Diablo redefined loot-based RPGs in 1997 and dominated the space for years. Then, Gearbox Software stepped up to the plate in 2009 and introduced its loot-driven shooter to the world: Borderlands. It was unlike anything else at the time: a competent shooter with four classes and plenty of loot to divide among the co-op party.
The series has evolved greatly since 2009, and there was even a movie, but the loot and weird collection of guns have always remained a driving force. It's a unique series all its own, but there are better shooters out there, or at least there are shooter franchises that do some things better than Borderlands.
Halo
The Master Chief Of It All
- First Game: Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox, 2001)
- Latest Console Game: Halo Infinite (PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, 2021)
The Halo franchise, without a doubt, revolutionized shooters for consoles in a major way. Halo: Combat Evolved was released in 2001 for the original Xbox, and it quickly became a reason to own that system. The shooting was superb, the open-ended maps were more freeing, the vehicles were fun to use, as were the inventive weapons, and to top it all off, Master Chief was an absolute boss of a character. Calm, quiet, and to the point, he knew how to get the job done, and his reign as one of the coolest video game characters has not diminished since 2001. Sure, there’s not a lot of depth to his character, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t cool.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator character also doesn’t have a lot of depth in the Terminator movies, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t represent everything cool about movie characters. Borderlands doesn’t have that one iconic character that represents the series as a whole. Lilith is the closest equivalent, or maybe Claptrap, but he’s more like a mascot. Handsome Jack is a great villain, but regardless of what Borderlands has to offer, Master Chief is Master Chief. He wields a gun like no other, and while the developer, Bungie, left Halo behind in 2010 has diminished some of the franchise’s heights, Halo overall is still a better shooter than any Borderlands game. It’s a matter of quality weapons over the quantity of Borderlands’ millions.
Call Of Duty
Fighting The Good Fight
- First Game: Call of Duty (PC, 2003)
- Latest Console Game: Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, 2025)
Call of Duty began as a series of World War 2 shooters in 2003, which eventually evolved into the juggernaut that most know today because of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. With that game, shooting became much more solid, and the multiplayer really took off. It added a progression system where players could level up their profile, get new guns, tweak them, and even restart to reach new tiers. Multiplayer is what has kept the Call of Duty franchise alive, with tons of modes from Domination to the weirder spin-offs like the zombie mode, but that’s not to say the campaigns are bad by comparison.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the game that leveled up the campaigns into set-piece driven levels that were always bombastic. There are so many Call of Duty games that it's hard to even pick a top five in terms of campaigns, and while the guns are not as zany as the ones found in Borderlands, they do have Halo-quality mechanics with equally amazing sound design. With a great pair of headphones or a surround system, players can get even more immersed in the war zones. While the quality has dipped here and there, on the whole, Call of Duty stands tall in both its campaign and multiplayer game. It’s actually quite astounding that Borderlands has never tried widespread multiplayer modes akin to Call of Duty before.
Titanfall
Mechs? Yes Please!
- First Game: Titanfall (PC, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, 2014)
- Latest Console Game: Apex Legends (PC, PS4, and Xbox One, 2019)
The big thing that sets Titanfall apart from Borderlands as a series is the mechs. Granted, there are mechs in Borderlands, including class-specific skills and background characters, but nothing beats the sheer size of the mechs in Titanfall, which are just called Titans. When the first game debuted in 2014, it was multiplayer-only, featuring a weird, cobbled-together story as players progressed through matches. They could fight outside their Titans, along with inside, and what struck players at the time was the movement between the two options as both felt natural. The mobility was greatly improved in Titanfall 2, which added a campaign that shooter fans put up there as one of the greatest of all time.
Respawn Entertainment, the developer, came from Infinity Ward, which also made Call of Duty what it is today. So, it wasn’t that surprising that they could do it again, but this time with mechs. There’s also the hero shooter spinoff, Apex Legends, which is well-liked, but it doesn’t fit as neatly with this comparison since mechs aren’t a big part of the gameplay. Overall, this is truly a fight of the entire Borderlands franchise against Titanfall 2. It may be a bold claim, but thanks to the immaculate shooting and player movement between human and Titan gameplay, Titanfall 2 is without a doubt the better shooter on a technical level. The story of the game and the various set pieces also create a great sense of momentum that never lets up, and, again, mech fans will surely love piloting the various Titans between the two core games.
Far Cry
Blow It Up
- First Game: Far Cry (PC, 2004)
- Latest Console Game: Far Cry 6 (PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, 2021)
Far Cry did not start with a bang in 2004, as it took some time to get the heat going. Far Cry 2 came closer to bringing the series to prominence, but it was Far Cry 3 that really did a number for Ubisoft in 2012. The tropical environment, focusing on a survivor who is pushed to the edge and forced to make terrible decisions, is a story that would fit right in with action movies from the 80s. From there, the scenarios would only get more epic. Individual games aside, though, there are two core things that the Far Cry series does better than Borderlands.
First, the open-world environments are typically seamless, offering various modes of transportation to get around, from cars to boats to paragliders. Players will never be wanting for transportation variety, even though Borderlands also has great transportation options, such as the armed buggies and hover bikes. The true star of the show is the chaos that players can create, mirroring the open-ended fun that Grand Theft Auto games can provide. With a limitless arsenal of assault rifles, rocket launchers, grenades, and more, players can retake territory from various terrorist and villainous organizations. The effects are explosive in Borderlands as well, but nothing comes close to the satisfaction players can get from conquering land in a Far Cry game.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
