I’ve been mostly ambivalent about the new Borderlands. Set on Pandora’s Moon, Elpis. the game charts Handsome Jack’s decent in to lunacy, before he’s the bad guy. Here’s he’s assembled a team of vault hunters who aren’t even close to being the good guys – but it’s their job to get rid of even badder guys, and save the world.
As you by now are undoubtedly aware, there is a whole new cast of playable vault hunters. You have Athena, the rogue assassin whose kinetic Aspis shield can absorb energy and which allows her to throw it about like some patriotic super hero who shan’t be named for fear of copyright infringement. She’s got a triad of skill trees that allows her to branch out in to different focuses; buffing her shield, creating electric storms and one that gives her particularly blade-focused melee damage buffs.
Wilhelm, the very same one you blew up in Borderlands 2, functions as your commander, though he’s got a bit of a cybernetic bent, becoming more and more augmented as the game goes on. His action skill is called Wolf and Saint, and allows him to summon two drones that aid in battle, and help him recharge his shields respectively. His branching skill trees allow him to focus on either of the drones, or on augmenting his own body.
Nisha the Lawbringer is the closest to the Gunzerker, with an action skill called Showdown that lets her go all Clint Eastwood and mow down everything with her dastardly pistol. With the right skills, she can permanently dual wield guns too, making her a formidable force on the battlefield. Nisha’s also got a whip with which to melee her enemies.
The last hunter, and the one I got to use in my hands-on sessions, is the divisive and annoying robot everyone loves..or loves to hate, Claptrap. He’s actually a bit ridiculous, to be honest. He serves as an agent of chaos, as his action skill, VaultHunter.exe, runs a random program that changes how things work. You get a random Action Package from a roulette wheel of fun based on the situation, that infers weird bonuses that can help or hinder. One makes all of your teammates throw out grenades all the time, while another makes them all bounce on the ground without any sort of control.
He’s also got a weird high five skill. If you throw out a high five, and one of your team mates high fives you back, the entire team gets damage and health buffs. If they don’t return the favour, the buffs will only affect him…a bit of a “screw you guys.”
He’s an odd character to play, and an odd one to have in a team; just as divisive on the battlefield as he is in the narrative. He actually requires quite a high degree of skill to use properly, as he can either be like some sort of damage-dealing savant, or just screw things up completely. Basically, he’s Claptrap.
Beyond the new vault hunters, there are a few changes to the gameplay. Of course, being set on the Moon it’s all about the low gravity, and the lack of breathable Oxygen. Low Gravity means you spend quite a bit of time jumping high in to the air, which then allows you to butt stomp your way to the ground, dealing damage and pushing unfortunate enemies over the edge to their deaths. There are also new cryogenic weapons, along with continuous-beam laser weapons that are good for melting faces off.
In the end though, it still looks, feels and plays a lot like Borderlands. That’s not a bad thing.
It’s coming in October, to the old consoles and PC.
Last Updated: August 18, 2014
Kensei Seraph
August 18, 2014 at 14:07
Claptrap sounds kinda fun.
Spaffy
August 18, 2014 at 14:16
Yea, none of the other characters seem exciting, except maybe Athena
Hammersteyn
August 18, 2014 at 14:19
Id like to play as Wilhelm. Unfortunately none of them seems to be skilled with a sniper rifle
Spaffy
August 18, 2014 at 14:20
I know. I had the most fun with Zer0 in BL2
Admiral Chief Assassin
August 18, 2014 at 14:33
I’m currently having a ton of fun with him!
Hammersteyn
August 18, 2014 at 14:38
I had fun with him, currently playing with the Mechromancer
Sir Rants A Lot: On Pandora
August 18, 2014 at 14:38
I really like Maya. Much better than Lilith from 1
Spaffy
August 18, 2014 at 14:42
Never played Maya. Played Zer0, then Axton for his turret, and now again Zer0. Level 12 now. Almost ready for some of the expansions.
Sir Rants A Lot: On Pandora
August 18, 2014 at 14:44
Played Axton. Really enjoyed the turret. I feel he is probably the “easiest” class to play due to his turret being seriously OP. But his class was a boatload of fun
Admiral Chief Assassin
August 18, 2014 at 14:50
Steam?
Spaffy
August 18, 2014 at 15:03
No. Though I am becoming more and more convinced that is the way to go
Admiral Chief Assassin
August 18, 2014 at 15:40
DO IT!
Kensei Seraph
August 18, 2014 at 14:35
Heh, my Krieg is one of the best snipers you will ever meet despite having the crazed axe-wielding lunatic skill build.
Hammersteyn
August 18, 2014 at 14:15
Lemme take this one…
Old consoles? Compared to PC that’s PS4 and XBOX One.
Spaffy
August 18, 2014 at 14:17
You just had to…
Sir Rants A Lot: On Pandora
August 18, 2014 at 14:23
But Claptrap can’t climb stairs……
Spaffy
August 18, 2014 at 14:27
You, Sir, are correct.
BTW is everyone on Pandora all of a sudden?
Sir Rants A Lot: On Pandora
August 18, 2014 at 14:38
Seems like. We are all excited for the pre-sequel
Norm
August 18, 2014 at 15:39
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Sir Rants A Lot: On Pandora
August 18, 2014 at 15:53
hehehe
Rinceable
August 18, 2014 at 14:33
Sounds awesome. Will be jamming this with some of the SOMA crew!
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
August 18, 2014 at 16:12
my body is ready!
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
August 18, 2014 at 16:12
Hehehe This game and Destiny – This will be all I need for this year! 😀
Blowhole the Apocalypse
August 19, 2014 at 05:05
I have never played BL 1. But I played every class a bit in Borderlands 2. My favorite, by far, was the Gunzerker. I tend to try and be a tank, but there aren’t any, or so it seems. Closest to what I want is Nisha, however I read that she doesn’t have much health. Whatever. If they bring raid bosses back, I want them to change. I want raid bosses to be possible to solo, albeit harder. Yeah you can do that in Borderlands 2, but that is extremely hard to do without A) having a health leach weapon, B) cheating. And they have ridiculously cheap attacks! Terra and his black hole is almost unavoidable unless you cheat! Voracidous sits on top of you when you are down so you can’t get a second wind or be revived by others. Ancient dragons are a step in the right direction, however. You have to use REAL strategy to beat them. Like in what order you beat them, that kind of thing.
ethelcmcphe
August 19, 2014 at 08:29
I’m making $86 an hour working from home. I was shocked when my neighbour told me she was averaging $95 but I see how it works now.I feel so much freedom now that I’m my own boss.for a detail check tech tab.
This is what I do,,,,,,, http://www.disqus-jobs.com
.
===================