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BORDERLANDS: It's a street walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm! [NSF56K]
Axen
My avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered User regular
My avatar is Excalibur.Yes, the sword.Registered User regular
In stores October 20th, 2009 for Xbox 360 and PS3. October 26th, 2009 for PC.
For a mega-big-huge version of the boxart go here: http://www.borderlandsthegame.com/order/
What is this amazing game?!
Borderlands is the dude who sleeps with your girlfriend while you're at work.
'Course while he's not plowing your girl he is also busy being a CO-OP FPS / RPG / Space Cowboy / Mad Max / Diablo hybrid.
Tell me more about this amazing game!
Borderlands takes place in the future on a distant planet that mankind has tried to colonize. They thought the planet was a harmless little ice world. They were wrong.
Wikipedia wrote:In the distant future, several colonization ships head to Pandora, a planet on the edge of the galaxy. The colonists are drawn there in search of a better life as well as vast mineral resources said to be on the planet, free for anyone's taking, akin to a futuristic gold rush. Some time after settling, the colonists discover that there is little the planet offers, aside from some decrepit alien ruins. Those who have money leave, and the remaining population devolves into chaos and lawlessness. Some of the settlers seek to get rich quickly by discovering alien technology. Most others are just trying to survive. After seven earth years, the planet's slow orbit brings a transition from winter to spring, and many horrifying creatures emerge from hibernation.
A beacon of hope for the remaining colonists emerges in the form of a mysterious vault carved in the side of a mountain. This vault is said to contain vast stores of alien technology and secrets. The only problem is that the people who discovered the vault were completely wiped out by some sort of protective force. The only evidence of their discovery is a scattered radio transmission, proclaiming the vault's majesty, but not its location.
Okay that's cool, what about game play?
The game is a FPS first and a RPG second. You and up to three other of your buddies can travel the open sandbox world, explore "dungeons", kill bad guys, and tear ass across a desert wasteland in sweet as shit vehicles.
Also check out these awesome videos.
Gameplay video
ComicCon 2009 trailer
En Italiano, but watch it anyway!
Borderlands: Claptrap Web Series ep. 1
Borderlands: Claptrap Web Series ep. 2
Super awesome!
Yes, yes it is. Oh wait, did I mention that there is well over tens of thousands of guns in the game? Let me say that again. The game has over TENS OF THOUSANDS OF GUNS. Not "ten thousand", "tens of thousands".
How is this marvel of science possible?
The game procedurally generates weapons (and armor) on the fly. You can have crazy shit like a revolver that fires shotgun shells.
Oh yeah the enemies are also procedurally generated too. Though to a somewhat lesser extent then the guns.
. . . and much of the landscape will also be randomly generated.
Wait procedurally who-whats?
Basically, they have a few hundred thousand "weapon pieces". Stuff like barrels, stocks, sights, trigger assembly, so on. The computer then pieces a weapon together based on various weapon manufacturer's preferences.
Like, company Awesoma Arms makes weapons with wooden stocks, have small magazines, are lever actioned, but have generally long barrels for better accuracy and use high caliber rounds for better damage.
So when the computer goes to spit out a weapon it will select who the manufacturer is first. In this case Awesoma Arms. The computer knows how Awesoma Arms designs their weapons, so it will select a wooden stock from an available pool of probably hundreds and hundreds of wooden stocks. Then comes the magazine, barrel, and rounds. POOF! You got yourself a genuine Awesoma Arms lever action 7.62 repeating rifle!
edit- To clarify. The weapons aren't just random. There is a definite theme going on based on manufacturer. So you should be able to look at a weapon and be able to guess who the manufacturer was based on the parts used.
edit 2- Also weapons may come with "enchantments", for lack of a better word. Stuff like electrically charged sniper rounds, bullets that explode on impact, shotgun rounds that will freeze then shatter an enemy, and even guns that heal people by shooting them!
Okay I am sold, what are the classes?
You got four flavors to choose from and each one comes with their own "story" to play through.
There will be four playable characters in the game, all with unique skills, abilities, and back stories. As these characters level up, the player can increase basic stats for them such as health totals, ammo capacity, and accuracy. Each character also has three unique focus skill trees to develop making each and every character different even if they start the same. There is also an accessory item type specific to each character.
From left to right: Roland, Lilith, Mordecai, Brick
Roland
Roland is a former soldier of the Crimson Lance, a sort of highly trained private military that disregards law and order. A decade-old vendetta is rekindled when Roland learns that the leader of the Brigadiers has a suspiciously similar name to a man he has sworn to kill. Some of Roland's abilities are meant to supplement and support the party. His Leadership skill can boost the party's experience gains, while his Medical skill will increase health regeneration, and Support will increase weapon damage or regenerate ammunition for the party, Roland is a soldier class and the only class that doesn't have to worry about ammo as a special backpack produces an infinite supply.
