One of the many reasons we love The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is because of all the weapons. The more you explore, the more daggers, broadswords and axes you discover. Now we have Borderlands, a promising first person shooter from Gearbox, developers behind the explosive Brothers in Arms series. This free-roaming adventure plunges you into the depths of space, where you can discover over 500,000 different weapons, and we're not talking knives and sharp sticks. Machine guns, rocket launchers, boom sticks; it's an action fan's dream.

Of course, this isn't to say the game will be good. Gearbox talks of 500,000 plus guns, expansive environments, non-linear game play and online co-op for up to four; lofty goals we've heard before, but Borderlands sounds incredible. It revolves around a colony gone awry, a feeble attempt to colonize the planet Pandora that results in the population scattering and becoming bandits, Mad Max style. To make matters worse, what was an icy planet begins to thaw, resulting in swarms of creatures leaving their dens and wrecking havoc, chief among them the wrack, flesh eating monsters that make life on this paradise unpleasant. So not only will you deal with bad guys trying to steal your loot, but also marauding aliens hell bent on devouring you.

You'll play as one of three characters, each of which has signature characteristics, abilities and motives. Over time, you'll upgrade their attributes (they'll jump higher, for example), use currency to purchase gear and of course, scour the planet searching for the game's many weapons. We wanted to be able to mix and match different parts, but having randomly generated guns that pop up at different moments will keep us busy for hours.

When not collecting weapons, you'll ride vehicles. Gearbox hasn't revealed much, other than a crude looking drag vehicle called the Salt Racer. Able to transport multiple passengers, including a machine gunner, it'll prove effective in scouring the planet and charging into battle (or escaping certain doom).

In addition, the game features online co-op for up to four. This lets you and your buddies explore the planet, picking up cool stuff and working together to take down your enemies. Furthermore, when you leave the online arena, all of the goodies you accumulated carry over to your offline game.

Based on screenshots, Borderlands is quite an intense experience, with guys jumping between vehicles and little aliens erupting from a much larger creature. If anything, Gearbox is on track to creating an imaginative world teeming with possibilities. With that being said, we need to slay some monsters and tinker with its online play. Thus far, however, this looks hot.