end we are?
Couple of notes:
-My cousin, whom I'm running through it with, DLed the new DLC and is checking it out right now. He just texted saying it's cool.
-Last night he came up with a great description of the game: "It's an FPS Diablo"
-Having so much fun with this game that I'm actually considering a purchase. This would be my first FPS for a console. Might trade in Assassin's Creed 2 so I can grab a pre-purchased copy cheap.
-This game was the first game ever made by it's developers. Impressive.
-This game, more than any other, highlights to me how badly developers need to link PC gamers and console players. I want to play this on my PC along with my cousin playing on his X-Box.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
We took down the Rakk Hive (awesome)
I found that fight anti-climactic & too easy. I hear it is a fucking awesome XP gain, though. & since even boss critters respawn ...
and Taylor Kobb
He was kind of annoying.
Entering Old Haven to free the claptrap was one of the best firefights I've seen.
That place was INSANE the first time we went thru. We were badly, badly outgunned.
Stella(?)
I think Stella's the leader of the Crimson Lance (the dudes who overran Old Haven). They're trying to open the Vault, too. & shut y'all out.
Not sure how close to the end we are?
After the Rakk Hive, you'll need to get the fourth piece of the vault key, from Baron something or other. Brings lots of bullets. After that, they do a good job dragging out your trip to the vault. There'll be assloads more Lance soldiers before you're done. Depending upon how many sidequests you've done, I'd say you're approaching the final lap.
What characters did you pick?
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
I found that fight anti-climactic & too easy.
Granted, it was easy, but it is pretty fantastic looking. It's like fighting a Bantha.
He was kind of annoying.
Was he the guy in the massive construction-like vehicle? It reminded me of the Jawas' vehicle. (Two Tatooine references in one post!)
I went toe to toe with him.
That place was INSANE the first time we went thru. We were badly, badly outgunned.
I cannot say enough about this level. It felt like we were in "Black Hawk Down".
After the Rakk Hive, you'll need to get the fourth piece of the vault key, from Baron something or other.
We beat Baron since we're on our way to fight Stella...right?
What characters did you pick?
He's playing a Hunter, and I'm going through as the Tank. The Tank matches my play style as I like to run right into the fray and get my hands dirty. We're both level 33.
I went out and got this for the X-Box 360 Saturday as we've got another guy joining us for online games, and I've already got a Hunter up to level 19.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
Was he the guy in the massive construction-like vehicle? It reminded me of the Jawas' vehicle.
Taylor's the dude that you clean the bandits out of the one town for, then it turns out he's as much of a bastard as they were, so you go clean him out. The Baron lives in the big construction vehicle.
We beat Baron since we're on our way to fight Stella...right?
There's some grumblings about Stella for a bit, even before you assemble the key. You won't be able to get anywhere near her w\o all four pieces, thus, yeah, you'll've to see the Baron.
Hunter & Tank? Interesting. I'm going Solider & my buddy goes Siren. His ability to go invisible makes my life a living hell sometimes (since every critter then targets ME), but I've got heavier guns. My combat rifle's good at a distance. My shotgun is pure death at close range. What'd be interesting is the Hunter & Soldier -- Bloodwing & the Scorpio turret (respectively) almost function as pets & can peg things at a distance. The Siren & Tank need to be up close & personal to start killing.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
He's got a level 42 Siren, but we haven't used her as she's so far ahead in levels.
Our Hunter/Tank combo isn't bad. When facing turrets or similar threats, he runs a touch ahead and draws fire so my Tank can hit them with his Rocket Launcher. For everything else, I'm on point and he's at a distance behind sniping.
I ended up face to face with the Baron way up one of the sides of his machine. My partner had fallen down somewhere and was effectively out of the battle. The Baron has that sweet ass Boom Stick that corrodes the hell out of you and I had just used my melee on some other badies. Thus, I just keep hitting him with the butt of my shotgun to keep him from shooting me while keep putting rounds into his chest. Now I use his Boom Stick when we face armor wearing foes.
