Borderlands (2K Games, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, US$59.99) is dedicated to aficionados of fantastic weaponry. Developer Gearbox Software says the game has bazillions of guns, thanks to a random content generator that mixes and matches parts, ammunition and enhancements, like bullets that also set their targets on fire.

Whether you find all bazillion (actually, more than 17 million at last estimate), guns are everywhere in Borderlands. You have pistols, revolvers, shotguns, machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers and even some exotic alien ordnance. And you will need all of it on the desolate planet of Pandora, home of the galaxy's deadliest beasts, bandits and mutants.

Borderlands feels like a sci-fi version of the classic fantasy role-playing game Diablo. Their goals are the same: Kill everything, steal their weapons and loot, upgrade your weapons and kill bigger things. The major difference is that this is a first-person shooter, so you get a little Halo mixed into your Diablo. It's an addictive formula, one that keeps nudging you to explore new areas and discover new powers.

It's also reminiscent of last year's Fallout 3, which also took place in a blasted, lawless, mutant-filled landscape. But Fallout 3 thrived on a brilliant story, filled with memorable encounters with distinctive characters. The story in Borderlands is so thin, you often forget it's there, and the only interesting characters are the ones you meet in the introductory movie.

You play as one of those characters. There's Brick, a brawler who's good with his fists; Roland, a heavy-weapons expert; Mordecai, a marksman; and Lilith, who specialises in incendiary, shock and corrosive weapons. Each character also has a special power - Lilith, for example, can become invisible.

battle zones

You'll probably concentrate on beefing up one character if you're playing solo, but the real fun starts in cooperative action when you can get all four mercenaries fighting at once. The large-scale battle zones become much more manageable with three friends helping.

The eye-catching, cel-shaded graphics in Borderlands give it a more cartoonish look than most first-person shooters. And the soundtrack has a slight country twang reminiscent of the sci-fi TV series Firefly.

The team at Gearbox has done a fine job of merging shooter and role-playing mechanics, and fans of both genres will enjoy the ride. Even people who are spooked by guns will be drawn into the search for new tools of destruction.

Three stars out of four.

- Lou Kesten