Borderlands

Borderlands has proven itself to be a sleeper hit for Gearbox Software and 2K Games even in the midst of higher profile title releases this fall. Soon fans of the first person shooter game will be able to purchase its official soundtrack. As they do for a number of games, Sumthing Else Music is handling the publishing duties for the Borderlands soundtrack when it comes out on December 8 in stores and via iTunes.

The soundtrack features a number of tunes from various composers including Jesper Kyd, Sascha Dikiciyan, Cris Velasco and Raison Varner, Tim Larkin. Unfortunately, the catchy song "Aint No Rest For The Wicked," which was featured in the game's trailer and TV commercials, is not included.

So much for all the talk about boycotts against Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's PC port. The Infinity Ward-developed shooter is firmly on top of this week's latest top 10 best selling games (according to revenue) on the Steam download service. Steam is the only place (legally anyway) where one can download and purchase Modern Warfare 2. Other download services like Direct2Drive, Impulse and Gamersgate have decided not to make the game available because they have objected to the game's use of Steamworks's features that are required for the PC version.

Valve's zombie co-op shooter Left 4 Dead 2, due to be unlocked at midnight Eastern time tonight on Steam, took the number two sales spot this week. Dragon Age: Origins' regular edition and deluxe edition took the third and fourth spot while Borderlands continues to sell well in fifth position.

1. Modern Warfare 2 - Infinity Ward/Activision
2. Left 4 Dead 2 - Valve
3. Dragon Age Origins - BioWare/EA
4. Dragon Age Origins Digital Deluxe Edition - BioWare/EA
5. Borderlands - Gearbox Software/2K Games
6. Overlord Complete Pack - Triumph Studios/Codemasters
7. Torchlight - Runic Games
8. Crysis Maximum Edition - Crytek/EA
9. Football Manager 2010 - Sega
10. Mass Effect - BioWare/EA

Gearbox Software hit first person shooter Borderlands has become the sleeper hit of the fall with lots of critical praise and evidence that the game itself is selling well. So how about a sequel? VG247.com posed that question to Gearbox's creative director Mike Neumann who stated, " So yeah, if everything makes sense, Borderlands 2 seems like a no-brainer to me."

That's not to say that the developer is currently working on such a sequel right now. Neumann states, "Obviously nothing so far is planned. We're working on DLC. We haven't really had any talks about a sequel, other than water cooler talk like, 'Wouldn't this be cool' kind of stuff." Neumann was also non-committal on whether on not we will ever see a Borderlands demo, saying, "Borderlands is just such an expansive game. So many things can happen at any time. It's really hard to truncate that down to some bite-sized, 'Here's why you should buy the game'' section."

It looks like PC owners of the Gearbox Software first person shooter Borderlands will have to wait an unknown amount of time to access the game's first downloadable expansion. The game's publisher 2K Games announced that the The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned expansion will be released on November 24 for the Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles. The Gearbox message boards have posted word from the game's community manager that " . . . this IS coming to the PC as well. No release date, but it was just confirmed for PC by 2K."

Just as a reminder, the expansion will give players a chance to "work alongside Dr. Ned as they embark on a quest to cure the inhabitants of Jakobs Cove." In this case "cure" likely means shooting up a lot of zombies.

If you combine the wasteland ambience and role-playing aspects of Fallout 3 and combine them with the four-player cooperative features from games like Left 4 Dead, then add in some giant creatures and a good dose of splatter humor, you end up with Borderlands. The player travels to the world of Pandora, where there isn't much to survive on, but the promise of vast riches in an ancient vault built by a long lost alien species. There are plenty of obstacles in the way, but luckily, they can all be overcome with a little skill and superior firepower.

Check out all Borderlands Downloads

Earlier this week we reported that the Steam version of Borderlands had accidentally allowed its Australian users access to a "low violence" of Gearbox Software's shooter game via a pre-load. Since the game hasn't been officially released this technically wasn't that big of an issue at the time

Games On Net now reports that publisher 2K Games has fixed the problem but there's a hitch. Those Australian players who want the full unedited version of the game must now delete what they downloaded before and then pre-load the title all over again. That means a file of 8 gigs must be downloaded. For folks who have an ISP in that country with a bandwidth cap that could mean some real trouble.

It looks like a few folks are dealing with a rather serious issue in Gearbox Software's just released shooter Borderlands. 1Up.com reports that all three versions of the game have a bug that can set back player's skill and weapons points back to zero while either joining or leaving a multiplayer match. This issue is apparently only affecting a few players at this point.

Gearbox is apparently aware of the problem and is working on a fix. A post on their message board states, "Unfortunately there isn't a fix just yet, but when one is available we hope to be able to repair as much of your character data as possible." In the meantime we would suggest just playing the game in single player if you don't want to risk losing your character progression.

Oh, Australia. You with your shrimp on the barbie, your Great Barrier Reef and your wonky government run game ratings system. However, the latest game screw-up in your country has nothing to do with your ratings system. However it does show that even digital downloads get things wrong.

Games On Net reports that Australian users of Steam were accidentally given a "low violence" version of Gearbox Software's just released shooter Borderlands for the game's pre-load installation. However the country's ratings board gave the go-ahead for the unedited version of the game to be released. Since the game isn't due to be released internationally for a few more days there's still time to correct the issue before Borderlands unlocks for Australian games. And having started to play the final and full version of Borderlands . . . well, trust us Australia; you really do want all the added violence.

