The best way to describe "Borderlands" is to envision "Fallout 3," but with multiplayer. The game features a two-player split-screen and four-player online cooperative mode which makes for a great time. Players will wander across a dusty destroyed world, which looks and feels similar to the world of "Fallout 3." Once again, players must fight for survival in a jagged wasteland.

     When playing "Borderlands" with friends, many factors come into play. While money and experience is shared, teammates must work out a system or agreement on who collects certain weapons that drop from enemies.

     The game provides a simple solution to this problem: the ability to melee attack a partner, challenging him to a duel. If your teammate melees you back, a duel begins. This is acceptable because the loser does not die, which generally results in the loss of money, but merely loses a great deal of health.

     Besides multiplayer, the graphics also sets "Borderlands" apart. The creators decided to go for a comic book look by using a cell-shading style. This will take a little time to get used to, but the effect is mostly well done. There are, however, a few problems with pixilated shadows and slow loading textures, not to mention the lack of some detail, like ripples with going through water.

     The storyline behind "Borderlands" is simple: there are rumors of a mysterious vault filled with unimaginable weapons and technology located somewhere on the hostile planet of Pandora. It is said that anyone who finds the vault will be capable of ruling the world. Naturally, this causes countless treasure seekers to flood the planet, creating a world of extreme hostility where every step becomes a fight for survival.

     However, the gameplay, not the story, makes "Borderlands" a great game. Players must choose between four different characters that each have their own strengths and skills. The biggest distinction between the four characters is their main action skill. The Hunter, for instance, has the ability to release a vicious hawk to attack enemies, the Siren can turn invisible and slow down time, the Soldier can throw down an automatic turret, and the Berserker can enter a damage-resistant rage of brutal punches.

     On top of these basic action skills, each character has three different skill trees to customize tactics and abilities. For example, if a Hunter uses his bird a lot, he can upgrade his abilities so it does more damage or restores his health when it attacks. On the other hand, if a player wishes to rely more on his weapons, there are upgrades to increase magazine sizes or increase the chances of weapons ignoring enemy shields. Needless to say, even though there are only four characters to choose from, there are plenty of customization opportunities.

     The gameplay overall focuses on completing missions. Basically, players talk to the few non-playable characters who are located in the game to receive countless missions, ranging from shooting dung off a windmill to defeating vicious groups of bandits. Once the mission is completed, the players return to collect their reward, which is generally experience and money.

     Experience is also earned for defeating enemies. Naturally, stronger enemies offer more experience, while weaker enemies offer much less. "Borderlands" does a good job of ensuring the enemies are challenging, while generally not impossible. Each quest also has a recommended level that the players should be on before attempting.

     One of the best features of "Borderlands" is the range of weapons. The guns are classified in basic categories: pistols, submachine guns, shotguns, combat rifles, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, etc. Each weapon also has different variables in base damage, clip size, fire rate, accuracy, and bullet spread. On top of all that, "Borderland’s" weapon generator creates weapons with many special attributes. Some examples are rocket-launching shotguns to sniper rifles that shoot lightning to machinegun pistols that light enemies on fire. With literally thousands of weapons available, the possibilities of what someone can find are limitless.

     The beginning of the game can seem difficult and a bit slow, but that quickly changes once the first skill point is earned. With all of this and many more hidden surprises, "Borderlands" quickly turns into an addiction where countless hours are spent trying to level up and earn more skill points.

Grade: A