Borderlands is a science fiction based first-person shooter with RPG elements that was developed by Gearbox Software for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It was first revealed in the September 2007 issue of Game Informer magazine. The console versions of the game were released in North America on October 20, 2009, and were released in PAL countries on October 23. The console version release for the Japanese market was made available on February 10, 2010. The Windows version was released on October 26 for North America and then on October 29 internationally.
Borderlands includes character-building elements found in role-playing games, leading Gearbox to call the game a "role-playing shooter". At the start of the game, players select one of four characters, each with a unique special skill and with proficiencies with certain weapons.
Borderlands is set on the planet of Pandora. Lured by its apparent vast deposits of minerals, several colonization ships sponsored by the Dahl Corporation (one of several diversified mega-corporations that appear to control and govern entire planets) journey to the planet and build settlements there. The mining operations are cost-effectively manned by large amounts of convict labor brought to the planet by Dahl.
Prior to the events of the game, one of the other mega-corporations, known as the Atlas Corporation, had found an ancient vault on a nearby planet known as Prometheus, filled with alien technology that allowed them to make leaps and bounds in starship and weaponry technology, and overtake their competitors. The presence of similar alien ruins scattered across Pandora spurs the Dahl Corporation to undertake an extensive search for a possible vault on Pandora, headed by a respected xeno-archeologist by the name of Tannis. However, the Dahl-sponsored search for a vault on Pandora turns out to be fruitless, and the massive industrial mining operations soon deplete the bulk of the mineral deposits. Furthermore, the coming of the planet's summer unleashes hordes of dangerous alien wildlife coming out of hibernation.
Those who are rich and important enough to leave the planet do so, leaving the rest of the population to scavenge for their living in isolated settlements, seeking out a living in the barren wastelands and industrial trash heaps across the planet. To make matters worse, the Dahl Corporation simply opened the gates of the prison labor camps during their departure, and gangs of bandits terrorize the populace. Despite the lack of evidence of its existence, legends persist of "The Vault"—a supposed treasure trove of alien artifacts, technology, and of immeasurable wealth—but it is rumored that any who had discovered it were wiped out by a protective force, leaving few clues as to its location or purpose while a myth was born of the marvelous treasures within. |