But then a company called Gearbox Software came along. Up until then they had made a name for themselves by developing popular Half-Life expansions Opposing Force (seriously, where is Corporal Shephard?) and Blue Shift, as well as the Brothers in Arms franchise. But now they had something new, something zazzy, something called Borderlands.

I remember hearing about Borderlands and, I’ll be honest, being a bit nonplussed. As I said the FPS genre had burnt out a little bit, replaced by the Open World games of Grand Theft Auto. Even with its distinct visuals and promise of RPG elements, I was indifferent to the whole game.

Then I saw gameplay, and I was hooked.

I bought it, and before long found myself immersed in the world of Pandora, bandits named “Nine-Toes” (who has three testicles) and guns made by the likes of Jakobs (great name), Maliwan and Hyperion. Oh, and a beat-boxing little robot called Claptrap.

I was so impressed I named it my game of the year over the likes of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Assassin’s Creed II and Street Fighter IV. Quite frankly it blew me away with its unique style, humour and all round innovation. The game breathed new life into the FPS and showed that RPG elements can be implemented well without seeming shoe-horned in. I still think of it fondly now, and with the sequel now out and getting equal plaudits, I’d like to tell you why…

The story is simple. You are one of a group of 4 “vault hunters”, tasked with finding a mythical vault on the desert planet of Pandora. Once there, a wacky CL4P-TP robot, or Claptrap, and a mysterious “Guardian Angel” help you on your path, helping you fight Mad-Max style bandits, deadly creatures and galactic defence force The Crimson Lance. Also helping you against this cavalcade of enemies are guns. Lots, and lots, of guns.

While Borderlands had a story, it was by no means linear. Various side characters would give you quests that varied from picking up an item and delivering it elsewhere, or tracking down name bandits or mythical creatures to steal their loot. Or glands. Along the way various distractions and challenges were available to tempt you into spending a little bit more time in that Skag lair, pounding them away with your caustic shotgun.

Naturally how you played depended on who you played with. Borderlands had 4 distinct classes based on the tropes of RPG’s of old. You had the Warrior in the form of Roland, the soldier. The Mage became Lilith, the Siren, complete with phasing abilities. Your Rogue was Mordecai, a sniper who had his pet bird Bloodwing to sweep down and attack enemies. Finally, you had the Tank: Brick. As big and as hard and as fierce as his name suggested. Each character had their own unique special abilities and skill trees that you could spend Skill Points on that you earned through levelling up. While Roland would throw down a turret to pump bullets, and eventually rockets, into an enemy, Brick would go Full Loco and run toward bandits fists-a-flying.

In the end though, this was the special icing on the explosive cake that Borderlands sold itself on. Gearbox boasted that Borderlands had millions upon millions of guns, and that you wouldn’t see the same one twice. This was also true for Class Mods, Grenades, Relics and Shields. And true to form once you dive in every gun you loot is completely original… albeit sometimes in a minor way. The guns were the usual range: pistols, assault rifles, shotguns, SMGs, sniper rifles and rocket launchers, but each new gun would bring a new quirk. Maybe it had a blade attached to the front for superior melee damage. Maybe it fired in burst rounds when zoomed. Or maybe, if you were lucky, it had an elemental effect attached to it for extra damage. Ahh the elemental weapons… these also came in a variety of styles, from the crispy Fire, to the buzz of the Shock, to the melty goodness of the Caustic. When the Orange, Blue or Green, or even the Yellow of Explosive damage, came up, a grin would come across my face like a happy porn star.

Of course, the colours from the elemental bonuses weren’t the only hues to catch your eye. Taking inspiration from Diablo’s loot system, each item you picked up had a colour attached to it to denote its rarity. This ranged from your bog-standard White, your tempting Purple all the way to the rumoured Pearlescent (although it should be noted that many said this was a bug in the game and that Orange was the true top gun, Goose). The rarest of the rare usually came with some catchy phrase or reference in red lettering, suggesting a further bonus to the gun. The discovery of these items added an extra element of fun to the game, and quite often I found myself returning back to Gun Vending Machines (courtesy of jovial Russian gun-peddler Marcus Kincaid) in order to see if a rare beast suddenly appeared.

