Gearbox Software’s Borderlands dares to be a different FPS

October 17, 2007

Ambitious as it is, the role-playing, sci-fi first-person shooter Borderlands from Gearbox Software and 2K Games is trying to be anything but another rehashed FPS. Mad Max, Firefly, Wastelands, Diablo, and Fallout – however you blend them produces Gearbox’ Borderlands (Microsoft Windows PC over DVD, Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3). Gearbox Software positioned themselves at a competitive spot in the technical limelight and decided to evolve the genre equally through other aspects instead.

Like Ubisoft Montreal’s Far Cry 2, 2K Games’ Borderlands will have players against Pandora’s wildlife – Pandora being the world Borderlands is set in – so not all enemies will be touting guns from time to time. Also vehicle combat will be embodied by Salt Racers (the game’s dune racers) which inhabit the race and gun action segments throughout the story.

And speaking of story, the technology by film designer/director Ron Cobb (Total Recall, The Abyss, Back to the Future, and The Sixth Day) could help the game propel its story and mood forward all on its own. There’s talk that the game pulls great elements from sci-fi hits Mad Max and Firefly, which is definitely saying a lot.

More in store for the curious reader at the full article!

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Gearbox Software director Matthew Armstrong explained:

You start in the outpost of Newhaven and do odd jobs and make connections. But youÂ’re an outsider, so you need to earn peopleÂ’s trust before theyÂ’ll even talk to you. The more favours you do for them, the more information theyÂ’ll give you to help you on your quest.

Aiding you on your “quest” are three previously mentioned characters: the Siren-goth Lilith, the ex-mercenary Roland, and the sharpshooting Mordecai. Like many RPGs, there are some challenges that can be accomplished easier when at higher levels, so there’s a lot of side quests to go through with randomly generated content.

This is where Borderlands‘ dynamic content creation system takes flight. Now we all know this proprietary technology spawns tons of character and equipment varieties inside the game, making every experience unique all the time. The content generation system helps Gearbox Software post outrageous numbers of item varieties and weapons, unrivaled by no other.

In fact, for a little teaser, Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford boasted how Borderlands could make thousands of guns. More than 600,000 types, in fact, all with unique looks from one another. Pitchford said:

This game has over 600,000 unique weapons. ItÂ’s a game where thereÂ’s always better stuff to be found. You can take every gun ever made in every game, add them together and Borderlands has more by over two orders of magnitude.

With that said, you can imagine just how the numbers would rise in equipment, character appearance, environment, and even enemies. They simply won’t look the same each time you play – even with four player cooperative play over LAN, Internet, or locally (for consoles). Like some RPGs with multiplayer, you can carry your single player character over to multiplayer co-op play with all stats and equipment intact.

Items will be tradeable online with other players, and it’s likely (though unconfirmed) that items can be traded offline with NPCs. When it all comes down to experience, the points are shared among members of the party just like a common RPG.

So far, much of the features are still concept for now, but if Gearbox Software delivers, can Borderlands be the game to reign 2008? And could it be just the game to wash Take-Two Interactive‘s woes away? We’ll have to wait and see.

More Borderlands screenshots