Do I smell sulfur or is that just bad game design?

What do you get when you combine a mediocre FPS with a super generic RPG and swish in a bit of 80’s post apocalyptic storytelling? You guessed it, Borderlands. If I had to sum up Borderlands in one word it would be repetitive, no Assassins Creed took that one already. Boring, nah that one goes to Reel Fishing: Angler's Dream. How about pretty? I’m trying to keep it positive here.

Let’s start with the good. The cell shaded with a touch of comic book ink shading really appeals to me in this game. The environments and colors look stunning. The menu system seems built for console users and is fluid and easy to navigate.
Now on to the good stuff. This game starts out slow, I mean painfully slow. Like waiting for Grandma to walk up the down escalator slow. Be prepared to kill many stupid local “animals” called scags. Uk readers please don’t confuse these with chavs, but feel free to eliminate them too. You may get some XP for it.
In a world where I can go invisible or throw down a magically appearing turret, why don’t I have a walkie-talkie to tell the guy that gave me a quest that it’s done? Instead I must trek all the way back to the beginning where I got the quest and check in. We gamers love fetch quests don't we? Furthermore, when I get a quest that is 50 yards away from me, don’t make me have to level up 3 or 4 levels to be able to complete it. It's right next to me! I want to do it NOW! Also if you give me the ability to use “iron sights” on my weapon, please allow them to be at least some what accurate. I felt like I was better off not aiming at all. I had a better shot at getting a critical hit by chance then by using the tool the developer gave me.
I’m gonna come clean here. I didn’t finish the game. Which is what I like to do before reviewing it. But I just couldn’t do it. Getting to level 10 was painful enough that I could see myself going through the self mutilation to go any further. Given what I had seen up to that point, there was no hope. Visuals alone cannot make a game.
I realize this was the first crack at an FPS RPG mash up. I like the idea and look forward to other attempts at this genre. But, I smell Modern Warfare 2 on the horizon. And that smells like sweet apple pie. So its time to flush this sulfur laden game down the toilet where it belongs.

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