Borderlands
What people tend to forget is the original Borderlands was a foundation for more to come. I've heard a lot of debate whether it was better than the others in the series. I can't say at this point seeing that I'm going to play them in order. It was released in October 20, 2009. Do you know how old that is? Games like Assassin's Creed 2, Halo 3: ODST, or even Minecraft were just coming out. The game was built with the idea of playing with your friends. It was supposed to be easy to pickup on a console (like the Xbox 360). There are 4 different classes, loot everywhere, room for 4 people in two vehicles, and plenty of targets to aim at. I also seem to remember them gloating about some Guinness World Record of possible 17.75 million different weapons at the time too.
The "Game of the Year" Edition is simply the original game with all the DLC included. However, the "Enhanced" version does add a few things to help modernize the game. Field-of-View option was added so you didn't have to try and modify the files. A rotatable mini-map shows where the landscape and enemies are in relation to your location. Waypoints are well-defined with distance and proximity much closer to their destination (most of the time). Higher Graphics, more landscape details, cosmetic decorations, and additional loot spots were all added if those were important to you. I hear gold chests was something from Borderlands 2 they added to the game but getting keys for 'em was impossible without doing more outside the game. The only technical issue I had was the game didn't consider the zoomed-in resolution of Windows 10. Otherwise, loading never was an issue and my client never crashed.
At first I thought the game was incredibly difficult. I had to learn very early on that it's all a numbers game. If your level, or the amount of damage dealt from your weapons, doesn't match the level of your enemies you are going to have a very hard time. This became really apparent when I used every bullet I could carry at level 14 against a level 16 Roid Rage Boss. A rare gun that allows you to fire multiple bullets at once might trump a very rare gun that only deals more damage per individual bullet. Some guns, like in the case of legendary weapons, can have additional effects not listed. That is why it was very important to get a gun that feels right than one based merely on statistics.
The story and world of the game was quite intriguing but the gameplay fell flat. Conjoining quests appeared on boards at the worst times, interactions with people were practically nonexistent, dialogue randomly cut out or crossed over other voices, enemy AI was lackluster, and respawns happened way too frequent. The quests were decent enough with the same kind popping in each region: platforming for a storage upgrade from repairing a robot (which is pretty much required), scavanger hunt for weapons, mining for artifact upgrades, searching for voice memos, and always some kind of arena or boss fight. I did notice some neat little details like the fact you don't run out of stamina or your weapon scope reflects when it isn't drawn. One major thing that I wish I knew sooner was the ability to gain Second Wind to "save yourself" whenever you defeat an enemy while dying on the ground.
Honestly, I think a lot of love was put more into designing the Outrunner. They introduce the concept of vehicles early in the game but hardly teach you anything about driving one. You can spawn one free-of-charge at any Catch-A-Ride Station. There are so many of them that it really isn't a problem finding one. You can teleport to your car from the pole or spawn a new one on the spot. Then you can teleport directly to the drivers or gunners seat. The vehicle turns on a dime, kills most enemies instantly, and regenerates health. Looking at the keybinding list reveals that you can press H to honk the horn, C to switch spots, spacebar to target enemies, and right click to fire (even when driving away from them). You can still collect ammo and teleport to other areas without getting out. There is no need to "gas up" your vehicle or pay a repair fee. Sadly, it isn't perfect. The headlights don't stay on when you leave the vehicle and the car can easily get hung up (and sometimes flip over) on the smallest obstacle.
One major drawback I had with the game is that a lot of things didn't matter after a certain point. Nothing good ever came from vending machines, which lead me to maxing out my money. Respec cost is so abysmal while respawning cost around 7% of your total funds. 90% of the weapons become useless at around level 25 once you gain that one awesome gun. The chance of seeing anything rare or higher in a "chest" was pitiful. Doing side objectives became a bore when you already completed the story mission (limited enemy types didn't help either). Fall damage is minute and is mitigated by your shields. At least the ending was awesome despite running through most of the battle beforehand. I also manged to get myself Baha's Bigger Blaster (177x9 damage) at level 35.
Then came the DLC. I'm not saying the add-ons weren't worth playing but they certainly could have been more polished. For starters, they only had the one teleportation pole in each area. This meant a lot of backtracking and a lot of running... or driving around. This made each area take about three times as long to finish. They must be played in order and after the events of the main game. Seriously, they spoil the main ending within the opening movies of each one. Moxxi's Underdome Riot is a glorified monster spawner arena with a storage bank as being the only thing worthwhile. The Secret Armory of General Knoxx is a nice addition. Amusingly you can still gltich through the floor and loot every chest available. Too bad there was only one weapon that could match what I already obtained in the main game. I guess being 5 levels higher didn't matter much.
Summary: A quick-and-dirty game with humor and mature themes that only befits a group of guys having a good time playing video games for a weekend. For someone revisiting this aged game by yourself for the first time, not so much. There aren't enough changes or substance to constitute another playthrough for this short-lived shooter. I deduce its sequel is a much better introduction to the series.
5-25-2019