I just started Borderlands Goty and I am a huge fan of RPGs. But this game is going to be a similar dissappointment as Oblivion Goty was, I fear.
There is no backstory of the Characters, the story seems to be really dull, the characters are downright ugly and once again gameplay is dominated by lots of useless/senseless sidequests. Why is it that so many WRPGs puts so little effort in Characters and story?
Well, at least it has local multiplayer, so I can play it together with my wife. But this is the second so-called "game of the year" edition that failed to deliver a great gaming experience for us.
I can understand why sandbox/openworld games fail to reach high sales levels in Japan. I live in Austria (Europe) and live in the western world. In some western Games like Oblivion, Borderlands, Sacred 2, Deathspank, etc. I start thinking what the whole game is about anyway. The lack in entertaining/thrilling storytelling and interesting characters is a big problem for me, because I cannot connect to the world of the game. So it gets boring pretty fast. Only gameplay is just not enough for me.
I usally find much more entertainment in japanese games, because they tend to put more effort in the characters/stories/emotions the game should deliver. Especially RPGs are games where you can think a lot about the story and what is actually going on in the game.
After several tries I gave up on Sandbox/Moral systems/tons of Sidequests/Online Multiplayer. Since I got used to japanese Games I develloped some sort of expectations on characters/storytelling. Thats why some of the above-mentioned western games felt dissappointing soon.
There are great exceptions. Legacy of Kain is indeed one of the best story-driven western games I have played so far. It is a pity they stopped the Franchise after the open end in Defiance. Heavy Rain was the second best game I played this year (after FF XIII). Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, Uncharted were also western games with interesting Characters and humour.
There are still many playstation 1 games that I fondly remember (Final Fantasy 7-9, Vagrant Story, Front Mission 3, Resident Evil 1-3, Metal Gear Solid, Suikoden 1-2, Legay of Kain series etc.) because of Characters/Story. But games like GTA4, Oblivion, Sacred 2, Deathspank or Borderlands feel quite shallow in comparison.
Thats why I can understand why many Japanese rejects some very successful western games. In the end, they do deliver action and gameplay and unnecessary violence, but on the character/story side they are simply underwhelming (in my opinion).
