Waaaay back in the day, after playing and enjoying the first Borderlands, I pre-ordered Borderlands 2 and then had no interest in playing it once it was actually released.
That's the problem with the Gaming Hype Machine. I hear about something and I want to play it now, not when it's finally released in a year or whenever, so when it actually releases... I'm over it? Unless it's something I'm reeeeeeeally interested in like Dragon Age or Mass Effect. 😅
I should be playing New World right now, but, as we all know, it got delayed, again, and I have to wait til the end of this month to play it. Here's hoping that's not going to have the same Gaming Hype Machine issue and people will still actually be interested in it whenever the devs finally deem it ready for consumption.
Anyway! My partner and I were looking for a co-op game to play, and Borderlands 2 ended up being the winner. I'm finally experiencing it after nearly a decade of its release.
I barely remember the first Borderlands, just that it had highly stylised art and there was lots of shooting. I didn't remember the classes or anything. So when our co-op game told me to choose a character, and none of the characters had any information on their selection, and I had a timer ticking down to the game-start, I just chose the tattooed chick and hoped that she'd be good.
Considering she has a larger bounty on her head, I guess I made the right choice! 😆
Turns out I don't mind her so far. I can throw people up into the air like a biotic from Mass Effect, and gain extra powers and things whilst a person is trapped. When the person who is trapped dies whilst still trapped both my partner and I get healed, and when the trap ends it explodes in fiery glory.
I like that she has a healing tree and I can be supportive as well as damaging. Though I really don't know what the other classes have, so for all I know they could have healing and supportive abilities too.
What I reeeeally like is how there are little challenges and things, heeeeeaps of them! And as you complete them you get points towards your Badass Rank which, from what I'm told, is active for every character you make.
So as I level up this person's badassery, if I ever make another person they'll have the same perks I've unlocked. That's spiffy!
I also like this money-dump.
I'm not quite sure what else you can really spend money on in this game. Obviously there are guns and ammo and health and shields and whatever, but you find plenty of those so don't really need to buy them.
So I've been spending all of my money at the slot machines. I did pretty well too! There's Eridium, which I simply call Purple Money, and you use that to buy upgrades like a larger backpack and more ammo space.
At this point, I feel this is the main purpose for money. For gambling to find Purple Money. 🤷♀
You can also use money to tip this chick with the boobs. But I'm too scared to.
I'll probably get an awkward lapdance or something and I'm just not interested.
Feel free to enlighten me as to what tipping her actually does. 😅
The scenery of the game is interesting and I've found many of amusements, like this snowman above.
But, to be honest, I'm really not a fan of the stylised art. I find it distracting at the best of times and an eyesore at the worst of times.
I find it difficult actually killing enemies because they're all a stylised mass that just blends in with the stylised background and it's hard to differentiate. I find myself looking for enemies that are right infront of me, only to finally see them just as my partner kills them because it's literally taken that long for my eyes to work out where they are.
I get that the graphics are part of the appeal of this game, but I personally don't find it appealing. Amusing, but unappealing. I need to be in the right mood to stare at this type of art, and luckily I appear to be in it right now.
In closing, here's some PIZZA for the pizza fiends amongst us.
I'm enjoying the game regardless of the painful art style, it's fun and it's something to do with my partner. It's so hard to find good co-op games that we haven't already played.
We were almost tempted to give WoW Classic another go, but they've increased the subscription price. Ugh. I guess since most of their playerbase is leaving to play Final Fantasy and other, better, MMOs, they've decided to milk their remaining players for all they've got left. 👀
Borderlands 2 will do for now!
Until next time! 🎮😊