I launched poisonous orbs at bipedal monsters with chain guns today, while a ballroom dancer cut through crowds with a handful of floating swords.

　　Battleborn caters to a competitive audience, but its cooperative story mode places things in a new context. Character abilities still play a major part, teamwork is essential, and emergent gameplay is prevalent—but in this mode, players aren't enemies, but friends working toward a common goal.

　　GameSpot video producer Mary Kish and I played through one mission at PAX, and encountered a variety of objectives during a session of this assault-style mode. We stormed an enemy base, deactivated force fields, activated a robotic hound, and escorted it to an elevated platform, which we then defended against waves of enemies.

　　And character builds still impacted my and my teammate's strategies in meaningful ways. I used Miko’s healing ability to bolster my team’s collective health bars, threw poisonous spores at groups of enemies, and healed myself when my own hit points dwindled. I also played as Marquis, whose long-range handgun granted a plethora of sniping opportunities when opponents threatened to overwhelm us.

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　　The Joy of Battleborn's Co Op Campaign

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　　These abilities, combined with the campaign’s array of objectives, make this mode a dynamic experience. We switched from all-out assault, to staunch defense, and back to measured advancement. It did get repetitive at times—especially before I unlocked better buffs through my character’s binary skill list—but the enemies were multifarious enough to keep encounters fresh. The difficulty also wasn’t high, but that may have been the nature of this particular demo. I’m hoping for more of a challenge when I finally jump into Battleborn extensively.

　　Despite the ease with which we advanced through enemy chokepoints and campaign objectives, the interplay between my character and those of my teammates was always at the forefront of my tactical thinking.

　　Take Miko’s Fungus Among Us ability, for instance. My team, consisting of assault characters, heavy tanks, and other support characters, was tasked with building turrets and defending atop an elevated platform. When enemies began pouring in from the sides, our ranks stretched thin.

　　But by casting the aforementioned mushroom in the center of our gallant group, I ensured our health would never drop too low. It allowed my teammate using Marquis to snipe from the safety of a healing aura, and further reinforced our tank’s vitality.

　　After playing one campaign mission with two separate characters, I still prefer the intensity of Battleborn'’s competitive mode. But the objective driven campaign may be the thing to lend a little more variety to Gearbox's title, and as it’s going up against Blizzard’s Overwatch and Bethesda’s Battlecry, this story mode doesn’t hurt.

　　Mike Mahardy on Google+