I’m honestly quite conflicted. I love Borderlands unequivocally. Very little of that has to do with the story though; it’s all got to do with looting and shooting. I love Telltale equally; their adventure games tell some of the best stories in the videogame medium. I’m just not sure the two will work together.
That’s what’s happening though. at this weekend’s Spike VGX awards, Telltale and Gearbox announced that an adventure game set in the Borderlands Universe was coming. Tales from the Borderlands is coming as an episodic adventure series, developed wholly by Telltale, using Gearbox assets.
According to Telltale’s Kevin Bruner, it’s “very much in the Borderlands world” but it will “play like a Telltale game.” I remain sceptical,. but I hope that Telltale manages to take Borderland’s wacky characters and flesh them out, producing some genuinely interesting exposition. Still, the core of Borderlands is the loot-a-thon RPG element, and a Borderlands games without seventy three billion guns just doesn’t feel right.
No word on platform, but if it’s anything like previous Telltale adventures, the safe bet is everything.
Last Updated: December 9, 2013
Alien Emperor Trevor
December 9, 2013 at 08:39
I’m interested. Borderlands 2 actually had a pretty decent story – especially if you paid attention to the echo recordings.
Matthew Holliday
December 9, 2013 at 09:17
The borderlands story was good because of Handsome Jack, without him, it would have come off as REALLY pretentious. The lead writer got the job because the original one had a stroke or something and the new guy pulled friend connections to get the job.
the game was good, but not because of the story, it had good elements and was an improvement over the original, but the story didnt make the game great, Handsome Jack, Tiny Tina and the game mechanics made this game great.
Telltale games made The Walking Dead games, which people seem to have forgotten overnight.
Im interested to see what a company that knows how to tell stories, can do with a company that really knows how to make games.
the only thing im worried about is how theyr going to balance a quality new story, with borelands slapstick comedy.
Lego Witcher of the Squirrels
December 9, 2013 at 08:39
I really hope Telltale doesn’t kill this BL game… would be a shame.
Telltale lives up to their names a lot of the time with “Telling Tales”, but Borderlands has never just been about the story, it’s about crazy characters, dangerous mobs, and looting more guns than you can carry… and I’m very skeptical about Telltale doing the Borderlands series any good with this iteration. It can go one of two ways, they’ll make a kick ass game that the community loves and the fans adore… or they’ll completely destroy it and it won’t make it to episode two/three.
Matthew Holliday
December 9, 2013 at 09:21
Completely destroying the series is a pretty big exxageration, this wont be a AAA title that is part of the core story.
it should really be treated as a sorta indy title, like the Walking Dead games were.
also, to repeat my statement from another post:
Im interested to see what a company that knows how to tell stories, can do with a company that really knows how to make games.
Kensei Seraph remembers Madiba
December 9, 2013 at 08:40
“Hahaha, so many people are going to die.”
Well that sounds promising.
Alien Emperor Trevor
December 9, 2013 at 08:54
Well the trailer says it’s 1080p, so it’s probably not coming to the Xbone 😉
RinceGivesRspectsToMadiba
December 9, 2013 at 09:02
What so you mean?!
Alien Emperor Trevor
December 9, 2013 at 09:06
What? Are you still drunk? :/
RinceGivesRspectsToMadiba
December 9, 2013 at 09:09
Don’t be silly, the question should be are you still sober 😛
Alien Emperor Trevor
December 9, 2013 at 09:20
I am now. Most of yesterday afternoon & evening not so much lol
RinceGivesRspectsToMadiba
December 9, 2013 at 09:22
He he 🙂 Good times 😉 Though OVG is still hungry… 0-O
Alien Emperor Trevor
December 9, 2013 at 09:28
I was half expecting a gift basket with some skin lotion.
RinceGivesRspectsToMadiba
December 9, 2013 at 09:34
I, I, I, I… http://www.keysmashblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/itrubsthelotion.gif
oVg
December 9, 2013 at 09:36
Put the lotion in the basket.
