One of my favorite games to play is Borderlands. I own the first game in the series, and I have also rented the second one. I only played the first few missions of the second game. Despite a few upgrades, the formula for the two seems to be roughly the same. For the sake of discussion, I will be referring to the the first game in the series unless otherwise stated.
Borderlands is one of the few games that takes elements from two genres that, at times, can seem like polar opposites. Elements of a first-person shooter game are blended together with role-playing game components. The most obvious aspect of the game is that it turns the player into a killer. The wasteland setting transforms you into a survivor/killer immediately. The first person shooter element completely transforms you into this sort of soldier. It gives you the weapons that are needed to kill. With your character being a treasure hunter, it turns you into an explorer and an achiever. The role playing game ingredient rewards you for your added exploration by giving you loot and more guns to kill with.
The fourth element that this game is missing is the socializing element. This is not a massive multiplayer online role playing game. There is not a lot of socializing that goes on. Many of your quests are given to you in the form of a bounty board. There is little need to socialize with the townspeople except for a few select characters. The max number of players that are allowed to be in the same game at once is four. There is little need to talk. The shooter element greatly outshines the role playing game element when it comes to combat. In Borderlands 2, the difficulty is increased a bit. Boss battles now require more creative action (Like shooting nuclear missiles out of the air). This prompts players to communicate a little bit more, but at the same time, it is not needed (granted you have enough bullets).
When it comes to Borderlands, fairness can be a mixed bag. When in a party, any killed enemy grants the whole team experience. This is great for those who are lower in level. At the same time, it can promote lazy players who like to sit back and observe, rather than help their teammates. When money is collected, the same amount goes to all members of the squad. However, ammunition does not work the same way. Sometimes there are players who sit around and open chests to gather loot and ammo while others fight enemies. Loyalty is also a bit wishy-washy. The game makes a common goal for the different character classes. Rather than create separate warring factions like World of Warcraft, the game encourages looting and treasure hunting throughout the game. It is kind of like an honor among thieves system. The more players in a group increase the strength of enemies. This usually encourages the teammates to revive each other.Other than this, players are free to engage in combat with each other by hitting others with a melee attack.
The large first person shooter element keeps the game itself from becoming a game that centers around care/harm. It also prevents the game from having a purity factor. It is also not too big on socializing either (perhaps due to the fact that parties can only have a maximum of four players). Games like The Sims do a better job at filling in the moral gaps left by Borderlands. Although this genre of game is on the other side of the spectrum, I think that I will still enjoy it. I am a gamer who plays all types of games.