I'm playing Borderlands at the moment and I like it, but I have a few problems with it:

1. Respawning enemies in the same places are annoying (like those three pointless bandits that come out every time you come out of Firestone).
2. Endless amounts of skags.  I hate that if you kill one skag, two more always come out and are invulnerable until they start moving, and then they keep coming.  Jesus, someone had a hard on for these things.  They just keep coming and it's more annoying than difficult or fun.
3. The world doesn't feel alive.

Those first two problems are only minor gripes, but one thing I've noticed is that world just feels so dead.  Even with the enemies and objects moving all around, the world is just so boring. 

In Firestone (pop 24) you have Claptrap and Dr. Zed, then you have the blind guy outside of Firestone, and then Sledge.  Even with the Bandits and skags all over the place, the world just feels so dead and not in a good way.  It's a shame because the game looks brilliant but then the fact it just feels so underwhelming ruins that atmosphere.  Anyone else know what I mean?

Just about everything else in the game, characters, items, PC's, animations,oozes personality and it just seems wasted on that dead world.

Don't get me wrong, I like the game (I'm especially looking forward to the DLC) and I'm going to continue to play it, I'm just wondering if you ever encounter anything else that actually gives the world life?

I have my buggy now and I'm doing Sledge's quests if that's any indication where I am.  I'm also not playing co-op (because I just really don't want to) so not sure if that might have something to do with it.

well the whole game takes place in a post apocalyptic desert waste land so of course its gonna feel dead thats the whole point of the atmosphere. The game is alot better in co-op

Yeah I played the game through on co-op and I didn't feel the game world was dead or boring. I'd say going solo could make playing a little less lively.

It got a bit boring when I reached about level 30 or so, so I stopped playing.

It's a decent game, borrows some elements from wow, and reminds me a little of the mmo.

have you played Fallout 3? this game is a blessing compared to how depressing that game is.

It actually starts feeling less alive once you leave firestone. You just spend more time on your own and less time interacting with human NPCs.

It starts to feel even more dead the further you get. The only thing that makes the world feel alive are Co-op games.

I hope they improve this in Borderlands 2.

There are a few missions where you collect audio recordings from certain people. Each person you learn more about adds to the atmosphere. You are able to take missions from certain individuals, each of whom have their own little story or little nuances. I also quite liked saving the claptraps who seem to add some personality to the game. Various individuals contact you throughout the game as well. The DLC was good, and had some funny moments, but too expensive for the amount of content. It should have been included with the game.

I played the entire game by myself (lvl39 sniper (mordecai), 20hrs playtime) including the DLC and I like the atmosphere. The feeling of isolation seems consistant with the planet you're on, the remoteness of your surroundings, and the mood of the locals.

This game would have been much better with more NPC's scattered around. It's pretty fun, but unless you are playing co op, it can feel really dead. Just have fun making bandits/skags deader! :D

I have the same complaints as the OP, especially with #3.

Though Fallout 3 is even worse for #3

It is better when you're playing co-op. While I enjoyed the game at first it became more and more dull the further along I got.

It could have been so much more.