I finished the main campaign on Borderlands today, and despite the utter lack of a coherent or satisfying story, it was very, very good.

I consider myself to be a story driven gamer, and by this I mean that I like a deep and intricate story with multiple plot lines and twists and turns combining to form an ending that ties together loose ends while leaving you wanting more. Borderlands doesn't do any of that - it is in fact a perfect example of the separation between story and game in the art of videogames: it is pure and utter gameplay devoid of much of a story. Sure they make some effort to give your character a "reason" for running around the Wastelands shooting things - but that is completely a secondary consideration. Many people believe that Borderlands is highly derivative (and in many ways it is), and that it "rips off" Fallout 3 - but they couldn't be further from the truth on this fact. Fallout 3 was a story that was deep and intricate tied together by a less than satisfying gameplay mechanic. As a player, I suffered through the less than stellar game play in order to discover what was going to happen next in the plot. Borderlands doesn't have a plot to move you forward (or at least much of one). You play for the joy of playing. What an experience.

I'm going to play a bit more, level up the main character to the maximum level of 50, and then put it aside in favour of Edmonton-based Bioware's Dragon Age. I expect that there will be some pretty significant story telling in a Bioware game, and with Borderlands almost done, I believe that I am now ready. Smile on.