RinceGivesRspectsToMadiba
December 9, 2013 at 09:41
I actually feel ill now 0-O
Sageville
December 9, 2013 at 09:43
My take…
Alien Emperor Trevor
December 9, 2013 at 09:46
Which hos? If they’re pretty I might decide to go lotion-less. :/
Sageville
December 9, 2013 at 10:13
Cat-overlords won’t let that happen
RinceGivesRspectsToMadiba
December 9, 2013 at 10:16
Gahhhh!
Hammersteyn
December 9, 2013 at 14:17
LOL!
oVg
December 9, 2013 at 09:44
Why did we allow Trevor to escape?
Alien Emperor Trevor
December 9, 2013 at 09:45
I fought my way out – you should see all the scratches & bruises on my forearms.
RinceGivesRspectsToMadiba
December 9, 2013 at 09:47
Lies, that was your animal!
oVg
December 9, 2013 at 09:52
It was the poodle.
Alien Emperor Trevor
December 9, 2013 at 09:55
Shush, the peons around here don’t know any better. As far as they’re concerned it could be true.
Sageville
December 9, 2013 at 14:44
That awkward moment when you’re naked, your junk is still strategically tucked away and you are holding a teacup poodle….
Sir Rants remembers Madiba
December 9, 2013 at 09:02
Eish, I don’t know so much. Shall sit on the side lines and see how it plays out
Hammersteyn
December 9, 2013 at 09:07
Agreed, maybe it will have less DLC? So that when you complete the game you complete the game and you don’t have 5 other DLC packs coming out later.
Purple_Dragon
December 9, 2013 at 13:48
I thought Borderlands 2 got the DLC right except for the Pirate one.
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
December 9, 2013 at 09:13
I’m just glad it isn’t a new Borderlands yet… I barely bought the season pass.
Matthew Holliday
December 9, 2013 at 09:23
20$ seasons pass was well worth it tbh.
especially when you compare it to the other games.
still angry about BF4 premium costing 40$
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
December 9, 2013 at 09:28
Got the pass for just under $8 on http://www.greenmangaming.com
Definitely worth it! Currently playing Witcher 1 again though and then 2… So it might need to wait before it gets some love.
Matthew Holliday
December 9, 2013 at 09:32
yeah, they had it for 7.50$ this time round on the steam sales, GOTY edition makes it sorta irrelevant.
Also know the feeling, playing through Skyrim again, and Walking Dead to get through with BF4 and Dota 2 online to play aswell…
backlog ftw?
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
December 9, 2013 at 09:43
lol! Let’s not even start talking about backlogs… I hit 202 games on Steam last week. This excludes my GOG games. There is no way in hell I am going to be able to even lay them all xD
Tried Walking Dead, but I just didn’t get into it. It is just kind of sitting there on my desktop.
Matthew Holliday
December 9, 2013 at 09:58
202, lol, thats a bit ridiculous 😛
do yourself a favour and make yourself feel horrible with this
http://steamdb.info/calculator/
shows you your steam value and hours spent playing.
My steam value isnt so heavy, but my hours spent, made me feel a little guilty.
* *Worth:* $614.69
* *Games owned:* 47
* *Games not played:* 15
* *Percentage:* 32%
* *Hours spent:* 2,884.0h
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
December 9, 2013 at 10:07
lol! How many of those hours are DOTA2? 😛 Cause I know about 1k hours of mine is just DOTA2. Not even mentioning Skyrim xD
Where do you see the value? o.O I wonder what mine would be on… Might make me reflect on how much money I throw at gaming xD
Matthew Holliday
December 9, 2013 at 10:14
Says “Account Worth” near the top of the page once you put your userid in.
Dota 2: 1,586.5h
Borderlands 2: 356.7h
Call of Duty; Modern Warfare 2: 239.7h
Dungeon Defenders: 177.2h
Battlefield: Bad Company 2: 147.9h
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
December 9, 2013 at 11:21
Freaken Steam doesn’t want to send me those log in via webbrowser emails. So I will check tonight… I am kind of scared xD
Matthew Holliday
December 9, 2013 at 11:28
just use your userid or username instead
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
December 9, 2013 at 11:34
$2515.25
Yup… Reevaluating my life now.
