Poll: Views on Gearbox?

[WickedFire]

Good but Lazy.

It seems they have the capacity to be great, but the management is failing. Not to say that heavy management is good, just look at the plethora of uninspired dull grey-brown modern military shooters there are today. The problem is that Gearbox is at the opposite end of the spectrum. They are far too relaxed on some of their projects.

Considering work on Aliens Colonial Marines had been going for what, 5/6 years? It should have been far better than it was. DNF is a contestable entity, they got it in a nearly done shape, but its hard to polish what was likely a turd. In either case, better management of resources would have allowed them to proceed with the Borderlands franchise without letting the other properties fall by the wayside.

 

[Sizzle Montyjing]

Loved Borderlands 1 & 2, Duke Nukem Forever was bound to be a complete and utter disaster after 12 years, and never particularly cared about the Alien(s) games, so...

They're still awesome in my book.

Agree on Borderlands, those games are just fantastic to me, hopefully though they can add a bit more quest diversity, better loot drop rates and better boss fights which don't involve hiding behind a rock chipping away at their health in the hope that they just might drop something worthwhile.

Also, I feel as if DNF wasn't as bad as everyone was saying, it was bad, yes, but not terrible.

 

[Something Amyss]

Well I can't say that their latest dick move makes me want to trust them in the future.

Which one?

I'm just curious. I agree, for the most part, but it's more a pattern for me than a single point.

The Aliens thing. I'm not aware of any other dick moves. Well I suppose Pitchford (or however you spell his name) didn't exactly respond to the Aliens thing very well either so I guess you could count that too.
It's a funny phenomenon I find that happens these days is that some companies own up to mistakes when they don't need to and others act like dicks when they should own up to their mistakes.

Well, Aliens had a lot of dick moves.

 

[TheSteeleStrap]

I said average because I love Borderlands, so I'm being generous but... Jesus...

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Well I can't say that their latest dick move makes me want to trust them in the future.

Which one?

I'm just curious. I agree, for the most part, but it's more a pattern for me than a single point.

The Aliens thing. I'm not aware of any other dick moves. Well I suppose Pitchford (or however you spell his name) didn't exactly respond to the Aliens thing very well either so I guess you could count that too.
It's a funny phenomenon I find that happens these days is that some companies own up to mistakes when they don't need to and others act like dicks when they should own up to their mistakes.

Well, Aliens had a lot of dick moves.

Well I was mostly talking about the false demo. Of course I haven't played either the demo or the actual game and I'm pretty much going by the word of Jim Sterling here, but unless I'm mistaken I don't think even EA has blatantly falsely represented a game; at least not to my knowledge.

 

[Xanadu84]

I used to hear Gearbox and take it on faith that they would probably make a great game. Loved Opposing Force, loved Brothers in Arms, loved both Borderlands. I dismissed DNF as a fluke, and more a matter of them just deciding to finish the damn thing then really show there skills. Now Aliens has bombed dramatically and, well...I don't give them the benefit of the doubt anymore. If they make a game, Ill look at it, consider it, and wait for reviews, and I may very well buy it, but I can't take quality in their games on faith anymore. They could make me assume the best from them again, but it will take a couple of excellent games/PR moves to get back on the list of devs that I give benefit of the doubt to.

I still like them generally, but my trust is no longer assured.

 

[kasperbbs]

I'm not interested in borderlands, but i liked brothers in arms and i have absolutely no interest in colonial marines or duke nukem, so i guess below average?

 

[Atmos Duality]

Borderlands is polarizing around these parts. Either you love it or you hate it.
I happen to love it; it's one of the few GOOD LAN-able games remaining and I haven't had any crippling problems with my PC port from Day 1 of either game (though the bugged skills in BL1 were annoying to say the least).

That said, 2K Games needs to stop letting Gearbox pick up doomed products.
Duke Nukem Forever, Aliens: Colonial Marines? Did a series of impressive/funny tech demos that did not represent the final product at all. Both games had an unnaturally long development Hell, and it was clear they weren't going to shake out.

Result: Two black eyes and a lot of lost good will.

 

[mammothbroncho]

Eh, I liked Borderlands 1 and 2 haven't played any of their other games though. They honestly just need to stop picking up games like DNF that have been in development hell forever. Also they should have scrapped Colonial Marines since they had to ask for extensions so many times. So I vote average.

