[quote name='terb73']This.
If you would like to host a game on PC, you will have to set up port forwarding. I had no issues with this and hosted fine, but half the games listed don't work because of this.
When I did actually play the game (Wouldn't say I hated it if I didn't play) I was simply blown away with how poor the multiplayer design was.
If I am on a different step of a quest, I have to back out and find a new game? I thought we left this way of questing with Diablo 2, but I guess gearbox didn't get the memo.
Even if you actually do the quests, I have seen deeper and more interesting quests in MMOs.
Also, being able to get credit for quests half way across the map is pretty worthless. The last thing I want to do with a new game is to rushed through leveling.
The only interesting part of this game is the art design, which is hardly a reason to purchase a game.
For a game the is marketed as a "4 player experience" this game just falls so short. Maybe the game is completely different for the 360, but this game isn't worth the time I just spent writing this review on the PC.
tldr: connecting to games, quest design, multiplayer game design all make borderlands a game that should be in the bargain bin.[/QUOTE]
I haven't had any issues with port forwarding. I couldn't get the voice chat working, so my friends and I had to turn on a group chat in Steam's UI, but that was no big deal.
As for the design of the game itself, yes, the quests are shallow. But the fact is, the whole system of quest-giving boils down to (1) kill this many of these things, (2) bring me this item, or (3) go to this place. I fully agree that shleping back to the quest-giver is a much harder thing in Borderlands than it should be, that the system for sharing quests is awful/basically nonexistent, and that the game has some serious balance issues. But shallowness isn't the problem, exactly. Shallowness (along with a viciously honed understanding of dopamine response) is the bread and butter of all Diablo clones.
It's a complete mess, but if you're playing with friends, then it's more fun than it has any right to be. As a longtime PSO fan, I can appreciate the value of a game like that, warts and all.
