In the beginning

“In the distant future, several colonization ships journey to Pandora, a planet on the edge of the galaxy. The colonists are drawn to the planet in search of a better life and the prospect of striking it rich by claiming the vast deposits of mineral resources rumoured to be there. After finally arriving, the colonists discover that the planet is barren of anything of significant value other than deteriorated alien ruins scattered across the land. Those who can afford to do so leave Pandora, and those who remain revolve around chaos and lawlessness.”

Above: 'Let's go explore!' And what a lot of exploing there is to do in Borderlands.

Borderland from Gearbox is what I would describe as a ‘post-apocalyptic, science-fiction, survivalist shooter’, or - to put it another way – it’s a bit ‘Mad Max’! In this desolate world the player must venture out into the wastelands (so-called, presumably, because you must waste everything in the land) and complete various layers of sub-quests, disposing of various bad guys and bad things of increasing difficulty until the final goal is reached. In this Borderlands is similar to both Bethesda’s Fallout 3 and THQ/GSC’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.

However, what marks out Borderlands from these other games is that it includes a co-operative (four player) multiplayer aspect where you can play through the various quests together with a  few of your friends. This aside, however,in order to compare Borderlands with Fallout 3 I think we can boil down the game elements into four main attributes: game world and plot, game characters (classes and NPCs/AI), hurty things (weapons and upgrades) and game play.

Game world & plot

As I stepped out into Pandora for the first time I got that pleasant sense of déjà vu
that boded well for the game. Fallout 3 had been a revelation in the sheer size and detail of its environment – I remember standing on one hilltop and scanning my surroundings and thinking that this world went on forever. And, sure enough, you had to walk, and walk and walk to get anywhere near the edge of the Fallout 3 game world – there always seemed to be something else to explore just over the next hill.

Borderlands shares this expansive play area. Though unlike FO3 it is not one huge game world, which encapsulates many smaller (though still quite large) sub-play areas, but instead Borderlands has carved up the world of Pandora into many parcels of play areas which you can teleport between.

The effect is the same however. You end up with a superbly varied and mind-bogglingly intricate impression of another world, fully populated with a myriad of lively and sometimes nasty denizens.

Above: As with Fallout 3, sometime you just have to stop and take in the incredible view. Pandora is a beautifully crafted world.

One small note. Although Borderlands does give the impression of a never-ending world, the individual ‘maps’ (play areas) are somewhat smaller than the all encompassing main map of Fallout 3. The distant horizons that can be seen are but deceptive – but very pretty – backdrops. But the map edges are well designed enough to be unobvious and do not restrict the play at all.

Finally, one of the major discrepancies I have found between these two games is the quality of the plots. Without meaning to be deliberately mean, I am not surprised that a game that was designed primarily for console gamers – which Borderlands was – has a main plot and sub-plots that are as thin as tissue paper. Fallout 3’s plot – while hardly original – was at least seriously considered by the developers, and the sub-plots actually seemed to matter – whereas in Borderlands the sub-quest mechanism is exactly that – mechanical.

At this point a special mention must go to the cell-shaded cartoon style graphic look of Borderlands. It’s quite novel and adds to the tongue-in-cheek atmosphere of the game (Fallout 3 did take itself a little too seriously sometimes). However, this is neither an advantage or a disadvantage over Fallout 3 as whether you like or dislike this particular style comes down to a matter of personal taste – so I won’t score either games on graphics or their relative realism (as they are equally splendid in their own way).

Game world looks and detail – Fallout 3: 8/10
Game world looks and detail – Borderlands: 9/10

Game plot – Fallout 3: 7/10
Game plot – Borderlands: 5/10

Game characters & classes

The NPCs of Fallout 3 were a factor that greatly impressed me. The atmosphere they generated gave the game the feel that there was a real population going about its daily drudgery quite independently of your involvement.

Borderlands does not quite have that same feeling of a ‘real world’. The NPC involvement is more noticeably scripted and less dynamic than some of the interactions in Fallout 3. I actually felt some empathy – or dislike – for some of the Fallout 3’s cast of characters, and the sub-plots which encompassed them were interesting and engaging.

NPCs in Borderland seem little more than stage posts on your journey through the main plot and a chance to do some additional levelling up and acquisition of loot and upgrades. After a while – particularly in the single player game – you do feel like you are simply going through the motions and aren’t really all that interested in the characters you meet in Pandora.

Above: One of the four character classes available to you in Borderlands.

The player classes – on the other hand – is where Borderlands shines. While Fallout 3 was a true single player game, it did allow you some latitude to tinker with your character by way of aligning him with factions, equipping him and whether you played him as a ‘good guy’ or ‘bad guy’. But Borderlands has four true player classes with the ability to upgrade, equip and customise your skill set.

It is no accident that the co-op play supports four players, I think to get the most out of the game and succeed at the higher levels your group needs one player from each of the four class types; Brick, Siren, Malaci and Soldier.

