"Borderlands" aims to transplant the loot-gathering and character-creating mechanics of "Diablo II," more or less, into a first-person shooter, and it hits that target dead-on. It may have action-RPG underpinnings, but "Borderlands" is a fine shooter.

The game takes place on the barely habitable world of Pandora, a desert wasteland that nonetheless attracts explorers searching for the legendary Vault filled with alien technology.

The barren environments, with their outlaws, bandits, monsters and weirdos, don't feel far off from the TV show "Firefly" or the "Mad Max" movies, and the game's visual style – a cross between cel-shading and a graphic novel – fits the darkly humorous tone and takes the edge off some of the violence.

Pandora is a world where it's as possible to find a broken-down peashooter in the weapons case as a shotgun that fires rockets or a sniper rifle that electrocutes its target. A lot of the game's carrot-and-stick appeal comes from wanting to see what the next gun will be, and because most of the guns' attributes are randomly generated – they could be anything.

Players can choose from four Vault hunters, each with its own powers, and tackle the game solo or with a group of friends online. There's also split-screen play for two.

There's Roland, a soldier who can toss out an automated turret; Lilith, a siren who can turn invisible and attack from that state; Mordecai, a hunter who can send out his pet bird to attack; and Brick, a hulking brute who can enter a berserker state for enhanced melee strength and health regeneration.

Each character has three skill trees that enhance their powers and damage-dealing potential. Characters increase in level as they complete quests and kill enemies, and gain a skill point at each level past the fourth. There aren't enough points to max out everything, but players can take back their points for a fee and reuse them.

Each skill tree improves an aspect of a character's abilities. Aside from all the guns – which come in several types, from revolvers and submachine guns to rocket launchers and shotguns – players can find several other kinds of equipment.

There's no armor, but energy shields provide some protection. Players can also find artifacts to add effects to their special attacks, and "class mod" items that enhance a specific character's abilities.

PICKS AND PANS

Astro Boy: The Video Game

1 star

As movie-to-game adaptations go, "Astro Boy: The Video Game" is pretty weak. It's a bland, side-scrolling action game for one or two players that switches between on-foot brawler segments and airborne shooting segments.

Astro Boy can fly, punch, dash, fire lasers from his hands and a machine gun from his backside (really), heal himself and pull off a few other moves. His special attacks have a limited number of uses but are replenished by defeating his robotic foes.

The brawling segments are hampered by unresponsive controls, and enemies have a habit of stopping to attack from just outside Astro's punching range. The flying segments are more fun, but not that much. The game doesn't look good, and story scenes that use the game engine don't even make an attempt at lip-syncing to the dialogue.

Nintendo Wii, also for DS, Sony PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable; $39.99 ($29.99 for DS, PS2 and PSP)

Age rating: Everyone 10-plus

Where the Wild Things Are

2 stars

Based on the new movie based on the children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are" is a fairly simple adventure game, and not a bad one.

As the child Max, whose imagination forms the world of the Wild Things, players can whack at dangerous creatures with his scepter, shimmy along narrow ledges, climb vines and use other means to explore, such as feathers that let him fly short distances.

Once Max finds the Wild Things' village, he can return to it any time while he's out exploring in the game's various chapters. Most of the time, the game is a pretty straightforward adventure; sometimes Max will hop on the back of a Wild Thing or into his boat for obstacle course segments.

The island home of the Wild Things is an interesting and slightly creepy place: Fireflies buzz forth from burning hives, lightning bugs are really electrified, stars fall from the sky, fissures open up in the ground to let out long, black tongues, and then there are those portals to Nowhere …

Sony PlayStation 3, also for Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, DS; $49.99 ($29.99 to $49.99 for other versions)

Age rating: Everyone 10-plus

– Justin Hoeger

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