Lilith
Once a human, Lilith at one point was turned into a siren. One of only six Sirens, they are a group of people with unbelievable powers, but no way to control them. She comes to Pandora in search of another Siren, in an effort to find out more about herself. Lilith is essentially the mage of the group, using her Siren powers to support the group and attack the enemy. Some of her powers include the ability to increase the group's rate of fire, as well as the power to create temporal bubbles, which she can manipulate to slow down enemies and hostile projectiles or speed up allies.
Mordecai
Mordecai came to Pandora in search of a man from his past named Demosthenes. Upon learning that Demosthenes has died, Mordecai sets off to learn how he died and what he was carrying. Mordecai's play style is that of a lone ranger, preferring to snipe enemies from afar. Some of his special abilities can augment the party's damage from headshots or give accuracy boosts and is a hunter class. Later in the game, he will befriend a bird-like creature named Bloodwing that will assist in combat.
Brick
A massive specimen of a man who likes to use his fists to smash the enemy above all else. He wears a necklace adorned with the paw of his beloved deceased dog. He fills in the tank niche and can take quite a beating as well having the ability to chug berserker-state inducing pills for short bursts of power.
Wowee that's awesome!
Indeed. Also note that you can change the name of the character to whatever you want.
What system is this glorious creation for?
PS3, Xbox 360, PC.
Do I need the internet to play with my home boyz?
I. . . I am not sure what home boyz are.
At any rate the game has 4 player co-op over the internet and 2 player local co-op as well! Amazing!
Demand. Reaching. Critical. Levels. When can I play this?!
Release date is set for October 20th 2009.
Screenshots
Interviews
Joystiq: Hands-on singleplayer
"Borderlands, on the other hand, asks that you simply shoot first -- and wonder about other features later."
Joystiq: Hands-on multiplayer
"...multiplayer isn't a separate mode in Borderlands; you can be playing the game solo and, if you want, up to three other players can drop in at any time to join your adventure. If they've had enough, they can drop out, and you're back to the single-player game."
PC Games Hardware: All about the tech
"I think a huge component of what makes the Borderlands art direction look so unique is the graphics technology and the blending of hand painted content with realistic rendering models."
Rock, Paper, Shotgun Hands On
"It’s the thrill of high-speed violence paired with the compulsion of loot collection."
Rock, Paper, Shotgun Fan Q&A
Fan: Ask him who would win in a fight between CliffyB and Gabe Newell?
Randy Pitchford: Wow. Uh. I’m gonna go with Cliffy on that. Cliffy would chainsaw him in half. Gabe’s gibs would be awesome, though.
Latest weapon count: 3,166,880
Gearbox is often surprised at the types of weapons their game creates.
"We saw a ridiculous amount of guns, but perhaps the strangest was a revolver that fired shotgun shells. Gearbox is constantly surprised with what the system comes up with. They've seen rifles shoot everything from homing darts to rockets. "One of the guns tracks onto something and locks, and after three seconds, [the target] suddenly explodes, director Matthew Armstrong says."
If you think there is anything else that belongs here tell me and I will add it in.
STEAM GROUP, BITCHES!
CarbonFire wrote: »Well, the people have spoken, and who am I to argue with the people
Invites getting sent now
Is a man not entitled to the bullet of his gun? No, says the man in Washington, it should shoot a Kennedy. No, says the man in Vatican, it should be shot by GOD! No, says the man in Moscow, it should shoot everyone! I rejected those answers; instead I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose… Borderlands, a planet where the gunslinger would not fear the poison-tipped-handheld-dart-trebuchet, where the Siren would not be bound by petty ogglers of their well-shaped behinds, where the explosion would not be constrained by its uranium tipped metal casing! And with the bullet of your gun, Borderlands can become your planet as well.
Bonus
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
Axen on
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dat ass
maybe they're waiting until its actually close to release time
As I understand it October is the planned release date, and a steady drip of information seems like a great way of building interest(at practically no cost) before the larger/full advertising campaign.
It's no Starcraft Ghost, but its close enough.
Live - MrObersmith
PSN - Obersmith
I agree, though my thinking is they are saving they're "big guns" advertising push till much closer before release. Everything this fall that is even remotely shooter related is going to have a hard time not getting drowned under the weight of the inescapable COD:MW2 marketing blitz that will have started by October. They're probably afraid that if they reveal too much now, people might go "cool, I want that", and then get distracted by the shiney object just over the horizon and forget about Borderlands.
More media and details about the rpg elements, vehicles and inventory system certainly couldn't hurt however ;-)
Also @ the OP: Needs more about the millions of guns. And yes, they've confirmed it to be in the millions. :^:
The "while supplies last" makes me think its not a simple passcode (like in Saints Row 2), but then again it looks like its "only" some better weapons while starting out.
And the "millions of guns" claim is in the same sense that diablo or hellgate had "millions" of weapons, right?
It's a few hundred thousand individual guns, and then multiply that by the amount of different status modifiers.
It's still more weapons than Diablo 2 and hellgate combined.