But it wasn’t just the guns that put Borderlands on the map. As I’ve already mentioned, the games visual style was one that caught the eye of many a gamer. Cell Shaded graphics were a big thing in the turn of the century, but had been seen since as a fad. Gearbox disagreed, and instead covered Borderlands in bright, distinctive colours and thick dark lines to highlight them. The cartoony style, subtle enough not to look too ridiculous, made it stand out in a world of Grey and Brown. Borderlands was a game that didn’t just want to look good, but look damn fun.

And that didn’t stop with the graphics. While the soundtrack took a solemn, Western vibe when you walked around the desolate landscape, the dialogue from various characters made the planet live. From resident unqualified medic Dr. Zed’s twang to the crazed screams of the bandits who ran around trying to eviscerate you, everyone stood out. The characters felt like characters instead of cardboard cut-outs, including all the non-important residents of the various towns you came across. But if you thought I dismissed the music above, you’d be wrong. The atmosphere music got tense when it needed to, and set a mood around you that immersed you in the game. And the soundtrack? Unforgettable. Cage the Elephant’s “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked” made an opening sequence iconic, and the song “No Heaven” that plays over the credits was the cherry on the cake.

So, once you opened the vault (no spoilers here… yet.) and completed Borderlands that was the end. Right?

Wrong. Gearbox decided that the cup should runneth over for fans of the game, and went about releasing DLC that would turn a great game into a classic. The first to come along was, not surprisingly, a homage to zombies. The Zombie Island of Dr Ned saw you travel to Jakobs Cove to discover what happened there, and end up fighting a wide range of movie monsters. The story was equally as brilliant and the humour top-notch, and this piece of DLC drew in many more fans for the game. Disappointment though did come from the next one, a horde challenge mode called Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot. While the introduction of the character of Moxxi and the Bank to store your guns were welcome, the game itself was a bit of a grind which betrayed the fun of the game.

Naturally this was all resolved with the next two pieces of gaming delight: The Secret Armoury of General Knoxx and Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution. The former was a highlight for Borderlands; expanding the story with the introduction of moody Crimson Lance head honcho General Knoxx, it bought new enemies, new weapons and a certain uber-boss known as Crawmerax. It also bought about a new level cap, increasing it from 50 to 61, which delighted many experienced vault hunters. Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution enhanced the story of fan favourite Claptrap, who had gone a bit maniacal and decided to take over Pandora using the power of his robot chums. It bought back some old favourites back from the dead, and was more of a pleasant diversion than the previous General Knoxx. However it also bought back the grinding in the form of the collectable achievements, which were let off as this involved pizza and pants.

And so, Borderlands became a legend in the genre. Successfully combining FPS gameplay with RPG elements, it ended up influencing a whole new generation of games for better, and worse. But most of all, it bought the fun back into the genre. The laughs and jokes and use of references became quotable amongst gamers and taken on board by other companies in their games. On this, Gearbox acquired the licence for Duke Nukem Forever, which turned out… well I liked it anyway.

But the main thing that Borderlands did was create a new franchise. Borderlands 2 is out now and from this gamers perspective, it’s a lock for Game of the Year again. Well done Gearbox and Randy Pitchford for developing a classic. With added Wub Wub. And Bazillions of guns…

The inclusion of a Zombies in gameplay, both in as an option in multiplayer, and as a campaign option.

The leak clearly states that Zombies will make some form of appearance in the main storyline as well as in the multiplayer mode. If this is true it will be interesting to see the reaction of long time fans who praise COD for it’s realism.

 Zombies is no stranger to having its own storyline, as it has featured a lesser one told through gameplay, short dialogue sequences and Easter eggs over the years. Zombies mode has been officially confirmed for the upcoming game by developer Treyarch including a Zombies game that will transpire on the preorder map NukeTown 2025. Stay tuned for more information on COD Black Ops 2 and Zombies.

Don’t believe us? Well watch this trailer which comes from some accolades from people in the know! The game isn’t out until 2013, but already it’s shaping up to be another huge hit for the German company.

Crysis 3 will see you enter the shoes of Ultra-Badass Prophet, and will be available to play at the Eurogamer Expo this month. Don’t know about you, but I can’t wait…

Sombre music? Check.

Tragic circumstances? Double Check.

