Dear Sinners and Saints,
I've been doing some thinking lately about maybe starting up a little blog where I talk about my favorite tabletop games or books and I figured Why stop there? There's loads I love to talk about, video games being one of my greatest loves in life, and so why not use this as my way of just voicing my thoughts? So I'll start a little blog. Every odd day or week I'll just voice my opinions on a Video game, Board Game, Card Game, Book, or Movie. Maybe if I get some requests, I'll look into those as well.
Many of you on this site must know of the beautiful KonamiCode by now? Big gamer and a nice friend of mine from across the lake. We have a beloved franchise in common called Borderlands, and after she posted a photo of the title screen, I've been sighing wistfully and refusing to drop my controller, except to bathe, occasionally eat, and of course, write this blog.
Borderlands 2 is the go-to for just about everything, as it has just about everything, and I will mention every little bit of the glorious (near) perfection of this wonderful gem.
DESIGN/ART
The art in borderlands is a gem in and of itself. The world around you is gritty and real with a cartoon touch that makes for a unique feel. Whether you're wandering the desolate wastes of the Dust or wandering about in the Icy Southern Shelf, you'll love each and every detail that you find scattered about the world. A discouraging amount of detail has been spent with every nook and cranny, with little posters or hints about the people who inhabit the space spread out everywhere.
Even the guns each have their own personal touches, from Torgue's Gaudy design to the beaten down looking Bandit weapons to the slick and shiny Hyperion guns. Each manufacturer is unique, and you know just whose gun you have just by looking at it. The enemies and NPCs each have this wonderful design in mind as well, and it shows just how much attention was spent crafting this world. The fire, electricy, and corrosive effects look pretty, if they do lock a little variety (enemies on fire may appear to burn, but more often than not, you'll just see green number for enemies suffering your corrosive weapons).
GAME PLAY
The game play in Borderlands 2 is fairly simply to start off. The basic controls of a shooter apply, and the controller is fairly well mapped out. You gain experience when you kill an enemy, and once you reach level 5, you will unlock the special ability of your character. Some are very easy to use, such as the commando which simply deploys a turret that helps you out. The Assassin, however, will become invisible for a few precious seconds, and your next attack will be stronger. Positioning yourself favorably and maximizing on that fatal shot is much more challenging than simply deploying a sentry and continuing on your way.
Once your special has been unlocked, every level after that will give you a skill point to spend on any number of abilities, split into three "Paths" or trees, that will specialize your character and allow you to tailor it to your style of playing. Almost every play through of Borderlands is unique, as you use different skills to tackle your objectives. Sounds simple right? Just wait.
In addition to this, your weapons gain attributes. Fire power, reload speed, magazine size, rate of fire, and accuracy let you measure one weapon against another. No two guns are exactly alike, and there are billions of weapons. Add onto that scopes for zooming in and out, and the possibility of doing elemental damage that can be effective again flesh, armor, or electronic shields, and the variety never ends. You can even modify your shield or grenades, so that you resist certain damage types, or your grenades explode in special ways.
The game play is exactly as is should be. Intricate and thought provoking, but never so challenging as to frustrate. The only downside is that sometimes you might get a clearly superior weapon that simply doesn't match your play style at all, and it's only many hours later that you encounter a gun that lets you enter that play style again, but this is infrequent at worst.
Certain guns made by certain people even have common traits. Guns made by Vladof will always fire faster. Bandit always has larger magazines but slower reload speeds. Jakobs will always fire as fast as you can pull the trigger, and Hyperion guns will always improve in accuracy the longer you hold the trigger. All factors to take into consideration.
Now, Sinners and Saints, last but certainly not least...
STORY
As the name does imply, this is a sequel to Borderlands. A direct sequel. You can certainly play this game having never touched Borderlands, but I wouldn't recommend it, as it has just as a good a tale, and it's best to be able to see all the people you met in the last game.
What struck me for Borderlands 2 was the villain: Handsome Jack. He is the wittiest, funniest character I have ever met him, and I have never hated any man, woman, child, program, or day of the week more. You want to kill him. You mostly want to punch him, or slap him throughout the entire game, and by the end of the game, despite his quips and jokes that make him such a lovable character, you will seethe with rage and time will mean nothing as your only drive will be to kill this man. That's just how well written this man was. You love the character, and yet you want nothing more than to give him the most agonizing death.
The rest of the writing is rather good. Your typical shooter plots and voice acting, but Handsome Jack is memorable in every aspect.
Without spoiling much, the basic plot is that you are a Vault Hunter; a mercenary come to the planet of Pandora in search of treasure in the form of "the Vault". Handsome Jack has essentially taken over the planet and is trying to rid the planet of "Bandit scum", and you're on his list, so it's up to you to stop him
FINAL THOUGHTS
The game is perfect for everyone. I actually got my lady friend into shooters through Borderlands 2, and some nights we kill 6 hours forgetting the passage of time. I really cannot recommend a better shooting in this generation, as it's truly a fantastic work of art and a blast to play. If I had to score it, I would give Borderlands 2 an 8.5/10
So that's my first personal review. Lemme know what you think or if you have a request, and I'll see what can be done.
Take care Sinners and Saints