 

[dreadedcandiru99]

I never played either of the Borderlands games because I was told that those are all about the multiplayer, and I don't do multiplayer games for the same reason I don't read multireader books.

I almost got Duke Nukem Forever, but a coworker warned me off at the last minute. Judging from what I saw of it after it came out, that was probably for the best.

The only Gearbox game I've played is Colonial Marines, and I was obligated to go through the whole thing, since I got it in my head to make a YouTube playthrough of it. Otherwise, I'd have quit after an hour or so, because it was one of the shittiest gaming experiences of my life.

In short, Gearbox? Meh.

 

[Nerexor]

My only experience with Gearbox is through Borderlands and Borderlands 2, which I find highly entertaining and a lot of fun. Of course I suppose that might just speak well of that team rather than the company as a whole... not sure how big the company is. As long as they make me borderlands 3 that is just as fun, or even more so, than BL2, I really don't care what they do.

 

[Zealous]

DN:F and A:CM both seemed terrible (I didn't play either of them) but I enjoyed Borderlands and Borderlands 2. They're in the same camp as a ton of other devs in my eyes. They've produced some good stuff and some bad stuff, if something of their has been out for a bit and has gotten favourable reviews from both the press and enthusiasts then I'll consider picking it up if I think it looks good. Nothing more and nothing less.

 

[Agayek]

I like Borderlands, but they really fucked up with DNF and Colonial Marines. I'm not going to be buying any more of their games until well after release at this point.

 

[Random Argument Man]

Good for their own stuff. Bad when It comes to pick a lost cause and trying to release it. If the project is a mess, scratch it and restart at zero. At best, if you decide to make a sequel to DNF and A:CM. Make it right by learning from your mistakes.

 

[Christopher Fisher]

Good with their own IPs (ie the stuff they actually care about), poor with other peoples' IPs.

 

[martyrdrebel27]

ya know, i tried, i fought for them, borderlands was great. innovative and fun, and funny with its own style and voice. i thought they were a good up and comer. i bought all dlc for BL1, enjoyed it. however, with the duke nukem thing (yes they inerited it, then made it terrible. they didnt inherit the decision to do the regenerating health or two weapons only), the aliens fiasco, and their "inability" to raise bl2's level cap (yes, that's important, and yes it's lazy that they didnt figure it out. seriously, they KNEW they were doing dlc before the game was even finished, so they could have had a little foresight that would allow for a cap increase.)

as a person who dedicates himself more to the artists behind the titles than the titles themselves, i feel a little betrayed. they lost a lot of good will, and whereas purchasing their next game was just a given before, i'll need to be thoroughly convinced before even considering it.

it hurts more when you aren't expecting it.

 

[SonOfMethuselah]

Well...
I mean, the Borderlands games are okay. I'm not big into first-person shooters, but going online with my friends is enjoyable enough. Those are literally the only thing Gearbox I've ever played: wouldn't have touched Duke Nukem Forever with a ten-foot pole, had no interest in Aliens: Colonial Marine because frequent and lengthy development delays are a huge turnoff for me, didn't play Brothers in Arms, and had no idea that it was them who did the Half-Life expansions, but didn't play those, anyway.

The thing is, I don't know about the studio as a whole. There are moments when they seem pretty cool: the post on the first page about the proposal and eulogy are testament to that, but then there are times when they seem... a little shady. I can't even really put my finger on why. And the whole misrepresentation thing with the Aliens demo just makes me want to punch Pitchford whenever I see a picture of his smiling mug. STOP LOOKING SO SMUG, YOU LIAR!

I'll vote other. I just don't know what to think about them.

 

[southparkdudez]

They are good bu they need to stop lying

 

[WanderingFool]

So, what with this new Aliens: Colonial Marines fiasco and the simple fact that Duke Nukem Forever even existed, what are your opinions on the game developer Gearbox? Terrible? Great? Good but unlucky? Good but lazy? Good but stop with the DLC now seriously it's getting annoying?

Seeing as they're the reason I have Borderlands 1&2, as well as DNF (I did kinda like it, great for a laugh), I find them as Good. Not Great, but Good.

As I never planned on buy or even playing Colonial Marines, dont give a shit.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

Even though I haven't really played a Gearbox game, from the outside looking in, it looks like for every step forward they take one back.