Playing A Game Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel PC

Judged on its own, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is a good-enough game. It's zany and flippant, it's got a healthy variety of enemies and weapons, and the RPG-lite random-guns formula works well ... just like it has since the first Borderlands.

But it's disappointing how easily TPS is eclipsed by its predecessor. The campaign is not only shorter, and not only lacking in environmental diversity, but also just plain uninteresting. By the time the NPCs and special abilities and random weapons really start to heat up, the story is practically over.

Its additions to the franchise don't feel that worthwhile. The limited-oxygen mechanic isn't meaningful. The butt-stomp attack isn't fun to use. Low-gravity levels are occasionally cool, but feel under-served by the game's level design. (Works best with boost pads!) The laser guns -- okay, the laser guns are pretty radical. I hope those stick around for Borderlands 3.

And as for the narrative, it varies between lazy and uninspired (returning characters like Wilhelm and Nisha get roughly 30 seconds of new backstory), and trying too hard (Handsome Jack's character arc is about as graceful as Anakin's distaste for sand).

Again, TPS isn't a "bad" game; headshotting fools and scrounging for upgrades is as fun as ever. And the lasers are sweet.

But as a follow-up to Borderlands 2, it feels distinctly phoned-in.

Better than: Borderlands, as far as I can remember.
Not as good as: Borderlands 2, or really even Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep.
And not that I'm getting my hopes up, but: maybe the Claptastic Voyage DLC will compare favorably to Borderlands 2's often-lackluster expansions?

Rating: Good