The Borderlands series is known in gaming as being home to some of the funniest, most colourful characters that the entire industry has to offer - so it might be a surprise to new players that the first game in the series is so lifeless. Although the world is colourful and imaginative, the same static raider camps and wastelands take up almost all of the game's boring, expansive map. Likewise, the series hasn't ever had the most varied first-person gameplay, yet it's never been as repetitive as in the first title. Although the franchise's signature weapon system is still there, the limiting types of enemies and ways to dispatch them turns the initially fluid combat system into a by-the-numbers shooting gallery after a few hours. That said though, this core gameplay is still the most fully realised aspect of this ambitious original, but even that doesn't stop the title from feeling more like a practice run for the proper fully-fledged sequel. Lacking the story and the dialogue that cements the second game as a classic - as well as a wider variety of locations to blast your way through - this first attempt feels like just that: the initial step on a road to greater things.