Basically, they have a few hundred thousand "weapon pieces". Stuff like barrels, stocks, sights, trigger assembly, so on. The computer then pieces a weapon together based on various weapon manufacturer's preferences.
Like, company Awesoma Arms makes weapons with wooden stocks, have small magazines, are lever actioned, but have generally long barrels for better accuracy and use high caliber rounds for better damage.
So when the computer goes to spit out a weapon it will select what the manufacturer is first. In this case Awesoma Arms. The computer knows how Awesoma Arms designs their weapons, so it will select a wooden stock from an available pool of probably hundreds and hundreds of wooden stocks. Then comes the magazine, barrel, and rounds. POOF! You got yourself a genuine Awesoma Arms lever action 7.62 repeating rifle!
edit- To clarify. The weapons aren't just random. There is a definite theme going on based on manufacturer. So you should be able to look at a weapon and be able to guess who the manufacturer was based on the parts used.
Pretty much no game comes with inter-platform play, either between consoles or between windows and a console. Yes, there was Shadowrun, but that was a failed attempt that went nowhere. Not sure why people still bother asking this; it's almost the same as asking "So when does the PS3 get Halo?"
Complete with animations for each, which is just mind-blowing :shock:
I doubt it. There's really few games that have cross platform multiplayer.
I don't get this. You could get down on your hands and knees two months before the game comes out, fork cash over to Gamestop in the form of a no-interest loan and then come back to the abysmal excuse for a gaming pawn shop two months later to pick it up, and then you'll get a code for some nifty weapons n' stuff!
Or, alternately, you could waltz into Best Buy on release day, buy the game, and look up the code online from one of the dozens of forums who will undoubtedly have it.
Even if the code is single-use or some bullshit, who the hell cares? Maybe I want to play the game as the developer intended!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBPgQ0XF6Os
One of the developers said something to the effect of, "plausibility can eat shit and die."
I see nothing wrong with offering a pre-order kickstart based on the design philosophy so far.
I've never been excited over a game's box art before and then Borderlands comes along with it's bright red and mask dude and shit and I fucking love it like god damn.
Get your priorities straight man.
edit- To be fair, aside from being first person and containing guns (of a sort), MW2 and Borderlands are two completely different types of games. One is a modern military shooter, the other is a stylistic, sci-fi, open world shooter, with Diablo like qualities.
With acid.
Then the developers start talking and I'm a little intrigued again.
The stated lack of a demo does make me a wee bit warry, though.
Which is fine for some, but I'm still walking into Best Buy once instead of Gamestop twice. If I'm oh-so-desperate for that code, I'll get it online or not at all because that option doesn't involve giving my money to Gamestop.
But I digress. I really don't plan on playing this online with anybody except for people from PA. When it's time to run from raiders, I don't trust the unwashed online masses to not drive the vehicle like the Mako from Mass Effect.
You have bad taste, you should feel bad.
To each his own, but I personally love just about everything I've seen in-game so far.
Not too fond of Brick and his tiny Steroid-shriveled lower half, but it doesn't bother me enough to detract from the rest of the game.
Sorry, giant over-muscular men with muscles that don't even exist in normal anatomy aren't my thing (maybe if I were white trash skinhead who drove harleys), and being forced to play as one according to what class I want to play as is even worse.
Edit: My main concern is what happened with Hellgate. This looks like it's just going to be another Hellgate.
What happened with Hellgate?
It turned out to be a cheap Korean MMO wanna-be and was nothing like what was originally promised.
I couldn't possibly disagree with you more. It was exactly what was promised with an added sub model and too many bugs. Three things fucked Hellgate.
1. Sub model for a game that couldn't justify it
2. Unpolished buggy release
3. Enviroments/tilesets too repetitive
Everything but the sub model was fixed by the end. A FPS mixed with Diablo was promised and delivered though. I personally loved Hellgate and played the living shit out of it so I guess I should be excited that Borderlands is looking similiar to you. I have a feeling you will hate this game even more than Hellgate. It is much less RPG and more FPS than Hellgate.
Sounds like the character designs are the least of your worries. This is my #1 most anticipated game for this fall.
In fact, as I see these videos, I'm wondering if all the action in this game(perhaps barring the one mage chick) is going to be simple point and click fps-ing. Hellgate had that, but additionally had active abilities that were sufficiently different from the shooting action to give it a bit of spice.
Gearbox is a seasoned developer with a pretty decent pedigree, and 2K games wouldn't be pushing this game as their primary fall release if it was secretly a train-wreck-mess of a game.
Also remember that in most of the videos they're playing with God-Mode on so they can show you the whole level quickly. When they play without God-mode, as in the G4 video, that simple "point-and-click" gameplay becomes a lot more intense and tactical.
Besides, the character design is supposed to be cartoony. They changed it so it wouldn't look like every other BROWN IS REAL shooter.
Diablo was a long time ago, I really don't know if a 2d isometric clone that was click based like that would do it for me. Having played Hellgate, I think I can say that if it hadn't had those extra abilities, and was only about shooting, I probably wouldn't have liked the game.