'Battleborn' has the trappings of a modern shooter and more

The folks at Gearbox Software want you to know a few things about Battleborn, the incredibly colorful "hero shooter" ahead of its grand showing at E3 in a few weeks. Why? Probably so it can expand upon the following details and/or show off even more stuff in Los Angeles. Let's get down to business. First up, the game has a story mode that you can play solo or co-op -- either split-screen or online, with replayability encouraged so you can go back for better loot when the mood strikes. There's also some 25 playable characters, all with different abilities, armaments and personalities according to a press release. Of course, there's multiplayer as well, which is where the MOBA-inspirations perhaps show through strongest.

"Incursion" tasks you to defend a base against waves of AI minions as you try to destroy an opponent's stronghold, while "Meltdown" has you defending your minions so they can throw themselves into an incinerator and score you points for doing so. Not into these? An objective-based death match mode is here too, dubbed "Devastation."

And of course, it wouldn't be a modern shooter without a progression system. That comes in a few flavors, with character ranks affecting, you guessed it, individual characters and "command rank" pertaining to your overall profile, with perks that you can bestow to any character you play as. If none of this info is enough, there's a brand-spankin' new trailer below as well. Beyond that, well you'll just have to wait for E3. Patience!