McClatchy Newspapers
The comic-like cel shading in "Borderlands" is very reminiscent of games like "XII" and "Jet Grind Radio."

If you're a fan of digital arsenals, stop reading, go buy "Borderlands" and clear your schedule, because this game was made with you in mind.

"Border lands" proudly totes its seemingly endless supply of weaponry right on the box. Gearbox Software's claims of "bazillions of guns" might be overshooting it a bit (pun intended), but not by much. You'll encounter thousands of unique weapons over the course of a campaign that's likely to take 20-30 hours to complete (more, if you're a completionist who needs to tick off every side quest).

The game uses a randomization system similar to "Diablo's" to construct it's weaponry. On top of ordinary pea shooters, there are special "elite" versions of weapons to pine after, which makes opening every gun chest an exciting affair.

"Borderlands" takes place on the desert planet Pandora, a wasteland rumored to contain The Vault, a vast storehouse of hi-tech goodies left behind by an advanced alien culture. Your job is to find it. If that sounds remarkably similar to last year's "Fallout 3," that's because it is. Honestly, you're unlikely to care, though, you'll be so caught up in what improbably powerful piece of hardware you'll find next.

There are some light RPG elements to the game, but "Borderlands" is a shooter at heart.

Players take on the role of one of four different mercenaries, "Borderlands" version of the classes in traditional RPGs. There's the stealthy phasewalker, the turret-equipped soldier, the ranger-like hunter with an attack falcon and the requisite burly brawling berserker with a penchant for big guns. Each has a limited skill tree that doesn't hold much in the way of surprises with only one active skill per class and many more passive boosts.

The sound of the game does a great job at nailing the presence of every weapon you fire and enemy you slay, but the environments lack diversity. The maps, like the guns, are randomized with every play through, but get used to seeing a whole lot of greys and tawny colors while exploring vast deserts dotted by bandit encampments.

What it lacks in variety, the graphic engine makes up for in style. The comic-like cel shading is very reminiscent of games like "XIII" and "Jet Grind Radio." There occasional glitches, however, like a lengthy delay where the game uses placeholder textures while adding in details after moving between areas, which happens a lot.

Online multiplayer on the PS3 is crippled out of the box with non-functioning friend lists, but a mandatory patch released shortly cleared that issue up. With everything ship shape, the game is a blast to play cooperatively with four friends and scales the difficulty appropriately to match party size.

You might regret not having a Bluetooth or wired headset to play with, though, since there are no in-game gestures or stock messages to communicate with. Expressing your anger, however, is easy. Just melee attack your "friend" to initiate a duel to resolve who gets that next gun.

And those big shiny guns are at the heart of "Borderlands" appeal. If you love weapons or are hooked on the loot cycle, you'll love "Borderlands." If you don't love things that go boom (or some other form of onomatopoeia), the game will still appeal to you, but you'll notice more rough edges than the rest of us.

GAME REVIEW

"Borderlands"

System: Playstation 3 (reviewed), Xbox 360, PC.

Graphics: B

Sound: A

Gameplay: A+

Replay value: A+

Final grade: A-