The Post Game - Borderlands 2

Borderlands 2 takes what the first game offered, and adds more, larger areas to explore, more characters, a fantastic story, new enemies, new ways to play, a great soundtrack and stylized graphics that are just as unique as before, but now look even better. And like the first game, it is playable as a four-player co-operative game with easy drop-in / drop-out. If you're an fps fan you owe it to yourself to get this game. I realize that sounds a bit fanboyish, but really, Borderlands 2 is THAT good.

Installed size on my hard-drive (GOTY edition): 10.4 GB.

The number of areas to explore is huge. I don't have the exact data, but it feels several times larger than the first game. There is a lot of snow at the start, but there are rocky deserts, alpine meadows, and a slag-riddled environmental monstrosity awaiting at the end. Quick-travel points abound (usually at the entrances to areas), so it's easy to go from one place to another. In-game save points are unfortunately like the first game; even if you passed a quick-save point, then quit the game thinking you'll resume where you left off, well, you won't. When you resume, you'll be back at the start of the level. Levels are well designed, too – twisting and turning at times, while others are wide open.

The characters that we played in the first game (Roland, Lilith, Mordecai and Brick) are NPCs here, with the story centered around them. Angel, Claptrap, Moxxi, Scooter, Dr. Zed and Marcus return as well. So right away, stepping out into the wastes of Pandora has a familiar vibe. Except now the enemy is the boss of Hyperion Corp, Handsome Jack. Colorful and distinct, there are enough personalities here to never lose interest – even when doing several of the fetch-quest filler missions (yes, they're back, but given the looting-and-leveling nature of the Borderlands games, probably unavoidable). While the story is great, I can't talk too much about it here without spoiling it. The early stages play out as a defy-the-odds hero tale as the player character defies Handsome Jack and escapes to the town of Sanctuary. Angel is still guiding you on your HUD, but your character catches her in a bit of deception. The second act reveals who (and where) she is – and sets the stage for the third act, which culminates in the showdown with Handsome Jack. I was genuinely curious about how this was going to resolve, and kept playing all the way through. This isn't even touching the side missions and quests for secondary characters. Side quests are a mixed bag. I was more than happy to free some animals for Mordecai; collecting body parts for Dr. Zed while a timer counted down was just annoying, and the rewards were barely worth it in either case (usually XP and a weapon which was far below my current level). The only reason to do a number of the side missions is because of the possibility of rare loot and character backstory. The rest are grindy level-fodder, needed for leveling up, but nothing else.

I solo'd most of Borderlands 2 – yeah, crazy – and the game worked well as a solo experience. The bosses were never too hard; just long. One boss took me 45 minutes of running, hiding, sniping, and running again (I was playing the commando class). Clearly the bosses were not designed for soloing. The loot drops were also disappointing. The guns for sale at the kiosks were always – and I mean always – worse than what I was carrying. It's better to loot new weapons than buy them. Which means that other than ammo, there's nothing to spend money on (except respawning). The best weapons are acquired by using a “golden key” on the special loot-drop chest in Sanctuary, so sometimes it's just easier to spend a golden key than spending hours poring over loot (some side-missions for Moxxi do provide decent weapons).

If there is a drawback to Borderlands 2, it’s the amount of DLC. There is a lot. Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep was one of the best pieces of DLC I’ve ever encountered, having a fun story that was uniquely told. The Captain Scarlett DLC, the Creature Slaughterdome DLC and Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage DLC provide solid additional content. But additional player classes as DLC? (The Psycho and Mechromancer DLCs) Raising the character level cap via DLC? (Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade packs) There are a number of DLC packs that focus on skins and such, but this level of “parting out” the game verges on the ridiculous. If the game were not complete without the DLC, it’d be time for a rant. However, without the DLC, Borderlands 2 still feels like a complete experience. Thus I lament the DLC situation, but deduct no points for it.

In an age when it’s cool to have “the latest” at expense of forgetting the hit games of yesteryear, Borderlands 2 inspires the sort of interest that kept me coming back again and again. A great achievement in fps video games, and a game that belongs in the library of every fan of the genre.