There is something for everyone, a brick s*** house who uses his fists, a sneaky sniper and a female character, and while you cannot actually modify the characters features to make them truly individual you can tune their skill set to suit your preferred weapon type.

Game characters – Fallout 3: 7/10
Game characters – Borderlands: 8/10

Hurty things – Weapons and kit

OK guys – this is what we all really like. Weapons, gadgets and loot!

The by-line for Boderlands is ‘A Bizzilion weapons!’ Well, I wouldn’t quite go that far – there are six basic classes of weapon types; revolvers, pistols (repeaters), shotguns, sub-machine guns, assault rifles and rocket launchers. However, within these classes are a myriad of permutations in ammunition types, projectile effects, range, rate of fire, damage and effects on specific opponents.

By attaining higher levels you can access harder hitting weapons, but also there are different makes of weapons that specialize in particular attributes and there are upgrades to be won, stolen, found or purchased that will improve your weapons power.

Above: Sometimes weapons aren't everything. Some of the AI bad guys like to get up close and personal - then it's clobbering time!

All in all, there is a LOT of variety, much more so than in Fallout 3. But also there is something of a nice puzzle involved in matching the best type of weapon to your preferred skill set, and in that way maximizing your potential.

But the customization doesn’t stop with weapons – there are also shields and weapon mods that can be added (and swapped about) in your inventory. The nice thing is that you are not hard-wired into an upgrade but can swap mods in and out, depending on what foes you might face. Certain modifications, ammunition and shields work best against a certain type of opponent – so when about to go into battle your group may end up doing some tinkering to fine tune your kit before jumping into the action.

Fallout 3 likewise had a variety of weapons and kit, with the slight advantage that there was the big deal when you actually acquire alien technology (alien technology is a little easier to get in Pandora). However Borderlands takes the ‘never mind the quality, feel the width’ approach!

Game weapons and kit – Fallout 3: 7/10
Game weapons and kit – Borderlands: 8/10

Game play

Finally we come to the nitty gritty – how does the actual play of these two games – Fallout 3 and Borderlands – compare?

As you can see from the scores both games are quite evenly matched. And cutting to the chase the one major flaw Borderlands has – it’s diabolically poor plot and sub-plots – is more than addressed by the addition of its multiplayer aspect (something Fallout 3 fans must be green with envy as the long awaited MMO version of Fallout is *still* in a legal limbo, and will be for some time to come).

Basically, I have always said that the one thing that Fallout 3 cried out for was some form of co-op or adversarial multiplayer facility. However, not all is a bed of roses with the Borderlands multiplayer ‘ace’ – being primarily console inspired the Borderlands PC port has had a troubled beginning with its multiplayer hosting system being buggy. Plus there is the god-awful game server interface (again, a remnant of its console heritage) and there is no dedicated server support.

Still, once you are your mates are in a game the ensuing fun blows away any of these niggles and Borderlands shows its true core advantage – it’s just fecking good fun!

Above: Almost a game in itself, the Mad Max appeal of armed vehicles is one of the pleasant surprises in Borderlands. Here I take on a gang of ruthless boy races who -apparently - want to hump my ride!

Borderland may have a plot as thin as a gnats panty-liner, but with rock hard opponents at later levels (and the difficulty increasing with the number of players in your group) the game is a adrenaline filled mayhem of the highest order – particularly as one player desperately tries to save the skin of a dying team mate (prepare to die a lot)!

One small  point I should add is the additional fun – and practicality – of Borderlands inclusion of vehicles. Fallout 3 does include a rather tedious amount of tramping about the vast world map, but you should not consider the armed vehicles in Borderlands as mere taxis getting you from one quest to the next – they are a fun aspect to the game which have their very own missions which lend even more of a Mad Max feel to this game!

Game play – Fallout 3: 7/10
Game play – Borderlands: 8/10

Final scores:

Fallout 3: 36/50
Borderlands: 38/50

Yes, Borderlands *just* pips Fallout 3 in this comparative review – and to be honest the gulf between the games would be a lot bigger if it wasn’t for the horrendous job done with the storyline and – while not want to give anything away – the rather feeble ending to the game!

I personally have no doubt that a Fallout 3 based MMO – with or without vehicles – would blow Borderlands away, but until that day comes (if ever) Borderlands is the undisputed king of the sci-fi, survivalist  inspired first person shooters!

Above: Borderlands - a big game with some big opponents!

Related links:-

> Gearbox's Borderlands - official web site

> Wikipedia entry for Borderlands

> Borderlands (PC) - Gamespot UK review (8.5/10)
> Borderlands (PC) - Eurogamer review (8/10)
> Borderlands (PC) - IGN.com UK review (8.8/10)

> Milgeek's 'S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky versus Fallout 3' review

> Link to list of Milgeek's Fallout 3 articles