SPOILER: Light spoilers may follow. Or they may not. No heavy ones though
The formula for Borderlands is simple, take a comedic plot with four classes of heroes, add enough interesting enemies for them to kill long enough to hit the level cap and enough loot to satisfy the grind. Each game does not stray too far from the established idea of an Action RPG. Each class has a special ability and numbers still shoot out of your opponent when damage is done.
Oh, and there is still epic amounts of loot. The loot is still as much of a blessing as it is a curse so upgrade your backpack early because you will be carrying a lot of crap.
I am not sure how big the moon of Pandora is, yet. A lot of the moon looks the same to my untrained eyes. In some ways, this is an alternate version of Pandora. The gravity is slightly different, the enemies are different, the doctor of medicine and provider of transportation is different. Even your ally, Jack is different. He is most definitely trying to do the heroic thing and save the moon. Though, a few hours in, it is easy to see his turn to a villain become more and more likely.
I wish I knew how much actual real estate exists within The Pre-sequel because it feels just as significant as a sequel as Borderlands 2 was. There are new concepts to explore, such as traversing the moon’s surface. The gravity is different and a new piece of gear called an Oz tank is needed to survive outside for an extended time. The Oz tank also allows you to glade through the air or perform a “stomp” attack. Some Oz tank will offer bonuses to these abilities. That is all part of the fun of loot.
The characters seem just as over the top as they did in other Borderlands games. Though, without ruining anything, there is a more attention paid to things like homophobia without getting preachy. [Side note: One day this type of content will be so common there would be no reason to note it.] There has not been a character as memorable as Tina or as interesting as Jack but every unfamiliar face belongs in the Borderlands universe. Of course, I’m not that far.
My only gripe is the lonely feeling that still haunts this series. There is always nothing but empty space between me and my objectives. The time I spend traversing these empty spaces changes when I can drive a buggy, but they are large empty spaces populated by enemies I gain little benefit by stalking. Maybe there is a loot spawn tucked away in one of the corners but for the most part I’m moving through the empty, hollow, soulless space in silence until I reach my objective.
My other gripe is loading into zones. They are no less frustrating or frequent. There is no use complaining about them. They are something I had hoped I would not deal with after being freed from them in Destiny. The load-in sequences are not very long but every Borderlands fan understands that when they see their objective marker at the edge of a map, they are in for a little bit of a wait.
I did not realize how much I might have wanted another Borderlands game, but this one is hitting the spot real nice.
The Jaded Gamer
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