I can't get past FPS/RPG hybrid combat. It always looks so slow to me. I played Fallout 3 and used VATS almost the entire way through because I can't stand when I'm stuck using inaccurate, pea shooters in first-person. Maybe it's all my years playing first person shooters, but when I'm in that perspective I get frustrated without headshots and near instantaneous kills. I don't mind the cel-shaded graphics style, however. I actually think the rest of the game looks rather good.
I feel inclined to comment here, because in my opinion, this is what really separates Borderlands from other RPG games with shooter elements.
Unlike Fallout 3 or Mass Effect, Borderlands comes from the shooter vector first. That is, it is best described as a shooter with RPG elements added, not the other way around. This distinction is actually really important. To the player, that means we’ve removed all the dice rolls in combat; where you aim is where you shoot. If you’ve ever played a shooter before, you are going to feel right at home. The controls are tight, responsive, and behave as you would expect being a shooter player. More importantly, if you score a headshot on a bandit, for example, you’ll notice that it does critical damage. This is not a coincidence. Players with excellent skills and great aim are rewarded for their accuracy, because this is what makes shooters rewarding and exciting. We wanted to retain that skill, because Gearbox, at its core, makes shooter games first.
With that said, the RPG elements of the game also define level and statistics. Regarding your second point, not every shot is going to be a near instantaneous kill. If you are level two facing a level ten enemy, don’t expect to take them down easily (if at all). You’ll need to become more powerful and get the right gear to stand a chance.
While this may seem odd to a typical shooter player, I think they will also find this equally as rewarding. That is, once you reach level ten, you’ll be the badass when you head back to the level two areas. Then, you can expect instantaneous kills. You can feel your growth, advancement, and achievement. Trust me; it is ridiculously satisfying to destroy an area that once proved troubling!
And don’t worry; Borderlands has a lot of really fast, high octane combat. The earlier areas in the game tend to be a little bit more reserved as you ramp up, but once in, it can get quite frantic. Also, Borderlands features dynamic difficulty scaling, so when you get four players into a game, the enemies get tougher and increase in quantity, so that can be a riot. You’ll also want to try full games because this is where you’ll come across the best loot!
