Borderlands E3 Previews

2K Games and Gearbox Software's ambitious FPS/RPG crossbreed Borderlands is the subject of two more E3 previews.

We'll start at Gameplanet:
The strategy elements come from experience points that you can get for killing enemies, and you can loot bodies and locations for objects. It seems to be a game that will play much better and be more fun as co-op, rather than a straight single player campaign by yourself.

Randy Pitchford, the head honcho at Gearbox, said that the game's distinctive visual style came from the game's concept art, and while he wasn't originally convinced it would work, he went with it because it gave the game an original and unique aspect.

And then move to NowGamer:
The game itself, as far as we know, is still a first-person shooter with RPG leanings and character progression. This could still be an engaging mix we'll find out at E3, when the game finally becomes available for hands-on. Multiplayer, including a four-player co-op and as yet unrevealed competitive play, rounds out the package, for those panicking about not being able to shout '˜noob' down the headset like a gigantic prick.

At the moment, though, we're still not convinced that Gearbox can even finish a game, let alone finish one properly after the delay debacle involving Sega's Aliens: Colonial Marines. We're just buying into the swank of this lovely new visual style it's not Okami with violent mentalists, but it's a quarter of the way there, and that's just great.