Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

By: Robert Murphy

At the end of Borderlands 2 as I watched the credits roll, I couldn't help but be a little sad that I would never see the awesome sarcastic villain Handsome Jack ever again (WOAH SPOILERS). However, things have changed now with the release of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel which takes place in between the events of the first Borderlands and the second and tells the story behind Jack's rise to power and just how he became the man we hated to love. As expected we are introduced to four new vault hunters who are hired by Jack to help him take back Helios Station and find a new vault on Pandora's moon Elpis and become super rich and famous, who wouldn't want all that? Things get crazy in typical Borderlands fashion really quick so strap yourselves in boys and girls. 

As expected, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel plays much the same way that it's predecessors have before as you fight your way through giant open worlds, shooting everything in sight because everything and everyone is typically out to get you. This includes crazy monstrous creatures from your wildest imagination brought to life, scavengers and bandits and some robots too, why not right? There is also the never ending amount of loot to be had along the way as well as they explode outwards from corpses you've slain like a confetti popper. Collecting all kinds of loot and shooting everything in sight will still bring seasoned vault hunters rushing in to play in it's fun and addictive cycle.

This is the stuff we all know though already so let's move onto some of the newer goodies the game has in store. As I mentioned before we are currently walking across the moons surface and like a childhood dream come true, you can now jump in zero gravity to your hearts content with the added fun of having a badass arsenal at your finger tips. You will of course need some oxygen in order to survive on the surface of Elpis and this is where the games new Oz kit system comes into play. Players are given this device almost immediately and will be allowed to go on living during there journey but you need to keep an eye on your oxygen while you play or else you'll run out. It's a bit of an added challenge for everyone but it is fairly easy to maintain as enemies now drop Oz to refill your tank and there are also oxygen pockets to stand in on the surface as well as oxygen machines to turn on too. The good attributes behind this new Oz kit is the ability to double jump and soar through the air and gain the tactical upper hand on grounded enemies, peppering them from above. There is also a new butt slam mechanic where you can slam down hard on your foes while singing "We're whalers on the moon" in your head.

As for our heroes in this new tale, we are introduced to three new characters and one charmingly annoying familiar one to play as this time around. Yep, Claptrap is now a playable character for those of you who were looking to unleash the furry of this little yellow trash can. His abilities are quite unique as he plays a better support character if you're playing with friends, he can give your allies power buffs to aid in battle or sometimes annoy them. Now onto the newbies, The Gladiator, Athena, is another somewhat support class, she features abilities that allow for high shield recharge and an actual shield that can be thrown just like Captain American and also absorb bullets. Our resident soldier class, Wilhelm, shacks things up a bit by no longer launching turrets but rather flying kill bots that look like tiny Galaga ships that rain fire down upon enemies. Finally, we have the resident gunslinger , Nisha, who can enter a super focused state with faster reloads and a faster fire rate that will allow you to drop enemies in the blink of an eye. What's great about all these characters is now they feel like they've come to life more than previous characters, interactions with AI in the game is more present and instead of just spouting out catch phrases they feel real and let their personalities show. 

Unfortunately, my happy train gets derailed as I was playing through the games story which can best be described as lack luster. Handsome Jack is back which I couldn't be happier about and all the other big named characters return such as Moxxi, Torque, Roland, Tiny Tina and many more. They all still bring the classic humor to life still and it is amazing how much I am still able to laugh at the dialogue of a game, even with no name characters throughout the game and their sparkling personalities. But when it comes down to the story there isn't anything to it that will wow people into playing through the missions. I didn't learn anything about Handsome Jack that I didn't already know and nothing about the Borderlands universe I know and love gets changed.

A part of me wishes that Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel offered a little bit more in the way of changing and evolving the gameplay further. New features in the game are fun and enjoyable such as the new lazer weapons and weapon creator where you can mash three weapons together in the hopes of getting a better one. These are tiny additions that polish the game even further this is for certain but nothing really has changed from the games I've seen before. That being said, this Borderlands is still a solid game for any long time fan as it features plenty of references and hilarious characters from the games expansive universe. The new Oz kits and zero gravity add even more enjoyment to the action as you send enemies tumbling over and over in zero gravity or soar through the sky dispensing hot lead on enemies too. I still enjoy popping enemies like a balloon and getting all sorts of loot to be used in my destructive and chaotic playthroughs every time and that is really what makes Borderlands a great game. 

