Tales from the Borderlands: Episode 3 - Catch a Ride

By: Robert Murphy

Gary, no! Leave it to a game like Borderlands to make me feel sorry for a background character whose face I didn’t even see before it was crushed underneath an Atlas robot’s chassis. We make our way back to the ever chaotic and desolate world of Pandora again as Rhys and Fiona attempt to escape the tight spot in which they found themselves in the last episode. Things do not improve any with this latest episode however as new enemies and familiar faces join the fray to complicate the already tense situation. It would seem our team’s goal of opening a vault for all of its many riches is turning into a suicide mission to say the least.

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