Zero Punctuation: Borderlands
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
- Start date
I actually played this out of guilt, it was bought for me for christmas by my Parents so I figured I'd better give it a fair go, I'm not a fan of multi-player online games having sworn off of them when i closed down my WoW account last year (and even on WoW the only person I actually spoke to or played any quests with was my gf) so I stuck solely to the single player.
Having said all that Borderlands was a game I actually enjoyed, but I can understand and agree with some of Yahtzee's opinions, the menu system is awful, the car system is just as bad until you get used to it, but even then you can still end up getting the damn thing stuck on a pebble on the road, leaving you with no choice but to get out and walk anyway.
The story felt as though it was added as an afterthought and by that I mean there really wasn't one, the missions in general didn't add anything to the story they were just things you did to get access to the damn vault, which also turned out to be a letdown.
But even after all that the game kept me entertained enough to not only finish it, but to have finished it twice and started chewing through the DLC, the first one of which actually had a better story than the main game.
Having said all that Borderlands was a game I actually enjoyed, but I can understand and agree with some of Yahtzee's opinions, the menu system is awful, the car system is just as bad until you get used to it, but even then you can still end up getting the damn thing stuck on a pebble on the road, leaving you with no choice but to get out and walk anyway.
The story felt as though it was added as an afterthought and by that I mean there really wasn't one, the missions in general didn't add anything to the story they were just things you did to get access to the damn vault, which also turned out to be a letdown.
But even after all that the game kept me entertained enough to not only finish it, but to have finished it twice and started chewing through the DLC, the first one of which actually had a better story than the main game.
This is almost exactly my thoughts on this game (including the multiplayer)
Walking from point A to point B same fetch quests, the car driving, Geez i thought we perfected this from PGR3, Right trigger go, analog stick turn. Also every gun looks the same just new staticstics a fancy name and a different color.
Walking from point A to point B same fetch quests, the car driving, Geez i thought we perfected this from PGR3, Right trigger go, analog stick turn. Also every gun looks the same just new staticstics a fancy name and a different color.
LOL! "I got the feeling all the drama is occurring whenever I'm not around". Somehow that summed up my feelings for Borderlands. Booooooring. It's unfortunate you didn't get into the multiplayer, because there were all kinds of bugs with it, too.
You didn't exactly use that USB Glove like I thought you would, either. How many points for using it and watching Hentai at the same time?
You didn't exactly use that USB Glove like I thought you would, either. How many points for using it and watching Hentai at the same time?
You always say that you never do online gaming and yet you've played/play TF2. I understand completely considering this is one of the best games ever (in my opinion 
) and was developed by a company that has a deity like presence among it's fans, and although it's the pinnacle of online gaming, wouldn't it only be far to at least check out other game's online play? I understand that a game can't make up for it's crappiness by justifying it with "online play is alright" but I think that it's usually at least worth a mention
) and was developed by a company that has a deity like presence among it's fans, and although it's the pinnacle of online gaming, wouldn't it only be far to at least check out other game's online play? I understand that a game can't make up for it's crappiness by justifying it with "online play is alright" but I think that it's usually at least worth a mention
Looking more forward to the Mass Effect 2 Review, but it seemed like Yahtzee had to review one bad game before getting to the good ones.
I'm not saying Mass Effect is Perfect, Just that I believe Yahtzee's gonna like it.
With that out of the way, Borderlands felt like a game reaching for a sequel like water to one of those poor guys stuck playing it. 1 hour into the game I forgot my original objective and even asked myself "Wait, why did I buy this game again?"
I'm not saying Mass Effect is Perfect, Just that I believe Yahtzee's gonna like it.
With that out of the way, Borderlands felt like a game reaching for a sequel like water to one of those poor guys stuck playing it. 1 hour into the game I forgot my original objective and even asked myself "Wait, why did I buy this game again?"
i think he was looking a bit too deep on this 1. yes the game is repetitive as hell, but it reminds me of painkiller. big guns and lots of enemies that need the big bullets in their respective limbs. and if u actually read some of the dialogue, the game has a sense of humor. of course, by this point im either talking to my ass, or no one at all. time to wait for mass effect 2!
Seriously I was in disbelief that it wasn't ME2 this week. Furthermore I couldn't believe that he hadn't already done Borderlands seeing as it had come out so long ago.Spawnfreak said:
I personally found Borderlands to be extremely boring and the only part I liked about it was the opening cinematic. I'm not even that cynical towards games, I can get into a lot of stuff without much effort.
It's no wonder Yahtzee didn't like it.