The Post-Game - Lost Planet 3

Lost Planet 3 has a good story, decent action, and some great graphics (for its time). Unfortunately, it takes about fours hours of gameplay before things get interesting, which I think is why there are so many reviews stating the game is boring and slow. This delayed arrival of the “good stuff” means you won't be able to really judge the merits of the game without going past Steam's 2-hour refund limit. If being stuck on an ice-planet with a giant mech and aliens sounds like fun, go ahead and grab Lost Planet 3 when it's on sale.
Total installation size on my hard-drive (with all DLC and HD cutscenes pack): 27 GB.

Jim Peyton is just your ordinary guy out to earn some money for his family back on Earth by taking mining contracts for the NEVEC corporation on a frozen ice-world. This expedition by NEVEC is supposed to be the first to ever set foot on this world, but as Jim finds out, his bosses have been less than truthful about many aspects of the operation. There are several elements that you might expect: strange alien creatures, a frenemy that becomes a friend, a stoic person of wisdom, a cold and windy setting. After about four hours of gameplay, Jim is out on a mission for NEVEC when Lost Planet 3 suddenly goes all Dead Space; he finds himself exploring decrepit structures while strange creatures pop out and attack without warning. Apparent betrayal, a mad scientist, and an evil corporation round out the cast, and while you've probably seen it all before, Lost Planet 3 implements these elements well. Few things about the story surprise, but it is told effectively, and the voice acting is top-notch.

For much of the game, you climb into your giant mech (called the “rig”) and go out into the frozen wastes doing missions for the NEVEC corporation. Some upgrades can be purchased for the rig, but it's not customizeable in the traditional sense. The weapons Jim can wield have decent punch and there are about a dozen to choose from. I stuck mostly to the simple assault rifle; decent damage and a large magazine made up for the twitchy iron sights (which hurts the effectiveness of the sniper rifles). No real weapon customization, just bespoke upgrades that can be purchased at the stores.

Enemies come in two varieties: human and alien. The humans are your standard gun-wielding soldiers who hide behind cover or charge your position with shotguns. Most of the time, though, you'll be fighting the alien Akrid. There is a good variety of Akrid; my favorites were the weird six-legged ones that dive behind cover and just barely peep out at you, before rearing up like a cobra and spitting volleys. In the early part of the game, the boss battles involve fighting several of the larger, tougher Akrid all at once (when in doubt, shoot the glowy bits). Later on, there are some individually unique (and enormous) bosses (still shoot the glowy bits, though). Some of the “lesser” bosses are re-used a few times. The battles are not over quickly, and offer a fair bit of variation and challenge. Be alert for QTEs; they don't form the core of the battles, but they are important for the finishers.

The graphics are Unreal 3, and except for some strangely low-res clouds, are great (I recommend disabling Motion Blur in the Options menu, though). The backdrops are large, ice glistens, and snow blows convincingly. There is a free DLC of the cutscenes in HD (the DLC is a 7.5 GB download), so those also look excellent. The soundtrack (by Jack Wall) is great; instead of going for a big orchestral score, Lost Planet 3 instead goes for a quiet, reflective approach for story moments, and scratchy, screechy strings in the horror moments. Once you're out in the rig looking for resources, though, the mood changes to catchy folk tunes.

A number the reviews of Lost Planet 3 are outright negative, and if you don't play the game for more than four hours, you'll probably agree with them. I stuck with it and was rewarded with a good game that in retrospect has been treated unfairly (perhaps because it was too different from Lost Planet 1 and 2? I haven't played those games at the time of this review). Recommended on sale if fighting aliens on an ice-planet (with real boss battles) sounds like your cup of tea – “on sale” because a truly great game doesn't require “sticking with it.”

Notes:
- Multiplayer is dead. Don't plan on getting 100% of the game's achievements unless you can get some people together to help you out.
- There is a technical issue with the mechanical claw of the Rig. Left mouse-button attaches it to an object; if that object needs to be rotated, the screen prompt is “tap WASD to turn the claw.” THIS IS WRONG. The correct way to turn the claw is to repeatedly tap the F key. This is a common enough issue that a quick forum search revealed the answer, but how the heck does that slip by the QA testing?
- A more minor problem: there is no message if you do not yet have the attachment your rig needs for a specific action. I thought the game was broken at one point, but as it turns out the winch needed an upgrade to throw the grapple further and hit what I wanted it to; the game never flashed a message like, “rig upgrade required for this action.” Just be sure you've got the upgrades you need.

