Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Borderlands 2 review

Borderlands 2

When Borderlands 2 was first released I'd heard some details of the game on the gaming podcasts that I follow.  I was intrigued then, but not enough to want to run out and buy it.  The buzz died down somewhat and I put it out of my mind...  until the Steam Holiday sale anyways.  I snagged it for $30 and actually started playing it before the end of the year.

After putting over 60 hours into the game I think I'm finally satisfied to put it back on the virtual shelf for awhile.

Graphics and Art Style

The cel shaded graphics make the game feel a bit like a comic book.  That's not to say that its childlike.  The colors are vivid and varied through the whole game, and the mix of different levels is welcome from most shooters that I find to be washed out and monotonous.



There are many different areas in the game, from the frozen tundra where you start the campaign to the desolate eridium blighted region.  There really wasn't a level that I didn't find visually interesting.







Writing

The writers for Borderlands 2 deserve some kind of an award, a cookie, a pat on the back, some kind of recognition for what they were able to accomplish.  Between the writers and the voice actors, the characters you meet throughout Pandora are all interesting and enjoyable.  Their use of humor throughout the game was a little sophomoric at times, but I found that it really added to my experience rather than detract from it.  A lot of the dialog is just funny!

I've never played Borderlands 1 so I have to assume the events that are alluded to actually occurred.  The villain Handsome Jack is as despicable as they come and made for a very satisfying end to the game.

Content

A quick word about the amount of content in Borderlands 2: there is a lot of it!  There are tons of side quests to get lost in, and you can always run around killing respawning mobs (with or without a vehicle).  I completed most of the side quests and the main campaign and it took sixty hours.  That's bordering on a JRPG in terms of campaign length.

Gameplay

I usually tend to avoid most FPS games.  Part of that comes from despising the lack of innovation that comes from rehashing last years game a la Call of Duty.  Another part is the typical focus on competitive multi-player experiences at the expense of a decent satisfying single-player campaign.  The last part is that I'm not very good at FPS games; I find I need to spend a lot of time practicing to be good at them.  And most times the experience isn't that much fun along the way, I lose interest, and the game is history.

With Borderlands 2, I find the RPG mechanics of leveling up and choosing skills and comparing stats of weapons very rewarding.  So much so that I really enjoyed the journey of becoming good at the game.  The writing, and the art, and all of the other things I've mentioned combined with the juicy stat choices left me, again, very satisfied.

One of my favorite gameplay mechanics was finding a big gun chest to open.  Whenever you find one of these chests, there is an animation sequence of the chest opening.  Sometimes some gears spin around as the case opens.  Usually there are one or two platforms holding new equipment that expand out of the chest.  Even if none of the guns end up being rare or even better than my current ones, I love looting these chests.




Multiplayer

I'm not fit to review the multiplayer experience.  Not only do I dislike having my enjoyment of a game rely on strangers, I didn't actually try it out so it wouldn't be fair to comment on it.  The only thing I'll say is that since the multiplayer is co-op rather than competitive (and that the game is so damn fun) looks like it would actually be something I'd like to check out at some point.  But with my backlog still teeming with loads more games, it probably won't happen for awhile.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Backlog 2013 - Here it is



A few thoughts before I get straight to the list.  

  1. I'll save you from counting.  There are 40 games on my backlog.  
  2. There would be way more if I was getting really picky about my Steam library.  I'm coming to terms with the fact that a lot of these games that I probably just will never play.
  3. A fair number of more recent games seem to be tied up by wanting to finish games before moving on to a sequel.
  4. Any games for consoles are noted, otherwise they are PC versions

Games I have played at least six hours and would like to continue

Assassins Creed 3 (PS3)
Assassins Creed 3: Liberation (VITA)
Batman Arkham Asylum (PS3)
Borderlands 2
Darksiders (PS3)
LEGO Batman (PS3)
LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4 (WII)
Little Big Planet Vita (VITA)
Mass Effect 2
Portal
Uncharted 3 (PS3)

Games I have barely started

Mark of the Ninja
Gravity Rush (VITA)
Hotline Miami
Nintentoland (WII U)
Super Mario Bros. (WII U)
Super Mario Galaxy (WII)
Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP)

Games I haven't played a single minute

Batman Arkham City (PS3)
Bioshock 2
Borderlands 1
Dead Space
Dead Space 2
Deponia
Far Cry 3 (PS3)
Hitman Absolution
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (NDS)
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (PSP)
Last Story (WII)
LEGO Lord of the Rings (PS3)
LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7 (WII)
Orcs Must Die
Quantum Conundrum
Rayman Origins (WII)
Saints Row the Third
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Skyrim DLC (Dawnguard, Hearthfire, Dragonborn)
Torchlight 2
Uncharted: Golden Abyss (VITA)
Warhammer Dawn of War 2

Not included in my backlog count because I don't own them (but I want to play them!)

Mass Effect 3 
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (WII)
Dragon's Dogma (PS3)
Zombie U (WII U)
Persona 4: Golden (VITA)
Journey (PS3)


WHAT SHOULD I PLAY NEXT?

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Backlog 2013

I started preparing a list of all of the games that I have yet to play and it astounded me at how big the list is.  I have over 50 games on the list.  I think I'll start to categorizing the games into three categories:
Games I own but haven't yet touched
Games I own have started but haven't completed (based on my own definition of completion)
Games I don't own but I want to play

I'll share my List of Shame soon.  But in the meantime, what's on your backlog?  Comment or message me.  I'm curious.