E3 2014 Hands On: Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

While At E3 I Got To See Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel In A More Intimate Setting Than Just The Trailer. Here’s My Take On It

Here on the site we have had mixed reviews and wants for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. Some are excited to play the new game. Others are questioning why 2K and Gearbox are even trying to milk us for more money. None the less I was personally able to put hands to the game during E3 and I was able to see if the new additions and locations will make Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel feel like the game that the developers are trying to make it be. All at least through the eyes of the new-ish character Athena the Gladiatrix. Here’s what I though after the game had ended.

I do have to say that 2K was really trying to push the multiplayer aspects of their titles this year as this demo for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel had me paired up with a bunch of other random people from the floor. Well at least paired up for a minute or two as I would outrun them to the next objective and they would give up and walk off. You can read that as I got to play almost this entire demo as a solo player and not a co-op. Please keep that in mind when I speak on things moving forward.

So the demo had us starting out assaulting a moon base for some reason. It was loud and I couldn’t hear what was going on so I have no clue about anything except that the mini-map is just as useful as ever. From the start though we were all placed in a low gravity level of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel to try out the new O₂ mechanic as well as the new movement that will be required to navigate the moons and ships that we will undoubtedly need to go to during the game proper. It is new but it was also a pain in the ass.

We now have almost a full range of movement in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, even in the vertical arena but there is no indication on how far you can go before you die. Not mention that if you fall off a cliff on the mountains you can’t just turn on your “jet pack” to get back up. At least not all the time. Sometimes I would be able to fall for a good 15 seconds and then it would say I died. Other times I wasn’t even given the time to press the button to turn on the jets and it would indicate I died. There was no symmetry at all with this mechanic that should allow for a considerable amount of correcting a blundered step or an enemy pushing you off. It felt more like a gimmick than a true mechanic.

Also, as these jets use up your O₂ in the game it is almost needed to hunt down pockets of the stuff that have been shown to be all over these areas in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. I was able to find three and they were placed nowhere near where I needed to go or be. Yea it is a resource that needs to be monitored and collected just like bullets in the game but unlike bullets we have a melee option in case we run out. These things shouldn’t be as sparse as there are so many things that diminish the O₂ levels; including just running from location to location.

Once you get into areas where this is no longer a concern, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel plays just like every other Borderlands title out there. Once I made it safely there I figured I would give all of the new weapon types and skills a good play just to see how they also would add to the game as a whole. The only issue there was that the demo levels were leveled so high that one shot generally killed any rushing enemies. How am I supposed to freeze someone so I can butt stomp them when one blast freezes and explodes them instead? They were cool effects but it was like running around with the Golden Gun and I couldn’t truly judge. You older gamers may get that reference.

So in the end it would seem that the true selling point, for me, for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel would be the expanded story for the game. Something I just couldn’t hear or experience on the show floor. Not to the fault of 2K or Gearbox at all but The Pre-Sequel plays like every other title in the franchise and I wasn’t able to truly experience the new weapons or abilities the way I wish I could have. The only thing I was truly able to try were the two worst additions to the franchise in my opinion.

I am not going to write Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel off just yet as this could have all just been a poor demo designed to sate the masses of new players to the franchise but I will be cautious. I was excited to hear that there was going to be new story to the Borderlands world and that is the part of the franchise I love the most. I’m still willing to hold out until October 14^th to pass full judgment on the game but this uninspiring demo just did not do much to keep my excitement rolling into the future just yet.