The Post-Game: Thief (2014)

I really wanted to recommend this game and if you're looking for a dark stealth adventure, it'll do the job. But there are plenty of other games out do the same thing, and do it better. While I'm not on the "the original Thief games r the BEST!" bandwagon, those games were simply much more fun to play. I still had fun with the new Thief - the game tries hard to be engaging. Stealth is required the minute Garrett steps out of his hideout, interacting with the environment is key to success, and there are multiple ways to accomplish a given task. Sounds good, right?

Except the actual game-play of Thief - thieving and strategizing - happens the same way too many times for the game to carry my interest through to the end (I did get there eventually on my third attempt). The story could have been engaging, but characters are under-developed (some only appear in cut-scenes), show up for no reason, and are blessed with campy B-movie dialogue. The cutscene at the end of the game, while complete, made me think there might have been more to the story, but it was trimmed or cut. Who knows.

The mechanics of the game work well, but as before, there's little variation: put out fires to create shadows, throw a bottle to distract guards, and swoop to the objective. What should have been a thrilling exploration of an open world Steampunk city is instead reduced to a grind-fest for loot in a lot of close alleys. Some of the level designs are great - the house with the moving walls was one of my favorites - but the novelty passed quickly once I realized that most loot would be acquired (yet again) by rifling through the desks and closets for pens, ashtrays, golden saucers, scroll holders...

In a sense, Thief really is Kleptomania Simulator. You scamper around the City, stealing random sh*t. But to me, Thief should be about “the job,” not about stealing random sh*t. There are three kinds of jobs in Thief: Main (story) jobs, client jobs that an NPC will provide, and Basso's side jobs. Story jobs advance the story; yes, there's theft along the way, but even with the massive amount of loot in the Baron's mansion, thieving still feels like an afterthought because there's literally no reason to do it. Client jobs have a minor story of their own, but there are only two clients (each provides three missions). Jobs from Basso are side-quests that give some gold and a notice on screen that it's completed. Even though they're acquired from different sources, they all have a similar feel and execution.

The graphics are great, but intense. If you're looking to showcase a killer gaming rig, Thief has settings aplenty that can be cranked to impressive levels. But great graphics and some fun mechanics are betrayed by a very average use just about all other game elements. The setting needed to be opened up. The music creates tension without being memorable. Enemies only come in three varieties. The enemies' AI all behaves the same (extremely predictable). And boss battles - what a joke they are! If first-person stealth is your thing, get it by all means. Just don't expect a genre defining experience, and you'll probably enjoy it.

On challenge mode:
There are three maps (one of which is DLC): the Asylum, the Baron's mansion, and the House of Blossoms (all excerpted from the main game). Collect loot before the time runs out. Every time you gather loot, the count-down resets. It's an arcade-y addition that might help refine your thieving technique (there are enemies present), but with only three maps it's little more than a distraction. And if you don't purchase The Forgotten DLC (the Asylum map), there are actually only two maps...

On the Master Thief edition:
The Master Thief edition is b*llsh*t. You get: the Opportunist Booster Pack, a digital comic book, and the digital soundtrack. The Opportunist booster Pack contains items that can be acquired in-game, you just get them at the start. To get the comic book, you have to take the code provided and enter it into an external website. To get the soundtrack, you have to enter the code you receive into a different external website. BUT THE SOUNDTRACK IS NOT COMPLETE. I only received 10 tracks of the soundtrack this way. The full album on Amazon is 20 tracks. A straight-up cheat, plain and simple. Don't get the Master Thief edition.

On DLC:
Of the DLC, the Booster packs are not pay-to-win, but they are pay-for-an-advantage. The Bank Heist is fun if short. If feels like a left-over level for content that was cut from the game. It's fun, but the value of the loot is disappointing, and it can be beaten in 30-60 minutes. If Challenge mode is something you enjoyed, the The Forsaken challenge map is worth the price - on sale at 80% off, of course.