Eyes straight out of the Uncanny Valley? Oh Hell yeah that’s a check.

Oh, and zombies?

Check.

Yes people that is the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” trailer for Dead Island Riptide, the semi-sequel to the under-rated zombie FPS/RPG Dead Island. Expect more tropical locations, more tough talk from original characters Purna, Logan, Xian and Sam B and of course, more zombies. But all with added water physics!

Dead Island Riptide will be out sometime in 2013. Enough time for you to replay Dead Island and go “I don’t remember the controls being this clunky…” (NB: Last quote may be direct from articles author.)

So what have EA done this year to make it a better game I hear you say? Well EA don’t tend to change FIFA, they just update it to make it better, I mean why fix something that isn’t broke? The main feature update is the EA SPORTS Football Club Match Day which endeavours to  link the real footballing world with the game. The feature will drive real-world news and updates ripped from the headlines around the world and feed it into the game, making FIFA 13 the most realistic game in the franchise’s history.In the demo, real-world drama such as injuries, suspensions, team form, and media gossip surrounding Manchester City, Arsenal, Juventus, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund will play out in-game and be reflected through in-game commentary. Very cool but at the same time interesting to see how this will play out in the full game. I mean if I’m due to play against Newcastle in my next match and Steven Fletcher gets injured in real life then I’m going to be shouting about a lot more than just some bad decision from the referee.

Another tweak EA have made to FIFA 13 is the player impact engine which will now be incorporated to include off-the-ball collisions and tussles between players that are not in possession. Also in addition to this developers have enhanced the free kicks both for attacking and defending teams. For the team taking an offensive set-piece, the option to create dangerous and bespoke free-kicks can be created by allowing up to three attacking players to stand over the ball and utilising dummy runs. For the defensive side the option of creeping the wall forward and sending an onrushing player to try to block the shot or pass has been added.

Because only the best players can now trap the ball like Kaka in glue-glazed Adidas Predators, the superstars of the game feel as skilful as they are in real-life. Another change is ‘Attacking Intelligence’, which promises to result in computer players positioning and moving around the pitch in a far more realistic fashion.

The way it works is – and bear with me here – AI players now analyse space on the pitch differently. The virtual footballers now think two plays ahead instead of one, which means they can analyse entire runs rather than just their next move in to space.

It looks impressive, and even more so when EA points out that your teammates will now work out who the ball possessor is most likely to pass to next. This seemingly results in intelligent, flowing attacks with CPU wingers running to support the unmarked fox in the box waiting to strike, rather than the double-marked man with the ball. Compared to FIFA 12, it’s a huge improvement. So you can expect players not to bother marking Andy Carroll or Fernando Torres as they should know they can’t hit a barn door.

FIFA 13 looks a step forward then, but it could potentially feel very different to play as well. EA’s calling ‘Precision dribbling 2.0′ its finished, “complete” dribbling system. It takes the 360-degree movement introduced in the last game and introduces contextual elements, changing dribbling styles based on the situation such as 1v1 scenarios.

It almost looks like it dynamically integrates skill moves traditionally reserved for the left trigger and brilliantly, there’s even a cut down version of FIFA Street’s Street ball control when your player isn’t moving, allowing you to dance the ball around your feet with just the left stick.

Last year’s game broke records and was arguably the best ever, side-by-side FIFA 13′s army of advancements look to have made a more tactical, balanced and realistic footy sim. Is that going to be enough to impress the fans? We’ll give you a better idea when we get the game on the 28th… well at least after we’ve finished berating the ref for not sending off the guy who just made us look stupid by taking the ball off us

No, what Bioware HAVE done is the Dragon Age series, a dark adventure into the cold heart of man through the world of Fantasy! With the usual tropes such as the class types and slashy action, it’s become a big hit amongst gamers. So no surprises then that today they’ve announced Dragon Age III: Inquisition.

With a name like that, it’s sure to tingle the synapses of the franchises fanbase. In the press release, they talk about giving the game a new engine that will mean “a more expansive world, better visuals, more reactivity to player choices, and more customization.”

And really, what more do you need?

With no release date and nothing in way of a plot, this is more of a pre-teaser. But for gamers, that’s all we need to get our froth on. In the meantime, here’s a man fighting a horse from the 2nd game.