Matthew Holliday
December 9, 2013 at 12:23
yeah was about to say, it takes the current value of the games from the steam store, rather than what you paid for it
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
December 9, 2013 at 11:34
Must add that I never buy full retail and I have a LOT of Humble Bundles… So I definitely didn’t pay that amount! I hope…
Alien Emperor Trevor
December 9, 2013 at 10:07
You’re not supposed to sleep with them, just play them :/
UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy
December 9, 2013 at 10:08
Yeah that’s what they tell you when you start, but in the end we all know where you end up 😛
Anon A Mouse
December 9, 2013 at 09:17
Meh, I was over Borderlands after the first one. Didn’t even get Borderlands2.
RinceGivesRspectsToMadiba
December 9, 2013 at 09:24
Borderlands 1 was kak. The second was/is totally amzeballs. Try it!
ToshZA
December 9, 2013 at 09:42
I played and loved both, so many times.
Super sceptical about this though.
Matthew Holliday
December 9, 2013 at 09:49
didnt play borderlands 1 too much actually, well, not compared to 2.
there was alot less emphasis on the grinding to max level, borderlands 2 had the world of warcraft feeling, where you felt the game only really started at 50/61/72 (depending on when you started playing)
i could play borderlands 1 for just the first playthrough and still be happy. which i did a couple of times.
ToshZA
December 9, 2013 at 09:55
Oddly enough, I still haven’t managed to get any of my 3 or 4 characters in BL2 to the 50+ mark. In the first game I got 3 characters to max level. BL2 is just way, way bigger and longer, so going through 3 or 4 playthroughs (again, depending on how much you’ve unlocked) is very, very time consuming.
Matthew Holliday
December 9, 2013 at 10:01
quite time consuming yeah, got one level 72, one 61 and one 50.
350 hours later, i think il throw up if i hear claptrap call me “minion” one more time.
Matthew Holliday
December 9, 2013 at 09:46
kak is a bit much, the second one was definitely an improvement and the story was lame, but borderlands1 was interesting as shit when it was first released.
cel shading, comedy, co-op that was co-operative and an FPS RPG?
ermagurd so new, such innovative, wow.
RinceGivesRspectsToMadiba
December 9, 2013 at 09:50
Nah, you are correct, not kak. Was just disappointed with the ‘ending’.
Alien Emperor Trevor
December 9, 2013 at 09:52
That boss fight was pretty lame alright.
ToshZA
December 9, 2013 at 09:53
The only let-down to an otherwise rad game.
hairyknees
December 9, 2013 at 09:52
That ending -_- they build up the whole game and point to the vault! LOOT FOR DAYS!
Such game. Very guns.
Matthew Holliday
December 9, 2013 at 10:06
twas not the ending, but a new beginning.
i was sad that there were no eridian guardians or weapons in borderlands 2.
also the gun levelling system was pretty cool in borderlands 1, giving you better stats the more you used the guns.
ToshZA
December 9, 2013 at 10:12
Didn’t you feel it got a bit too OP by the end though? I mean, with a siren I could literally take any SMG and just run into 100 enemies and leave without a scratch.
Matthew Holliday
December 9, 2013 at 10:20
well i didnt get to max level, so not really
the hunters dps was really well balanced, even if his bird wasnt, one hit 11 baddies with hp return, sirens phase shift thing was just awesome, bang bang everyone dead, never played brick much, but the soldier got waaaaaaaaay too OP, even just after the first one, assault rifles put out way too much damage.
think i may add borderlands 1 to my to do list over the xmas period
Mark Treloar
December 9, 2013 at 09:29
If its anything like the Walking Dead I will skip it.
Izzy
December 9, 2013 at 11:22
Hmm, here is to hoping Telltale doesn’t bite off more than they can chew. It’s great that they are so ambitious, but keeping The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us and the rumors of new installments going could get hectic for them. Last I heard they were looking to pen a side-story set in a Song of Ice and Fire’s Westeros and also, there’s that one developer or writer that wants to do a Star Wars story, but that might be completely unrelated. As for Borderlands, I think there’s real potential there, if you cut away some layers of the crazy, goofy chaos to reveal some of the hidden charm underneath. Like the promotional trailer for Krieg. It’s a really creative and cool way to introduce a psycho as a playable character, and it really got me interested in him! I think Telltale’s seeing some gold in the series, and I’d be damned if I didn’t at least give them the benefit of the doubt.