Good:

- Still the same great shooter and looter style game that it is known for

- Oz kits and zero gravity are some of the games great new additions

- Hilarious dialogue and famous faces return once again 

Bad:

- Nothing in the way of huge changes to the Borderlands games

- The main story really wasn't as big and exciting as I was expecting it to be, glad to see Handsome Jack's back story but it should of been more

Scully Rating: 8.0 out of 10 

Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition

By: Robert Murphy

While looking through the recent additions to the Xbox One game selection, I saw this game and it spoke to me and made me think of an old style of gaming, not so far back as the first Mario but more of my first computer game styling. Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition is a side scrolling platforming game that first debut back in 1991 and has now received an HD touch up to hit gamers of this generation. The cinematic nature of the game was hailed as quite a popular idea as the game tells it's story of a scientist named Lester who ends up in a whole new dimension after an experiment goes wrong. 

 Not a whole lot is spoken from characters in the game and that's the main challenge to Another World. There are no tutorials, no instructions, you figure out the controls as you go and figure out how to survive as you go as well. Just about everything can cause you harm or causes your death on this alien world, including the aliens who immediately imprison you once you meet them. It's a game that is very unforgiving and you know what, I kind of liked that about it. Figuring out your way through the different levels of the game is no easy task and I've never wanted to rage quite something more but I was still spurned on to keep playing. In a lot of ways you have to work things out for yourself, solving the puzzles of each area and figuring out what is significant around you to progress further, which its usually everything. 

What's also great about the Another World is how much of a story it tells with so little dialogue going on, most of the characters you meet will gesture to something or sometimes aliens will shout at you in their language which won't help you any.  Right from the get go you can tell that this game is a major storyteller as we start out simply enough in a hidden laboratory and running experiments when a lightning strike effects what looks like a supercollider and transports us to this new world. What breaks up the gameplay are short cut scenes that play somewhat like a brief film or gif that will give you some more insight into what you're doing but not much. Graphically the game has improved from what it use to be but former players can relive the past by switching from old graphics to new with the push of the Y button. The new graphics introduced though are nothing to really be wowed at but at the same time fit the style and the animation well for all the character in the game.

What I did not find endearing to endearing about Another World though started when an area became increasingly harder to traverse. Alien creatures that were basically mini sarlaccs were hanging on the top and the bottom of the screen on which I was suppose to get through. This shouldn't be any big thing, if they weren't there there wouldn't be any challenge to the game but what became the issue were the controls. All the controls are very simple to master once you lock them down but your character will often snatched by a creature or slip down a nearby hole when you clearly weren't even close to it. This brings me to what I feel will be the overall downfall for Another World's attempt to find some new customers, people who never played the game before like myself will most likely find the game to be an exercise in futility. The game is short but harsh and in many ways repetitive as you will undoubtedly preform the same sequence over and over until you get it right and the reward doesn't really give you the satisfaction you might be looking for once you're done. I myself enjoyed the game but in many ways I can see it hitting home with too many others who never knew about this game before.

In conclusion, Another World told me a pretty great story for a game with virtually no dialogue and being a game that had already been released a few odd years ago. The ability to switch between HD and the old look is definitely a plus for new and old players of the game as the new stuff makes it just as inviting as the classic feel will for those who played before. Another World is though one of those unforgiving games that will make you want to pull your hair out and even with the short playthrough, it may not hit the way it did back when it was first released. 

Good:

- The ability for the game to tell a great story with no dialogue was fantastic

- No tutorial and no prompts made this game difficult but that was part of the fun

- Colorful worlds with great animations and the ability to switch back to the classic style of the game

Bad:

- Easy to get lost, angry and annoyed with the game

- A lot of repetition that will set off your controller throwing emotions

- Controls could have done with an upgrade as well 

Scully Rating: 6.0 out of 10