In a bit of a shocker, Gearbox Software's first person shooter Borderlands has taken the top stop in this week's list of the top 10 best selling PC games (based on revenue) on Steam. Left 4 Dead 2, Valve's own zombie shooter sequel, goes down to the number two position after spending the last few weeks in the number one slot.

BioWare's fantasy RPG Dragon Age Origins takes on the third spot this week (for the digital deluxe edition) as well as the fourth spot (for the regular edition). Despite tons of controversy surrounding the PC version in the past week, Modern Warfare 2 managed to debut on the list this week in the number five spot.

1. Borderlands - Gearbox Software/2K Games
2. Left 4 Dead 2 - Valve
3. Dragon Age Origins Digital Deluxe Edition - BioWare/EA
4. Dragon Age Origins - BioWare/EA
5. Modern Warfare 2 - Infinity Ward/Activision
6. ArmA II - Bohemia Interactive
7. Aion - NCsoft
8. Tropico 3 - Kalypso Media
9. Assassin's Creed - Ubisoft
10. Killing Floor - Tripwire Interactive

It's downright scary (sorry, had to be done) how many new PC game titles are scheduled for release this week. In addition to a number of original games, PC gamers can look forward to trying out the Left 4 Dead 2 demo (if they pre-ordered) and a new retail collection of all of Firefly Studios' Stronghold games:

Borderlands: Gearbox Software's sci-fi first person shooter blends elementes of an action-RPG in the mix as your characters go on quests on an alien world and deal with lots of monsters and enemies. Much has been made of the near infinite number of weapon variations that can be found in the game and the four-player co-op doesn't hurt either.

Earlier this week we reported that a few people managed to purchase legit copies of the PC version of Borderlands. The problem is that the street date for Gearbox Software's FPS-RPG is supposed to be on Monday, October 26 and due to the game's DRM set up those folks who got early copies cannot play the game early. Even Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford told us there was nothing that could be done on his end to solve this issue.

Now a new post on the message boards of 2K Games from the publisher's community manager has the somewhat sad truth that there is nothing they can do either. According to the post, "Less than 1 (percent) of all copies were sold, and if we unlocked the game today, illegal versions would most likely appear on torrents by the evening. I am sure all of you want our PC launch to be as successful as possible, and we simply won't be able to manage that any earlier than already planned." So for those of you in the US "lucky" enough to get the game early, your copy will be available to play at midnight ET on Monday. International owners will have to wait until Friday, October 30.

When news hit that the PC version of Borderlands would have its release delayed six days after the console release, we figured the game wouldn't actually be in stores until that day. Not true. According to reports on Gearbox Software's message boards a handful of legit PC copies of the first person shooter have made their way to people. Unfortunately the game's DRM is keeping folks from playing the game until October 26.

A message on 2K Games' forums by the publisher's community manager states, "I'll let you know when I have more to tell you, but as of right now I'm looking in to things!." Big Download also contacted Gearbox head Randy Pitchford who told us,"I don't know if something can be done to unlock copies for people that somehow get a copy before the street date.. I certainly can't do anything about it, but I understand and am sympathetic to the frustration. I remember getting HL2 from Best Buy before street date and being *really* frustrated that I had the game in-my-hands, but that I wasn't going to be allowed to play for a few more days. I know how that feels. I'm sorry it's happening to customers of Borderlands and I wish there was something I could do about it."

So Left 4 Dead 2 is at the top of this week's Steam top 10 best selling game list. Not a shock. Not a shock at all, considering that the zombie co-op shooter sequel from Valve won't be showing up on any other downloadable game services. With the demo (for pre-orders) being released next week on Steam you can bet that sales will continue to pick up . . . oh you get it.

Borderlands continues to do well in its pre-orders, showing up in the number two position. Codemasters' military shooter Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is also still selling well and is in the number three position this week.

1. Left 4 Dead 2 - Valve
2. Borderlands - Gearbox Software/2K Games
3. Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising - Codemasters
4. Civilization IV: The Complete Edition - Firaxis/2K Games
5. Aion Standard Edition - NCSoft
6. Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II - Relic/THQ
7. Saints Row 2 - Volition/THQ
8. Cities XL Limited Edition - Monte Cristo Games
9. Left 4 Dead - Valve
10. Counter-Strike: Source - Valve

Earlier this week we alerted folks in the Dallas-based area for a launch party for Borderlands that will be held on Saturday night. But let's say you can't make it that day because of some prior arrangement. Well, you still have some time to meet up with some of the development team at Gearbox Software on the occasion of the launch of their FPS-RPG hybrid.

The night of the game's launch on October 19 for consoles you can go to one of two Texas-based GameStop locations to meet up with Gearbox team members. The locations are at 2201 Preston Road in Plano (where they will have a Borderlands four player LAN set-up at 9 pm) and 6245 Rufe Snow Drive in Fort Worth. Lines to buy the game at midnight on that day will begin at 10 pm

Live in the Dallas, Texas area or are going to be there on Saturday? Then Gearbox Software wants you to sign up to attend their Borderlands launch party on Saturday night at the Granada Theatre in Dallas. Normally these kinds of events are limited to the development team but Gearbox wants some of their fans to come and party with them to celebrate the launch of their FPS-RPG hybrid game.

Yes, the full version of Borderlands will be available to play at the event along with lots of partying with the Gearbox team members. The Gearbox Software web site has more info about the launch party along with a sign up page for anyone who wants to RSVP. Naturally you have to be 18 years old or older to join the fun.