By Vanessa Hague
BORDERLANDS!! THE!!! PRE-SEQUEL!!! LOW GRAVITY!!!! SHOOT 'N' LOOT!!!!!!! THE MOON!!! GUNS!!! SHOOTING!!!! LASERS!!!!!!!!! GEARBOX'S RETURN TO THEIR UNIQUE FPS-RPG FRANCHISE!!!!
Ahem, now that that's out of the way, last week saw the release of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and whilst many had their doubts that this game was going to act as filler; a not so full-length game that just fills the time between Borderlands 2 and Borderlands 3, fear not.
BORDERLANDS!! THE!!! PRE-SEQUEL!!! LOW GRAVITY!!!! SHOOT 'N' LOOT!!!!!!! THE MOON!!! GUNS!!! SHOOTING!!!! LASERS!!!!!!!!! GEARBOX'S RETURN TO THEIR UNIQUE FPS-RPG FRANCHISE!!!!
Ahem, now that that's out of the way, last week saw the release of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and whilst many had their doubts that this game was going to act as filler; a not so full-length game that just fills the time between Borderlands 2 and Borderlands 3, fear not.
The Pre-Sequel manages to stand tall within the Borderlands series and make it's own unique mark. Full of memorable characters, boss fights, guns, Australian accents, zany side-quests and the series' trademark sense of humour; The Pre-Sequel acts as Handsome Jack's origin story (for people non-familiar with the series, Handsome Jack is the popular antagonist of Borderlands 2).
Handsome Jack hires a group of vault hunters to find a vault and along the way the player learns just how Jack turned into the psychotic, murderous and insanely charming antagonist that he is destined to become. All-in-all the basic plot doesn't deviate from previous installments; you control one of four vault hunters and your mission to find a vault and if you have something that works, why fix something that isn't broken?
Handsome Jack hires a group of vault hunters to find a vault and along the way the player learns just how Jack turned into the psychotic, murderous and insanely charming antagonist that he is destined to become. All-in-all the basic plot doesn't deviate from previous installments; you control one of four vault hunters and your mission to find a vault and if you have something that works, why fix something that isn't broken?
Each of the four playable vault hunters bring the same core gameplay mechanics to the table since combat in this series has always revolved around guns and grenades. However, each vault hunter's playable skill does bring variety into the gameplay - the playable Clap-Trap's skill "Vault Hunter.EXE", probably brings with it the most unpredictability and humour as it gives you something different every time; you and your teammates can end up hopping around in rubber ducks for example.
The Borderlands series is also known for is it wide choice of guns and it's loot system and both are back here. The guns on choice here are plentiful, from shotguns to sniper rifles and elemental weapons - something is here for every play style. The Pre-Sequel's loot system follows the same path as in previous titles, the colour-coded rarity system is back and you earn the higher rarity loot from bosses. The chances of finding even better loot increases for every player you have in-game because the enemies get harder for every player and harder enemies equal better loot. Simple really.
The Borderlands series is also known for is it wide choice of guns and it's loot system and both are back here. The guns on choice here are plentiful, from shotguns to sniper rifles and elemental weapons - something is here for every play style. The Pre-Sequel's loot system follows the same path as in previous titles, the colour-coded rarity system is back and you earn the higher rarity loot from bosses. The chances of finding even better loot increases for every player you have in-game because the enemies get harder for every player and harder enemies equal better loot. Simple really.
As I said, much of the core gameplay and mechanics remain unchanged but they are tried and tested. There are a few new additions however which do change the style of this game somewhat. First is the addition of low-gravity environments. A large portion of this game takes place a moon and thus allows players and enemies to hop and float greater distances resulting in some fun variation in gameplay. Second is the introduction of new elemental weapon types and new weapons. Apart from the explosive, corrosive, electric and fire based weapons, there are now a freeze elemental type. There are also laser weapons and everybody loves lasers.
The Pre-sequel is a ton of fun and I had a blast playing it - it's zany humour and it's cell-shade art style were like a breath of fresh air amongst the highly realistic splooge of current games. Plus I love the Borderlands universe and couldn't wait to return, the characters are colourful and diverse and plus Handsome Jack is one of my favourite villains ever, so any opportunity to learn more about that asshole (yes, he is a major asshole). If you're a fan, you'll love it and if you want to get into the Borderlands series, perhaps this isn't the best game to start with as it references a lot of previous games, so start with those. You'll get to The Pre-Sequel eventually.
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is out now for Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.
The Pre-sequel is a ton of fun and I had a blast playing it - it's zany humour and it's cell-shade art style were like a breath of fresh air amongst the highly realistic splooge of current games. Plus I love the Borderlands universe and couldn't wait to return, the characters are colourful and diverse and plus Handsome Jack is one of my favourite villains ever, so any opportunity to learn more about that asshole (yes, he is a major asshole). If you're a fan, you'll love it and if you want to get into the Borderlands series, perhaps this isn't the best game to start with as it references a lot of previous games, so start with those. You'll get to The Pre-Sequel eventually.
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is out now for Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.
Not even close to being the good guys...
There you have it. More than enough to keep you occupied until the Pre-Sequel's sequel comes out.
Have you got your hands on the Pre-Sequel yet? What are your views? Anyone feeling any different about it?
Let us know in the comments below!
Have you got your hands on the Pre-Sequel yet? What are your views? Anyone feeling any different about it?
Let us know in the comments below!
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