Gearbox took the trend of mashing together multiple genres and has put its cherry on top. The new shooter/RPG/MMO takes what others have done, refines it, throws in a slew of concepts and comes out smelling like a rose.

...You really got into Fallout 3 ; ...You've wanted to play World of Warcraft without all those elves and swords; ..

...There's never a good reason to open up the menus; ...You prefer to keep your genres separate; ..

is a new prospect however as an all-new IP from the company with publishing being handled by 2K Games. Can the developers blend FPS action and RPG elements to create something unique? (Even the back of the retail box brands this a RPS or Role Playing Shooter). Read on to find out...

The art style of Borderlands is as refreshing as the game's concept, it has hints of cel-shading but comes across more as a comic book, as the outline of characters and environments are drawn with an abundance of pencil lines, making it seem like the game was hand-sketched, much like a comic.

Great cel-shaded/comic book art style; Huge environments; Lots of different enemies to take on with lots of different guns; Character development and ever improving loot make this one addictive experience; Lots of fun to play with up to 3 other friends; Original twist to the traditional dungeon...

Frame rate issues when there is a lot of on-screen action; Textures are slow to load; Sparing voice overs; Only 4 pre-mapped weapon slots just doesn't seem enough with that many guns out there; Map marker doesn't always accurately point towards objectives; It's too easy to get stuck behind rocks and...

First person shooters, love them or hate them they're very much in vogue during this current gaming generation and like with any other popular genre most of them are going to be somewhere in the barley average to awful spectrum, of course there will always be the rare gem, be it Bioshock, Modern...

The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned is a nicely distilled slice of Borderlands that bodes well for future DLC potential. The dramatic moments that are fairly strung out in the main game happen with invigorating regularity.

Environments and enemies offer welcome variety; Great humor throughout; Good number of quests and areas; Same great gunplay; loot; and artistic style

Difficulty is based on your story progress rather than character level; Occasional visual slowdown

While it may be mixed up about which holiday season it belongs in, The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned is right on target when it comes to entertainment. This undead-themed add-on freshens up your Pandoran adventuring with swampy new environments that provide a great backdrop for satisfying gunplay.

Environments and enemies offer welcome variety; Great humor throughout; Good number of quests and areas; Same great gunplay; loot; and artistic style

Difficulty is based on your story progress rather than character level; Occasional visual slowdown

If you're trolling around the dry and dusty wasteland of Borderlands and need a break from the hot sun of Pandora, may I suggest you retire to a cozy little swampy island where it's always cool - because the sun never seems to rise.

If you were to take a pinch of everything you liked about videogames from the last five years, stir it up and let it simmer to a nice heat – you'd end up with Borderlands. Gearbox had at pre-release billed this game as an RPS (Role Playing Shooter).

A Fresh Experience; takes the best of lots of games to make them its own; four player co-op offline and online

- Slow Start; lonely World; no Storage for decent weapons

The timeline for Borderlands is a storied one that features a new art design, juggling of genres and so much more. It wasn't an easy process for Gearbox to throw away the original art design and start over with the cel-shaded look that they have implemented in the final package.

First-person shooters comprising RPG elements have been on the rise of late. The marriage certainly worked well enough for last year's game of the year contender