For me, Borderlands was the ultimate ‘don’t know it til you try it’ game of the generation. Leading up to its release, nothing about it sounded like something I wanted to play. However, after all of the positive buzz, I figured that I should get around to it eventually for academic purposes. By the end of my 100-plus-hour run, I might as well have been rewarded with a Ph.D, as I explored every nook and cranny of that game.
The core compulsion loop of this game is as addictive as crack. Take on a quest, kill a bunch of dudes and collect a ton of sweet loot has rarely worked so well. That cycle never got old until I completely maxed out my character. The ability to play local co-op was also a huge part of the fun, as my brother and I played through the entire game twice together. While the game didn’t necessarily have the strongest narrative, it made up for that with charm. From the game’s distinct cell-shaded art style, to its crude humor, the game had no shortage of flavour to it.
Though I thoroughly enjoyed Borderlands 2 and think that it’s the better game in many ways, it doesn’t hold as near and dear to me. I played through that game once and moved on with my life. Maybe that’s not a fault of the game, but the reality that I’d gotten my fill with the first one. Regardless of your gaming tastes, this is one you probably should experience if you haven’t already. It won me over enough to secure a high spot on my top 10 games of this generation.
In Third Person 