Borderlands Review

Game:  Borderlands
Year:  2009
Company:  dev. Gearbox, pub. 2K Games
Engine:  Unreal Engine 3 (modified)
Type:  RPG Shooter

What I paid for it:  $20 including all three currently available DLCs on Steam (everything was on sale))


Plot/General Gameplay

You are one of four unique characters on a desert planet.  Alone or with mulitplayer, you are looking for The Vault, a mythical stash of alien technology.  There's also lots of mercenary work to be done.
Each of the four characters has three different skill trees.  After a level up, you can put a point in to one skill.  This allows for basically twelve different ways to play through the game, each having different benefits.
After playing through the game once, you can do a second playthrough, where you start the game with all the stuff you ended it with, and the enemies have been leveled up appropriately.  The variety of ways to level characters combine with the Playthrough 2 option allows for this to be a very long game.


What is Unique?

The graphics are what stand out the most.  Gearbox used a modern engine and then went for a somewhat cartoonish, almost 2D look.  Sharp outlines and bold textures add to this effect.  At first, I didn't care for playing a shooter that looked like a Gorillaz video, but after a while it really grew on me.
Other than that, there's some humor here and there.  Nothing laugh out loud, but just little things to keep the game a little more light.


Combat 

There are lots of different weapons.  Each weapon type can be leveled up, and some characters have bonuses for specific weapons.  Some weapons are magic (they call it "elemental damage") and can shoot lightning or fire.  Enemies drop weapons fairly often, and it seems as though loot and store inventory is randomly generated.
Death isn't so bad in this.  After your health bar goes to zero, you have a few seconds to kill something.  If you do, your health goes back to full.  If you don't, you respawn at the nearest waypoint and lose a small amount of money.  In addition to health, there is a recharging shield system a la Halo.


Down-Loadable Content (DLC)

Currently there are three DLCs, with a fourth out soon. 
Zombie Island of Dr. Ned is pretty short.  It adds a few new areas and new enemies. 
Mad Moxxi's Underground Riot is lame.  It has three arenas where you fight waves of enemies.  You gain no experience in these areas and enemies do not drop anything.
The Secret Armory of General Knoxx is more like an expansion.  Many new areas are added, along with some new enemies and some familiar faces.  This is by far the lengthiest of the DLCs.  My only complaint is that they removed fast travel from this, and having to walk or drive everywhere gets tedious.


Final Thoughts

The only other game I've played by Gearbox was the Half-Life expansion Opposing Force.  That game was terrible, and the last boos fight was a tentacle monster coming through a portal.  Not to ruin the ending of Borderlands, but the last boss is a tentacle monster coming through a portal.  The plot is also kind of weak in Borderlands.
Compared to other RPG shooters like Fallout 3, it's a lot less intense and simpler.
Criticisms aside, it's not a bad game at all.  The first playthrough is a longish game, and if you want to do Playthrouh 2, explore other characters, do multiplayer, or check out the DLC, this game can provide as much gameplay as you want.
Due to the success of this game, there will likely be a sequal, but no details are currently available.