And to those people who wanted him to review Dante's inferno, it came out yesterday. Yahtzee's good, but time manipulation isn't one of his most polished skill, shitting on games and you is. He's going to screw over mass effect 2 so just wait for the damn week.
oh, and the reason I wanted you to review Borderlands, Yahtzee, wasn't because I'm a fan of it. Just the opposite. . I suspect there's lots of folks wanting you to review specific games for the very same reason.
So why haven't you reviewed Final Fantasy XIII! ? ! ?
. I suspect there's lots of folks wanting you to review specific games for the very same reason. So why haven't you reviewed Final Fantasy XIII! ? ! ?
I completely agree here, the game itself is very drab. It is more brown than anyone should be objected to. Besides the brown, there is also some blue and very shiny weapons. I always have a two sided argument when it comes to stories. Either the game is a Jarpeg(Japanese RPG)or a normal rpeg and is completely dependent on story, like a novel. The other side, like mario games and Doom or Serious Sam, have no real plot what so ever and completely leave it on the floor, letting you pick it up if you feel like it. At that point, it is covered in garbage and blood any way and doesn't matter. I believe that Borderlands COULD have been on the no story side, but since it had missions and quests, in kinda needed it. If all of that can be looked over, the game is a very fun game and a good time in multiplayer.
(I did a very newbie-ish sort of thing and ended up double-posting. If someone could delete this one, it would be appreciated. Apologies for the trouble.)
I've watched these video reviews with a sort of fascination for a bit now, but this marks the first time I have felt compelled to sign up and actually post, so hi out there.
That out of the way, I don't think Yahtzee could have hit this any closer to the mark if he had some sort of Star-Wars-y (the defence system not the trilogy) tracking system. I have noticed an increasing trend in the games that have come out of late - even the good ones - to be relatively shallow. It comes almost as something of a relief that I am not some sort of fossil that remembers when we actually had to have such old-fashioned contrivances as a story implemented as part of the game play and not leering in a particularly disquiet manner from the next room through the peep-hole in the door or messily smeared over the game like some sort of yellow baptismal.
It really seems to be a lazy design choice for them to hang the game more or less on the multiplayer, however I suppose given the almost inherently MMORPG setup with the tedious amount of grinding that takes any concept of fun and smashes into a fine paste, it was to be expected. I always had the impression that it was trying to be a Fallout-ish multiplayer game and I suppose it definitely makes some sort of an attempt at that, but say what one might about the dialogue in Fallout it certainly had some better direction, or at least direction that had the iota of sense required to realise that we need such a thing as variety.
In any event I felt grossly let down by Borderlands when I finally got around to purchasing it last Monday, so I suppose if anything Yahtzee's review gave a certain sense of vindication, and I also suppose that I should stop ranting before I start rambling.
That out of the way, I don't think Yahtzee could have hit this any closer to the mark if he had some sort of Star-Wars-y (the defence system not the trilogy) tracking system. I have noticed an increasing trend in the games that have come out of late - even the good ones - to be relatively shallow. It comes almost as something of a relief that I am not some sort of fossil that remembers when we actually had to have such old-fashioned contrivances as a story implemented as part of the game play and not leering in a particularly disquiet manner from the next room through the peep-hole in the door or messily smeared over the game like some sort of yellow baptismal.
It really seems to be a lazy design choice for them to hang the game more or less on the multiplayer, however I suppose given the almost inherently MMORPG setup with the tedious amount of grinding that takes any concept of fun and smashes into a fine paste, it was to be expected. I always had the impression that it was trying to be a Fallout-ish multiplayer game and I suppose it definitely makes some sort of an attempt at that, but say what one might about the dialogue in Fallout it certainly had some better direction, or at least direction that had the iota of sense required to realise that we need such a thing as variety.
In any event I felt grossly let down by Borderlands when I finally got around to purchasing it last Monday, so I suppose if anything Yahtzee's review gave a certain sense of vindication, and I also suppose that I should stop ranting before I start rambling.
Diablo-style random weapon drops are pretty much the opposite of shitty game design, they're pretty much the best kind of carrot you can hang in front of a gamer's face. "Is this guy going to drop a better weapon? No? What about this guy?" The only "programming" that makes a player stop and analyze every new gun's stats to the point that they don't enjoy the gameplay is in his own head. Borderlands doesn't have say anything one way or the other about it.Talcon said:
The only thing I'm trying to surpress is barfing thanks to this ridiculous rhetorical aikido you're trying. You state that it's a game-breaking problem how you have to stop and agonize over every new gun's stats. I reply that it's your problem and not the game. Somehow this means I don't like the game and I'm trying to blame you! How exactly did you get from point A to point B there... is it because I didn't mention Final Smashes either?