Jandau said:
Gearbox is a fairly common occurrence - an average/mediocre developer who had one good idea. In their case, Borderlands. They stumbled upon a formula that for whatever reason worked, but they can't follow it up because when it comes down to it, they aren't all that good. Not only that, but the good game (and its sequels) build up expectations among the gaming public meaning that their subsequent mediocre work is judged even more harshly...
This...this right here, is how I feel about Gearbox. With only a few minor differences.
For one, I'll admit that I have enjoyed a few of their older games. Both of the Half-Life expansions and Brothers in Arms, for example, were really enjoyable. And, I am a firm "fan" of Borderlands 1.
(But only after fixing the PC version with community made patches. Which kinda pissed me off, I must add. And almost made me hate the game.)
However, beyond those, most of what I've played from them has been, to me, anything from moderately decent to just awful. More over, they brag incessantly about how "awesome" they are.
Well, okay. Randy Pitchford does. And, he likes to outright lie to people. Someone should tell him to "clap his trap" once in a while. <.<
It probably doesn't help that I'm still pissed off that I wasted sixty bucks on Borderlands 2. Haven't even finished my first play-through and can't bring myself to go back to it. The writing, story, characters, and dialog are so incredibly juvenile that every time someone starts talking in the game it grates on my nerves. The first games story and characters were bland and juvenile, but at least tolerably so. And the fun of the gameplay and intricacy of the world designs made up for it in spades. The sequel? Not so much. Not to me. Perhaps it gets better later on? I don't know.
(That, and they made their DLC practices even more obnoxious. But whatever, that's more an industry trend then something that's exclusive to Gearbox.)
I liked Gearbox in the past. I want to like them now. I know for a fact they have some really talented people over there. I just think, at a corporate level, they keep screwing up lately. Here's hoping that trend doesn't continue. We really, REALLY don't need another Duke Nukem Forever nor another Aliens: Colonial Marines.
