By: Robert Murphy
A good portion of what happens in this latest chapter is
focused on separate but still connected stories for Rhys and Fiona. Fiona
discovers that the assassin that was trying to kill her and her sister last
episode is actually a vault hunter that was hired by Felix to protect and guide
them. She looks at Athena as somewhat of a cool older sister who can do all of
these amazing things and travels the world in search of riches. This makes her
question what she wants for her own future, could she possibly be this amazing
vault hunter one day and fight monsters with her wits and handy sidearm? At the
same time Rhys has his hands full with a budding romance that I did not see
coming but it was an awkwardly enjoyable aspect to the story. Rhys has always
had a heart of gold underneath all of the bravado that he spouts off from time
to time and it’s nice to see that aspect come out as you spend more time separate
from the main group.
The overarching story however proves to be just as compelling
if for no other reason than the group’s newest member Gortys. This sweet and
naïve little robot turns out to be the key to finding the vault but needs more
pieces to become fully functional. Within moments of awakening she grabs the
leg of a dead body and excitedly scolds it to hurry up so they can begin their
journey. She is essentially a child at heart and doesn’t understand the
concepts of mortality or the fact that every moment spent on Pandora is a like
sitting next to a ticking time bomb waiting to explode which makes all of her
interactions hysterical. Her relationship with Loader Bot was also a top notch
aspect for the developers to include as the always helpful robot develops a
protective bond with her.
There is also a refreshing change of pace for the story as
the group moves to an unknown Atlas location in search of a part for Gortys.
This takes players out of the horrible sand and monster filled landscape and
sends them to a new bio-dome location that is filled with crazy plant life and
yes more monsters but they’re mostly cute, sort of. It is hard not to
appreciate as you walk through the different parts of the luminescent landscape
and find some peace in this chaotic world, if only for a moment or two. The whole
scene is really a rather enjoyable one as the color pallet changes up
significantly and it also plays into some of the more intimate moments I
mentioned earlier with Rhys.
What is unfortunate is what comes after all the romance and
character development as the action starts to pick up. Both the beginning and
the ending for Catch a Ride have some
chaotic moments of action as you face off with Hyperion, hired goons and even
some famous vault hunters. All of the scenes fit perfectly with the style of
madness that you can experience when you play any Borderlands game but it seems that Telltale’s gaming engine has some trouble handling it. Scenes were
jumping all over the place as I switched between the action that was taking
place and frame rates dropped significantly to the point where it was hard to
understand or enjoy what was going on in the story. There are fantastic moments
hidden throughout these scenes such as Fiona furthering her new found skills
and some classic Borderlands comedy
but it’s hard to appreciate if the game cannot handle what it is trying to show
you.
Tales from the
Borderlands continues to be a worthy adaptation of the Borderlands universe in Catch
a Ride. The comedy and quick witted dialogue for all the character is spot
on and the story manages to mix both serious decision making situations with
off the collar humor as well. Things are heating up rather quickly by the end
of episode three however and it has me eagerly waiting for what’s around the
corner with the final revealing moment for the story leading to new unexplored
territory. As a bit of closing advice, countless articles and reviews have
pointed out that the story for Catch a
Ride plays out drastically different depending on who you chose to trust at
the end of episode two so it is something to keep in mind for a second
playthrough. It will for mine.
Good:
- Further development for Rhys and Fiona
- Gortys is adorable and the perfect missing piece for the
group
- Spot on hilarious jokes and moments throughout the story
Bad:
- The frame rate and sputtering issues with the action scenes
Scully Rating: 8.9 out of 10
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