I'm digging playing the Hunter too. It's a different play style coming at everyone from a distance and picking them off. The Bloodwing is awesome. Not as fun as the Tank's rampage, but is still a game changer. Can't wait until I can have it attack up to 8 enemies.
Our Hunter/Tank combo isn't bad. When facing turrets or similar threats, he runs a touch ahead and draws fire so my Tank can hit them with his Rocket Launcher. For everything else, I'm on point and he's at a distance behind sniping.
I ended up face to face with the Baron way up one of the sides of his machine. My partner had fallen down somewhere and was effectively out of the battle. The Baron has that sweet ass Boom Stick that corrodes the hell out of you and I had just used my melee on some other badies. Thus, I just keep hitting him with the butt of my shotgun to keep him from shooting me while keep putting rounds into his chest. Now I use his Boom Stick when we face armor wearing foes.
I'm digging playing the Hunter too. It's a different play style coming at everyone from a distance and picking them off. The Bloodwing is awesome. Not as fun as the Tank's rampage, but is still a game changer. Can't wait until I can have it attack up to 8 enemies.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
Wait till the second playthru when the enemies get ramped up. We've yet to hit the Baron on the second time around. That fight is going to be big. Hell, Old Haven will be quite a trip.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Going through solo to level up my Hunter has been interesting.
I die a lot. I'm used to the damage my tank can take, and when he's in "Fight for your life" mode, he can last around a minute to try and kill someone for the "second wind". He rarely dies.
My hunter lasts all of 6 seconds.
I die a lot. I'm used to the damage my tank can take, and when he's in "Fight for your life" mode, he can last around a minute to try and kill someone for the "second wind". He rarely dies.
My hunter lasts all of 6 seconds.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
4 different classes: Siren, Hunter, Berserker, and Soldier.
However...each class has three sub-classes as well.
For example, the Berserker can focus on Tank (taking tons of damage), Brawler (melee fighting), or...I'm forgetting the actual name, but it's all about blowing things up (Rocket Launchers, grenades, etc.).
So yes, you can all play as the same class and even sub-classes. 4 tanks in the game would be interesting. There would be areas where it'd be unstoppable, and other areas where it might handicap you.
4 people in the max in multi. Although, the more people you have playing, the more enemies and loot you'll see.
Killed Sledge last night in my solo run. Sledge versus a Hunter isn't exactly fair. I killed him just as I was about to respawn.
Edited By Leisher on 1261498160
However...each class has three sub-classes as well.
For example, the Berserker can focus on Tank (taking tons of damage), Brawler (melee fighting), or...I'm forgetting the actual name, but it's all about blowing things up (Rocket Launchers, grenades, etc.).
So yes, you can all play as the same class and even sub-classes. 4 tanks in the game would be interesting. There would be areas where it'd be unstoppable, and other areas where it might handicap you.
4 people in the max in multi. Although, the more people you have playing, the more enemies and loot you'll see.
Killed Sledge last night in my solo run. Sledge versus a Hunter isn't exactly fair. I killed him just as I was about to respawn.
Edited By Leisher on 1261498160
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
Eh, there aren't really "subclasses" so to speak; there's a skill tree w\ three different paths. You can mix & match to a certain extent. It's not an "all or nothing" deal.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Eh back at ya. 
The fact that you have to spend points in skills in a particular tree to get deeper within that tree says to me that those are sub-classes. The fact that they have names helps too.
Granted, eventually you could have a character who has all three trees maxed out, but not in a single playthrough.
One thing that I didn't notice for the first few playthroughs (when I first started) was the additional challenges for your character that encourage different playstyles and weapon usage. You find these on the mission screen.
The fact that you have to spend points in skills in a particular tree to get deeper within that tree says to me that those are sub-classes. The fact that they have names helps too.
Granted, eventually you could have a character who has all three trees maxed out, but not in a single playthrough.
One thing that I didn't notice for the first few playthroughs (when I first started) was the additional challenges for your character that encourage different playstyles and weapon usage. You find these on the mission screen.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
Thought levels & skillpoints got maxxed out at 50.Leisher wrote:Granted, eventually you could have a character who has all three trees maxed out, but not in a single playthrough.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."